Roll call! Fall 2007 applicants

[ICECOLDECON]

School: Florida State (UG) University of South Florida (Grad)
Major: Economics and Geography (UG) Economics (Grad)
GPA: 3.67 (UG) 4.00 (Grad)
GRE: 760q 520v 5.5AWA
Courses: At Fl State
Int. Micro A
Int. Macro A
Econometrics B+
Game Theory A
Math Econ A-
Economics of State Govt B+
Urban Economics A
Environmental Economics A
Principles Micro Honors B+
Principles of Macro A

Calc I Tested out of
Calc II Honors A
Calc III (F...attendence problem.....retook the class and got an A)
Linear Algebra F......missed second midterm
Probability Theory A-

At USF

Regulation/Antitrust A+ (Fl State did not give A+....at USF its optional if a prof wants to use it)
Math Economics A
Law and Economics A
Bridge to Abstract Mathematics A+

This semesters grades (not included in my applications)

Econometrics I A-
Development A-
Economics of Health A
Differential Eqn A

Spring Classes

Micro I
Aggregate Economics (Uses the Swedish guy's book)
Econometrics II
Essentials of Statistics (Basically Undergrad Math Stat at USF)

Summer Classes

Linear Algebra
History of Economic Thought

Research: None.....I do serve as a ta for principles of micro
LOR: 1 letter is excellent.....the others should be good but not great
Interests: Industrial Organization, Public Economics, Applied Micro
Schools:
Michigan State
Oregon
Connecticut
Florida State
Colorado
My Concerns:
Two undergraduate F's and lack of analysis classes.......I may be willing to spend an extra yr at USF to rectify this if Im not pleased with my offers. (Would take analysis, a grad stat class, Econometrics III, and Micro II in the fall if this is the case)......I may also retake my GRE next yr to raise quant...although Im happy with my AWA score and have heard people say that anything 760 and above is okay......but then again that may be outdated information.

Anyhoo, Im hoping to buy into the theory that if I go to a mediocre program and excel Ill be in good shape.

Goals: Professor at a research institution would be nice....but I wouldnt mind a position at a Liberal Arts college or a Bachelors/Masters university. I enjoy the teaching aspect so that wouldnt bog me down.

[ICECOLDECON]

School: Florida State (UG) University of South Florida (Grad)
Major: Economics and Geography (UG) Economics (Grad)
GPA: 3.67 (UG) 4.00 (Grad)
GRE: 760q 520v 5.5AWA
Courses: At Fl State
Int. Micro A
Int. Macro A
Econometrics B+
Game Theory A
Math Econ A-
Economics of State Govt B+
Urban Economics A
Environmental Economics A
Principles Micro Honors B+
Principles of Macro A

Calc I Tested out of
Calc II Honors A
Calc III (F...attendence problem.....retook the class and got an A)
Linear Algebra F......missed second midterm
Probability Theory A-

At USF

Regulation/Antitrust A+ (Fl State did not give A+....at USF its optional if a prof wants to use it)
Math Economics A
Law and Economics A
Bridge to Abstract Mathematics A+

This semesters grades (not included in my applications)

Econometrics I A-
Development A-
Economics of Health A
Differential Eqn A

Spring Classes

Micro I
Aggregate Economics (Uses the Swedish guy's book)
Econometrics II
Essentials of Statistics (Basically Undergrad Math Stat at USF)

Summer Classes

Linear Algebra
History of Economic Thought

Research: None.....I do serve as a ta for principles of micro
LOR: 1 letter is excellent.....the others should be good but not great
Interests: Industrial Organization, Public Economics, Applied Micro
Schools:
Michigan State
Oregon
Connecticut
Florida State
Colorado
My Concerns:
Two undergraduate F's and lack of analysis classes.......I may be willing to spend an extra yr at USF to rectify this if Im not pleased with my offers. (Would take analysis, a grad stat class, Econometrics III, and Micro II in the fall if this is the case)......I may also retake my GRE next yr to raise quant...although Im happy with my AWA score and have heard people say that anything 760 and above is okay......but then again that may be outdated information.

Anyhoo, Im hoping to buy into the theory that if I go to a mediocre program and excel Ill be in good shape.

