Roll call! Fall 2007 applicants

[polkaparty]

This year will probably be even more competitive than last so we need to be prepared to comfort each other when the darkness rolls in….

Seriously, in the spirit of this thread (Roll Call! Econ Applicants for the '06-'07 season), post something about yourself if you are applying this fall. We’ll sweat together, relax together, cry together, rejoice together…you get the point.

For myself:

I’m quiet and restrained, fearful that my undergraduate institution reputation will hurt quite a bit (there is definitely a good instrumental variable study lurking out there that compares in-state vs. out-of-state choice sets and outcomes), and just hoping to have a good fall semester.

I took the GRE a few days ago, and was lucky enough, sigh, to see two quantitative sections, one at the very end of the test. That section went terrible as I was extremely fatigued which somewhat snowballed into a breakdown…fortunately that must have been the experimental section and I received a decent score, 780.

I’m interested in, quite vaguely, micro theory and applied research like education and health care, however I have focused mostly on math preparation so my interests may change significantly. I feel as though I should like something related to macro but I haven’t had enough experience there to really know, my school doesn’t really teach or research macro topics.

6 months and counting....

[econphilomath]

Great to finally be a part of this traditional thread!
Here goes:

I would consider myself an international student from a small developing country.

School: Top public university of my country
Major: Economics and Masters in Economics.
GPA: Graduated 1st in my class, both programs.
GRE: 800q 730v 4.5AWA
Tofel: 118/120
Courses: Tons of econ, some math, no formal real analysis.
TA: Lotsof undergrad macro courses and some graduate macro courses.

Teaching: I teach undergrad macro.

Research: A few applied papers.

RA: Current job is as an RA at Central Bank and lecturer at my university.

LOR: Two senior, one junior. I know them all really well (for over two years) and with all I have co-authored different research.

Interests: Macroeconomics, Labor and Development in general. Applied computational economics and income distribution in particular.

SOP: Tried to be serious, signal I know what I'm getting into. No BS, no talking about whats in my CV, no naming professors and not very long.

Schools: Shooting for the top 15 schools in macro.



My Concerns: The enormous randomness involved in the whole process in general.

[Luckykid]

School: UW-Milwaukee
Major: Economics/Math Minor
GPA: 3.35 (3.6 Econ) (3.6 Math)(3.6, 3.75, 3.8 The last 3 semesters)
GRE: 770q 460v 4AWA
Tofel: I am an American but my verbal suggests otherwise...
Courses: 301 Int. Micro B
302 Int. Macro A
325 Money B
353 Devlop A
413 Stats B
351 Intro Int A
447 Labor A
513 Econometrics B
454 Trade A
Now Taking: Game Theory, Math Econ I, Spring: Math Econ II
Math: Non-math major Calc A, Calc I B Now taking: Calc II Pending, Proof intro pending Spring: Calc III, Algebra , Linear Programing , Advanced Calc, Axiomatic Geo
Research: Working on undergrad research this semester...nothing special.
LOR: 1 should be stellar Associate prof., 2 others pretty good-good one assoc. one tenured.
Interests: International/Experimental
Schools:
Iowa
Vanderbilt
Mich State
NC State
Middle TN State
U of KY
U of CO Boulder
AZ State
U of Santa Cruz
U of AZ
Oregon
U of Tenn
Iowa State
Purdue
UW-Milwaukee

My Concerns:
Not Enough Math(will go another year of UG if things don't work)
Starting a marriage, new life, and new school at the same time
The level of difficulty

Goals: Tenure track at a Ph.D. Granting research institution. To live comfortably(upper middle), like my job, and be able to spend ample time with my family.

[needeconhelp]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: large US public university(SUNY-SB), Econ and applied math Major

Undergrad GPA: overall GPA: 3.79; eco: 3.89 ; math:3.88.

GRE: 800Q, 510V,AWA 4.0 DOES AWA score matter?

