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Institution: MIT Program: economics Decision: admitted Funding: yes Notification date: 2/21/2015 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Did not expect a Saturday acceptance.

Really? Which red flags? A (comparative) lack of math courses aside, everything checks out to me. Not everyone has the chance to take grad school classes, so I don't think that will count against the OP.

Thanks for the advice :). Are there any intro metrics book you would recommend, aside from Mostly Harmless? The undergrad metrics at my home institution is all but a Stata tutorial class ...

I haven't really explored the intersection of CS and economics. Though I imagine some things like machine learning or networks could be applicable to metrics or game theory ... Imo, the main benefit of a CS degree to my future career is being a decent/passable programmer.

Hmm ... the issue is that I don't want to be tossed in a "problem pile", assuming adcoms do a preliminary scan based on GRE scores (which is plausible, considering the # of applications).

Thanks for the reply. I'm considering toward retaking because Stanford specifically states that "most" successful applicants have a AW score at least 4.5.

Hi all, It's finally (almost) time to start the fall applications. I got a profile evaluation earlier last year and want a final evaluation for the 2015 cycle. Specific questions: Should I retake GRE? What should I be focusing on during the current Fall term? Is there anything left I reasonably can do to improve my chances? Range of schools to shoot for? (Other than the reaches I listed.) Type of Undergrad: Top 10 US undergrad. Math/CS major. Undergrad GPA: 4.2/4.33 (A+ = 4.33, A = 4.0). Type of Grad: Nope. Grad GPA: See graduate courses. (4.3) GRE: 170Q/166/4AW (might retake to improve AW) Math Courses: Calculus I, II, III. (Proficiency exam). Linear algebra (honors). A+ Intro to real variables ("baby" real analysis) A Analysis I (A) -- standard Baby rudin treatment dAnalysis II (A+) -- (e.g. lebesque int., dominated conv. thm,etc type stuff) Complex analysis (A) Differential geom (A+) Commutative algebra (graduate level) (A) Probability (grad level) A+ Stochastic processes (grad level; a rigorous treatment of Stochastic diffeq that were frankly over my head) A+ Intro to Discrete mathematics (A) Discrete mathematics (A+) Functional analysis (pass/fail) :victorious: Ongoing math courses: Topology "Hardcore" graduate level real analysis (might just pass fail this one). Econ Courses (grad-level): Decision Theory (A+) Gen. Equilibrium Theory (A) Game Theory (A+) Micro sequence (A+, A+) First year grad. macro (A+) Ongoing: Grad metrics sequence. Topics in micro theory. Topics in probability/statistics (essentially a math class). Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Principles of Micro, Intermediate micro (A, A+) Industrial Organization (A+) Game theory (A) Environmental Econ (pass/fail) :watermelon: Ongoing: Nothing. Other Courses: A bunch of advanced CS classes (mostly A+). Also some ongoing. Letters of Recommendation: I have 4 economics/business school profs who will write very good letters (because I had the best score in their respective graduate/upper undergrad level classes). Of these 4, I have a decent amount of RA experience w/ 2 of them (see below). Research Experience: RA'ship with a couple profs -- ongoing. Just the general type of undergraduate research. Profs generally/very satisfied with my work, though I made no original contributions. Teaching Experience: TA'd for various CS classes. Research Interests: I/O. Probability theory. Finance. SOP: Not written. (see concerns). Concerns: Low GRE writing score. NO publications :upset:. Never taken a diff eq class (have no idea how to even solve a simple one) except SDE. No optimization classes. Large undergrad, so there'll definitely be other people, possibly as good as me (but in another area, say, physics), competing for the same schools. Other: High ranking in the Putnam math competition. Applying to: Want to get into a top 5 (reaches), but need some targets and safety schools to apply to. Thoughts?

At my school, the option to drop (without "W") is quite common, but in practice the sunk cost is too large and few people go through with it (in my experience). (I did end up dropping the course, but it wasn't an easy decision).

Thanks for all the opinions so far :). With regards to that, I am already somewhat sure that I will have glowing recommendations from 2 people, at least one of whom can speak for my research ability (I started RA'ing this term and making a fairly decent (I hope :P) impression). As for the 3rd letter, I have several recommenders to choose from (several from econ, maybe a couple in CS), all of whom can give me a "great" letter, though not necessarily glowing. With some luck/extra hard work, I may also get coauthored (3rd author) on paper, though I doubt that this would happen before I submit my application. So LoRs should be a problem ... so I guess it really just comes down to whether I want this black mark on my otherwise good record. I will ask my advisor about this further, as I would have to decide sometime early next week ....

Thanks for the reply. Do you think that, given my record and the sheer amount of classes I would have taken, that the admissions committees would overlook a "Pass" as simply that -- a "pass"? It seems somewhat harsh to me that any passes are automatically treated as below-A's.

Hi all, Due to a mild (?) case of burn out, it is almost certain that I will be getting a "B" (but probably no lower) in a graduate level statistics class I am taking now. I plan to apply to graduate school in economics in the coming fall, and am shooting for the top 5 schools. I have three options: Take the B. Drop the class (it will not show up at all on my transcript). Take the class Pass/Fail (I will almost certainly pass). I am hesitating on taking option (2) and (3) for two reasons: I've already put in a lot of work :P -- classes are about in end in less than a couple weeks! If I stay in this class, I can possibly obtain 3 majors, which would be kinda neat. My full (a bit outdated) profile may be found here: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/150635-profile-evaluation-advice-2015-a.html -- my GPA has gone up slightly since then, with several A+/A's in graduate analysis and game theory. I am hoping that my otherwise good record will offset this "B". Note however, that a "B" is definitely below average due to grade inflation (A- tends to be around the avg). What do you all think? Thanks for advice and opinions :)

I started a thread regarding AW scores several days ago; it may be helpful to see the responses there: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/151779-low-gre-aw-score.html I think the overall conclusion is that AW scarcely matters.

Thanks for the responses. @mfxuus: I am focusing on that now, and I think it's going pretty well. I think I am definitely set for stellar letters from 2 profs, and I am working on relationships with 3 more. @MR14: That is true. But the problem is, I don't even know how I did so poorly on the writing; I am a native speaker and I thought that my essays were decent enough (well, decent enough given 30 minutes per essay). So I'm not completely sure that I can do better the next time around. Would love to hear more opinions :).

Hi all, I just received my GRE scores today; I did well Q (170), V (166), but not so great on the AW section (4). The schools I am interested in applying for include the top 5 programs. Should I retake for a better AW? My full profile can be found here: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/150635-profile-evaluation-advice-2015-a.html My GPA's gone up since then (with 2A+'s in grad econ classes), so classes-wise I think I don't have much to worry about. Thanks!

Here are some applications off the top of my head: Stochastic differential equations play an important role in financial mathematics, and a thorough grounding in analysis and measure theory is required to work with SDE's. For a concrete result that uses topological notions, see http://cowles.econ.yale.edu/P/cd/d00b/d0076.pdf Various fixed point theorems---facts in analysis and algebraic topology---are employed in economics as well. Of course, it pays to be comfortable writing and reading proofs as well.