Profiles and Results 2007

[ekonomiks]

There is a thread out there that contains profiles, and people report results in their signatures, but combining the two takes some time. So let's just put them all together in this one thread. Please fill out the following form and be as detailed as possible. Those who are still waiting for final decisions, please wait until you receive them all before you post. Also, please limit discussion in this thread.
*** ANY DISCUSSION WILL TAKE PLACE HERE: http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo...tml#post440442 (Discussion: Profiles and Results 2007)

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad:
Undergrad GPA:
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE:
Math Courses:
Econ Courses:
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation:
Research Experience:
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests:
statement of purpose:
Other:

RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Waitlists:
Rejections:

What would you have done differently?

[butler blue]

Profile:

Gre: 800 Q, 650 V, 6.0 A
Type of Undergrad: Basically a liberal arts college; good but not elite
GPA: Overall: 3.99, Econ: 4.0, Math: 4.0
Classes:
Math: Calc I through III (A's), Linear Algebra (A), Analysis I (A), Differential Equations (A), Probability & Statistics I and II (A's), Topology (A), Topics in Game Theory (A), Discrete Math I and II (A's), Modern Algebra (A), Analysis II (in progress)
Econ: Intro (A), Int Micro (A), Int Macro (A), International Econ (A), Econometrics (A), Comparative Economic Systems (A), Environmental and Natural Resource Econ (A), Math Econ (in progress)
Other: A programming course...
Research Experience: Summer research program within my university producing a paper about Doha's potential impact on China; Senior thesis on the political economy of foreign aid donation
Teaching Experience: Lots of tutoring econ and math but no TA'ing
LORs: One from the econ prof (Ph.D. from Pitt) who advised both of my research projects; one from another econ prof (Ph.D. UCLA); one from my real analysis prof (Ph.D. Indian Institute of Technology). All of them were very high on me and know me well, but the economists are not well-known or well-published.
statement of purpose & Interests: Talked about my interest in research, reasons for applying to the Ph.D., particular interest in working in development policy institutions, and reasons why I was interested in their department.
Other: American citizen


Admissions Decisions
Berkeley - Rejected
Brown - Rejected
Columbia - Rejected
Georgetown - Accepted w/ fellowship funding for 2 years and all summers
Harvard - Rejected
Indiana - Accepted w/ TA
Johns Hopkins - Rejected
Maryland - Accepted, no funding
UCLA - Accepted, no funding
UC Santa Cruz - Accepted, partial TAship
Virginia - Accepted
Yale - Rejected

What I learned: Research programs throroughly to find ones that fit your career goals and then be honest. I did what is generally taboo in my statement of purpose by stating outright my interest in policy over academia. It may have hurt me some places, but I ultimately got into programs that fit what I want to do. Also, don't get caught up in groupthink on this board. I should have applied to Cornell (given my interests) but didn't because of concern on here about their placements. I may very well not have gotten in (given my record with Ivy's) but I should've applied there. Finally, it is true; your undergrad school is very important, but you can still get into a good (though probably not top tier) school coming from somewhere no one's heard of if everything else is top notch.

[Nalfien]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: SUNY University Center
Undergrad GPA: Econ (4.0)/Math (3.8) overall 3.84
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: None
GRE: 800/590/5.5
Math Courses: Multi Variable Calc A- , Diff Eqs A, Real Analysis A, Measure Theory A, Linear Algebra I B+ &II A, Computational A, Typical Math Major,
Econ Courses: Grad Micro, Metrics. undegrad Math Stats, Metrics, Money and Banking, Computational, Interm Micro and Macro. A's
Other Courses: Honors College
Letters of Recommendation: 3 strong ones. One very very strong one. I really think the biggest reason I got in where I got in is because one of my recommenders put his neck out for me and called people to tell them about me.
Research Experience: Year long honors thesis senior year.
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Labor, Development
statement of purpose: Pretty nice... I think, didn't hear anything bad about it. two pages.
Other: Used to go to departmental research seminars since sophmore year, got my face seen and showed an interest in research.

RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Stanford ($)Yale ($)UCLA ($)UVa ($)UNC ($)..... no money: UCSDU,Mich
Waitlists:
UPenn,NWU,NYU
Rejections:
Princeton,Berkeley,Columbia,Duke

What you would have done differently: I would have applied to less places. But there is no way I would have imagined I would have made out how i did. Very very fortunate.

