UMSL_Losh

Hey all, I've been talking with students and faculty from this school. It does seem to be a growing program, as well as a diverse one (the current students seem to come from poli sci, history, and econ backgrounds more than from math/engineering backgrounds). There are two research journals housed there, which is excellent. The students seem to be very content with the program and enjoy a lot of faculty attention. Anyone from the school care to join in the comment? I'm considering applying for Fall 2007, though there are a few internships I'd like to have a crack at first.

Take a little time to cover: Calc II Calc III Advanced Calc / Real Analysis Math Stats This should have you ready to cover your first-year courses. You don't want to be in a program if you're learning the math and the econ theory simultaneously, it's just a lot of anguish and distraction from your research. Stewart is pretty much what everyone uses, although die-hard programs suggest Tom Apostol (go fig, it's been out of print for 15 years).

I asked one of my profs about this - he actually suggested I apply to 20 different schools. This is still mind-boggling, but I guess it has to do with the level of competition. I do have to ask about your dominant strategy, poleringer. Are you applying to the Top 15 because they are the Top 15? Really there's a lot of difference in the foci involved. And to their business school components - I'm assuming you're chasing an MBA at this point. That will get you into a high corporate standing, but that's a far cry from the ivory tower. And what's wrong with Minnesota? At least it's not Arkansas ;-)

One last piece of advice: www.delaytherealworld.com

I've often wondered about where all the Keynesians have gone. I had an Institutionalist (A. Mouhammed) and a Post-Keynesian (B. Siddiquee) for most of my undergrad, and alas, they are confined to an unranked school (UIS, the red-headed stepchild of U of Illinois). Interesting to note that both have published, and Mouhammed is working on his fourth book, I think, so institutionalists aren't entirely out of the picture. I know it's not a popular suggestion, but you'll probably find more freedom at a lower-ranked school, as well as more support. Personally, I'd like to study disequilibria, and my profs have suggested schools below 200. I'm also not that experienced in math, so to aim above 150 is probably pipe dream at this point.

I spoke with the then-Dean of the graduate program, after I finished my undergrad at UIUC's red-headed stepchild, UIS (he wouldn't call it UIS, only "old Sangamon State"). He told me (paraphrased) "We get the top students here. And by top student, I mean, in some nations, like the Baltic states, there is a test administered to every Baccelaureate upon graduation, and they are ranked from 1 to the nth student. We have applicants who are the #1 or #2 student in their nation. And you went to college where?" I could have measured my self-esteem with a declining log-linear regression. It doesn't matter how highly they are ranked, but rather how highly they THINK of themselves. Like I've said in other posts, there is a definite disadvantage to American students who didn't go to an Ivy (whether true Ivy League, Public Ivy or Southern Ivy). It's not impossible, but it is daunting when you look at a snapshot of 25 incoming students and see 1 American, who has B.S. Math / B.S. Econ, with honors and two publications. Then again, I think there's a new department head, and they may not be so heady since they haven't won a Nobel in the last two years (notice how UC raised its application fee to $100 after their last Nobel? Don't tell me it was to weed out applicants, this is an instance of inelastic demand).

Consider that econ is the fastest-growing college major, there's a lot of need for teaching profs. Sure, you'll have a moderate income and probably never publish, but life can be very comfortable and rewarding. On the other hand, you may find your graduate research quite applicable to a certain problem facing a state, institution, nation, etc., for which they'd be willing to take good care of you. Also, if teaching is your goal (as it is mine), a top 15 school will probably hurt you (unless you want to teach at another top 15 school) because the impression most smaller institutions have is you don't give an MPL about students, unlike the grad from a 200-ranked institution who probably TA'd their last 3 years. Consider a PhD in Finance, perhaps, if you're looking for pay. You won't be teaching at Harvard (at least until you become famous for conquering the stock market) but you'll make 6 figures and live within view of Wall Street.

Pump your econ courses more - you have a good balance that allows you to show you can synthesize the math (rigor) with econ (creativity). UIUC is a long-shot for any American student. At least, that's what they told me when I visited them (note: don't ever do this; it annoys the admit committee). The GRE may be a killer - it's an instant cut-off for many schools. Odd thing is, some say the score should be "at least" 800 - as if it goes higher. You won't get a paper published before deadlines - the process is too slow. Retake the GRE. Also, prep your best paper to send with your application to show off a bit. Ohio State is a good fit with the Time Series. Last piece of advice - have a math prof write a recommendation, and mention his or her positive appraisal of your ability to rock in Real Analysis.

I think you've said it yourself. Grad school isn't the time to find out what you want out of life. It's a time to learn material in a hard-core sense. To keep the PhD option open, work in something directly related (see below) or take advanced courses while working in something not-entirely related in order to keep your skills up. Some suggestions: FDIC - hires economists BLS - hires economists and statisticians State Department - hires economists CIA - hires economists and analysts Solomon Smith Barney CitiCorp AEI Brooks State governments Development agencies of large cities

I'd cut it down. You're going to make yourself INSANE with keeping track of the essays (which you'll have to 'personalize' for each institution, after all the top 15 programs have substantial differences in what they look for in their students), not to mention letters. Pick two or three dream schools, two or three you'd be okay with (in case it's a tight year at the PhD programs), and take a load off your poor professors, for gosh sake. By the way, why business schools too? Why not look at what you're most interested in, and apply to programs that match that specialty well?

What matters most is what you want to learn, and how well you fit in with the culture there. I'd visit all three. Milwaukee is a substantially different environment than Knoxville. You won't just be studying there, you'll be living there for four or five years. Funny side note - I went for a visit to one school, talked with the Dean for more than an hour just about shop stuff. Really enjoyed it. At the end, he says "You should talk to the other profs. I'm leaving at the end of the term, and so I can't vote on incoming students." I got along with NO ONE else but him. Glad I didn't get into that one after all ;-) Attending UM St. Louis for MA.

Hey all, I'll keep this brief. I'm a second-year MA Econ candidate, to graduate in August '07. I want to pursue a PhD and teach primarily, while doing research on the side in urban and regional economics. I didn't get in after my undergrad - had a 4.0 in the econ major (3.85 overall), minor in stats, research internship with a city government (studied trends in growth of some sectors of the labor force), GRE Q 780, V 800, A 6.0, but no publications, and it was an unranked school (small branch of U of Illinois). My graduate GPA is 3.35 (C- in micro during a brutal semester in which I had to switch jobs and wasn't able to attend classes for about four weeks), taking a heavy load of econometrics, and knowing how well I work, I can either try to publish a paper, or squeeze in diff eq and math stats. What would you recommend? Tanx

arkady - I'm on the opposite tract. I wasn't sure about wanting to pursue the PhD until I worked for a few years. It was a fun few years - 2 at a Fortune 500 entertainment company, 2 more at a major automaker, with a brief stint in state government work (before they laid off everyone due to budget cuts) - but it's really not fulfilling. I'm in an MA Econ program at U of Missouri - St. Louis. Depending on what you take, you can prep for the PhD or prepare yourself for high-level analytical work in business. I think you should work for a while. Grad school is an extremely expensive place to "find yourself." Have you considered working overseas? There's a number of programs to bring Americans to Japan, Russia, etc., to teach English, and there's programs to earn a Master's in Europe while teaching undergrad level econ in English. The best reason to do an MA immediately after your bachelor's is if you are still on the PhD track but didn't do well enough in undergrad (or come from a prestigious enough school) to get into the PhD in the first place. I had a 780 GRE, 4.0 in the econ major, #1 in my graduating class, math minor, but it was a third-tier school so I was unloved. :-(