lbox

https://www.ets.org/mft/about/content/economics

How do adcoms view the ETS Major Field Test? I got 99th percentile on the test. List it on my CV?

Ditto on getting an RA position, but don't limit yourself to FED. Look for RA positions with Profs at top schools. Also try and do an REU or similar research experience during the summer.

More like a difference between 1-2 and 3-10.

With the objective of getting into the best doctoral program possible, which full-time RA position is more preferable a position at a top government institution (Fed Banks, World Bank, IMF) or a position at top Universities (top 10)? My thoughts are that the top 10 will tend to have better economists to work with on average and will also be more connected in the academic world for admissions purposes. You'll also stand out more as the government institutions higher many students and possibly have the opportunity to take classes at better schools. Any thing I'm missing?

I second the motion and am also interested in information about Maryland Econ, beyond the WB/IMF connections, etc.

Here's the issue. I'm applying for doctoral programs this semester, but am also planning on applying to RA positions in case I get shut out. The problem is that it will be much more difficult to get a good RA position after I have found out about grad school acceptances, because less positions will be available and more people will be scrambling for a back up plan. How frowned upon would it be to apply to RA positions this semester also and if I get offered one, accept it, then back out if I get into one of my top choices for phd? What's the protocol for these situations because I'm sure many people have found themselves in similar places?

Last two people who went for a phd in econ from my school went to Cornell and Duke, though not directly, but it gives my professors people to compare to and they have informally given me favorable comparisons. And I'm planning on applying to RA positions in case i get shut out this year. I feel like thats the best way to get more well-known letter writers for me at this point.

I'm planning on graduating a year early and applying for Econ grad schools. I came in with essentially a freshman year's worth of AP credits and am at a liberal arts school. So I will have already completed all the required and relevant classes that are offered for my Math+Econ double major by the end of the third year. PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Regionally Ranked Liberal Arts in the Midwest Undergrad GPA: 4.00, Math & Developmental Economics BA in 3 yrs Type of Grad: None Grad GPA: N/A GRE: Verbal – 170, Quantitative – 168, Writing – 5 Math Courses: Problem Solving, Calc 1-3, Diff Eq, Linear Algebra, Intro Stats, Mathematical Statistics, Topics in Actuarial Science, Advanced Statistical Methods, Advanced Calculus (Intro to RA), [All either A’s or 5’s on AP test]. Fall 2014: Topology (will be taught with a modified Moore method), Math Seminar Econ Courses: Intro Micro/Macro, Interm Macro, Developmental Economics, Economics of Microfinance, Econometrics (Built off of Math Stats/Adv. Stats Class), [All A’s]. Fall 2014: Interm Micro and Advanced Econometrics (An IS with my Stats professor focusing on Spatial Econometrics) Other Courses: Calc-based Physics I & II [5 on AP], random liberal arts requirements Letters of Recommendation: Econ Professor, Stats/Math Professor at my school who both think extremely high of me and would write glowing letters of recommendation, however, they will be unknown to admission committees. My 3rd letter will be from an AP Econ professor from my summer research REU at a relatively high ranked liberal arts school. Research Experience: Paper for my Econometrics Class that is currently a finalist for an International Best Undergraduate Paper Competition. Also, did a summer NSF REU at a top ranked liberal arts school on the east coast (PA). I will be continuing my independent research during the fall in my Adv. Econometrics class. Teaching Experience: I’ve been and will continue to be a TA for Intro stats (3 semesters) and Principles of Microeconomics (3 Semesters) Research Interests: Developmental Economics, Econometrics, International Economics SOP: Mention limited opportunities at school which is why I’m graduating in 3 yrs, since I’d have reached many of the limits of my school by then. Otherwise, standard. I'll be applying to Harvard, MIT, Yale, Northwestern, NYU, Michigan, Cornell, Duke, Brown, Maryland, Michigan State, and possibly Georgetown. and NSF. So that gives you a little understanding of why I chose to graduate in 3 years, because staying a fourth year wouldn't really increase my application in anyway. My biggest deficiency is prestige (both school-wise and professor LOR), which staying won't help. I also think graduating a year early can be a positive signal if you still have significant experiences and accomplishments.

