Profile Evaluation. Help required

[STOCKstar19]

Hey guys, I've been reading the boards here for awhile now. I'm nearing the time to apply to graduate school and I was wondering if you could give me a good idea where to apply to as far as Econ PhD.

 

Undergraduate institute: top 40 in math and economics (public)

GPA: 3.45

GRE: 167

 

My previous coursework in Economics: Basic Micro (A), Basic Macro (A), Intermediate Macro (B+), Intermediate Micro (A), Game theory (A), Statistics (not econometrics) (A). I plan on taking graduate econ next semester, however this won't be on my transcript when I apply.

 

Math coursework: Calculus 1-3 (A)(B)(B+), Linear algebra © :( analysis of ODE's (A), Stability of ODE's (B), PDE's (A), Mathematical Modelling (A), Real Analysis (A), Advanced Applied mathematics (A).

 

I wasn't very focused on school at the time I took Linear algebra, it was my first semester after transferring and it was my first class. Unfortunate, but since then I have learned a large deal of LA in other classes.

 

Research- I have research in functional analysis with a professor dealing with some existence and uniqueness issues in differential equations, I also have research in stochastic processes. Finally I have some research I could pursue in fluid dynamics if I decide to. I'm not sure if that helps at all for economics however. I was originally planning on applied math graduate school but changed my mind halfway through junior year. I'm planning on applying to schools in 50-25 range. Any advice and thoughts on my profile?

Edited September 1, 2016 by STOCKstar19

[startz]

One piece of advice: retake the GRE. A 162 isn't consistent with the amount of math you've done.

[STOCKstar19]

Oh I'm sorry I actually wrote that wrong. 167 was the quant section.

[startz]

167 is good. The math research you've done is certainly a positive. What kind of letters of recommendation are you going to have from econ professors?

[STOCKstar19]

I'm hoping that I'll have a good letter of recommendation from the professor that taught my micro course. He did his training at MIT, the other two letters would both be from professors I did math research with.

[startz]

Don't hope. Go talk to the econ professor and talk about what range of schools you should apply to. And it would be a lot better if you had at least two econ letters, but you need to work with what you've got.

[STOCKstar19]

Thats the plan! Is it likely that I can crack top 50 ish schools? I plan on applying to Boulder, Washington, Arizona, and a few other schools on the east coast. My reach schools would most likely be Boston, Maryland, and Michigan state. Thank you for the help!

[startz]

It will depend on the letters of recommendation, but top 50 is likely to work.

[chateauheart]

You seem to have a realistic range. You can even throw a few apps at 15-25 schools. If you're taking grad micro this semester, it can still be part of your application. In my experience 80-90% of programs have some channel for you to report your mid-year grades.

[EustaciaVye]

I thought I'd chime in as I had some similarities in my profile when I applied in the previous cycle. I had poor/mediocre grades in Calc, Linear Algebra and ODEs but got A's in more advanced math theory classes (the result of not being motivated during the first two years of undergrad). I didn't get a C in LA (got a B+), but your undergrad institution is ranked significantly higher than the one I attended. I'm commenting on here because when I was applying I couldn't find profiles similar to mine; so perhaps I can be of help to you! A difference in our profiles is that I had a master's degree, but it was from an unprestigious school, so your letters will likely come from loftier individuals than mine did.

 

I got in to the schools I applied to in the 30-50 last year and I think you'll likewise be competitive in that range, (as mentioned by others you'll want to apply to some higher ranked places). I think the strength of LORs are going to be an important determinant in your case.

 

Anyway, I just wanted to reassure you that having less than stellar grades early on in undergrad isn't the kiss of death, provided that you excelled in the later years. Definitely send your fall semester grades to the schools your applying to (assuming you continue to do well). Some schools have their deadlines prior to getting fall semester grades (I recall OSU and MSU being two of them), but you can still send an updated transcript once grades are posted for the fall.

[STOCKstar19]

Thanks for the help everyone! I am also considering a Canadian masters to help improve my profile. Would I be competitive for a big 4 canadian masters such as Toronto or UBC?