budfox

Thanks for the feedback, all!

That's great advice, Walras. Thanks so much. My end game is trying to get in the best phd program possible and I'm definitely not in a rush to get there (that is, I'd rather take more time to take more math and get into a much better program than just knock out the bare minimum math and get into a lower-tier program). So my line of thinking was that doing a longer masters (even if not at Duke or Tufts, as long as it's not specifically a professional program) in which I could take plenty of math as well as graduate econ courses would put me in a better position to get into a higher ranked phd than just taking some of the math I missed out on. Still think I just do the math classes in lieu of the masters? Much appreciated.

Hi all, I was hoping you could help me evaluate my profile for admissions to economics masters programs and perhaps provide me some sense of where I might be a competitive applicant. Type of Undergrad: a very highly regarded liberal arts college. Undergrad GPA: 3.9 overall, 3.9 economics (phi beta kappa, with honors, and some departmental awards) GRE: 165Q, 167V Math: Almost none. One semester of calculus (A) and a couple of stats classes. I'm a classic case of one's level of mathematical sophistication being greater than what is reflected on one's transcript. For the most part, my weak math background is why I'm considering a masters (in addition to taking more advanced economics courses)--hopefully en route to a doctorate. Econ: Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Intro Econometrics (A), Corporate Finance(A--was considered an econ course at my school and was taught by an econ professor), Seminar in Monetary Economics (A), Seminar in Law and Economics (A). Note: our "seminars" were the most advanced courses in the curriculum (basically they were research-oriented courses and each required a thesis-esque kind of project). Letters of Recommendation: Undergrad profs (1 Harvard). Should be OK. Teaching Experience: Tutored intermediate micro and macro for a 2 semesters each, also TA'd an intro course. Research Experience: None, except that the two seminar courses were VERY research intensive and resulted to two papers that, if nothing else, could make for what I think would be pretty solid writing samples. Other: Instead of doing research and taking math classes in the summers, I was very career-focused in undergrad. I did 4 internships (1 in politics, 1 at a microfinance nonprofit, 1 at the U.S. government's export credit agency in DC, and 1 in M&A investment banking). I currently am a third-year analyst in investment banking doing mergers & acquisitions, divestitures, etc. I've learned a lot from these experiences, but I've always had a gut feeling I belonged in academe and I'm finally ready to make a move. Research Interests: Industrial organization (specifically, in relation to business combinations and firm value). Note: I can go anywhere in the U.S., and, thanks to a couple of years in IB, financing isn't my most pressing problem (my lack of math is!), so I'm least concerned with those questions and more concerned with where I can go in order to improve my math profile with the goal of applying to phd programs thereafter. Note 2: while I've considered just taking math classes part-time for a few more years instead of a masters, it's pretty much impossible with my job. 90-100 hour work weeks are not uncommon at all, and I'm ready to commit full-time to school. Any suggestions? Thanks so much everyone!