Selecting grad schools help

[confuzed]

Hello!

Thanks for going through the trouble of reading this.

I will be applying for a Ph.D. in economics this fall. I need some help selecting grad schools to apply to. Suggestions from all around the world are welcome.

Type of Undergrad: B.S. Economics. Public University(USA)- ranked in the 210-220 range by econphd.net
Undergrad GPA: 3.96 right now.
Type of Grad: Micro Theory & Statistics for Economists (will be taking inFall 2007)
GRE: 800 Q / 570 V (Haven't gotten the AWA result yet)
Math Courses: (Math GPA 4.0 till now, Calculus I, II, Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential equations, Discrete Math I and II, Taking Math Analysis in Fall 2007.
Econ Courses: GPA 4.0, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Game Theory, Math Econ, Econometrics, International Trade
Other Courses: Political Economy of Terrorism, Classical Mechanics (Physics Class uses quite a bit of math), Java programming
Letters of Recommendation: Two Good ones I beleive, one should be from a well known prof. Working on the third one.
Research Experience: None, biggest drawback I think. I went into economics during the later part of my undergrad so getting research opportunities has been hard, it is also a fairly small dept in my school.
Research Interests: Development, Environmental, Macro & Monetary theory
SOP: An average one I believe. Have not written it yet.

1. What should I look for when choosing schools?
2. Please suggest some schools that match my profile. Links to rankings, other than econphd.net would be appreciated.
3. The schools I am looking at include umn, ut-austin, usc, ucsd, osu, univ of iowa, indiana, nyu.

Thanks a lot

[TruDog]

You've got a chance of getting into those schools, with the exception of NYU. With that being said, you might want to look into some safety (30-50ish) schools because you don't have research experience.

And the political economy of terrorism class sounds really neat...

[buckykatt]

If you can kick some butt in those analysis and grad econ/stats courses this fall, IMHO you are in very good shape. If you can get a letter of recommendation from one of the professors in these courses that says you're doing great and will earn an A, and make sure to follow up your application with an updated transcript ASAP after fall grades are posted, that should make a solid profile stronger. Since lack of research experience will be your biggest minus, the more you can intelligently discuss your research interests in your SOP and with your letter writers, the better.

Given your interests, you might want to take a look at University of Maryland.