Rehan

I'm going to Michigan. :)

The newest placements are here (2003-2010): http://economics.uwo.ca/grad/PHD%20PLACEMENT%20TABLE%202003_2010.pdf

Type of Undergrad: BS Mathematics, top Asian university Undergrad GPA: 4.0/5 Type of Grad: MA Economics, European university. Not well-known. Grad GPA: 3.65/4 GRE: 800Q, 640V, 4.5 AWA Math Courses (UG): Real Analysis (B+), Complex Variables (A-), Operations Research (A-), Game Theory (A), tons of others not relevant to Econ (Grad): Statistics, Real Analysis, Optimization (A/A+), Econometrics (C+) Econ Courses (Grad): usual 1st year Macro, Micro (all A/A+ except for first-sem Macro, got C+.) LORs: 2 Math, 2 Econ/Finance. None particularly well known. Teaching Experience: None. Research Experience: wrote undergrad independent research paper and honors thesis, both in abstract algebra. Now working on MA thesis, which is really more math than it is econ. Research Interests: Public econ, game theory, micro theory. But still learning, so everything but Metrics (hate it!) is fair game. SOP: Not strong content-wise, but I like the way I write :). Concerns: bad grades in certain subjects, LOR writers don’t know me well. RESULTS: Accepted: Michigan($), UWO($, declined), UAB($$, declined). Waitlists: None Rejected: Maryland, UIUC. What would you have done differently? I definitely should have applied to more places. Applying to just 5 was a big risk, and an unnecessary one in retrospect. I also really should have thought more about where I was applying. At the time I my only considerations were: schools that had late deadlines, accepted GRE >2yrs, and was willing to waive my TOEFL (I’m not from a country where TOEFL is normally waived). I ended up with a very short list of schools. Also did not take into consideration the strengths of the universities, so my LOR writers all think that I applied to random places. (One told me bluntly that it was obvious from where I was applying that I had no idea what I wanted to do, and recommended that I take a year off to think about it instead of accepting any offers.) Overall, I’m pretty happy with what I got. Now choosing between going to Michigan or staying back a year to soul-search.

I don't know if you're still considering it, but I just declined UWO today. Good luck!

Math camp starts on Aug 15, with more information coming "sometime in June". dreck wrote about last year's here: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/128225-how-your-fall-semester-2.html#post833674

Thanks, dreck, chisquared. If I end up going to Michigan, I won't be able to visit until the beginning of Math Camp. Will I still be able to find decent housing by then, or should I just go with Craigslist and/or university housing? Where do most students from the econ department end up staying? (Like, is there a part of town with a particularly large concentration of econ PhD students?)

Well, just if they plan to hire more micro people in future years. If you could share your impressions of the general feel of the program as well as the approachability of professors/higher-year students, that would be great. BTW, dreck, how much does it cost to live in Ann Arbor for a year? Say, apartment within walking distance of campus, occasional beer and dinners out? Does the department host anything like regular parties/pub nights?

Institution: U Western Ontario Program: Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: $ + int'l tuition Notification Date: 03/24/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:

@dreck, thanks for a super informative post. Everyone I've talked to has strongly recommended Michigan, but I guess I'm just a worrier, hence this thread. :) 2 isn't really a major concern per se--I just heard that there have been problems with scheduling classes for field courses, and that not all students were able to take all the classes they wanted. I guess it's inevitable that such a large department would have such problems. @chisquared good luck with the department visit! take good notes!

Damn, three people. I guess I need to reevaluate my interests if I attend. Hey chisquared, did you end up going to the flyout?

Having not developed any field preferences for Economics yet (I'm a math major with not much economics), it's pretty important for me to join a program with a wide set of strengths. UMich is my best offer so far (rankings-wise, though not for funding), but I have a couple of concerns. 1. How is the state of micro theory in UMich? I know that Lones Smith has left Michigan, and that the department has not hired any micro people for the fall. Does the department plan to hire more theory people in the future? 2. I've also heard that there have been problems recently about how the program is being run and about prelims--I don't know the details, as this is all hearsay, but if anyone can comment on the administrative situation I'd love to hear it. 3. The incoming class is around 30 people--is that normal for PhD programs in the US? How difficult is it to get noticed or to interact with professors? Thanks for reading!

If you're considering to apply to qem, I'd recommend that you apply directly to the university you would like to join. In U Autonoma Barcelona, for example, Masters students pay about 1/8 the tuition of qem, and I think the german university charges no tuition at all if you enroll there directly. My 2 cents: Autonoma is notorious for attrition, but if you stick it out, they have excellent placements post-Master. And Barcelona is awesome.

Well I just received an email from Yvonne Adams telling me that they are processing offers, so I'm guessing that they already know who they're admitting, but haven't actually informed them yet. Then again, I'm international, so maybe this is only for international students..

Institution: U Maryland Program: PhD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: Website. Thanks to everyone who pointed it out! GC: no Comment: Well okay. Two more to go.

Has there been news from UWO? They haven't replied to any of my emails. Don't know how to check my status either. Any info would be much appreciated!