Profile Results 2021

[hallowedelegy]

As the cycle is mostly over for most people, starting this thread now. Some people have been interested in knowing whether some programs have shrunk their target cohort size, so if you have that information and are willing to share, please do!

 

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad:

Undergrad GPA:

Type of Grad:

Grad GPA:

GRE:

Math Courses:

Econ Courses:

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation:

Research Experience:

Teaching Experience:

Research Interests:

SOP:

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances:

Waitlists:

Rejections:

Pending:

Attending:

Comments:

 

What would you have done differently?

Edited April 15, 2021 by hallowedelegy

[Impossibiity]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: No name school from third world country

Undergrad GPA: Low but high wrt to class

Type of Grad: Top Msc worldwide

Grad GPA: Above average but nothing special

GRE: 168 Q

Math Courses: Maths during Msc only

Econ Courses: PhD level Macro, Micro, Metrics, Game theory, Trade, Development. IO at Msc level

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: 2 top 5% Repec, 1 top 10% Repec

Research Experience: RA during the summer

Teaching Experience: Nothing

Research Interests: Micro

SOP:

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UMN, Caltech, Rochester, Queen's University, OSU, GWU

Waitlists: Nothing

Rejections: Bonn, JHU, Cornell, Duke, Brown, UMich, PSU, UWO, Zurich, LBS, Mcgill, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, WUSTL

Pending: Manheim

Comments:

 

What would you have done differently?

Maybe I could have got in lower top 10 like Columbia or Upenn or even NYU. Was too scared to apply

[MetricsML]

Happy April 15 folks, let's get started!

 

Profile:

Type of Undergrad: Top 50 Public (Math Honors, Econ Honors, & Engineering)

Undergrad GPA: 3.56

Type of Grad: Top 20 Private (Applied Mathematics & Statistics)

Grad GPA: 3.91

GRE: 153 V, 170 Q, 3.5 W

Math Courses: Calculus I/II/III (A,B+,A), Real Analysis I/II (B+,A-), Linear Algebra I/II (B+,A), Differential Equation (A-), Group Theory (B), Stochastic Analysis (A-,A), Bayesian Statistics (A-), Mathematical Finance (A), Stochastic Methods in Finance (A-), Analysis of Algorithm (A+), Probability & Statistics I/II (A,A), Statistical Methods in Data Analysis I/II (A,A), Graduate Level Statistical Modeling (A-), Graduate Level Probability (A), Graduate Level Linear Algebra (A), Graduate Level Statistical Inference (A), Graduate Level Data Mining (A), Graduate Level Machine Learning (A), Graduate Level Deep Learning (A)

 

Econ Courses: Basic/Intermediate Micro (A+,A), Basic/Intermediate Macro (A+,A), Econometrics I/II (A+,A+), Corporate Finance (A), Investment (A), Risk & Uncertainty (A+), Statistical Methods in Economics (A+), Managerial Economics (A+), International Trade (A+), Asymmetric Information (A), Honor Thesis in Economics (A)

 

Letters of recommendation: Economics Honor Thesis Advisor, Statistics Research Advisor, Finance Professor whom I did projects & TA.

 

Research Experience: 2 year of Mathematics & Statistics Research as undergraduate, 1 year of Econometrics Research & Honor Thesis as undergraduate, 1 year of Statistics and Machine Learning Research as graduate student.

 

Teaching Experience: 1.5 years of Corporate Finance, 1 year of Probability, 1 semester of Generalized Linear Model, 1 semester of Introductory Statistics.

 

Research Interests: Econometrics and Machine Learning

 

Results:

Acceptances: University of Washington, University of British Columbia (MA), Columbia (MA)

 

Rejections: Stanford, MIT, Yale, Columbia, Chicago, Virginia, Toronto, University of British Columbia, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC Davis, UC Irvine

 

Comments: Overall I think it was a tough cycle as everybody knows, was not expecting much after rejected by UC Irvine (since I thought it would be my safety school with great research fit); almost settled with UBC MA and reapply next cycle, but really grateful got an offer from UW with a great fit for my research interest.

 

What would you have done differently?

 

Well, I found out that the information I found at Urch was very helpful and I only figured out about Urch after I finished submitting my application (where i started to realize I did something wrong with my application). I aimed too high and probably should've spread out more in the 20-50 range instead of top 20. I still feel really happy and grateful to get an offer in this difficult cycle. Good luck everyone!

[Wahasky]

We made it guys! Congrats to everyone on getting through this hellish admissions season.

