geesingsn

Hello everyone, Just a brief question: I'm studying Economics and Econometrics in the Netherlands right now, and am hoping to apply to a research master in the UK upon graduation. The only problem is that my university does not offer pure Micro and Macroeconomic theory courses, but offers courses such as Competition Policy and International Economics instead. I was therefore hoping that I could take a good high-level Micro and Macro course that could bridge to a research master within a Summer School Program. It is however difficult to find accurate reviews of different Summer School programs, at my uni LSE is extremely popular since many of our graduates start their Master's at LSE right afterwards. Do you guys have any good suggestions for Summer Schools in Europe/the UK/the US for these specific courses? Much appreciated!

Hey everyone, I am currently in my last year of my Bsc Economics & Business Economics + Premaster Econometrics at the EUR and want to pursue a PhD/Mphil afterwards. Currently my GPA is 9.1/10, which is supposedly considered quite high (especially within my major specialization). I have completed a highly selective honours programme (exclusive to top 25 students university wide) and have letters of recommendation from both the Rector Magnificus of the University as well as a LOR from Franses, the dean of the econ department/school. Furthermore I have two LORs from some of the top Micro prof's at the Econ department, for whom I was both a TA and RA during my 2nd and 3rd bachelor year. GRE is pending, but I hope the package will suffice. Now I am seriously considering applying to TI or LSE/Oxford for my Mphil Mres, and since this has to happen within a month or so I have a few questions. First of all, are there any former EUR students at Tinbergen and if yes how are they coping with the coursework (for as far as you know of course). And is there perhaps an advantage to having been a student at one of the TI universities? Another questions concerns my interests. Currently my interests lie in micro theory and microeconometrics (I have taken a graduate level course in this at the EUR). Is TI a good place to study given these interests? Thanks in advance!

Thanks for your response! I don't know if you have any experience with the text my uni is using but do you think Varian's textbook is suitable for selfstudy? I've taken a look at Cowell's Principles and Analysis and I find it quite challenging to do on my own. With a bit of luck I will be doing LSE's summer programme in advanced macro and micro next summer and they use Snyder, Christopher and Walter Nicholson. Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions. Was that the other text you were referring to?

Hey everyone, I am currently studying Economics & Business Economics at Erasmus University. Due to the fixed that it is also a business economics programme so relatively low on math I am also taking courses in math, statistics and econometrics from EUR's econometrics programme. Now, I always thought Erasmus had a great reputation when it comes to undergraduate economics education and that was the primary reason I applied here (as a Dutch person it is either Erasmus or Tilburg and for many reasons Tilburg was no true possibility). My dream is to continue with my Mphil in Economics at Oxford, since I believe it fits in with my current studies (Oxford undergrads also study E&M, economics and management). So the big question is: given that I have taken courses in advanced math (calculus and analysis, algebra) and statistics and econometrics alongside a wide array of economics courses (intro/intermediate micro & macro, behavioural, development, international etc etc) do I stand a chance at getting into this programme? I find it hard to get an honest opinion on this so if you could give me some of your thoughts it would be much appreciated.

Hello everyone, I am about to start my Bsc Economics at Erasmus University (one of the Tinbergen uni's) and have some questions. At my university, the standard economics programme only contains one pure micro course which is both introductory and intermediate economics rolled into one package. For this course we use Robert Frank's Microeconomics & Behavior. I however heard that this text lacks the math of most other texts. I am personally hoping to apply for the Oxford Mphil after finishing my Bsc and am therefore taking extra courses in advanced mathematics, statistics and econometrics (about 1/3 of the courses in the Econometrics & Math Bsc) and I had hoped my microeconomics course would fit into this, which it doesn't seem to do. Majoring in micro is also possible within the programme but once again this does not involve advanced pure micro courses but more applied courses (game theory, economics of competition). I was therefore wondering if Frank's text alone is sufficient for a good mphil/msc in the UK or whether I need to do some selfstudy with a more advanced text. My professor has lent me his copy of Microeconomics Principles and Analysis by Frank Cowell. Is this text appropriate or should I look for a different text? Thanks!

