fidelio

I guess I'll be the voice of dissent on this one...I ended up applying to 11 schools, and even as I did so realized that some of those schools weren't the best fit for me. I'd suggest really looking at the programs, considering your odds of entrance versus the potential happiness you would find studying there, and make your decision on some consideration of that. Thinking about what some of the other posters have said, I would also consider the caliber of the programs you are applying to. If you only plan on applying to top 25 schools, yeah, you might want to apply to 18 of them in order to get a fair number of admits. Again, though, I would suggest looking outside the top 25, picking a few schools that are "top 25 strong" in your fields of interest, and applying to them while dropping some of the deadwood from your original list. One other consideration that other people may mock but I think matters a little: It ends up costing at least 60 bucks per application you send in (if you're applying to some schools *cough* Stanford *cough*, up to 100!), when taking school and GRE fees into account. Taking some time to think and making a shorter, still rational list could save you at least 360 bucks that you could put toward visiting the schools you are admitted at. From my experience, making a school visit is the one thing you should not be cheap about or avoid. It made a big impact on my decision.

Obviously someone's never tried to play WoW on a mac...

Yeah, I haven't noticed many other UCSD people either; I'm also heading out there in the fall.

Can anyone post a pic of his girlfriend? Is she blond, brown, redheaded, etc? Short, tall, wears heels, flats? I am preparing my profile and want to make sure I can make the best impression with Wolfie (is this an ok pet name? Do you have any suggestions?) as possible. Any information would be appreciated...

Well, if you register your car in DC, street parking will be free, first off, so that may be worth your time. In Logan, if you're willing to park a block away from your car or so, getting a space isn't too bad. If you want a guaranteed space, my old landlord was offering his when I rented at approx. $100 a month. In Adams-Morgan, people would kill for that price. My fiance pays $170 a month for his space in a garage on Calvert St. NW (just off Conn. Ave. NW near Adams Morgan); for the area that's not a bad rate at all.

Profile: Gre: 800 Q, 670 V, GPA: Overall: 3.89 Major: IR Minor: Econ Classes: (all undergrad- all As) Math: Calc II, III, Linear Alg., Real Analysis, Econ: All the ones everyone else typically does. Type of Undergrad: Top 50ish National Univ. Research Experience: Nothing, really; have work exp. at econ consulting. Teaching Experience: Taught English abroad, that's it. LORs: Two from school, one was probably fantastic, one good. Third was from boss at work, probably not much better than lukewarm, unfortunately. SoP: I thought it was pretty good; focused on why I spent so much time away from school and why I knew I wanted a PhD in Econ. Interests: Dev., Trade, Micro Admissions Decisions Admitted w/funding: JHU Admitted w/o funding: UCSD, UC-Davis Rejected: MIT, Harvard, Brown, Yale, Columbia, Penn, Stanford, Berkeley Going to UCSD. What would I have done differently? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I think that my profile said everything about me as accurately as it could, though I tend to like math a lot more than my profile would imply. I figured I'd get rejected from most of the places I applied to, but I thought it wasn't worth spending five years of my time at a place I felt I was settling for. Luckily, I actually had UCSD ranked ahead of quite a few of the schools I got rejected from for a variety of reasons, and am incredibly excited to be going there. In retrospect I've thought that maybe I should have applied to Maryland, but I've never really gotten a good feel from the campus there, and so am OK I decided against it. Advice: Even if they don't make a flyout offer, visit schools! My visits definitely impacted my decision, and made me feel so much more comfortable and confident about it. Good luck to all!

Hey, if you're going to cite The New Republic (Peretz) and the New Yorker (Seymour Hirsh) as an impartial source, I think I can throw Slate (even if it is Hitchens, who I agree is the kind of person that makes you say, "Consider the source...") in the mix there. Anyway, the whole Bank and IMF structure is political in the clubbiest sense of the word. I tend not to put much faith in multilateral institutions that have a citizenship requirement as the major criterion for hiring (World Bank head is usually an American, the Euros get the IMF head, typically). You can also effectively count the number of US citizens in these places on one hand, as well.

http://www.slate.com/id/2164368?nav=tap3 Another perspective...