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Low-ranked, small LAC, math and econ double major

Undergrad GPA: 3.95

GRE: 167V/169Q/5.5W

Math Courses: Calc I-III (A, A-, A), Prob and Stat I-II (A,A), Topology (A), Linear Algebra (A), Mathematical Modeling (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Differential Eq (A), Intro to Proofs (B+)

Econ Courses: Intermediate macro and micro, environmental, econometrics, history of economic thought, game theory, political economy of Africa, senior research seminar, independent research course

Other Courses: object oriented programming with Java

Letters of Recommendation: From three econ professors, I think they were exceptionally strong (one of the few advantages of having gone to a small, low ranked school)

Research Experience: two independent research projects for credit, part time work as undergrad RA to professor’s consulting practice, two years public sector research since undergrad

Research Interests: labor, macro

SOP: Normal

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: University of Illinois Chicago, Tulane, Rice, Johns Hopkins (off of waitlist)

Waitlists: UC Irvine and WUSTL (I removed myself from both of these), Pittsburgh (was rejected off the waitlist; they filled up quick)

Rejections: Maryland, Minnesota, U Penn, Georgetown, Vanderbilt

Pending: UNC (I assume a rejection but they're weird lol)

Attending: Johns Hopkins

Comments: Tough year. I applied two years ago, I got some offers but for personal reasons decided to work for two years before reapplying this cycle. Obviously I had no idea how tough that would be; last time I had an offer from Pittsburgh and a waitlist from Maryland, so not getting either this time around stung a little bit. On the other hand, I was rejected outright by Hopkins last time and got an offer this time. Overall, considering where I went to undergrad and other weaknesses in my background, I am very happy with my outcome and excited to start my program.

 

What would you have done differently?

I realized that I was interested in this path pretty late, and so there are things that I wish I’d done differently when I was younger, but I don’t think there’s anything I could have done differently in my applications.

Edited April 16, 2021 by Wahasky

[QuanJuDe]

PROFILE: Chinese national with US undergrad with Math and Econ, Top 5 Econ RA

Type of Undergrad: top 30-40 US News Private with a relatively weak(ranked below 60/70, relatively weak publication-wise but teaching is very good) Econ Dept

Undergrad GPA: 3.81, Econ 3.91, Math 3.96

Type of Grad: None

Grad GPA: None

GRE: 158+170+4.5

Math Courses: linear algebra, calculus I II III, abstract algebra, probability and stats, undergrad real analysis I II, undergrad topology, complex analysis, stochastic processes, PhD real analysis, PhD Topology I, all A/A+ except phd analysis

Econ Courses: normal stuff, with PhD Micro I at Undergrad, all A/A+ except A- in intro micro(never went to class in freshman year) and Chinese Economy

Other Courses: python in business analytics

Letters of Recommendation: 1 joint letter from current PIs(both working on energy IO, 1 is top5% repec), 1 math PI from undergrad, 1 teaching/metrics class reference from undergrad

Research Experience: 1 year part time RA at undergrad with math PI(game theory), 2 year full time RA at top econ dept(energy IO); 1 senior thesis in game theory

Teaching Experience: 2 year econ TA(intro micro, undergrad metrics); 3 year math grader/TA/tutor(stats, calculus, linear algebra)

Research Interests: IO, currently working on Energy IO

SOP: boring stuff about previous exp, a somewhat doable research proposal, and not exactly tailored to each program(no pointing names in SOP), but has worked on it with my PIs since August

Other: applied 2 years ago to top 20 as undergrad, got all rejected; was somewhat confident seeing previous placements at my RA job, so had a relatively high expectation on mine as well; submit everything the weekend before thanksgiving

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UT Austin, Maryland, BC, UBC

Waitlists: Northwestern, UCSD, Wisconsin, UC Davis, (BC, UBC)

Rejections: US News top 20 Dept except for Penn, UMN and Brown, BU, LSE, Toronto

Pending: None

Attending: Maryland

Comments: I was def a bit frustrated that I cannot go to top-ranked programs like my former and current colleagues, but it is what it is and I'm happy for them since they deserve it! And more importantly I'm happy now that I get to a good place with awesome faculty that fits my research focus.

From what Ive learnt from rejection letter or contact with depts, Wisconsin sent out around 90 offers to get a class size of 25-30; BC is targeting 12; UCSD is aiming for around 20?

What would you have done differently?

