Strongly Mixed Profile Advice

[guessandverify]

Edit: This is for applications to a PhD in Economics

Edit2: And GRE is 170Q, for what it's worth.

 

I've posted something similar on Reddit, but I since discovered these forums.

 

My profile is "strongly mixed," to say the least.

 

I have a very high grad average (only comprising a few classes over two years; the rest of the time I was a predoc at a strong department.) And a ~3.2 undergrad GPA from a recognizable place, including a litany of graduate math and economics classes. Some of these I did very well in, some not. The discontinuity is due to a chronic health condition, which was finally treated late in my undergrad.

 

My predoc has led to a publication. And one of my undergrad professors (who wrote me letters for this predoc) described me as "by far the best undergrad I've ever seen," so I have some hope that my letters are strong. Perhaps I should have asked this prof to referee me for PhD applications, but I figured recent is better.

 

The other thing to mention is that I probably have unusual skills in computer programming. I'm the maintainer of some "big in Japan" (i.e., popular amongst a small set) open-source economic packages that have been accepted for talks at conferences.

 

I've applied to about 15 well-known departments in the 10-30 range, including some Master's programs, and a smattering in 30-50. My predoc institution is probably my best shot for a good placement, in my mind.

 

Mainly I'm opening this thread to calibrate my expectations, and get advice on how to approach this profile in any remaining applications. And to see if there are any schools I should apply to before the Jan. 1/Jan. 15 deadline.

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited December 17, 2020 by guessandverify
Didn't clarify this is economics

[Zubrus]

There are now many profiles like yours -- profiles with poor grades but strong research experience. Unfortunately, due to the sheer number of predocs now applying to PhD programs with equally glowing letters, I think you should greatly temper your expectations and expect to get in somewhere between 20-50. But like you said, if the professor you worked for really goes to bat for you, it's possible that you land an admit at the school where you worked.

[guessandverify]

Thanks Zubrus. Do Penn State, UNC, UVA, WUSTL, Rutgers and UT Austin strike you as falling within that range?

[alphatrunks]

You said your predoc led to a publication. Does this mean you're a coauthor?

[guessandverify]

Alphatrunks (still don't know how to tag people in this): yes. My CV has a few RA credit publications, and one coauthored one. (Although this is perhaps diluted by there being 4 authors. one of them a "big name." The project has a significant computational component, though, so many hands...)

[startz]

Reconsider having your undergrad professor write a recommendation. "best undergrad ever" says a lot.

[guessandverify]

Thanks startz. This gave me the motivation to do so.

 

Edit: I ended up asking, and the prof agreed, despite it already being Dec. 18. So this puts some programs potentially in play that weren't before.

Edited December 18, 2020 by guessandverify
Result

[alphatrunks]

@startz how do professors on admissions committees like yourself feel about candidates with predoctoral publications, especially top fields and top 5s. These usually tend to be coauthored with faculty and also supported by a letter (which is of course usually extremely positive) but I'm wondering whether publications have value added independent of the letter of support that comes along with it.

 

I'd also be curious to hear whether you have seen applicants with sole authored publications in reputable journals.

[guessandverify]

I should say that the publication itself is still a working paper, although my advisor thinks it could land in a top 5 (he's published in such journals before, so this isn't just smoke-blowing.) I'd just meant to emphasize that I coauthored something.

[startz]

@startz how do professors on admissions committees like yourself feel about candidates with predoctoral publications, especially top fields and top 5s. These usually tend to be coauthored with faculty and also supported by a letter (which is of course usually extremely positive) but I'm wondering whether publications have value added independent of the letter of support that comes along with it.

 

I'd also be curious to hear whether you have seen applicants with sole authored publications in reputable journals.

 

The fact that you are named as a coauthor is significant. Publications have some value-added, but the letter is more important.

 

I have seen very few sole authored publications in good journals.

[chateauheart]

I should say that the publication itself is still a working paper, although my advisor thinks it could land in a top 5

 

This is a big distinction. By "publication" we usually refer to a peer-reviewed publication. A working paper is a working paper.

 

This may seem unfair, because typically a working paper has a similar level of intellectual content as the final peer-reviewed article (in fact, some people think their papers were better before the peer review process). But this is just how academic signaling works. Without peer review, adcoms can't distinguish the paper's quality from any other paper, except for the words of your letter writer. So yes, it will be letter that counts.

 

Also, word of caution: judging from personal experience and some of the posts I've seen here, it seems common for professors to tell their RAs that their project may end up in a top 5 or top field journal. At a much higher frequency than is warranted. Some of this may be naive optimism. But do note that the professors benefit from your willingness to continue work on the paper and not let it go unpublished. So, until and unless the paper is published, you should always maintain an independent judgment on whether the project is actually going somewhere and worth spending more (unpaid) time to present/edit.

[guessandverify]

Thanks chateauheart. This is sober but necessary advice. That said, given the rate at which academic publishing proceeds, maybe this will be done by the time I go on the job market...