Do most programs have flexibility to take classes outside the Econ dept? In which case, you're saying my best bet is to just find a class outside the econ dept that fits my interests instead of worrying about if the Econ program contains such a class. If by interventionist type work, you mean work that examines solutions to poverty/inequality, then that would be a fair assessment. I'm wary of going to a public policy program though, because from what i've heard and read, it seems easier to go from Econ->Policy than from Policy->Econ, so Econ would keep more doors open and better placement opportunities, in general.

Here's the course outline from an old "Distribute Justice" Syllabus at BC: http://fmwww.bc.edu/ec-j/f2012/EC884.01.pdf I'd like to stay within the Econ or Applied Econ Phd programs, but i'd be interested in other programs that are heavily econ dependent.

I looked through the Heterodox Economics Directory and it didn't seem to be what I was really looking for either. The welfare, inequality, poverty topics are what I'm interested in. I want an orthodox economics education, but would like to have access to classes that explore the implicit or explicit philosophical/normative questions that are addressed in aforementioned topics, which seems to be what Boston College offers. I just didn't know if anyone was aware of other programs that had similar offerings.

So I was looking at Boston College's list of classes for their doctoral program online (Boston College Department of Economics) and they had classes such as "Social Choice and Justice" and "Distributive Justice". I've been somewhat interested in these topics from an Econ perspective and was wondering if anyone new of any other Econ departments that had classes in these areas? I tried searching and couldn't find much.

Decided I’d get a profile evaluation for what will likely be all that is on my transcript/resume when I apply to Grad schools in the Fall. Only thing that might change is grades for my Fall 2014 classes. PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Regionally Ranked Liberal Arts in the Midwest Undergrad GPA: 4.00, Math & Developmental Economics BA in 3 yrs Type of Grad: None Grad GPA: N/A GRE: Verbal – 170, Quantitative – 168, Writing – 5 Math Courses: Problem Solving, Calc 1-3, Diff Eq, Linear Algebra, Intro Stats, Mathematical Statistics, Topics in Actuarial Science, Advanced Statistical Methods, Advanced Calculus (Intro to RA), [All either A’s or 5’s on AP test]. Fall 2014: Topology (will be taught with a modified Moore method), Math Seminar Econ Courses: Intro Micro/Macro, Interm Macro, Developmental Economics, Economics of Microfinance, Econometrics (Built off of Math Stats/Adv. Stats Class), [All A’s]. Fall 2014: Interm Micro and Advanced Econometrics (An IS with my Stats professor focusing on Spatial Econometrics) Other Courses: Calc-based Physics I & II [5 on AP], random liberal arts requirements Letters of Recommendation: Econ Professor, Stats/Math Professor at my school who both think extremely high of me and would write glowing letters of recommendation, however, they will be unknown to admission committees. My 3rd letter will be either another Econ professor from my school or an Econ Professor from my current summer research who would be slightly better known. Research Experience: Paper for my Econometrics Class on the Gravity model of Bilateral Trade that my prof and I are editing and going to try to send to undergrad journals this summer. Also, doing a summer NSF REU at a top ranked liberal arts school on the east coast (PA) where I will be focusing on forecasting the NRU using Bayesian Econometrics. I will be continuing my independent research during the fall in my Adv. Econometrics class. Teaching Experience: I’ve been and will continue to be a TA for Intro stats (3 semesters) and Principles of Microeconomics (3 Semesters) Research Interests: Developmental Economics, Econometrics, International Economics SOP: Mention limited opportunities at school which is why I’m graduating in 3 yrs, since I’d have reached many of the limits of my school by then. Otherwise, standard. Other: My grades and GRE are good. Decent research experience this summer. My biggest concern is lack of graduate Econ classes and lack of well-known professors/school. Also, I won’t have a grade in Interm Micro when I apply to a lot of schools, but I figure my previous math and econ coursework should demonstrate that I’m more than capable of it. I’m thinking of apply to 10-12 schools mostly in the 10-30 range with a couple top tens and 1-2 safeties. Some schools I’m thinking of: Cal Berkeley ARE, Yale, UPenn, Columbia, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Cornell, Brown, Duke, Maryland, Boston U, Penn State, UCLA, UC-SD, Georgetown Am I aiming too high/too low? Any other schools that I should be thinking of? Any schools I should definitely take off of the list? All else equal, I’d prefer schools close or in the Midwest and in small towns instead of large cities. Thanks for everyone’s suggestions.

