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PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Mathematics and Statistics, Nigerian top 5 university. Undergrad GPA: ~4.3/5 Type of Grad: 1.5-year masters at the same institution, majored in Statistics. Grad GPA: ~3.7/5 GRE: 169Q/166V/3.5AW Math Courses: Geometry (C), Calculus (A), Elements of Statistics (A), Real Analysis I (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Mathematics Methods (C), Probability Theory (B), Real Analysis II (A), Linear Algebra I (A), Methods of Mathematical Physics (F), Distribution Theory (A), Statistical Inference (A), Complex Analysis I (B), Real Analysis III (C), Ring Theory (A), Non-Parametric Analysis (A), Statistical Concepts & Methods (A), Real Analysis IV (A), Entrepreneurship Studies & Corporate Governance I (B), Linear Algebra II (A), Mathematical Methods III (C), Mathematical Modeling (A), Statistical Inference (A), Functional Analysis I (A), Design of Experiments (A), Stochastic Processes (A), Data Analysis (A), Measure Theory (A), Sample Surveys (A), Linear Programming (A), Measure-based Probability Theory (A) Econ Courses: Directed reading from mentor, but nothing official Masters: Standard Stats Masters plus some more measure theory Letters of Recommendation: 1 from economics research supervisor, two from other research fellows Research Experience: Was a part time (remote) research assistant at Baum Tenpers Institute Research Interests: Asset pricing SOP: Mostly Ok, nothing major. Talked about how I did GRE the first time and GRE cancelled my score, then had to save up to take the second time...Linked this to motivation to pursue graduate studies, talked about economics as well, and my interest in finance. RESULTS: Acceptances: Florida, Missouri, Alabama, Manitoba Rejections: Northwestern, Minnesota, MacGill, Toronto, Bristish Columbia, Manitoba, Frankfurt, Bonn, ....... Attending: Manitoba Comments: Extremely grateful to be attending a PhD program and genuinely very excited about it, especially given how tough things have been and how the decision to pursue a financé PhD initially seemed impossible. What would you have done differently? Decide on time to go for a PhD and start planning ahead. Take courses in economics/finance. Start econ/finance research earlier. Final thoughts: Good luck

