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  1. The adcomm I spoke with told me 600 to get in, and at least 650 to be competitive for admissions and financial aid. As for Emory, I knew they took both. Though the father of a friend of mine who is a professor told me that their Ph.D. program strongly prefers the GMAT to the GRE. As for grad schools, the poster's initial profile looks fine. I'd suggest just looking at schools which are outside the top 10 and in the top 30 or so just to hedge your bets of getting in somewhere. There are a ton of good program out there. There are the obvious ones such as Wharton (U-Penn), Florida, and UGA. The University of Michigan supposedly has a strong Finance program to complement their strong Econ program (though it's run by a bunch of Neo-Keynesians). I've heard good things about UC-Berkeley (SP?) and Chicago, though I imagine they are both in the top 10. Stanford would be one that comes to mind.
  2. Hi there. I purchased PR's Cracking the GMAT with DVD, and I am trying to use it to prep some for taking the GMAT. I took the warm up test in the book, and it suggested which difficulty of questions I should work from (bin 3 in verbal and bin 2 in math) before I take my next practice test. But the problem is that I can't find these bins! I saw they weren't in the book, so I looked on the DVD. Not there. Okay, then they must be online with the practice tests. Nope. So... Does anyone have any idea where the question bins are, or who I should contact to ask?
  3. Really? AFAIK Ohio State, UGA, Georgia State, and Emory University all require the GMAT and not the GRE for admissions to their Ph.D. programs. I thought that was pretty much the standard. Really the only exception I can think of is at UGA since the Econ program is inside the b-school and requires the GRE and not the GMAT.
  4. You need the GMAT for b-school admissions, not the GRE. Unless you're going into an Econ Ph.D. that is.
  5. From what I have seen, if you want to go into Finance, you will need a great deal of math. Most of what I have seen used is a lot of Econometrics, Stochastic Calculus, and Linear Algebra, a tiny bit of topology and Analysis. A familiarity with Diff-Eq and PDEs also would be very helpful. I was told by a friend who was in the Econ Ph.D. program at Michigan circa 1994 that most of Varian's Microeconomics and the Micro theory he used was for the most part differential equations and maybe some Linear Algebra. Macro... From what my friend has told me, I have gotten the impression that it was mostly matrices and calculus, and of course your macroeconometric modeling. Of course what you would actually see would be dependent on the course and the philosophical bent of your program (i.e. Neo-Keynesians, Supply-Siders, Chicago-Schoolers, etc...).
  6. Math and a MA I have been told work well in helping get a student with a mediocre undergrad reputation into a Ph.D. program. Also consider possibly a MA in a related field like Poli Sci., Urban and Regional Planning, or possibly even a specialized MS in Finance or Decision Sciences (heavy empirical work) before you pursue a Ph.D.
  7. Ok, so I need to take the GMAT to get into Georgia State's masters program in Finance. I know what I need to make to be competitive for a tuition waver and any possible financial aid (a 650+). Right now I am testing at about 530 (with the ETS GMATprep software, only one test used), up from an initial 490 on a Kaplan GMAT "test drive". The part of the test I am having the most trouble with is the data sufficiency parts of the quant. section (and some of the harder calculations as well). I can understand calculus, I can understand econometrics, I can understand complicated statistics. But I just cannot wrap my head around the data sufficiency questions. I may choose an answer which makes perfect sense according to my logic, but is nowhere near what the test-takers want. I just can't "break" these questions. I aim to take the test in March or April (moved back from this month over the break). Georgia State offers GMAT prep courses at the campus in the suburb where my parents live. Now that would last from late January to early March on Saturdays, and costs $550 (plus gas for me to go home each of those weekends). That is one option, and I feel the preparation through instruction would be beneficial in bringing up my score. But then there is the question of where the money will come from to pay for the course. Another option is to get a test prep book which would prepare me adequately and keep going it by myself. Though right now I am already using Kaplan's books for the GMAT verbal (though I am fine there and that isn't really my problem area anyways) and the GMAT/GRE math prep book, so from what I have read I am already using the top-notch stuff. My question is if taking courses to bring my score up is a better option than studying on my own. And if I do study on my own, are there any prep books which offer more than two quant (or overall) tests? Because as I learned with Kaplan's free online tests, If I take a test with the same questions more than once, my score will see an artificial inflation due to me remembering the answers. Gaah this is frustrating.
