EconOldGuy

Congrats on the decision valelee! I also accepted the NCSU offer yesterday...very difficult to turn down Cornell AEM but it was the best choice for me and my family. Best of luck to those still waiting/deciding...

Hi all - It seems the NC State debate continues. I have narrowed my choices down to 2 after getting off the Cornell AEM waitlist list morning with a TA offer. Here is my dilemma, broken down as best as I can. My interests lie in environmental econ. and I would like to focus on climate change, energy, and land use. There academic placements seem similar but I would have to imagine private sector options would be better with Cornell. Any thoughts? Another factor is job placement for my gf would be better in Raleigh, but she is on board either way. Leaning toward NCSU but it is way harder than I thought to turn down an opportunity to get a PhD at an Ivy. Decisions need to be made and I am asking you guys for one last round of banter/info. I visited both and will be happy at either -- just can't decipher which would be best for my career. Thanks so much. Cornell AEM vs. NCSU Econ Applied Econ PhD vs. Econ PhD Bento, Schultze, Poe vs. Taylor, Van Haefen (w/ access to Timmins and others @ Duke) Ivy League vs. Triangle TA ($26,236/12 mos) vs. TA/Fellowship ($20,000/9 mos but essentially 12 mos since summer $ is scarce) Ithaca (snowy winters) vs. Raleigh (hot, humid summers)

Thanks ARE - yeah, unfortunately $$ will be an important factor in the decision and as of right now if would have to be NC State for that reason only. I met with Laura Taylor and was impressed with her and she did mention plans to replace Phanuef in the very near future. I also visited Cornell and was impressed with the faculty but the placements are a concern. They have had some real good ones recently but that is more due to Chris Barrett on the development side or Wanisink on the food side. My current MS advisor is writing a book with Wu from OSU and thinks it would be a great fit for me but I have no frame of reference since I have never been to Corvallis. I thought I would have more options at this point in the game but it looks like it was a rough year for admissions/funding across the board

Thanks for the feedback nat_resource- I guess I was one of the lucky few to get funding at NC State this time around. The access to Duke and people like Chris Timmins is a definitely a plus. Still waiting on Bento to see if he will hire my onto his research team, otherwise I am still on the wait list for department TA $$. They are bringing on 2 more Env. Economists to AEM next year, according to Bento.

Hi all - Just found this site a few days ago. Congrats to all the great admits I've seen. I would be interested to see how the group here would relatively rate the following three programs in terms of environmental econ: NCSU Econ (w. Taylor, Von Haefen) vs. Cornell AEM (w. Bento, Poe, Conrad) vs. Oregon State AE (w. Wu, Plantinga, Jaeger)? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

In response to Baj393 -- I received a funding offer from NCSU on Monday and still haven't heard from ASU.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top 75 U.S. Public Undergrad GPA: 3.68 Type of Grad: Top 50 U.S. Public Grad GPA: 3.9 GRE: 780(Q)/610(V)/4.5(AW) Math Courses: Calculus I-II Econ Courses: Undergrad -- Micro (2), Macro (1), Environmental (2), Development(1) Grad -- Micro, Macro, Metrics, Game Theory, Environmental, Int'l Trade Other Courses: SAS, Logistic Regression Letters of Recommendation: 2 solid Env. Economists and 1 Trade Prof. Research Experience: 2 years RA, 3 co-authored papers to be submitted soon Teaching Experience: 1 semester undergrad Env. Econ. Solid review from students Research Interests: Environmental: land use policies, climate, energy SOP: Laid out future research/career plans, summarized research experience Other: 6 yrs work experience btw undergrad and grad. RESULTS: Acceptances: NC State Econ ($$), Oregon St. Applied Econ ($ pending), Colorado Econ (No $) Waitlists: Cornell AEM ($$ and acceptance could happen this week) Rejections: Harvard, Duke, UC Santa Barbara, Arizona State(implicit), Berkeley ARE Pending: None What would you have done differently? Since my MS is in applied econ, maybe work my comparative advantage by applying to more applied programs. Take more MATH period -- don't even bother applying top 20 Econ with as little math as I have. Overall, first funding came today so very relieved. Good Luck to all.