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Thanks for your advice! I plan to work for 1 year first and apply next year.

Hi everyone. I just have one question: I am going to apply for PhD next year and suppose I will work full time as an economist for some company starting next january, is it feasible to take 1 PhD level Financial Economics course at the same time when I was working? The lecture takes place every Wednesday for 3 hours so I may need to ask my potential employer to give me a day off for each week to attend the lecture.... Thanks in advance!

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics/Mathematics, unknown provincial school in Canada Undergrad GPA: 3.96/4.00 (best student in the department) Type of Grad: M.A. in Economics, one of the top 4 in Canada Grad GPA: 4.1/4.3 (Probably top 6 in my cohort, or top 10% or top 15% of my MA cohort) GRE: 148V/ 165Q/ 4W undergrad Math Courses: Cal I-III ( all A+), Linear Algebra I (A+), ODE(A+), Math Stats (A+), intro to Stats (A+), multivariate analysis (A+), time series (A+), abstract algebra (A+), intro level Real Analysis (A), Undergrad Economics: Advanced Micro (A+), advanced Macro (A+) Econometrics (A+) and other field courses (all A or A+) Graduate Economics: Micro (A), Macro (A+), Metrics (A), Econometrics (A), Finance theory (A), International trade(A), Math Econ (A), Other Courses: Letters of Recommendation: (my plan) 1. A prof who taught me advanced micro at the undergrad, not particularly well known 2. A macro prof from my master insititution, I got A+ from his macro class and did my research project under him. well known in canada. 3. Someone who taught me at the master level, maybe? Research Experience: Undergraduate thesis, Master level thesis Teaching Experience: T.A. for principles of econ for 2 semeters Research Interests: Macro theory, quantitative macro, and applied econometrics SOP: Haven't quite started that yet. Concerns: 1. strength of my reference letter. Except the macro prof, other profs at my master institution do not know me particularly well 2. GRE result is not that good 3. Undergrad institution is not well known at Econ Questions: 1. Should I apply next year or this year? If I apply next year, I can retake GRE, and perhaps take a PhD level financial Economics (hoping If I get an A+ in that course, I can get another good reference letter) to improve my overall profile 2. If I apply this year, what range of programs are realistic ? Any hope for Top 15 school or Top 11 school? I won't mind waiting another year to apply

I think I will wait another 1 or 2 years and then decide whether to do the PhD. I am still unsure about my research interest. Thanks for your advice.

Type of Undergrad: A Provincial University in Canada (kinda equivalent to a state university in the US) with an unknown econ department, major:Econ, minor:Math Type of Grad: 1-year Master's in Economics in One of the Big4 school in Canada GRE: V148 Q165 AWA 4 Ungergrad: Math Courses: Calc I,II (A+,A+), Linear Algebra I (A+),Vector Cal I, II(A+, A) Probability Theory (A+) Intro Statistical methods(A+) Mathematical Statistics(A+) , Ordinary Differential Equations (A+) Multivariate Analysis (A+), Time Series Analysis(A+), Design and Analysis of Experiment (A), Real Analysis I (A), Intro Abstract Algebra (A+), Econ Courses: Advanced Micro(A+), Advanced Macro(A+), Econometrics (A+), Intro level Game Theory (A+), Quantitative Methods I, II (A-, A+), Labour Econ(A+), Energy Economics(A), International Finance(A+), Grad level Courses: Math Camp for my Master's program (Passed) Mathematical Econ (taking), Metrics (taking), Micro theory (taking) (First semester) Research Experience: 1.My senior Honours project in undergrad: topics is about International Finance 2. undergraduate summer Research assistant for a statistics professor on topics of Bayesian Analysis. (But actually I didn't contribute a lot to the project) Teaching Experience: I am now a TA for Principles of Economics (1-st year Econ course) Research Interests: Even though my undergrad senior project is about international finance. I think I am more interested in Empirical Micro and IO now. References: Not sure yet, depending on if I can get reference from professors who is teaching me master's level econ courses Concerns: 1. Application deadlines for most schools in the US are around mid-december so my fall term grades of the master program won't appear in my transcript when I apply to American schools 2. I am not sure if I can get references from professors in my current master's program within just 2 and a half months 3. The econ department of my undergraduate institute may not have high reputation in the US. 4. Not sure how to write my SOP......especially for the section about my research interests. Can someone give my some suggestion? What range of schools should I target? (Top 30 or Top20 or do I even have a chance for Top10 ?) Thanks in advance.

I am not 100% sure which field I am most interested in, either.

continue: and My Q score is too mediocre. I think I need at least 166.

My GRE score: V148, Q165, AW: results not out yet Should I retake? What range of schools should I target if I don't retake?

The econ department of my undergraduate institution does not have high reputation so I think I will try to get all 3 reference letter from the school where I will do my master. And wouldn't stat courses like Stochastic Calculus, Graduate level Probability theory (include topics like measure theory), Computational Statistics be very useful and valued a lot by the Admission Committee ? I can take these courses in a stat master but not in my econ master. If I cannot secure an RA job but got a public sector job, then I guess a stat master will be a better option?

I am going to do a 1-year Master program in econ from a well-know school but I wonder if it is likely to get reference letter from the professors from my master program in 4 months if I plan to apply to PhD this December. (Assume that I will do very well in the master level courses and hence the professors from my master program can write me good letters ) How do the admission committee view this? Will they think the reference letters are less credible because it's not likely for those professors to evaluate me within only 4 months? Another Question: Now Suppose I choose the alternative plan: Take a gap year and apply in the next cycle rather than this december. There are two options I can choose: 1. Find an RA job during this gap year or 2.Do another 1-year Master in Stats after I finish my econ master Which option can improve my profile better? Should I take a gap year or not? Thanks in advance

I would not recommend Mcgill to you if you are not good at mathematics and statistics. Mcgill's a top school in the field of econometrics even though their economics department is not on par with other big4 in canada. If Russell Davidson (one of the best econometricians in canada) is your professor in your econometrics class, then good luck in surviving his class, you will get an abysmal grade if you don't have enough preparation in stats. But since you are not interested in PhD, your grades in your master won't matter too much any more. In that case, Mcgill is still a good choice for you given its reputation and lay prestige.

that's very true.......that is why I asked for advice here. I guess I'll still mainly focus on Econ PhD or math/stat PhD admission then.

I guess because of the job placement prospect? Supply of finance PhD is generally less than Econ PhD. Plus, I am interested in international finance. I know I can be specialized in international finance in either an Econ PhD program or a Finance phd program. But again finance phd seems to have better job placement prospect than econ PhD (also higher salary) Also, another relevant question, which ranking range of finance phd program should I be targeting? I know top ranking programs must be very competitive in terms of admission Here are some background of my profile: Undergrad: Large provincial university in canada (GPA:4.0/4.0 according to the US GPA scale) Grad( 1-year MA in econ) : One of the top 4 econ department in canada (just got admitted and will finish the program next june ) GRE: 170/170 in Q 3/6 in AW, 153/170 in verbal (I didn't prepare for GRE at all)

I am a student with economics major and math/stat minor. I have very solid quantitative background and economics background But I am looking into the possibility of doing a finance PhD. If I have no background in finance, Is it still feasible for me to apply to some finance phd programs? What should I mention in the SOP? Since I have no idea what research is finance people currently doing. Thanks in advance