banana

Maryland rejected me today. I guess they've finally come around to sending rejections.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top 20 Liberal Arts College Undergrad GPA: 3.84/4.00 (4.00 Econ, 3.67 Math) Type of Grad: None Grad GPA: None GRE: 170Q, 170V, 5W Math Courses: Calc I, II, III (A, A+, A), Linear Algebra (A+), Number Theory (B), Applied Math: Social Sciences (A-), Abstract Algebra I (B+), Probability (B), Numerical Analysis (A), Real Analysis I (C+), Mathematical Statistics (A), Math Capstone Seminar (A). Econ Courses (grad-level): None Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro (A), Intermediate Micro/Macro (A/A), International (A), European International Econ (A), Economics of the European Community (A-), British Economy (A), Applied Econometrics (A), Applied Macro Seminar (A+). Other Courses: Liberal Arts-y stuff, Intro to Comp Sci Other: 2.5 years of work experience at an economics consulting company. Letters of Recommendation: 1) My boss (Top 70 Econ PhD); 2a) Macro professor (Top 100 Econ PhD), 2b) Econometrics professor (Top 100 Econ PhD); 3) Math advisor, very distinguished, PhD from Dartmouth. Research Experience: In college - minimal beside that done for classes (brief summer gigs after sophomore/junior year, grunt work). 2.5 years at the econ consulting company I am currently working at. Teaching Experience: Tutoring calc/stats sections for 3 years at college. Research Interests: Applied Micro, IO, Health, Law and Econ. SOP: Standard, but trying to tailor it to each university. RESULTS: Acceptances: Boston College ($$), UMichigan Ross (Business Econ, $$$), UNC Kenan-Flager (Accounting PhD, $$$), Georgetown ($$$), Cornell ($$, 1st year funding only after I declined the offer), Brandeis ($), George Mason (awaiting funding decision), George Washington (awaiting funding decision), Brown (Econ MA, no funding) Waitlists: UVA Rejections: Duke, BU, MIT Sloan (Accounting PhD), Yale SOM (Accounting PhD) Pending: UMD, CMU, Wharton Attending: Boston College Comments: What would you have done differently? I should have gotten As in all my math classes and perhaps done a bit more research with professors during my summers in college.

Woops.

Same situation here too. My guess is they are trying to get a sense how many admits are going to accept their offers, so that they can make additional offers if necessary. However, I've written off Brown as a rejection.

I haven't heard anything from Georgetown, BU or Wharton (didn't apply to UBC). I didn't even know Wharton had interviews, so mostly likely a rejection for me from there as well.

Institution: George Mason Program: Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TBA Notification date: 2/26/14 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No

Institution: Boston College Program: Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: Full Funding Notification date: 02/24/14 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Awesome. Very happy, especially since it is in a geographic area that I strongly prefer.

Institution: University of Virginia Program: Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: --- Notification date: 2/15/14 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No, and I won't post it there. Comments: A bit bummed out, but I still have a decent number of programs to hear from.

That's not true. Some institutions, such as the Fed, say that being a US citizen or a green card holder is a requirement for the job, but I know one international who spent 2-3 years at the NY Fed after undergraduate, and another one who worked at the Fed during his PhD program and now, having graduated, is at the Board of Governors. So, there are exceptions to the rule and, therefore, international students should apply to such RA positions. The same holds for private companies - some do sponsor despite the disclaimers on their job posts. Back on-topic: my backup plan is to stay at the econ consulting company where I am currently working (if they still want me :)) and think whether I want to reapply next year or do something else such as change fields, etc.

Do you know if anyone has received an interview invitation from Wharton? I haven't, not that I thought it was very likely to get one.

From what I've heard from a friend who is doing his PhD at a Top 10, there is pressure, much greater compared to more lowly-ranked programs, to do and publish "cutting-edge" research (not a fan of the word "cutting-edge" - let's say research that pushes the envelope as much possible). While that probably makes the program more rigorous and difficult to complete, it pays off by putting you in a good position once you get your degree.

I don't like schools that require sending paper anything. There are plenty out there that handle their admissions process without that and specifically ask students not to send paper materials. I think more universities should follow the example of paperless applications - easier for them and for the applicants.

I think George Mason's deadline is Feb 1 for US applicants. However, they specialize in very particular fields (Austrian/Public/Experimental Economics) that might not meet everyone's interests.

Yes, I had it earlier this week. It was really informal and short. They asked me the standard questions (why PhD, why Econ, why UVA) and some about my profile (academics, work experience, etc.). Not much talk about research interests. It seems they just wanted to see if an applicant raises any red flags during the interview.