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: History and Economics at a top European university. Undergrad GPA: ~3.7 Type of Grad: 2-year masters at the same institution. Grad GPA: ~3.2 GRE: 166Q/161V/5.5AW Math Courses: Only "mathematics for economists" courses. Econ Courses: UG: Micro/Macro/Econometrics + Advanced Econometrics, Game Theory, Economic History, Thesis. Very good results in Micro and Advanced Econometrics, nothing special otherwise. Masters: Micro (~B) /Macro (~B-) /Econometrics (~B) at around US first-year PhD level. Thesis, field courses in Advanced Applied Econometrics, Topics in Microeconomic Theory, Political Economy. No 2nd-year grades at time of application. Other Courses: Some UG history courses with good grades. Letters of Recommendation: UG/masters full prof. who has known me for 5yrs, PI at a research internship, masters thesis advisor (postdoc). Research Experience: UG and masters theses, summer internship at a high-profile policy research centre. Teaching Experience: Some grading during masters, didn't mention it in my applications though. Research Interests: Applied Microeconomics (Urban/Public), Political Economy. SOP: Tailored slightly to each institution, was open about struggles in first year of masters. Mostly discussed research ideas. Other: Applied to several predocs, received no response from any of them. RESULTS: Acceptances: One of {UNC, UIUC, UC Davis}, Berlin School of Economics Waitlists: N/A. Interviewed at Aalto. Rejections: All but one of {UNC, UIUC, UC Davis}, Brown, BU, Aalto, Bocconi, Bonn, SSE, Zurich Withdrawn: Exeter, LMU Munich. Attending: One of {UNC, UIUC, UC Davis} Comments: I wasn't even planning on applying for PhDs this year, but my main letter writer persuaded me it was worth a shot. I think my masters thesis was a big help in demonstrating my research potential, particularly in light of my sub-par exam results. All three of the schools that showed interest were strong in my chosen research area and gave me an opportunity to share my thesis, either as a writing sample or in an interview. I'm sure that everyone with mediocre grades says this, but I think I'm just not good at exams. Having letter writers to vouch for me in other respects was pretty important. I'm extremely grateful to have an offer that I'm genuinely excited about, especially given how tough this cycle was. After a difficult couple of years, I'm looking forward to a clean slate and a chance to start developing my own research projects. What would you have done differently? Decided to go for it earlier. Ideally, I would have had more time to search for schools that fit my interests, but I made the decision to apply pretty late on. If I'd been applying to higher-ranked places, I would have retaken the GRE, but I figured it wasn't essential for the programs I was targeting. As bizarre as it sounds given the current environment, I'd probably have applied to a couple more US programs. Obviously, I should have worked much harder in the first year of my masters. I didn't recognise the amount of catching up I needed to do to compensate for my lack of technical background, and I was pretty overwhelmed when it came to the final exams. Fortunately, the work I've put into my thesis this year ended up being enough. Final thoughts: If you think there's a chance, go for it. You "only" have the application fees to lose.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Economics major from HYPMS Undergrad GPA: 3.76/4.00 Type of Master’s: 2-year MSc in Economics from a well-known continental European school Grad GPA (at submission): Equivalent to 4.26/4.00 GRE: 170Q / 164V / 5.0 AW Course Information: Math Courses (Undergrad): Calc II (P), Calc III (B+), Linear Algebra (B), Real Analysis (A-), Optimization (A), Theoretical Machine Learning (A), Probability (A) Econ Courses (Undergrad): Intermediate Micro (A-), Intermediate Macro (B), Intermediate Econometrics (A-), Senior Thesis (A+) Grad Econ Courses: Micro, Macro, Econometrics, Game Theory, Math Stats, Math for Econ All A+ except an A in Math Stats LORs: One field-leading, tenured finance professor at MSc (advisor -- extremely strong) One tenured economics professor from MSc (former co-editor at a top-6 general interest journal) One well-published tenured finance professor at MSc Honours thesis advisor from undergrad (untenured finance prof, now in a much, much lower ranked department). All were incredibly strong, especially my MSc advisor Research Experience: 2 years RA work with MSc faculty Undergrad honors thesis (awarded Best Undergrad Thesis in department) Research Interests: Household Finance, Corporate Finance & Banking SOP: Described my academic training and research background in detail. Discussed what I’d done and what I’d like to explore, but didn’t tailor to individual programs -- which might’ve hurt for some places. RESULTS: Economics PhD: Accepted: NYU Waitlisted: Duke (declined) Rejected: Columbia, Northwestern (Kellogg) Finance PhD: Accepted: NYU, Ohio State, Boston College, Rice, UT Austin, University of Washington (Seattle) Informal (offers strongly implied, but not pursued): USC Waitlisted: LSE, LBS, UNC Rejected: Everywhere else in the top 30 Interviews: Over 2/3 of the finance programmes I applied to; only T10 interview was Columbia (NYU didn’t interview) Attending: NYU Finance PhD Comments: This process was brutal at first -- lots of silence and rejections early on, and it coincided with a really tough time in my personal life due to a serious family health emergency. Two years ago, I was told by a PhD student I know that I’d never get into a PhD. But I took a chance on myself, went to Europe, and gave it everything I had. My MSc advisor told me that if my undergrad grades had been stronger, I might’ve had a real shot at places like Stanford GSB, HBS Business Econ, or MIT Econ -- but I wouldn't have had the same letters or experience if I hadn’t gone through this path, so I have no regrets. I am also a US Citizen, as well as non-URM (if that matters for anyone). What I’d do differently: Take undergrad more seriously early on -- poor planning led to cramming too many hard courses in one semester. Build a stronger math foundation going in to undergrad. Possibly tailor my SOP a bit more to each school. Final Thoughts: I’m glad to be going home after two tough but formative years in Europe. For anyone struggling or taking a nontraditional path: don’t give up. There are many ways to get there -- just keep pushing.

Hey guys, I am waitlisted at a school and have seen both acceptances and rejections on gradcafe yesterday (from waitlisted candidates). However, I haven’t heard from them yet. Should I email them? I wrote to them on 14th, but haven’t heard back. Also, what is the deadline to accept if you get offers after 15th April?

I received a rejection email from UCLA at 11:15 PM PST on the 15th. What an absolute joke.

Most stuff is over, but there is often a little movement after April 15. And this year is so nuts that who knows?

