amivita

Any more comments, evaluations, any kind of input? Thank you!

Thanks anyway, ggoofer. It doesn't seem anyone with similar background has applied.. I will try to seek advice from profs. Congrats on Northwestern btw. :)

But I'm already doing my master in the US now, although it's not a econ master.. I have been taking maths and econ courses here for one year, and have one more year to go. Doesn't the US count as a western country?? And consider the cost of doing another master in Europe or Canada, I don't now if I could afford that.

Thank you for the comment! I am considering doing an independent study course with an urban economist in the planning department. She got her PhD from Penn econ. Otherwise, I am not sure how to get a research opportunity from any economist here. Plus non of the econ profs are doing urban/transportation stuff. So would an independent study course work?

Emm... When I considered applying to econ phd, I realized my background is too messy. I have no idea programs of what level could I possibly end up. Please just be frank. I appreciate your input :) PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top university in Asia major in Economics and Finance, study abroad at Ohio State for two quarters Undergrad GPA: second up honor, around 3.2; GPA=4.0 at Ohio State Type of Grad: Top3 Master program in urban planning, one of the Ivy. will graduate in 2012. Grad GPA: 3.88 GRE: ​800Q 730V 3.5AW (AW too low?) Math Courses: Calculus I & II (C-, C-), Multivariable Calculus (B), Intro Business Statistics (C+) - taken in undergrad Statistics for Social Science II (A+), Intro Real Analysis (A), Linear Algebra next semester - taken in grad school Econ Courses: Intro/Intermediate Micro (B, B+), Intro/Intermediate Macro (A-, A-), Econ of Human Behavior (A), Development Econ (B), Labor Econ (B+) - taken in undergrad Intro Econometrics (A), Money and Banking (A) - taken in OSU PhD metrics from applied econ department (A), Discrete Choice Modeling (B+, offered in civil engineering department), Regional Impact Analysis (A) - taken in grad school Other Courses: Quant Methods for Policy Analysis (A+), Geographic Information System (A-), Intro/Intermediate Corporate Finance (A, A), Investment Portfolio Mgmt (A-), Financial Derivatives (A), Letters of Recommendation: prof of phd metrics (Berkeley PhD) is probably the only economist I could get a LOR from-he's not famous, but I think the letter could be pretty strong; other letters would be from quantitative-intensive social scientists, and one engineer at best; possibly an economist from Europe. Research Experience: no publication yet. I'm working on a project with two profs, a planner and an economist from U Barcelona (UB PhD). By the time of application, the paper could be under review or maybe accepted by an urban journal. Teaching Experience: TA-ed intro statistics, and will TA a course in regional impact analysis (input-output model, computable general equilibrium, agent-based model, etc.) Research Interests: urban economics, transportation economics SOP: I don't know yet.. Other: Won a student paper competition award. The paper is about high-speed rail planning. And I'm applying for a grad student grant offered by a unit under transportation research board. My adviser is quite optimistic about me getting it. Concern: Almost everything, maths, GRE AW, LORs, and research experience. Although I have serious passion about urban and transportation economics, I'm not sure if the ad-coms would even care about the research I have done because they're probably not 'econ' enough. What should I do in the coming semester? Should I take PhD micro so as to signal the ad-coms? What about doing an independent study with an econ professor and impress him/her so as to get a LOR? Or should I wait for one more year so that I can take more maths and econ courses in the next spring? I appreciate your advice!! Applying to: Brown, UC Irvine, Syracuse, Berkeley Public Policy/Planning, Rand (any suggestion about school/program that is strong in urban and transportation econ?)

I borrowed the template they use in econ phd forum, with some changes. Type of Undergrad: Top university in Asia (Ranked 1-5 in Asia recent years) major in Economics and Finance Undergrad GPA: 3.2 (did bad in most maths/stats courses) Type of Grad: Master of Urban Planning from an Ivy Grad GPA: 3.9 (made up for the maths/stats)GRE:800Q 730V 3.5AW Math Courses: Calculus Sequence (C-,C-,B), Intro Business Statistics (C+); Statistics for Social Science II (A+), Intro Real Analysis (A) - the last two taken from grad school Econ/Policy Analysis Courses: Intro/Intermediate Micro (B, B+), Intro/Intermediate Macro (A-, A-), Intro Econometrics (A), Economics of Human Behavior (A), Money and Banking (A), Labor Economics (B+), Development Economics (B) - taken from undergrad; PhD Econometrics (A), Quantitative Methods for Policy Analysis (A+), Regional Impact Analysis (A), Microeconomics and Discrete Choice Modeling (B+) - taken from grad school Other Courses: Intro/Intermediate Corporate Finance (A, A), Investment Portfolio Mgmt (A-), Financial Derivatives (A), International Relations (B), Critical Urban Studies (A), Geographic Information System (A-), Intro to Planning (B+) Letters of Recommendation: potential writers are mostly planning professors, one applied econ prof Research Experience: one paper got a student paper competition award Teaching Experience: TA for an intro stats course Research Interests: urban policy (transportation, housing, real estate) Schools Applying To: Still doing research on this. So far I found interesting faculty in Berkeley, Syracuse, USC. Please suggest more that have a strong urban policy focus

Thank you all above! I guess I will need to build up relation with the profs in econ/maths then..

I wonder if LOR from non-economists actually add any value to one's application. For my case, I'm a grad student in urban planning, but will be applying to a few econ PhD programs this year. I anticipate that most of my potential LOR writers are not economists, except for one Ag-econ prof who taught me econometrics. Other potential LOR writers are mostly social scientists (and one engineer) without any publication in those prestigious econ journals. So.. my question is would econ phd ad-com even care about these LORs? Should I get very good LORs from non-economists or so-so LORs from economists/mathematicians/statisticians?

Thank you! this sounds a solid plan :)

Honestly I don't know which case it is, since I had no chance to compare it with another metrics course. I guess I'd better take LA next semester so I could be more comfortable doing the maths and reading the proofs.

We used Greene's textbook, but the instructor did not go into all the details/maths. By the end of semester, we covered up to Ch17 Maximum Likelihood Estimation. But did not cover panel data though. I learned some basic linear algebra by myself before I took the course. And I spent extra time studying maths so as to catch up with the course. It's been a very challenging semester for me.. To some extend, I guess, it shows I can handle the course even without enough maths background. I wish I had enough time to take more maths though.

I am applying this fall, but I still have very limited maths up to now. The good news is I just got two A's, one in PhD econometrics (offered by ag econ department), the other in undergrad-level intro RA. The bad news is I haven't taken linear algebra, probability, PDE, etc. All I have are Cal I & II, Multivariable Cal - with B to C grades, but they were taken 4 to 5 years ago. Given my situation, what should I make up first in the coming fall semester? Linear algebra or probability? Does engineering maths count, e.g. LA for engineers or probability/stats offered by OR/civil department??

Why is that? What does economics borrow from? I like sea cucumbers by the way, LOL...

I am new to Habermas and other continental philosophers, so I can't offer any meaningful comments on their thoughts. But I agree with you that anyone who lacks thorough understanding of a discipline (not necessarily a groundbreaking theorist, but at least an adept practitioner in that field) is not capable of offering valid critiques on that discipline. I guess McCloskey, being a well-trained economist, should have something insightful to say about the field.

Thank you OneArmedEcon! I googled McCloskey, and indeed she is someone I'm interested in. I am very surprised how segregated economics is from other social sciences. Do mainstream economists usually introduce thoughts from other social sciences and philosophy? It seems to me econ is more like engineering.