Hey everyone, I am currently studying Economics (officially BSc Economics and Mathematical and Business Economics) at the Erasmus School of Economics (the primary Tinbergen university). I am hoping to apply to a Mphil at Oxbridge or an Msc at a good UK uni (LSE, Warwick etc) afterwards. Of course getting accepted is challenging in its own right, but I have heard that quite often problems also arise after getting accepted due to a discrepancy in the approach/level of courses taught at different universities. I was therefore wondering if my current profile is sufficient. Since the courses at my uni are named quite ambigiously I will post the literature used in the courses as reference for the level. Here is the list: Courses + used texts Economics: > Microeconomics: Robert H. Frank, Microeconomics and Behavior (extra mathematical material provided) > Macroeconomics: Burda, M., and C. Wyplosz, Macroeconomics: a European text (extra mathematical material provided) > International Economics: Krugman, P., Obstfeld, M. (2008): International Economics: Theory and Policy > Economics of Ageing: Selected material from books, articles, and reports > Applied Microeconomics: Harvey S. Rosen, Public Finance - Edward P. Lazear en Michael Gibbs, Personnel Economics in Practice > Behavioral Economics: Wilkinson, Nick, "An Introduction to Behavioral Economics," Business Economics > Finance: Berk,J. en/and P.DeMarzo, Corporate Finance > Financial Information Systems: n/a > Intro Accounting/Accounting: Hilton, Maher en Selto, Cost Management - Stolowy & Lebas, Financial Accounting & Reporting - Alexander, Britton and jorisson, International Financial Reporting & Analysis > Quant. Marketing: Kotler and Keller: Marketing Management (extra mathematical material provided) > Organisation and Strategy: Besanko, D. et al. Economics of Strategy Mathematics: > Quant. Methods Mathematics 1: Kenneth Binmore, Calculus: Concepts and Methods, Knut Sydsaeter, Peter Hammond, Essential Mathematics for Economics Analysis > Quant. Methods Mathematics 2: Kenneth Binmore, Calculus: Concepts and Methods, Knut Sydsaeter, Peter Hammond, Essential Mathematics for Economics Analysis > Algebra 1*: David Poole, Linear Algebra: A Modern Introduction > Algebra 2*: David Poole, Linear Algebra: A Modern Introduction > Analysis 1*: James Stewart, Calculus: Concepts and contexts - Additional material on mathematical proofs > Analysis 2*: James Stewart, Calculus: Concepts and contexts - Additional material on mathematcial proofs Econometrics/Statistics > Intro Econometrics + Methods and Techniques: E. Babbie, The Practice of Social Research - Field, A., Discovering Statistics Using SPSS - R.C. Hill, W.E. Griffiths, G.C. Lim, Principles of Econometrics - R.S. Pindyck and D.L. Rubinfeld: Econometric Models and Economic Forecasts > Econometrics 1*: C. Heij, P.M.C. de Boer, P.H. Franses, T. Kloek, H.K. van Dijk, Econometric Methods with Applications in Business and Economics > Econometrics 2*: C. Heij, P.M.C. de Boer, P.H. Franses, T. Kloek, H.K. van Dijk, Econometric Methods with Applications in Business and Economics > Applied Statistics 1: Moore, D.S., McCabe, G.P., W.M. Duckworth and L.C. Alwan; The practice of Business Statistics, Using Data for Decisions > Applied Statistics 2: Moore, D.S., McCabe, G.P., W.M. Duckworth and L.C. Alwan; The practice of Business Statistics, Using Data for Decisions > Mathematical Statistics*: Wackerly, Bain, Engelhardt et al, Mathematical Statistics and Probability > Probability Theory*: Wackerly, Bain, Engelhardt et al, Mathematical Statistics and Probability Support courses: > ICT: n/a > History of Economic Thought: Stanley L. Brue and Randy R. Grant, The History of Economic Thought > Philosophy of Economics: Selected material from books, articles, and reports > Research Project: n/a > Bachelor Thesis: n/a > ESE Honors Class: Selected material from books, articles, and reports The courses marked with a * are my personal electives, I am specializing in Economics/Mathematical Economics so therefore most of my electives are actually from the econometrics programme. Personally, I believe the major weakness lies in the courses macro/microeconomics. I have spoken to some of my professors and they admitted that even though the texts do cover advanced topics in both areas they are lacking in mathematical proofs (which are still insufficient even after the additional mathematics given in class). One of my professor lent me a copy of Cowell's Microeconomics: Principles and Analysis. Would this be a good book to follow up with? And what would you recommend for Macro? Also, are there any other suggestions for self study/course choice? Thanks!

Hi everyone! I am a Dutch student who is currently doing two BSc programme, one in International Business Administration and one in International Economics and Business economics at the Rotterdam School of Management/Erasmus (the "International" part just signifies it as an English taught course, nothing more). I am hoping to pursue a MSc in Economics at a good UK university, but I have heard the quantitative requirements are quite a bit stricter there than over here. Currently my math courses are (official names + contents) >Mathematics one: Calculus & Differential Equitions >Mathematics two: Advanced Calculus/Linear Algebra >Quantitative Decision Making: Advanced Linear Algebra >Statistics: General statistics >Statisitics two: Probability theory, advanced stats >Applied statistics: Basically introductory econometrics. Now, I have a last year of my bachelor in which I have a lot of free space for electives, and I was thinking of choosing: analysis I & II, and (more advanced) econometrics. The rest of my elective space I was planning on filling up with more advanced micro/macro and game theory. I was wondering, do you guys have any suggestions for possible other electives that might be useful in my academic endeavours? Cheers >

