Profiles and Results 2008

[Canuckonomist]

I've been wanting to see people's results and their profiles matched up together for quite some time, and it's time-consuming to go back and forth between the decision thread and roll call. So I think it's a good time to start this modification of a classic thread.

 

Modified from the good work of ekonomiks:

 

There is this thread out there that contains profiles, and another for results, but combining the two takes some time. So let's just put them all together in this one thread. Please fill out the following form and be as detailed as possible. Also, this thread should be kept free of discussion.

 

*My modification is that everyone should fill this out now, given their current results, and edit as new information comes in. This should put an upper bound on the number of posts to the thread, and that way it can be used as reference material. I would save the "What would you have done differently?" for when you have all results. I hope someone will sticky this when they get the chance!

 

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad:

Undergrad GPA:

Type of Grad:

Grad GPA:

GRE:

Math Courses:

Econ Courses:

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation:

Research Experience:

Teaching Experience:

Research Interests:

SOP:

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances:

Waitlists:

Rejections:

Pending:

 

What would you have done differently?

[Canuckonomist]

Type of Undergrad: Queen's University, Canada (Top 40, depending on where you check.)

 

Undergrad GPA: After conversion, 3.75/4.0: Econ 4.0/4.0, math 3.7/4.0

 

GRE: 790Q, 530V, 5.5 AW

 

Math Courses: Calc I-III, probability, statistics, abstract algebra, differential equations, analysis I, stochastic models in operations research

 

Econ Courses: Standard package in the 300/400 levels, Grad math econ, Grad Financial Theory, Grad Cost benefit analysis.

 

Letters of Recommendation: 1 JHU, 1 BU, and one fairly extensively published and quite influential finance prof. Funny, his alma mater is not one anyone would think would be big, but he's made a name for himself, at least so he says (ANU)

 

Research Experience: RA for one term for Prof with JHU PhD. Worked on a paper to be published in a year.

 

Teaching Experience: private tutoring for 7 years.

Research Interests: Financial Economics, Micro Theory

SOP: Standard.

Other: Male, 21 years.

 

RESULTS:

Attending: Queen's University, M.A Econ

Acceptances: Queen's MA ($$), UBC MA (no $), LSE F&E MSc (No $),

Rejections: Northwestern, UPenn, UCSD, Cornell

 

What I would have done differently: I would have started taking math earlier, but from someone who didn't like math in high school, things changed around fast enough for me. With my fall marks in graduate courses, the RAship this summer, and stronger letters from the same people, I expect things will look up next year. I did, after all, get past the first few rounds of rejections @ NWU, and almost all of them at Cornell.

[pevdoki1]

Type of undergrad: Mid-sized state university (SUNY Binghamton)

GPA: 3.99 (math/econ double major)

Type of Grad: none

GRE: Q800, V470, AWA 4.5

Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Intro to Higher Math, Complex Analysis, Real Analysis I-II, Mathematical statistics I-II

Econ Courses: The usual. No graduate level courses.

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: 1 really good one from an economics professor who knows me well, 2 from math professors

Research Experience: Virtually none. Started a thesis, never finished

Teaching Experience: TA intermediate macro for 1 semester. 1 year of tutoring experience.

Research Interests: Macro and monetary, but these can change

SOP: Pretty good, I think. Standard 1st page, customized second (mentioning professors and all)

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances:

University of Minnesota ($)

WUSTL ($)

UT Austin ($)

U Toronto (MA, $)

UBC (MA, $)

Indiana ($)

Rutgers ($)

Purdue ($)

Virginia (no funding)

Cornell (no funding)

 

Waiting list: none

 

Rejections: University of Western Ontario

 

No word: Queen's

 

What I would have done differently:

Applied to less lower ranked schools. However, I'm quite happy with getting into Minnesota (and WUSTL, for that matter).s

[Andronicus]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Regional state university in North Carolina

Undergrad GPA: 4.0/4.0

Type of Grad: Same as undergrad

Grad GPA: 4.0/4.0

GRE: 760Q / 720V / 4.0AW

Math Courses: Calculus I-IV, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Introduction to Topology, Probability and Statistics I, Advanced Calculus I. Taking Probability and Statistics II and Advanced Calculus II this spring.

