needshelp Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 Hi all, I have previously posted a thread regarding my GPA and grades, but I've figured that it would be better to provide my profile to get a better feedback: Undergraduate: Top 20 Econ; Note that I stayed an extra year at undergrad. Overall GPA: 3.67/4.00, Last 4 semester: 3.87/4.00 Graduate: N/A Math/Stats Courses: Calc 1 (A), Calc 2 (A), Calc 3 (A), Multivariate Calculus (A), Intro to Probability (B), Advanced/Honors Probability (A), Mathematical Statistics (A), Ordinary Diff Eq (B), Partial Diff Eq (A), Matrix Algebra (initially C, and B after retake), Intro to Proof ©, Discrete Math (B), Real Analysis 1 (initially C, and A after retake), Real Analysis 2 (A), Grad-level Real Analysis (A), Linear Algebra (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Topology (Grad-level, A), Measure Theory (Grad-level, A), Stochastic Processes (A), Math Research (A), a statistics elective course (A) Econ Courses: Intro to Econ (B), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics 1 (B), Econometrics 2 (B), and several electives (mix of A's and B's), PhD Microeconomics (A), PhD Econometrics (A) (these two PhD courses were taken while working as a predoctoral RA) Research Experience: (1) 1-year RA to a macro professor (undergrad) (2) 1.5-year RA to a behavioral econ professor (undergrad) (3) 3-month summer RA at a top university in Asia (undergrad) (4) a semester-long independent research study under the macro professor (undergrad) (5) a semester-long math research project (undergrad, taken as a course) (6) an award-winning senior honors thesis (undergrad, the thesis advisor (who is the macro professor I worked for) thinks that it is of a publishable quality) (7) two-year predoctoral RA at a top 10 econ department. (co-authored works coming out) Potential Rec Letters: Probably one from the macro professor/thesis advisor at my undergrad, and two letters from professors I worked with as a predoctoral RA. They all told me that they would write very very strong letters for me. Several remarks/questions: (1) Regarding my GPA and math grades: I was struggling a lot academically even up to the first semester of my senior year, which explains my not so great overall GPA and initially low math grades. But I managed to pull my math grades up starting the second semester of my senior year and got As in all the courses until the end of my fifth year. I also managed to get As in PhD-level Microeconomics and Econometrics during my 2-year RA period. But I am still quite worried about my not so great GPA and several math grades. Any thoughts? (2) Would it be worth trying to publish my senior thesis? My thesis advisor thinks it's worth a try, but I'm not certain as the process could take long (although my timeline for applying to PhD programs seem pretty flexible). (3) Do you think it is (even a little) a possibility for me to get into a Top 10 PhD program? It would be great if you could share your thoughts on these questions. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startz Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 If you have strong letters from your pre-doc at at top 10, then your chances of a top 10 admission are quite qood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubrus Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 I think you will get into at least one school in the top 15. You might see a lot of variance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needshelp Posted December 21, 2018 Author Share Posted December 21, 2018 I think you will get into at least one school in the top 15. You might see a lot of variance. Thanks for your thought! What do you mean I might see a lot of variance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needshelp Posted December 21, 2018 Author Share Posted December 21, 2018 Also, any other thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubrus Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 Well first, admissions can be very random in general. And second, some committees may be averse to those poor grades. But I think your odds are good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needshelp Posted December 22, 2018 Author Share Posted December 22, 2018 I see, thanks so much! Any other opinions will be appreciated :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggg Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 My profile is very similar to yours...I got a bad grade in one math course four years ago due to an unexpected fever and my university doesn't allow retaking. All other grades including real analysis are As. RA at a top 5 institution for 2 years and taPh.D. Ph.D course at the same time (all As, and the highest scorer in two of them). I'm also really worried about the math course. Some tell me committees won't care too much about a course I took 4 years ago, but others assume committees are very risk-averse about that. I'm really getting crazy these days. Hi all, I have previously posted a thread regarding my GPA and grades, but I've figured that it would be better to provide my profile to get a better feedback: Undergraduate: Top 20 Econ; Note that I stayed an extra year at undergrad. Overall GPA: 3.67/4.00, Last 4 semester: 3.87/4.00 Graduate: N/A Math/Stats Courses: Calc 1 (A), Calc 2 (A), Calc 3 (A), Multivariate Calculus (A), Intro to Probability (B), Advanced/Honors Probability (A), Mathematical Statistics (A), Ordinary Diff Eq (B), Partial Diff Eq (A), Matrix Algebra (initially C, and B after retake), Intro to Proof ©, Discrete Math (B), Real Analysis 1 (initially C, and A after retake), Real Analysis 2 (A), Grad-level Real Analysis (A), Linear Algebra (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Topology (Grad-level, A), Measure Theory (Grad-level, A), Stochastic Processes (A), Math Research (A), a statistics elective course (A) Econ Courses: Intro to Econ (B), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics 1 (B), Econometrics 2 (B), and several electives (mix of A's and B's), PhD Microeconomics (A), PhD