Glut of Economists

[MSibery]

My concerns might be due to a sampling bias. However, I have felt that admissions to a Ph. D. in economics is one of the harder fields to get into. Maybe its because I went to LSE and my friends are economics majors. However, it seems like it is more competitive then getting into law or medical school at this point. Would you agree? Or do you think that there are fewer people trying to do it?

[YoungEconomist]

Originally Posted by MSibery

However, it seems like it is more competitive then getting into law or medical school at this point. Would you agree?

I tend to agree with this (but maybe I'm biased ).

I thought the top law and medical schools actually admit a higher proportion of those that apply, then do the top Econ PhD programs. Furthermore, when it comes to law school, it seems that a lot of Econ PhDs considered that at one point, and where under the impression that they could do quite well in the law school admissions process. This is only anecdotal, but I know a guy at a top 15 or 20 Econ PhD program, that probably could've attended a top 5 law school.

Not to mention, once you get into an Econ PhD program, there's still a pretty good chance you will either fail prelims, or pass prelims and not finish a dissertation. At most law schools, if you are admitted, then you're almost gauranteed to graduate with your JD (unless you choose to drop out, which is rare).

I saw something online once which tried to measure "the hardest" PhD programs. According to their estimates, the only 2 harder than Econ where Physics and Math. I wish they would of also included Med School, Law School, and MBA programs. I realize that the study could be debated, but I think it'd still be interesting to see.

[jeeves0923]

I'm planning on applying to Law School as well this season. My predicted outcome is to get admitted to a higher ranked law school than Econ PhD unless I get NSF. For example, I think I probably have around 60% chance at Berkeley Law, but closer to 15% on Econ PhD.

Of course, if NSF comes through, it's a whole new ballgame.

One glaring exception I would say to this theorem is Yale Law. It is darn near impossible to get into. A buddy of mine got a 178 on his LSAT, Highest Honors Engineering Diploma with Philosophy minor at a top 10 engineering school, rejected at Yale. He ended up getting funding (!!!) at UMich.

[Norfrost]

Originally Posted by YoungEconomist

I saw something online once which tried to measure "the hardest" PhD programs. According to their estimates, the only 2 harder than Econ where Physics and Math. I wish they would of also included Med School, Law School, and MBA programs. I realize that the study could be debated, but I think it'd still be interesting to see.

I think you are referring to the econphd admission guide (under the section "How difficult is admission to a good program?") which quotes physics, math and computer science programs as being the toughest to get into. The conclusions seem to be entirely based on GRE scores though.