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fenning · 07-08-2008, 03:19 PM

I just know my GRE score, my AWA is so poor, and I am very disappointed.

Please help me evaluate my profile. I do not want to take GRE again. And I want to figure out whether I need to take GMAT to make it up.I am planning to apply econ PhD program as well as school of business. Thanks very much!

Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ, B.S. Statistics from the best university in China

Undergrad GPA: 3.6/4 (Econ), 3.5/4 (Statistics)

Type of Grad: M.S. Agriculture Economics, top institute on Agriculture Econ in China.

Grad GPA: 3.6/4

GRE: 800Q, 490V, 3.5AWA

TOEFL: has not taken yet

Math Courses: Mathematical Analysis, Probability Theory, Advanced Statistics, Math Model, Advanced Algebra, Mathematical Statistics, multivariate statistical analysis (courses in statistics major) , Calculus I/II, Linear Algebra I/II, Applied Statistics, Probability and statistics (courses in econ major )

Econ Courses (PhD-level): Micro (I, II), Metrics (I, II), methodology of empirical study (I, II)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Principle I/II, Microeconomics I/II, Macroeconomics I/II, Metrics, Public Finance, Money & Banking, International Finance, Game Theory, Corporate Finance, Accounting, International Trade, Developmental Economics, Mathematical Economics, Risk Management and insurance , International Economics, Principles of Actuarial Science

Letters of Recommendation: One is Chicago PhD, know me very well. One is well-known Chinese professor. The last is my college undergraduate professor on business who knows me well and is not famous. (He is also my coauthor of my first two papers)

SOP: has not written yet.

Research Experience: RA for several Econ profs, several papers to be published. The first (the second author of three, on global business, empirical research) is published on an European economic and business journal (SSCI), but that journal is not popular in America. The second paper ( the second author of three, the following work of my first paper) will be published on the same journal at the beginning of 2009. It is probable that my third paper ( the third author of four, on Chinese countryside) will be accepted by JCE. Besides that, the second paper has been selected as annual best paper in a top academic conference on business. Several other papers will be submited to journals on economics, but resutls are hard to predict.

Teaching Experience: tutor for several months

Interests: Agriculture Econ, Empirical study, Applied Econ, global business.

maple_leaf · 07-08-2008, 04:10 PM

You have an excellent profile. Don't worry too much about AWA. As far as I know, USA universities do not care that much about AWA if you are an international student. You have all the math classes; and the fact that you have published several papers - will look great on your application. Good luck with applications.

fenning · 07-09-2008, 01:07 AM

Thanks maple_leaf very much! GRE has become a curse for me, i took GRE 2 years ago. And AWA was 3.5

, so I retake it this spring.
I am planning to apply econ, agri econ and business. I think I do not focus enough. It seems that my GRE, GPA and LOR are biggest limitations for me. Although my publication would make them up to some extend, i am still not sure there is any chance to get offer from top 20 program.
I will take TOEFL this weekend. What I can do now is just try my best to get a high score in TOEFL.

maple_leaf · 07-09-2008, 01:28 PM

Trust me, I understand what you are going through. I am an international student too but I did my bachelors from USA. GRE verbal/AWA can be really hard if English is not first language. The top econ programs in USA tend to put more emphasis on GRE Quant. and you have a perfect score in Quant. Good luck on your TOEFL. Don't stress too much about it though. USA schools use TOEFL to determine your fluency in English. Your TOEFL score should not affect your admission decision unless and until you have an extremely low score. You got 490 in Verbal, so you should be able to get a decent score in TOEFL as well. I have a lot of Chinese friends and I hear it from them all the time how hard it is to maintain a good GPA in a Chinese University. So considering that, you have a very good GPA. All the best

fenning · 07-09-2008, 02:56 PM

Thanks maple_leaf for encouraging me. I was so depressed yesterday. I do not know why so many chinese students pay so many attentions on GRE, which has become quite a burden for us. I will try hard on TOEFL. Soon I will choose school. My targets are Berkeley, Wharton. If I can get an offer from top 20 school, I would be satisfied.

asianeconomist · 07-09-2008, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenning

My targets are Berkeley, Wharton. If I can get an offer from top 20 school, I would be satisfied.

If you are interested in Agricultural economics, then you should target the top AREs too (Berkeley, Maryland, Cornell, UC Davis.....).

econofrosh! · 07-09-2008, 04:45 PM

Also, just to boost your confidence, I think the fact that your alma mater's the best in China (I can only imagine the competition for slots), is a huge plus and might compensate for some weaknesses.

fenning · 07-10-2008, 09:11 AM

Actually, my graduate institute is only well known in Agri econ field, but lots of professors from department of econ never hear about it. That is would be very disadvantage for my to apply for econ.
Would anyone help my analyze my weakness and rational school rank, since I am selecting the target schools right now. I am planning to apply for about 20 programs, I will try some European universities, and several business schools. Most of my applications would focus on agri econ and econ. Of course ARE in Berkeley, UC Davis, Maryland, UW Madison, will be definitely on my list. But how about department of econ? I don't know how much change I would have.

Bargalhao · 07-10-2008, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenning

I just know my GRE score, my AWA is so poor, and I am very disappointed.

Please help me evaluate my profile. I do not want to take GRE again. And I want to figure out whether I need to take GMAT to make it up.I am planning to apply econ PhD program as well as school of business. Thanks very much!

