HungryGriot

I'm going to chime in as although your profile is stronger than mine I came from a business background before sharpening up in post-bach math courses etc.. Now in my first yr of Econ PhD. It cannot be overstated how competitive admissions are to economics PhD programs right now. Funding is also drying up as well. Really adcoms are looking for what's wrong with your profile and moreso just checking the box on what you have right/required. That B+ in Intermediate micro is a killer for you and I'm not going to sugar coat that. I expect that gets you out of the running for the upper 1/3 of your list. You have an excellent profile but I could see you doing some serious sweating around decision date with one/two funded offers in hand from your lower choices and having not heard back/waitlisted for some of your top choices. I see you have location preferences and I believe you will get funded from 1 maybe 2 of these and accepted into 1 other with no funding...and all you need is one! Good luck!

OP, just sent you a PM regarding Clemson.

Institution: UNC - CH Program: Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification Date: 3/18/15 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Implicit became official

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Institution: Vanderbilt Program: Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/4/15 Notified Through: Email response from Econ DGS following my inquiry Posted on GC: No Comments: Pretty thorough (re: deficiencies) in her response, that was much appreciated

Speaking from experience yes...$$ Cost at the privates can be hefty though. http://graduate.rice.edu/non_degree

Disclosure- My experience is at a state school ranked 70s-80s in the math dept, UCLA is top 10. I took Analysis 1 and Intermediate Micro in a 5-6 week term, while working as a researcher (10-15 hrs/week) and had no problems. IMO w your penchant for strong math performance you can handle it...really depends on how comfortable you are w real proofs, and set notation. The HW is time-consuming and rough, no getting around that..but with the proper motivation (getting into a top PhD) you should be fine.

What other course(s) would you take during that session?

"Waiting anxiety" is taking over..one acceptance w no funding decisions made and I'm a marginal type candidate at most places i applied (higher rank than current admission) /refreshes grad cafe //hopelessly checks application portals ///checks spam *sighs

^^ Many thanks!

This is helpful thread. Similar to OP I have strong excel and stata training but no true programming training. I plan to take the time to master one prior to enrolling this fall. When it comes to the actual coding/language, is there a base syntax that translates between programs? ie if I spend months learning Matlab will I have some proficiency in the language for R? I have some on the job training with SQL as well.

Institution: Clemson Program: Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: Decisions Mid-February Notification date: 1/28 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Ecstatic!

Interesting in the differences on how schools review apps and roll out acceptances. Maryland clearly states apps will be reviewed equally as long as submitted by 1/15, but Clemson is rolling out offers before their deadline. Rank might have something to do with that. Would any of the Clemson accepts (or similar) mind posting their submission--->admission dates?

*Faints* I applied to 8 and felt like I cast a pretty wide net. Your decision on where to go might be more stressful than waiting on acceptances, good luck! Good luck to all!

I also graduated in 2008 from a finance/acctg program but will be applying this cycle.. I agree with the above comments- here are some other options: You will have to take a few math courses non-degree, no getting around that (and will get you back into school mode). You can seek out some of the stronger professors in that Econ department (with interesting work) and ask to conduct some unpaid research. This worked for me and yielded my strongest letter writer. Even further- if your post-bach school doesn't have a strong Econ dept, you can "cold" email a few Prof's from your surrounding area. Focus on a couple younger profs that graduated from strong programs and tell them your story, and again suggest an unpaid research opp. You'd be surprised at the response you get! Also, you will definitely be able to get at least one letter from a previous econ prof- you just have to warm him/her up.. you prob have a good job now so sacrifice a trip back to your alma mater (if possible) and get a face to face meeting. I got one from a managerial econ prof I took in 2005- prob carries very little weight but I aced his class and it was the best i could do given my (our) circumstance. Just a few routes that won't require you quitting that cushy office gig!

I say this not knowing anything about where you are taking these courses or your analytical capabilities, or ability to pick up new material but... Skip micro 101 and macro 101 and go right to intermediate micro and macro over the summer. Or just take micro 101 during summer (skip macro) and get intermediate micro under your belt during the second summer term and intermediate macro during the fall. I went in as a post-bach at a top 60ish school for intermediate micro and macro along with prob theory and analysis over two summer semesters and did well, the last time taking anything econ related was AP HS 2003 and a business econ course in 2005. Intro econ courses will be a waste given the time crunch. Also definitely get linear into your fall sched to have the grade on your apps.

