econominee

but true at least in my case. People just look different than what you expect. What I meant is that do not judge the book by its cover...

Hello Everyone As a product of my hardwork and dedication, I managed to get B+ in Math Stat II after getting B- in Math Stat I. While taking Math Stat I, I took 25 hours of courses and worked 16 hours a week. In other words I just run out of time to study for the class. In short, do you think that it is a strong signal that I have increased my grade from B- to B+ in a harder class? Regards Econominee

I suffered from the same problem when I came to my undergrad institution. It is very hard to get rid of the accent, but you can definitely reduce it to the extent that everyone will know what you are talking about. As others pointed out, you should always have native-speaking friends. I do not recommend making friendships just for the sake of language. Even the most uninteresting looking native speaker can expand your horizon and you can step into nice friendships. Try to talk to everyone. If you do not have this opportunity, the best way of reducing your accent and increasing your fluency is to read out loud. Get some magazines, newspapers and sit in front of a mirror. Then start reading out loud. I have some friends who totally attribute their fluency to this method. There are also plenty of podcasts from respectable magazines and channels. Listening to them can further improve your skills. My assistantship is contingent upon passing this speaking test too. Everyone is on the same boat. Do not worry. Do your best and you will be fine. Regards Econominee

Hey Guys I wrote a note and then slid under his door. When I asked him about the letter, he said "I appreciate your giving it back to me".

Hello everyone I have not been around for a long time. I hope everyone is doing very well. A month ago I wanted to apply to a master program and asked my professors for letters of recommendations. They gave me the letters in an envelope. Nevertheless, after I got my assistantship offer, I left my application incomplete and decided not to apply. Now I have two letters of recommendations in a sealed envelope. Should I dispose them and then let my professors know about them or just simply slide them under their door, with a note thanking them? Thanks in advance Econominee

I have just turned their unfunded offer. I hope you will get my spot though it is unfunded. Regards Econominee

Again I thank all of you for your valuable comments. I just talked to my genius mathematics professor and he told me that as long as I take additional math courses at West Virginia, I should go there. Otherwise, Rolla is a better option. I think if I get a consulting job at a company like NERA, it will feel quite satisfied with my degree. I did some google search and found that (http://www.nera.com/Expert.asp?e_ID=1433) this expert got his PhD from West Virginia and got a job at NERA Economic Consulting. Maybe I should e-mail him too.

Thanks for the responses. I especially liked opposing views in the suggestions that make me more critical of my choices. At the beginning of my undergrad education, I was interested in getting an MBA in quantitative finance. Later on I became interested in the financial engineering master. Nevertheless, things did not work out the same way I wanted and I ended up in no position to pay for these expensive masters. Some of my professors told me that I would get a very rigorous education if I get a PhD in economics with an emphasis on econometrics and financial economics. I hope this piece of information answers some of the questions posed by you. Since I am an international student, I do not know a lot about the popularity of Econ PhDs in the private sector. There is a possibility that I might like teaching and become interested in academia. However, I do not desire to spend my life teaching at a school despite good salary opportunities. There is also a fair chance that I might screw up my grades at Rolla which could exterminate my hopes of re-applying to econ PhDs. It is really hard to make a decision that I won't regret in the future. I cannot even image being in the shoes of those who got accepted to 10 schools.

Thanks for the responses. I really appreciate your advice. I have not talked to professors at Rolla about econ PhDs. It is a very good idea. I am interested in private sector, mostly financial stuff. WVU has financial econ program embedded in PhD, but they don't have placements in private sector. They told me that they do place well their students. One of their students got a job at Florida State University. Funding at Rolla depends on a speaking test and a workshop in which I will teach Calculus or something like that. However, funding at WVU is guaranteed.

Hello TMers: Thankfully I got two assistantship I was hoping to get. Here is the deal: West Virginia University: Economics PhD/Graduate Assistantship paying $12,000/Health Insurance Missouri University Science and Technology: Applied Math Master/Graduate Assistantship paying $18,500/Exemption from non-residential fees (Considering re-appyling to econ phds after getting the master) Since I have to make my decision by May 1 st, I will really appreciate your comments. I have just visited West Virginia. They took a good care of me and paid for my flight and hotel. They also talked to me about my application. As far I understood, my low AWA (3.5) was a big hole in my application. I did not care about AWA when I took the GRE, but here is a painful experience that may explain what I got rejected by all the schools I applied. Even though I was exempt from sending my TOEFL score, they told me that it would fasten the process if they had it. Best Regards Econominee

Institution: Missouri University Science and Technology Program: Master of Applied Mathematics Decision: Accepted Funding: Graduate Assistantship 1,850$ a month Notification date: April 23 Notified through: E-mail Comments: I have a place to go! I am so happy.....

Do they want to show that you have like $300,000 on your bank account?

I won't move anywhere If I don't have a better offer, but then it would be hard to continue Phd at the old program since I have signaled that I wanna leave. Maybe I should accept the offer and try to find the ways of enjoying the program. Sorry for keeping the forum busy with the same question over and over. I just wanna relax after a yearlong exhaustion...

Hey Celtic-tiger-econ, I have just PMed you :)

Thanks for the response, BenedictProsper. I thought it would be easier to get these letters given that I perform well in prelims. One of my profs at my undergrad institution has connections with some top20 schools. Can I still ask him to write me a letter of recommendation even after I get my master at a different institution?