I wish I had a better GPA, somehow gave programs some more tailored info on SOP, probably not taking a gap year before college so I would be in last year's market lol

Edited April 19, 2021 by QuanJuDe

[rtj]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: USNEWS ~ Top 75 US University (nontechnical major)

Undergrad GPA: 3.54

Type of Grad (1): USNEWS ~ Top 150 US University, Top 5 in my undergrad field (nontechnical major, withdrew early to study economics)

Grad GPA (1): 3.93

Type of Grad (2): USNEWS ~ Top 150 US University, ~ Top 100 Econ (Non-degree undergrad courses for 1 year and an MA in Econ)

Grad GPA (2): 4.0

GRE: 158V, 166Q, 4.5AWA

Math Courses: None in formal undergrad.

• Undergrad: Calc I-III (A+/A+/A), Probability and Statistics (A), Differential Equations (A), Linear Algebra (A+), Analysis (A)
  
• Grad: Math Analysis I/II (A, TBA), Linear Algebra (TBA), Stochastic Processes (A+), Probability Theory (A)
  

Econ Courses:

• Undergrad: Principles of Micro/Macro (A+/A), Intermediate Micro/Macro (A+/A+), Econometrics (A)
  
• Grad: Math for Econ (A), Micro I-II (A/A), Macro I-II (A/A), Econometrics I-III (A+/A/TBA)
  

Other Courses: A basic CS course (A)

Letters of Recommendation: I had four letters, all from current professors at my institution. Likely fairly strong, but I am not a mind reader.

Teaching Experience: Lots of TA experience (mainly in undergrad/grad macro and metrics).

Research Interests: Macroeconomics and Econometrics, perhaps Empirical IO, all broadly speaking

SOP: I explained my unorthodox background, why I want to become an economist, my coursework and RA experiences, and what I'm interested in researching. I adjusted it slightly for each school.

Other: RA for two professors at my MA university, currently coauthoring with them.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Penn State ($), Michigan State ($), my current university ($)

Waitlists: CMU (probably unofficial, withdrew)

Rejections: Chicago, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, UCSD, NYU, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Cornell, UT, WUSTL

Pending: Washington (withdrew), Rochester (withdrew)

Attending: Penn State

Comments: My professors told me to target schools between ~8-30 in the rankings. I'm not sure if we overshot a bit, especially given the craziness this year and my weird profile. But all in all, I'm quite satisfied with the outcome - I honestly didn't think I'd get accepted anywhere. I also withheld a bit of information on my previous studies for personal privacy.

 

What would you have done differently?

Nothing.

[yabu00]

Type of Undergrad: Top 10 LAC, but with little econ research activity.

Undergrad GPA: 3.63

Type of Grad: n/a

Grad GPA:​ n/a

GRE: 165V / 167Q / 5.5 AW

Math Courses: Calc III ©, Linear Algebra (A), Real Analysis I (A), Real Analysis II (A), Real Analysis III (A), ODEs (A-), Prob (A), Math Stats (A)

Econ Courses: Way too many at the undergrad level. All As

Letters of Recommendation: No one remotely famous, but 2 from highly productive researchers who publish well at my predoc. The other from a LAC professor who knows me very well/went to a prestigious university.

Research Experience: Two senior theses (one being an applied micro paper for a poverty studies minor, no idea if anyone took this seriously). Two year predoc. One coauthored pub at a niche journal, another coauthored paper currently waiting on someone's desk at AER.

Teaching Experience: Nada.

Research Interests: Public, labor, tax-related items, and macro-labor. Will inevitably draw upon some I/O and more structural concepts.

SOP: Standard stuff. One IP tailored to each school. Feel good about my current research agenda.

Other: Upward trend in grades. Hoped that schools would ignore my first year grades.

 

Results:

Acceptances: UVA ($$), WUSTL ($$$), UMD

Waitlists: Northwestern

Rejections: UC-Berkeley, UCSD, Michigan, Wisconsin, Cornell, Duke, Minnesota, CMU, JHU, BC, UT-Austin, UC-Davis, UW, Vandy, UCSB, Rice, UC-Irvine, Georgetown, Georgia

Pending: UNC

Attending: UVA

Comments: Very difficult choice. Super excited to to continue to be a math nerd. All of my safeties rejecting me relatively early on (admittedly) frightened me, but I feel happy with my outcome.

 

What would you have done differently?

There were pretty reasonable holes in my profile. There's no way to go back and tell my 18 year old self to perform better or to go to a school with an econ PhD program for my undergrad (this can hurt you). For future applicants, I'd strongly recommend starting applications *very* early. Try to have your SOP and letter writers together over the summer. Fill in most/all of the applications for each school in the first weeks that applictions are open, then iteratively edit everything. Doing this forces you to think about and be very aware of what schools are looking for. By the time application deadlines roll around and you have to submit, your applications should be drum tight and your final list of schools should be nailed down. I mostly filled out applications in the 2-3 weeks leading up to deadlines and noticed a significant improvement in my applications and their outcomes for those that I submitted later. I simply got better at writing these things as time went on. You want to put your best foot forward on *all* of your applications.