Goals: Professor at a research institution would be nice....but I wouldnt mind a position at a Liberal Arts college or a Bachelors/Masters university. I enjoy the teaching aspect so that wouldnt bog me down.

[ICECOLDECON]

Didnt mean to double post...sorry.....not sure how to delete

[Antonio]

Sorry for the delay!!!!
Italian, 22 years old...handsome!

GRE 800/540/2.5 (F..K!!!!)
TOEFL 107/120 (29R, 27W, 24S, 27L)
GMAT 640/800 + 3.5/6 (I know it does not matter)

Undergraduate
University of Napoli "Federico II" (TOP 10 in Italy)
Major: Economics
GPA: 28.12/30. Final mark: 110/110 magna cum laude (with high distinction).
Courses: Micro 28/30, Macro 24/30, Mathematical Methods (calculus and linear algebra more or less) 22/30, Stistics I 27/30, Statistics II 30/30, Econometrics 30/30, History of Economic Thought I and II 30/30, Public Economics 29/30, Mathematics for Economics (diff. equation, static and dynamic optimization) 27/30, Macroeconomic Policy 28/30 and Economic History 30/30.

Graduate
Joint degree: University of Pisa (TOP 30 in Italy) + Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (School of Excellence for getting in which you need to win a public and highly selective competition and you need to have a Graduate GPA of at least 27/30 and no grades lesser than 24/30...but you get a FULL scholarship).
Major: Economics
GPA: 30/30. Final mark (expected) 110/100 magna cum laude (with high distinction).
Courses: Adv. Micro, Adv. Macro, Adv. Econometrics I and II, Advanced Statistics, Financial Economics, Adv. Industrial Economics, Theory of Choice under Uncertainty, Advanced Mathematics for Economics, Experimental Economics, Public Gooods and Public Choice, Economics of Naturale Reources all of them with 30/30; plus Game Theory 28/30 (Damn it!).

SOP good, I think.

VISITING POSITIONS/EXPERIENCE
Summer School at LSE in Industrial Organization and Competition Policy, final grade A+

Visiting student at University of Southampton (UK), enrolled in the following courses (I am waiting for final examination):
- Generalised linear models (MSc in Statistics)
- Applied Econometrics (Bachelor in Economics)
- Principles of Corporate Finance (Master in Economics and Finance)
- Advanced Topics in Macroeconomics (PhD course)

Visiting researcher at Ecole Normale Superieure (Paris), supervisor: Philippe Jehiel.

TA one semester, Undergraduate Micro, with funds!!!

Research my bahelor thesis on tax Evasion (which I sent as a writing sample); one discussion paper on Auctions and Takeovers; my master thesis that I'll write in Paris with Jehiel on Auctions and IO.

LORS
A lot of them: two were fixed while the others changed with respect to the university. The two fixed are from my academic tutor at Sant'Anna School (PhD at Essex) and from my LSE teacher (PhD at Yale). I expect the first one to be very very strong and the second at least very good.
The others are from:
- my undergraduate advisor at Napoli (PhD at Napoli), very strong.
- another professor from Napoli (PhD at Oxford), very strong.
- a math prof. from Napoli who is the dean of the Economics School, I believe strong.
- an Econometric Professor from Pisa who has some papers on Econometrica, I hope good.
- my Corporate Finance Professor at Southampton, I believe very strong.

APPLYING TO MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, NYU, UCSD, Berkeley, Brown, Duke, Chicago, BU, BC, Northwestern, Stanford, UPENN.

Scholarships and Awards
- Two years full scholarship and housing in the Sant'Anna School Campus.
- Teaching Assistantship.
- Scholarship as exchange student (ERASMUS).

Interests
Micro, game theory, Auctions, IO, Contract Theory and Mechanism Design, Applied Metrics.

Concerns
My low writing score in the GRE; I have some concernes about some of my LORS; the School I picked are ver very selective.

GOAL The Nobel Prize...

That's all...I just have to wait like everyone.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL,

Anto.