Yeah, Col Heights is a gentrifying neighborhood, and it can be dangerous at night. At the same time, I think it's a little extreme to say that 14th is the dividing line, especially in neighborhoods such as Logan, though in my opinion I would probably try to avoid anywhere east of 9th St. in general. Honestly, though, its a matter of comfort. I have friends who live in Petworth and have never had any problems (though when I lived there I was mugged once, after midnight, alone. Yes I am stupid...), at the same time, when my fiance and I were looking to move, he refused to go anywhere near those neighborhoods. I would advise people to consider what they want in a neighborhood and their relative comfort level. Col. Heights, LeDroit, and Shaw, which are all nearish to U St. /14th St. corridor and thus the center of a lot of young DC nightlife, are on the slightly unsafer side. Logan Circle, not so much. A friend of mine who is at GTown med lives on 15th, and most of his friends don't live in GTown either. I would preface everything I'm about to say with the caveat that I'm 24, with a fiance, and like to go out and be social. I've lived in the city since '99, and my favorite thing about DC is that it is a no s**t real city, and that's what gets me excited. I think if you're the type interested in settling down, juliancab's advice is pretty accurate. However, if you're looking to do the young city-type thing (i.e, you might find yourself reading DCist, etc.), I think what I'm about to say is something to consider as well. You are also talking about Capitol Hill, which is nowhere near any of those places, and is located on the Orange and Blue line. If you want a social life I suggest you try to find someplace east of East Falls Church on the Orange Line and King St. or north on the Blue Line. Since you don't have a car I would avoid any place on Columbia Pike (a major artery through Arlington). On the Orange Line Court House, Clarendon, and Ballston are where most of my co-workers live, these areas can be a bit expensive, but if you're willing to walk 15 minutes to get to the metro prices drop considerably. Check out apts. near 10th St. and also near Lee Hwy.; if you're vigilant on Craigs you can also find a great deal on apts. in a place called Colonial Village; considering the location rents there are super cheap. I also agree that Maryland, if you're going to GTown, is totally not worth your time. Again, if you're going to settle down somewhere, esp. with kids, I totally agree, Glover Park, Van Ness, and Tenley are nice places. They can be exceedingly boring, however, if you want to hang out in DC. Glover has almost no public transportation connections, especially at night. Van Ness is pretty much the edge of the city part of DC (after that point it becomes much more suburban, like MD), and Tenley is pretty much the same. Cleveland Park, Adams Morgan (where I live), and Woodley are 3 of the most expensive parts of the city to find an apartment; they're also where some of the best deals are, but you have to look. If you're looking to save some money, though, you might not want to waste your time. Honestly, if I were moving to DC and looking for a place all over again, I'd look around Logan Circle near P St and try to get near the G2. Good luck! I really love this city, and am going to miss it terribly! I hope it treats you as well as it did me. PS: for Jhai, if you're looking for good Indian food, :doh: . With that said, a lot of my Indian friends like Heritage India on Wisconsin Ave., and Nirvana on I St. NW near GW has great vegetarian Indian...

For anyone who's interested (and willing to ride the bus, which a lot of people aren't willing to do), a great area to live in is anywhere near the G2 line, which heads to GTown fairly frequently and drops you off at the main entrance. There are some cheaper neighborhoods along the line (Logan Circle, LeDroit Park, Shaw), and you're a lot closer to what I percieve are the more fun neighborhoods in the city (unless your idea of fun is hanging out in WASP paradise while going to bars full of graduated fratboys in polos, in which case nevermind). I think DC buses are much cleaner and get a fair amount of ridership and frequency if you're on one of the busier lines (for example, if you live on the 42 line there's a lot of frequency, and it goes right by the GUTS stop in Dupont). Even if you're skeptical at first, all I'm asking is just to take a look at the following link: http://www.wmata.com/metrobus/maps/dc.pdf

UCSD - Trade/Micro/Dev.