Econ Courses: All the basic micro, macro, and econometrics for BS and MS, plus electives in mostly applied micro fields.

Other Courses: Logic

Letters of Recommendation: Three from econ professors (Ohio State, Iowa, South Carolina), 2 of whom I have done research with. One more from the math professor (Michigan State) who taught my topology and advanced calculus courses.

Research Experience: I did a master's research project on dividend taxes. A further paper on this topic, coauthored with several professors (including one of my letter writers), is currently under review. I worked with another letter writer on a project examining the impact of brownfield cleanup and redevelopment on surrounding residential housing values. I've also worked with a professor in the geography department on a study of public transportation cost-effectiveness in North Carolina and another study of traffic congestion relief.

Teaching Experience: During my MS program I was the economics department tutor for managerial economics. I've also tutored and/or TA'd for many other courses at the undergrad, MBA, and PhD Public Policy levels. Last semester, I taught micro principles at the local community college. I'm teaching macro principles this semester.

Research Interests: Public, Urban/Regional, Experimental

SOP: Mostly talked about my coursework and research experience, with the last paragraph customized to the school.

Other: American male, 26, married (no kids)

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UT-Austin ($?), Ohio State ($?), Pittsburgh ($), Vanderbilt ($$$)

Waitlists: None

Rejections: Northwestern

Pending: UIUC, Indiana, Houston, Georgia State

 

What would you have done differently?: Worked extra hard to improve my GRE Q-score. Applied to a couple more top-20 programs instead of Houston and Georgia State. Applied to Wharton Applied Economics instead of Northwestern.

[AstralTraveller]

Type of Undergrad: Top research institution in the country (Latin America), Economics major.

Undergrad Ranking: 54th out of almost 300 people

Type of Undergrad: Doctoral Stream MA in Econ at same University as undergrad.

Grad Ranking: 4th out of 38

GRE: 780Q, 550V, 3.5 AW

GMAT: 710 Overall, Percentile 95%Q, 83%V.

Math Courses: Calc I,II, Statistical Probability, Statistical Inference, Classic Algebra, Linear and Matrix Algebra, Optimization Methods, Mathematical Economics (Differential Equations).

Econ Courses:

UG: Intro Econ, Intro Micro, Intermediate Micro I & II, Industrial Organization, Intro Macro, Intermediate Macro I & II, International Economics, Econometrics, Urban Economics, Econ Growth Theory.

Graduate: Micro Theory (MWG), Macro Theory (Journal articles), Econometric Theory incl. Probability Theory (Spanos, Greene), Applied Econometrics (Hamilton, Maddala, Baltagi), Resource Economics (Journal articles), Behavioral Economics (Becker + Journal articles), Economics of Regulation (Tirole), Macroeconomic Programming (too many things to mention!), Social Projects Evaluation (Fontaine + Journal articles).

Letters of Recommendation: 3 Profs from my alma mater (two econometricians who graduated from Econ departments ranked 30-50, plus the director of grad studies who graduated at a top-15 institution), 1 prof from the current B-school I work at (graduated from a B-school in Europe, but who has held visiting positions at several top-5 US schools) and 1 letter from a professor (Info Systems and Technology Management) at a US Top 30 B-school who studied at a top-5 PhD program in the New England area. To all I related either as a student, research assistant, or both.

 

Research Experience: RA for three years: one at my alma mater's Econ department, two at a nascent local B-school. Several working papers.

 

Publications: Published an empirical paper on an ISI indexed blind-refereed minor journal, and a chapter on Maximum Likelihood Estimation on a Math for Economists textbook.

 

Teaching Experience: TA for entire Econometrics and Statistics sequence, undergrad and graduate Economics, and MBA.

Lecturer for graduate econ: Math camp (you know, the pre-enrollment course we'll all have to go through before our PhD...I have taught it!), plus Introductory Econometrics and Optimization Methods the following term. Also lecturer of Statistical Inference (for 2nd year undergrad business and econ) and Advanced Econometrics (for 6th year engineering students).

Research Interests: Industrial Organization, Econometrics.

SOP: Prepared over a 18 months timeframe.