You should know that some schools (Minnesota comes to mind now) don´t accept GMAT instead of the GRE. Always good to check out the departmental websites.

fenning · 07-10-2008, 01:46 PM

Yes, I know. Since I involved in some researches on business, and have published two paper on that field. So I would like to apply for some business school. I think GMAT would work then.

07-08-2008, 03:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
fenning Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 6	Please help me evaluate my Profile, Thanks a lot!!! I just know my GRE score, my AWA is so poor, and I am very disappointed. Please help me evaluate my profile. I do not want to take GRE again. And I want to figure out whether I need to take GMAT to make it up.I am planning to apply econ PhD program as well as school of business. Thanks very much! Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ, B.S. Statistics from the best university in China Undergrad GPA: 3.6/4 (Econ), 3.5/4 (Statistics) Type of Grad: M.S. Agriculture Economics, top institute on Agriculture Econ in China. Grad GPA: 3.6/4 GRE: 800Q, 490V, 3.5AWA TOEFL: has not taken yet Math Courses: Mathematical Analysis, Probability Theory, Advanced Statistics, Math Model, Advanced Algebra, Mathematical Statistics, multivariate statistical analysis (courses in statistics major) , Calculus I/II, Linear Algebra I/II, Applied Statistics, Probability and statistics (courses in econ major ) Econ Courses (PhD-level): Micro (I, II), Metrics (I, II), methodology of empirical study (I, II) Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Principle I/II, Microeconomics I/II, Macroeconomics I/II, Metrics, Public Finance, Money & Banking, International Finance, Game Theory, Corporate Finance, Accounting, International Trade, Developmental Economics, Mathematical Economics, Risk Management and insurance , International Economics, Principles of Actuarial Science Letters of Recommendation: One is Chicago PhD, know me very well. One is well-known Chinese professor. The last is my college undergraduate professor on business who knows me well and is not famous. (He is also my coauthor of my first two papers) SOP: has not written yet. Research Experience: RA for several Econ profs, several papers to be published. The first (the second author of three, on global business, empirical research) is published on an European economic and business journal (SSCI), but that journal is not popular in America. The second paper ( the second author of three, the following work of my first paper) will be published on the same journal at the beginning of 2009. It is probable that my third paper ( the third author of four, on Chinese countryside) will be accepted by JCE. Besides that, the second paper has been selected as annual best paper in a top academic conference on business. Several other papers will be submited to journals on economics, but resutls are hard to predict. Teaching Experience: tutor for several months Interests: Agriculture Econ, Empirical study, Applied Econ, global business.

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07-08-2008, 04:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
maple_leaf Eager! Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Morristown, New Jesey Posts: 91	You have an excellent profile. Don't worry too much about AWA. As far as I know, USA universities do not care that much about AWA if you are an international student. You have all the math classes; and the fact that you have published several papers - will look great on your application. Good luck with applications.

07-09-2008, 01:07 AM	#3 (permalink)
fenning Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 6	Thanks maple_leaf very much! GRE has become a curse for me, i took GRE 2 years ago. And AWA was 3.5 , so I retake it this spring. I am planning to apply econ, agri econ and business. I think I do not focus enough. It seems that my GRE, GPA and LOR are biggest limitations for me. Although my publication would make them up to some extend, i am still not sure there is any chance to get offer from top 20 program. I will take TOEFL this weekend. What I can do now is just try my best to get a high score in TOEFL.

07-09-2008, 01:28 PM	#4 (permalink)
maple_leaf Eager! Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Morristown, New Jesey Posts: 91	Trust me, I understand what you are going through. I am an international student too but I did my bachelors from USA. GRE verbal/AWA can be really hard if English is not first language. The top econ programs in USA tend to put more emphasis on GRE Quant. and you have a perfect score in Quant. Good luck on your TOEFL. Don't stress too much about it though. USA schools use TOEFL to determine your fluency in English. Your TOEFL score should not affect your admission decision unless and until you have an extremely low score. You got 490 in Verbal, so you should be able to get a decent score in TOEFL as well. I have a lot of Chinese friends and I hear it from them all the time how hard it is to maintain a good GPA in a Chinese University. So considering that, you have a very good GPA. All the best

07-09-2008, 02:56 PM	#5 (permalink)
fenning Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 6	Thanks maple_leaf for encouraging me. I was so depressed yesterday. I do not know why so many chinese students pay so many attentions on GRE, which has become quite a burden for us. I will try hard on TOEFL. Soon I will choose school. My targets are Berkeley, Wharton. If I can get an offer from top 20 school, I would be satisfied.

07-09-2008, 04:45 PM	#7 (permalink)
econofrosh! Eager! Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 32	Also, just to boost your confidence, I think the fact that your alma mater's the best in China (I can only imagine the competition for slots), is a huge plus and might compensate for some weaknesses.

07-10-2008, 09:11 AM	#8 (permalink)
fenning Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 6	Actually, my graduate institute is only well known in Agri econ field, but lots of professors from department of econ never hear about it. That is would be very disadvantage for my to apply for econ. Would anyone help my analyze my weakness and rational school rank, since I am selecting the target schools right now. I am planning to apply for about 20 programs, I will try some European universities, and several business schools. Most of my applications would focus on agri econ and econ. Of course ARE in Berkeley, UC Davis, Maryland, UW Madison, will be definitely on my list. But how about department of econ? I don't know how much change I would have.

07-10-2008, 01:46 PM	#10 (permalink)
fenning Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 6	Yes, I know. Since I involved in some researches on business, and have published two paper on that field. So I would like to apply for some business school. I think GMAT would work then.

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