Roll call! Fall 2007 applicants

[mickey122223]

I can't take the waiting - still no definite replies, so I'll waste some time by stopping lurking and posting a profile.

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: LSE Econ
Undergrad GPA: 1st Class
Masters: N/A
GRE: 800Q, 570V, 4.5 AW
Math Courses: Algebra/Calculus (Pass), Abstract Math (1st), Math Econ (1st)
Econ Courses: Intro Econ (2.1), Mathematical Micro (1st), Intermediate Macro (1st), (v tough) Econometrics (3rd), International Econ (1st), Game Theory (2.1), Monetary Econ (1st), Advanced Econ Analysis (1st)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from professors, 1 from research student, one probably pretty strong, one talking about math which should be pretty good, 3rd one unlikely to tell them very much
Research Experience: none, no thesis
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: International Macro
SOP: Decent for some schools, not so good for others

Applying to: MIT (?), Columbia (Reject but nothing official yet), Berkeley (?), UBC (?), LSE (?), Oxford (?), Cambridge (?), Warwick (?)

[DevelopmentEcon]

I'm posting this for all the other people out there intimidated by all the people getting big bucks from top 10 universities... there are average PhD applicants out there too!

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 35 private US university; strong in Econ Theory
Undergrad GPA: 3.68 overall; 3.4 in Econ (had a bad senior year, give me a break!)
Masters: N/A
GRE: 770Q, 570V, 4.5 AW
Math Courses: Calculus I, II, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Basic Stats class (All A's)
Econ Courses: Undergrad: , Intermediate Macro (C+), Econometrics (B), Intermediate Micro (A-) Public Finance (B), One mandatory Econ intro and one Econ History class
Graduate:N/A
Letters of Recommendation: 1 From the macro/micro prof explaining my Micro grade was more descriptive of my ability; 1 from a Political Science prof who knew me well and I did independent research with; 1 from my Diff Eq prof
Research Experience: N/A
Teaching Experience: N/A
Research Interests: Mostly applied micro; Development Economics; specifically in Francophone Africa so I can use my French language ability to collect original data
SOP: Stated how I'd spent 1 year working for corporate america, 1 year volunteering with Americorps which spiked my interest in Development, and 1 year teaching english in France to improve my language skills
Other: Male

Goals: Probably academia, though I wouldn't mind being involved in think tank or agency work at some point.

Concerns. I've been accepted to my top 3 choices; but now I have to choose between lots of money/no TA responsibilities versus better prestige and possibility of no funding... decisions are tough to make!

Applying to: UIUC and Michigan State (these two are straight Econ PhD's and I haven't heard anything), Cornell AEM M.S. (accepted, no $), Penn State Ag Econ M.S (accepted, 14k), Ohio State AED PhD (accepted, 15k w/no TA responsibility first year), UW-Madison AAE PhD (accepted, no funding info yet)

[fresh_s]

Hello! Just delurking!

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Tier 1 US Liberal Arts College
Undergrad GPA: 3.79 overall (Magnu Cum Laude with high honors in Economics); 4.0 Econ (Math, Economics double-major)
Masters: N/A
Distinctions: Phi Beta Kappa, Departmental Award in Economics, Undergraduate full scholarship and fellowships
GRE: 790Q, 560V, 5.0 AW
Letters of Recommendation: 3 Economics professors (Thesis advisor, econometrics, development)
Research Experience: Undergraduate thesis (unpublished)
Teaching Experience: N/A
Research Interests: Applied micro -- labor, demography, development
SOP: I was told that it's most important to sound sane... I think I can pass in writing!
Other: Female, US Citizen

Goals: Academia or think tank (Currently work for an economic consulting group.)

Concerns: Not worth dwelling on.

Schools: BC ($$), U Colorado at Boulder ($$), UVA (??), UCSD, UC Berkeley, Stanford, UMD, MIT, UPenn (rejected), Duke (rejected), Brown (rejected)

[fp3690]

Originally Posted by israelecon

pessimist, your profile is strong. I think there are only 2 weaknesses, your B in a grad course and the fact that the LORs are all from junior faculty, i think you need at least one from senior faculty especially since you are in a well known university the adcom might be wondering why you didn't get those.
other than that i think you do have a chance to get into a top school, i just don't think you applied to enough schools. if you would have applied to all the top ten (or fifteen) schools I would think you would have gotten in somewhere. that being said, you still might get in somewhere this year.

Why would a B in a grad course be bad? I thought no one cared about grades in PhD courses.

[semischolastic]

Originally Posted by fp3690

Why would a B in a grad course be bad? I thought no one cared about grades in PhD courses.

Why would you think that? It's true that grades are not that important in PhD classes if you are a PhD student. But if you aren't, grades in PhD classes are an important signal of your preparation for a PhD program.

[fp3690]

Originally Posted by semischolastic

Why would you think that? It's true that grades are not that important in PhD classes if you are a PhD student. But if you aren't, grades in PhD classes are an important signal of your preparation for a PhD program.

Good point.

[romodoro]

I guess I should also post something resembling a profile...
Type of Undergrad: small liberal arts college in the US
Undergrad GPA: Phi Beta Kappa, tho I forgot the handshake. 3.90 overall, 4.00 Econ
Masters: what's a Masters?
GRE: 790Q, 600V, 5.5AW
Math Courses: NONE -- yeah, I really am one of the rare few
Econ Courses: Advanced Macro, Micro + Econometrics, International Econ, Socialist Econ and a bunch of other Econs I don't recall right now
Letters of Recommendation: 3 solid ones from economists
Research Experience: undergraduate thesis, published by a top European journal
Teaching Experience: only tutoring
Research Interests: MNCs' location decisions (see below under other)
SOP: umm, some 700 word document nicely tailored for each department
Other: out of school for half a decade now, making investment decisions for one of the world's most loved MNC
Goals: ideally, teach scuba diving in Thailand Realistically, work in some research institute.
Concerns:
Applying to: US (Columbia, NYU -- I love NYC) and UK (Oxford, LSE). I'm curious what you guys think my results were. PM me if you don't want to make this thread longer than it is.