Leaderboard

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

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.

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

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: T3 LAC, Economics Major (High Honors), Classical Studies Minor (High Honors), Statistics Minor Undergrad GPA: 3.76 Type of Grad: N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE: 168Q, 166V, 4.5AW Math Courses: Real Analysis (A), Introduction to Proofs and Sets (A), Linear Algebra (A-), Multivariable Calculus (P), Probability (P), Mathematical Statistics (P), Statistical Methods II (P), Single Variable Calculus (P) Econ Courses: Honors Public Economics (A), Honors International Economics (A/A-), Honors Econometrics (P), Behavioral Economics (A), Intermediate Econometrics (A), Financial Accounting (A-), Introduction to Econometrics (A), Intermediate Macroeconomics (A-), Intermediate Microeconomics (B+), Economic Development (A-), Introduction to Economics (A-) Research Experience: 2-year predoc at T3 B-School, 2-year RA at Fed, summer RA for undergrad prof, summer RA at World Bank, independent research papers from UG and last four years of work, a few co-authored papers with PIs at Fed and B-School Letters of Recommendation: 1 from B-School PI, 1 from Fed PI, 1 from B-School Co-Author (Professor in econ department of same university). All three letters are very strong. Two of the three letters are from very well know economists. Teaching Experience: TA Urban Economics Course (Ran Sections, Office Hours, Graded), TA Game Theory (Office Hours, Graded) Research Interests: Urban Economics (Primary), Labor Economics (Secondary), Applied Microeconomics (Secondary) SOP: Average, nothing special. Talked about my interest in research, how my long pre-PhD career in research has prepared me, and how I fell in love with economics after working at the World Bank. RESULTS: Acceptances: Columbia, Duke, Michigan, UC Davis Informal: (Was in communication with these schools but rejected them before they sent out a formal decision) USC, Northwestern Kellogg, NYU Stern Waitlists: Wharton (Accepted), UChicago (Declined), UChicago Booth (Declined), Maryland (Declined), Wisconsin (Declined), Brown (Rejected) Rejections: Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Stanford GSB, Harvard Business School, Northwestern, Harvard Kennedy, Minnesota, UChicago Harris, Yale, NYU (IR), LSE, Princeton, UC Berkeley, UPenn, UCLA (IR), Columbia Business School (IR) Pending: N/A Attending: Wharton Applied Economics Comments: I think this was a tough cycle for everyone, but I'm very happy with my placement given my strong interest in Urban Economics and the large Real Estate group that is part of the Wharton program. I think my application was a little unbalanced. I think I have very strong letters of rec and research experience, but relatively weaker grades and math background (COVID ended up with a lot of P/F math classes). What would you have done differently? I'm certainly happy with my trajectory. If I realized I wanted to do an econ PhD earlier in undergrad I could have taken more math classes (and real analysis) earlier. I'm sure doing a second pre-doc stands out, but my situation was a bit unique (would have had to stay a third year at the Fed, got a position with a prof I really wanted to work with at the B-School, so the opportunity cost was 1 year instead of 2). Certainly not a strategy I'd suggest to everyone, but it's worked for me and I'm happy I've gone this route. I've also opted to not take a lot of classes while pre-docing, not sure it's a dominant strategy but not one I would change. Focusing on research has both made my life more enjoyable and improved my letters and research output. On the PhD application side I might have been better off applying to fewer schools, especially ones I was not a particularly good fit for. My initial strategy was to apply very broadly to almost every high-ranked program that I would want to go to with a couple safeties, but I think I could have saved myself some time (and money) by being a little more choosey amongst the T20. I would recommend that prospective students also look at the Business Economics/Applied Economics programs at a lot of these schools, as they're a great option.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top 3 US LAC, Double Major in Economics and Mathematics, cum laude Undergrad GPA: 3.52 Type of Grad: T10 Graduate-Level Non-Degree Math Coursework Grad GPA: 4.0 GRE: 170Q 156V 5.0AW Undergrad Math Courses: (Placed out of Single-Variable Calculus and Intro Stats) Multivariable Calculus (A-), Proof-Based Linear Algebra (A-), Intro Real Analysis (B), Intermediate Statistics (B), Proof-Based Math Stats 1 (A-), Proof-Based Math Stats 2 (B), Ordinary Differential Equations (A), Abstract Algebra (B) Grad Math Courses: Advanced Real and Functional Analysis (A), Regression Analysis and Machine Learning Methods for Data Analysis (A) Econ Courses: Intro Econ (B), Lower-Level Elective in Political Economy (A-), Lower-Level Elective in Inequality (B+), Advanced Micro (A-), Advanced Macro (B+), Econometrics (A), Upper-Level Elective in Economic History and Growth (A), Upper-Level Game Theory Course (B), Honors Seminar (A), Lower-Level Elective in Economic Networks (A), Honors Thesis (A) Letters of Recommendation: 1 from Thesis Advisor at Top 3 LAC, 1 from Senior Fed Economist with whom I had a strong relationship, 1 from Advanced Real and Functional Analysis Professor. While I have not been shown the content of any of my letters, I cannot imagine any of these letters being short of amazing. My thesis advisor and Fed economist were extremely supportive and both expressed they thought my research ability was amazing and thought my graduate-level math coursework