blastoise

Institution: Yale Program: PhD Economics Decision: Rejected (off the waitlist) Funding: n/a Notification date: 04/15 Notified through: email Posted on GC: yes Comments:

Honestly I don't know. The fact that you got a great impression of NW counts a lot in my opinion, since individual fit is really important. Obviously the locations are totally different, so that may influence you depending on which you prefer. I don't know much about the programs themselves though.. sorry. Maybe someone else here can provide better info

Congrats!! Must be a stressful few hours. How does NYU compare to NW for you?

Institution: UC Berkeley Program: PhD Economics Decision: Rejected (off the waitlist) Funding: n/a Notification date: 04/14 Notified through: email Posted on GC: yes Comments:

What's the news on your end? Berkeley just rejected me.

I met a couple people during visit day who had been admitted from the waitlist. One guy said "I told them that I would need to visit in order to make a decision, and so they admitted me before flyouts". Of course, there may have been other factors he didn't mention. To answer your questions, bayesian: 1.) extremely nurturing. they even mentioned explicitly that they want to be on the far end of that spectrum. every professor said that they frequently meet with students, both those whom they advise and others who happen to have questions. the second year is specifically structured so that every student is matched with a professor to do research. also, the grad students' desks are literally right next to professor offices, so I imagine it's quite easy to grab some quick time with them any day. 2.) my field of interest, development, is almost completely new there - almost all dev professors were hired within the last few years. so arguably this is a negative because that program is going to be less established. arguably it's a positive because it's growing. a few students seemed not to particularly like palo alto, said it was too suburban. to me it seemed too urban! otherwise, no, no major negatives.

Yes, I was at the visit day. My impression was excellent across every dimension. Happy to answer specific questions if there are any on your mind.

I only visited Chicago and Stanford so it's hard for me to give a good answer to what sets Chicago apart. The speakers did address some of the common rumors about Chicago, saying that the first few years really aren't so bad, and dropping out is much less common than people think. They did mention a few times though that they "aren't going to hold your hand", which perhaps is good or bad depending on your preferences. That isn't really what convinced me though; it was much more promising to see that the grad students seemed genuinely happy with their experience at Chicago.

They made 75 offers for 22 spots. so far 19 have declined and 5 have accepted. They are now looking to start accepting off the waitlist. If you want to know more just email them - they're very transparent with this whole process.

Hi lolnomics, I did attend Chicago's visit day, and I'd say my impression was quite good. The graduate students seemed happy there (despite many rumors I had heard to the contrary). It was a bit poorly organized, in my opinion, in terms of meeting with professors: a good number of them were unavailable that day, and there were no scheduled appointments which made it hard to figure things out, so I can't comment too much on the professors. The campus is beautiful and I talked to a lot of admitted students, all of whom seemed really down-to-earth, intelligent, and interesting. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

I don't know how Columbia runs their visit day, so it's hard to be sure. I do know a current Chicago PhD student who was waitlisted a year or two ago, but attended visit day and was given admission and funding during her talks with the admissions committee that day. If you can manage to impress the professors you meet, I'd guess it gives you a significant bump up the waitlist (also, just showing up demonstrates interest and commitment). If you already know that you prefer Columbia over Minnesota, and that you'd definitely attend Minnesota if you don't get into Columbia, I'd say it's worth attending Columbia's visit day. You can also visit Minnesota on the non-official day.

Harvard rejections are posted online now, for those interested

Yes, when I log into the same website I used to apply, there's a new link that reads something like "Admissions decisions are now posted". Not all schools do it though, even after emailing out decisions.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top 5 Econ Undergrad GPA: 4.0 Type of Grad: Grad GPA: GRE: 170 Q 170 V 5.0 AW Math Courses: through Real Analysis Econ Courses: many electives, incl. advanced micro, advanced macro, seminar in micro theory Other Courses: linear regressions Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ professors, should be somewhere between good and really good Research Experience: senior thesis, RA for 4 semesters Teaching Experience: TA for 4 semesters Research Interests: development, applied micro SOP: i hope it was good Other: RESULTS: Acceptances: Stanford, Chicago Waitlists: Yale, Berkeley Rejections: MIT, Princeton, Harvard (implicit) Pending: Attending: Comments: What would you have done differently? Applied to more schools. There's a large luck element that can be minimized by broadening your list of schools. I feel like I got really lucky, but it could easily have gone another way. Also, applied earlier. I only decided that I would apply in early November, so I barely had time to pick the right programs, study for the GRE, arrange letters of rec, etc. Seek advice from my professors earlier in the process, so I wouldn't have made stupid mistakes like forgetting to apply for an NSF.

Thanks! I think I'm going to visit both too. See you in Chicago, if that's one that you're going to :)