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notacolour · 11-19-2007, 12:21 AM

A discussion in another thread about the number of people lurking and reading about all of these top applicants while planning to apply to lesser programs suggested that some people might like hearing about my experiences.

Hi. I'm notacolour, and I attend a small, non-prestigious program. In particular, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

A bit of background might be useful. I got my undergrad degree from a "top-10" school, but I majored in science. I thought I wanted to be a geneticist, until I spent years with geneticists, whereupon I realized my true love was for the social sciences, and economics was very appealing. So, after a year teaching, I looked for a way to get into econ with such a limited econ background--I had taken only basic and intermediate micro, basic macro, and one econ elective.

I decided to go for an MA at UNCG, for two reasons: 1) the program emphasizes applied work, which appealed to me--I had never worked with large datasets, or used Stata or SAS, or any of that, and I knew such skills would be useful. 2) they fund their MA students! Which is very unique, as those who have looked around would agree.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting anywhere near the challenge that the program was. Sure, I hadn't taken any stats or econometrics or advanced theory or anything like that, but I had a bit of the prickishness of many people around here--this was a lesser program! I'm better than this! etc.

But I survived, and excelled in the program, and ended up deciding that the PhD here was a better option than applying to a PhD elsewhere, which had been my plan. First off, I didn't have to repeat the PhD core, which I took in the second year, after the main MA coursework. Plus, I had developed good relationships with the faculty here, and I knew what they were like. The uncertainty of faculty at other programs wasn't incredibly appealing.

About that core: there's no PhD-level macro. Instead, there's a ton of micro theory, and a ton of econometrics. We take core exams in micro and econometrics. Then, we take field courses in our choice from health, labor, and public. Effectively, we all come out with a heavy micro core, and fields in econometrics and applied micro. [I have noticed that Duke now has an "applied micro" field--you take courses in labor, health, public, etc., then write an "applied micro" paper. A lot like us, really--though obviously they have other choices, too.]

And that brings me to the strengths of this program. We're very strong in health and labor, certain kinds of public, a bit of innovation...and it drops off after that. We have one very big health guy, and our other main senior faculty member does a lot of labor, some demography, some time use. We have one faculty member who has moved from doing heavily labor-based stuff to consulting for an NBA team. He's at the CEA this year. We also have several strong junior faculty, and we're hiring more, particularly in health. Oh, and there's another senior guy who's extremely knowledgeable about any possible application of econometrics or statistical theory. And several other faculty members do very good work in innovation/technology policy and economic history.

While the MA program has been around for years--and places graduates quite well--the PhD program is very young. Nobody's actually gotten a PhD yet, though the inaugural class is on track to complete theirs in the next year or two.

Classes are very small. My class basically has four members, so we take all of the courses together. You can't get away with not reading or doing the work. At the same time, professors are able to give you all sorts of attention whenever you need it, since there aren't 15 of you standing outside their doors. Just this week, for example, the two main senior advisors took the four of us out for a lunch to discuss advising, forming a committee, writing the dissertation, and so on. This was much easier with six people than it would have been with a larger group, obviously.

Another consequence of the small cohort is that you're stuck with only a few classmates. If you happen not to like one, well, you can't exactly avoid him or her too easily. There aren't too many other options for people to study with and so on.

My goal is to teach at either a smaller commuter campus type of college/university, or a LAC. I think this is a reasonable goal, assuming that I am published in the near term--which I also think is a reasonable goal. I'm currently working on a set of papers with one prof that we have presented at a fairly major conference, and another paper from one of my second-year classes looks like it will be publishable, as well. I certainly wouldn't be publishing at this point had I switched programs, since I'd still be buried in the core, unsure of whether I'd pass comps...and even in the second year, well, I'd imagine that collaborating with profs at this stage is easier in a program like this than elsewhere.

This is absurdly long, so I think I'll stop writing. Feel free to ask questions--I'd be more than glad to answer them.

jfowler2 · 11-19-2007, 01:08 AM

hey i have actually applied to UNCG's program although i don't know my chances of getting in. 9i went there for my first undergrad degree and ****ed around finally getting my bachelor's in psychology with a shit gpa). can you tell me some more about that it's like? how well do they fund?

notacolour · 11-19-2007, 04:11 AM

What more do you want to know? Do you mean you'd like to know more about the MA?

vanRijn · 11-19-2007, 09:57 PM

great post!

thanks and good luck with your research.

econphd23 · 11-20-2007, 07:03 AM

Good luck, notacolour!!

it is really a sweet thread.

Olm · 11-20-2007, 08:10 AM

I approve of this thread.

ekonomiks · 11-20-2007, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Olm

I approve of this thread.

I approve of this post.

econphilomath · 11-20-2007, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ekonomiks

I approve of this post.

I approve this post that approves this thread

jjmann · 11-20-2007, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Olm

I approve of this thread.

I also approve of this post

ekonomiks · 11-21-2007, 12:47 AM

I approve of the post that approved of my post that had approved of Olm's post approving of this thread.