They sure are, here in Europe the big 4 (KPMG, Deloitte, PWC and Ernst & Young) are already recruiting freshman business and economics students, and I am sure that with your background and some extra training this is also the case in the US. And I must say, they certainly offer great salaries, perhaps only topped by the bulge brackets or several consulting agencies. Anyway, accounting is a bit tedious to begin with, especially when it comes to learning all the basic of accounting e.g. setting up a balance sheet, income statement, cash flow etc and all the computations that go along with it. A accounting major at my uni (top 20 business worldwide) actually told me that after this stage, things turn from simple accounting to auditing. This involves checking and approving the financial statements of a company. Since many of the companies are too large to just completely check and recalculate all their financial statements from scratch, advanced statistical techniques are used and developed to be able to check these statements based on a very small sample of the companies actual financial resources. The most interesting thing about it is that these techniques are often completely tailor-made for the specific case, which means that one will not be just using the same technique over and over again. All in all, accounting is one of those fields that many people deem completely uninteresting, but once you get past the basics it really becomes very interesting, also from a mathematical standpoint.

Hey Curlygal, as I promised my contribution to what hopefully will be the solution of your problem. As you stated yourself, Statistics requires a special breed of people and you are probably not one of this breed, since you seem to hate your major, which most likely is also an explanation why your GPA is not what you would want it to be. Therefore I think choosing another field of study to specialize in is probably a good idea. The bright side of the story is however, that as a Stats-major you already posses considerable Math skills which should significantly shorten the time it would take you to major in a different field with better job prospects. As a econ/stats/math (European system, we don't have majors so everything kinda falls in between) major myself, I would recommend you to take a look at either Econometrics or Accounting, since these areas are quite heavy in the application of statistical techniques (which I reckon is more interesting than the techniques themselves). I think however that it depends on what you want to do. Like I said, despite your GPA you did manage to graduate in Statistics and are probably good at math, or may even like it. Considering this, there are numerous areas you could specialize in, and you will probably be able to get exemption for many math related courses. So, take a look at what is on offer and choose what you would like to do, also as a future career, and yoiu should be just fine.

Of course! Sorry for the late reply!

Hey everyone, I am currently in my BSc in International Business, a prestigious undergraduate business degree at the Rotterdam School of Management. I am however, not satisfied with my program, too professional and not very academic, so I've taken courses in Math and Economics on the side. My current average is 9/10 (with 8.5 being considered a 4.0 GPA according to the Dutch system). Still, I am looking for something else, and was thinking of applying as a freshman at either a good economics school in the UK (UCL, LSE, Warwick, Oxbridge) or a good university in the US (Harvard, Columbia etc) as a freshman. Do you think this is 1) feasible, 2) wise and furthermore, should I wait until I get my BSc or just apply after my second year (the program is 3 years like most european ones), since I changed my mind just after the 2011 application deadline. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I feel like this decision will be extremely important to my future Thanks

Hmm, I should give that a thought. You know, the thing is, I'd rather built up a decent economics & math profile and get accepted into a program rather than having to settle with something mediocre (speaking economically of course, my future in business is quite safe with this degree). At the same time, I will be 20 by the time I finish my BSc, so it really couldn't hurt age-wise.

Hey everyone, I was just wondering: would you guys recommend me doing a second bachelor's degree? Right now I am about to finish my BSc International Business Administration, with extra courses in econ and math, but I have decided I would like to continue my studies in economics. Since my current coursework will not live up to my ambitions (good economics Phd in US), do you guys think I would have a shot at getting accepted at a good US school for doing a second Bachelors in Econ (or maybe a double major with Math)? Thanks

Thank you joenobdy0, That profile is indeed quite impressive, I think I will not be able to top that. I am from a European university, which makes matters a little different as far as GPA's and majors are concerned so its hard to compare, but especially my math coursework is going to let me down. As a BSc graduate here at RSM with some great MSc in Finance and Financial Economics under my belt it was easy for me to get accepted into Tinbergen/ERIM, but I think it might be better to apply for a different Phd at Harvard, for which I actually stand a chance with my current profile.

Indeed, it seems this degree is much more "economics" than "business", even though the HBS website does not necessarily profile it as such. I was just wondering though, I am a prospective Phd student in either business (finance) or economics (micro/financial). I have an offer by both from ERIM/Tinbergen but I was thinking about taking it higher up, and the Harvard BE Phd seemed like a good hybrid. Might be a good idea to take some extra math courses, though I've pretty much covered most of what you said above, maybe my real analysis could use some work...