Econometrics (A) (these two PhD courses were taken while working as a predoctoral RA) Research Experience: (1) 1-year RA to a macro professor (undergrad) (2) 1.5-year RA to a behavioral econ professor (undergrad) (3) 3-month summer RA at a top university in Asia (undergrad) (4) a semester-long independent research study under the macro professor (undergrad) (5) a semester-long math research project (undergrad, taken as a course) (6) an award-winning senior honors thesis (undergrad, the thesis advisor (who is the macro professor I worked for) thinks that it is of a publishable quality) (7) two-year predoctoral RA at a top 10 econ department. (co-authored works coming out) Potential Rec Letters: Probably one from the macro professor/thesis advisor at my undergrad, and two letters from professors I worked with as a predoctoral RA. They all told me that they would write very very strong letters for me. Several remarks/questions: (1) Regarding my GPA and math grades: I was struggling a lot academically even up to the first semester of my senior year, which explains my not so great overall GPA and initially low math grades. But I managed to pull my math grades up starting the second semester of my senior year and got As in all the courses until the end of my fifth year. I also managed to get As in PhD-level Microeconomics and Econometrics during my 2-year RA period. But I am still quite worried about my not so great GPA and several math grades. Any thoughts? (2) Would it be worth trying to publish my senior thesis? My thesis advisor thinks it's worth a try, but I'm not certain as the process could take long (although my timeline for applying to PhD programs seem pretty flexible). (3) Do you think it is (even a little) a possibility for me to get into a Top 10 PhD program? It would be great if you could share your thoughts on these questions. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needshelp Posted December 25, 2018 Author Share Posted December 25, 2018 thanks for sharing! would you mind sharing your outcomes later after the decisions come out? My profile is very similar to yours...I got a bad grade in one math course four years ago due to an unexpected fever and my university doesn't allow retaking. All other grades including real analysis are As. RA at a top 5 institution for 2 years and taPh.D. Ph.D course at the same time (all As, and the highest scorer in two of them). I'm also really worried about the math course. Some tell me committees won't care too much about a course I took 4 years ago, but others assume committees are very risk-averse about that. I'm really getting crazy these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicahan Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Tbh, the application outcome would largely depend on your letter and whether your references are willing to speak up for you. Grades are only for signaling purpose cause they want to make sure you can pass the first year core. But a lot of the applicants look similar in their profiles so letter matters a lot. If you have a prof willing to say that you are really good at research then I think ur chances are high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needshelp Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 Tbh, the application outcome would largely depend on your letter and whether your references are willing to speak up for you. Grades are only for signaling purpose cause they want to make sure you can pass the first year core. But a lot of the applicants look similar in their profiles so letter matters a lot. If you have a prof willing to say that you are really good at research then I think ur chances are high. Thanks for your advice, my letter writers told me that I can expect very strong letters from them, so I'm hoping they will help (especially for making up those poor grades in math & econ..) Any other thoughts will be very much appreciated! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needshelp Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 Hey all, I just realized I recorded my GPAs wrong in the original post.. my Overall GPA is 3.66/4.0 (not 3.67) and my last four semester GPA is 3.84/4.0 (not 3.87). My guess is that I made a typo in the overall GPA and computed my four semester GPA wrong.. (but these should be correct). It's a minor change, but do you guys think these will change/worsen my chances? Any input will be appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startz Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 No one is going to care about the second decimal place of your GPA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needshelp Posted May 2, 2019 Author Share Posted May 2, 2019 Also I forgot to add to my profile - I have two W's on my transcript (one W on Operations Research, and one W on a music class). I've heard mixed reviews on how they might affect application outcomes. Does anyone have any idea as to how much of an impact they'll have in my case? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zshfryoh1 Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 Also I forgot to add to my profile - I have two W's on my transcript (one W on Operations Research, and one W on a music class). I've heard mixed reviews on how they might affect application outcomes. Does anyone have any idea as to how much of an impact they'll have in my case? Thanks! No one will ever care about a W in music. Given the number of high level math classes and PhD level econ classes you have taken and received A's in, I don't think the W in OR will not hurt you either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needshelp Posted May 2, 2019 Author Share Posted May 2, 2019 No one will ever care about a W in music. Given the number of high level math classes and PhD level econ classes you have taken and received A's in, I don't think the W in OR will not hurt you either. Thanks for your input! Any other thoughts will be appreciated :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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