Hi All,
I am an international junior aspiring to attend a top economics phd program. I have posted my profile and questions below and would greatly appreciate it if you could help and advise me.
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 30 Liberal Arts College
Major: Math, Economics(Double Major)
Undergrad GPA: 3.80
Math Courses:
Completed ----- Calc I (A-), Calc II (A), Calc III (B+), Number Theory (B), Linear Algebra (A-), Probability & Statistical Modeling (A), Ordinary Differential Equations (A), Partial Differential Equations (A), Probability (A), Stochastic Processes (A), Numerical Analysis (A)
Next Year ------ Real Analysis, Measure Theoretic Probability, Mathematical Statistics, Abstract Algebra and Stochastic Differential Eq
Econ Courses (grad-level): N/A
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro (B+), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Advanced Econometrics (A), Labor Economics (A)
Letters of Recommendation: I am pretty sure that I will be able to get a solid letter from an economics professor (got a PhD from a top 10 institution) who I have done research with for two years now. I am also counting on securing a strong letter from a math professor with whom I will have taken Probability and Real Analysis with, and another economics professor whom I have done research with as well.
Research Experience:
Freshman year- Worked as a research assistant for a business professor. My main task was reading relevant papers and writing a draft for the literature review section.
Sophomore Summer - Worked as an institutional researcher and was mentored by professors in the economics department. Work involved the use of STATA, linear regression, and various other econometric methods.
Junior Summer - I have already secured a summer research position with the prof (from top 10 PhD) mentioned above. I will be working in the capacity of co- author and we are aiming to get this paper published in a journal sometime during my senior year.
Teaching Experience: Tutor for the Quantitative Tutoring Center.
Research Interests: Have yet to form strong preferences.
Concerns:
I know it is not worth dwelling upon past scores, but I am slightly concerned about the B+ in intermediate Micro and Calc 3. I hope the adcoms take into account the fact that I took both these classes during my freshman year when I was trying to adjust to the american style of education.
I feel that my profile does not stand out very much. I have fulfilled all the math and gpa requirements that are expected of applicants in top programs, but I do not see how I could stand out among the vast sea of accomplished applicants to these programs.
Perceived Strengths:
I haven't received a single B since freshman year. I hope to keep up the work during my senior year and have a transcript that shows A grades for every class during my Sophomore, Junior and Senior Year.
I have not come across many students on this forum who have taken Measure Theoretic Probability and Stochastic Differential Eq's. I am hoping these classes will help me stand out just a little bit.
Questions:
Given the option of taking another math class (maybe Analysis II or Topology) and Grad level Micro, which one do you think would look better. Keep in mind that I will not be taking a class in an actual graduate school since there aren't any nearby. I am just calling it "Grad- Level" because I will be doing an independent study at my college that follows the course schedule of a standard graduate course on the topic.
Do you have suggestions for any other advanced math courses?
Do you see any other ways that I can improve my profile?
Which schools do you think I should apply to? I would greatly appreciate it if you could categorize your suggestions into Target, Reach, and Safety.