[applying07]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large Private
Undergrad GPA: 3.81 (Econ: 3.9, Math: 4.0)
GRE: 800Q, 560 V, 6.0A
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Lin Alg, Prob Theory
Econ Courses: Principles, Intermediate Theories, Stats, Intl. Econ, Econ Thought, Environmental Econ, Econometrics, Intl. Econ Relations, Senior Thesis
Other Courses: A bunch of other International Studies class (poli sci, sociology, etc.)
Letters of Recommendation: Associate Prof. (Ph.D. MIT) thesis advisor and teacher, Assistant Prof (Ph.D. BC) Econometrics Teacher, Associate Math Prof. Lin Alg Teacher
Research Experience: Senior Thesis, summer of consulting as an RA
Teaching Experience: Tutoring
Research Interests: Trade and Development
statement of purpose: Probably nothing too special, described career goals, why wanted to study econ and bits about each school


RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Duke
Michigan State
Boston College
UNC-CH
Colorado

Rejections:
MIT
Northwestern
Brown
UMich
Columbia
What would you have done differently? Maybe waited a year and taken more math or worked doing a research job to fill in those gaps. Pretty happy with how turned out though

[sonicskat]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small Liberal Arts...Not well known
Undergrad GPA: 3.76
GRE: 760/510/5.5
Math Courses: Calc 1-3, Proofs and Topology Class, Linear Algebra, Diff Eq
Econ Courses: Inter. Micro/Macro, Business, Math, Experimental, Forecasting, Econometrics, Statistics, Int'l trade and finance
Letters of Recommendation: Two Associate professors (Duke and MSU), and one Assistant Professor (FSU)
Research Experience: One paper published in undergraduate journal, research using dynamic programming with two professors ongoing, presented at professional conferences twice, associate editor for undergraduate journal for two years, presented at campus research forum twice.
Research Interests: Macro, Int'l
statement of purpose: Wrote how I have adequate math skills, despite no real analysis. Briefly discussed extensive research experiences. Then honed in on a couple professor's who's work I enjoy.

RESULTS:
Acceptances: UVA, MSU, UC Davis, Vanderbilt, Rice,UCSB
Waitlists: Pitt (i guess), ASU (i guess)
Rejections: UT Austin, Iowa

What would you have done differently?
Taken more math and gotten an 800 on the gre

[commodore]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: top 20 private research university with an average econ department
Undergrad GPA: 4.0
Type of Grad: none
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800 Q/750 V/ 6.0 AW
Math Courses: calc I & II (A), linear algebra (A), diff eq (A), advanced calc (A), stats (A), applied stats (in progress)
Econ Courses: everything, all A's
Letters of Recommendation: three good ones, two from people who are somewhat known. It turns out that one of my recommenders is a friend of Truman Bewley, Yale's DGS. I didn't know that until last week. I certainly hope that's not the reason I got in, but in looking at the results, I have to wonder.
Research Experience: undergraduate honors thesis (to be submitted for publication)
Teaching Experience: 2 semesters as a TA for intro micro & macro
Research Interests: development, labor, economics of education, IO, trade
statement of purpose: I really don't think it matters much. I talked about wanting to do development. I hid my love of teaching and played up my love of research.

RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Yale ($)
Northwestern (no funding)
Michigan (no funding)
Kennedy School ($)
Duke PubPol ($)
Waitlists:
Brown
Rejections:
Princeton
Berkeley
Stanford
Cornell

Attending: Yale
What would you have done differently? I'm not really sure what was wrong with my application, but I'm very glad to have gotten into Yale, and I'm sure I'll be happy there. I guess that if I had it to do over again, I'd apply to even more good schools, because admissions really are random sometimes. Cast a wide net and don't take anything for granted. I really thought Cornell and Brown were my fallbacks, and I didn't even get in. Doing it over again, I'd probably pick 3 or 4 more schools to apply to.

[tunedradio]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.89
Type of Grad: audited 1st year micro, 2nd year development
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q/700V/6.0A
Math Courses: Multivariate Calc (A-) Linear Algebra (A), Real Analysis (currently taking), Statistics (A), Diff Eq. in High School
Econ Courses: lots, A's throughout, A+'s in intermediate micro and macro
Other Courses: lots of political science / development / policy
Letters of Recommendation: one very famous, one very good one (coauthor) but junior, another junior
Research Experience: substantial; senior honor's thesis, presentations at four conferences, year of RA full-time, co-authored (yet to be published) less-technical papers with two professors (one very famous)
Teaching Experience: TA for three semesters (one at graduate level)
Research Interests: devo / trade
statement of purpose: good (but it doesn't really matter)
Other:

RESULTS:
Acceptances: NSF, Yale ($), Berkeley ARE ($), Michigan Econ/Public Policy ($), USSD ($), Penn State ($), Brown (waitlisted $), Duke ($), UC-Boulder ($), LSE (Msc)
Waitlists: Princeton PolyEc PhD
Rejections: Harvard KSG, Cornell, LSE (PhD), MIT

What would you have done differently? I actually applied last year with substantial less math and research experience and was accepted into two top 20 programs but no top 10 programs (and honorable mentioned on the NSF), so for those who are considering it, I found a year of RAing and a few more classes (and better recs) can really boost your admits.

