ShehzadMA

Institution: Tilburg Program: Taught Master's (Econ) Decision: Accepted Funding: Around 80% fee waiver + 5000 euro grant Notification date: 01/09/2013 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Very happy; great school, funding and, because the decision came so early, I didn't have to apply to as many places as I had planned.

Aren't you so clever? I wanted to know if this was normal, not being very experienced with the applications process.

I received a conditional acceptance from Tilburg for their MSc Econ in early January including a decent scholarship offer. The deadline for confirmation was January 31st; I confirmed at least 10 days before that and followed their instructions. But I haven't had any word from them as to whether they actually received and acknowledged my confirmation. Is this normal? I'm a little worried because I haven't applied to a lot of places (I didn't bother with the rest of my applications after I got the offer). I applied to 6 places overall, with 1 acceptance and 2 rejections. Still haven't heard from the 3 remaining, which are LSE, Toulouse and Warwick. Should I contact Tilburg or am I worrying unnecessarily? On that note, who else is going to TIlburg for Fall '13 here?

Thank you Gobard for the suggestion. To be honest I'd never heard of this program till now but it looks quite impressive. I don't understand why this doesn't come up more though. I'll definitely be looking into it.

Anybody have any thoughts on programs like UZH (Zurich) and Aarhus? If it helps, I'll be applying to LSE, UCL, BGSE, Toulouse, Warwick, Tilburg, Bocconi, Bonn and Nottingham. Bonn I'm not perfectly sure of yet. I've also been considering Zurich and Aarhus. Thoughts? My interests align more with micro more than macro or metrics, although I'm not sure how important relative department strengths are for Master's programs.

Thank you everyone. I was aware that Bocconi was a good program but I wasn't aware just how good it really was. As it is, I can't really afford the UK, even though I'm applying to a few places there, so all my hopes are with continental Europe. So beyond BGSE, Toulouse, Tilburg and Bocconi, which other European schools would you guys recommend? What about Bonn or Aarhus? Repec rates Zurich quite high.

I'm a little confused about the Master's programs that are apparently offered by Bocconi. Their website lists them as: Economics and Management in Arts, Culture, Media and Entertainment Economic and Social Sciences Economics and Management of Innovation and Technology Economics and Management of Public Administration and International Institutions Which among the above is the most relevant for a US PhD aspirant? Or am I looking at the wrong Bocconi, perhaps? And this is not the only school I'm applying to, before anyone brings that up.

Thank you guys for the help. To zweistein: No I am definitely aiming for the traditional programs too (LSE, UCL, BGSE, Toulouse, Warwick) but I thought it'd be a good idea to spread the net wide. So you would not recommend Sweden at all? I'm a little confused because I seem to have heard the Swedish schools as better than the German ones. And which ones in Germany? Oh and I'm definitely not looking to get a PhD there.

Quick question: Which is the better option? I am looking to go the European Master's to US PhD route, so what are the relative strengths of the two in this context? I seem to gravitate towards Stockholm University. Is that fair?

Someone trained in the Classics, but not your typical humanities major.

I got a 4.5 too (just received the official score). My other scores are 163 Q, 166 V. I really don't get it. Sure I haven't studied formal logic like the guy in the link, but a 4.5? I've seen the sample essays that were supposed to have received 6s, precisely why I didn't practice for this section at all. Silly me.

bcube - I hope it works out as well with me! GreenMan - Yes I was looking at Toronto and UBC, and I've also heard of them being rough on international students. Specifically, I've heard that Toronto takes very few internationals, and UBC appears to be specifically biased against Bangladeshi applicants due to past experiences (according to one of their faculty members who knows one of my professors). Regardless, I will still be applying to both. I'm still undecided on Queens and Western, but I know they are great programs. I was also looking at slightly lower end programs like Calgary, which is supposed to be good for Econ. Humanomics et al. - That's interesting (and encouraging). I hadn't actually thought of the benefits of MAs beyond the exposure to graduate studies and research, which is helpful for people like me who have had few research opportunities. Everyone appeared to be so bent on getting into a PhD program as fast as possible, sometimes I've had doubts about my decision to go for the MSc/MA and thought maybe I should just try for the best PhD program that will take me. This is very very reassuring, I promise you that. anonecon - Thanks! I panicked bad on the test day, because I thought I hadn't practiced enough (and I hadn't, really) and the importance of the GRE score was weighing down on me. It got particularly bad after I began to feel like the second quant section was easier than the first. Thanks guys for your help, I really appreciate it.