 

Otherwise, I'm happy that I applied to a ton of schools and wish that I stayed off grad cafe a little more.

[cp9290]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Physics degree from no name school in the UK

Undergrad GPA: High 2.1

Type of Grad: One year masters in economics from a decent school in Europe

Grad GPA: Above average

GRE: 165Q, 158V, 4.5W (didn't submit to most schools)

Math Courses: All courses in undergrad were math heavy

Econ Courses: None in undergrad, grad level micro/macro/econometrics in master's

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: 2 from RA stint (well known professor at a top 5 school in the US, an AP at a top 15 school in the US), 1 from master's

Research Experience: 2 years RA at a research organization in a developing country

Teaching Experience: Econ dept math/statistics TA during master's

Research Interests: Development economics

SOP: Talked about transition to economics, the work I did as an RA

Other:

 

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UC Davis ARE

Waitlists: Cornell AEM

Rejections: Columbia Sustainable Development, Berkeley ARE, UCSD, UCLA, Michigan, Maryland, UT Austin, UW Seattle, Duke, BU, BC, UBC

Pending:

Attending:

Comments:

 

 

What would you have done differently?

Happy with my one acceptance but should've applied to econ programs outside the top 25, especially in such a competitive year.

[guessandverify]

Congrats everyone, these are great results.

 

My case is fairly unusual, so probably doesn't generalize well. (Essentially, I had to suddenly deal with a chronic disease during my undergrad. While I was getting medical care, had a tough time studying. But was fine afterwards.)

Profile

Type of Undergrad: Mid-tier American private university

Undergrad GPA: Less than 3.2

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: Very high (took some grad courses during predoc)

GRE: 170Q, 167V, 5.0W

Math Courses: Mix of grad and undergrad. Did very well in some (As in PhD topology sequence) and very poorly in others (F in analytic number theory)

Econ Courses: Mix of grad and undergrad. Same as above.

Other Courses: N/A

Letters: I think these were very strong

Research Experience: Some in undergrad, including NSF REU. 2 year predoc (not Top 5)

Teaching: N/A

SOP: I think this was fine. Mentioned some specific lines of inquiry/papers.

Other: Am coauthor on a working paper. Am not an under-represented minority. Strong software development background and intend to do computational work.

Results

Acceptances: Rutgers, Simon Fraser, WUSTL (off waitlist), Carnegie Mellon, Virginia

Waitlists: Virginia (priority waitlist for 1st year funding)

Rejections: Cambridge, Oxford, Northwestern, Brown, Cornell, UT Austin, UC Santa Barbara, Boston College, Penn State, UBC

Pending: UNC Chapel Hill, Ohio State

Attending: Carnegie Mellon (normal cohort size)

What would you have done differently?

Not gotten sick during undergrad. I think conditional on that, I did more or less what I could.

 

Applying to a ton of schools was definitely the right call this year.

[hallowedelegy]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: T5 LAC

Undergrad GPA: 3.99/4.0 (4.0 in Math and Econ)

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: 167V/169Q/6.0AW

 

Math Courses: Linear Algebra, Applied Topology, Real Analysis, Regression Analysis, Measure Theory & Probability, Differential Equations, Abstract Algebra, Indep. Study on Stochastic Calculus (measure-theoretic from Oksendal (2003)), Bayesian Statistics, Applied PDEs (covered functional analysis & numerical methods)

 

Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, Seminar in Theoretical Macrofinance, Game Theory, Adv. Econometrics (VARs, SVARs), Financial History, Indep. Study on Research in Continuous-Time Macrofinance, Seminar in Labor Economics, Honors Thesis

 

Other Courses: Intro to CS (Python), remaining courses were not quantitative or economics-related

 

Letters of Recommendation: (1) Undergrad advisor (2) Direct supervising economist at Fed (3) Joint letter from another Fed economist and a well-published tenured professor at a T10.

First two letter writers have sent multiple students to Top 5 schools in recent history and likely compared me to them as equally good or better. First letter is very strong b/c I am a co-author with them on 3 papers; they advised my thesis; and they have told me and others that they consider me "a co-author" rather than just a student. Second letter is nearly as strong as the first. Third letter is also strong b/c I worked extensively for them as an RA for a published paper and for an internal Fed briefing.

