Advice on what range of schools to apply to

[jmm87]

Hello everyone,

I’m in the process of deciding which schools to apply to and would appreciate your advice. My profile is as follows:

Undergrad: US Top 25 Econ PhD program, Econ major, Applied Math minor // School has a tough reputation, though a few people do get As
GPA: 3.57 (overall)
GRE: Will take in August

Econ classes: Introductory macro (pass), Introductory micro (B+), Intermediate macro (B+), Intermediate micro (B-), Developmental economics (B), Portfolio theory (B+), Econometrics (A)

Math classes: Calc I (pass), Calc II (A), Calc III (C+), Introductory statistics (A), Mathematical modeling / linear programming (A)

Classes to be taken fall 08 semester: Calc III (repeating), Linear algebra, Optimization, more econometrics, trade theory

Research experience: RA for an economist in a major US government agency

Teaching experience: None

LORs: None set in stone at the moment but if all goes according to plan, one from econometrics professor (PhD, Brown), one from research advisor (PhD Ag Econ, Wisconsin), and one from optimization/modeling professor (PhD Applied Math, JHU)

Interests: Development, Trade, Environment, Resource

Questions:
1)Is it is a wise decision to retake Calc III (and have the C+ disappear) or would a semester of differential equations or upper level probability be preferable?
2)Will schools look at a second transcript sent after the application due date if it has final fall semester grades?

Are the top 20 schools out of my reach, what about 20-40? I really want an econ PhD but am confused as to what level of school I’m capable of being admitted into.

[jeeves0923]

Ask your letter writers. They are the best equipped to give this advice, since they know the reputation of your school and your quality relative to your peers.

[hubrishedge]

To answer your second question, many schools specifically ask you to send your fall semester grades once they are available. I'm pretty sure almost everywhere will include them in your application's consideration if you get them sent in by, say, mid January.

[jmm87]

That's reassuring to hear hubrishedge. I did ask one of my potential letter writers and was told to apply to schools in the 1-40 range. From my understanding though, that's a fairly broad range and I was hoping for something a bit more specific.

[jeeves0923]

Maryland might be a good fit for your interests, potentially a reach. Columbia is also very good at those things, but I think it would be a reach for you. Since you are interested in applied and environment, check ARE departments at Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Michigan State. Also look at schools ranked up there just for trade and development.

Find people who do research you like, then ask your letter writers their assessment of your ability to get to their institution, etc etc.

[C152dude]

Originally Posted by jmm87

That's reassuring to hear hubrishedge. I did ask one of my potential letter writers and was told to apply to schools in the 1-40 range. From my understanding though, that's a fairly broad range and I was hoping for something a bit more specific.

If this person is one of your recommenders, you should ask him/her to be more specific.