jeeves0923

Maybe it's time to retire the Jeeves award ;)

37 Econ awards out of 2000 total awards. Not too bad. Congrats to all the winners and honorable mentions!

Thanks, Ellie, for being super awesome and supportive. To everyone else still waiting on markets to clear, hang in there.

I'm pretty sure it was mostly the increase in federal funding. The total number awards was nearly doubled last year, not just for economics. I wouldn't be surprised if there were delays in deciding the number of awards this year due to the uncertainty in non-defense discretionary spending.

https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/AwardeeList.do?method=loadAwardeeList Last year was in the 40s, but outside of that, it has been 22 or 23 each year to econ students

Someone will definitely take you if you get NSF. No decision is irreversible.

Accepting on a whim, and then changing your mind is very different from getting off of a wait list. Schools realize that sometimes wait lists come through after April 15th and they also do understand that some people prefer a school where they've been wait listed. I don't think they will hold it against you on the job market if you went through the proper channels (i.e. ask for an official release) to go to a place you got in off of the wait list after April 15th. If you are still really worried about it, here's a couple of things you can do: 1) Ask your next choice after your wait list school for an extension. You might be surprised. They could allow you the extension. 2) Tell them you are still waiting to hear from a wait list, and you'd want to go there if you got in. They certainly won't retract your offer, and they might offer up what they think is the proper way to handle it. Most of all, I'm just saying you shouldn't decline an obviously superior wait list just because it's after April 15th. Everyone involved knows this is a difficult process and that sometimes these things happen. Just be as professional as possible.

This actually happens pretty regularly, I think. You can ask the place you accepted for an official release. If they give you the release, I don't think there's anything wrong with going to the place where you got off the wait list.

::edit:: ::deleted:: I was beaten to the punchline :)

Correct me if I'm wrong, LazyStudent, but you didn't attend the MIT visit day last year, did you? While I definitely don't doubt you are happy at Harvard or that there are lots of excellent theory students and faculty at Harvard, the things you say about students and faculty at Harvard are also true of MIT. One of our students on the market this year was the undeniable star of micro theory on the market. We have some very promising theory students who will be on the market in the next couple of years, too. The point of saying this to the OP is that plenty of reasonable people who have faced this same choice with the same interests have made different decisions, and many times it came down to simply the different vibes of the departments and which one was a better personality match. I'm sure all three places would very much like the opportunity to make their pitch to you, and it would be in your best interest to let them do so. Just because you are into theory doesn't mean that one of the places is absolutely the right place to go- all three places produce excellent theory students and have excellent theory faculty.

This is exactly why you shouldn't do a math masters. Listen, if you go to MSU or Vandy and are obviously a star, it's possible the faculty would support you in reapplying to higher ranked places. In that case, you'd have taken the core sequence at a very good program and have a chance to move up. Three cycles ago, Sammy6 on this board applied as a transfer student from a school in the MSU/Vandy range and ended up at Harvard. I know another guy who went to UIUC(albeit some time ago). After spending a year there, his advisor thought he should move up, and he ended up at Stanford. These things are possible and can happen. On the flip side, if you're not top 5 material, you'll figure that out, and you'll be better off for having gone this year rather than putting it off a year. Putting it off seems an unnecessary risk for a large opportunity cost.

An MIT student will contact you in the coming weeks. If there is any way you can, you should come to the visit days. Many students are looking for precisely the answer to this question.

Last year Alp Simsek from MIT had Finance offers from Booth, Kellogg and Stanford GSB, but eventually chose Harvard Econ Jennifer L'ao went to Booth Finance In 2009 we had Columbia GSB Finance and Wharton Finance placements... I think every year there's been at least a couple of top finance offers given to MIT students. You get the idea. MIT Econ has done quite well in the Finance job market. I can't compare to Booth since I don't really know how their placements have been

Decide what you would choose if you don't get in off of any wait list. Once you have your preferred sure offer figured out, decide if you would take one of your wait lists if you get in off of it. If so, be frank with your preferred sure offer and tell them your situation: "I will attend your program unless I get admitted from the wait list at MIT. As such, I will not be able to give you an answer until very close to the deadline." I can assure you they have heard this before. Chances are, they will be willing to grant you a one or two day extension to the April 15th deadline if necessary.

While I agree with you, in practice Harvard, MIT and Stanford GSB "business steal" from each other significantly in admissions. Suppose MIT wants an entering class of 22, Harvard wants an entering class of 28 and Stanford GSB wants an entering class of 4. If they have perfectly aligned preferences, we're already over 48. Obviously, they don't have perfectly aligned preferences, but then again there are also plenty of people who have personal reasons for accepting other places etc. Finally, MIT controls enrollment by not offering everyone funding. Plenty of sane people turn down MIT unfunded for something like Yale funded. All in all, 48 isn't such a large number.

Congrats to those admitted! Hope to see you at the flyout.

There was a delay (as I'm sure you all noticed), and decisions didn't make it out today. I'm not sure when it will happen, but it won't be long :) Hang in there. [also sorry that this thread got going and got everyone worked up, given that there tend to be delays. Please don't sit around all weekend pushing f5. Go out and enjoy yourselves.]

MIT pretty consistently admits about 2 MIT undergrads each cycle. Of course Harvard tends to admit many more Harvard undergrads. For my cohort, there were 2 MIT undergrads in my class at MIT and something like 8 Harvard undergrads in their class at Harvard. Also re: randomness- I think the randomness should be directly correlated with the perceived uncertainty in your file. If you have a high expected value but also a high variance, your admits might be higher variance. For people who have undergrads at the top places, I think adcoms are connected enough with whoever wrote your LORs that there isn't as much uncertainty(i.e. they might call and ask about you or really just trust the LOR at her word, etc), hence a more straightforward pattern in your admits. This is all just speculation on my part, but it makes sense to me :)

Even with a couple of very large one-time purchases, I still did not come close to my stipend constraint of 30K last year. As a single graduate student who is willing to cook, commute via the Public Transit (the T) and have roommates, 18K is eminently doable in Boston I think. If you are set on living alone, you'll pay 18K just in rent. If you are set on eating most meals out, you'll also be out of luck. Though for BC, it's in Chestnut Hill rather than Boston, so cost structures are a bit different there.

More because of graduate school, in general :) Also because I realize it has been two years since I was in your position...

It's really really really cheap. For example, you could probably find rent in the 300/month range. However transportation to everywhere else in the world from Blacksburg is relatively expensive, as you have to drive 45 minutes to get to Roanoke to take an expensive flight that has to make at least one connection.

AWESOME! That's a great program. I'm very happy for you.

Also- I'm sure more than 20 get admitted to Harvard Econ... just about 20 matriculate each year. They definitely don't have 100% of admits matriculate. Other differences in the program (correct me if I'm wrong, LazyStudent) are that HBS Bus Ec students must take a year of MBA courses, but only have to take the Micro general exam (no macro), and get much larger stipends.

I know one guy who went to MIT after getting rejected by Yale, but you probably don't want to emulate him. He's a nerd. ;)

Bumping this thread, as it seems the forum is drifting again to suggesting that people get publications. This thread is worth reading.