 

Research Experience

- 4 Papers w/ undergrad advisor: 1 under review at a T5 journal; 1 under review at low-ranked field; 3rd is work in progress; 4th is my senior thesis (may be re-written in the future); all 4 used continuous-time methods from Brunnermeier and Sannikov (2014)

- 2 Years at Fed: RA for a published paper in a journal like NBER Macro Annual, Brookings; co-author on working paper with a HANK model; co-author on 2 internal briefings

 

Teaching Experience: Undergrad TA for 6 math & econ courses (held TA sessions and graded problem sets). 2 most adv. courses were Measure Theory and Seminar on Theoretical Macrofinance

 

Research Interests: Macroeconomics, Finance (espc. Business Cycle Theory, Macrofinance, Applied Theory, Computational Methods)

 

SOP: I described my research experience in undergrad and postgrad. If there were faculty at the school whose research I've read and my SOP did not reach the word count yet, then I mentioned my interest in these faculty by citing papers I have read. I based my SOP off the SOPs of other successful RAs from the Fed at which I worked.

 

Other: I have contributions on GitHub to a couple open-sources packages in economics and applied math.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: MIT (36k for years 1-2, 35k for years 3-5), Stanford (46k), UChicago (43k), Princeton (36k), UChicago Booth (43.5k for years 1-4, 36.5k for year 5, 33k for year 6), Harvard (from WL)

Withdrew application before hearing back: UCLA, UC Berkeley, Univ. of Rochester, LSE, Yale, Univ. of Minnesota, UPenn, Northwestern, NYU, NYU Stern (UCLA, Yale, and NYU Stern still issued me explicit rejections, so they may have evaluated my application anyway)

Waitlists: Stanford GSB Finance

Rejections: HBS (received an interview)

Attending: MIT

Comments: After my admission to Stanford in January, my direct supervisor at the Fed said that I ought to withdraw my application early from schools whose programs are strictly dominated by Stanford's (for macro, at least). This way, admissions committees at other schools could offer a spot to someone else rather than waste time on me if I almost surely was going to pick Stanford over them. After receiving admission from MIT, I turned down more schools.

On the business school interviews, while HBS's interview was a straightforward "talk to me about your research experience and interests" interview, both Stanford GSB and UChicago Booth asked more "complicated" questions like "Why choose our school?, "When was a time you encountered an adverse situation and how did you go about overcoming it? Did you come up with creative solutions to your problems?", and "Describe a time in which you had a disagreement with someone and how did you go about navigating the disagreement."

 

What would you have done differently? Nothing really. I'm happy to have done my 2 years at the Fed and learned a lot, even if it may not necessarily have been necessary to get into a top 5 program. I'm confident that there will be long term benefits from having done the predoc.

Edited April 21, 2021 by hallowedelegy

[flotus1]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: The best program in my country, unknown in the USA, Economics

Undergrad GPA: 3.83

Type of Grad: MSc in Econ and MSc in Finance (not finished), the same institution as the undergraduate one

Grad GPA: 3.84

GRE: 154V/168Q/4.0AW

Math Courses: Real analysis, Calculus, Multivariable Calculus, Intro to Statistics, Theoretical Statistics,

Econ Courses: Microeconomics and Econometrics(graduate), intermediate micro and macro, Time Series Analysis, Financial Economics, International Finance, etc.

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: I had 4 letters - 1 senior professor from the top 5, 1 Associate Professor from the top 10, 2 professors from my master's and undergrad

Research Experience: 1 year RA + worked for 2 years at the central bank in my country

Teaching Experience: none

Research Interests: macroeconomics

SOP: Generic one, almost the same for every school

Other:

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Northwestern,UC Berkeley, Wisconsin-Madison

Waitlists: UCSD, UMichigan

Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Stanford, UChicago, Princeton, Yale, NYU, Columbia, NYU Stern, Booth, HBS

Pending:

Attending: Northwestern University

Comments:

What would you have done differently? I would start preparing everything earlier, but I am still very satisfied with the outcome

[Winnythepooh]

Type of Undergrad: B.S. (Honors) Mathematics and Economics from the top 15 in US

Undergrad GPA: 4.0 (My school doesn't have A+)

Type of Grad : N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: Q170 ,V157, AWA4.0

Math Courses Undergrad: Linear Algebra (A), Calculus I-III (A), Analysis I-II (A), Abstract Algebra I-II (A), Logic (A), Linear Optimization (A), Topology (A), Complex Analysis (A)

