lightyears

Congrats guys! I will be there on the 7th I think, maybe you could see me at the bar or around if you need impressions by a student :)

So guys who's going to be our CEMFI new 1st year student in september among you? :)

Agree:)

I think they have a well-reputed PhD in econ program, but I do not know details. One of my profs got her PhD there, and taught in Cambridge and Carlos III.

Hi Tenhik, I've done much less intense economic coursework, and next year I'll be at CEMFI. They do a september math camp AND a math course during first term, where they cover all the usual stuff, up to some PDE and dynamic optimization I think. During first term, you also have math stat (intro to econometrics), and you start the "real" econometrics only in the second term. For this reasons, I would say that you should go straight from ug, and don't worry too much :) If you understood diff. equations and had graduate econometrics and macro/micro, you won't have more problems than me, be sure :P

OtraD: yeah we should create a new one :) incoming cool class!

Thank you Tomoli, I did not know it! But I managed to get funding, so I'm fine and that fellowship can go to someone who needs it more ;) To the CEMFIers: let's do a Facebook group?

I do not know. For me it was out of question, I don't have that money :) I can you can live in Barcelona with 1000 euro per month, even less I would think. M2 in Toulouse is much cheaper and you can get government help for house rent (-200€ per month)

Let me know what they say :)

That's great news! Have you other hints to give us Clodo? Which are the coolest bars? And restos? Which quartier would you live in? :P

Flipecon: They wrote clearly in my admission mail that I had no right to a TAship and I had to pay the full fee. They also asked 500€ in advance to keep my place. Ravillez you might want to call CEMFI, since many got their decision already. I've recevied a mail from them 2 days ago, about funding

Hi! I got in but I prefer to go to CEMFI, also because of funding. But I believe it is a great choice

I am coming too, since i got funding! see you there :)

I am waiting too for funding decisions... no idea, let's wait some more days

A friend of mine got an unfunded admission some day ago...

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Laurea in Economia e commercio Undergrad GPA: 26,5/30 Type of Grad: Laurea specialistica in scienze dell'economia (2-years) Grad GPA: 29,5/30 GRE: 800/550/3,5 Math Courses: Math analysis 1/2, Math for economists (optimization, ODE), financial math (up to some stochastic calculus), Stochastic Processes, Probability theory, Statistics Econ Courses: usual stuff, a lot. No int. micro. A lot of int. macro, monetary, banking etc. Other Courses: History of economic thought, Modern history etc. Letters of Recommendation: 2 Math PhD profs, 1 Econ prof, pretty standard and positive I think. Research Experience: no Teaching Experience: no Research Interests: Macro, monetary, international SOP: Boring but standard I think Other: Nothing special. RESULTS: Acceptances: CEMFI (attending), UPF, Tinbergen I, ULB. Waitlists: none Rejections: EUI Pending: Toulouse What would you have done differently? Nothing. Since when I realized I wanted to do a PhD (middle of my first year of Msc!), I was already in the wrong university (unknown), with no time, and with an Erasmus period starting in few months. Given that, I did all I could. I didn't apply in the UK for economic reasons, and I wanted to stay in quite a warm place. At the end of the process, I'm very satisfied.

I had the same problem, and I've chosen CEMFI. I am not sure why it's not as highly reputed as other institutions, given the great academic placement of both master students and PhDs (for these, I've seen mainly in EU).

Have you considered CEMFI? It's usually funded, and quite respected for Economics and Finance. Many, after it, decide to go straight to work, check their website for some info :)

Paris is more expensive, that for sure. About PSE, I don't really know much, in some rankings they place good, but no idea if they are reliable. I've attended some M1 course at Paris1-Sorbonne, and they looked like normal university courses, i.e. not too rigorous (except for IO), but M2 is at another building and probably it's a different story.

Mmmh all this talking make me think that maybe I shouldn't have refused TI.. :P free tickets yumm

Yeh it's a hard decision, but a decision among nice places. You can't REALLY do wrong :) For me, workload+not-so-nice-place would mean no thanks, but of course your research interests are more important. No use to go to a seaside university if they do macro and you want to do micro, right? ;)

Well from your comparison only, Zmoney, I would choose BC without hesitation! Since my opinion is entirely based on your list, this might mean that you have a bias for BC as well, and it is reflected in your writing :) P.S. I like macro, that could have influenced me

Looks like everyone has different habits :) Personally I try to do some sport during weekdays (hard) or at least walk or run, even for 15 minutes. Then, during weekends, go out and play basketball sat and sunday. Well if you have your girlfriend/wife this plan has to be adapted to circumstances of course, but that's how I survive :P

Education: BA Econ (Laurea), MA Econ (Laurea specialistica) at a big State U in Southern Europe GPA:26.5/30 (BA), 29.5/30 (MA). Can't really compare with GPA. I was 2nd out of 80 or so. GRE: 800Q/550V/3.5AWA TOEFL: 113 Research Experience: zero Math Background: We use a different system, but covers things similar to US Calc 1-3, Matrix Algebra, Differential EQ, Optimization (Static), Statistics, Probability and regression, Applied Econometrics, Stochastic processes (just taken) and 3 financial math courses Acceptances: CEMFI (waiver), TI, UPF Rejections: EUI STILL Waiting: ULB, TSE Attending: CEMFI 2. What would I have done differently? Wake up earlier about my decision of going for a PhD. More apps maybe, but I wanted to stay in EU, so I just missed the english ones. 3. What did I do right? GRE and Toefl helped my app i think. So, even if I believe GRE is useless, looks like they care about your score. 4. Advice for future applicants I agree on most of what jlad said :) I will give advice to applicants from lower ranked/unknown ranked/unknow recs schools (like me): work hard on the part of the app you have any influence on, that is find good recommenders, take useful courses, try to gather infos about what program can offer you, how's life, profs, etc. Rankings are OK, but it's your life, and basically I still believe that if you're good you can be a good researcher even if you did your undergraduate at a over-70 maison de retraite, don't get too nervous about your weak background. Good luck, and don't get mad :) 5.What has been useful/bad about on-line forums? This forum is a huge source of information, but there are also a lot of impressions or rumors. Don't make the latter influence your decision. Try not to join the stress-train starting on february about results :)

Hey guys, i've lived in Paris for a while and I know that finding an apartment is a pain. If you need some hints, feel free to PM me :)