Abibler

You will almost certainly get into several of these programs, but in my experience it is difficult to accurately predict which ones. TA/RA experience, a grad course in micro/metrics might help, but it could be a little late to add these things to your profile. Get as close to an 800 (or the new equivalent rather) as you can on the quant section of the gre and your profile is still good. It is difficult to suggest schools without knowing what you are interested in or what you value in a program. Just try to learn a lot about each program before you make the final decision to apply. Try to considers things such as funding opportunities, class size, attrition rates, professors you might want to work with, areas of strength, etc. Many people forget about these or just do not consider some of them, but they will be important to you at some point if they are not already.

Might also depend on how much analysis you have taken up to this point. If you have not taken any yet or have taken very little (as in only one intro course that is not very rigorous) then another class in analysis could be worth a lot.

Definitely will not disagree with that. Don't really know much about foreign MA/MS programs though.

Just to add to that... A director actually told me in person that my experience in the MA was a strong positive signal to their adcom.

I also did an MA in the US and it seemed to help. It really depends on the individual case though. I had a low undergrad gpa, no TA or RA experience, no really good prospects for letters, no math..... I was in no way ready to apply for a PhD. An MA gave me a chance to prove myself in some sense. I did really well in the program, worked closely with professors who then wrote good letters, gained TA and RA experience, and took more math classes while I was working on the degree. If you are lacking in some major areas and you can find a school to pay for it then I do not think it is a terrible idea. Of course if you are targeting a top 20 PhD program then it would probably not work, but that does not seem to be the case here.

I had the same problem. Got the soft cover, oxford student edition, and the ISBN is not the same as either of the ones listed earlier. I was sort of under the impression that there is really only one edition (like Cuak200 said) and the contents are the same in all of them. Guess I will find out how true that is soon.

That's probably true.

Dreck got the NE part of A Beautiful Mind right, but I have heard some say that maybe the point of the scene is that Nash knew what the real equilibrium was so if he could convince his friends to go for the dark haired ladies then he could go for the blonde which would be an equilibrium and would maximize his utility as well.

I am also waiting to hear from GW... as well as Syracuse, Arizona, Boston College, UNC, and about funding from Oregon. Someone posted on gradcafe that GW has just started reviewing applications this week though.

Thanks for the input. I will pass on the t shirt. I do still need to convince someone in the department that I deserve funding. Even though most people there may not care it sounds like it will not hurt to wear a collar at least.

I am going on my first visit to a department and I am wondering how dressed up I should get. Is there a standard for how to dress for these things? Is a tie necessary? Is it too much? Or does it really not even matter? Thanks for any input.

I am waiting to hear about funding from one school but have been accepted to a better school without first year funding. Is it wrong to email the school I am waiting on and notify them I have been accepted somewhere else, but would enroll in their program if given full funding?

Yeah I think I know what you mean, but I assume that admission committees know what they are doing. They know what they are looking for and they give funding to those that they are confident will not only pass prelims, but also graduate in a timely manner. In other words, if I were in your position I would weigh several factors aside from rankings, but being worried about failing a prelim would probably not be one of them. I am actually hoping to be in a similar position by the end of this week or so. Don't forget that I am only applicant at this point too so I do not necessarily know a lot about the process or the schools, but that is just what I think.

Thanks for the help. It seems that MSU is in a higher tier than the other schools I mentioned (GWU, Oregon, Syracuse). At least in labor and econometrics. Does that seem like a reasonable assessment?

Thanks for the help everyone. I had never used gradcafe before. Very helpful.