It seems that economists shy away from normative statements, yet make implicit normative assumptions in regards to "overall welfare." My own personal view is that these normative assumptions get treated too lightly within the economics community and that they are especially important in developmental economics, though I'm not sure I'd say that in any statement of purpose...

I ran across this interesting article on the Economist: Academic prestige: Why climb the greasy pole? | The Economist Couldn't find the original research though... Any thoughts?

http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/151505-choosing-between-rochester-ut-austin-penn-state.html Similar discussion occurred here and it gives a good summary. I'd say Penn State.

Hi, I took the GRE today and received preliminary scores of V: 170 and Q: 168. I'm assuming there is very little marginal benefit of trying to retake for the perfect score in the quantitative section?? Also, I have room in my schedule for one more class next fall (which is when I'll be applying for Phd programs). I was going to take Topology, but it conflicts with a required economics class. So I talked to my statistics professor and he said he'd be willing to do an independent study with me in statistics or econometrics. I'm currently in an econometrics class right now using Stock and Watson's Introduction to Econometrics but heavily supplemented with notes and using matrices. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do and what would look best for graduate applications (he'll likely be one of my LORs so he can talk about what i've done in the IS). Some ideas i've been thinking about are: measure theory probability (not sure if i'd be ready for this or not with only having taken intro to real analysis), finding a syllabus for a first semester phd metrics sequence and copying it, looking at some topics of personal interest such as spatial econometrics and applying it to a research project, or some combination of the above. Any thoughts on these?

Econhead- thats about what I was thinking too for schools. Econphd14 - I will have exhausted the upper level classes in math and Econ by the end of my third year. I think I'm leaning towards the route of applying to RA positions in case i get shut out of all the schools I am interested in because that would give me a more reputable letter writer and research experience, which I think are more of my deficiencies than coursework. I'd be fine with a top30 and excited about top 20 admits, which seem to be attainable.

I'm starting to think about where I should look at applying for in the fall of 2014. One of my econ profs seems to think I can get in to any school I want to, but I feel like that is way too optimistic. I'm think 10-30 range is more realistic? Top 50 for safety? PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Economics with strong math minor, Liberal Arts in Midwest (upper half in midwest, but nothing too special) Undergrad GPA: 4.00 Type of Grad: N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE: taking soon (Got an 800 on both the math and critical reading sections of the SAT and I heard GRE isn't much different in content) Math Courses: Calc 1-3 (A), Intro Stats (AP Credit), Mathematical Statistics (A), Diff Eq. (A), Problem Solving (A), Advanced Statistical Methods (A), Linear Algebra (currently A), Advanced Calculus ("intro analysis" currently A), Topology (Fall 2014), Real Analysis (essential RA II, spring 2015) Econ Courses: Econometrics (currently A, Linear is a coreq. and Math Stats is a prereq.), Principles Micro/Macro (A), Inter. Macro (A), Econ Development (A), Economics of Microfinance (currently A), Inter. Micro (Fall 2014, its only offered every two years...), History of Economic Thought (Fall 2014), finish up other electives in spring 2015 (game theory, international econ, money and banking) Other Courses: Calc Based Physics from AP Credit, and random Liberal Arts gen eds... Letters of Recommendation: All very strong recommendations but from unknown professors. (2 econ, 1 stats/math) One prof will be able to vouch for my grade in interm. micro since it won't be completed yet, but should be an A. Research Experience: Currently completing a research project in Econometrics Class, should be ok. Doing an REU in Lafayette College on Bayesian Econometrics and forecasting the NRU for this upcoming summer. Should give me another potential letter of rec from slightly better known profs. Teaching Experience: TA for Intro Stats & Principles of Micro (2 Years), Research Interests: Developmental Economics, Econometrics, International Economics SOP: Talk about limited opportunities at Liberal Arts (course offerings, research, etc), thus graduating in 3 years. Talk about research experience a little and my further interests. Standard otherwise. Other: Dreaming: Harvard, MIT... Reaches: NYU, Northwestern, Brown, Columbia, Cornell Mid: University Maryland, UC-SD, UCLA, U Minnesota, U Michigan, U Wisconsin, U Texas, Ohio State U, UC-Davis, Vanderbilt, Duke, John Hopkins, Boston University, Michigan State University Safeties: IU, Purdue, Georgetown, UC-Santa Cruz, UC-Irvine, Notre Dame Any thoughts?

