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Question: When graduate econ classes don't finish before PhD applications


coloradoecon

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I'm in this boat right now. I plan to take two graduate courses next semester (Micro I & Econ Math) - that's fall of my senior year but only one will conclude before most December deadlines (which are generally Dec 1-10). Thoughts? Obviously my app package would be different for the schools whose deadlines are in January; I'm specifically asking about those due in December.

 

Do most schools let you submit updated transcripts? And it's more unfortunate for my letters, but at least I can get one from a graduate professor (unfortunately it's not going to be Micro I).

Edited by coloradoecon
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I'm in this boat right now. I plan to take two graduate courses next semester (Micro I & Econ Math) - that's fall of my senior year but only one will conclude before most December deadlines (which are generally Dec 1-10). Thoughts? Obviously my app package would be different for the schools whose deadlines are in January; I'm specifically asking about those due in December.

 

Do most schools let you submit updated transcripts? And it's more unfortunate for my letters, but at least I can get one from a graduate professor (unfortunately it's not going to be Micro I).

 

Yes, most schools will ask you to send updated transcripts of the fall semester.

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I applied this cycle, and 13/14 programs I applied to accepted fall transcript updates, Brown being the lone exception. My experience also suggests that ad comms really do consider fall grades (at least in marginal cases), since I ended up being accepted by several schools which almost certainly would have disqualified me based on my transcript without the fall grades. I even was able to submit midterm grades to several schools in March, although it’s less clear if/how that impacted my chances.
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Also note that the "informal" deadline for letters of recommendation is around Jan 5-10 for most programs, regardless of their application deadline. It's typical for professors to upload their letters after the student's application deadline. So, even if the fall term is your first semester with an instructor, they can write a letter for you after they've seen your final exam results. Ideally this wouldn't be your best option for letters, but it's possible if you need a 2nd/3rd letter that can attest to your academic ability.

 

In fact when I applied to grad school, I had two professors from my fall term who offered to write me letters. It's not uncommon.

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