First off, when I say unfunded I mean unfunded in year 1; years 2-5 guaranteed funding. Abab, I would agree that if you don't know yet, you need to ask people at the department what's up with funding starting year 2, and if you can I'd try to ask grad students as well. I will admit that I'm not particularly excited to pay my own way first year, but the school is easily top 15/arguably top 10 (aren't they all?), I almost wet myself due to excitement after visiting the place, and I've been out of school for a long time, so I feel the timing is right enough to take the plunge. You get deferment as long as you are enrolled, so if you're enrolled in your "thesis class", it should be set up that you don't have to start paying during that time. EDIT: Abab, you can also talk to them about funding without making it sound like you are going there without any. Basically say that you are considering the school, but it's a difficult financial burden, and ask them how a typical student, for example, deals with the situation you are in. That doesn't say you are willing to come, it says you are trying to be an informed decision-maker.

I'm presuming you're an American student while saying all this: First you should fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible. All you'll really need to have for it is your 2006 tax return. Some schools ask you file it earlier than others (UC schools requested you complete the form by March 2); find out when your school needs it. This will determine your eligibility for student loans. Unless you're making an obscene amount of money (or you can't qualify as being an independent student), you'll get the max. allowed amount of Stafford loans, which are backed by the government and provide you with a lower interest rate and, in the case of subsidized Stafford loans, have the gov't pay the interest while you are in school. The cap for Stafford loans is approx 18.5k for first year grad students. You can make up the amount greater than the Stafford loans by taking out a private loan through an organization such as Sallie Mae, which offers a Grad PLUS loan that doesn't require repayment until after graduation. The eligibility requirements for this loan are minimal; you should almost certainly qualify. As for the question as to whether you are crazy or not, I've been tackling the same question myself, as I accepted an unfunded offer (though I've been told almost all students get some minimal sort of funding). I've already got a sizeable amount of debt, so I'm looking at graduating with a PhD and approx. 70k worth of debt. This is an obscene amount; I'm not particularly happy about it. At the same time, econ PhDs don't get paid peanuts, so it's not as if I'd be living on the edge of poverty while paying back the loans, and I acknowledge it could be worse, and I could be a med school kid racking up well over 100k of debt before I ever get my first job. Anyway, hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

I would be curious to know the answer to this as well. If anyone knows, I would also be interested to know if unaccepted funding offers are typically redistributed, or if the offers are unique to one person.

Have you visited either/both of the schools? I ask because I know that the visits were very important for me in considering how a certain field's future looked. In particular, my highest-ranked school, at first glance, seemed relatively weak in dev., but I discovered (after asking specifically about the field) that they are overhauling the sequence and bringing in new faculty as well as existing faculty affiliated with different departments, which told me that they are looking to beef things up. I told each program what my interests were, and the response each school gave to that statement basically ended up deciding the order in which I preferred each school.

IfI can get away with playing hooky from work, I'll be there. I told them I'd attend.

Jester, What are your career interests? If you're interested in IO consulting, UVA has a very good rep within the DC area for that kind of stuff. We have multiple grads from there working at my firm (at least 2, off the top of my head, including one person who is VERY high up), but no one from the other 3 schools. Other than that, I have no knowledge of the subject, considering I have no interest in IO whatsoever.

It is crazy to think that 20 or so years ago, NYU was not a major academic destination. No joke. Basically at some point about 25 years ago or so (I could be +-6 or so years on this one), they had a president who realized the potential of the school's resources and location and raised funds like a madman (raise funds? In downtown Manhattan? Difficult, I know) in order to move NYU up in the academic pecking order. I would venture to guess that Silber and Trachtenberg, at BU and GWU, respectively, basically copied that same formula. Of course, I could be totally wrong on that last point. *Edited because I misread the last post.

Thank god...I thought I was going to have to dye my mohawk a natural shade...

OK, so I'm planning on going out and visiting a couple of schools this weekend; what is appropriate dress to wear when meeting with faculty, etc? I'm guessing business casual; e.g. khakis, polo, brown/black shoes, and that's what I plan on packing, but I just want to make sure that I'm not going to show up and look uptight/like a slob. Any help?

fd48, I'd say there's a good chance I'll be there next year. Though I haven't been offered any funding, it's the highest ranked school I received an offer from (by far, if you're looking at overall rankings). There's one other school I'm looking at, and they haven't told me what funding is yet. I guess after I hear that and visit both campuses I'll make my final decision.

