asymmetrica

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: BA Econ & Math at non-flagship state university Undergrad GPA: 3.71, 3.9 Econ and 3.69 Math Type of Grad: MS, Top 3 ARE Grad GPA: 3.9 GRE: 163Q/165V/4.0A Math Courses: Calculus I (A), Calculus II (A-), Calculus I (B+), Discrete (A-), Linear Algebra & Matrix Theory (A), Probability (B+), Numerical Analysis (A), Real Analysis I (B) , Real Analysis II (A), Point-Set Topology (A), Mathematical Statistics (A), Survey Sampling (A), Abstract Algebra I (B+) Econ Courses: UG: Intro Micro/Macro (A/A), Intermediate Micro/Macro (A/A), Money & Banking (B+), Health Economics (A-), Urban Economics (A), History of Economic Thought (A), Development of Latin America (A), Econometrics (A), Economics of Immigration to New York City (A-), Elements of Mathematical Economics (A), Behavioral Economics (A); Graduate: Applied Econometrics (A+), Microeconomic Analysis I (A), Optimization with Economic Applications (A-) Other Courses: Selected University Honors courses (interdisciplinary, credits equivalent to adding a minor), Computing for Math & Sciences – Python (A), Upper Division credits in Geology and Biology Letters of Recommendation: North Carolina State University, Econometrics: We have talked pretty in depth about research interests, and got an A+ in their course. This one is generally pretty optimistic, but is really batting for me. Berkeley ARE, Applied Micro/Policy Analysis:Got noticed in the class for asking a lot of "good" questions, didn't talk in office hours that much (once or twice), but did consistently good work and received high scores across tests and assignments including writing assignments (A in class). University of Washington (Seattle), Macro/Econometrics: Was a top student in Econometrics and Macroeconomics classes, worked on two applied econometrics research (housing/foreclosure) studies, also very much batting for me. Teaching Experience: Class tutor (i.e. held office hours) for principles of micro for 2 years. Research Interests: Microeconomic Development with the added tools from Social Network Theory and a strong focus on Risk and Uncertainty. Very much oriented towards empirical investigation of the effects of social networks, risk sharing, risk mitigation, insurance, etc. on development (and ag. dev) outcomes. Leaning towards work with obvious policy implications. SOP: Research, research, research. Did end up mentioning people I wanted to work with by name, which is always kind of controversial. I believe that this part of my application is unambiguously improved from last year. Concerns: Low Quant GRE. Bad grades in math theory courses (B in RA I, B+ in Calc III -- though I guess I'm less concerned about the B+ in algebra). Only a marginally competitive undergrad GPA though my graduate work and rising trend (3.79 last two years) may retroactively cover for that. Addendum: name recognition, both of school and letters. RESULTS: Accepted: UMN APEC ($), UC Santa Cruz ($), Wisconsin AAE, UC Davis ARE ($) Out: Yale, Berkeley ARE, Stanford, Brown, UCSD, Georgetown, Maryland, Maryland AREc, UBC Waitlist: Cornell AEM Attending: Davis ARE Comments: Davis was one of the original group of schools that I chose when I was applying last year. It's good to know that I was able to hit that target, though I did have higher expectations. With that said, I'm very optimistic about my future at Davis. Some of the schools on my list I knew a priori that I wouldn't make it at, but I'm actually genuinely surprised about a few. In particular I was surprised that Cornell AEM and Maryland AREc didn't accept me, though to be fair I made a devastating mistake in both of those applications. Also, surprised about the Georgetown rejection, though it would make sense that I'm not exactly what they're looking for in a candidate. Things I would have done differently (at various stages of my academic career): 1. Been serious about preparing for graduate school earlier. This is obvious, and I'm sure everyone feels this way, but I was pretty set on being an economist since I was in principles classes. I wasn't aware of the difficulty of getting in, or how sensitive the process was to math scores (I really could have gotten A's in the calculus sequence had I been more serious). 2. I would have not done an honors degree -- which actually competed for my time in considerable ways over the course of my education. Knowledge of Russian Literature, for example, is wonderful, but it upsets me that I probably paid a price in the level of economics program I could get into do to my competing workload. Then again, I would have never taken a globalization class, and probably wouldn't be a development type at the moment were it not for this program. 3. It would have been a very good idea to transfer to the state flagship (which has a top 20 econ department), which was very doable when I was a sophomore. This would have been useful for name recognition, diversity of courses and also for letters -- all of which I was sorely lacking. Of course the trade-off here is that I made friends at my original UG institution. Additionally, I could have probably avoided the shut-out and moved much more quickly to get into the PhD programs. 4. Less (or different) math -- the marginal improvement in my application from taking courses like topology and abstract algebra was almost zero, looking back, Had I committed only to a math minor and taken more prob/stats courses I could have been a better candidate for an RAship. 5. Which brings me to #5: Aside from my GRE, I think research was actually a really poor part of my application. I would have needed to a do an RA either over summer or after graduating. This would have also helped with my letters issue. 6. If faced with a shut out, I would have given myself an option to do a MS program that would allow me to take PhD courses at previously mentioned flagship state U. Alternatively, a prestigious school related degree would have been worth exploring (maybe Yale Int'l Dev --> PhD Econ would have worked?). 7. One change would have been fairly easy, and is attributable to lack of foresight. I would have retaken the GRE during the summer, as opposed to try to retake it late in the fall last year. I didn't have a whole lot of time to study for it, and it turned out that my car broke down, so it really wasn't actually worth getting to the appointment. 8. It's pretty obvious that my MS held a lot more weight at applied economics programs that elsewhere. Since Davis is pretty good as applied programs go, and I had a good sense that I would be accepted, I would have not broadened these applications very much. I would, however, have added a few (2?) programs since the programs are much smaller. On the other hand I would have reduced my overall applications to economics programs for cost reasons.

