IvyBoy

Thanks both for your input. I should also mention that I was decided a while ago that I will go for the Ph.D. no matter what. The offer that I have for sure now is from a low-ranked university. But I have applied to better ranked Universities as well. So the important question became: should I still go for the Ph.D. even from a low-ranked University given the high opportunity cost? In other words, I am just not sure how rank will affect the liklihood of getting the h1 after the ph.d....so that's my real dilemma. Thanks again.

Hi Folks, My question has little to do with a Ph.D. in economics, but I have been disucussing a lot about admission to a Ph.D. in econ in this forum, I thought it could be the best place to ask this question: Well, I am an international who graduated recently and is in the process of an H1 visa. I hear that it is not easy to get a company willing to sponsor you, so I feel lucky in that aspect. Plus, the company has tuition reimbursement programs and the job pays good. On the other hand, I have the option of enrolling for my Ph.D. in economics (full-time) this coming fall (i.e. with financial aid from the University), in which case I would be throwing away the opportunity to work on an H1 visa and become a permenent resident. Also, I fear that getting fired in this process will more or less equal to deportation. Then again, I thought to myself, if i get a ph.d, it could be a sure thing that I can get the h1 down the road and achieve both as well. Of course, from the career standpoint, the decision might be clear (but it might be a possibility to delay the Ph.D. ..may be?). But when I look at the other aspects (finance, stabilization, etc..), it becomes very confusing. So I was just wondering...what do my TM fellows have to advise me on this? tks, ~Ivyboy P.S. Sorry for the long post!!!

You all need to get some SLEEP!

Well, if you apply to the top schools, I am sure you will get in somewhere with that 670. People in this forum really over emphasize the GRE. If you talk to a memeber of an adcom, you would really be surprised by how little emphasis they put on the GRE. However, pure econ deparments really put a great emphasis on the GRE score. In any case, if there is a particular school you want to get into and you don't wanna go anywhere but that school, you GRE score might be a problem.

An MBA is not a smarter approach if you want to do research at a consulting firm. The MBA is not a research degree.

The problem with E is that it is not clear. Ask this: what is the thing that "is not usual to do"?

Eventhough a Ph.D. in economics is a research degree for the most part, I don't recommend it to anyone who doesn't have a passion for teaching (unless you want to end up in the private industry or international organizations only). I think a master's in economics is an awesome preparation for a career in industry. There really is a lotta money out there in the private sector and who's better prepared to earn it than someone with a master's degree in economics. If you like research, you still will have what it takes to do just that with a master's. Having said that, however, if you do enjoy teaching economics (in addition to enjoying economic research) go for the Ph.D. On the other hand, if you are not sure which subfield of economics to focus on, using the master's in economics keeps your options more open. GOOD LUCK, buddy!

So yeah, my question actually was: should I apply as soon as possible or is there a period of time during which you are supposed to apply? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- User name, as to your comment, I really don't think that there are too few economsits really. It is just that most of them do a lot of teaching and theoretical stuff while they should be out in the real world addressing real world issues (this statement is particularly pointed at development economists). However, I would agree that there are very few lay people with a good understanding of basic modern economics. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I apologize if my response to that comment (joke!) was a little too extensive. IvyBoy

Guys, I do realize that this question is a little out of place, but I just thought that since someone in this forum might have the answer to this short question, I thought I could just go ahead and ask. The company I am working for right now has agreed to sponsor me for h1 visa and I am currently on OPT. But I have no idea when I (the company) can apply for it. Does anybody know when? Thanks.

If it is economic consulting, how much do you think the ranking of the institution you get your ph.d. from matters in securing a decent job at a consulting firm. Second, which subfields of economics do you think are most in demand. I am just asking out of curiosity.

Hello everyone, I recently obtained a position as a research associate at a top-20 consulting firm (i actually graduated recently) and I plan to continue for my Ph.D. in economics next fall. I am an international student and the company is actually sponsoring me (h1). Now, since a career in consulting is one of the options I hope to have after completing my ph.d., I am wondering if the Ph.D. is not the most efficient way to go about it. Or is a master's in econ more appropriate? I was considering an MBA, but then again, I am interested in the research aspect of consulting and the MBA is not a research degree. Please guys, I need some guidance. Thanks. IVYBOY!

If one number is chosen at random from the first 1000 positive integers, what is the probability that the number chosen is a multiple of both 2 and 8? Explain answer! ~Ivyboy!

Hey, how did you know you get a 30-60-90 triangle, is there some property of hexagons? Or is that just an assumption? But your answer is correct.

weirdo, it could be a mistake. I don't think you have to check for both + and -. After all, it is read as "plus or minus" and not as "plus and minus". But let's wait and see what others have to say.

What is the area of an equiangular regular hexagonal region with side lenght = 6. Explain how you got the answer as well. Thanks.

Solution: The roots for the original question are (x-1) (x-5) = 0, so the roots are 1 and 5. Neither of them are solutions to any of the choices but D. So Answer: D. when you plug in 1 in the equation 2x^2 - 2, you get 0. A root, by definition, is the solution to an equation when you set it equal to zero (that is not formal or technical definition, but I hope it helps).!!! ~IvyBoy

Annie, well you assume that the 1960 and the current distribution are both normal distributions and that they share similar characteristics. Therefore, since the person's salary in 1960 ($30,000) was located 2 standard deviations (2*10,000) away from the mean ($50,000), you conclude that, at the current time also, this person's salary (x) will be located exactly 2 standard deviations (2*500,000) away from the current mean ($2,000,000). A simpler way of putting it would be: x = $2,000,000 - 2*($500, 000) = $1,000,000. DONE!

Confidant, ...the difference between "tenth and tens" is that the first refers to the second digit after the decimal point and "tens" refers to the second digit before the decimal point. Example: in the number 80.06, the tenth digit = 6 and the tens digit = 8.

Solution for Question 1: There are 5 seats and 5 people. If you fix the middle one, then you will have a permutation problem...4p4 = 4! = 4*3*2 = 24. Solution for Question 2: This must be a misprint. But I figured you meant "How many three-digit numbers are odd and do not contain the digit 5. The answer is 8*9*4 = 288. There are ten possible choices for each digit (from 0 to 9). Since you are concerned with three digit numbers the hundreds digit cannot be zero and it cannot be 5 since you don't want it to contain the digit 5. So you have 8 choices for the hundreds digit and 9 choices for the tens digit and only 4 choices for the units digit. You only have 4 choices for the tens digit because you want the number to be odd and you have 1, 3, 4 and 9 as possible choices of odd numbers (remember you cannot use 5). Well I know this is a lengthy explanation, but I hope it helped.

November could be too late.

Hi folks, I was just wondering, is GRE math a forum for the GRE General Quantitative section, or for the GRE subject test in Math??? Thanks. anybody?

Thanks Talky, I wasn't aware that there could be two of one of the sections that I will have to work on seriously. Two verbal sections is not too bad. But I will have to prepare for two qants.

Folks, I am giving my GRE test on the 15th (friday) and I was curious about the experiemental section. I have heard that it is optional, does it notify you when you get to that section? I remember someone in this forum mentioning having to go through 2 quant sections and I wasn't sure what that was all about. IvyBoy

I think tct has a valid point!

My advice is (if you plan to attend a top school)...take more math, take the GRE as soon as possible (or whenever you feel you can score perfect on the quantitative portion). That shouldn't take more than about a year. You should be able to apply for fall 2008. How long ago you took the GRE won't matter to the adcoms as long as it is with in 5 years. Some schools might, however, not like scores that are more than 2 years old.