If you're going to GW or GTown and want to live near campus, you should prepare to go into debt. Studios can run you approx. $1100/mo., and a 1 bedroom starts usually around $1400. Don't bother with a car, as a space will probably cost you at least another $120/mo., unless the building throws in a free space in their garage for you. If you are willing to live farther away rents can get more reasonable, but just be aware that, on the east coast, DC is arguably the 2nd most expensive place to rent in after NYC (I would say DC is more expensive than Boston). The College Park area, in particular, has more reasonable rent prices, but that's also because it is known as a less-than-desirable area to live for people who don't go to UMD (nothing against any current or future Terps!). In general, the cheapest areas of the city are on the east side (same is true for the suburbs in MD), but that's on the far end of the city from all the schools and less likely to be in an area you'd want to live. Man I make this city sound horrible. Honestly, I love it here, and am going to miss it quite a bit. I went to GW, so if anyone has any questions related to the area feel free to ask.

OK, here's a good question. Let's say I'm looking at two schools fairly closely, school 1 and school 2. School 1 is very good (top 15), and though they don't seem to be particulary well known in my fields of interest, (to the point where, when I mention the school, people ask why the heck I am applying there) when I look at the CVs of profs those who do specialize in my interests are doing work I think looks very cool. School 2 is lower ranked (~top 30), but highly rated in my general field of interest, to the point where it's almost fait accompli that I apply there. However, when I look at some of the profs' CVs and the coursework, I find that the profs in my field don't seem to be doing work that interests me quite as much. Location wise, both schools are in very nice locations I would be more than happy to move to. All things (except funding) considered, it comes down to great overall department 1 vs. great specialty 2. Should there be an obvious preference here? How big of a gap is there between the top 15 and the top 30?

I was an econ minor...major was a squishy interdisciplinary Social Sciences degree, with a transcript full of Poli Sci, Geography, Anthro, and Language classes. Eventually took some math classes, had some good LORs from econ profs, and managed to get into some decent schools. I would definitely say it would be a good thing to make friends with some econ/math professors. PM me if you would like some more details.

Henry, here's my profile, I found myself in a similar situation: Gre: 800 Q, 670 V, 790A (old school!, 9/2002) GPA: Overall: 3.9 (graduated after 3 years) Econ: 4.0 (7-8 classes), Math: 4.0(5 classes). Includes postgrad work Classes: Math: Calc through multivar, Linear Algebra, Real Analysis, year-long stat sequence Econ: Intro, Int Micro and Macro, Intl'l Finance, Int'l Trade, Money and Banking, Econometrics Type of Undergrad: top 50ish univ. Research Experience: Worked as RA at Econ consulting firm for two years. Teaching Experience: Year in Japan teaching English LORs: 2 from undergrad, 1 who is a fantastic Assoc. Prof. with a great resume and recently published, and 1 who is a full prof. of econ and law. Third is someone at my firm with a degree from a Top 5 school. SoP & Interests: I thought it was a great SoP that explained why I took 5 years off from school (I graduated at 20, so I'm not too old, thankfully). I didn't personalize it too much, but actually I was surprised with how well it reads. Interests are micro, trade, dev., and regional/urban econ. Anyway, before coming to this forum I fully expected to get into a really awesome, top 25 school. Some people replied and said that I should really aim for top 45 or so. At first that really bummed me out, but then I realized that top 45 still leaves you with some great departments if you choose your specialty wisely. I ended up applying to 11 schools, and while I don't expect to get into most of them (though I would certainly love to!), I ended up applying to a few where the school is actually highly reputable in my fields of interest, and I'm very excited by the prospect of going there. At this time, I've gotten into my overall lowest ranked school, but it's better than some of the others at my specialty and I'm really psyched about the department, more so than those of some of the higher ranked places. I also haven't gotten rejected yet from another, highly ranked, school that has already sent out notices of rejection to others (cross fingers). What does all this mean? Though I think on this board sometimes people can be a little overly harsh on others' prospects of admission, I have to agree that your chances look slim for the schools you applied to. But do some research, find some really great schools at what you're interested in, and give it another go round next year! Heck, if you take a few math classes, it might even up your chances at a fellowship! Admissions Decisions UC Davis - Accepted UC-SD UC-Berkeley Stanford Harvard MIT Brown Yale Columbia Penn Hopkins