hardball162

I can tell you from a recent visit that the culture among the PhD students at OSU is great. Several of them live together and they were all very supportive of one another, rather than being overly-competitive. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions. I was really impressed by OSU overall. I didn't even apply to Purdue though, so I can't speak much on how they compare.

I like the way you think haha. I hope I'm not coming off as depressed, as I'm a genuinely happy and outgoing individual. I just happen to have a tough choice to make, however I recognize that I'm fortunate to be in the position of having the options that create that difficult decision.

Definitely some good blunt and honest commentary that appreciate here. As far the psychological reasons, I know that one thing creating hesitancy for me is that I had joined an overseas service program about a year ago only to quite 3 months into it. Before going into it I was immensely excited, and having never quit something before, this left me quite shaken with regards to trusting my decision making abilities. I consistently tell myself that just because one thing didn't work out, it doesn't mean that nothing in the future will, but I still have this big fear of "what if I quit again? What does that mean about me?" I have tried to make my decision without being influenced by this, but I am only human and it's tough. I have also sought advice from many of my advisers and I have gotten good advice, but it's safe to say that most people that have gotten PhDs and wound up with tenured positions think it's a great idea to get a PhD, so there is some selection bias. arm - that's a great statement of the situation, but I think I fall somewhere in between the two options. I don't see myself wanting to enter academia, so it's conceivable that there are good jobs for me that won't require a PhD. However, my only employment for the past 4 years has been various forms of research assistant positions, and I do like the broad idea of creating knowledge. In the end, I just need to be brutally honest with myself and think about where I want to be 10 years down the road. Thanks for the time and insight by all. Also, I definitely will not defer from more than one program.

Yes, I have a Master's in Ag and Resource Econ, and some decent research experience. So I wouldn't benefit from the approach of going there and leaving with an MS if I don't like it.

That's really good advice - I will definitely need to find out the details of the deferral process for each program. I will be looking for work in the policy/think-tank world, trying to get a sense of where the glass ceiling is with only a Master's degree and if I would find those jobs fulfilling in the long-run, or if it absolutely necessary to get a PhD for me to have a job that genuinely interests and excites me. I know, pretty broad and muddy plan, but I think it is preferable to showing up at a grad school only to realize I don't care enough about the subject to make it through 5 years of grueling work.

It sounds to me like you should definitely have some options. You seem to have a good reason for under-performing in the math-econ course and you've taken steps to ameliorate that since it happened. What topics are you interested in? That should help people give advice on where you should be applying.

Hi All, For a number of reasons, I have come to lose confidence in my desire to pursue a PhD. A big part of me still wants it, but I am not sure I have the requisite passion for the subject to make it through 5 years of grueling work. My game plan is to work an additional year and see if I get sick of it to the point that doctoral studies become more appealing. My question is, can I request a deferment from multiple programs, or am I expected to reject all other offers if I accept a deferment from one institution? Any guidance or advice will be greatly appreciated. Cheers!

I still have not heard from Maryland or UMass. It seems really late and is pretty frustrating.

A good place to start would be to look at the people posting on this thread and the ARE threads for previous years. You can click on their profile and see if they posted their stats in the past.

I think you can definitely ask the question if worded properly. If you feel uncomfortable, you could also try asking some of the current grad students, they tend to have a pretty good idea of the atmosphere around the department. This actually just happened to me on a fly-out, I was talking to some grad students about how much I liked the work of a certain Professor, and they told me that he is at the point where where he is not seeking out funding or taking on new students. Super helpful information Also, I've only done one of these, but I wore jeans with a button-down shirt and did not feel out of place at all. You should be fine with any of the options mentioned, but I would avoid a full suit, unless you want to outdress the professors and your peers.

Institution: Yale Program: Forestry and Environmental Science Phd Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 02/19//2015 Notified through: e-mail to check the website Posted on GC: no Comments: expected but disappointing, was my #1 choice Institution: UC Davis Program: Ag and Resource Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TBD Notification date: 2/20/2015 Notified through: Invite to fly-out (turns out a prof was supposed to call about acceptance, but forgot haha) Posted on GC: no Comments: Best option so far Institution: University of Washington (Evans School of Public Policy) Program: Public Policy Phd Decision: accepted Funding: $2,000 per month Notification date: 2/24/2015 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Really excited - lots of people doing environmental policy work there

Institution: UC Berkeley Program: Ag Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 02/18 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: big time bummer, but not a huge surprise

I really don't know much about the field of political economics,, but you are definitely on the right track in the sense that it will be less theoretical than standard econ. Your best bet is to look at the research topics (which you've clearly already done), look at the course offerings/requirements, and look at where recent graduates have placed. Maybe you could email a current student and ask them what their qualifying exams are like? Is there a specific field of policy you're interested in? Not all policy programs give equal weight to the various types of policies - for example, I didn't bother applying to some highly-ranked Public Policy programs since I know I want to focus on environmental policy and that is not a focus in those particular departments,

As far as the "best" applied econ programs - you run into the nomenclature problem. There really aren't too many programs called "Applied Economics". Of those with that title, I would probably put Cornell at the top (I think their program is called Applied Economics and Management or something along those lines). If you open the rankings up to similar programs (resource econ, etc.) you will generally see UC Berkeley, U Maryland, and UC Davis at the top.