[ekonomiks]

Hey hockeytime, I'm gonna copy your profile from the other thread and put it here for the sake of completeness. Let me know if you mind, I'll delete it.

Profile:

Gre: 800 Q, 700 V, 6.0 A
GPA: Overall: 3.97 (Undergrad). 4.0 in all econ/math/quant courses. Ranked 2nd in my graduating class.
Classes:
Math: Lin Alg, Calc, Diff Eqs, Vector Calc, Real Analysis
Econ: Intro to Micro and Macro, Intermediate Micro
Graduate: Probability and Micro at the PhD level at a top US school
Type of Undergrad: top Canadian undergrad school, major in Business, minor in Math.
Research Experience: Full time RA at a top US school for the year prior to starting my PhD.
Teaching Experience: None
LORs: Three strong econ profs in my field at a top US school.
statement of purpose & Interests: Empirical IO. Energy/Telecom/High Tech sectors.
Other: Worked in consulting after my undergrad (first in Management Consulting, then Economic Consulting). Somewhat atypical applicant because my undergrad was in business/math. Strong comp sci background, and very strong technical skills (several programming languages, STATA, etc).


Admissions Decisions

Berkeley - Rejected
MIT - Rejected
Princeton - Rejected

Harvard Econ - Waitlisted (Declined)

UCSD - Accepted
UCLA - Accepted
Duke - Accepted
Stanford - Accepted
Stanford GSB - Accepted
Chicago Econ - Accepted
Chicago GSB - Accepted
Northwestern - Accepted
Yale - Accepted
Harvard Business Economics - Accepted, and attending in fall '07.

[wobo82]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 25 research university per USNWR
Undergrad GPA: 3.33 (electrical engineering BS)
Type of Grad: Top 100-ish research university without an econ PhD program
Grad GPA: 3.87 (economics MA)
GRE: 790Q/670V/5.0A
Math Courses: Calc I through III, Diff Eq, Matrix/Linear Algebra, Math Stats, Stochastic Proc, Analysis
Econ Courses: Micro Theory, Applied Econometrics, bunch of field courses
Other Courses: Bunch of undergrad EE courses (lots of Matlab, some C++)
Letters of Recommendation: Three from econ profs at grad school. (They were not alumni of the schools I applied to so where they got their PhDs was of no consequence.)
Research Experience: Very insignficant.
Teaching Experience: None.
Research Interests: Development, broadly speaking.
statement of purpose: I liked it.
Other: Male, international

RESULTS:
Acceptances: USC (fellowship), UMD AREC (RA), UMN APEC (fellowship), UVA (waitlisted for aid), GWU (waitlisted for aid), UW-Seattle (no aid)
No news as of Apr 3rd (not that I care anymore): UNC-CH, Pitt, Purdue
Rejections: Berkeley ARE, Brown, Georgetown, Vanderbilt

What would you have done differently?
Nothing. (Well, perhaps tried the PowerPrep tests.) My personal circumstances were such that I couldn't have done things differently. I do feel that I had overestimated the difficulty of getting in (to the departments I chose) but underestimated the difficulty of getting funding. But hindsight is 20-20. The biggest holes in my profile going in were: unknown grad school, bad undergrad record, lack of research experience, complete absence of a macro course (taking my first one right now). I feared the lack of macro would shut me out from the straight econ depts. All in all I am happy with my acceptance tally.

[snigai]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: International Student, top 10 University in the country, exhange student in the US.
Undergrad GPA: 85%
Type of Grad: MA in Economics, Top 3 University in the Region
Grad GPA: 4,10 out of 4,33
GRE: 770/420/5.0, TOEFL: 115/120
Math Courses: Mathematics for Economists, Mathematical Programming
Econ Courses: relevant Micro I, II; Macro I, II; Econometrics I,II all grad
Other Courses: Statistics, Probability
Letters of Recommendation: all grom grad economics professors
Research Experience: GRA for 1 semester for visiting professor
Teaching Experience: GTA for 2 semesters
Research Interests: Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics
statement of purpose: It was allright I suppose )))
Other:

RESULTS:
Acceptances: UVA, Penn State, UC Riverside, American U (probably)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Harvard, Berkeley ,Cornell, Georgetown

What would you have done differently?Nothing. I did the best I could.