ibanez

Like I said, Guido Kuersteiner is an econometrician who does great theory work. The department chair, Vella (I cannot recall his first name) also does econometrics. I do believe the department is trying to recruit for metrics and thus are pursuing Kuersteiner. Don't take my word for it, since Kuersteiner is only a visiting professor now, but I think he may stick around and become a regular prof. He mentioned in class one day that they made him an offer and I think he may be considering it pretty seriously (but this is just speculation). Take a look at his CV, it is pretty impressive. He also is a thorough lecturer and always willing to help. In my opinion, he is one of the strongest researchers in our department and the fact that he is always willing to help would make him the ideal advisor. BTW Kuersteiner is teaching the entire Metrics sequence (Stats Prob, Metrics 1, 2) so I think the department is pretty serious about using his strong abilities in Metrics. Just my opinion tho.

From my perspective, it seems that our program is somewhat strong in Macro or International Finance. Names like Martin Evans and Matthew Canzoneri stand out but I haven't taken any of their classes or even spoken to them, so that might just be a rumor. Behzad Diba is also super cool, he deals with monetary policy I believe. We also just hired Francesca Carapella out of Minnesota who is teaching our first year PhD Macro 2 course. She has a joint appointment at the Fed Board of Governors in DC, so that is pretty cool. We also have some professors in Game Theory and Microeconomics. Names like Roger Lagunoff and Luca Anderlini stand out. I only say this because they taught/are teaching me Micro and Game Theory respectively. In terms of Metrics, as I stated before Guido Kuersteiner got his PhD from Yale and taught at MIT for a while. He is a very strong researcher and a great instructor and is always willing to lend a hand. I don't know if he plans to stay at Georgetown, as he is officially a visiting professor. But I have heard that he might stay. If he does and you are interested in Metrics, he would be a GREAT advisor. In terms of development, names like Billy Jack and Garance Genicot stand out. Anyways, to give you perspective about my background. I was a Econ/Math undergrad. I had Calc 1-3, 2 sems of Linear algebra, differential equations, math modeling, real analysis, discrete mathematics, topology (1 credit), and Probability Theory and Statistics. I audited Applied Mathematics. I had a 760Q GRE (probably why I didnt get funding in year 1) 550 Verbal, 4.0GPA and I had two published papers. One in Mathematical Biology from a summer REU, and another with a professor in mathematical biology (I think that despite my low GRE, this was a primary factor in getting me accepted). Let me know if you have more questions.

I thought you might be interested in a PM I sent to someone else, here it is: The program is very difficult and you are always aware of your competition. But that is fine since you are probably a competitive person given you are applying to PhD programs. But the professors are for the most part readily available and don't mind if you ask questions. For example, I talk to my metrics professor at least once a week and he is always very willing to help. But as a counterexample, my first semester micro professor told us basically that we would have to bang out the semester ourselves; basically encouraging us not to ask him questions and not to ask the TA questions (which we ended up doing anyway). So it varies, but overall, I'd say the professors are very approachable. In terms of attrition rate, see my post on the "Georgetown, anyone" page (which is where I will answer other questions you may have so everyone can read them). DC was the perfect fit for me since my girlfriend and parents live here so if I could hit rewind, I probably would still end up here. But if this were not the case, I may have ended up at a higher ranked program like Boston University or somewhere else. Or I might have chosen a more nurturing environment (if such a place exists in academia). I don't think the department is necessarily nurturing. You get the feeling that you have to work yourself to the bone, and then that might not be enough. Whereas in other departments it may be understood that if you work hard, put in the effort, and are reasonably intelligent, you pass. So if nurturing is what you need, go somewhere else. But if fierce competition (all in good nature) is what can fuel you, then you may be choosing the right place. Placements like Stanford are extreme outliers from what I understand. Don't expect the normal student to be placed at Stanford. I chose Georgetown because with a Gtown PhD you can expect to get good policy placements (in DC), good private sector placements, and maybe reasonable academic placements (but nothing in the top 10). When I say reasonable placements, I mean small LAC or places like Oregon state (see this years placements). For me, this mix of policy and academia is perfect since I plan to work in policy after the PhD, and then maybe teach somewhere small and unranked later in life (this may be a pipe dream for all you skeptics). In terms of how many hours. I'd say I work 40-50 hours a week (spread out tho including late nights and saturdays and sundays). There are students who study more. Those who study more and have more ability probably score higher than I do, but I found my equilibrium to be about 45 hours on average (that jumps up to around 70 during midterms and finals). I also study during breaks (its spring break and I have been studying for dynamic programming, though unproductively). So you get a feel for the results that this method returns, last semester I got 3 A-'s and am consistently scoring above the median (sometimes in the top 25th percentile and sometimes in the top 40th percentile, rough estimates). Some people study less and of course score worse than I, obviously. Instruction is very good. Our metrics prof taught at MIT for a while and most of our professors are very thorough in proofs. I feel the instruction is up to par. It is very good, but you might get better instruction at a higher ranked program. Although at this level, I feel there is always a tradeoff between very good instructors and very good researchers. Some do both well, but I feel this isn't the norm. I feel we are somewhere in between the best of both worlds if you get what I mean. Let me know if you have more questions.

