ColonelForbin

I agree with the poster above. I think the first thing you should answer (at least to yourself) is: Why do you want to do a Ph.D. in economics? The only reason I say this is that it is a rare case that an individual in their late teen years actually knows what they want to do for a living. Conditional on the answer to your question, I think I could give you more useful advice.

Magoosh + Manhattan for practice tests is the way to go.

Reading widely is probably better than any one agglomeration of economic news, but I'd be interested if other people have found things that are worth while. Definitely read the world this week in The Economist weekly -- that'll keep you up to speed on most things. Plus, their newspaper is the best for good, solid reporting. I like BBC for more general news. Wall Street Journal is OK for market-y news. I think Economist's View by Mark Thoma at University of Oregon is probably the best agglomeration of "economic news" out there. If you're not already using RSS, I'd suggest you use check out Feedly. RSS lets you read. more. news.

Why wouldn't they adjust by letting in a few smaller classes in later years?

tm_member. You've killed it with that answer.

Ask your potential boss where previous interns have gone. That's all that you need to know.

Does this apply to Harvard-wide? or specific for Harvard PP students?

Yes -- do not underestimate the effect of large cohorts. These people will be your coauthors of the future!

Duke masters students can take the first year Ph.D. sequence. It is unlikely that many of the Ph.D. students at Duke come from their masters.

Institution: NSF Program: GRFP Decision: Honorable Mention Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/31/15 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Man the competition must be steep for these things -- I got VG/Excellent reviews across the board and each reviewer said something very positive about the idea and my potential. It feels good to get great feedback, but the fellowship would have been nice!

I'm not sure about UCLA, but UCSD is very good in Micro theory. Both cities are very expensive -- but I think San Diego is a bit nicer than UCLA climate and scenery wise. Can you visit both programs? That'd be best case scenario.

It is possible. I'd do you best to get on the phone with the person who emailed you so your passion for Pitt will stand out. It's unlikely they'll give it away just because you didn't say 100% yes -- they must want you to enroll, so if there is a chance you will they will likely extend the offer. Again - this is a much easier conversation to have on the phone so that you can let them know (a) you love their program and (b) that you're still considering other programs, but that they are only waitlist offers currently.

Just tell them what you wrote here.

Post-docs aren't a bad gig depending on what you want in life. They pay quite well and you get two years to focus on research and network, without any teaching/lecturing time. Especially if you get a post-doc at an institution that is better than where could get a TT position. That being said -- regarding industry/gov't/int'l org placements... the top-100 place may place well into industry/gov't/int'l orgs because they place like **** into academia. OTOH, the top-50 place may focus on academic placements. The placement record of a school is heavily dependent on the inputs -- lots of people at NYC schools and DC schools place into industry, because they may have chosen those location on purpose for graduate school. There is a simultaneity problem here. I would be nebulous about your desire to not be in academia Some professor aren't too fond of this mindset, since the goal of most Econ programs is to train research professors. Ask about placements into industry, but don't go gun-a-blazing saying "academia is my last choice".

Making decisions is hard -- I hope visit days help.

Unreal picture.

I'm wearing my halloween costume -- I don't want them to forget who I am between the visit day and the first day of courses.

You can still enjoy those discussions in a economics program, but do them outside of your coursework! My advisor told me this: "never again will you be a in place where it is the job of your teachers and advisors to help you build a strong theoretical and quantitative toolkit. You shouldn't allow room for too many "fun" courses during your Ph.D. Tool-up, you'll be happy you did, because you'll be the one apply all these neat economic tools to problems you care about, while everyone else is still just having 'fun'" It isn't verbatim, but it is close. I think that is why economics Ph.D > PP PhD. There is just more of a focus on tooling-up and the job market knows that.

The fact that Houston has HEB matters. That store is awesome.

This doesn't directly address you question, but I think it'll offer some insight: The top ARE program is Berkeley. The remainder of the top-10 ARE programs (now-a-days) are second tier (this comes directly from an advisor). Maryland AREC has good professors, but their reputation seems to be based on historical strength. In this world, Berkeley is in a league of it's own -- and the many top applicants with interests that suit the ARE field apply to all pure economics and Berkeley ARE as a result, ignoring Maryland AREc, Davis ARE, Wisconsin AAE, Ohio State AEDE, etc. Yale FES Environmental Economics is floating around somewhere too -- but I don't consider them an ARE program. It probably about as difficult to get into Berkeley ARE as it is to get into Yale FES. This is what I would say the rankings are for ARE: 1 - Berkeley 3 - Maryland & Davis (I omit 2 to say there is a gap!) then: NC State Iowa State Cornell Wisconsin Ohio State Purdue Minnesota Getting into the ARE program at Berkeley is easier than getting into the Economics program at Berkeley. I'd also say this is true for Maryland AREC v Maryland Econ, Wisconsin AAE v Wisconsin Econ, David ARE v Davis Econ... you get the point. In terms of competitiveness -- some people project Berkeley ARE ~ top-20 economics. I think this is relatively correct -- I was offered a spot at Berkeley ARE and the highest pure economics program I've been accepted to is Duke, WL @ Michigan and still waiting for UCSD. When you get further down in the rankings -- research fit is very important. These programs still look for quantitatively strong applicants, but if the department focuses on extension-style research and you want to do international development, there just isn't much value-added in attending that program. However, you have to remember that ARE programs do a bit different research. They typically focus on applied microeconomics and actually have very little to do with agriculture these days. Even at the top programs, match is particularly important.

Placement is always very dependent on field -- also remember that.

I think you all are over-thinking this. There's no issue with putting LaTeX on your CV even if you made it in Word *GASP*! If you know a language put it on your CV, if you don't then don't.

Benefits of dropping > costs IMO! Especially if you are starting Ph.D. in the fall.

The competition is fierce. It's hard to say "where these individuals would place" but I'd guess at the best Top-5 and toward the bottom Top-40. It's just simply a different maximization problem -- usually people hiring for these positions want people with solid technical/computer skills, whereas graduate schools may care less about these things and more about your "promise as an academic" It's just not a 1-1 correspondence, so it is a bit difficult to compare.

Don't contact the other student. If there is any evidence of collusion on your part it'll only strengthen the professors argument, if it gets to that point. Just follow the protocol and remain honest. You also have to remember this -- these types of issues are a considerable draw on professor's time, so they typically only submit them if they have a genuine reason to think that cheating occurred. These sorts of things involve all sorts of administrivia and many meetings with administrators, etc. If you DID NOT cheat, do NOT sign a form that says you did. I also wouldn't tell any departments about this until it is resolved. It won't be on your record until it is resolved, correct?