To reply to some questions: I have or am currently taking the following math classes and have all A's: Calc 1-3, Mathematical Statistics, Advanced Statistical Methods, Econometrics, Differential Equations, Problem Solving (Intro Proof, freshman math class), Advanced Calculus (Intro to Real Analysis/RA I), Linear Algebra. I'm doing research this summer at an NSF REU with Bayesian Econometrics and forecasting the Natural Rate of Unemployment/Inflation so I'd get some exposure to monetary economics through this. Also, my intermediate macro class was taught by someone who focuses on history of economic thought so the class was based on the historical development of macroeconomics from smith to the Real Business Cycle school. (why is History of Economic Thought such an important class?) I do somewhat find the econ electives to be mundane and stuff that i could learn more easily myself than i could topology or RA II. I'm also at a liberal arts school so the extra math would definitely help for signal purposes. I'd like to attend a top30 institution, but i'd be satisfied probably with top50. Do adcoms care about the actual degree received? or just the classes?

My current areas of interest in economics are developmental economics, international economics, and econometrics, but primarily focused on developmental economics. So the topics covered in the developmental economics curriculum are more interesting to me. I'm just worried that adcoms might think lesser of it since I won't be taking more traditional econ electives (money and banking, public economics, etc.).

Hi, At my school, I'm currently a Developmental Economics major, but we also have an Economics major. The Developmental Economics curriculum focuses microfinance, microentrepreneurship, and ethical considerations with development, while the Economics major is your typical Econ major. As long as I take the core classes (such as Interm. Micro/Macro, International Economics, Real Analysis, Linear, Econometrics, Diff Eq., Math Stats, and possibly game theory), will it matter to admissions for Phd if i'm economics versus developmental economics? To get the Econ Major, I'd have to add History of Economic Thought, Money and Banking, and one other elective. Adding these classes would limit my ability to take other math electives, such as Topology or Real Analysis II. Any thoughts on this?

I was curious about the comparative advantage of going to a school near the DC area (such as Georgetown) if one's goal is to work for an organization such as the WB or IMF. If that is one's goal would going to a lower ranked school in DC area be better than a higher ranked school outside the area? Obviously, Harvard or MIT would still be better, but when would the advantages of better geographic location, networking opportunities, etc., get outweighed by the advantages of a higher ranking school? 10 rank difference? 20? (on average) Just wondering what people's thoughts are on this.

I'm curious as to whether the ranking in programs gives an indication of how good the actual preparation the program gives you to become a successful researcher. Are the primary benefits of going to a higher ranked school the greater prestige and access to prestigious economists? Or do higher ranked schools actually have a more rigorous program? I know there will be some variability from program to program, but in general, would the top 40 be consistent on its level of rigor and give you the same level of skills to become a successful researcher as a Top 20 or Top 10?