Profile evaulation

[kekecib]

Hello everybody,

 

I want to continue my education at

the field of economics. However, I

cannot afford the program tuition,

fee, and living cost in USA.

 

Hence, I ask you all to direct me in

teaching or research assistantship

and fellowship opportunities that

provide full tuition waiver and

monthly stipend for living expenses.

(Especially, deadline of financial

aid for international students. Am I

late for Fall 2008 ?)

 

I will be very thankful to the ones

who can assess my profile and say

something about my chance of getting

in MA or MS in economics in USA or

Canada (including tuition waiver and

monthly stipend for living

expenses).

 

I have a BA degree in Tourism

Management from Bogazici University.

However, the management side of the

department is given the primary

importance. Therefore, I have sound

background in quantitative courses

and fundamental economics. You can

see the course contents from the

link.

 

http://www.tourism.boun.edu.tr/cours

econtents.html

 

Below, I have summarized my

highlights.

 

Ø GRE General Test: 1420

(Verbal:630 and Quantitative:790 out

of 800)

Ø TOEFL: 101 out of 120

Ø High School GPA: 4.91 out of

5.00 (“The Best Student” in my

graduation year).

Ø University GPA: 3.54 out of

4.00 (High Honors degree as “The

Second Best Student” in my

graduation year).

Ø Assisting the faculty members

in university with their research

projects from the stage of field

study to the one of data analysis.

Ø Department laboratory

assistant official for 1 year.

Ø Work experience in many

corporations and foundations such as

AIG Life Insurance and Turkish

Republican Land Forces Command.

Ø High grades (AA or BA) from

quantitative courses based on

economics, business administration,

and mathematics.

Ø Hobbies ranging from charcoal

to Greek mythology.

 

 

Thanks in advance,

 

(name deleted)

(e-mail deleted by asquare)

Edited December 10, 2010 by asquare
do not post contact information

[Valhalla]

Did you realize that this is the third time within 1 hour or so that you post one and the same thing?

All right maybe you want to have it somehow more organized and more "on topic". So here are my 2 cents:

 

 

First of all I don't think that you have to give your real name in this forum and especially not your mail-adress unless you have the best ***ing spam-filter available :)

 

All right: You are right it's too late to apply for this fall... deadlines are typically around december 15th to january 15th and most of the universities even stopped accepting "late" applications. So you'll have to apply for the next cycle... sorry. Further: 90% of the students applying for PhD's in the states don't have enough money to cover their living expenses let alone tution.. so we are all in the same boat. When you apply you will be automatically considered for funding (unless you state explicitely: PLEASE DON'T GIVE ME MONEY!!! :)) whose provision is said to be based on merit not on need.

 

Comments on your profile:

 

1)your university seems to be pretty tough in terms of grading given that you are 2nd best with a GPA of 3.54. But this is not sooooo important for int. students although it's also not very helpful either I'm afraid...

 

2) It would be interesting to see which math courses you took/had precisely. Because Tourism management itself doesn't sound like THE best program to prepare for an econ PhD and I suppose there are 1-2 profs sharing my opinion. You could use the time until the next application cycle starts to take additional math courses: E.g: Have a look at the curriculum for studying math in your country and take the courses recommended for the first semester, or if you feel better prepared take the courses recommended for the 2nd, 3rd or 4th semester...

 

3) YOur GRE is fine and your RA/work experience is also great and is probably the basis for you to get good LOR's

 

4) Have a look where other students from your university did their PhD studies in the states and contact them. If they perform well the adcoms are more likely to say: "Ah again one of the brilliant guys from University "X" ... we should take him"

 

5) If pedigree is somehow available: mobilize it

 

6) Aim high, don't underestimate but also don't overestimate yourself: i.e.: talk to your profs and ask them what they think

 

All the best

[asquare]

(To be clear, the OP didn't start this thread. I moved one copy of his post to its own thread after deleting it from many other threads, where it didn't belong.)

 

Thanks to Vahalla for the comments; I'm sure the OP will appreciate them and having them on their own thread will hopefully make them easier to find and render the duplicate posting unnecessary...

