Did I aim too high?

[Hosea]

Using the profile format I've seen in this site:

 

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 20 by USNEWS, BS with Honor in Econ, BS in Maths

Undergrad GPA: 3.95/4.0

Type of Grad: -

Grad GPA: -

GRE: 161V, 170Q, 4.5W

Math Courses: Cal I (A+), Cal II (A+), Cal III (A+), Honors Differential Equation (A), Linear Algebra (A-), Real Analysis (A-), Numerical Method (A), Modern Algebra (A), Probability (A), Theoretical Stats (A), Maths of Finance (A)

Econ Courses: Inter Micro (A), Inter Macro (A), Game Theory (A), Ph.D. Math Camp (A), Ph.D. Micro I, II, III (A-, A, A), Honor Thesis (A+)

Other Courses: -

Letters of Recommendation: 1 from my undergraduate professor, 1 from my Honor thesis advisor, 1 from my RA experience at Fed. Not sure how they've written, but I trust that they wrote nice things.

Research Experience: 2 years of RA at Fed

Teaching Experience: -

Research Interests: -

SOP: Wrote how my classes and experience as RA prepared me to excel in PhD, and wrote about my possible future research topics.

Other: -

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances:

Waitlists:

Rejections: Stanford

Pending: UCB, UCLA, Michigan, NYU, Cornell, Columbia, Yale, Chicago, Wisconsin, WashU, ASU, UPenn, Rochester

Attending:

 

 

Stanford just sent me a rejection letter (way earlier than I thought), and I'm starting to feel nervous. It's only 1 rejection out of 14 I've applied, but I fear that I may be rejected by all. Did I aim too high, and should I have applied to more safety schools?

Edited January 14, 2021 by Hosea

[tbe]

Did your letter writers give you guidance about which school to apply?

In any case, I wouldn't read much into getting a rejection from Stanford.

[econliker]

You went to a top 20 undergrad and now work at the Fed. I would first ask the professors from your school and the economists you work with at the Fed. They would know better than we do.

[therealslimkt]

I'm feeling the same thing as you but the sad truth is nobody has the answers for you beyond what your advisors say