Statement of Purpose Question - Mention Faculty Names?

[jxxx]

Hi all!

I'm applying to econ phd this cycle and here's a question I have regarding sop:

Should I mention faculty members that I want to work with in sop? It seems people do this all the time but

• My professor told me this usually wouldn't do much good as anyone can just google for 5 min and drop down some names
• GS Lab RA manual also recommend against this (PhD Application * gslab-econ/ra-manual Wiki * GitHub)

[startz]

Right. Don't do it. It looks fake. What's more, applicants often mention names that don't match with their interests--which is a clear negative signal.

[ahududu]

Right. Don't do it. It looks fake. What's more, applicants often mention names that don't match with their interests--which is a clear negative signal.

Thank you, I was wondering about this as well!

[econ32]

All people from my school that apply do it, most do well (some incredibly well). Not saying this implies it should be done but I'd say it's not a big deal whatsoever.