Type of Undergrad: Top 20 Liberal Arts College Undergrad GPA: 3.84/4.00 (4.00 Econ, 3.67 Math) Type of Grad: None Grad GPA: None GRE: 170Q, 170V, 5W Math Courses: Calc I, II, III (A, A+, A), Linear Algebra (A+), Number Theory (B), Applied Math: Social Sciences (A-), Abstract Algebra I (B+), Probability (B), Numerical Analysis (A), Real Analysis I (C+), Mathematical Statistics (A), Math Capstone Seminar (A). Econ Courses (grad-level): None Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro (A), Intermediate Micro/Macro (A/A), International (A), European International Econ (A), Economics of the European Community (A-), British Economy (A), Applied Econometrics (A), Applied Macro Seminar (A+). Other Courses: Liberal Arts-y stuff, Intro to Comp Sci Other: 2.5 years of work experience at an economics consulting company. Letters of Recommendation: 1) My boss (Top 70 Econ PhD); 2a) Macro professor (Top 100 Econ PhD), 2b) Econometrics professor (Top 100 Econ PhD); 3) Math advisor, very distinguished, PhD from Dartmouth. Research Experience: In college - minimal beside that done for classes (brief summer gigs after sophomore/junior year, grunt work). 2.5 years at the econ consulting company I am currently working at. Teaching Experience: Tutoring calc/stats sections for 3 years at college. Research Interests: Applied Micro, IO, Health, Law and Econ. SOP: Standard, but trying to tailor it to each university. Concerns: C+ in RA, not stellar grades in some other Math classes. My LOR writers did not graduate from super-highly-ranked programs. Applying to: Econ Programs: Wharton AE, UMichigan Ross BE, Cornell, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Duke, Maryland, Boston U, UVA, Boston C, UPittsburgh, Georgetown, George Washington, George Mason, Brandeis. Accounting Programs: MIT Sloan, Yale SOM, UNC Kenan-Flagler.

I got an interview request from UVA and chatted with them for a bit earlier this week. It seems that they are preparing to make at least some offers by the end of the month or in early February. In other news - I am done with all the applications that I wanted to submit! Oh boy, am I relieved that this process is over. Juggling work and applications was extremely unpleasant at times, to say the least... And now we play the waiting game...

@skaldiro: As I mentioned, I think consulting companies hire new PhDs for their core competencies. So, if you want to do a PhD, specialize in behavioral econ or contract theory, and use your specialties in your work, you'd better have the patience for a circuitous career. My advice is to reach out to people (who do litigation consulting) outside of your finance group and see what they think about doing a PhD and using behavioral/contract theory at work. If they weigh against it, maybe it's a bad idea after all.

Skaldiro, I am in the process of doing what you plan to, and I don't think it's a stupid idea. After a bit more than two years in litigation consulting, I've learnt just about everything a junior staffer is supposed to do. The way to progress career-wise is either to bring in more quantitative skills (by getting a MA or PhD degree) or by managing people. Since I work in a small office, there aren't that many people to manage, so that leaves me with the fist option (which I prefer anyway). The reason I am choosing a PhD over an MA is that it will allow me to go all the way up the career ladder and become a testifying expert, or close to it (additional skills are required to be an expert, but that's another topic). The caveat here is that, as I said, I work in litigation consulting, specializing in antitrust cases, and I am not sure how things stand in the financial consulting field. Maybe your colleagues are right, but I still think a PhD can take you far, especially if it is where your passion lies ;) Given that you are in financial consulting, a PhD in finance might be more appropriate if you want to stay in this field. A PhD in economics can take you to slightly different areas of consulting. That said, however, I don't think your "major" as a PhD will make or break your chances of success in economic consulting. The core PhD courses will be enough to get you hired as an economist, but it's unclear whether you'll ever get to use what you researched for your dissertation. Another point - I am not sure where Kaysa is getting his info, but you most likely won't be making 250k as a newly-minted PhD working at a consulting company. Starting salaries are around 150-160k.

You can probably look up salaries for similar positions in similar areas at glassdoor.com

Thanks for the reply, sulebrahim. I think I posed the question too broadly and that's why I didn't get many replies. So, I'll give it another try. I've used the US News and EconPhD (specifically for IO) rankings to come with a list of schools. However, it is not clear to me whether the EconPhD data is up-to-date. I've also looked at the faculty pages of most of the schools to see how many IO professors they have. That has shed some light, but I still want to check with people who are currently doing their PhDs and have a better perspective on the programs (or who have just done more research than me so far). So, here are the schools I am considering: UMD College Park, BU, Ohio State, UVA, Indiana U, Purdue, Georgetown. Sulebrahim added WUSTL, Texas, Penn State and Rice. Does anyone know any others to add to this list, or perhaps to remove? Do you think Rochester or BC might be decent in IO?

Hi Everyone, What would be your suggestions for good IO programs in Top 20-40 and 40-60 range? I am (tentatively) interested in market structure with an orientation toward toward antitrust policy. Preferably on the east coast, but any suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

Having to wait until Nov 20th to take the GRE sounds a bit harsh. Do you live in the US? If so and if all the test centers are booked in your area, it might be worthwhile to invest in a trip to the next nearby test center with available dates.You'll have to pay for transportation and lodging, but if you really want to have a chance at getting in those 6 schools it might be worth it.

Thanks for the replies, guys!

