2019applicant Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Applied, just sitting on my hands now. Type of Undergrad: top 10 undergrad/econ department Undergrad GPA: 3.9 Type of Grad: N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE: 167 Q, 166 V, 4.5 AWA Math Courses: multivariable calc (A), proof based linear algebra (A), real analysis 1 & 2 (A, A), probability (A-), statistics (A), stochastic processes (A), measure theoretic probability (A) Econ Courses: intermediate micro (A), intermediate macro (A), econometrics (A), ML and inference in economics (A), honors thesis (in progress) PhD micro 1 (A), PhD micro 2 (game theory) (A-), PhD metrics (A-), PhD market design (A), PhD experimental economics (A) Other Courses: mechanism design course in CS department (A), intermediate computer science (A) Letters of Recommendation: strong letter from honors thesis advisor (tenured, well known theorist whom I also RA'd for in the past and who taught me in multiple courses), very strong letter from another tenured prof (RA for around a year, taught me in a class), decently strong letter from another prof (RA for around a year). All letter writers have strong connections to top 10 programs (PhD there, used to teach there, etc) Research Experience: see LORs Teaching Experience: N/A Research Interests: applied micro theory Applied to: top 10s, a couple of top 20. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pulsars Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 We go to similarly ranked undergrads. I know several past graduates who had basically the same profiles as you (all As in math including advanced courses, As in grad econ courses, undergrad research experience but no full-time stint) who are/were at MIT, Stanford, Priceton and Chicago. You’ll likely place very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdreier Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 (edited) Strong all around, with math, research experience, and undergrad institution. Very strong indication that you will do well in first year courses. No glaring weaknesses. Top 10 seems like the right place, with a strong shot at top 5 depending on LOR. I expect to see you announcing lots of acceptances with funding in the 2019 Sweat Thread =P Edited January 11, 2019 by cdreier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicahan Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Solid top 10 I think, top 5 maybe I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2019applicant Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 That's encouraging, thanks! I was worried by the general trend in advice of "must be a full time RA to crack top 5" since I'm not extremely fond of the prospect of being a full time RA. Out of curiosity, does anything stand out as less strong in my profile? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicahan Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 Well I think ur transcript and background is already strong enough. Now it all comes down to the letter. A letter indicating that you can do good research is definitely better than a letter saying that you are doing good as an RA, even better than a letter saying that you have good grade in a phd class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startz Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 (edited) Roughly 50 percent of students at top 5 have been RA after college. So it's clearly not necessary. Edited January 16, 2019 by startz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minskymoment Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Would be shocked if you didn’t place top 5, honestly. RA job not really necessary especially since you wanna do theory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathenomics Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Roughly 50 percent of students at top 5 have been RA after college. So it's clearly not necessary. Isn't this because the other 50% come in with masters? I'm guessing it's not much of a constraint for OP anyway because they took a fair number of grad courses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startz Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Roughly 50 percent of students at top 5 have been RA after college. So it's clearly not necessary. Isn't this because the other 50% come in with masters? I'm guessing it's not much of a constraint for OP anyway because they took a fair number of grad courses My bad. Should have said: Roughly 50 percent of students at top 5 with American undergraduate degrees have been an RA after college. Very few American students have masters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathenomics Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 My bad. Should have said: Roughly 50 percent of students at top 5 with American undergraduate degrees have been an RA after college. Very few American students have masters. Oh...! 50% seems much lower than what I've known based on convos with current grad students, but given my background, it's very possible that my sample is biased. In any way, I agree with the general sentiment here that OP has a strong profile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startz Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 My data isn't perfect, but see http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2018/Volume38/EB-18-V38-I4-P173.pdf [ATTACH=CONFIG]7203[/ATTACH] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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