  8. Okay, here is basically where I am. I am an Econ major with a decent but low GPA (3.07). I have a Business minor, but really I have no concrete set of skills other than being able to think. As my low GPA also excludes me from being able to jump right to a Ph.D., I am going to do a masters to redeem myself. I am looking at Masters programs in Finance since they would give me a good set of career-related skills, while at the same time providing me with a firm foundation for later Ph.D. study in Finance (and it wouldn't be a waste of time like a MBA). Though my math skills are mediocre at best as I am good with Econometrics and statistics to a degree, but flounder with the proofs in anything beyond Calculus 2 (basically anything which requires induction). But I am phenomenal in my business courses and can put everything together. The ideal program I would like to get into is the MS program at Georgia State University, though my parents would like me to apply to other programs and hedge my bets. A MA in Economics or Poli Sci are options as well, but they impart too much of an "academic stink" and I would like to avoid that. Hence why I am applying to the GSU MS program. I would like to apply to others, but as far as I can tell most other Finance programs are way beyond my mathematical abilities at my stage right now, and/or are out of my league in terms of GMAT score (what I think I can pull on it anyways) and what would be considered a competitive undergraduate background. So I guess I am asking (1) what can I do right now other than ace the GMAT to get myself into a good school (keep in mind I am at a very small liberal arts college right now), and (2) are there any other programs which are similar in scope and rankings as Georgia State's Finance MS program?
  9. Many Econ grad students and professors I have talked to, upon mentioning I want to go to grad school in Econ and questioning what math I should be prepared for, have always highly recommended taking Real Analysis. But the thing is that I have read up a little on it, and it seems to mainly contain elements of set theory and proofs of formulas I learned over two semesters of Calculus. Now set theory and Calculus, I know why they are useful in Economics (well except for all the trigonometry). So does not just taking undergrad Discrete Structures and 3 semesters of Calculus deliver much more utility on the margin than taking a class which proves all of that material? If developing a mind for proofs is the objective, is it not more useful just to take a course in proof structures (which I have been told is not that useful for graduate Econ in any case)?
  10. My sophomore year of undergrad (was it really that long ago?) I was interested in Environmental and Energy Economics, and my advisor highly recommended Maryland among other schools. Just looking at their department offerings and specialties indicates that they have an expertise in Applied Micro, and they place their graduates very well.
  11. All Berry's math minor requires is 18 hours of math courses, with 9hrs (three courses) at the 300+ level. I declared it late enough in my career that I was lucky to be able to fit the 3 upper division courses into my schedule.
  12. Math: -Elementary Stats -Business Stats -Intro Econometrics -Precalculus -Applied Calculus -Calc 1&2 -Linear Algebra (Fall) -Advanced Probability and Stats (Fall) -Differential Equations (Spring) -Calc 3 (Spring) Well, two things with your statement. First off I have seen some of the upper-tier stuff math/physics friends of mine have/are taking (proof structures, topology, real and complex analysis), and frankly it scares the shit out of me. I have enough logical reasoning ability to understand mathematical economics and calculus, but not some of that stuff. Second: I am a senior. My next two semesters are planned out for me. Besides, I don't have the pre-reqs to get at anything else than what I have planned out already. To asquare: As I mentioned above, I think I will consider the MS and MA programs at Georgia Tech and Georgia State respectively, in addition to a MBA in Business Econ from Georgia State, or a general MBA from Berry (where I am at now for undergrad). I guess I shoudl start meeting with graduate coordinators and gathering info and the like. As for the GPA, the department chair does know my GPA (he had to know if it was greater than 3.0 so he could induct me into the Econ honors society). My retiring advisor does know my GPA and has been supportive in me getting ready for graduate study. The other professor I have had for several classes (and who I also work for) has been very enthusiastic in encouraging me towards graduate study, and I believe I have mentioned my GPA to him. The bad grades that I have aren't really in my major courses (only 3 b-'s in-major); the grades weighing me down are mainly in math (C- in Calc 2 by some miracle) and in my Gen-Ed courses. I have an A in Intermediate Microeconomics, and I understand Micro-theory and Micro-Finance extremely well, so I am not that afraid of the Micro prelim. Its the freaky shit in Macroeconomics that confuses the hell out of me. So for a Macro prelim this would work against me, but with microeconomics and the applied micro areas I want to go into, I don't see too much of a problem. Well the weird thing is, my bf says that Michigan's micro prelim was a peice of cake when he took it. THough that was in 1994, so things may have changed by now.