[filroz]

GRE 800/510/3.5
TOEFL 112/120 (30R, 28W, 24S, 30L)

Undergraduate Charles University in Prague, best school in my country, top in central Europe, I guess
1) econ BA, GPA 2.8
2) math BA, GPA 2.45 (beat that )

Graduate Charles University econ, 3.75

VISITING POSITIONS/EXPERIENCE
-Summer School at LSE in Advanced Macro, (A)
-Visiting student (ERASMUS) at University of Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne (FRA), GPA cca 3.8

Research I hope strong, internship in Czech central bank, one my paper awarded and I was offered to publish it in Czech impacted journal, but I still want to work on it a bit
LORS should be strong, one from thesis advisor, he promised to write it very strongly, but I am am afraid he lost some addresses where to send it , second from senior guy in nation bank, last from another prof. All know me well and for some years... but they are not very know internationally
APPLYING TO reaches: Columbia, Michigan, Cornell, Maryland, UNC, BU, BC, JHU, Rutgers, Georgetown, LSE masters, Ox mphil,
safeties: Charles U, Cerge
Scholarships and Awards
- Scholarship as exchange student (ERASMUS)
- Czech Economic Association Young economist 2007, third prize (paper sent as writing sample)
Interests macro (esp. monetary policy), theory, methodology & history of thought
Concerns obviously low undergrad GPA (lowest here?) I explained it in my SOP (I was doing two separate programs at the time, which was the only was how to study both, blablabla, but the fact is, that after I finished my math degree my econ grad GPA is good).
GOAL Ideally go back and work at czech national bank and teach at my alma mater. but who knows...
The majority of the schools are reaches, but I am offered place in the bank (while doing phd here) which I prefer to lets say top60 programs, so if I am rejected life will go on...
good luck everybody

[lj322]

Type of Undergrad: NYU
Undergrad GPA: 3.4/4.0
Major: Double in Math and Econ
GRE: 780Q, 640V, 4.5 AW
Math Courses: Calc II-III (A-,B), Diff Eq (C), Linear Algebra (A-), Discrete Math (B-), Vector Analysis (C), Abstract Algebra (B-), Number Theory (B), Math Modeling (A), Real Analysis (A), Transformatio & Geometries (A-)
Econ Courses: Macro, Micro (A, B), Int Macro, Int Micro (B+, A), Statistics (B+), Money & Banking (B+), International Econ (B+), Global Economy (B) Labor Econ (A-), Experimental Econ (A)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 math professors (real analysis and math modeling) 2 Econ Instructors (former Phd students) and 1 from work (economist who taught at Columbia and NYU)
Research Experience: Sadly, none. NYU is too big of a school.
Teaching Experience: Grader for Linear Algebra
Research Interests: Using experimental economics to examine international trade patterns.
SOP: Pretty solid, nicely written (maybe a bit gushy) and reviewed by professor. Tried to show that I'm damn motivated and bright.
Other: Female, 23 - Worked in consulting for 1.5 years.

Weaknesses: Obviously, my up and down math grades that are all over the place. Overall, low GPA, but I tried adding in the SOP that I worked long hours and commuted to pay for tuition, plus I had a bad injury. I am proud of what I accomplished given what I had. Also, I have no research experience and I worked in economic/litigations consulting for a 1.5 years before applying.

Applying to: I'm going for do-or-die. I realize I may not get into anything...
Columbia, U Mich, LSE, Johns Hopkins, MIT, NYU (Please take me alma matter!!!), Boston College, Cornell, Boston U, Brown U, Rutgers, UBC.

Good luck to everyone!!!

[crutchboy3]

Undergrad: Top 20 Private US University
Undergrad GPA: 3.77/4.0
Major: Double Major in Honors Mathematics and Economics
GRE: 800Q, 600V, 5.0 AW
Math Courses: Honors Calculus I-IV (A,A,A,A), Honors Linear Algebra I-II (B+,A-), Intro to Probability (A), Honors Algebra III (A), Honors Analysis I (A-), Graduate Topology I (A-), Graduate Optimization (A), Galois Theory (B+), Measure Theory (B), Functional Analysis (B+), Number Theory (A)
Econ Courses: Principles of Micro/Macro (A,A), Intermediate Micro/Macro (A,A), Econometrics (A), Game Theory (A), Graduate Micro I (A), Graduate Probability and Stats (A)
Letters of Recommendation: 3 from economists, 2 well known and one younger less well knonw professor
Research Experience: Summer Mathematics REU at William and Mary, RA for professor for past 2 years, Summer Fellowship for Undergrad Thesis work, Undergraduate Thesis (Theory Paper)
Teaching Experience: TA for intermediate micro
Research Interests: Micro theory and game theory, specifically mechanism design

Weaknesses: A bit low on some math grades, but these are all in graduate level courses, and the B's came while studying abroad in a rigorous math program in Hungary.