My profile is unique as well, and I've gotten mixed feedback on targets. One advisor said "apply to 3 or 4 schools" well that worked for him as a math major from a top 10 UG, but with a mixed bag like yours (and mine) I'm leaning the other way and applying to 8 or 9, btw 20 and 80. Programs are accepting 8-20 people...It's quite easy to get shut out of the top 30. Consider expanding to the Arizona schools..or NorCal..

I was wondering if it would be possible to reach out to a professor with similar research interests to puruse potential paid or unpaid research opportunities. I could attend lecture series and get to know people in the department. Additionally since I need intemediate micro and macro, would it be a successful strategy to take these in this econ department and would this open avenues to work as an RA for a professor there FWIW I took this approach this summer and it worked. Took Int Micro/Macro and some math courses, RA'd for a professor (unpaid). Reach out to a few profs however, as some will not respond. Also move quickly as im sure incoming PhD students will be assigned RA positions soon and they won't need you. You'll prob end up with a younger prof which is cool unless it is crucial for you to secure a #1 type recommendation letter. As for deciding which school, it depends on your target range of programs IMO. If you're looking mid-range/casting a large net like me (25-70 type programs) I'd say go to the public and ACE the coursework. If you're looking upper tier (top 20), you may need to sacrifice the money. Good luck!

The first month or so was a bit of grunt work- primarily to prove I was of at least minimal intelligence and work ethic and secondarily because I came on mid-project. The second project has been more collaborative, and I actually feel like I have some influence in the direction of the research. He mentioned the LOR early in the process (probably intentionally) and that has been a great motivator throughout haha. Some of that may be due to working with a younger prof, and although he is a T-10 grad I can't help but think the experience on that end may be quite different than working with a department chair. All in all it has been greatly beneficial IMO.

I have taken that approach and am currently researching under a professor at a Ph. D granting institution, so you're on the right track. I emailed professors directly who match (what I believe to be) my research interests and went about 2/6 in responses. The caveat- you'll prob be working with a younger professor so the letter may not hold as much weight (more established profs may not even respond) ...and you're probably going to have to work for free..which is cool if money is not an issue. Good luck!

Thank you all for the feedback. My thought is to use this summer as a true measuring stick. I have an MBA, but mid-level corp finance is not for me, and coming from a family of academics I've always considered a PhD. The way I see it- if I can't handle a compressed semester of Intermediate Micro and Intermediate Analysis (basically intro to proofs or transition to advanced math course) then could I realistically handle first-year coursework at a decent program? If the answer is no then I'll humbly return to a finance desk job.

Not sure if my previous reply posted or is being moderated but: Realistically this summer is my best time to make some real headway. I've done night math for the last 18 months, and I won't be working this summer so this will be my sole focus. At minimum I could possibly do 3 classes this summer and 1 in the fall.

Thoughts on the best set of classes? Business/Finance background, will do these post-bach at a PhD granting institution nearby. have taken Calc 1-3 (C/A/A) Lin Algebra (B) and Ord Diff Eq (B), one statistics class (A). Taken some quant. methods classes as well but don't consider them to hold much weight. Two 5wk sessions A Session I: Intermed Micro, Intermed Analysis Session II: Intermed Macro, Probabilty B Session I: Intermed Micro, Econometrics I Session II: Intermed Analysis, Intermed Macro C Session I: Intermed Micro, Econometrics I Session II: Intermed Analysis, Probability Plan to only take Real Analysis in the fall and will be applying to a broad range 50-100 and a couple finance programs as well. Thoughts?

Regarding cohort sizes amongst programs: Max:? Min:? Mean:? Benefits/Drawbacks to larger or smaller entering classes? Which do you prefer? Why? Just passing time ;)

I live in Houston.. Winter is extremely mild. A cumulative total of 3 weeks (in days) of wintry weather. It's great. Summers are not to be undersold, BRUTAL.