  13. I am pissed that the server logged me out and ate my reply. But I will try again. Okay, the math courses I have taken are Calc 1&2, in addition to several 100 level courses in Precalc, Stats, Applied Calc and the like. The upper tier courses I will take beginning in the fall include Linear Algebra, Diff EQ, and Probability and Stats. These are all 300 level courses. I am reading through a copy of Microeconomic Theory: A Mathematical Approach by Henderson and Quandt which my advisor gave me. So far all the proofs and all the calculus make sense (though I admit I have not read beyond utility functions and demand). Would this be an example of a graduate level text, or more of an Intermediate Micro text? Your suggestion of completing a MA/MS first is a good one, and I think I will try and see if I can meet with graduate coordinators at Georgia Tech and Georgia State (and probably UGA too) to talk about their respective masters programs. One option I might want to explore is going through the MBA program which Berry offers. Since they do offer assistantships, I might be able to teach a principles section in either Economics or Finance since they know what I can do. And I think you might be overstating the value of a MA. Like I said, my boyfriend has one from Michigan, and he is having a rough time finding a $60k/year job in Atlanta, even with over ten years of work experience behind him. So unless you are teaching, a MA in Econ might not have much more utility on the margin than a BA in Econ. As I mentioned above, I think I will consider the MS and MA programs at Georgia Tech and Georgia State respectively, in addition to a MBA in Business Econ from Georgia State, or a general MBA from Berry (where I am at now for undergrad). I guess I shoudl start meeting with graduate coordinators and gathering info and the like. As for the GPA, the department chair does know my GPA (he had to know if it was greater than 3.0 so he could induct me into the Econ honors society). My retiring advisor does know my GPA and has been supportive in me getting ready for graduate study. The other professor I have had for several classes (and who I also work for) has been very enthusiastic in encouraging me towards graduate study, and I believe I have mentioned my GPA to him. The bad grades that I have aren't really in my major courses (only 3 b-'s in-major); the grades weighing me down are mainly in math (C- in Calc 2 by some miracle) and in my Gen-Ed courses. I have an A in Intermediate Microeconomics, and I understand Micro-theory and Micro-Finance extremely well, so I am not that afraid of the Micro prelim. Its the freaky shit in Macroeconomics that confuses the hell out of me. So for a Macro prelim this would work against me, but with microeconomics and the applied micro areas I want to go into, I don't see too much of a problem. Well the weird thing is, my bf says that Michigan's micro prelim was a peice of cake when he took it. THough that was in 1994, so things may have changed by now.
