Mathador

Hello guys, I'm also going to Berkeley for Ag Econ.Are some of you interested in sharing an apartment/house?(man-of-nowhere,devecon, Ivo etc.)

man-of-nowhere, check your PM

man-of-nowhere, Congratulations on your admission to Berkeley! I was also admitted to the ARE PhD program. Your fellowship is decent but you might need additional financial resources to live decently in California(from what I heard about life at Berkeley). Room in a shared apartment are usually higher than what Klop mentioned and varies from $700 to $950. However, we will benefit from the courses and faculty of the economic department and work with one of the best faculty in agricultural and resource economics. I wish that you will choose Berkeley. Congratulations again!

Happy to see that you have reached your final decision! Berkeley is a wonderful admit!!

I am so jealous!But you know Morassa for us, international students there is more "fun fun fun" to come. We will have to discuss and think about the visa,spend hours on infinite queue(in some countries) and try to explain to some guys that the official letter of University X is a real one not a fake copy...isn't this the real fun?!?:)

Very funny PCG. So this is the american humour!?!I think I will appreciate it. A few years ago I learned to enjoy European humour, in particular French humour. It took me a year to watch many(supposedly) funny movies to catch the "art of making people laugh"...making people laugh, being able to laugh at the right moment(on the right joke) is the best way to integrate oneself. I am not retired yet..I wish I will join you soon!

I discovered TestMagic while I was preparing for the TOEFL and GRE. I learned through all of your posts, how to deal with these tests. More than all my grades in Math or Econ it is all your posts that helped to improve my english and to reach decent scores and to get into good econ programs. I think many international students are in the same situation. After some weeks of lurcking, I decided to post some messages because Testmagic is a place to share informations and news, good or bad. I think that the majority of TMians are not arrogant yet extremely willingto help. My cents

As 81Ala put it, they send the letter via FedEx, so you should hear soon. Congrats 81Ala!

Hi Macro. Where are you leaving?In the USA,Europe,Africa, Asia.?I am in western Europe(or "Old Europe" if you prefer) and I received their letter saturday 3/11. Have you received other decisions? Good luck!

I will keep that in mind. Yet, are "star professors",those heroes, really available and easy for reach for mentoring. I mean it is really important to meet with your as frequently as possible while you are doing your research and writing your thesis. For instance having J. Sachs in your PhD commitee would help during job market but the guy must be over booked with the worldwide support he must give to the millenium goals.

Okay Ivo Columbia just added 3k/year summer stipend to their initial offer. I did not ask for anything! Do you guys think that universities share their admission and funding information? This can't be just a hazard, Colmbia's offer equals now that of Berkeley and the choice is getting tougher. I assume that,due in part to my "social and geographical origins",I am a limited resource to econ departments. Geography definitely matters!:)

Thank you Ivo. You know my heart is telling me "go to Berkeley" and my mind is shouting "NY, NY, NY. and think about J. Sachs, Sala-i-Martin,Urquiola etc..." Columbia offers 20k/year for five years while Berkeley "just" said 23k/year for four years and maybe with a decreasing amount after the 2nd year. I don't know what to do!!! Have you decided that you are going to Berkeley?What about housing and other stuff?

I am interested in Development, in particular the political economy of education and health, impact analysis of policies and African development. Usnews ranks Berkeley 2nd in development econ while Columbia do have lot of "star professors" in economic development.

Which university would you guys prefer : Berkeley, PhD in Agricultural and Resource Econnomics (23k/year but the amount will likely decrease after the third year. It is what I understood from the intricated wording of the official letter) or Columbia Econ? snappythecab, how do you know that LSE won't give you a fellowship?They told me that they have not decided yet...

Rejected by Harvard KSG, PhD in public policy. In at Columbia, PhD in Econ admission letter received during the week-end via FedEx. They offer a fellowship of 20k/year. Good luck to everyone for the remaining decisions we are all waiting for.