[Valhalla]

Oh I see. Thanks a^2. then maybe I should delete my answer from the other thread as well?

[asquare]

Up to you :) If you do want it gone, I can do it for you if you want, or you can edit it so it's just a "."

[Valhalla]

I will delete it. np.

[Nebuchadrezzar]

hello ibrahim,

 

i assume you don't want to pursue a phd in economics. but if you want to get a MA or MSc degree in economics in canada or the us, it is not very likely for you to be accepted to a good program given your major, even though you have a good academic standing. i think several ma programmes in the usa may accept you, but i am not sure if you want to go to a mediocre program. however, if you can share more information about the courses you have taken, I can say more. if you took the necessary economics and mathematics courses and have good LORs, then apply to several programmes and wait for the results if the deadlines have not passed yet.

 

however, what i can recommend you (if you are not accepted to good ma programmes) is to apply to ma in economics programmes in bogazici, koc and bilkent universities in turkey. these programmes do not have tuitions and provide monthly stipends. moreover, these programmes will provide you the necessary economic background and good LoRs to apply to any top level economics programmes (ma, msc or phd) given your performance. i think the deadlines have not passed yet. and good luck :)

[kekecib]

Dear Nebuchadrezzar,

 

First, I would like to thank to you for yout sincere and detailed response and courtesy.

 

I, in fact, want to pursue a PhD directly or after completing my masters. However, the first option may be difficult for me because I have, and want to advance, my economics knowledge which is upper fundamental. If I am not accepted by any school, I will apply to Turkish schools in order to form more robust economics background. Thanks for the advice.

 

I have a strong background in math. Please imagine a guy who has never taken a grade below 85 out of 100 during all his high school and university life in math courses. Therefore, I can maybe have deficiency in economics. In addition, my marketing and finance professors have provided good LORs.

 

Please give some comments on my economics and math background. I have taken the following courses:

 

1. ECONOMICS I:

Demand and supply, elasticity, price controls, marginal utility and indifference curve analysis, production and costs, market structures, determination of wages, return on capital.

 

2. ECONOMICS II:

Nature of income and national income determination, employment, money and banking, fiscal and monetary policy, international trade theory and balance of payments, economic development, economic system, the general structure of Turkish economy.

 

3. TOURISM ECONOMICS:

The role of economics in tourism development. Macroeconomic and microeconomic theory and applications from problems of community resource allocation, with particular attention to the problems of multiple use of community resources and to the conflicts between private and public goals.

 

4. INTRODUCTION TO PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS:

Basic concepts of probability. The role of statistics in scientific inquiry. Descriptive study of the data. Intuitive reasoning behind the basic principles and techniques of statistical analysis. Discrete and continuous distributions. Introduction to the hypothesis testing.

 

5. QUANTITATIVE TECHNIQUES:

Introduction to techniques of summarizing and interpreting business field data with up to date statistical software. Extensive hands on training. Population and sample; descriptive statistics; probability theory and distributions; sampling; hypothesis testing; t-test; analysis of variance; chi-square; non-parametric statistics; correlation and regression analysis.

 

6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

Research design; hypothesis development; sampling; data collection methods; design of survey instrument; hypothesis testing: univariate and multivariate data analysis methods; experimental design; qualitative research methods and research report preparation. Research project to apply SPSS applications.

 

7. BUSINESS MATHEMATICS:

Basics of algebra, linear equations, inequalities, functions and graphs, systems of equations, exponential and logarithmic functions, limits and continuity, the derivative, applications of the derivative with specific examples from the service industries.

 

8. FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING:

Introduction to accounting information system. Identifying, recording, summarizing of economic transactions. Theoretical framework of accounting, generally accepted accounting principles and assumptions. Complete accounting cycle and book keeping aspects; accrual accounting, end-of-period assumptions and preparation of financial statements.

