southerncharm Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 Hi, I'm planning on applying to Econ PhD programs in fall 2022 (for fall 2023 start). I am targeting top 50-150 schools, plus a few stretch schools and a few business and public policy schools with econ focus. I'm a working professional and my math is quite old, so I'm going to be taking courses over the next several semesters. My plan is MV Calc, Linear Algebra 1&2, Stats 1&2, Analysis 1. How much does it matter where I take these courses? I live in Atlanta so have Perimeter College (community college), Georgia State, and Georgia Tech. Tech is a lot more expensive (and presumably harder?) - how much would that help an applicant? My working thought is to go with Perimeter + GSU, and spend my extra hours trying to do research with an econ professor at GSU next summer. Thanks for any advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbe Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 It largely doesn't matter where you take them, especially among those places. It's very common for people to take math classes at community colleges or "lower ranked" schools in their area. As long as the class is graded and the institution is a college or university, it doesn't make much difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggnogone Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 Check out self-paced online math at NetMath or online math at Harvard Extension too. Both are well-recognized and I have a few predoc friends who took Math 23A as their analysis course through H Extension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahududu Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 Check out self-paced online math at NetMath or online math at Harvard Extension too. Both are well-recognized and I have a few predoc friends who took Math 23A as their analysis course through H Extension. Do you think those are credible enough places to take maths courses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamebay Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Harvard extension's 23A is definitely credible as a ton of applicants take this course and it meets all the Real Analysis requirements for most programs. Berkeley also has an online course offering during the summer which pre-docs/RAs can take though most people I know took the harvard extension one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggnogone Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Do you think those are credible enough places to take maths courses? Yes, my acquaintances who did this have been admitted to top 10 in previous years so it's just about as credible as they come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahududu Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Yes, my acquaintances who did this have been admitted to top 10 in previous years so it's just about as credible as they come. Wow that is crazy. I actually looked up the price for Netmath and it is not bad at all (even my state school is charging more money). Harvard extension is obviously more expensive. I guess I should take a look at Netmath class offerings for the upcoming Fall or even this summer. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggnogone Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Wow that is crazy. I actually looked up the price for Netmath and it is not bad at all (even my state school is charging more money). Harvard extension is obviously more expensive. I guess I should take a look at Netmath class offerings for the upcoming Fall or even this summer. Thanks again! To clarify the results of my acquaintances is w.r.t. Harvard Extension not NetMath. I heard good things about NetMath but Harvard Extension Math 23 is probably the way to go if you're missing basic analysis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamebay Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 also math 23a on harvard extension can be taken at the UG level even when you're applying to graduate courses, and I know tons people who got through top 10/20s (including me) with this course. Definitely helps in saving those graduate level dollars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southerncharm Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 What are the prereqs for the Harvard extension 23a course? Would it look bad to have my other math courses come from Georgia State (MV Calc, Lin Alg, Diff Eq, Prob, Stats) and just the one class from HE? Finally, I don't see 23a offered at HE anymore - does anyone know if it's regularly offered? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamebay Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 If you're part of Harvard extension school, there are no mandatory prerequisites. You can find course materials here (Course Modules: MATH 23A: Linear Algebra and Real Analysis I) to check if you have adequate preparation (which by your courses seem like you do).Their syllabus is also a quick google search away in case the link doesn't work -- Harvard Extension MATH 23A syllabus. It is offered in the Fall. It should be there in the extension course catalogue if you check around June-July. I don't think it's bad/harmful to your application to have one course from a different place, but I don't know much since I took it 2 years after graduation and I'm non-American. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbe Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Would it look bad to have my other math courses come from Georgia State (MV Calc, Lin Alg, Diff Eq, Prob, Stats) and just the one class from HE? Not at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southerncharm Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 Thanks everyone for the help! Really appreciate, in particular the Harvard extension idea is new to me. Context that I didn't share in my original post is that I'm an older applicant (41) and have a demanding job and 3 kids. So prepping for admissions is tight on time! I have an MPP from top 10 and MPhil from Cambridge, but all my math and research is old. I currently work in strategy consulting for top firm. Given what I've learned, to be competitive in even top 50, I need to: 1) get more math / stats; 2) get great recs from PhD economists (via taking a few grad econ courses and/or doing research); 3) ace the GRE quant. I'm planning on applying fall '22 - which seems far away but is actually pretty quick given all that I need to do to prepare (not to mention my work and family commitments). With all that in mind, I'm wondering if I just take all my math courses through Harvard extension. Taking analysis through local university has numerous prereqs, so it seems that Harvard extension might free up time to take some grad level econ and stats courses, GRE prep, etc.. Any feedback on these two options? OPTION A - math via Georgia State University 1. Multivariate calculus 2. Discrete math (prereq to Math bridge) 3. Linear Algebra 4. Differential Equations 5. Math bridge (prereq to Analysis) 6. Analysis OPTION B - math via Harvard Extension 1. Multivariate calculus (Math 21A) 2. Linear Algebra + Differential Equations (Math 21B) 3. Analysis (Math 23A) My instinct is that I'm not going to be able to show an exceptional academic math record (in either scenario), and that my goal is really to just show that I can still do math / have put in the work to do the prereqs. So the marginal time that Harvard might provide could be better spent on econ and stats courses (which will help with recs and personal statement) and GRE prep. All of this said, the Harvard courses might be tougher than GSU (especially without doing the prereqs, which I'm assuming are there for good reason), so I risk getting worse grades! Appreciate any feedback...thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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