Hi guys. Kind of confused: it's already Apr. 16th, isn't everything over?

Any waitlist movement at UT Austin?

They said on last Friday that at least 5 out of 16 offer holders need to decline in order to start sending off-waitlist offers. Then, on 4/14, they said they can send out some off-waitlist offers. However, on 4/15, they told me that they cannot give me an offer.

what did ucsd say? i was told that the chances have become small.

As a person in similar situation, I was high on waitlist at UW Madison and was on waitlist at UCSD. Got rejected from both yesterday. Also got rejected by UCLA today via portal(no e-mail). Still no news from NYU and a waitlist from Michigan. What a strange cycle! Anyway, good luck to those on waitlists.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top 20 US university Undergrad GPA: 3.97 Type of Grad: N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE: 170Q + 157V + 4.0W Math Courses: several (10+) undergrad courses, B in linear algebra II, A- in Analysis II, and A/A+ in all others Econ Courses: several undergrad courses, all A/A+ Other Courses: Lots of Stats courses (I double major in Stats) Letters of Recommendation: thesis mentor/AP at my university/summer research mentor Research Experience: thesis, RA for the AP mentioned above, 2 * summer research Teaching Experience: N/A Research Interests: IO/health SOP: TBH it's pretty bad. I am not good at writing essays. Other: RESULTS: Acceptances: Toronto, UBC, some masters (e.g. UChicago MAPSS)/predoc (e.g. at UChicago) Waitlists: Wisconsin (withdrew after determined to pursue a PhD in Canada), UMich (withdrew) Rejections: MIT, Stanford, UChicago, UCB, several T20 Pending: UCLA (well they don't even have an option of withdrawal), Vanderbilt (campus visited, but withdrew after deciding to go to Canada) Attending: Toronto! Comments: Please feel free to DM me if you need more detailed info What would you have done differently? Take some PhD courses; do more research

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: T3 Canadian, Honors Joint Econ & Finance, minor in Stats, econ dept rank: 1/219 Undergrad GPA: 3.95 Type of Grad: visiting post-bac Grad GPA: 4.00 GRE: 170Q/166V Math Courses: Calc I-III, probability x2, stats, linear algebra x2, regressions, ODEs, grad Stochastic Calc Econ Courses: calc- & proof-based micro & macro theory, grad game theory & econometrics x2 Other Courses: ML, R, Python, grad computational econ, bunch of corporate finance and asset pricing/derivatives, Quant Modeling, Quant Portfolio Management & Algorithmic Trading Letters of Recommendation: senior Fed economist, junior Fed economist, well-known metrics prof and mentor (from u/g), grad prof in computational econ Research Experience: 6mo behavioral econ as u/g, 2yr NY Fed RA in macro & monetary studies Teaching Experience: N/A Research Interests: innovation, AI, macro & labor SOP: probably very average Other: NSF 2pg proposal = writing sample (common for Fed RAs) RESULTS: Acceptances: UT-Austin, UMD, UMich, USC Waitlists: Duke (r), Northwestern (r) Rejections: NYU, Berkeley, UPenn, Yale, UCSD, HBS, CBS, GSB, Stern, Booth Pending: UCLA Attending: UMich Comments: grateful for the options, given the uncertainty this cycle; really would have liked to stay in NYC What would you have done differently? Pick a different cycle

not necessarily. The waitlist only moves if the expected yield is significantly below their targeted class size. They expect students to reject their offer.

Any update on Michigan? Is there a short list? What about UCB ARE?

someone rejected their offer, so i am guessing the waitlist will move.

any news from NYU?

I can’t speak for UCSC, but MSU’s labor professors are great. Interesting classes and really encouraging and helpful, research-wise. I haven’t had much exposure to the environmental side, but I’ve heard only good things

have you received any email or something from NYU or Wisconsin?

Same situation here. I guess market will clear at the end. Some may end up after April 15.

guys have you heard anything about NYU waitlist? anyone got admitted off the waitlist? What about Wisconsin? I am new here, do universities make decisions till tmrw night? or it can happen afterward?

I don’t think so, this is what they said last week: This year more than ever it seems that the waitlist has been very slow and no movement on the list.

Did they admit anyone off the waitlist?

is this a prediction or a threat?

These next 36 hours are going to be chaos.