 

Other: Male, single, 25 years old. Since I didn't take analysis at college, self taught Real Analysis from Baby Rudin and Topology from Ivorra. Pointed it out on my SOP.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: none so far

Waiting: UCLA (Anderson) [interviewed, shortlisted according to prof, but "not admitted" according to PhD program secretary]

Rejections: Northwestern (Econ), Chicago (GSB), Minnesota (Econ), Stanford GSB (EA&P), Duke (Fuqua), Brown (Econ).

Pending: NYU (Stern), MIT (Sloan) [these two already notified their admits:(], UCSD (Econ)

 

What would you have done differently?

Don't quite know yet :(. Prepared this season's application for years. As Mr. Keen, I don't know what a Micro or Macro course is without calculus. Have done my best throughout years to get admitted at a good place and so far I only have been "booted out". Maybe I applied to one too many business schools. Should have tried more Econ schools (2 top 10's) and some definite safeties.

Not sure if I want to go thru this process once again.:rolleyes:

[Chicunomics]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Honours bachelor's degree at a big international university (econphd.net top 100)

Undergrad GPA: 89/100-ish, 1st of 149

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: 800Q 700V 5.5AWA

Math Courses: Advanced streams of first year linear algebra, calculus, also core undergrad probability, statistics subjects (As in subjects completed so far). For semester before I start: vector analysis, real & complex analysis.

Econ Courses: up to grad level micro, macro, econometrics, auction theory, search theory, industrial organization (all As)

Other Courses: Nothing any adcom would care about.

Letters of Recommendation: 2 full professors, quite senior and relatively well known, 1 junior academic (honours thesis advisor) -- all economics.

Research Experience: Thesis prize; theoretical IO paper (to be submitted to Information Economics and Policy soon co-authored with advisor), co-author on another paper to be submitted to Journal of Labour Economics soon. RA since 2004 - both empirical and theoretical stuff.

Teaching Experience: TA in intro Micro and Macro, advanced undergrad IO and micro.

Research Interests: IO and micro theory.

SOP: Nothing special, just discussed my interests and research.

 

RESULTS:

Attending: Northwestern University

Acceptances: Northwestern ($$), NYU ($$), Wisconsin ($$), MIT (No $), UCLA (No $)

Waitlists: Yale ($$), Pennsylvania (No $), Princeton ($$)

Rejections: Stanford GSB (EAP), Columbia, Maryland, Harvard, Stanford Economics, Berkeley

What would you have done differently? Nothing really. I did the best I could. I can't help but feel that with another year's math preparation, I would have gotten admits to a better selection of schools. However, NWU was a really high personal preference, so it was worth cutting the math short a year!

[Mr.Keen]

Schools: Top econ undergrad from Mexico, Masters from unknown US department, graduate summer at Duke.

Major: Economics. Now taking maths while working full-time for the fed.

GPA: Undergrad: 81/100 (tough program). Grad: 3.8, 4.0 at Duke.

GRE: Q=790, V=550, AW=3.5

Courses:

Economics: up to grad level micro, macro, econometrics (mostly A's on grad-level, B's and C's in undergrad) All the standard field courses you take in a top latin american undergraduate program: IO (Tirole), International Trade (Feenstra-level material and Helpman and Krugman), Public Finance I and II (Musgrave & Musgrave, Rosen), Open Macro (mostly journal articles, Sebastian Edwards' book on RXR).

Statistics: Probability Theory, Mathematical Statistics, 3 theoretical econometrics (Greene was the textbook in all three). Applied econometrics, applied time-series.

Mathematics: Calc I and II, Logic and Proofs, Linear Algebra, Numerical Optimization, Introductory Real Anlaysis, Dynamic Optimization (Continuous and discrete), C's in easiest, A's on the hardest.

Research: Published paper in exchange rate error correction modeling. Working paper on international real business cycles (research sample). Working paper on growth and space. Several Fed publications.

TA: TA in intro Macro, International and Development.

LOR: Two Duke professors (tenured with strong publication record). One respected Fed economist. Another professor from the Duke summer program. All of them very strong, I think.

SOP: I explained the wholes in my application and stressed the strengths. I tried to signal that I know what I am getting into. In cases where it made sense I mentioned faculty members I would like to work with. I mentioned specific topics I am interested in studying.