Ok, so attrition rate is rather high from what I understand. The professor who I talked to before accepting the offer said about 66% (maybe be alil off) of first years will pass comps and get the GPA requirement (3.5 firm overall, and B+ average in the econometrics sequence). Then by the third year, there will only be about 50% of us who remain. This means some fail out because of comps GPA, then some decided to leave with masters after passing comps and satisfying GPA, then some dropped out because of the 3rd year requirement to find and advisor and pass the proposal process. So in the end, about 50% of first years will remain and get PhD's. That is what the professor told me. I have only heard stories from the current second years (this is the only historical data I have). It seems that about 8 of them are left from a class of around 15 or 16, so the numbers sound right). You are always aware of your performance in relation to others. So it is fairly competitive, but I don't get the sense of sabotage. There is a lot of working together and helping each other out. But at the end of the day, you are competing for spots (just like the real world I guess). The magic cutoff is between a B+ and an A-. It seems that the the median grade in the classes is between an A- and a B+ which makes sense because of the 50% retention rate. The way funding works (my understanding), is if you get the GPA and pass comps, and get the Metrics B+ average, you can be pretty certain you will be funded for the remaining 4 years (possibly a 5th but it definitely isn't guaranteed). From what I was told, this remains true for unfunded offers as well. The professor I talked to before I accepted the offer said that during his tenure there, he couldn't really remember anyone who had met the requirements who hadn't got funding (he then backed off and said he can't guarantee anything, but its almost 100% sure, nothing in life is guaranteed). I am an unfunded offer so if you decide to come here, I can verify in September (if I pass) that even unfunded offers can get funding (but of course then it will be to late to help your decision). Basically, I am not worried about passing and not getting funding. Basically I am just worried about passing the comps. I think the best part of Georgetown is the connections you can make (if you are proactive) with people in DC. So even if you come here and fail comps, a Georgetown Master's degree is well respected here in DC. I haven't heard of anyone who failed comps having trouble getting jobs. So while the academic placements may not be as nice as higher ranked programs, I think the degree is versatile (just my two cents).

I currently go to Georgetown as an unfunded PhD student. I got my offer super late, but I was a rare case (it actually happened in July...lol, so never give up hope). But I am happy to answer some questions you may have.

Exactly! I am talking about those additional loans (because 20k per year won't cut it at BU). I want to know if it is worth taking the risk on the private loans for the remaining 35k. I know they are harder to deal with, but the 3% reduction in interest rate might be worth the hassle. I do understand that interest rates are not going to keep going down. But will they keep stable or increase dramatically in the next few years.

Interest begins accruing the day the loan disperses on both the government loan, and the private loan. My parents advised me towards the government loan because of the fact that they are easier to deal with, however, 3% spread is huge! Any other ideas.