Has anyone been rejected by Maryland AREc yet?

No, I withdrew to the let the offer roll. I was very interested in their development faculty (Glewwe, Bellemare) but knew I couldn't choose it over Davis. How was it?

I mean, this is just based off a feeling. But I say that generally you go for overall prestige first, right? I really think that UCSD wins there. I also had a sense that UCSD's econometrics is better than Madison. As you mentioned, the micro theory (and crossing over into behavioral) is better there (Niehaus and Ali do really cool social learning stuff). Last, they are pretty diverse -- so if you moved to applied micro I'm not sure it would be so bad (is Wisco is known for applied micro?). Full disclosure: At my department, we tend to hold SD in high regard -- I think at least half of our new hires have come from there. So there might be some California bias. Oh last, speaking of which, the weather is much better in Cali!

I would say UCSD.

Oh man, I though that was another email from Minnesota APEC! Well, looks like the same thing for me!

Waiting on two schools and three programs. A disappointing year, but not one I couldn't have anticipated to some degree. I feel like the message was pretty clearly heard that, ARE MS =/=> Econ PhD. Anyway, the real question is: when is Maryland going to reject me? I know that they have a policy of only releasing acceptances/rejections by email -- assuming that they've already waitlisted students, that definitely means a rejection. So why are they waiting at this point? No sense in stringing out the rejected students with the waitlisted...

I know some people who got in late in the game last year (one on April 14th even), so all hope is not lost. As far as the visit day goes, I think the program stands to do better than it did last year in terms of converting visitors into students, so it's hard to make a direct comparison. Also, there is a lot of competition -- there's a much larger MS class this year (17ish of whom applied to transfer, compared to 8 last year).

That depends on what you mean, and on the program. I think you can probably be accepted into an applied program with less math (i.e. there is basically less hoop jumping for ARE applications), but at the same time an ARE program may be as or more mathematical than an econ program. At Davis, for example, students take micro (including prelim) and econometrics with the econ students, and since econ doesn't take an econometrics prelim, the AREers are actually more focused on econometrics than the econ students. Additionally, a lot of students end up taking almost an additional year of econometrics after core. Likewise, a large portion of the enviro/resource track is based on dynamic modelling, first using analytic and numerical tools, and later with empirical tools. I'm not really sure about the level of heterogeneity between programs in this respect. Any one else care to comment?

Of course this begs the question: why are you living in Dixon if you're going to Davis?

I mean, Madison's not totally exceptional in this regard either. The terrace and lake are nice. They draw some good bands some of the time. There's Willie street, though that's not really my scene. There's also a whole lot of drinking to be done. I mean, Davis is truly a small town, but it's a small town that's half PhD's, so that's worth taking into account. Not to mention that the surrounding area has Tahoe, redwoods, SF, Eastbay, Sacramento (which is okay -- I usually go west), Napa, Sonoma, etc. The hiking is nice around here too.

Well, Wisconsin didn't fund me for the first strike. If they had, I'm still pretty sure I would stick with Davis. I have a few reasons. I've lived in the Midwest for 23 years -- California is a nice change. But even if I could hold those constant I think I would still head to Davis. Development here is pretty exciting -- Carter, Taylor, Lybbert, and Boucher are all very involved and very field work oriented (not to mention others). There's also very real access to the econ department. For someone who is developing interests in labor, public, and behavioral, that means a lot to me. I'm not sure I would go to Cornell. I'm impressed by their development faculty, but I'm not sure I feel its as good of a fit as Davis. Cornell pays more, but it's about even on placements, from what I can tell. I would certainly investigate, were they to accept me, however.

Wondering this too. Not sure I would move at this point, unless there was a really good offer. I'm pretty content with Davis (i.e. not sure how much difference there is between the two, and this is a much nicer quality of life). (though many have argued that Marlyand places a better, I think Davis has better prospects for development). Has there been any roll in Cornell AEM offers? Some people I talked to at visit day were planning to go to the Cornell visit too. I'm kind of interested to see what a very high waitlist means. Also considering the visit day if I do get an admission (I assume they would reimburse for an admit as opposed to a waitlist?).

Institution: Brown Program: Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification Date: March 4, 2014 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:

So then I probably shouldn't be anxious to hear from Maryland or Georgetown tomorrow? Georgetown is just a bit behind if we're to believe the last few years.