11-19-2007, 12:21 AM	#1 (permalink)
notacolour TestMagic Guru-in-Training Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: North Carolina Posts: 630	Hi. I'm notacolour, and I attend a small, non-prestigious program. A discussion in another thread about the number of people lurking and reading about all of these top applicants while planning to apply to lesser programs suggested that some people might like hearing about my experiences. Hi. I'm notacolour, and I attend a small, non-prestigious program. In particular, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. A bit of background might be useful. I got my undergrad degree from a "top-10" school, but I majored in science. I thought I wanted to be a geneticist, until I spent years with geneticists, whereupon I realized my true love was for the social sciences, and economics was very appealing. So, after a year teaching, I looked for a way to get into econ with such a limited econ background--I had taken only basic and intermediate micro, basic macro, and one econ elective. I decided to go for an MA at UNCG, for two reasons: 1) the program emphasizes applied work, which appealed to me--I had never worked with large datasets, or used Stata or SAS, or any of that, and I knew such skills would be useful. 2) they fund their MA students! Which is very unique, as those who have looked around would agree. Honestly, I wasn't expecting anywhere near the challenge that the program was. Sure, I hadn't taken any stats or econometrics or advanced theory or anything like that, but I had a bit of the prickishness of many people around here--this was a lesser program! I'm better than this! etc. But I survived, and excelled in the program, and ended up deciding that the PhD here was a better option than applying to a PhD elsewhere, which had been my plan. First off, I didn't have to repeat the PhD core, which I took in the second year, after the main MA coursework. Plus, I had developed good relationships with the faculty here, and I knew what they were like. The uncertainty of faculty at other programs wasn't incredibly appealing. About that core: there's no PhD-level macro. Instead, there's a ton of micro theory, and a ton of econometrics. We take core exams in micro and econometrics. Then, we take field courses in our choice from health, labor, and public. Effectively, we all come out with a heavy micro core, and fields in econometrics and applied micro. [I have noticed that Duke now has an "applied micro" field--you take courses in labor, health, public, etc., then write an "applied micro" paper. A lot like us, really--though obviously they have other choices, too.] And that brings me to the strengths of this program. We're very strong in health and labor, certain kinds of public, a bit of innovation...and it drops off after that. We have one very big health guy, and our other main senior faculty member does a lot of labor, some demography, some time use. We have one faculty member who has moved from doing heavily labor-based stuff to consulting for an NBA team. He's at the CEA this year. We also have several strong junior faculty, and we're hiring more, particularly in health. Oh, and there's another senior guy who's extremely knowledgeable about any possible application of econometrics or statistical theory. And several other faculty members do very good work in innovation/technology policy and economic history. While the MA program has been around for years--and places graduates quite well--the PhD program is very young. Nobody's actually gotten a PhD yet, though the inaugural class is on track to complete theirs in the next year or two. Classes are very small. My class basically has four members, so we take all of the courses together. You can't get away with not reading or doing the work. At the same time, professors are able to give you all sorts of attention whenever you need it, since there aren't 15 of you standing outside their doors. Just this week, for example, the two main senior advisors took the four of us out for a lunch to discuss advising, forming a committee, writing the dissertation, and so on. This was much easier with six people than it would have been with a larger group, obviously. Another consequence of the small cohort is that you're stuck with only a few classmates. If you happen not to like one, well, you can't exactly avoid him or her too easily. There aren't too many other options for people to study with and so on. My goal is to teach at either a smaller commuter campus type of college/university, or a LAC. I think this is a reasonable goal, assuming that I am published in the near term--which I also think is a reasonable goal. I'm currently working on a set of papers with one prof that we have presented at a fairly major conference, and another paper from one of my second-year classes looks like it will be publishable, as well. I certainly wouldn't be publishing at this point had I switched programs, since I'd still be buried in the core, unsure of whether I'd pass comps...and even in the second year, well, I'd imagine that collaborating with profs at this stage is easier in a program like this than elsewhere. This is absurdly long, so I think I'll stop writing. Feel free to ask questions--I'd be more than glad to answer them.

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11-19-2007, 01:08 AM	#2 (permalink)
jfowler2 Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 28	hey i have actually applied to UNCG's program although i don't know my chances of getting in. 9i went there for my first undergrad degree and ****ed around finally getting my bachelor's in psychology with a shit gpa). can you tell me some more about that it's like? how well do they fund?

11-19-2007, 04:11 AM	#3 (permalink)
notacolour TestMagic Guru-in-Training Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: North Carolina Posts: 630	What more do you want to know? Do you mean you'd like to know more about the MA?

11-19-2007, 09:57 PM	#4 (permalink)
vanRijn Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 13	great post! thanks and good luck with your research.

11-20-2007, 07:03 AM	#5 (permalink)
econphd23 Eager! Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 55	Good luck, notacolour!! it is really a sweet thread.

11-20-2007, 08:10 AM	#6 (permalink)
Olm Requiem for a Dream Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 841	I approve of this thread.

11-21-2007, 12:47 AM	#10 (permalink)
ekonomiks TestMagic Guru-in-Training Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 598	I approve of the post that approved of my post that had approved of Olm's post approving of this thread.

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