bugibugi7

Some of this information in this thread is really disappointing to hear, since UC3M was a program I planned to apply to. @pedrohcgs. Maybe you can clear up some more of the issues brought up in this thread. So some questions for you (or anyone else currently attending UC3M): 1)How is the quality of English spoken by professors of the program. Is it hard to understand them? Is Spanish ever required during the program? 2) How are placements from UC3M into PhD programs in the US? I can't seem to find that type of information on their website. Thanks.

@Asher: I'm glad you got into York. It's one of the many Canadian schools I'll be applying to. If I may ask, did you get any financial aid offer from them? How much are you having to pay out of pocket? I've actually already read that thread you linked top to bottom. Tons of good information no doubt. One of the more comforting things is how everyone gets a TA, sounds like Canadian masters are far more affordable than American programs.

Not to ask a foolish question. But could you give a link to these other forums? I can't seem to find any that have people as intelligent as I find on this forum discussing economics. That isn't to say I have an opinion one way or the other about how this forum should be utilized, I simply would like to be able to read/discuss economics in a forum setting.

Yea. The more I think about it, the less confident I am that I will survive a PhD program. As much as I enjoy reading about economics and playing in STATA, this doesn't mean I'm smart enough to understand all the concepts from class. I think this makes a masters program all the more appealing. Gives me a chance to see if I'm intelligent enough to survive a PhD program. We'll see. I've been looking at a ton of Canadian schools, basically planning to apply to all of the top 6 or 7 schools for an MA. May I ask which school your attending and what your GPA was coming out of university? Also, are you Canadian or an international student? Any tips?

@ TomRod. So if you get for example a 780, you really don't think its worth retaking the exam? That Harvard or MIT views this as the same as an 800?

I’ve attempted to bring this up with professors from my undergrad LAC. But they are all older and it’s hard to gauge how relevant their experience was in an Econ PhD program 30 years ago compared to today. They, like everyone on TM, emphasized the amount of math that would be in a PhD Econ program (wow forgot to put math in the OP). I only took 2 math classes during my undergrad (Calc 3 and ODE, B+ and C+ respectively). I tested out of Calc 1 and 2 from high school, so I thought at one distant point in time that I was “good” at math, but that obviously changed in college. Whether that’s because of too much partying or just a fundamental lack of capability I don’t know. I’m obviously biased by my situation, but I want to believe in the idea that everyone can do math, and that some just have to work harder than others. I don’t naturally love doing math, but I do love studying economics, and so having another tool (math) in which to enhance my understanding of economics is welcome. So hopefully math in a grad program, where I’m actually applying the math to economics, will be more enjoyable and successful. You make a good point about being self-motivated. The only recent testament to my self-motivation was the GRE (the only recent pseudo-academic work of mine). I don’t think a Q800 came naturally to me, and it required a good 3 months of heavy studying. So it was a steady 2-3 hours of studying everyday that was completely self-motivated. Hopefully that sort of dedication towards getting into PhD program continues when I’m actually in the program. Although obviously, the difficulty of the Quant GRE section does not even begin to compare to Econ coursework, so I’m not sure how relevant this really is.

It varies. I try and rotate stuff. There's a ton of seminal articles which I absolutely need to read, and I'm slowly getting through them. I was focusing on NIE papers for a while (little or no math, I can handle it better than other readings), so I was reading through Coase, North, Acemoglu, Wallis. But after that "your favorite economist" poll/thread, a ton of names were dropped and I'm trying to read all their works. Right now I'm reading through Pakes' work (since he seems quite popular on TM). Some of it is over my head, but I like the research topics he does and I get the general points made.

Yes, but I'm not in school right now so its the only way to try and keep myself engaged in economics. Also its in an effort to better prepared myself for when I do apply. I'm sure when I'm in school and way more busy that trend wont continue.

This may end up being a foolish question, but I searched the forums first and couldn’t find anything exactly along the same lines. Basically I keep hearing about the high dropout rate for PhD programs (especially Econ). I guess I’m just trying to figure out whether I have the right qualities to succeed, or if I’m being delusional and I’m just going to inevitably drop out. So attempting to briefly outline my own personality: Pros for going into a PhD Econ program: - I really enjoy manipulating data. Not so much actually collecting it, but I really enjoy just spending hours fiddling in STATA. Regressions are fun for me. - I believe I think like an economist, in some regards at least. For example I am always over-analyzing a given real life situation, breaking decisions down into opportunity costs. - I do enjoy reading academic papers, but maybe not as much as some of you on this forum. I’m not currently in school, but I still read one academic econ paper a day. I try and read more but beyond one I usually get bored or tired of it. - I enjoy doing research. But a caveat is that I am not always extremely self-motivated. I have a lot more fun when I can do research in a group. I enjoy both the social interaction of it and how working with others forces me to push myself harder, whereas if I do independent research I tend to slack off. Cons for going into a PhD econ program: - My poor undergrad academic profile forces me to take a really long and convoluted path towards getting a PhD. I figure the longer it takes to get there, the more likely I am to get discouraged and give up. - I really hated academics during my undergrad (the irony). I enjoyed my econ classes, but I wasn’t necessarily passionate about them. I was much more into socializing and partying and such (no excuses). I think I’m now older, more mature, and better able to handle academic work, but this doesn’t necessarily mean I will succeed. - Connecting with the above point, I frankly just don’t know if I’m smart enough. I read posts from some of you and you guys are already so well educated in economics. Coming out of my undergrad I feel like I know almost nothing about economics. I’ll read posts on this forum where you guys name drop economists, and 99% of the time I’ve never even heard of the person. Or you’ll mention some sort of economics principle, or a textbook, or a mathematical theorem, all again which I’ve never heard of. Sorry, I know this is a pretty selfish post, but any thoughts/opinions would be greatly appreciated.

