Jump to content
Urch Forums

sonicskat

1st Level
  • Posts

    256
  • Joined

  • Days Won

    2

sonicskat last won the day on June 1 2008

sonicskat had the most liked content!

Converted

  • My Tests
    No

sonicskat's Achievements

Newbie

Newbie (1/14)

50

Reputation

  1. UT has a computational field I believe, headed up by some well known professors. My guess is that Carnegie Mellon probably has some good computational people up there. If you're looking into the computational for the sake of applying it to macro models, basically any good macro department is going to have people with good computational skills. Growth is done on computers, and incomplete market models and heterogeneous agent models use compuatations extensively.
  2. Also the problem with studying the current issues is that we don't have all the data yet. Usually macro economists will analyze an event such as a great depression (I'm not saying we are in a great depression, just and example) years after it is officially declared over because one important aspect to study is the persistence of an event. However, much of what you could do for current events would simply be policy advice, because there is no way to measure how well your model coincides with the real world
  3. I wouldn't take the grad math econ in most cases. Look at the class description for that class. If it is "Mathematics for Economists" then it is a waste of time since you will have to take it in almost any program you get into. However, if it is "Mathematical Economics" I would lean moreso to taking it. The difference is the former is just covering applications of constrained optimization and such, while the later tackles the mathematical properties of Competitive equilibriums, dynamic programming, and others. So if the class requires something like stokey and lucas, it si a rigourous course. I'm assuming Calc III is multivariate calc. If so, I would make sure you have it taken by the time you enter into the phd program. I don't think its necessary to have a grade in it before you apply (as long as you have good grades in other math classes), but make sure adcoms know that you are going to take it before you get there...because it is considered a basic requirement by many programs (not implyng you must have it to get a phd).
  4. I'd go off of a CV format, but obviously you probably won't have anything in the publications section. You can replace this with any research you have done already, technical capabilities (programming skills), and relevant classes. Also, if you've presented research at any conferences or anything, add that in there. The Resume/CV should be a good way for an adcom to get all of the important information without looking at your application
  5. In my class, the oldest student was 26 coming in, foreign or domestic. Just a difference in class make-up between two different programs.
  6. I agree with full rank. However, I found the discrete time stuff easier because it is more applicable to the subject material and is much more intuitive imho. While I don't proclaim to have read all of stokey and lucas, I don't believe understanding control theory is extremely important. In fact, S and L focus more on recursive problems rather then sequential. Therefore, functional analysis (and measure theory for stochastic models) play a much larger role then control theory or disrete time dyn. prog.
  7. Scilab is also an alternative
  8. I was one class away from a math major (BA), i honestly think that having that major would make no difference. However, my performance in that extra class might make a difference though.
  9. Many profs these days (especially in econ) rely on a typesetting software which turns Latex into a MS word-like environment. One of the best is Scientific word (which is not free). However, I use Lyx (which is free to download). It is much like Scientific word, and offers all of the same features. I highly recommend it.
  10. Be careful of the prep books you are using, some will give you inflated scores. My guess is so that you are happy. The powerprep is the best prep I guess. Also, make sure when you're practicing you are simulating the real thing as close as possible
  11. PS... Roland is actually a really cool guy and wanted to go to the bars with us, unfortunately I had the gres the next morning and couldn't go.
  12. I got to meet Roland fryer a couple years ago, and he had an interesting background. While he went to Penn for grad school, he had offers from pretty much every top department. He went to a small college in Texas where he got in with a football scholarship. After I think a year or two, he quit football and decided to study econ. He has admitted that he could barely read when he got into college. While he's extremely gifted with mathematics, I couldn't imagine that he got much farther than real analysis and diff eq given the time he had and the size of his school. At my undergrad, they only offer real analysis once a year, and upper level classes once every 2 years. IN the end though, Roland is now a tenured faculty at Harvard under the age of 30, and the youngest person ever to be invited into the society of fellows
  13. The file download isn't working for me, is anyone else having this trouble?
  14. That's right, youngeconomist. Actually, most students get less (I think). The fellowships they hand out are for about $17k or so. However, the basic aid package is only 8.5k. Getting other higher offers from competing schools will easily increase the amount of aid you get.
×
×
  • Create New...