 

9. MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING FOR TOURISM INDUSTRY:

Financial statements of different types of establishments in tourism industry; uniform system of accounts for hospitality industry and unique characteristics of hotel financial statements. Preparation of accounting information for managerial decision making purposes. Introduction to models and techniques for managerial decision making using accountig information; ratio analysis; funds flow statement cost-volume-profit approach; budgeting; investment analysis.

 

10. INTRODUCTION TO FINANCE:

Techniques for determining the worth of financial assets, the trade between risk and return, financial institutions, financial analysis, financial forecasting and the optimal financial strategy.

 

11. INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT:

Introduction to basic capital budgeting and investment appraisal techniques. Basic components of a complete feasibility study: Business concept development, assessment of industry trends, preparation of marketing plan, preparation of management and organization plans, financial statement projections, cash flow statements, application of investment appraisal criteria, sensitivity analysis, preparation and presentation of feasibility report. Application of the investment appraisal model to tourism investment projects.

 

 

Thanks a lot again. I am obliged to you.

 

Ibrahim Kekec

 

 

 

[Canuckonomist]

Ibrahim,

 

I believe you, to some extent, when you say you have a strong background in math, but High School is not considered when adcoms take a look at your math background. Given that one of the courses you posted was "Business Mathematics" (which from Cornell's website, is NOT considered a substitute for real mathematics courses, no matter how rigorous it may be,) I am intrigued as to what other mathematics courses you have taken in University. Could you list them?

[pevdoki1]

If you have not taken other mathematics courses, your background is not considered strong by the adcoms, but on the contrary very very weak.

 

At the bare minumum, you should have the basic Calculus courses and Linear Algebra. A strong applicant has taken a year of mathematical statistics (calculus-based) and a course in real analysis. Some people have much more.

 

You need to have some experience writing mathematical proofs if you want to get a PhD in economics.

[Valhalla]

Please imagine a guy who has never taken a grade below 85 out of 100 during all his high school and university life in math courses. Therefore, I can maybe have deficiency in economics. In addition, my marketing and finance professors have provided good LORs.

 

I hate to be the guy who tells little johnny that there is no Santa Clause... :(

 

I am afraid I have to tell you that you are by far not the only student who's applying for a PhD in economics with a background he/she considers as particularly strong... It's good to be well motivated and you shouldn't underestimate yourself ... fine... but you shouldn't lose a realistic perspective as well.

 

1) High school performance isn't worth anything for adcoms... sorry for that.

 

2) If I interpret the information you give underneath the "business math" header correctly I would say your math background is pretty weak... (did you really learn about linear equations and inequalities at the univ. level?)

 

3)You mention that one of your LOR-providers is a marketing prof. If he knows you well and might give some comments on your research skills this might help but honestly... I don't think that the adcoms take such a letter very seriously.

 

I would really recommend that you take additional math courses like an "analysis 1 and 2" equivalent which is available at one of the universities in your city and also a "linear algebra 1 and 2" equivalent is highly recommendable. Maybe you might even get a LOR from one or two of the profs who teach those courses.

 

Given your (sorry...) poor math-background I also don't think that your stat-courses have been very technical. They were probably on an "applied" level à la McClave Sincich but this won't help you either...

 

I agree with Pevdoki and I want to add that you might have a shot at very weak schools like in the 90+ region with your recent profile... and this is probably not worth the effort right? Why don't you apply for MA programs in europe and aim for a PhD afterwards?

 

all the best. i hope i didn't sound harsh. this wasn't my intention and I hope noone is baffled by my view...

[raamar]

Ibrahim,

As Nebuchadrezzar has mentioned, I would sincerely advice you to apply for a Masters program at Bogazici, Koc, Bilkent or METU. You will realize that undergraduate economics courses are not nearly related to graduate courses and a lot of math, statistics and more is essential. I, as having a major from a management undergrad, attended a master (and hopefully graduate this year) where I got pretty good grades at core courses, involved in research and now that I am admitted to a decent university in US with funding. Besides, being exposed to grad. level econ will help you determine whether you want to pursue further econ in deed. In short, the best path seems to attend a master in econ at this step.