I'll be applying to Econ PhD programs for Fall 2014 admission and I would really appreciate some advice on who to pick to be my LOR writers. Here's my situation. I have been out of college for 2 years (econ and math double major, top 20 liberal arts college), working in economic consulting. My boss, an econ PhD, has been very happy with my work, promoted me twice, so he will be one of my letter writers. Then comes the dilemma. For various reasons, I never took classes with my econ advisor (an MIT PhD) and my contact with him was not very solid - I didn't need much advising on course selection because that was more or less predetermined by me being a double major and going on a semester abroad. I also wasn't seriously enough thinking about a PhD in econ at that point, so I didn't discuss it with him much either. Therefore, I don't feel he knows me well enough to write me a good LOR, and I don't want to put him in a position to have to decline. Still, there are two econ professors who know me well and I believe will write excellent LORs for me. One of them is a macro (full) professor with whom I have taken intermediate macro and a macro senior seminar. The problem with him is that he got his PhD at a not-very-well-known school (listed but not ranked in US news, for example) and he doesn't seem to appear on RePEc (he has authored a bunch of articles and a few books, so that is a bit surprising). He's a great teacher and person otherwise, but probably adcoms don't care about that. The other professor who can write a LOR for me is an assistant professor. Taught me econometrics and led my study abroad group, so he knows my performance in a couple of other classes. Also a great person and teacher, but he also comes from a not-very-well-known school (large state uni, listed but not ranked by US news). Finally, my math advisor, very distinguished and published, Dartmouth PhD, can write a very strong LOR as well (if necessary there are other math professors I can rely on too). My plan is to get LOR from my boss, one of the two econ professors, and my math advisor. What do you think about this plan? Which one of the econ professors would be a better pick? And should I ask my math advisor for a LOR, or go with the two econ professors.

Hi All, I am a new member of the forum, but have been lurking around for a bit. I will be applying to Econ PhD programs this fall for Fall 2014 admission, so I hope you will help me out by mercilessly evaluating my profile. PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top 20 Liberal Arts College, but I am an international applicant Undergrad GPA: 3.84/4.00 (4.00 Econ, 3.67 Math) Type of Grad: None Grad GPA: None GRE: 170Q, 170V, 5W Math Courses: Calc I, II, III (A, A+, A), Linear Algebra (A+), Number Theory (B), Applied Math: Social Sciences (A-), Abstract Algebra I (B+), Probability (B), Numerical Analysis (A), Real Analysis I (C+), Mathematical Statistics (A), Math Capstone Seminar (A). Econ Courses (grad-level): None Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro (A), Intermediate Micro/Macro (A/A), International (A), European International Econ (A), Economics of the European Community (A-), British Economy (A), Applied Econometrics (A), Applied Macro Seminar (A+). Other Courses: Liberal Arts-y stuff Other: I have 2 years of work experience at an economics consulting company. The team I work in specializes in doing econometric analyses for antitrust cases (class certification and damages mainly). I have been promoted twice for these 2 years, which is a rarity, and am holding a position that is usually held by people with MA degrees. Also, I am given a considerable amount of freedom when doing the analyses, although there is always an Econ PhD to guide me (I hope I am not sounding too full of myself, but I do like my job... The reason I want to get a PhD is the feeling that I am maxing out my potential for growth, and I want to grow some more :)). Letters of Recommendation: This is the part that, I suspect, will sink my battleship, together with that C+ in RA. I will open a new thread to ask about advice specifically on this topic, but here's an outline: 1) From my current boss (Econ PhD, Top 70 US) - it should be stellar, given the 2 promotions and the high opinion he has of my work. 2) Tough one - probably from my Macro professor (taken 2 classes and have a good relationship with him; his PhD is from a low-ranked school - US news lists it, but doesn't rank it, to give you an idea). Another option is an assistant professor of econometrics who taught my metrics class and led a study abroad group, so he knows me well and has a high opinion of me. A still other option is to ask another of my managers (Econ PhD) to write me a LOR. 3) Math advisor, very distinguished, PhD from Dartmouth. Research Experience: At college - minimal beside that done for classes (brief summer gigs after sophomore/junior year, grunt work). 2 years of work at the econ consulting company I am at currently. A paper on calculating antitrust damages I am working on with one of my PhD managers (probably won't be published by the time I am applying though). Teaching Experience: Tutoring calc/stats sections for 3 years at college. Teaching a new hire at my company the tricks of the trade and guiding her in her work. Research Interests: IO, Law and Econ - essentially what I am currently doing. I have always liked Macro, but multiple people including my macro professor I mentioned earlier, advised me not to pursue at the graduate level, so I will probably listen. SOP: Haven't started working on it, but what's above will be the basis of it probably. Concerns: C+ in RA, not stellar grades in some other Math classes, lack of super-star economist LOR-writers. Applying to: What are your thoughts on this one? I am still working on my list, but I am thinking about a few T10 applications, a couple T10-30, and 2-3 beyond that. Am I aiming too high? Thanks to all who reply. I am really excited about what's coming!