Advice about going on for a Ph. D. (more non-traditional)

[MSibery]

I know that many individuals are rather up nervous given their undergraduate careers and phasing the prospects of not getting into a graduate economcis school. I am with pretty much everyone there. I went to a top economics undergraduate program and did an honors program that was basically mathematical economics. The class gave me such quantitative classes as collective decision making and the political economy and quantitative models in political science. It also gave me a quantitative microeconomics class and a game theory course. However, the SAT average for the class was a 765 (this is from high school scores). This is the 98th-99th percentile I believe. Thus, my grades suffered from the competition. I had a decent gpa, just under a 3.7. However, my mathematical classes have been average at best, given that they were in honors. I still don't believe that is an excuse. I will take Real Analysis in the fall. I need differential equations still. However, I have taken survey sampling, which someone told me would be a good class to take in preparation for graduate school in economics. I will have two theses written and I will have taken some more quantitative courses at LSE. I was wondering if the following schools will be realistic. I am not looking at the top 5. Those are hard to get into. You almost have to have a Ph. D. in mathematics. However, I've narrowed the list down to the following:

Michigan
Wisconsin
UIUC
WUSTL
Michigan State
John Hopkins

[jeeves0923]

I think pedigree makes up for a sub-perfect GPA. Adcoms are well aware of the quality of students at different institutions.

Given good GREs (780Q+) and LORs, I'd say you shouldn't have trouble getting an admit or two from that list.

[asianeconomist]

Originally Posted by MSibery

I have taken survey sampling, which someone told me would be a good class to take in preparation for graduate school in economics.

Would it be ? What does the course teach ? I frankly have never heard of it.

[MSibery]

Survey sampling is probably not the correct term for it. It is through the statistics department. It's an entire class about sampling theory. I talked to Jeffrey Wooldridge about it once. He said that it is rarely taught in economics classes. However, most social statistics come from a survey. It teaches you about how to correct forecasts those statistics.

[YoungEconomist]

Originally Posted by MSibery

Michigan
Wisconsin
UIUC
WUSTL
Michigan State
John Hopkins

There's a decent spread here, so I'd say you're likely to get some admits. However, to be safe you should consider applying to some more schools (I'd say 2 - 4 more). The admissions process can be kinda random sometimes, so if I was you I'd feel more comfortable if I had a few more schools. I'm applying to 10 schools, and I imagine that many people on here think that's even a low number (in fact, originally I was planning on applying to 12, but then decided on 10 instead). If I was you, I'd probably pick 1 - 2 safeties, and 1 - 2 schools that resemble the general range of the programs you listed above.

[untitled]

Originally Posted by MSibery

It is through the statistics department. It's an entire class about sampling theory.

I'm not sure whether courses in probability theory (through math or statistics departments), econometrics, or advanced applied statistics courses (such as sampling theory or regression analysis) are a better signal to graduate programs as an undergraduate, but applied statistics courses and textbooks have been the most useful to me in research, and would be the clearest signal to potential employers of ability (although papers applying statistics are just as good). My feeling is probability theory is the best signal to graduate programs, but I'm sure graduate econometrics or high level applied statistics are good signals, too.