Applying to: Upenn, Caltech, Wisconsin, Yale, Columbia, Duke, Chicago, Northwestern, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, NYU, Stanford, Illinois

[sunny58]

School: top 50 (public university)
Major: Economics
GPA: 3.59 cum, 4.0 major
GRE: 770q 590v, 5 AWA

Courses: standard econ courses (all A's), as for math: calc I (A), calc II (A), calc III (A), linear algebra (A), probabiltiy theory (A), mathematical statistics (A)...that's it!
Teaching: taught english abroad a little bit, while this wasnt my primary job I filled in spots at universities where they needed the help.
Research/RA: currently work at a thinktank and have co-authored 3 papers so far during my time here in applied econ/health/labor econ. have made presentations at conferences too, but that doesn't seem to help much...
LOR: I'd say two are very strong but am a little unsure about the third one. a little bit nervous about that!
Interests: applied micro, development, labor
Schools: BU, wisconsin (econ and ag econ), university of washington, ucla, berkeley, michigan and penn state.

My Concerns: I'm not too confident I'll get into anywhere because after I have read some of the messages on this board, I feel like my math background is pretty inadequate. I also feel like my GRE's arent necessarily stellar compared to some people on here... Biggest fear is that I'll get into somewhere without funding--what a tease.

[iskonomist]

I'm probably this year's class goat (primarily because of my GRE quanti score), but what the heck, I'm posting anyway. If I get an admit, I'd be (extremely) happy to report back to the group.

GRE 730/590/5.0
digression-->I took the GRE late in November; there was no chance for me to study and retake to improve my score, so I'm hoping against hope with a 730quanti score. Also, I'm a Fulbright nominee (and thus, with guaranteed funding) so I'm really hoping adcoms won't throw my application straight to the bin in the first round (or in all the elimination rounds for that matter.)

TOEFL 116/120 (30R, 30W, 28S, 28L)

Undergraduate
University of the Philippines (Top in my country)
Major: Economics
GPA: hard to convert; cum laude (with honors)
Courses: All US standard economics courses

Graduate
University of the Philippines
Major: Economics (with MA degree; currently PhD candidate)
GPA: hard to convert; near 4.0 if converted
Courses: (All A's) Advanced Micro I, II, III, Adv. Macro I, II, III, Adv. Stat, Econometrics I, Adv. Math Eco, Public Eco I, II, International Eco I, II, Monetary Eco, Industrial Organization,

Math Calc I, II, III, Linear Algebra, one semester stat,

SOP pretty good and honest

TA - teaching fellowship,one semester, graduate microeconomics and graduate applied microeconomics

Research two years fulltime in top government thinktank; one summer in congress as an undergrad

Publication one in a refereed journal in my country (top national journal)

LORS
2 excellent, 1 great (from professors who are graduates of Yale, Northwestern and Standford)

Scholarships and Awards
- Best undergrad thesis (university and national level)
- Two years full scholarship (for PhD studies)
- One semester teaching fellowship

Interests
Economics of institutions

Other guy 24 years old.

Concerns
Obviously, my low GRE quanti and weak math background

APPLYING TO Berkeley (as a lottery ticket), Maryland, UMich, UWash, George Mason ++

GOAL any decent (top 100) US university please!!

[sam1982]

GRE: 800Q 720V 4.5AW(doh) (2nd Attempt)

Undergrad: Good but not brilliant research university
High 1st Class Degree
All Maths and Econ Courses 1st in 12/14 including all maths
2nd in class

Math: Max possible with an econ degree

SOP: I suspect pretty lame

Experience: Two years as government economist

Interests: Growth, Development, Trade

Applied: Brown, Columbia, Harvard, Oxford, NYU

Concerns: No masters, middle ranking university, applied only to a few scools all of which are pretty competetive,