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Please Help : Profile Evaluation for Fall -2021 (Phd)


freakonomist

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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: B.S. in Economics (Major) with Math (Minor) from the US; ranked 83rd in Economics (US news)

Undergrad GPA: 3.92/4.00 overall ( 4.00 in Econ, 3.87 in Math)

Type of Grad: Phd Stream M.A. in Economics from Top - 4 Canadian

Grad GPA :4.33/4.33

GRE: GRE: Q168 / V165 / AWA 5.0

 

Econ Courses :Principles of Micro (A+), Principles of Macro (A), Intermediate micro (A+), Intermediate Macro (A),Econometrics (A+), Mathematical Economics (A), Game -Theory (A+) Experimental Economics (A) and more (all A's)

 

Math Courses: Calc I (A-), Cal-II(A), Multivariable Calculus (A+), Abstract Algebra(A+), Probability theory (A), Mathematical Statistics (A-), Linear Algebra (A+), Differential Equations (B+), Intro Real Analysis (A+), Complex Analysis (A), Numerical Analysis. (WP),Phd Math Econ ( A+)

Econ Courses (grad-level):Phd Micro -Theory (96/100), Phd Macro Theory (91/100), Phd Econometrics (95/100), Phd Mathematical Economics (92/100); Phd Micro-II, Phd-Macro-II, Phd-MetricsII (in progress)

 

LOR's : All from Grad Professors(Brown,PennState,Minnesota) Should be good because I was at the top 5% of the their classes.

 

Research Experience: 7 years working at an International Research Institute back in home country + part-time lecturer at reputed private university in my home country.

 

Research Interests : Macroeconomics, International Trade

 

Applying to : Top 2 Canadian , Top-25 US.

 

Concerns : Lack of publication, time lag between undergrad and grad.

 

Aiming too high ? Love my current grad school and will only make a shift if there is a better offer from a higher ranked school.Would love to get into Minnesota because I am a Macro guy. Any comments/suggestions would be highly appreciated.

 

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He has taken entire first year PhD Econ classes from Canada top 4. His first semester was good and if he continues this in the next semester I do not see why not. His LORs are good, his GRE is decent. Only research experience he is lacking but he can compensate it with other things that he has done.

 

Edit: I meant you, sorry! :)

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Top 10 is a stretch, more so for next cycle. While there's nothing wrong with being optimistic, it's not advisable to be overly optimistic and mislead users about their realistic chances.

 

@freakonomist Minnesota seems like a very plausible target for your case. It would be great if you could schedule some time to meet with one of your macro professors which are writing your letters, to discuss about your research interests and maybe what kinds of questions are being explored currently in the literature. This has immediate benefits; first, it'll help you get some clarity on the kinds of questions you'll be asking if you end up doing macro (and also help you assess whether you truly like it); second, it'll help your professor write slightly better letters since he'll know that you plan on specialising in macro.

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He has taken entire first year PhD Econ classes from Canada top 4. His first semester was good and if he continues this in the next semester I do not see why not. His LORs are good, his GRE is decent. Only research experience he is lacking but he can compensate it with other things that he has done.

 

Edit: I meant you, sorry! :)

 

Thanks a lot..really appreciate your confidence!!

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Which schools in top-25 US do I realistically have a chance?...or should I have some safeties between top 30-50?

 

Since you are already in the PhD stream of your current school, you ought to ask yourself how low (in terms of ranking) of a school in the US will you go to, that still dominates your current school. That will be the lower bound for schools that you ought to apply to. Personally, I don't think you ought to apply to schools in the 40-50 range, since your profile is actually quite good. You should also apply broadly; i.e. 2-3 in Top 10, 5 or more in Top 20, and then decide how low you want to go, in terms of the range you're applying to.

