laa

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.

Yes, I wasn't clear in stating that my skills and strengths (in my opinion) are better suited/matched for the second option; will edit my top post.

Hi, I am in the position of choosing one of several jobs this summer as a RA. I plan on applying to graduate school, and the point of working these jobs is to secure a good recommendation letter. I'm wondering whether, in recommendation letters, the "famous-ness" of the recommender plays a role. Currently I'm choosing between one prof in the ~2% IDEAS and one in 6% ... I think my skills and strengths are better suited to the job with the latter. (Both would turn out to be good letters, with any luck.) Is this a clear cut choice, or should I flip a coin? Thanks for your advice.

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately, I am not in the Boston area, so MIT UROP is out. I'll try to find research at my school during the year and the summer. Another question: for the tip-top schools, it is absolutely necessary to have glowing recommendations from world-renown economists? Though I am a decent enough student, there isn't a whole much that makes me stand out among the other good students at my school. Somewhat often, I see profiles posted on here that have phenomenal letters of rec., and each time I am left feeling a bit stressed out :onthego: haha

Thank you all for the replies. Unfortunately, I am not in the Boston area, so MIT UROPs are out. I will try my best to find research during the rest of this year and of course during summer .... Another concern: for the tip-top econ programs, it is necessary to have published a paper by the time of the application? And "how glowing" do the recommendations have to be? While I am a decent student, it'd be a far stretch to say anything resembling "laa is the best student I have met in the past X years"? Quite often, I read profiles on Urch where someone has absolutely excellent recommendation letters -- and it really makes me stressed out hahaha.

While it is not impossible to get through with Royden in your first forray into Real Analysis, I do not think it is the best idea. This is because some of the standard/fundamental ideas (and their proofs and proof ideas) are important, and Royden skips over most of this because it is assumed. In addition, I believe you will have a greater appreciation and understanding of some of the generalizations in Royden if you had previous exposure to a specific case (e.g. the separation axioms might seem read abstract non-sense until one sees "specific" case in a metric space first). All in all, I am a stronger believer in getting one's foundations solid before jumping onto harder stuff. My suggestion is to first go through Baby Rudin, chapters 1-7 and 9, and then having a look at Royden (Folland is another good text, I've heard). Of course, all of this is my opinion, so perhaps you know more analysis and/or capable of absorbing abstract material then I presupposed. In either case, it wouldn't be a terrible idea to first look through the chapters above, perhaps very quickly if you are capable (one chapter a day, if you find it easy), then jump into Royden. All the best.

Hi, I am looking for advice for: Areas to improve my my profile for Econ PhD in the next application cycle (2015) Target schools to shoot for, given average progress above. Here is my profile. PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top 10 U.S. undergrad; CS/Math. Undergrad GPA: 4.2/4.0 (or is it out of 4.33?) GRE: N/A Math Courses: Calculus I, II, III (placement). Honors linear algebra (A+), Intro to Real Variables (A), Real Analysis (A), Probability/Stastics, undergrad (A), Probability, grad (A+), Algebra, grad (A), Intro to discrete mathematics (A+), Error correcting codes (A+) Econ Courses (grad-level): Decision theory (A+) Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro to (i.e. "Principles of") Micro (A), Intermediate Micro (A+) Other Courses: Machine learning (A+), Computer networks (A+), other CS courses, mostly A+ Letters of Recommendation: One good letter from recent prof. Still working on two others. Research Experience: Summer research in theoretical (i.e. not "programming monkey") computer science. Teaching Experience: TA for several CS classes. Research Interests: Microeconomics, game theory. SOP: N/A. Concerns: I only have one good letter (in econ). Little (or "none") research to speak of. I am more interested in econ. theory than empirical work. As a result, I find it difficult to pick up research because most theory work involves lots of background reading to even get started :(. Other: I have one year left to make a difference! Applying to: Want to get into top 5, but anything top 10 would make be pretty happy. As written above, I only one have reliable rec letter, and I'm really not clear on how I can secure the other two. I will be taking game theory and grad. microeconomics next term, and have no doubts that I will pull an A/A+ on those. So I can always ask those professors to write me a recommendation letter, but the most they will say is that "he did well in my class". I'm having trouble finding research because I'm more of a theory person (no experience in empirical work). But I will ask around more this upcoming term. However, the department is small, profs are busy, etc. so it may not be possible to secure research during the year. Are there eocnomics REUs to participate in (I know there are math REUs, but econ ones seem more scarce). I think my academics and math background are solid (will take measure theory, and more analysis this and next year, since I'm into this kind of stuff). Therefore, I think I really need to concentrate on the above two issues; any advice in this direction is much appreciated! Is it reasonable to be accepted into the likes of Princeton, MIT, etc., or is it too late at this stage of the game? Much thanks.

Basic Dicrete Mathematics (A+) Elementary Matrix Algegra (freshman level) A+ Abstract Linear Algebra (A+) Introduction to Real Variables (A) Intro to Probability/Stat (A) Graduate algebra* (A) Error correcting codes* (A+) This quarter; projections Real Analysis* (A "almost surely", possible A+) Discrete Mathematics (Almost surely A+) Probability & Stochastic Processes* (almost surely :P A+) Those marked with * are upper undergrad/beginning grad level. The breadth isn't terribly impressive, but I'm hoping to change that with next term (and beyond), with measure theory*, probability*, and Markov Chains/Applications**. It's dangeous to forecast, but I think I will probably get A/A+'s in those as well.

Ah it seems that my petition did not go through. However, I will try to ask the professor to write a short note explaining the circumstances (I was forced to take this class P/F because I was overloading) what my final grade would have been, and include this as part of my application next year. Do you think this is a good compromise/way to go? Thanks everyone.

Thank you, econhead, for the advice. In the case that my petition does not go through, will this be seen as a negative on my profile? If so, perhaps (not sure; have to jump through red tape) I can petition to have this class removed completely from my record... EDIT: To be precise, I'm am (mainly) concerned about the Top 5 PhD (Harvard, MIT, and the like) programs to which I will be applying.

Dear all, I am a 3rd year student in one of the top 10 US universities, and am considering applying for an Economics PhD. This semester, I am taking a advanced (applied) linear algebra course that is upper undergrad level/lower graduate level, covering topics found in later chapters of Halmos' Finite Dimensional Vector Spaces as well as some analysis in Banach and Hilbert spaces. However, due to various circumstances, I am taking this class pass-fail. However, I have the option of petitioning to take it on grades; my current grade is somewhere between an A/A+. This is subject to change w/ the final exam. My question is: when applying to the top econ programs, would 'Pass' grade as an indicator that I am unskilled in linear algebra/basic functional analysis? My understanding is that adcoms would like to see a solid grasp of this material. If I change to take this class on grades, there's the risk of getting a B in the course, which adcoms would not like to see. So I guess the real question is: is it worth the risk? Other info, if relevant: I have already taken an honors abstract linear algebra class and received an A+. I am planning to take a no-frills functional analysis course next term, on grades. My GPA in general is pretty decent (A/A+ average). Thank you for your time.