Bigdan1010

I hope the sunk cost fallacy still holds when the subject, me, is aware of it! Another reason I want to go to LSE is it is on Europe’s doorstep. Once I do get into the program, I should have some time to enjoy all that Europe and London have to offer.

I wont be able to change your mind if you got into Berkeley, I would be going there if I was in your situation. I, on the other hand, dont have an offer from a top ten school besides LSE, so this is my only chance at getting into a premier PhD program. There is a considerable risk, but I figure, I would be working really hard int he US on more difficult material to pass my core exams anyway.

I am paying out of my own pocket but keeping my eyes open to any funding possibilities. If anyone knows any funding oportunities for an American btw, please post them! What about you?

Thanks for the advice! It is strange that the LSE website only mentions you need to achieve distinction and doesn't actually mention the requirements! I appreciate the confidence you have me as an admitted applicant, but the problem is, to achieve distinction you need to be far above average amongst a pool of other admitted applicants. @MJ7, I didn't get funding from LSE. Also, do you know if your thesis is based on the forth elective class you take? Do you know the guidelines? Thanks for the feedback!

I am going into the LSE MSc Econ Research program with the goal of getting into the LSE PhD program. To get into the program, I must achieve a distinction when I finish the MSc. If I don’t get the distinction, I don’t get to stay at LSE, so there is a lot of pressure to perform! That is why I am wondering if there is anything I can do now to prepare for the program. I want to be able to successfully absorb the material presented in the MSc and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. I have picked up Mathematics for Economists hoping that getting familiar with the math behind the models I will be studying will prepare me for the economics courses I will be taking during the school year. I am also thinking of looking through the textbooks LSE recommended me in my acceptance letter. Has anyone taken the MSc Econ program at LSE? Can they suggest a good plan to prepare for the year? Hopefully if I prepare well, I can have a very rewarding learning experience and have some free time to enjoy London and all the countries at England’s doorstep! This post can also me a reference for anyone trying to prepare for their first year of grad schoolJ

This site is VERY helpful when it come to getting into a PhD program, but when it comes to discussing ideas and looking for jobs after PhD, this site comes up a bit short. I guess I am looking for a site like this, but for people on the next level, ie when you ARE a PhD student.

Does anyone know of any alternative to econjobrumors.com that has graduate student/professor posters? The anonymous nature of that that site brings out the worst in people.

Golden Rule, how do you find the students who have placed into top 10 programs each year? On another note, does anyone know of any forums, besides this one, that discuss current economic research or just economics in general? Maybe a forum that has a demographic make up consisting of economic professionals (Professors, researchers, etc).

I guess I was unclear about what I meat by the state of economics. I was just talking about getting a feel what what was going on in all areas of our very broad field. I think podcasts and blogs are a good way of finding out what is going on and can act as a guide to point you to papers if you would like something more rigorous.

I am curious how people on this forum keep up with the current state of economics? I assume the older generation of economists read journals to stay up to date, but now there are so many alternative avenues available to follow current research. I follow blogs and listen to podcasts (Econ Talk and LSE Public Lectures). What do you do? Do you have any favorite blogs or podcasts? Maybe even twitter? Perhaps an online forum discussing economics?

I am wondering how the difficulty of passing core exams at a US PhD program would compare to graduating from LSE Msc program with distinction. It seems like, if you are taking the Msc research route to at PhD at LSE, graduating with distinction is basically the equivalent to passing your cores. I know less people get distinction, but maybe that is because not all the Msc students are trying to pass onto the PhD program so they do not try as hard for distinction? This is just speculation.:D

Has anyone been in the program? How many students are trying to get into the PhD program from the MSc program?

I got lucky and was accepted into the LSE Msc Econ (Research) program. On their website it says an acceptance into this program is basically an acceptance into the PhD program conditional on graduating with distinction. My goal is to get a PhD, and I would love to get it from LSE, but I am not sure how hard it is to graduate with distinction. To make matters more complicated, I have been accepted into some PhD programs (Funding from USC) and I do not have funding from LSE. My goal is to get a research position at a university in North America after I am done with my PhD. So I am left with a few questions: 1) How hard is it to graduate with distinction from the Msc Research program? 2) If to do make it into the PhD program, will it be funded? 3) How does a LSE PhD compare to a PhD from a US University in the North American Job Market? Any advice would be appreciated!