"Applied Economics" programs can be hard to get a grasp on, largely because not every university calls their program "Applied Economics". Other terms you might see that will have similar structures to applied econ include "agricultural economics" "resource economics and "regional economics". Obviously, these all sound quite different (and they are in ways), but they share many principles and differ from standard econ programs similarly - there is often less of a focus on proof-based math (but it is certainly not absent) - there is generally less work on macro than a standard econ program - it is easier to get into applied programs (specifically, you do not need as many advanced maths classes) - they are generally hosted in land-grant universities If you're interested in policy and not so much math, it is probably a good path for you (I share the same interest and I finished up a master's in Resource Econ and I'll be starting a PhD in either ag/resource econ or public policy in the fall). Another option is to look into some cross-disciplinary degrees. There are some Public Policy PhD programs that offer an "econ tract". You should note that if you pursue an applied econ degree, it would make academic placements a bigger challenge than straight-up econ. An econ PhD can often get placed in an Applied or Public Policy department, but it is much more rare for an Applied Econ PhD to get placed in Econ. I'm not an expert on this by any means, but those have been my impressions as I've gone through the process. Feel free to ask me any more specific questions if you think I could help.

Institution: Cornell Program: Apllied Econ PhD Decision: rejected Funding: Notification date: 2.12.2015 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no

Hey y'all - I recently found out that I got into University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and the Environment PhD program, specifically, I would pursue the "resource policy and behaviour" stream. I was wondering if anyone knows much about this program. I know it is a bit different than a traditional ARE program, but they have a lot of people using econometric techniques to study resource use and policies. Does anyone have any experience with this program? I'm thrilled, but I'm curious how limiting it would be to get a degree that does not have the word "economics" in it (I'm more interested in think-tank/NGO/government jobs than academia though).

Institution: University of Michigan Program: PhD Natural Resources and the Environment Decision: Admit Funding: Yes, details to come Notification date: 2/6/2015 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: Very excited. A chance to make sure my research focuses on the environment.

I have gotten conflicting answers on how big of a role location should play in your decision (and it ultimately should vary with personality) a couple things to consider 1) Cost of living. I think there is probably a wider range in the cost of living among locations than there is in funding (e.g. you can't really expect to get much more $ from NYU than UConn just because NYC is far more expensive than Storrs, CT) 2) Distractions. This can go either way. one of my advisers has told me that he thinks there are benefits to doing your program in a location that isn't necessarily overly appealing to you, as it provides motivation to focus on work and complete your degree expeditiously. 3) Mental health/enjoyment. For me, location is pretty important, and I might even be giving it too large of a role in my decision process. I much prefer rural areas to cities, which makes it difficult because premier institutions tend to be in more highly populated areas. We are going to spend at least 4 years where ever we choose, and that will be a lot more depressing if all we can think about is, "I can't wait to get out of here." I know I won't have all that much time for hiking, golfing, or snowboarding, but it is important for me to place myself somewhere that I can at least do these things on the rare weekend with free time. I'm sure other people can add more, since I haven't actually experienced the outcomes at the PhD level (I allowed location to play a big role my decision of where to pursue a Master's degree, and I have mixed feelings about the outcome).

Congrats on the admit pylaios! are you going for geography at Berkeley and Illinois or ARE? Best of luck to you and your girlfriend

Institution: Penn State Program: Ag Econ Decision: Admitted Funding: TBD Notification date: 1/29/2015 Notified through: department email Posted on GC: no Comments: Email from department, will get official acceptance notification in upcoming weeks along w/ funding info Institution: Oregon State University Program: Ag Econ PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/3/2015 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: no word in the email on funding, I imagine that means I did not get any, will follow up though

Institution: Penn State Program: Ag Econ Decision: Admitted Funding: TBD Notification date: 1/29/2015 Notified through: department email Posted on GC: no Comments: Email from department, will get official acceptance notification in upcoming weeks along w/ funding info Institution: Oregon State University Program: Ag Econ PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/3/2015 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: no word in the email on funding, I imagine that means I did not get any, will follow up though

I'm in a similar boat. I contacted the departments and most of them indicated that they still have the scores, but a couple told me I need to resubmit them. I would recommend contacting each of the schools, because even if they still have the scores, they may need a heads up so that they can attach them to your current application (although some will do this automatically)

Thanks so much for the response. I am leaning toward Public Policy programs partially for the reasons you listed (I certainly don't distinguish myself in the ag econ world with my lack of math), and also because I am realizing I am more interested in creating policy and helping to implement change or working for a think tank than diving headfirst into academia and publishing in top journals. Do you know what type of quant GRE scores the top public policy programs are looking for. Mine is pretty low at 160 (only 78th percentile), so my original plan was to retake it. But now that I have been away from doing any serious math for half a year and I am working full-time, I'm not sure I have the time to devote to studying in order to improve my score by the time I need to take the test for this round of applications

This could be completely irrelevant, depending on your interests, but when I applied to ag econ master's programs, I got funding offers from something like 12 out of the 13 I got into (free tuition + stipend). I'm not sure if this is more common in ag econ than regular econ, but I just wanted to point that out.