  14. Okay. So I want to pursue a Ph.D. after I get my bachelor's degree next spring (I will have a BS in Economics with minors in Math and Business Admin.), since I am not really that well suited to performing dull, repetitive tasks in a corporate setting. I want to do my Ph.D in Economics, or in Finance (I apparently have a mind for Finance, and several profs keep telling me that I would do just as well if not better in a Finance program, even though my passion lies in Economics). If I go towards Economics, I would like to do a major field in Industrial Organization Economics, or Microeconomic theory. If I go towards FInance, I would be very interested in asset valuation, financial modeling, mathematical Finance, or Financial Microeconomics. Now here is the thing. I am a smart guy and all, its just that in some classes I really don't test well. So my GPA is a bit low (3.07 and I graduate in SPR 2007). My in major GPA is about 3.25, and the GPA in my math minor is holding at a comfortable 3.09 (I don't have an accurate figure for my Bus Admin minor because so many of its classes are cross-listed with my major). By just the numbers I am an average student, but several of my professors have seen my potential to go further, and have envouraged to pursue grad school if I wasnt to. And really, being a Ph.D. is a good fit for me. I get to reasearch what I want and get paid for it; I get paid to teach (which I am also good at); and of course I get paid to think and continuously learn. The thing is, I don't know what my chances are of getting into any of the schools I am applying to. I am not sure of whether I would be able to get into them or not, even if I did make a very good score on the GRE. Then compounding everything is that my college isn't particularly well known outside of Georgia. Economics 1. The University of Michigan- It is the number 11 Econ graduate program in the country, so it is good, but tough. My boyfriend has told me that they have an extremely difficult Macro program (he took the Macro prelim three times before exiting with a Masters), and it looks like its Micro program is awesome. I took a look, and they have a center for research on the Japanese economy, which appeals right to my research interests in IO (the cartel power of Japanese Keiretsu type firms). But since it is essentially a tier one school, I would have a difficult time getting in (they have a regression formula which estimates the probability you would be able to complete the program, given your GRE, undergrad GPA, and SAT scores). There would be so many people who are quantitatively more qualified for admissions than I am. 2. The University of Maryland- My advisor recommended UMD to me if I was interested in Microeconomics, and it seems to have an extremely strong Ph.D. program, and great placements of graduates. This would be fairly difficult for me to get into I think, even though I would love to be here. 3. The Johns Hopkins University. Small department, IO concentration, emphasis on teaching, I think I would be able to do well here, though again there would be more qualified persons vying for spots. 4. The University of Georgia- A good Ph.D. program which offers IO. Not the best, but it is a good, solid school. Here I have some things working on my side. Not only am I a Georgia resident, but Berry is known by the UGA people as producing solid and smart graduates. There is also the fact that its entry requirements are a bit lower than some fo the other schools I am looking at. So in this program I could almost be a big fish in a small pond (and I could use this to my advantage to produce some great research). AS much as I want to get the hell out of the South, I could stand being at UGA. 5. The Ohio State University- A good solid program, has a solid foundation in Microeconomics and in mathematical Economics. 6. Georgia Institute of Technology- Not a Ph.D. program in Econ, but a masters program. In the event I didn't get into any of my schools I am confident I could get into this program, especially since Berry gives them tons of good students for their 3-2 dual degree engineering program, so the quality of the school is known. Then I could go onto a Ph.D. somewhere. Finance Keep in mind that while I would like to get the hell out of Georgia, I don't know too much about business Ph.D. programs outside of Georgia and the South. 1. Emory University- It is an up and coming program in a tier 1 graduate business school, with a lot of space. I have talked over e-mail with the dept. chair and he said that they take all aspects of a cndidate into account when making an admissions decision. So this is either good or bad for me. But the program looks good an solid. Plus the stipends are amazing. 2. University of Georgia- Another solid graduate business program. It looks essentially like the Ph.D. program in Economics though, except easier (no graduate Macro classes to contend with). 3. Georgia State University- One of the best graduate business programs in the country from what I have heard. GSU has ties to Berry, so I am sure that it wouldn't be extremely hard to get in. They have a terriffic Econometrics program in the Econ department, which would help me immensely if I do financial modeling. 4. The Ohio State University- Their graduate business programs are supposed to be on par with the likes of Harvard, Wharton, and Yale. It looks great, except that I get the impression that it would be difficult to get a graduate assistantship (and there is no way in hell I am payin 34k out of state tuition), and that stipends aren't as much as at other schools. So that is it. What types of advice/reality checks do any of ya'll have for me as I start my senior year? Please keep in mind the Econ dept is inside an AACSB accredited b-school. Brad