Interests: Open Macro, International Trade, Growth and Applied IO

Schools:

Chicago

Northwestern (Finance at Kellog)

NYU

Yale

MIT (Financial Econ at Sloan)

UT Austin

Minnesota

Duke

Stanford

My Concerns:

My low undergraduate grades. I hope the coursework at Duke and research experience can compensate for those. I expect the recommendations to be superb, so that must help.

 

RESULTS

 

In: UT Austin (funding decision pending), Chicago (Level 1 funding)

Waiting list: Minnesota

No news: Yale, NYU, Stanford, NWU Kellogg, MIT Sloan

Rejections: Duke

 

What would you have done differently?: Nothing, really. I did my best to make up for the effects of past mistakes and it paid off.

NB: I must add that those Bs and Cs in undergrad are in no way compared to their American counterparts. Beyond principles of micro and macro, I don't know what a course in economics without calculus is. My intermediate micro textbook (in my junior year) was MWG.

[Internationalstudent08]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: top U.S. school

Undergrad GPA: 3.7+

GRE: 800q, 670v, 4.5w (yeah, me knows how to writing)

Math Courses: Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, Groups and Topology (intro proofs), Mathematical Probability. In my senior fall I took optimization and now in the spring I take analysis.

Econ Courses: many...

Letters of Recommendation: 2 from econ profs (1 of them is famous, the other is well-known)

Research Experience: 2 summers

Teaching Experience: I have some. does it count anyway???

Research Interests: Macro, Pol. Economy, Public stuff.

SOP: I bet they don't read it

Other: International student, good at foosball.

RESULTS:

Acceptances:

Waitlists:

Rejections: Northwestern, Columbia, Duke, Stanford, Brown, Berkeley

Pending: Princeton, Chicago, NYU, UCSD,

 

What would you have done differently? I could write an essay about this, but I'll do it at the end

[Canuckonomist]

deleted.

[Big Tuna]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Highly ranked US public university with top 25 econ phd program. Majors in economics/philosophy, minor in math.

Undergrad GPA: 4.0

Type of Grad: No masters program; just 1 course while in undergrad.

Grad GPA: 4.0

GRE: 800V/800Q/4.5AW

Math Courses: Calculus I, I, III, linear algebra, real analysis, mathematical modeling, ordinary differential equations, currently enrolled in numerical methods and complex variables.

Econ Courses: intro/intermediate micro/macro, stat for economists, undergrad econometrics, 3 thesis/independent study courses, a bunch of undergrad field courses, and PhD econometrics I.

Other Courses: Mostly a lot of philosophy.

Letters of Recommendation: Three from good people, all of whom have supervised an independent project I've done.

Research Experience: The aforementioned thesis projects, plus 2 years as a research assistant and one empirical paper submitted to a decent (though not top tier) journal. I received an undergraduate research grant from my school to do this paper.

Teaching Experience: Just tutoring.

Research Interests: Applied micro, public finance, maybe econometrics

SOP: I guess it was fine.

Other: I had one withdrawal (W) on my transcript because I dropped abstract algebra; the professor was more boring than anyone else I'd ever had.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: MIT, Stanford, Yale, UChicago, Northwestern, NYU, Columbia, Duke, UMaryland.

Waitlists: Harvard.

Rejections: None.

Pending: None.

 

What would you have done differently? Probably nothing. I guess Harvard might have let me in instead of waitlisting me if I'd taken more advanced math or gone to an Ivy, but that's hard to tell and I wouldn't have wanted to do too much more work as an undergrad than I actually did; you have to leave time to have some fun.

[millertime416]

Type of undergrad: Small private university in Nebraska

Major: Economics with a minor in mathematics

GPA: 4.0

Type of Grad: none

GRE: Q760, V530, AWA 5.0

Math Courses: Calc I-II, Linear Algebra, Diff EQ, Intro to Analysis, Stats

Econ Courses: All that were offered (note: no grad available)

Other Courses: 2 directed independent econometrics courses

Letters of Recommendation: 2 from relatively unknown econ proffs, 1 semi-well known in econ

Research Experience: Two independent research projects, one pending publication

Teaching Experience: Just some tutoring

Research Interests: IO or health economics

SOP: Discussed research I had completed

 

What I would have done differently: Should have applied more broadly and included more reach schools. Also should have taken more math and made it a major. Practice for GRE.