after college combined with my much better Econ performance (and general performance) in my last two years would allow me to overcome a lower GPA, and they were expecting me to get multiple offers in the 11-20 range (my Fed economist also mentioned my predecessor had a similarly low GPA from undergrad without some of the same compensating factors that I had and still managed to get multiple Top 20 offers). I decided to get my third letter from the analysis professor because the professor actually reached out to me after he graded the final exams saying he was extremely impressed by my performance in the class and would be happy to write a letter attesting to my quantitative ability, which I felt would be extremely beneficial given the B's in math classes. Research Experience: Two-Year Regional Fed RA, Honors Senior Thesis in Economics (recommended for magna cum laude honors), a few other extracurricular research experiences during college Teaching Experience: Econometrics Tutor Research Interests: Labor Economics and Public Economics on Applied Microeconomics Side (Primary), Applied Econometrics (Secondary) SOP: [For programs which did not have a combined Personal Statement and SOP, I split these between the Personal Statement and SOP] I talked about my background in economics and mathematics, mentioned how I had external circumstances compounding the effects of COVID which contributed to me having much weaker performance during the 2020-2021 academic year (half of my B's and B+'s are from this one year) while pointing towards later coursework and graduate math classes as proof this was not representative of my ability, explained specific areas of labor and public economics I am interested in and how they have been inspired by my own experiences, and presented a condensed version of my NSF proposal which my thesis advisor and Fed economist both thought were amazing (to demonstrate research ability). Other: Award from Economics Department RESULTS: (all programs are regular Econ PhD unless otherwise noted) Acceptances: LSE EME MSc, Tilburg Economics Research Master's (Unfunded) Waitlists: Boston College (Withdrawn), Georgetown (Withdrawn), CEMFI (Rejected after Initial Waitlist), University of Western Ontario PhD-Stream MA Economics (Withdrawn) Rejections: MIT, Harvard Econ, Harvard Public Policy, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, UCLA, UC San Diego, Cornell, Minnesota, Brown, Maryland, BU, UC Davis, LSE Econ PhD, Oxford MPhil+DPhil, Oxford MPhil, Toronto (Direct-Entry), UBC (Direct-Entry), McGill (Direct-Entry), Toulouse, Barcelona, Zurich (Fast-Track), Bonn, Stockholm School of Econ, Stockholm U, Tinbergen Institute Research Master's Attending: LSE EME MSc Comments: This was a really rough cycle, largely due to funding issues! While my GPA was definitely a hole in my profile, my advisors don't think it was an issue and mostly think my relatively poor results this year are due to really bad luck combined with a terrible market for PhD applicants this year. I also got confirmation from a Top 20 Econ professor that their predictions would probably have been correct during a normal year (I did not overshoot), but many cohorts are much smaller than usual, which has created a lot more randomness in the process. However, I remain determined to get an Economics PhD and become an economics professor! I applied to top European and Canadian PhD programs (along with two research master's programs in the Netherlands, where funded acceptances pretty much guarantee transfer to PhD but unfunded acceptances do not) alongside top US programs due to personal circumstances. I knew that I would probably have a rougher time at non-US programs since I only had a bachelor's degree without a perfect GPA (no master's) and they may have been unaware of my school's prestige since it is not a research university, but I was not expecting top US program admissions to be a lot worse than usual. I just am glad that after I got rejected by the LSE PhD, I added the EME program as a second choice (I didn't apply to most top European and Canadian master's other than the two research master's because my advisors and I didn't imagine I would ever be in this situation)! Though the reason LSE's EME master's has great placements is largely due to its reputation for extreme rigor, I know I can and will do great, and believe it is the perfect setting to demonstrate my true academic potential! Due to the situation with academia in the US, I will probably be using the LSE master's as a stepping stone to a top European or Canadian PhD. What would you have done differently? I would have studied a lot more. I went through a lot of hard personal stuff during college which distracted me from studying nearly as much as I should have. Thankfully, I am in a much better place now, and am ready to prove it with LSE's EME program. If I started the process with any foresight that I could end up at a master's program (but without knowing I would get into the EME program), I would have added several top European and Canadian master's programs to the list, though I would not have considered choosing any of them over the EME unless they were one of the top few AND came with full funding.

Some more info: they responded to my email and told me that they are still reviewing applications and will be sending out an update next week. My sense is that they are waiting to see how many admits actually accept the offer after visit day this week and are keeping some people on the line in case a large number of their first choices decline.

Development. Best of luck! Please let me know here if you have updates 🙏

I received an offer from UBC two days ago.

Yeah, I did. It was interesting but yeah given that they haven't really said anything sense, not terribly informative.