Martin McCarthy

Thanks for all your advice so far. Out of interest 'economists', is it really possible to get a letter as a third year student? Given that my PhD application will be pretty far off and that I won't be doing any research/teaching etc. I'm not so sure I would be in a position to get a letter. Also, I should clarify that this is my last chance to do real analysis. I am on the wait-list at Toronto and if I hear that I have been accepted I will definitely go, I just want to know what you recommend in the case where I cannot get a place.

Hi everyone. I'm a 2nd year undergraduate at the University of Sydney intending to complete a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) with majors in Economics and Mathematics. I have recently been accepted into a semester of exchange at the University of Toronto, and I am keen to go, however it looks like I may have to choose between going on exchange and taking Real Analysis. My plan was to take the following courses in 2012: Semester 1: MAT377 - Introduction to Real Analysis, at Toronto Semester 2: MATH3966 - Measure Theory and Fourier Analysis, at Sydney However I have been told that I am on the wait-list for MAT377, so I may not get a place. If I miss out on MAT377 I will self-study the course so that I can take MATH3966 when I return to Sydney. Will not having real analysis on my transcript reduce my chance of getting into a top 20 school, even if I have measure theory? If so, should I decide not to go on exchange so that I can take a real analysis course in Sydney? Thanks!

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm going for the algebra. :)

Hi everyone! I am an Australian undergraduate student majoring in Economics and Mathematics. At the end of my degree I am hoping to do an Economics PhD at a highly-ranked American or British university. Next semester I have to choose one of the following two maths units, and I was wondering which you would recommend: ' MATH2968 - Algebra (advanced) MATH2065 - Introduction to Partial Differential Equations ' The PDEs course is aimed primarily at engineering students and I have gotten the impression that PDEs are fairly unimportant outside of finance. The content of the algebra course is even less relevant to economics, but the course looks really interesting and would give me some practice writing proofs, so I am leaning towards algebra The websites of various American universities state that differential equations is recommended for students considering a PhD. I am already familiar with the basics of ODEs from a first year course called "Integral Calculus and Modelling" and I can teach myself the relevant content in the holidays, so I am not worried about my understanding. I am however worried that not having a differential equations course on my transcript may reduce my chances of getting accepted into a top program. Will adcoms look down on my application if I have not taken differential equations? Which course would you recommend taking? Thanks!