 

Results

Acceptances: Iowa ($$), Iowa State ($$), Kansas State ($$), UNL (?)

Waiting list: None

Rejections: None

Pending: Wyoming, WUSTL

[Connemara Pony]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BA Mathematics and Economics

Undergrad GPA: 1st Class Honours on average (76.5% second year)

Type of Grad:n/a

Grad GPA:n/a

GRE: 780Q, 590V, 5.5 AWA

Math Courses: Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, Multivariate Calculus, Discrete Maths, Statistics x2, Probability x 2, Metric Spaces, Topology, Linear Algebra, Groups x 2

Econ Courses:Macro x 2, Micro x 2, Economic Theory, Mathematical Economics, Econometrics, Quantitative Methods in Economics, Research Methods in Economics, Irish Economy, European Economy, Irish Economic History, Economics of Money and Banking, Economics of Financial Markets.

Other Courses: Contermporary Philosophy, Ethics, History of Philosophy, Contract Law, Irish Legal Systems.

Letters of Recommendation: I think they're good, one is from the head of the maths department, the other is from a well respected Economics professor.

Research Experience:n/a

Teaching Experience:n/a

Research Interests: International Macroeconomics/Finance

SOP: Strong I think, spoke genearally about the interests I have and (on the cambridge app) how Cambridge was the best place for those interests to be pursued.

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: None yet

Waitlists:None Yet

Rejections:None Yet

Pending:Cambridge, UCL

[Thesus]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BSc Econ, minor in math. School does not appear on econphd.net.

Undergrad GPA: 3.97, 4.00 in math/econ

Type of Grad:n/a

Grad GPA:n/a

GRE: 800Q, 770V, 5.5 AWA

Math Courses: Calc I,II,III, Linear Algebra, Vector Calc, Intro Stats, Mathematical Stats, Real Analysis I,II, Integration & Metric Spaces, ODE, Discrete Math

Econ Courses: Micro I,II,III (not very rigourous), Macro I,II,III (ended with Romer), Math Econ I,II, Econometrics I,II, another ten electives or so, honours essay in progress.

Other Courses: nil.

Letters of Recommendation: Used four econ profs and a math prof, depending on school. None of them are well-published or

Research Experience:n/a

Teaching Experience: TA, three semesters.

Research Interests: Growth, economic dynamics.

SOP: Short, succint. Didn't reference names of professors. Briefly discussed interests but admitted I wasn't committed to the field.

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Rochester(fellowship), UBC(MA,TA)

Waitlists: Minnesota

Rejections: Brown, Yale, Berkeley, Princeton

Pending: Queen's, Toronto

 

What I would have done differently: I think I should've transferred to a different undergrad after two years. Now unsure whether to do the MA and reapply or head directly south.

[almagro]

Type of Undergrad: Economics - Top institution in my country

Type of Grad: M.A. in Economics - Same institution

Grad GPA: 1st

GRE: 800Q/500V/4.5W

Math Courses: 3 Basic courses + 2 Statistics + 2 advanced courses

Econ Courses: 16 during undergrad + 9 during grad

Other Courses: from art to political science

Letters of Recommendation: very strong

Research Experience: undergrad and grad thesis + co-authoring a paper w/prof + RA to 2 professors

Teaching Experience: 9 undergrad courses (some twice)

Research Interests: microeconometrics

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Harvard ($), Stanford ($)

Rejections: MIT

Pending: Princeton and other top-10

[representative_agent]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Economics, ranked 12/189 in my year

Type of Grad: MSc (econ) in Europe

GRE: Q 790, V 580, AW 4.0

Math Courses: Everything my undergrad school had to offer, but no real analysis (didn't have much choice).

Econ Courses (Graduate level): Micro (1+2), Macro (1+2), Econometrics, Incentives, Auction Theory, Several courses in public econ, Growth, ...

