LUDuckling

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top 30 LAC Undergrad GPA: 4.0 Economics/Maths/International Relations GRE: Q 800 V 730 AW 4.0 Math Courses: Calculus, Linear Algebra, ODE, Probability, Math Stat, Real Analysis Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro, Macro, Econometrics, IO, Economic Thought, Development, Money Banking Letters of Recommendation:professor of grad micro class; econ prof; math thesis advisor - all mentioned my originality & ability to abstract from real world happenings. One talked about I am "one of the most impressive students during his 40+ years of teaching at Harvard & xx university." Research Experience: RIPS student industrial math research@IPAM; RA; math thesis in game theory Teaching Experience: TA math & econ for 2 years Research Interests: micro, behavioral, not really set Other Experience: Co-founded a company and initiated an int'l summer school; various volunteering experiences, mainly has to do with (re)building houses for poor people(write about in diversity statement) RESULTS: Acceptances: Yale:loveheart:, Columbia, NYU, UCB, Chicago, etc. Waitlists: MIT, UCLA, CMU Rejections: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Brown, Caltech, etc. What would you have done differently? Applying straight from a non-top LAC and with no significant grad course work/ research job, I am very content with my result. I think I really put everything I could reach together. I have no regrets.:eager:

Nice talking to u, too, on the forum. :) Hopefully I could get into MIT. The waitlist is said to be short.

Thanks for all the replies. I was unsure about the strength of Yale program and my own opinions. I was shocked at my families' intense excitement over Yale's name and was afraid I'd make a bad decision on this. I will now happily commit myself to yale till hearing back from MIT. I'd decline other offers soon. Overtime I realized, school name is what make those around you happy, and the subject matter (what you really do) is what makes yourself happy.. I also realized the last line was some profound bullshit. lol

hi there, now that the process is drawing to an end, i am trying to make a decision about where to go. my research interest will probably be fun theory stuffs like game theory, network theory as well as development, IO or micro. I am open to other fields too, like political economics and int'l economics. I've narrowed down my fully-funded choices to yale, nyu, columbia and cornell. (declined maryland and jhu) I also hold berkeley and penn offers with no first year funding, and am on the waitlist with MIT. I'd love to hear your opinion on my situation. Which should i choose? And how hard is it to get off MIT waitlist? Is MIT's offer strictly better than everything else? thanks in advance. :loveheart:

Institution: Cornell Program: Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Sage fellowship, detail below Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: Although the decision is given out late and I probably will decline anyway. I am impressed by Cornell's super personalized decision letter and the nice presentation of stipend information. I also hope this information will help future generation of applicants to Cornell: consider tailor your interest to specific faculty in the department. Cornell was my last decision. My first one from Yale was also a positive note. So technically, I have been awarded offer from the beginning to the end. :pirate: Thanks go to TM for first letting me know how inadequate I was (second half of my Junior year I think), giving me a clear vision and defined direction, ah! as well as ample community support. As an graduating int'l student from a "good but not great school" (20+ ranking LAC, "note from the demand side") without formal RA experiences, I would have been shut out if not for learning from TM. Deepest and earnest thanks again! and best luck to everybody! Screen shot 1: about RA http://www.www.urch.com/forums/attachments/phd-economics/6464-admissions-rejections-fall-2012-screen-shot-2012-03-20-2.14.36-pm.png Screen shot 2: About stipend http://www.www.urch.com/forums/attachments/phd-economics/6463-admissions-rejections-fall-2012-screen-shot-2012-03-20-2.06.59-pm.png Institution: NYU Program: Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 24k without teaching obligation; 4k first 2 summers Notification Date: 3/3/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: repost for update in funding.

Institution: University of Maryland, College Park Program: PhD Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 20k TAship Notification date: 03/05/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No

Institution: New York University Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Congratulate me on my wonderful academic record and Admission if still interested. Funding: No detail Notification Date: 03/03/12 Notified Through: Voicemail Posted on GC: No

Institution: UCLA Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No

Institution: Columbia Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition + stipend + summer funding etc Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email （Advance notice） Posted on GC: No Institution: MIT Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: Notification Date: 2/28 Notified Through: Email (with pdf attachment) Posted on GC: No

u belong to caltech, dear resource. that's the same wording as what i heard from a friend of mine... lol...

luckily no constraint on budget for me. :) and i think consumption choice should be based on happiness.

Wow. so many people replied! Thanks for all your input. :) I have been happily playing with my new macbook air 13.3/4g/256g/1.7Ghz for the past two days. I am totally impressed by the beauty and efficiency of the little beast and think i will stay with it for my daily chores. Thanks again for all your comments and suggestions.

Thanks you tech gurus for the inputs. My situation, however, does not allow me to wait..( Embarrassingly I do not treat my hardwares that well and my old mac pro is limbo on its death. ) I will think twice before making a decision in this case. thanks again. ;)

:) Thanks. What about desktop such as iMac? Is iMac powerful enough? I am an ordinary girl who adores apple just for its prettiness. :) It might be silly, but I am choosing between imac, mac pro or mac air. Any suggestions on that? And you can laugh at me now. ^__^

I am thinking about replacing my old 2008 macbook pro with a new mac and am wondering if MBA (13' 128 or 256 GB) would be sufficient for my phd years. Anybody has comments and suggestions? Many thanks.