peterB

I know of a Professor at a top-ten school that went from a school ranked 50-100 to a top 5 program. I imagine there was something he was researching that intrigued a professor there, but this is only a guess. Also, I know of someone who transferred to Columbia from a program outside of the US, also becuase of what he was researching. Perhaps this is a more viable means of getting recommendations as well as getting accepted to another school. ie People at your current school might be understanding if you want to transfer in order to research something another department is much stronger in.

"It's not very much due to their public status, either, but to a cataclysmic split in the department. One group of true-believers blocks every appointment that the other group wants to make and vice versa." Does anyone know anything more about what the 'true-believers' v. 'the other group' refers to?

Not too much good news in there. I wonder how much all of those issues affect the graduate students. Thanks for the link.

Huh, makes sense, but Currie is chair of the department over there. Must be a long leave she's planning...

What's the 'kind of' departure for Vegh and Currie? I thought Currie was just at Columbia for good.

good pick up, thanks for the information.

Plus a first round pick, and cash.

Heh, well then, go longhorns.

I actually switched from a mac to a PC, and my next computer will still be a PC. I agree however, that the mac is a superior machine, but I also think you get more for your money in terms of hardware, processor speed etc with a PC. The tradeoff is that you have to put in more time to maintain it in terms of virus protection, spyware, crashes... So, I'd say it go with what your comfortable with, but if you're looking for something for a bargain go for a PC.

Wow you think UT is that high, and above NYU? Any particular reason? I was considering their program for a while and I got the impression that while it's an excellent school, it wasn't cracking the top 15.

hmm.. think that would work at NYU?

I'd be interested ti know this as well since I've been a year out of school. I'm most concerned about preparing for microeconomics, and I don't think they use MWG at UCLA. So far my plan is just to go over various parts of my analysis book (any ideas which parts I should focus on most?) and review linear algebra a bit to make sure I haven't forgotten anything (any ideas where I should focus in this subject would be welcome as well). Thanks to anyone who responds.

Hi, yes I did turn it down. Actually Vivian wrote me a funny reply: Dear Peter, Well, couldn't blame us for trying, could you? Best, Congratulations on UT and good luck on funding!

Ha, I read that same article. I had little familiarity with names to describe particular ideologies of economics, so reading that article as an introduction to austrian economics made it sound cult like.

I recall reading some of his papers about East Asia and Japan's liquidity trap, where if I recall correctly, he pretty accurately predicted the trouble on both counts. I know he's made other contributions to international trade but I'm not directly familiar with them. He also worked for the Council of Economic Advisors some time in the early 80s. I would say he's certainly a good economist, whether it's in spite of, because of, or unrelated to his vocal political leanings.

You can look at my profile. I applied to Berkeley ARE, and maybe you can learn something from my rejection there. I had a pretty bad overall GPA, but in my final two years (including continuing ed classes) it was close to 4.0. It's a tough program to get into especially because it is so small. As far as math preperation, I think you can assume it has to be pretty close to what a top-20 econ program would expect. So I would take analysis if you can, and definitely boost your Math gre above 750 as people say, but honestly if you have any weak points in your app you might need above 780. Apply everywhere you're interested in attending, but have your expectations in the right place: it's hard to get into.

I'm interested in development economics primarily, after that... well, IO and applied micro, but my interests might change.

Ah great, what are you interested in studying? And PCG, look forward to meeting you after you pass comps; good luck with the rest of year

By the way, I just got a funding offer at UT, which I'll turn down. So for anyone in at UT, there's still hope of getting money.

Anyone? Hello? Is this thing on?

OK, I'll jump on this too. Anyone going to UCLA?

I was accepted to SIPA this year and looked into the program a bit; I think it has a fairly good reputation. You can find the type of job placements students get on their website. Whether it is good for her or not depends on what she is interested in doing.

I don't think there has been quite enough time to use this tragedy to expound on gun control laws and trite sayings about people killing people etc. ..

Tough call. I think if you really want to go Chicago or it's your best fit, and you're certain you'll stay all the way through, I would go there. Given the salaries and rate of employment for econ phd grads, especially out of a top school like chicago, you should be able to pay off any loans fairly quickly. Good luck with your decision.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top public univeristy, excellent econ dept. Undergrad GPA: 3.1; 3.95 continuing ed. program Type of Grad: Grad GPA: GRE: math 780 verbal 780 Math Courses: stat and probability, real analysis, calc II and III, linear algebra Econ Courses: inter'l trade, monetary econ., 20th century econ. history, development economics, history of development economics, econometrics Other Courses: Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ people and one poli sci prof, no big names. Two of them knew me very well, and this must have helped a lot. Research Experience: summer RA Teaching Experience: Research Interests: development, IO, applied micro SOP: explained the circumstances for my low GPA, other than that pretty standard Other: RESULTS: Acceptances: UT, BU, Davis, UCLA, Riverside, Penn State Waitlists: Rejections: lots, NYU, Columbia, Stanford, Berkeley ARE, UCSD, U Mich, Cornell What would you have done differently? If I had more time and money, I would have taken a grad-level micro course. Overall I feel really lucky to be in at UCLA; anyone else headed there?