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Since you are already in the PhD stream of your current school, you ought to ask yourself how low (in terms of ranking) of a school in the US will you go to, that still dominates your current school. That will be the lower bound for schools that you ought to apply to. Personally, I don't think you ought to apply to schools in the 40-50 range, since your profile is actually quite good. You should also apply broadly; i.e. 2-3 in Top 10, 5 or more in Top 20, and then decide how low you want to go, in terms of the range you're applying to.

 

Sounds about right !! I think it will all boil down to how good are the LOR's , although I am pretty hopeful..a few Top 10-20 offers is what I am looking for.

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If I can add one word of caution, in my experience PhD admissions committeess tend to downweight students with as many years of work experience as you tend to have. Of course, not all universities do, but many in the top 10-20 appear to do so,
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If I can add one word of caution, in my experience PhD admissions committeess tend to downweight students with as many years of work experience as you tend to have. Of course, not all universities do, but many in the top 10-20 appear to do so,

 

So having a work experience is actually diminishing your chance of acceptance rather than increasing it you think?

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If I can add one word of caution, in my experience PhD admissions committeess tend to downweight students with as many years of work experience as you tend to have. Of course, not all universities do, but many in the top 10-20 appear to do so,

 

there may be some logic in what you are saying..Universities might think I have gotten rusty.. but shouldn't my recent Phd courses' grades from a reputed institution kind of assuage the gap-effect?

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

This is what I wrote on their original post:

 

Note that this individual does not indicate that he/she is a faculty member, which he/she probably isn't. And if they were, they are not worth working for if they don't even have the RA funds to pay the person.

 

This person is looking to exploit individuals for free labor, and probably is useless in the application process because their letter will not be worth a thing, and given what they can offer, is clearly a nobody. Don't waste your time or energy. Unless the person is a Nobel prize winner, working free is not worth it. Shame on this person. Can't believe they wrote "You must have solid GPA, GRE (or planning to sit) and have good excel/eviews/stata/R skills, excellent writing skills and be humble." and then offer no monetary compensation.

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Actually, people DO NOT have to show an interest. No need being "the savior of the world". It's a free market. If they want, they contact me. If they don't want, they ignore. Simple!

 

So, PhD hopefuls, your payment is a journal publication or two. If you don't want such payment, just ignore the numerous posts. If you do want, research out. Having a good pub won't hurt, but it's not a must. So you can go with Chief Zubrus and just ignore. Simple..

 

You needlessly spammed this forum instead of just writing one post. But more importantly, you are being deceitful. You are acting like getting a "good pub or two" is a given, and that is why you are offering no monetary compensation. Truth is, getting a "good pub" working for you (for free) will happen with very low probability (if not zero), but you are acting as if it is a given. Shame on you for being deceitful. I agree that its a free market, but you are being a snake. Good luck as an "early career economist" trying to exploit prospective students.

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Lol, you seem angry, Zubrus, not sure why. I don't want to engage you because 1) You're very junior to me and 2) I actually like your contribution and guidance here.

 

So go chill. About the pub, well, as you grow in the profession, you will know that publishing in decent some places is "almost surely". Or are you not aware that some good journals that others can kill to publish in, some of these journals actually go out of their way to solicit contributions from other individuals? You didn't know this? Anyway, you have known now.

 

Think about it carefully. Yes I am angry. But why? Because back when I was a prospective applicant, I was willing to do anything. So I know the state of mind that applicants are in, and you are trying to exploit that. It is wrong.

 

Maybe I am junior to you (I highly doubt it) but that is irrelevant to the conversation. You are trying to exploit gullible students with the lure of a publication (improbable) and letter (not good from someone that can't even afford to pay their RAs).

 

Good luck in your "early career position" and enjoy your pubs in the no-name journals that will publish "almost surely" for a submission fee.

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He has taken entire first year PhD Econ classes from Canada top 4. His first semester was good and if he continues this in the next semester I do not see why not. His LORs are good, his GRE is decent. Only research experience he is lacking but he can compensate it with other things that he has done.

 

Edit: I meant you, sorry! :)

 

For a moment there you sounded like his professor :glee:

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