Compact Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 I am not looking for a full profile evaluation at this point. I am currently working on my MA in econ but I wanted to get a sense of how admissions would view my previous course record. Profile Type of Undergrad: Bachelors in Finance (Pretty unknown university for finance and econ) Undergrad GPA: 3.63 Type of Grad: MA Econ in progress (finish spring 2021) Grad GPA: 3.83 Math Courses(list the grades for each course): I will list the math courses in years. I was not a very good student early on but I wonder how admissions would view this. For the first two years, it is 3 different attempts. 1st yr: Precalc (Withdraw/Fail/B). 2nd yr: Applied Calc (Withdraw/Fail/A). 3rd yr: Calc I and Calc II (A-/B) Linear Algebra (B) 4th yr: Calc III (A-) Analysis I (A) 5th yr (MA program): A- in Grad Probability (Measure & Probability). B+ in Measure Theory. Econ Courses Undergrad(list the grades for each course): All A's for intro/intermediate micro, intro/intermediate macro, game theory, econometrics, IO expect B+ in advanced micro. Econ Courses Msc(list the grades for each course): All A's in Micro and macro, econometrics I and II. In progress: microeconometrics, time series, and game theory. I can post any other relevant detail needed to make a judgement but i'm primarily wondering about courses right now. My undergrad GPA is only as high as it is because the withdraws and fails were replaced by B/A's. There are some poor grades such as C's/B's in courses like music, art, and even in a finance class. But I was hoping an upwards trajectory in all my courses (especially math) would offset it a bit. I plan to take one or more more math courses next semester as well. I understand that top programs don't need to risk it on a student such as myself but what about the case about other good programs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gentvenus Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 I agree that certain aspects of your profile might seem risky to admission committees. You'll likely need to address the reasons for those withdraws and fails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahududu Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 It really depends on your MA programme's rigor. What do they use as textbooks in their core courses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compact Posted September 9, 2020 Author Share Posted September 9, 2020 The MA leans more towards advanced undergraduate/basic masters level. The math/stat courses were very rigorous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahududu Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 The MA leans more towards advanced undergraduate/basic masters level. The math/stat courses were very rigorous. May I ask what specific textbooks are used? I think that would give a better indication whether your MA programme is truly rigorous or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compact Posted September 12, 2020 Author Share Posted September 12, 2020 For micro, we used Perloff and Jehle and Reny: Advanced Micro Theory (Primary). For macro, we used Mankiw and Romer: Adv Macroeconomics (Primary). For prob, we used Billingsley: Prob and Measure. For measure theory, we used Tao and Royden: Real Analysis(Primary). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compact Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbones Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 Your profile is actually rather good in many places, I just don’t know what lower grades in art classes would say about your personality/potentially capacity to handle a full course load, but it doesn’t need to be overemphasized. What kinds of schools are you targeting? I would suggest applying to a broad range of schools that you see yourself thriving at to account for school by school variance in your application, but if you let them know that you think you are a great fit and it’s backed up by matching research areas, then I’m almost certain you’ll be accepted at a “good” school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayes Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 Any thoughts? There isn't anything you need to worry about and you are not a risk to programs! Those withdrawals and B's were in very elementary courses (like Precalc). Awesome job on not giving up by challenging yourself with even more advanced coursework! No one is going to hold you against a B+ in measure theory; that is a very good grade for such a brutal course. Given your MsC econ courses are good (which matters the most), everything depends on your LORs at this point :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compact Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 (edited) There isn't anything you need to worry about and you are not a risk to programs! Those withdrawals and B's were in very elementary courses (like Precalc). Awesome job on not giving up by challenging yourself with even more advanced coursework! No one is going to hold you against a B+ in measure theory; that is a very good grade for such a brutal course. Given your MsC econ courses are good (which matters the most), everything depends on your LORs at this point :) That is good to hear. I was hoping this would be the case. I will work on my list of schools. I'll try to remain in the west coast region. Edited September 22, 2020 by Compact Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.