Thank you guys for your help. To bcube, wasn't your additional Masters an important factor? I should have put this in my original post, but funding is a big issue for me as well. I could maybe manage at the tuition fee levels of say BGSE, but LSE fees are just too high. Not to mention living costs. To jrdonsimoni, I was thinking along the same lines about the LSE EME, although I'm not sure if I'll be able to get in to the one-year stream, and two years just seems too long. But I suppose I should still apply.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: BSS in Economics from the best department in the country, which however is an insignificant one. Undergrad GPA: Currently 3.95/4.00, aiming to graduate with at least a 3.97 (I could turn it into a 3.99 if necessary by repeating a course by I don’t really see the point, since they’re going to look at my transcripts anyway and that poor grade was in an irrelevant course) GRE: 163 Q, 166 V, haven’t received the analytical score yet (I just gave it less than a week ago) Math Courses: Calculus (A) (covered topics like Green’s and Stokes theorems), Intro Statistics (A). Currently doing Real Analysis, expecting an A. I would have taken more math courses but they are hardly ever available (nobody takes them). Aiming to take at least one more before graduation. Econ Courses: Intro Micro, Macro, Stats for Econ, Math for Econ, Metrics. Intermediate Micro and Macro, International Trade, History of Economic Thought, Economic Growth and Development, Cost Benefit Analysis, Environmental and Resource Economics, Money and Banking, Advanced Math for Econ, Advanced Micro Theory, all As. Will take Public Finance, International Finance, Research Methodology, Advanced Macro Theory, Advanced Econometrics, Game Theory and IO, expecting all As. Other Courses: A host of intro courses on Physics, Linguistics, Computer Science, Accounting, Anthropology and Political Science. Also courses on Bangladesh Studies (guess where I’m from now), Philosophy, and several Sociology courses. All As, except Intro to Physics (A-) and Intro to Anthropology (B). Letters of Recommendation: Expecting at least three great letters but from relatively unknown professors, this being Bangladesh. They’re all US PhDs, love me and know me very well, but again, I don’t know how much that is worth. Research Experience: Not much yet, but I’m supposed to do some RA work with a faculty soon, and am planning to do an independent research paper. Teaching Experience: Currently a TA. Research Interests: Not too sure yet, but attracted to Micro Theory (particularly things like uncertainty, information, IO). Also like trade, environmental and resource econ. SOP: Most people on the internet seems to think that this is not really important, which is a shame really, because I can probably write a very good one, provided I can narrow down my research interests in time. Other: My disadvantages are obvious – I have a less than perfect GRE quant score, very little math and stat courses proper, no LOR’s from famous profs to boast and little research experience (so far). I am also from Bangladesh, to top it all off. On the other hand, my grades are good, my verbal score is good (although I know that’s not really important) and hopefully my analytical too, and I am comfortable with most of the math recommended for PhD applicants through the math for econ courses and personal study. I had originally intended to do a math minor, but there are so few people interested in math courses it just never became possible to pursue that. It is frustrating because I know I will be able to do well in a PhD program, as presumptuous as that may sound, and also have a wider range of intellectual interests than the average applicant. I’m not trying to toot my own horn, just looking desperately for anything that I can impress the adcoms with. My ultimate goal is a good US PhD and them academia, but it looks like applying to a PhD program directly would be a waste of time with this package. So I am looking at MA/MSc programs in the UK, continental Europe and Canada, with LSE, UCL, Barcelona GSE and Warwick as my top four choices. I’m not exactly sure just how realistic that is, but my professors think they’re reasonable targets, based on past applications from my department. But I would still like to hear your opinions, since many of you are in better positions to know about this stuff. I would also like to know what you guys think could be the highest possible US PhD I could aim for directly. Thanks in advance.

I don't know how you define insulting women and minorities as being immoral. Distasteful, certainly. But hardly immoral. Also bear in mind that you might be making sweeping judgments based on a moral compass that there is no reason for anyone else to share. Not to mention how difficult it is get around the inherent subjectivity of what is or is not insulting. Some people tend to characterize neoclassical thought as immoral. This conceals the fact that the conclusions of neoclassical thought may be argued to be completely moral based on ethical systems that are simply not popular right now.