Economics Phd Application advice

[aspiringphd]

I am a Master's student in Economics from the best College in India and I wish to apply for a Phd in Economics. However, due to lack of Research Experience/TA's I am apprehensive about applying to a good university in US.Further my college does not have a reputation of sending students for Phd to top colleges in the US.

I need advice regarding:

1) Whether a 1 year Mphil at Cambridge/ a 2 year Mphil at Oxford/LSE EME(1 year) be an achievable option for me?

2) What are the prospects of getting into a Phd program at a top US university/LSE/ Cambridge/Oxford after getting a Masters from any of the above mentioned(if it is possible for me to get into any of the Programs)?

3) What universities can i try in the US for a Phd?

 

 

I have a good Academic record. GRE - Q-168,V-156,AWA-4.5

Any suggestions or advice are welcome.

Thanks in advance

[student93]

I think it would depend a lot on your profile

 

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad:

Undergrad GPA:

Type of Grad:

Grad GPA:

GRE:

Math Courses:

Econ Courses (grad-level):

Econ Courses (undergrad-level):

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation:

Research Experience:

Teaching Experience:

Research Interests:

SOP:

Concerns:

Other:

Applying to:

[aspiringphd]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Bachelor's in Economics (One of the top 3 colleges in the country)

Undergrad GPA: 8.00/10

Type of Grad: Ms Economics (Top College in the country)

Grad GPA: Percentage - 70%+

GRE:168Q 156V 4.5 AWA

Math Courses:Real Analysis(Half Unit),Linear Algebra(Half Unit),Calculus(I,II),Numerical Analysis

Econ Courses (grad-level):Microeconomics(I,II),Macroeconomics(I,II),Game Theory(I,II),Econometrics(I,II),Time Series Analysis

All courses were pretty advanced.

Econ Courses (undergrad-level):Intermediate Microeconomics(4 courses),Macroeconomics(4 courses),Development Economics(4 courses),Econometrics(1 course),Economics Statistics(4 courses),International Trade(1 course),Finance(1 course)

Courses were less mathematically advanced.

Other Courses:A couple Certificate courses in Advanced Statistics.

Letters of Recommendation:

Research Experience:Nil

Teaching Experience:Nil

Research Interests: Econometrics,Macroeconomics,Microeconomics,Financial Economics

SOP:Not prepared yet

Concerns:No RA/TA,Average GPA

Other:My College does not have a good record of placing students in top Phd programs(top 20-30)

Applying to: Not decided but considering applying for a Master's program in UK to gain good experience in economic research and as a stepping stone to top US universities/continuing for a Phd in the UK itself.

[jdl7851]

please delete

[poli95]

I am a Master's student in Economics from the best College in India and I wish to apply for a Phd in Economics. However, due to lack of Research Experience/TA's I am apprehensive about applying to a good university in US.Further my college does not have a reputation of sending students for Phd to top colleges in the US.

I need advice regarding:

1) Whether a 1 year Mphil at Cambridge/ a 2 year Mphil at Oxford/LSE EME(1 year) be an achievable option for me?

2) What are the prospects of getting into a Phd program at a top US university/LSE/ Cambridge/Oxford after getting a Masters from any of the above mentioned(if it is possible for me to get into any of the Programs)?

3) What universities can i try in the US for a Phd?

 

 

I have a good Academic record. GRE - Q-168,V-156,AWA-4.5

Any suggestions or advice are welcome.

Thanks in advance

 

Hi, I am an Indian with a masters degree in the UK. This is my advice:

Since you said you come from a top 3 uni in India and it has no record of sending sending students to top phds in the US, I am guessing it is not DSE or ISI. It looks like you have done some serious Econ and good enough math, so I think you have a shot at getting into the masters degrees you mentioned above.

1) You should know that MPhil in Economic Research at Cambridge is a pretty good signal to phd adcoms everywhere and I believe that with your background and very good reference letters speaking to your ranking in your cohort, you would be able to get in. However, if you can afford to pay for Oxford's Mphil, it is a better option. A 2 year course would give you more time to settle down and get used to the uk system and at the same time will help you with applying for a phd program at the beginning of the second year without having to wait for a year. The LSE EME course is considered ridiculously hard and would not recommend doing it EVER!!

2) If you do a masters from the above unis, you are guaranteed a place in their phd program if you get a distinction (70%) in their MPhil/MSc courses. However, getting a distinction is not very easy and will need a lot of hard work. I would also not recommend doing a phd at Cambridge because the professors there are considered to be aloof and seated on a high horse for some reason. The ranking for PhD programmes in the UK is LSE>Oxford>UCL>Cambridge=Warwick (generally).

3) It depends on your interests obviously.... If you manage to secure a distinction in one of the above masters degrees, it would make sense to apply only to top 20 unis in the US because you are guaranteed a place in a very good uni in the UK.

 

In my experience, aiming for a US PhD makes a lot more sense because there are simply more unis in the US and more post-phd opportunities. It is hard for a UK phD to compete with US phds in the US job market. And to aim for a US PhD the fool proof way is to get as much maths as possible. especially if you are interested in quantitative macro or metrics. An applied maths degree with some PhD level Econ modules would be a great signal to adcoms but again its hard to get into this line without a formal maths background. Please let me know if you have any other qs.

 

Hope this was helpful!!!