  15. Okay. So I want to pursue a Ph.D. after I get my bachelor's degree next spring (I will have a BS in Economics with minors in Math and Business Admin.), since I am not really that well suited to performing dull, repetitive tasks in a corporate setting. I want to do my Ph.D in Economics, or in Finance (I apparently have a mind for Finance, and several profs keep telling me that I would do just as well if not better in a Finance program, even though my passion lies in Economics). If I go towards Economics, I would like to do a major field in Industrial Organization Economics, or Microeconomic theory. If I go towards Finance, I would be very interested in asset valuation, financial modeling, mathematical Finance, or Financial Microeconomics. Now here is the thing. I am a smart guy and all, its just that in some classes I really don't test well. So my GPA is a bit low (3.07 and I graduate in SPR 2007). My in major GPA is about 3.25, and the GPA in my math minor is holding at a comfortable 3.09 (I don't have an accurate figure for my Bus Admin minor because so many of its classes are cross-listed with my major). By just the numbers I am an average student, but several of my professors have seen my potential to go further, and have envouraged to pursue grad school if I wasnt to. And really, being a Ph.D. is a good fit for me. I get to reasearch what I want and get paid for it; I get paid to teach (which I am also good at); and of course I get paid to think and continuously learn. The thing is, I don't know what my chances are of getting into any of the schools I am applying to. I am not sure of whether I would be able to get into them or not, even if I did make a very good score on the GRE. Then compounding everything is that my college isn't particularly well known outside of Georgia. Economics 1. The University of Michigan- It is the number 11 Econ graduate program in the country, so it is good, but tough. My boyfriend has told me that they have an extremely difficult Macro program (he took the Macro prelim three times before exiting with a Masters), and it looks like its Micro program is awesome. I took a look, and they have a center for research on the Japanese economy, which appeals right to my research interests in IO (the cartel power of Japanese Keiretsu type firms). But since it is essentially a tier one school, I would have a difficult time getting in (they have a regression formula which estimates the probability you would be able to complete the program, given your GRE, undergrad GPA, and SAT scores). There would be so many people who are quantitatively more qualified for admissions than I am. 2. The University of Maryland- My advisor recommended UMD to me if I was interested in Microeconomics, and it seems to have an extremely strong Ph.D. program, and great placements of graduates. This would be fairly difficult for me to get into I think, even though I would love to be here. 3. The Johns Hopkins University. Small department, IO concentration, emphasis on teaching, I think I would be able to do well here, though again there would be more qualified persons vying for spots. 4. The University of Georgia- A good Ph.D. program which offers IO. Not the best, but it is a good, solid school. Here I have some things working on my side. Not only am I a Georgia resident, but Berry is known by the UGA people as producing solid and smart graduates. There is also the fact that its entry requirements are a bit lower than some fo the other schools I am looking at. So in this program I could almost be a big fish in a small pond (and I could use this to my advantage to produce some great research). AS much as I want to get the hell out of the South, I could stand being at UGA. 5. The Ohio State University- A good solid program, has a solid foundation in Microeconomics and in mathematical Economics. 6. Georgia Institute of Technology- Not a Ph.D. program in Econ, but a masters program. In the event I didn't get into any of my schools I am confident I could get into this program, especially since Berry gives them tons of good students for their 3-2 dual degree engineering program, so the quality of the school is known. Then I could go onto a Ph.D. somewhere. Finance Keep in mind that while I would like to get the hell out of Georgia, I don't know too much about business Ph.D. programs outside of Georgia and the South. 1. Emory University- It is an up and coming program in a tier 1 graduate business school, with a lot of space. I have talked over e-mail with the dept. chair and he said that they take all aspects of a cndidate into account when making an admissions decision. So this is either good or bad for me. But the program looks good an solid. Plus the stipends are amazing. 2. University of Georgia- Another solid graduate business program. It looks essentially like the Ph.D. program in Economics though, except easier (no graduate Macro classes to contend with). 3. Georgia State University- One of the best graduate business programs in the country from what I have heard. GSU has ties to Berry, so I am sure that it wouldn't be extremely hard to get in. They have a terriffic Econometrics program in the Econ department, which would help me immensely if I do financial modeling. 4. The Ohio State University- Their graduate business programs are supposed to be on par with the likes of Harvard, Wharton, and Yale. It looks great, except that I get the impression that it would be difficult to get a graduate assistantship (and there is no way in hell I am payin 34k out of state tuition), and that stipends aren't as much as at other schools. So that is it. What types of advice/reality checks do any of ya'll have for me as I start my senior year? Brad
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