gtamatwork

Hi fazzuoli, Thanks for your inputs. That confirms what I've heard from other students of LMEC. I'll be hearing about funding in a couple of days from them and I will most probably attend the program. Thanks a ton again for your contribution!

Not yet. Wrote to them asking about it last week but did not get a reply.

I checked a couple of programs in the US where students specialize in Financial Economics so what you are saying makes sense and sounds like a good plan. Thanks for your inputs :)

Well I did apply to LSE (MSc Fin and Econ), Tilburg (MPhil Fin), Tinbergen (RM Fin), IHS (MSc Econ) and got rejected everywhere. I am waiting to hear from CEMFI (MSc Econ and Fin) but I am not too hopeful on that since it looks like most of the admits have already been sent out. I am not too surprised by these rejections to be honest given that they are extremely competitive, and my academic record and LORs from unknown and inactive researchers aren't that great- my only discernible plus is a sound GRE score. So now I have to choose from these two programs - Bologna (Master Econ) and UC3M (Master Business and Quantitative Methods)- as I had discussed previously in this thread http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-business/155000-choosing-right-masters-program.html

Haha. Thanks for letting me know. I might be going off topic by asking this- do you know the why this happens? Is it geographical/cultural preference or something else?

Thanks for your inputs. Yes the faculty seems really good with a few active researchers (although Ichino left recently) but since this program has not gotten any attention in this forum before I wanted to ask your advice.

I tried GradCafe but no luck there too. What do you mean by 'Milan'? Are you talking about Bocconi or is there any other school that I am missing?

Anyone?

Dear all, I have been admitted to University of Bologna 2yr Master economics (LMEC - Laurea Magistralis in Economics - Università di Bologna) and would like to know if anyone has information about this program. I intend to pursue PhD in Financial Economics or Econometrics in T50 US or European school after completion of this master. Will this program be a strong stepping stone towards achieving my goal? The faculty seems to be good and their placement record is decent. However, I am not entirely convinced with the syllabus- Macro/Micro/Metrics sequence is great but there aren't enough math/stats modules which I have read in this forum is crucial to convince adcoms. I have about 9 days to accept/reject the offer so please provide your inputs. My profile is given below for reference. PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: BEngg, Computer Science from decent Asian school (6yrs back) Undergrad GPA: 74% Type of Grad: MBA Finance unranked European school (qualitative). I guess this degree is irrelevant for PhD (4yrs back) Grad GPA: 65% GRE: 168Q/155V/4.0 Undergrad Math Courses: Mathematics I,II,III (Covers LA, Calc I,II,III, Differential equations),Probability and Queuing theory, Discrete math, Numerical methods- but not at rigorous level. The syllabus had more applied focus. Decent grades. Econ Courses (grad-level): Nil Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Nil Other Courses: Tons of programming courses. Decent grades. Letters of Recommendation: Hoping to get it from Profs at Bologna who hold PhD from LSE/MIT/Columbia etc Research Experience: Nil. Teaching Experience: There is opportunity to work as TA in second year of Bologna program and I will take that up. Other Experience: Quantitative analyst at private sector firm- proficient in R,MATLAB,SQL,VBA etc. Worked on Time series and stochastic forecasting models. Currently working here. Concerns: 1) Grad from unranked school, very normal grades in both grad and undergrad. Will strong grades at master program override this? 2) I'd be 29 when I apply for PhD. Does this matter? 2) Will LORs from economists be recognized at Finance PhD programs which I will to? Applying to (after this master): T50 US or Europe schools. Mix of Econ and Finance programs. Appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.

Thanks a lot for your insights YaSvoboden. Actually I was pretty convinced with Bologna program given their excellent faculty, encouraging atmosphere and prior placements. But recently I wrote to the program director explaining my goals and seeking suggestions regarding program fit. I was told that if I wish to specialize during my PhD in my research interests -which are asset pricing and/or financial econometrics- then this program would not be the right choice for me since the goal of the program is to teach pure economics. That is when I started pondering whether pure econ would be the right preparation for a Finance PhD. I have 10 days time to accept/reject the offer and I am gathering all possible information that will help me decide. Any other thoughts are extremely appreciated.

Anyone?

Dear urchins, I am in a dilemma and I would be glad to hear your thoughts. My main goal is to get into a good PhD Finance program in the US (top 50) or Europe. Due to lack of enough preparation academically I had decided to take the Master route to Finance PhD. I got admits in a couple of Master programs and I have great trouble in choosing the right one. I list my concerns below- 1) I have been admitted to University of Bologna Master in Econ program (LMEC, as they call it- LMEC - Laurea Magistralis in Economics - Università di Bologna). They have sent students to top schools in the past three years (it is a new program) who are now in UPenn, Chicago, LSE, Princeton etc. The thing is they are all in Economics PhD program. I guess all of them were interested in economics. Assuming that I work really hard, be in top 5% of the class and obtain decent LORs from Professors (who by the way hold PhD from MIT, UPenn etc), will I be able to obtain PhD finance positions in my target schools? I have searched this forum and the consensus is that a master in econ would be a good preparation for Finance PhD. But perhaps when people say that they mean programs like CEMFI, IHS etc which does have quite a bit of finance modules as electives. What about a pure economics program like Bologna? Although this program is quantitatively rigorous with micro/macro/metrics sequence taught at grad level, there are not many electives from the field of finance or math/stats. 2) I am also positive on UC3M Master in Business and Quantitative Methods (Finance track) and I have a strong feeling that I will get in. I absolutely love their curriculum- lots of finance and stats modules like Financial economics (I/II/III), Stochastic processes, Time series etc. But the problem with this program is that the faculty is not much enthusiastic about sending students to other PhD programs. I am not sure if I would like to do my PhD there. Like I said before, my previous academics are weak. I am going to rely solely on the master program that I choose to get into graduate school. In this respect, I absolutely love Bologna program as their faculty is supportive and since it is 2 year program I can bond with them well and get to know what research is all about. But it worries me whether not taking enough finance or math courses would put me in a disadvantaged position. Another worry is whether the adcom at Finance school value LORs from economists (top 10% in IDEAS ranking). Any suggestions or thoughts from you are welcome. Thank you.

I'm not an expert but you should read this in case you haven't already- Core Economics | For the ambitious, prospective PhD student: A Guide

Thanks for the information jofischer. Let us hope for the best.

Hello, Has anyone heard from Tinbergen Institute for MPhil yet? I got an email from Professor M. Giuliodori stating that they are currently still assessing my application and I will hear from them over the next two weeks. He also said that I should ask him questions should I have any. Is it appropriate now to ask about courses, progression to PhD etc? Has any one else got an email like this? Thanks.