azecon

Type of Undergrad: Large-sized unranked public state school (BA Economics/History-double) Undergrad GPA: 3.56 Type of Grad: Medium-sized unranked public state school (MA Economics) Grad GPA: 3.92 GRE: 159V/168Q/4.0AW Math Courses: Calculus I-IV (A,A,A-,A), Differential Equations (A), Discrete Mathematics (A), Linear Algebra-non proof (A), Linear Algebra-proof (A), Introduction to Statistics (A), Math Notation and Proof (A), Linear Programming (A), Theory of Probability-calculus based (A), Advanced Calculus I (A) Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Introduction to Microeconomics (B), Introduction to Macroeconomics (A), Price Theory (B), Economic Data and Statistics (B), Money and Banking (A), Industrial Organization (A), Urban Economics (B), Macroeconomic Theory (A), Public Economics ©, Economic Development (B), Managerial Economics (B), Econometrics I (C+, then retook for A), Mathematical Economics (A), Business Forecasting (A) Econ Courses (graduate-level): International Economics (A), Econometric Analysis (A), Applied Microeconomic Analysis (A), Macroeconomics and Monetary Policy (A), Economic Development (A), International Macroeconomics and Currency Crisis (A) Letters of Recommendation: 1. Economics department chair-has publicly stated that I am one of the best students in the history of the program and that I would make an excellent doctoral student, earned an A in all three classes that I took with him. 2. Math professor-has told me personally that I am one of only few of students, in over a 20 year career of teaching, that actually stands out in his memory. Has said that he admires my work ethic and has playfully remarked that I ought to be putting my mathematical prowess to better use by pursuing a PHD in Mathematics rather than Economics, earned an A in all three classes that I took with him. 3. Economics professor-took graduate micro with him, solved a Kuhn-Tucker optimization problem as an extra credit assignment which impressed him, earned an A in the class. Research Experience: Masters thesis (incomplete at the time of application) I hope to have it completed it by Spring 2015. Six month internship at the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation-primarily data mining and report writing. Teaching Experience: Economics graduate assistant for a quarter-graded and proctored exams as well as coordinated study sessions. Private/freelance tutoring in math and economics to junior high, high school, and college level students. Research Interests: Applied micro, labor, development, health. SOP: good I think but who knows :/ Concerns: Coming from relatively low ranked schools, my mediocre undergrad performance by prospective PHD student standards, my incomplete master's thesis. RESULTS: Acceptances: UC Irvine (with full funding), Arizona (with full funding), University of Pittsburgh (waitlisted for funding) Waitlists: Michigan State (received letter via email), Boston University (received letter via email) Rejections: Stanford, Berkeley, Northwestern, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin-Madison, NYU, Columbia, Brown, Boston College, Cornell, UCLA, Southern Cal, UCSD, UCSB, UC Davis, Arizona State, Vanderbilt, Duke, Maryland-College Park, Johns Hopkins, UT-Austin, Rochester, University of Washington Pending: Attending: UC Irvine Comments: All in all I am pretty happy with my results. I am attending a top 35-45 school (depending on the ranking system) with full funding. I am staying very close to Los Angeles (my hometown), which is what I was hoping for. I am at a program that focuses heavily on my field of interest (applied micro) and offers great support to its students (according to the faculty and past and present students). What would I have done differently? As it pertains to the application process, I would not have applied to as many schools. I would not have applied to any top 15 schools. These were clearly a long shot for me. Also, I would have narrowed my list of schools even further by excluding the ones that concentrate primarily on Macro or Theory. As it pertains to my profile, I would have went to a community college out of high school and transferred to a more prestigious undergraduate institution (like UCLA or USC). I would have majored in math and minored in economics as an undergrad. I would have done more research as a student and forged better relationships with my professors. But with all that said, I am very happy with where I am right now and I look forward to the next challenge that awaits!

Anybody?

How many hours per week do first year students spend on studying (which includes reading and doing homework), sitting in lecture, holding office hours, and other miscellaneous graduate student related activities? I have heard numbers ranging anywhere to 50-80 hours per week. Mostly though people say that its more important how you study rather than how much you study. I believe that I am pretty good at managing my time and I think 50-55 hours per week should be fine. I'll obviously rev it up more during midterms and finals though...

I called the department.

More than a month ago. Yes via email but my status was also updated on the online application website.

I have been admitted but I will decline I think.

I called them and found out that I was rejected. They said an official letter will be sent via mail.

UC Irvine: Sunday March 15 & Monday March 16 U of Arizona: Monday March 23 & Tuesday March 24 U of Pittsburgh: Friday March 20

thank you very much...

Anybody?

Depending on the source, UCI consistently ranks in the 35-50 range. Which makes it a fine program, especially if you consider geographic location and proximity to major cities (LA and SD are each about an hour away in the opposite directions). Specifically, UCI seems to be a great program for those interested in Applied Microeconomics with an emphasis on labor, urban, transportation, and public policy. It is also has concentrations in Public Choice and Transportation Economics. Some of their more distinguished faculty members are David Neumark (labor), Jan Brueckner (urban, public), Eric Swanson (macroeconomics), and John Duffy (behavioral). Anybody have any other opinions (past, present, or future) on the program at UCI? Thanks!

Calc 3 is the most applicable course for economics in the entire introductory calc sequence. Make sure you take it sometime before you have to send out grad applications.

I think not passing the comp exams and failing out of getting a PhD is bad enough...if that were to happen the near 50k in debt that you will accumulate may not end up being the thing that bothers you the most.

Institution: UCLA Program: Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/4/15 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: I am officially out of LA!!!

Institution: Cornell Program: Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/4/15 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Institution: UC Berkeley Program: Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/4/15 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Institution: U of Wisconsin-Madison Program: Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/4/15 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Informally offered admission into the Master's program but I will not pursue it for three major reasons. #1. It is not funded. #2. It does not guarantee admission into the PhD program. #3. I already have funded admission offers into PhD programs.