Jump to content
Urch Forums

economics

2nd Level
  • Posts

    892
  • Joined

  • Days Won

    4

economics last won the day on February 27 2013

economics had the most liked content!

Converted

  • My Tests
    No

economics's Achievements

Newbie

Newbie (1/14)

33

Reputation

  1. definitely, in the same way that the nobel prize goes to significantly smarter people, or that saez, athey, krugman, summers share more than a medal (but also smartness). i'd say that economics is one of the most accurate discipline in matching smart people with highly ranked programs, along with math, physics, CS, stats.
  2. i think the sacrifices are proportional to your program. since programs and quality of student varies, however, even lower/medium-tier programs may turn out to be hard work for their students, so keep that in mind (estimate your own capabilities with the rigor of your program. if you're a genius in a top50 program, you'll have a good time, but i am not sure whether a top50 program is easier for top50 students than a top10 for top10 students?. any thoughts on that?
  3. this title offended me at first glance. however, then i realized that the discipline is named after me and realized my mistake.
  4. i'd think that mid-ranked programs should be more lenient towards your math background, and inclined to believe that you will have caught up by the time you enter the program. don't forget that there's also a math camp before the program starts, and most phd-level math is nothing but calculus. you'll need some linear algebra for metrics, but that's about it, and adcom members are aware of that... i wouldn't stress out too much and send your apps this year! ask your profs, too.
  5. if your LORs are research potential are sufficiently convincing, you could be fine. chicago econ, considered by many to be a top10 program, reads the following: "At the PhD level, the study of economics requires an absolute minimum of one year of college calculus and a quarter (or semester) each of both matrix algebra and mathematical statistics (that is, statistics using calculus, as distinct from introductory statistics for social science). Prospective students who lack this preparation and have remaining free time in their undergraduate schedules are urged to take these courses before beginning graduate study." University of Chicago: Department of Economics however, the top5 may be trickier. but the rule is that math can be learned, and programs admit on the basis of research potential. if they want you, they want you, and anyone will be able to catch up with lin alg, real analysis and probability on their own. how are you LORs?
  6. this doesn't answer the question. of course, the admissions process ends up being subjective, but scores are the most objective criterion the adcom members have. furthermore, i was just annoyed that you, as i quoted above, blatantly removed the crucial part of the quote that contradicted your point. that's just bad form in academia, so my inner academic needed to rectify this... also, you were not at all saying that "a bad AWA will obviously look bad", but quite the opposite; you implied that like the verbal score, AWA is irrelevant by cutting off the quote. sorry, i'm a quotation nazi. and yes, you won't be admitted with a 3 AWA unless you're amazing in all other fields - you do need something to make up for it. so it IS i a deal breaker for the average applicant. antonio clearly compensated on other dimensions?
  7. ok, for transparency and accuracy let's quote the ENTIRE thing: " GRE Verbal is a waste of time, unless you’re an international applicant; in that case, you have to take the TOEFL, which will count more in the admissions decision. AWA is also largely ignored, but rumor has it that the UC-system requires a minimum score (5.0+ maybe?). I don’t know if this is true, but there certainly seem to be some counter-examples out there; if in doubt, I suggest you email the department of the graduate office of the university" it DOES sound as if your source says that AWA IS IMPORTANT and can make or break your admission into berkeley. at other places, the guy suggests to ask on a case-by-case basis, which implies that quite some places do care about AWA. your quote is a misrepresentation - you just leave out the important points that contradict your opinion... this is exactly what AWA reflect (criticial thinking).
  8. susan athey: Advice for Applying to Grad School in Economics " GRE Scores Though the test is not necessarily a good predictor of success, it matters a lot (especially the quantitative portion). Studying for the GRE dramatically increases your scores so you should definitely practice."note that she says that the WHOLE GRE MATTERS, while the quant part is "especially" important. she doesn't at all say the rest is irrelevant.
  9. remember that you are trying to apply for a phd position. they expect english to not be an obstacle for you. international or not, you need to be able to use english fluently and to express yourself in a logical fashion. a low AWA score suggests that you can't, and this is relevant to your admission. economics isn't math, and 95% of the content in papers is communicated in english, not in math.
  10. i think that's true for stanford (and chicago), but not for wharton/penn, or any other program. while a stern dba/phd is great, having an nyu phd may still be better?
  11. PS: " The econ class will have kids who don't know what the chain rule is, so it will be easier to stand out." may answer your question - if that's the case, then the econ class is clearly worthless in terms of signaling. that being said, you may become a better economist by taking more econ, obv.
  12. GENERAL RULE on the trade-off between math and grad econ: the crappier your university, the less the adcom trusts your econ grades. while econ classes vary a lot by university (quality of instruction, rigor, material covered, competition against classmates, who may be geniuses or idiots), math classes are rigorous anywhere. therefore, if your UG institution is not top40 in econ, take the math class! it will have higher signaling value. (that being said, the question is: do you NEED signaling? the answer to the first question answers the second one.)
  13. your profile looks definitely like a top20 one, don't worry. whether you can shoot for the top10 or even top5 is the question, and what your profs think about you will be key. they will tell you, ask them. if they think you are a top5 person, you will get in. if that's true, ie if they are actually "well known", ask them what schools are a realistic fit (top20 vs top 10 etc), and they will make sure you get in via their contacts and LoR. good luck, and don't worry!
  14. sorry, ML, if my tone could have been interpreted in a sarcastic way. i meant to say this: if you are international, many things make adcom members be wary (unknown university, unknown meaning of formal grades, your capabilities as a critical thinker rather than a number geek, etc). in that way, i think a low AWA can indeed be a weakness. of course, in the ideal world, you could check with this years' adcom members and ask them what exactly needs improvement. since we can't, i can only speculate! a low AWA may suggest you are "only" good at math, but not good as a critical thinker. obviously, most of this is due to the language barrier, but often adcom members can't give you the benefit of doubt but are looking for reasons to reduce the pile of applications. a low AWA could be one factor.
×
×
  • Create New...