Other Courses: Several undergrad statistics courses

Letters of Recommendation: 1 well-known, 3 known in their field, 1 thesis advisor (relatively unknown)

Research Experience: undergrad thesis

Teaching Experience: undergrad macro

Research Interests: game theory, information econ, applied micro

SOP: hard to judge - does anybody read it?

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Chicago ($$), NWU ($$), NYU($$), UPENN($$), UCL($$)

Waitlists: Minnesota

Rejections: Yale, Stanford, MIT, Princeton

Pending: Berkeley

[jcash]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: top ten U.S. liberal arts

Undergrad GPA: 3.95

Type of Grad: none.

GRE: 670V/800Q/6.0AW

Math Courses: real analysis(A+), differential equations (A+), math logic (A), linear algebra and multivariable calculus in high school

Econ Courses: core courses in micro and macro, math econ and econometrics, some electives

Other Courses: lots of random stuff

Letters of Recommendation: 2 good econ ones, but not from well-known professors. 1 from a more well-known professor, but who didn't know me as well. 1 really good one from a political science professor.

Research Experience: Undergrad thesis in philosophy of economics, empirical and theoretical term papers.

Teaching Experience: TA for intermediate macro.

Research Interests: Public finance, econometrics

SOP: talked about possible research interests and what I had worked on

Other: applying for a j.d.-ph.d. Also: I meant to apply to Berkeley, but found out after the fact that I had never finished submitting my online application...oh well...

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Yale, Princeton, Columbia

Waitlists: Harvard

Rejections: MIT

Assumed Rejections: NYU, Chicago

 

What would you have done differently? Taken a grad level math course

[gregobad]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Research university w/ top 5 econ program

Undergrad GPA: 4.9/5

Type of Grad: none.

GRE: 770V/800Q/5.5AW

Math Courses: calc I & II, differential equations, linear algebra, probability, linear programming / optimization

Econ Courses: intermediate micro and macro, econometrics, game theory, various field courses

Other Courses: Minor in physics

Letters of Recommendation: Two from econ profs, neither of whom are well-known but both know me well (one was my thesis advisor, another my undergrad advisor). One from a manager at my job (econ consulting firm). Pretty sure all three are very strong recs, but the third probably doesn't count for much because it's non-academic.

Research Experience: Was an RA for a summer in a physics lab. Did an undergrad thesis. Worked for 1.5 years doing semi-relevant stuff at an economic consulting firm - I have a lot of experience with Stata, Matlab, other programming languages

Teaching Experience: tutored undergrads in physics and econ

Research Interests: Game theory, political economy, behavioral economics

SOP: talked about possible research interests and what I had worked on

 

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: MIT, Stanford GSB (political economy), Princeton, Caltech, Berkeley, Northwestern, Chicago

Waitlists: Harvard

Rejections: Stanford economics

 

What would you have done differently? Not much, really. Maybe taken an academic RA job instead of working in economic consulting, and applied for last year instead of this year. Although, there's nothing like having a boring job to motivate you to get back to school.;)

[nergal]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BA in Econ and BS in Math, Double Major in top university in my country

Undergrad GPA: 3.77/4.00 (at the time of application)

Type of Grad: na

Grad GPA: na

GRE: 700V 800Q 5.0AW

Math Courses: Too many :P Highlights: Real Analysis I&II (BA&pending), Complex Analysis I (BB), Calculus of Variations (BA), Mathematics of Finance (graduate math course, AA), Number Theory (CC), Algebra I&II (CB&AA), Differential Equations (AA), Linear Algebra (AA)

Econ Courses: Graduate level Econometrics (AA), Advanced Micro (AA), Public Finance (AA), (Undergrad) Econometrics I&II (AA), Mathematical Statistics I&II (AA), Intermediate Micro and Macro (AA), Game Theory (AA) among other things ...

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: Four LoRs, three from econ professors with whom I studied as RA, and one from a senior math professor. Two of the econ professors are senior and one of them is pretty famous. Submitted three LoRs in each application.

Research Experience: RA for two years in two different projects.

Teaching Experience: TA for Intermediate Micro for one term.

