My profs. push me too hard and too far.

[averageaverage]

Originally Posted by breakz

There is no iron clad cutoff (despite whatever people may say). I got a 770 on my first take, and have been told by admissions people from the same school (who were adcoms different years, top 50 program) to retake and not retake.

Yeah, adcom members change every year and the decisions are made solely by their interests. Some profs want 800Q but some other profs don't care too much.

Some profs take V into account but some other don't care too much. At lower ranked schools, SOP matters as well. If adcom is made up of Micro theorists, then they take those interested in Micro.

It's their chance to get students with the same interest so that they can get RAs...

[africaecon]

@averageaverage
Dude there is a price to pay for everything. May be it's sacrificing some time with ur girlfriend. But tomorrow you will reap the benefits. May be you need to manage your time better.

[breakz]

Originally Posted by averageaverage

Hi guys! Thank you very much!

I was pretty stressed last night. Like you guys, I am putting so much effort on classes and research, sacrificing my personal life. I had a lot of conflicts with my girlfriend because I am always studying. It is fun to study and learn new things but I need to take care of my life, too.

I used to have so much fun all the time; many parties at local clubs and beach, intense exercise at my university's recreation center.

My friends always call me and blame that I became “anti-social.” My girlfriend says that I became less sweet. Even though she understands my situation, she can't afford not to feel lonely while I am at the library till late night almost everyday.

Really? Late night almost every day?

Well, I could echo the "time management" sentiment africa put up here, but lets be real: getting into econ grad school involves sacrifices. Its a serious decision, as it requires a lot of sacrifices on the way to a great school.

If you're fascinated by econ, the sacrifices are worth it when you're done. But there's no denying the additional benefits reaped by students who attended higher-ranked schools (more freedom of job placement, higher wages, more respect, etc.)

[sonicskat]

This sounds like my senior year of undergrad all over again...

If you're that stressed out now, are you sure you want to go to grad school?

What you're going through is a drop in the bucket compared to the first year, even at schools below the top 10....i would know

[Thesus]

If you don't want to retake the GRE, apply to more private schools - they're said to care less about the verbal component, since the publics will likely place greater expectation on you to interact with the undergrads in English.