dvvecon

I really appreciate everyone's advice so far. Where I am in the world, it's a bit difficult to get online and post here regularly. I've got my full profile now. First off, I'm not trying to get into a top 20 program, but do I have any chance of getting into a lower ranked Phd Program (50-100)? I will definitely look into the master's programs mentioned. I'm calling my prof's tonight to get their take as well. ----- 3.0 GPA from Case Western Reserve University Grades in relevant courses: Fresh. 1st Semester Intro to Microecon: B Calc. I: B Fresh. 2nd Semester Intro to Macroecon: B Survey of Econ: B Calc II: C 3.29 GPA from George Washington University Grades in relevant courses: Soph. 1st Semester Intermediate Macro: B Multivariable Calc: B- Stat 1: A- Soph. 2nd Semester Environmental Econ.: C+ Combinatorics: C- Stat 2: W Jun. 1st Semester Int. Micro: B+ Game Theory: B+ Matrix Theory: D- Jun. 2nd Semester Econometrics: B+ International Econ. 1: A- Stat 2: B+ Summer Matrix Theory: C+ Sen. 1st Semester: Money and Banking: A- Urban and Reg. Econ: A Sen. 2nd Semester: Economic Development: B Internationl Econ. 2: B+ Thesis in Econ.: A- GRE: 800Q 640V 5.0A 3 committed solid rec's from Econ professors. 3.5 years of work experience in economic development, public policy, and microfinance (1.5 years abroad). ----- Thank you again for all your advice!

I guess I tried to forget how terrible I did while working over the past few years. Looking at my transcript, which I just received from GW, I'm horrified. Here is Sophomore to Senior year at George Washington University. I have to still get my grades from Case Western, where I went for Freshman year. Do I have ANY chance??? 3.29 GPA from George Washington University Grades in relevant courses: Soph. 1st Semester Intermediate Macro: B Multivariable Calc: B- Stat 1: A- Soph. 2nd Semester Environmental Econ.: C+ Combinatorics: C- Stat 2: W Jun. 1st Semester Int. Micro: B+ Game Theory: B+ Matrix Theory: D- Jun. 2nd Semester Econometrics: B+ International Econ. 1: A- Stat 2: B+ Summer Matrix Theory: C+ Sen. 1st Semester: Money and Banking: A- Urban and Reg. Econ: A Sen. 2nd Semester: Economic Development: B Internationl Econ. 2: B+ Thesis in Econ.: A- GRE: 800Q 640V 5.0A 3 committed solid rec's from Econ professors. 3.5 years of work experience in economic development, public policy, and microfinance (1.5 years abroad).

My stats: 3.25 GPA in Economics from George Washington University GRE: 800Q 640V 5.0A Math/Stat: 3 semesters of calculus up to multivariable, matrix theory, two semesters of stat, and econometrics. 3 committed solid rec's from Econ professors. 3.5 years of work experience in economic development, public policy, and microfinance (1.5 years abroad). I was planning to apply for a PhD in Economics this year, but I don't know if I'm qualified. Any thoughts? I'm in the process of getting my transcripts, so I don't know my exact grades in Econ, Math, and Stat courses. I think differential equations and linear algebra would be the bare minimum I need, but I'm not certain. I want a PhD, because I am interested in research in development economics, international trade, and urban/regional economics. If I'm not qualified, I don't mind taking more classes to improve my quantitative profile and skills. Any advice on the best way to achieve this. Ideally I'd rather get a certificate, diploma, or degree in math/econ/stats rather than just taking classes. Does anybody know of any such programs? The shorter duration, the better. I'm busy until later this year, so the soonest I could start is January 2009. Thank you in advance TestMagic people!

First of all, I'm not a good test taker. Secondly, taking a test on a computer was totally freaking me out. I made it in such a way that I had about 5-6 weeks off in between jobs and made a point to come home as opposed to staying in the city I was working in full of friends and distractions. So for about a month, I had no social life, no transportation, no alcohol, no girls, and no distractions except for TV and internet. I also was staying at home so I was eating very healthy, exercising, and had absolutely no stress other than taking the exam. Anyway, I didn't take studying seriously until I actually scheduled the exam. My one piece of advice is that: schedule your exam! It will then be in the back of your mind and make you study much more effectively than if you are *considering* to take the exam at a certain time. Schedule it and then study. Also, I'm not the type of person who can stick to studying one hour every day for three months. I'd rather study intensely for a short period of time than stretched out. This is against the advice of most test prep companies. I studied about 8-10 hours for two weeks straight before taking the exam. I even studied the night before the exam, another no-no according to test prep people. I did it to take away stress rather than study. I was getting a bit nervous and considered canceling the exam, because I was only scoring 720-730 on math and 580 or below on verbal. This was both on ETS practice tests as well as Kaplan tests. I didn't really practice analytical writing, but studied how to write introductions, conclusions, and make good strong points in essays. If you want to improve analytical writing, read a bunch of 5 and 6 essays and memorize their sentence structures so you can use them in your own essays. Also, outline your essay before making a choice of which one you're going to go with, because it might turn out after outlining that you'd prefer to write about the other topic. Copy and paste screwed me on the first essay as I accidentally deleted 1.5 paragraphs with 5 minutes left to write! Be careful with that! There is no ctrl+z on the GRE. Anyway, the first math section I'm sure was the experimental section; I had to guess on the last 4 questions, because I was running out of time. I just went through the verbal section and final math section as best as I could and was completely taken by surprise with my score! I stared at the screen for about a good 5 minutes just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.... I would suggest to anyone preparing for the exam to: 1) Schedule your exam asap. 2) Do as many practice tests as possible. 3) Do as many verbal and math questions between practice tests. 4) Learn as many vocabulary words as possible. I would highly recommend getting a non-test prep book to learn vocab words. There are tons of them in bookstores, which make learning vocab words a lot more fun and useful. 5) Do so many math problems that you can do simple multiplication and division in your head and not have to think about math rules. 6) Figure out why you're not getting questions. For me it was because I didn't read the questions properly or read to fast, not because I couldn't get the answer correct. 7) Focus on getting questions right before getting questions right in a certain amount of time. 8) Read good analytical writing sections and copy their styles. Memorize good opening lines, closing lines, and other sentence structures. Don't try to completely change your writing style. 9) Try to eliminate any other stresses going on in your life. Eat well. Exercise. Sleep. 10) Go to the test center a week before taking the test so you will be mentally prepared on how to get there and the environment that you will be taking the exam. Good luck to all of you taking the exam soon!

Take the time to go through hundreds of test questions. Drill drill drill, and make sure you go back to the ones you miss and understand why you got it wrong. In my case I found out I usually got questions wrong because I don't read properly!

Results are in: 800Q and 640V! Does this help?

Hi everyone, I would like to know whether I should apply to a M.A/M.Sc in Econ program and then go for a PhD or apply directly for a PhD in Econ. My stats: Age: 24, U.S. citizen GPA: 3.3 from George Washington University, B.S. in Econ. GRE: 730Q 580V (expected) LoR's: 3 solid rec's from Econ professors The reason I want a PhD is firstly that I like economics (and the math), and secondly I want to get ahead in my field of expertise/experience for the past 3 years, economic development. There is a large need in the development world for people who understand and can do both technical research and project management. I'm not planning to make a career out of being an academic. That being said, do I have a chance of getting accepted to any PhD programs in the United States? I'm not asking about Harvard or top-tier programs. Would it make sense to first get a Master's in Econ to make me more competitive for PhD programs? If I am competitive for any PhD programs, which schools should I be looking at? I am interested in studying development economics, international trade, and urban & regional economics. I appreciate your feedback!