Research Interests: Micro Theory, Game Theory, Political Economy

SOP: Delineated my research interests, talked about my motivation for a phd degree in economics, detailed my research experience

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Caltech ($$), Michigan-Ann Arbor (??), Northwestern ($$), UPenn ($$), Yale ($$)

Waitlists: none

Rejections: Duke, MIT, Stanford

Pending: Princeton, Harvard (most likely rejected)

What would you have done differently?

 

I would not have taken the elective Number Theory :yuck: Maybe would have taken the graduate level Topology course.

 

One problem with our Math department is that the faculty is really stingy with grades! For instance, I was the second ranked student out of some 100+ people in the Complex Analysis I course and I still got BB. The first guy got BA. No AA to no one, no sirrie. The mean of the cumulative grades was 35 (out of 100). This is just one case among many. I hope one of my professors managed to communicate this issue.

[Julius]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad&Grad: BA in Econ and 2 semesters in MA course, Both in the top university in my country (East Asia)

Undergrad GPA: 4.13/4.30

Grad GPA: 4.18/4.30 (At the time of application, 4.10/4.30)

Honors : Top in my graduating class (1/201)

2 Grand prizes in paper contests (one in my school, one nationwide)

GRE: 740V 800Q 4.0AW

Math Courses: Calculus 2, Linear Algebra, Mathematical Analysis, Real Analysis, Topology, Mathematical Statistics, Theory of Statistics 1 & 2 (Grad level) , Probability Theory (Grad level) - All A+ except Probability(A0)

 

Econ Courses: Bunch of them. Some highlights are: Grad Micro, Grad Macro, Grad Stat in Econ dept, Grad Advanced Micro, Grad Advanced Time series, Game theory, Some finance related courses,... (All A+ except Grad Macro(A0) for aforementioned courses)

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: Four LoRs, three from econ and one from stat. I was ranked on the top(or near the top) in at least one class of each professor. Two of them knows me very well and probably wrote their letters enthusiastically.

Research Experience: RA for a macro paper of my adviser, programming for cointegration analysis and stuff.

Teaching Experience: TA for Econometrics, Statistics and Time Series Econometrics. Instructed regular TA sessions.

Research Interests: Applied Micro, Econometrics

SOP: Devoted a lot of space for my motivation and my preparation.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: MIT, Princeton, U of Chicago, Yale

Waitlists: None

Rejections: Stanford GSB, Harvard(99%), Stanford(99%), Berkeley, NYU(??)

Others: UPenn, NWU - Stopped the review process before decisions.

What would you have done differently?

Maybe more math.

 

I really appreciate all the supports and infos from fellow TMers and I think this is the best service I can do for the TM next generation :) Good luck to everyone!

[wednesday]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: UC Berkeley

Undergrad GPA: 3.76ish

Type of Grad:

Grad GPA:

GRE: 800/680/4.0

Math Courses: 9 upper division undergrad, 5 grad

Econ Courses: 6 upper div undergrad, 11 grad

Other Courses: misc

Letters of Recommendation: 1 junior guy, 1 senior guy, 1 Nobel laureate

Research Experience: 4 RA gigs, generalizing vNM for my thesis

Teaching Experience: currently teaching intermediate micro

Research Interests: micro theory, finance, PF

SOP: boiler plate

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale

Waitlists: None

Rejections: None

Pending: NSF

What would you have done differently? I'd haveworked harder freshman year and not ruined my GPA.

[Fatrapa]

 

Type of Undergrad: None (French system of Grandes Ecoles)

Type of Grad: Business School + Paris School of Economics

Grad GPA: 1st / 60

GRE: 800/610/4.0

Math Courses: french system

Econ Courses: 3 "undergrad", 20 grad

Other Courses: business

Letters of Recommendation: 3 well-know economists, 2 less-well-known but who know me well

Research Experience: Master thesis

Teaching Experience: TA

Research Interests: Political decision (Roemer, etc.) / political economy

SOP: spoke about my research

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Chicago

Waitlists: None

Rejections: Columbia, NYU (99%), Harvard (99%)

Pending:

What would you have done differently? I would have described my math credentials more precisely. This is an advice for all French future applicants: explain how the system works and how good you are in maths in your letter.

[jeeves0923]

:: deleted ::

[jeeves0923]

Oops, accidentally posted this on the 2007 thread... here you go anyway.