Math Courses: Calc 1-3 (A), differential equations(A),Logic, Language and Proof (B), Introduction to Real Analysis (A), Mathematical Statistics(A), Data Analysis(A), Finite Mathematical Structures (B+),Applied Linear Algebra (A), Linear Algebra(fall), Real Analysis(fall),

Econ Courses: A's: Intro, Micro, Macro, Strategic thinking, Regional, Mathematical Statistics, Applied Microeconomics, Financial; Econometrics (A-), Money and Banking (B+)

Grad classes: Graduate Data Analysis (A), Introduction to Probability(B-), Microeconomics(fall)

Other Courses: Intro to comp. sci.(A)

Letters of Recommendation:
3 strong letters(Yale, Stanford, Hebrew University)
Research Experience: Independent research(fall) with Economics honors thesis
Teaching Experience: Grading assistant for intro to economics.
Research Interests: economics of education, family ( i guess labor, developement), applied microeconomics
SOP: hopefully, interesting.
Other: I have been part of a scientific research on arsenic in drinking water in bangladesh. Thus, I have been co-authored in a few science publications. I can get some very strong recommendations from some of these professors who are really well-known in their fields. would this strengthen my application?

more: I am thinking about applying to 5-6 top-10 schools. 4-5 top10-20, and 2-3 below top- 20. Is it too many schools?

[needeconhelp]

I guess I should add goals and concerns like my commorades.

My goals: Either teaching or private sector with a relaxed position ( i don't know is it is possible). marriage within a few yrs. become a amateur soccer coach.

Concerns: grad micro and linear Algebra. marriage. screwing up application(lol. excuse my language).

[Thesus]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Comprehensive Canadian university that doesn't appear at econphd.net. (Memorial).
Undergrad GPA: 3.97 (4.0 math, 4.0 econ)
GRE: 800Q, 770V, 5.5A

N.B. My university doesn't actually award A+ for 90+, but I'll denote it as such anyway.
Math Courses: Calc II/III/IV (A,A+,IP), Analysis I/II(A+,A), Intro Stats/Probability(A+), Math Stats I(IP), Linear Algebra I(A+), Integration & Metric Spaces(IP), Discrete Math(A), ODE I(A+)
Econ Courses: Micro I/II/III(A+,A+,A+), Macro I/II/III(A+,A+,A), Intro Econ Stats(A+), Econometrics I/II(A+,A), Mathematical Economics I/II(A+,A+), I/O(A), Natural Resources(A), Cost-Benefit(A), Money & Banking(A+), Monetary(A), Adv. Environmental(IP), Health Econ(IP)

Letters of Recommendation: Fairly enthusiastic, I should imagine. I know my profs well - it's not unknown to spend a friday night in the economics seminar room hanging out with the resident macro/monetary prof. Ph.D's from Toronto, Notre Dame, and a third to be decided. Maybe a math prof from Western, or econ from Johns Hopkins. None of them with any notable publication record.
Research Experience: Nothing formal with a prof, but a couple of in-class papers I think are decent.
Teaching Experience: Department tutor for my third semester.
Research Interests: Economic growth, macro, econometrics.
SOP: Fairly strong, I hope. Tries to allay some concerns about the quality of the undergrad education. Points out my apparent dedication to the discipline, evidenced through my econ electives, and how I enjoy/am not afraid of the math.

Concerns: Recommenders aren't well known, from top institutions, and haven't done much research. Unknown undergrad.
Goals: Academia!
Applying to: UBC, Toronto, Queen's, Minnesota, Princeton, Yale, perhaps others? Tentative.
Other: Aged 20. Canadian citizen. Caucasian male.

[Andronicus]

GPA: 4.0 on all coursework

ECON: BS and MS from a regional state university.

MATH: Calculus I-IV (multivariate is split into two units here), Linear Algebra, Diff Eq, Topology. Taking Advanced Calculus and Prob/Stats this fall. In the spring I plan to take Advanced Calculus II and Prob/Stats II.

OTHER CLASSES: Logic

LOR: 3 strong letters from econ profs at my school.

RESEARCH: Master's research project, currently an RA working on three different papers with Econ profs, used to RA for a transportation prof.

TEACHING/TA/TUTORING: My primary job as a grad assistant during my MS program was tutoring undergrads. I also was a TA for lots of undergrad and grad (MBA & PhD Public Policy) courses. This fall I'm teaching micro principles at the local community college.

FIELDS: Urban/Regional, Public Econ, Law & Econ, I/O, Experimental

1ST GRE: 750 Q / 610 V / 4.0 AW; This was over two years ago for MS admission. At the time I was not planning on PhD work, so I was happy with my scores.

2ND GRE: 760 Q / 720 V / 4.0 AW; I was getting 800 Q on powerprep, so I am not happy with my score.

Schools I plan to apply to: Northwestern, Michigan, UIUC, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Indiana, Pittsburgh, Houston, Georgia State

Goal: Tenure-track academic position at a research university.