Math Courses Grad: Differentiable Manifolds (A), ODE (A), Two semesters of Ph.D. analysis sequence (both A), Measure-theoretic probability (A), Stochastic analysis (A), Modern discrete probability (A)

Econ Courses Undergrad: Intro to micro and macro (A), Intermediate micro (A), Intermediate macro (A), Econometrics (A), Game Theory (A), IO (A), Growth theory (A), Independent research (A), Honors thesis (IP)

Econ Courses Grad: Two semesters of Ph.D. micro sequence (both A), First semester of Ph.D. macro sequence (A), Advanced micro theory (A)

Other courses: Two programming classes in Java and Matlab

Letters of Recommendation:

- Math Professor whom I did research with (Very strong - the best student he has ever had for 20 years)

- Assistant Professor from intermediate macro and growth theory classes (Strong)

- Well-known professor in micro sequence whom I did research with over the past summer (Strong)

Research Experience:

- Two years of math research in dynamical systems with the first LOR writer (1 working paper & 1 in-progress)

- Math REU at U. Chicago over the past summer about optimal stopping time

- One semester of independent research class on matching theory

- Research on games in contracts with the third LOR writer over the past summer

- Honors thesis about search theory (I didn't have a strong relationship with my advisor, so I didn't have him writing a rec letter for me)

Teaching Experience: TA for analysis, combinatorics, and stochastic process classes

Research Interests: Microeconomic theory (Game Theory, Information economics)

SOP: How I can use my problem-solving skills from math competition to solve problems in economic theory and help my research in theory. I also make a connection between what I learn from math class and my potential research topic in the future.

Other information: IMO silver medalist for three years and Putnam top 50 for three years.

Results:

Acceptances: MIT ($$$), Princeton ($$$), UC-Berkeley ($$), Yale ($$$), Caltech ($$$), U. Penn ($), U. Michigan ($$$)

Waitlists: Northwestern, Harvard

Rejections: Stanford, Columbia, U. Chicago

Attending: MIT!

Comments: After I got the offer from MIT, I withdrew applications from many colleges (UCSD, UCLA, UW-Madison, U. Rochester, BU, BC, UT-Austin...Yes, I was so desperate that I would not get in any program, so I applied a lot). What I was concerned most about was that I did not let my thesis advisor write the letter (If you want to know why, see my previous forum: Profile Evaluation for 2021 and concerns about LOR (www.urch.com)), so I was afraid this was a red flag to ad com showing that my thesis was bad. The first offer from MIT relieved me a lot! I was so glad that ad com didn't take it into account.

What would you have done differently? I am happy with my results so far. Maybe I should have done application materials earlier so that I didn't have to be stressed out during late November and December. I should have applied to fewer schools and save those money for travelling lol.

Edited April 16, 2021 by Winnythepooh

[yjk0422]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 10 institution in my home country

Undergrad GPA: 3.8/4.0, Major in Econ, Minor in Math. I graduated a semester early

Type of Grad: the same institution as undergrad

Grad GPA: 3.93, M.S. in Econ (not finished yet)

GRE: V166/Q170/WA4.0

Math Courses: Calc1,2 , Multivariable Calc, Advanced Calc 1, Linear Algebra 1,2 ,Differential Equations, Real Analysis, Numerical Analysis, ect,. Mostly A+/A with two A-s and two B-s(Calc 1 and a computation class; had a hard time catching up on Calc 1, but I think it didn’t matter a lot in the end since I did well on more advanced courses )

Econ Courses: Usual undergrad/grad courses, all A+ except for a B+ on undergrad macro and A- on grad macro (macro is my weakness)

Other Courses: Several undergrad statistics courses, mostly A+ with one B+

Letters of Recommendation: I think they were strong/pretty decent at least (but who knows…)

Research Experience: Several short term R.A. for professors that I took courses in, 2 monthes research internship at a private finance research institution, two national research competition awards ( work published in conference proceedings)

Teaching Experience: T.A. for four undergrad courses

Research Interests: Microeconometrics(applied/theory)

SOP: Talked mainly about my experience working on the research projects that were awarded at the national competitions and how it motivated me to pursue doctoral studies.

Other: Alternate candidate for the Fulbright scholarship (will decline soon)

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UT Austin($), TAMU(waitlisted for funding)

Waitlists: WUSTL(waitlist->rejection) , Wisconsin-Madison(waitlist->rejection), MSU (waitlist->decline), UC Irvine (radio silence, don’t know what happened)

Rejections: Yale, Northwestern, UCLA, Cornell, Duke, BC, U of Arizona, Purdue, Georgetown, USC, Rice(declined interview)

Pending: UNC

Attending: UT Austin

Comments: It really frustrated me how so many schools sent out their decisions in several rounds or kept a really long waitlist this year. I was super anxious for the past three months, got a bad insomnia and lost several pounds. I can’t say that I am attending my dream school, but I am happy and grateful that I can continue my studies at a solid department with professors that fit my research interests.