I am taking out 55k in student loans to go to BU for year 1 of my PhD Econ. My question is this: where do you think interest rates are going in the next 7 years. I can take a government graduate PLUS loan at a rate of 7.9% fixed. Or I can take a private loan at a variable rate. I was just offered a rate of 4.25%. I would definitely take the private loan to save the money, however, what if in the next few years, interest rates go through the roof because of inflationary worries. I know rates are super low now because of the recession and the FEDS loose monetary policy. My question is: is this sustainable in the next 7 years. I plan to pay off everything 2 years after graduation. I have taken a look at the yield curve, and from my brief analysis, it seems that interest rates are steady. The yield curve has a steady positive slope, as it should. Is it safe to take a variable interest rate student loan? Come on future economists, lets see what you got!

What is real life?

Thats a great one! Thanks. Anyone else.

There are no open positions there. I have applied to many many research assistant positions in DC and haven't heard back from any. Here is my list: Brookings, RAND, Mathematica, Urban I, AEI, EPI, IIE, NORC, and TPI.' I also applied to the Fed. Does anyone know of any others out there that I could apply to.

I have heard two things regarding the car. 1. Don't bring a car because you will pay $200 a month for it and everything is accessible by walking or by public transport. 2. Take a car! Boston is very drivable and you will want to check out other places in the North East. Lol so who knows. I think if I can find street parking or free (or near free) building parking, I am going to bring it. If not, I guess its 5 years without a car, which won't be so bad!

I also had to choose between BU and GWU, except for PhD (wow I wonder why these two schools attract the same types of applicants and why getting accepted to both schools is a trend). I recommend BU (I am biased since I am attending), because the ranking is so much stronger. The US News and World report puts BU at 24 while GWU at "unranked." It seems that BU has many more academic placements than GWU. But GWU I think has good placements at policy institutes and maybe the WB or IMF. But I am sure you could get the same or better placements from BU, so BU seems like a better choice. Wow, sunshine, a JD and a PhD, and a MA, when do you plan on actually working? Lol Do PhD and MA students take the same courses?

Sunshine, are you just MA or are you MA/PhD track? What is your math background? What are you anticipating first year to be like? When are you visiting?

I must say that it seems irrational to think that you would get rejected just because you sent an email inquiring about your decision. It is way past April 15 and it is their responsibility to let you know. If you inquire nicely indicating you are still really interested in coming to the school, then I think they might give you an honest response. Would you even want to go to a school that sent out rejections if people asked about their status? That is ridiculous.

Hey there, I am going to BU for my PhD in the fall. Is there on campus housing? From my understanding, it is very limited for graduate students. I have a roommate and we expect to pay around $800 a month each. PM me and we can be facebook friends.

What other offers you have. Since money isn't an issue. It might be a great fit depending on what you want to do in life.

What other offers do you have? Did you receiving any funding. They seem like a decent choice if you want to go work at a policy institute or aim high and go for WB or IMF. But it seems their academic placements are less than desirable. At least in the US. I personally would consider GWU, but I got into BU and that pretty much sealed it because its a better program and they offer funding in years 2-5. From what I hear funding is hard to come by at all at GWU.

Yeah, I was not admitted to UMD and received similar promise of a letter. I have not received any such letter, but it is ok because the second I receive it is the second I will throw it away.

I do not know how you define undergraduates because I have already graduated college and have been admitted to a PhD program. I know I am a graduate, although not a graduate STUDENT yet. Anyhow, my point still remains, it worth my time to meet List, Becker and Levitt.

What makes you say that? The opportunity to meet Levitt, Becker and List are worth a paid week in Chicago, no?

That is what it said, but John List encouraged me to apply to it. So we will see what happens.

Anyone apply? I did. How competitive is this? When do you think we'll hear? Has anyone ever attended this and is it worth the time?

It has been a wild ride, however, I have decided to attend BU. I am a happy kitten. Anyone else going to BU, contact me!

How many students will enter economics PhD programs (first year) this year in the US? Anyone have an idea?