Concerns: Coming from a lesser-known undergraduate institution could hurt me. My GRE quant score is disappointing. I think I might send in my scores as they are, then re-take the GRE and re-send my scores if I can improve my quant score. Another concern is making sure my wife can find a job where we move.

[Fermat]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 25 per USNews (UVirginia), Math and Econ double
Undergrad GPA: 3.3, 3.4 in Econ, 3.0 in Math
Type of Grad: Master's in (applied) Mathematics, Clemson Univesity (Not sure of the ranking, top 100?)
Grad GPA: 4.0 through first year and summer courses
GRE: 800Q, 450V, 3.5 AW (Not great)
Math Courses: All the standard as an undergrad math major. I had a lot of B's in those classes, nothing worse than a B-. As a graduate student: Discrete Math (A), Matrix Algebra (A), Statistical Inference (A, Casella and Berger), Functional Analysis (A), Statistical Models (Regression, etc., A), Operations Research (Linear Programming, A), Probability (A), Stochastic Processes(A)
Econ Courses: The highlights are Intermediate Micro (A-), Intermediate Macro (B+), Game Theory (A-), Stat and Prob for Econ (A), Econometrics (B), Economics of Taxation (B+), Econ and Gender (A-), Money and Banking (B)
Other Courses: Well, I will be taking a lot more OR courses and some more analysis as well as computational math, but those won't help me much now.
Letters of Recommendation: Not from economists. Statistician, Operation Researchist, and Anaylsis Professor
Research Experience: None as of yet, will be starting this fall. Will maybe have more to say in a few months, but nothing of much significance.
Teaching Experience: Worked as TA last year and teaching two sections of a business calculus class this year.
Research Interests: Micro Theory and IO, perhaps econometrics
SOP: Well, since my graduate record is more appealing than my undergrad, I will focus on that and the courses I plan to take in the spring as well as my interests.
Other: American Male.

Applying to: Not final yet but: Virginia, UNC, Georgetown, OSU, UCI, USC, and looking for a few more schools. Please let me know if you have a few to add.

Goal: Unsure, industry or academia obviously.

Concerns. Hoping GRE V and AW won't hurt too much and undergraduate GPA was mediocre. However, hopefully they will realize the grading is tough at UVA(although that's not an excuse). Also, letters won't be from economists.

Good luck everybody.

[ward]

SCHOOL: Oklahoma State University
MAJOR: undergraduate ECON (honors) and MATH
GPA: 3.93 overall, 4.0 Econ, 3.8ish Math
GRE: V 530, Q 790, AWA 5.0

Econ Courses: Intermediate Macro and Micro, Grad Leve Micro, and Math Econ
Math Courses: Calc I-III, DifEq, Linear, Vector Calc, Intro to Modern Algebra, Modern Analysis, Mathematical Modeling, Mathematical Statistics I and II, and Advanced Calc I

Research: Honors Thesis

LOR: thesis advisor (econ), tenured professor (econ), and analysis professor (none of which are well known as far as I know)

Interests: Micro Theory, Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Applied Micro

Applying To: Harvard, Chicago, MIT, Northwestern, NYU, Wisc-Madison, UC-San Diego, Cornell, Virginia, UNC-Chapel Hill, Penn State, UIUC, and Arizona.

I'm hoping to get accepted to either Wisconsin or San Diego but might as well hope that the apparent randomness of admits works in my favor at the top programs

Concerns: My low GRE verbal score and undergraduate institution. Our Econ department does not have a good placement record, but our Math department consistently sends students to top 10 programs for mathematics.

Goals: Possibly work for the World Bank or IMF for a few years but ultimately want to end up in academia.

Other: I think it is funny that the lowest verbal scores (mine included) come from american students.

[polkaparty]

Originally Posted by ward

I think it is funny that the lowest verbal scores (mine included) come from american students.

A coworker of mine from India told me that a lot of her friends study ridiculously hard for the GRE because they want to come to the U.S. If they don't get accepted (with funding as well, I imagine), then they can't emigrate. U.S. citizens obviously don't have this incentive and hence we don't work too hard at learning all the vocabulary words precisely.

Personally, I spent 0 minutes studying for the verbal and about 30 minutes total for the writing (just reading some sample essays). I consider myself a good writer, but my strong point is style, of which diction is only one component. Usually I know a synonym of the word I am looking for and I use a thesaurus and dictionary to guide me to the best choice.

In general you just have to read a lot of different kinds of writing to gain a large, working vocabulary. I don't especially enjoy reading literature, relative to other leisure activities, so my vocabulary isn't very refined.