So is the PKU program still in Beijing, orr is it completely outside the city? You mention you had a strong preference towards Shenzhen, may I ask what program you did attend? On a side note, is there any sort of ranking of econ masters programs in China? It'd be nice to know how PKU's program ranks within China.

Thanks for the information. That's really cool. Sounds like PKU is a rising program. Definitely a solid placement record. I had a few more questions: 1) Do you know what percent of students in the program are international? Does the program have any American students? 2) Do you know how many (or what percent of) Chinese and international students they provide funding for?

Hey. I had a quick question about how to determine the quality of a program. I'm looking at masters in Economics programs, to use as a stepping stone to a PhD program afterward. Basically, I've tended to use the application requirements as a rough (very rough) gauge of the program's quality. For example, neither Peking U or HEC-Lausanne require a GRE score. In the case of HEC-Lausanne, it also does not mention LoR's at all (although interestingly asks for a copy of your high school diploma). In comparison, more famous programs like CEMFI, UPF etc all require the GRE. So my question is, does this imply anything about these programs? Or am I reading too far into things. I guess it's just hard to determine how well respected these programs are by PhD adcoms in the US. For Peking U, the tuition + room&board is pretty inexpensive (only $14k a year). So it's a good backup plan for me in case I don't get funding/admissions anywhere else. It seems designed to draw in international students, but I just can't tell the quality of the program. Anyone know anything about it?

Thanks for the info Zomb. I'm a little confused though. You're saying you get a language certificate for completing the program? Or if you already have a language certificate you can use that in place of taking the classes. For example, I already speak Russian. Does that somehow help me avoid this requirement? Bocconi offers so many econ electives that I'd prefer to take over more language classes. Logically I'd want to take Italian while studying there, but a 2nd foreign language (not Italian or English) seems unnecessary to me.

@ Bocconi_MSc: According to the Msc Econ course list for Bocconi, they require you to take 2 different foreign languages during second semester 1st year. Is the website accurate that this is 100% a requirement of the program? I guess I just don't see the merit of taking Italian & Spanish while I want to be focusing on Econ classes. Can see the program structure here . If Bocconi is truly as respected as people say for being a stepping stone to top PhD programs in the US, then great. I just would prefer not to have to "waste" my time taking foreign language classes. Thoughts?

Hey. Thanks for the tips. So yea I think that may be a good course of action in general. I recognize that I don’t have enough math for a math MA. No matter what I need to take a lot more classes before I can apply to PhD programs. Basically, I am in Kyrgyzstan for another full year. So that gives me the summer, fall, and next spring semester to take online courses from here. So from an academic standpoint, it is inefficient for me to not be taking any classes over the next year. If online courses are valued (from the Stanford online program, link below), then I have 3 semesters to “bulk up” on my math. Basically If I take LA in the summer online, and then RA in the fall, I’ll have both of those completed before I send in applications in December. I can do additional math classes in conjunction with these, I’m just not sure which classes would be value. The Stanford online program seems to offer several advanced math courses. EPGY Mathematics Department Point being, obviously I don’t want to ‘waste’ a year after returning taking classes if I can do that from here (via online). Ideally I’d prefer to be able to return from Peace Corps and immediately jump into some sort of masters program. Whether that be in Math or Econ, or if it’s in the US or abroad. I guess I just want to keep progressing forward, and returning and taking more undergrad classes seems like a sideways move. Being able to take 3 semesters worth of online classes from here can greatly boost my trajectory I believe for getting into a master’s program. If I’m not trying to get into a top 10 program (obviously that’s a very unlikely possibility no matter what I do). Can an Econ MA from the US be a viable option? This would give me 2 years to fix my grades and make more connections for LoRs (plus the chance to take more math). Overall, I’d ideally like to attend Yale for my PhD, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get in there no matter what I do. Alternatively I’d be happy going to Maryland or WUSTL. And there are a ton of other programs in the top 30 I’d be happy with. Does getting a strong GPA (3.8+) from a US masters program set you up to get into a top 30 school? Thank you for the advice. Sorry so many questions.