sonicskat

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.

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

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).

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

In my class, the oldest student was 26 coming in, foreign or domestic. Just a difference in class make-up between two different programs.

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.

Scilab is also an alternative

not legally

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.

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.

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

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.

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

The file download isn't working for me, is anyone else having this trouble?

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.

I lived off of my ok stipend... It helped to be living with my girlfriend, which allows us to split the cost of a 1 bedroom apt. I even had enough to save a little bit so i really didn't have to do much work this summer.

This sounds like me teaching freshman the difference between normative and positive statements...

I'd definitely go with Rice... however, unless your interests match up with some of the faculty, it is pretty worthless imho. Try to search for those safety schools that have at least a couple profs working in an area you are interested in, even if you might sacrifice a little prestige (as far as that goes with lower ranked schools). It could be the difference between getting a phd and leaving the program discouraged by an unhelpful department.

To Rice might be better for private sector employment, especiallyy the energy sector.

Definitely look into some lower level journals. Even new grad students will have a hard time understanding the top journals. Also, you might want to consider looking at some undergrad econ papers. They might give you an idea about what you should expect over the next couple years in undergrad. I worked on one called Issues in Political Economy, it might be a start. Also, you might be interested in Colander's The making of an economist, redux (I think this is the title) and it is all about econ grad school.

I applied to both... Rice was the second school I heard from...flied me down to houston and wined and dined me. MSU on the other hand, never offered me financial aid. From my knowledge, MSU is considered a higher tier school than rice

Commodore, You're certainly entitled to your opinions as I am mine. I agree with you that the area around the university is very very nice. However, the sad reality is that the funding given out can't afford most of these nice areas. When visiting, I even went over to a grad student's apartment to watch the bball game (Vandy was in the sweet 16). Considered the average apartment among other grad students within the econ dept and other depts, we were in the attic of a transitional neighborhood at best. Upon walking outside the university, my girlfriend and I were confronted by many homeless individuals, including some that very nearly became aggressive when we weren't interested in providing them our pocket change. No doubt, the university is gourgeous, Nashville is a very cool town, but unfortunately the areas where many grad students live is not as nice as those at Houston, in my opinion at least

While there is lots of mentioning of study groups in here... I would recommend math camp as a great way to learn how to study at this level. While looking back I realized that the pace I went during math camp was pretty darn slow, it can be a nice prep for what's to come. In my math camp, we had assignments every day. It allowed me to get used to having to do problem sets daily and develop a routine to not only study individually or in small groups, but also interact with larger groups to work over problem sets.

School: UVA Required prelims: Called core exams here, you take two after the first year in June. If you have to retake any, you have them again the following January. 1 is micro, the other Macro Field exams: Varies by field. Due to some recent changes, almost all fields require you now to work on a paper during the summer of your second year. The (wise) idea is to have student start doing reseach earlier. Students are encouraged to develop a paper that can be turned into a dissertation topic. However, for the international field (and some I/O) students, a field exam is required. Score required to pass: There is a unique grading system here. The scale is E(Excellent), G(Good), S(Satisfactory), MP (Masters Pass), F(Fail). All have plus/minus ratings as well. You must get at least an S- on both to pass. If you get an MP or below on one, and get an S or higher on the other, you only have to retake the one you failed. Otherwise you retake both. Links to past field exams: None available, only available on school server.

I visited both departments about two years ago. While in many rankings Rice is below Vanderbilt...I would have chosen Rice over Vanderbilt for several Reasons (and would in your case). Here are some. 1. Funding... While this shouldn't be the #1 concern when deciding the school to go to, Rice offered me significantly more money to go. Also, after talking to profs, they were offering me to work on research with them as soon as I wanted instead of teaching. I even received personal emails from professors wondering if I wanted to come help them. While vanderbilt funds well, it was significantly lower than Rice. Also, I'm sure summer funding at Rice is EXTREMELY easy to get. I have never seen a richer university than this one. Given they own tons of oil fields in texas and about half of the real estate in houston, they will literally pump your summer money out of the ground. 2. Department atmosphere. The general impression I have gotten from both departments is that Vandy is kind of backward thinking in many ways. I have heard from the grapevine that the administration of the department is pretty bad. In fact, they still focus heavily on Economic History, which many departments at their level are dropping. UVA has gotten rid of th econ history req and field. Rice seems to be a bit more on the ball. They have an econometric theorist. They are invested in building a modern macro department, and have been active in improving the quality of the department through young, actively researching profs. While at Vandy I met with more profs that don't do research than do. 3. Quality of Life. Nashville and Houston are actually both very cheap to live in, and the costs of living there are probably about equal. However, the area you would be living in at Houston is significantly nicer than Vandy. In Nashville, basically all the students life in the attics of area homes and rather "transitional" neighborhoods. While the campus is spectacular, the surrounding area is dense with urban poor. The Rice area of Houston is littered with many of the best hospitals in the world, and has a very cousy, homelike feel about it. I could live in the area in an instance, and afford a very decent apartment. In the end, I highly reccomend visiting both if possible. Rice is very generous to allow people to visit, and Vanderbilt is as well. Both are good schools, and the programs seem to take care of their students. The grad secretaries at both are especially nice and helpful, but Rice's seemed to edge it out... she was called the "class mom" by all the students.