What would you have done differently? Nothing in terms of preparation, since I honestly tried my best. Maybe I should have applied to more schools in the top 5~30 range, since I ended up getting outright rejections from many lower ranked schools despite being at least waitlisted/ waiting for several rounds before being rejected from higher ranked programs. I felt that research fit plays an important role in the admission process, especially for students like me who has a specific/quite narrow field of interest.

Edited April 17, 2021 by yjk0422

[econhappy]

Type of Undergrad: Top 5 Econ

Undergrad GPA: 3.3

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: 168Q/166V/4.5W

Math Courses: Multivariable Calculus (P - took on pass/fail), Linear Algebra and Differential Equations ©, Intro to Stats ©, Intro to Stats retake under different course name (A-), Linear Algebra & Real Analysis I (A-), Real Analysis Convexity & Optimization (A-)

Econ Courses: Macro (C+), Micro (B+), Metrics (A-), Independent Research Seminar (A), Honors Thesis (A), Case Studies in Economic Development (A-), Poverty and Impact Evaluation (A-), Intro Econ (A)

 

Letters of Recommendation: (1) undergraduate thesis advisor, top economist in my field (2) pre-doc supervisor, top economist in my field (3) pre-doc supervisor, younger economist in my field

Research Experience: undergrad thesis, undergrad RA 3 semesters, pre-doc/full-time RA 3 years at top 5 universities

Teaching Experience: N/A

Research Interests: Development, environment, applied micro

SOP: tailored last paragraph mentioning school faculty members

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UC Berkeley ARE, Duke Econ, Chicago Harris, U Maryland Econ, U Maryland Ag Econ, UCSB Econ, UC Davis Ag Econ, UC Santa Cruz Econ

Waitlists: HKS Public Policy (didn't see through til the end), Brown Econ (rejected), UCLA Econ (accepted)

Rejections: LSE Econ, Northwestern Econ, UCSD Econ, Chicago Booth Econ, Michigan PPol + Econ joint, Boston College Econ, Boston U Econ, Columbia Econ, NYU Econ

 

Attending: UC Berkeley ARE

Comments:

 

What would you have done differently?: Obviously I would have gotten better grades in undergrad, or taken more courses after undergrad, and maybe applied to a few more higher ranked schools. But overall extremely happy with my results given my profile!

Edited April 20, 2021 by econhappy

[gamebay]

Type of Undergrad: top liberal arts college in my country, somewhat well known in the US

Undergrad GPA: 3.88

Type of Grad: T10

Grad GPA: 3.9

GRE: 170Q / 166V / 5.0AW

Math Courses: Linear Algebra (A), Math for econ I (A), Math for econ II (B+), real analysis I (A)

Econ Courses: Advanced micro (H), advanced macro (H), econometrics (multiple, all A/H), advanced development economics (H)

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: 1 from DGS at grad school who was also my thesis advisor, 2 Assistant Profs who are my current PIs.

Research Experience: 1.5 years of field and 1.5 years of data RA work

Teaching Experience: none

Research Interests: Development, political economy, gender

SOP: Surprised myself when I realized that my SOP had a very common theme aligned with my interests straight from undergrad. This was especially apparent in the kinds of research I've undertaken independently, as well as with my PIs. Also tailored SOP for the institutions, mentioned profs and their work that was relevant to my interests.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Berkeley ARE, UCSD, Georgetown, McGill, Bocconi, NYU, BU, HKS PPOL, UCL

Waitlists: Northwestern (eventually rejected), U-WM (and asked to be taken off)

Rejections: Cornell AEM, Yale & Columbia (both because they already had my GRE and application fee was waived, would not have applied otherwise), Brown, Michigan (econ+ppol), Duke ppol

Attending: HKS PPOL (normal cohort size)

Comments: Fee waivers were my best friend during this process! I also wanted something slightly more multi-disciplinary and HKS was the best fit. I guess strategically going to an econ department would have made more sense. I was really looking for where I have good support systems and where I can stay slightly outside econ but still interact with some great economists! I also feel like I would end up outside of academia in 6+ years, but who knows.

