The Blueprint

Brilliant post, OutOfGame. Best of luck to you at MIT!

Note, this is based on conversations that I have had with students at top undergraduate programs—necessarily hearsay since I did not attend one. You have a lot of resources and if you use them, you should have good prospects.

To my eye, the predictions in this thread are too pessimistic. If OP gets good letters, s/he has a fair chance at the Top 5 I think. Give your recommenders things to talk about—work for them or talk to them outside of class and be active about it. One student that I knew told a professor that she wanted to dig deeper into theory, which led to his lending her a book about fixed point theorems. It's possible that your marketing professor, if s/he is enthusiastic about you, could write a relevant letter to programs that are strong in IO, such as Northwestern. Think about taking a graduate course and doing well—this is an excellent chance for you to signal your suitability for a top economics program since you're at a top institution. Finally, the best way to "erase" a mediocre grade in math is to take another course that is at least as challenging and do well.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: U.S. Public University – Top 50 Econ Undergrad GPA: 3.94 (4.0 Math, 4.0 Econ) Type of Grad: N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE: 790Q 800V 6.0 (first time) / 170Q 170V 6.0 (retake) Math Courses: Calc I-II (exam), Intro. Computer Science (A), Linear Algebra (A), Calc III (A-), ODE (A+), UG Real Analysis (A+), Prob. and Stats (A), Grad Analysis I (A), Numerical Analysis (A), Math. Stats I (A) Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I (A+) Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro. Micro (A+) & Macro, Intermediate Micro & Macro, Public Sector Economics, Game Theory, Industrial Organization (A+), Intro. Econometrics, Labor Economics (A+) Other Courses: Letters of Recommendation: 2 well known senior faculty who advised me on research, 1 AP who taught the grad micro course Research Experience: One year as RA, senior thesis Teaching Experience: Math tutor Research Interests: Theory or applied micro SOP: Standard, but well-written Other: Concerns: Reputation of institution, strength of rec. letters (explained below) Applying to: All Top 10, Some Top 20 RESULTS: Acceptances: Penn ($$), Minnesota ($$), Duke ($), Princeton ($$$, from WL) WL: Princeton Rejections: Stanford, Northwestern, S. GSB, Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Yale, Berkeley, NYU, Columbia, Wisconsin, Michigan Attending: Princeton THOUGHTS: First of all, I am over the moon to be attending Princeton given my background. I think that for students who come from lesser-known U.S. schools, it's incredibly important to apply to a broad range of programs; I could not have predicted, when the process began, that Michigan and Wisconsin would reject me. I was unsure that my rec. letters would be strong enough to crack the Top 10—not because the content was weak, but because my recommenders (who are wonderful) might not have as much influence or credibility as "famous" people from top institutions who write many letters. However, if your recommenders are willing to go to bat for you, I think that you will have a shot at most programs. If I had realized my ambitions in economics earlier, I would have made sure to serve as an RA for a famous professor at a top department (during a summer or academic term). I had no desire to spend time after my bachelor's researching for a top professor or for a Fed in order to dress up my resume for future application cycles—which I am sure would have helped—but that is personal preference. Finally, a thought about the Princeton waitlist. I kept in good touch with the department and sent them notes intended to demonstrate (1) that the program was an excellent fit for me, and (2) my writing style, which, while trivial compared to "real" qualifications for the PhD in economics, should at least set me apart from the field of candidates. While I am sure that many waitlisted candidates send notes explaining point (1), I would encourage them also to pick out some aspect about their candidacy which is unique or different, and express that as well. It just might make a small but material difference. Also, I should have applied for the NSF. What was I thinking?

Institution: Princeton University Program: Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Excited to make the waitlist! Does anyone care to decline their Princeton offer? :-) Institution: U. Wisconsin-Madison Program: Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:

Institution: Stanford Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email to check website; letter still has not been uploaded. I emailed Mandy, who sent me my letter. For anyone who cannot view their letter online--just contact Mandy. She was able to resolve this problem quickly. Posted on GC: No

Institution: U. Chicago Program: Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Institution: Northwestern Program: Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Checked website Posted on GC: No Comments:

No; they have not updated my status on the website.

Institution: UPenn Program: PhD Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship 24k Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: great way to start my Friday! :D

Institution: Yale Program: Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: It is what it is. Congrats to those who were admitted :)

Institution: U. Minnesota Program: PhD Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship & TAship Notification date: 2/17 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: 1st offer :-)

I can corroborate ecoptimist's information—Minnesota sent me an admission offer via email on February 17, around midday. Hopefully we all get to hear some more results this week.

Hi all, I have been reading the forums for some time, but this is my first post :). If anyone has the time for it, I would really appreciate your feedback about my chances at the Top 20 or Top 10. Thanks in advance! PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: U.S. Public University – Top 100 Undergrad GPA: 3.94 (4.0+ Math, 4.0+ Econ) Type of Grad: N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE: 790Q 800V 6.0 (first time) / 170Q 170V 6.0 (second time) Math Courses: Calc I-II (exam), Intro. Computer Science (A), Linear Algebra (A), Calc III (A-), ODE (A+), Real Analysis (A+), Prob. and Stats (A), Grad Analysis I (Fall 2011), Numerical Analysis (Fall 2011), Mathematical Stats I (Fall 2011) Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I (Fall 2011) Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro. Micro (A+) & Macro, Intermediate Micro & Macro, Public Sector Econ., Game Theory, Industrial Organization (A+), Intro. Econometrics, Labor Economics (All A’s except as noted) Other Courses: N/A Letters of Recommendation: Should be very positive. One from a professor that I had two classes and RA’d with, one from my grad micro instructor (which should be great since I'm at the top of the class), and one from my senior thesis adviser. They earned their Ph.D.’s at Wisconsin, Stanford and Northwestern – I think the two senior faculty members are well known in their specialties but probably not “famous”. Research Experience: One year as RA, and senior thesis. Teaching Experience: Math tutor Research Interests: IO, game theory, applied micro SOP: More-or-less standard. Concerns: Nothing to really stand out; see below Other: Applying to: Top 20 Should I feel reasonably secure in making the top 20? Have a shot at the top 10? My main concern is just that nothing really stands out in my application, e.g. I don’t have an exceptional amount of courses in high level math or grad econ, no “famous” recommenders although the letters will be good. Note: I retook the GRE just in case having a perfect quant score would win any tie-breakers (and the very best programs sound like they demand a perfect score). Also, I figured that the finer gradation at the high end of the new scores would work in my favor (although as many have pointed out, once you meet the GRE cutoff the effect is probably minimal).