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: B.S. Math, B.A. Econ from top 30 U.S. institution

Undergrad GPA: 3.9/4, Summa Cum Laude, In Honors

Type of Grad: M.S. Math

Grad GPA: 3.8/4

GRE: 800Q, 610V, 4.5AWA

Math Courses: All required courses for math degree + Real Analysis I and II, Math for Economists, Graph Theory (graduate), Abstract Algebra (graduate), Measure Theory (graduate)

Econ Courses (PhD-level): PhD Micro, PhD Labor

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): IO, Public, Econ of China, Environmental and Natural Resource Econ, Game Theory, Micro and Macro Theory

Other Courses: History minor, about half of an engineering degree

Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ professors (1 Chicago PhD, 1 UMN PhD, 1 UCSD PhD), 1 math prof (Princeton PhD, NSF winner), all extremely solid, though they are all quite old.

Research Experience: RA for Econ prof, Theoretical math thesis, Economics thesis, one paper submitted to journal

Teaching Experience: GTA for University Writing Coaching Center, Intermediate Micro, and an Honors Colloquium on Game Theory

Research Interests: Public Finance, Education, Labor, Theory

SOP: Sure

Other: I applied only to Princeton, Harvard and MIT, because they are the only ones that can pull me away from my current MS program. I love it here, and will cast a wider net next year once my Master's in math is completed(if MIT ends up saying no).

RESULTS:

Acceptances: none

Keep Your Pants On: MIT

Rejections: Princeton, Harvard(for certain now)

What would you have done differently? Maybe more statistics. However, I think I have a pretty good shot next year after having PhD metrics, Stochastics, Optimal Control Theory and a Master's Thesis under my belt

 

Concerns: Being rejected isn't fun, even if the process is "random" and I only applied to top programs.

[bojangles42124]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Public university with a top 20 econ program.

Math & Econ double degree

Undergrad GPA: Overall 3.2 (3.7 my final two years); Econ 3.9; Math 3.2

GRE: 800Q, 550V, 4.5 AW

Research Experience: Undergraduate honors thesis (which I think is stellar), currently a statistician for Dept. of Commerce since graduating in May

LORs: Two of them great (my thesis advisors) and one probably mediocre, all from senior econ faculty

Concerns: Math grades are all over the place...

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UVa, George Washington U

Rejections: Johns Hopkins

What would you have done differently? I originally got a 740 on my GRE, so I was sure I would have to reapply next year. Because I didn't want to put my recommenders through two rounds of 10 applications, I applied to just three schools. I retook the GRE a month later (in January) and got an 800, but it was too late to start applications to more schools. Also, I probably should have studied more than 30 seconds before the test for the verbal and AWS, if only for my own vanity. But one thing to keep in mind is that after an entire college career, there is only so much that is within my control.

 

Most importantly, I would have spent more time on this forum before applying.

[Sammy6]

Type of Undergrad: Top 25 Econ

Undergrad GPA: 4.0/4.0

Type of Grad: MA, Top 25 Econ

Grad GPA: 4.0/4.0

GRE: 800Q, 650V, 5.0 AW

Math Courses: calc 1-3, diff eq, linear algebra, stochastic processes, optimization theory, adv. prob/stat (all A's), audit topology, self-study real analysis

Econ Courses: Micro, Macro and Metrics (Intermed, Master's and 1st semester PhD), Health (MA), Trade(MA and PhD), Internat'l Finance (MA), Game Theory (MA)

Letters of Recommendation: 5 very strong (1 Harvard, 1 Chicago, 2 MIT, 1 Michigan). 4 of the professors are very well known. 4 I took classes from, and 2 I worked with.

Research Experience: RA for one year, about to submit co-authored paper with supervisor

Teaching Experience: private tutoring

Research Interests: no f***'in clue

SOP: pretty good, my adviser took a look

Other: female, 21 years old, transfer

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Harvard($$), MIT(waiting on NSF), Stanford($$), Yale($$), UPenn($$, declined), Northwestern($$), Chicago($$)

Waitlists: NYU, Berkeley (declined)

Rejections: Princeton

Pending: NSF/Javits

What would you have done differently? Relaxed during the waiting game :)