 

What would you have done differently? Didn't have many math course options to take during undergrad, so can't even go back to my undergrad self and ask them to take more math! Definitely was a great decision to not do math in grad school and instead focus on fun courses, and do real analysis online later. Wasn't expecting most of the acceptances I got, so I'm pretty satisfied (including the months of application + refreshing grad cafe stress).

Edited April 20, 2021 by gamebay

[SG7]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 75 USWNR, Large State School

Undergrad GPA: 3.71

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: 167Q / 164V / 4.5

Math Courses:

from undergrad: business calc I,II (A,A), Business stats (A);

After undergrad, through state school online: Calc I-III (A+,A+,A-), Linear Algebra (A+), Intro to Proofs (A+), Intro to Analysis (A), Stats (IP)

Econ Courses: Intro micro/macro (A,A,), Int Micro/macro (A,A), Environmental (A), Public (A), Comparative Systems (A), Intro Econometrics (B), Adv Econometrics (A), Game theory (B), a few seminar courses (all A's)

Other Courses: Nothing relevant

Letters of Recommendation: all from undergrad professors, all full/distinguished profs but not famous

Research Experience: Basically none, tried to tie my work experience to research but it's not really a research role

Teaching Experience: ​some math tutoring, nothing else

Research Interests: Public/ Political economy/applied micro. Listed some potential research areas that are very niche but related to my work experience (4 years)

SOP: Pretty good I think, got some help from a relative on copy-editing. Tailored for each school as much as possible.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Clemson ($$$), UC Irvine (Off waitlist, $$), CU Boulder ($$$, off waitlist after 4/15)

Waitlists: UC Irvine (Accepted), CU Boulder (Accepted after 4/15), USC (rejected)

Rejections: Chicago Harris (had a fee waiver, otherwise wouldn't have tried), Duke, UCSD, UCSB, UVA, UMich, Vanderbilt, BU, UT Austin, Georgetown

Pending: Maryland, UNC (never heard back from either, obviously rejections)

Attending: UC Irvine

Comments: I knew I would be a controversial applicant given my lack of research experience and several years of work experience, plus starting from scratch on math at a less prestigious university (& online). Really hard to say if I would've placed higher in a normal year, I think my letter writers thought I would but they don't send students to PhD programs that often, so I think they were basing it on placements from 5-10 years ago who did much better. Different game now.

 

UCI has a reduced cohort this year, target was 12 compared to 20 in a normal year. Great research fit and seemingly super-positive environment. Very grateful they were willing to take a chance on me.

 

What would you have done differently? The classic answer is gotten into research earlier and started math courses earlier, and of course that's true, but I had other focuses and interests in undergrad and I wouldn't give up those experiences for anything. No regrets on the application side either, I applied to my undergrad feeling comfortable that they would accept me, and only wanted to go somewhere else if it was considerably higher ranked so I didn't apply to anything below top-50 besides my alma mater. I have a two-body problem with a partner in industry, and California is super far away so that sucks, but I avoided applying anywhere that was difficult to get to (penn state, michigan state, etc).

[Dazedprospect]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad:Large state school

Undergrad GPA: 3.48 (econ and math are 3.9+)

Type of Grad:

Grad GPA:

GRE: 165Q

Math Courses: Calc 1-3 (A), Intro to Proof Writing (A), Linear Algebra (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Real Analysis (A), First year econometrics (A-)

Econ Courses: Intro/Intermediate Micro Macro (A), Advanced Micro/Game Theory (A), Labor economics (A), Analysis of Asia (A), Research seminar (A), International Economics (A), Economics of sports (A), Intro Econometrics (A), Advanced Econometrics (A), probably more idk

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: (1) from research advisor who I wrote senior paper for and then RA'd for (2) advanced metrics prof (3) intro metrics prof

Research Experience: ~9mo

Teaching Experience: Year of TA for intro micro/macro

Research Interests: Development, labor, health

SOP: Pretty mediocre most likely, but good enough to not be thrown out

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: University of Washington, UT-Austin

Waitlists: University of Virginia (withdrew from WL)

Rejections: Maryland, Penn State, Rice, Wisconsin

Pending: UNC (probably rejection)

Attending: Washington

Comments: Hard cycle. Happy to have acceptances though. My cumulative GPA is low from my first year of college with irrelevant classes. Was on academic probation my first year, so it's pretty distorted by that. Grades after that are much better.

 

What would you have done differently? Generic answer of take more math early on, but truthfully I had no idea I would be down this path so what can ya do. I am also coming straight from undergrad so in hindsight I should've applied for RAships before applying. Also should've applied to more schools, especially this year. Lucky to have gotten anything applying so narrowly.