dmoore

Canuckonomist and setsanto: Thanks for the responses. I've made up my mind and am planning to accept UofT's offer. I already live in Toronto (undergrad at UofT) and have many social connections here so that was an important factor, among other things. Hopefully I'll see you both next year. Canuckonomist, assuming that was an open offer, I'd be interested in any social events that might be happening this summer as well, since I'll probably be around. I'll send you my email. JQX: I know there is some variation in the financial aid Queen's offers. For example, in contrast to setsanto, I was offered 15.5k.

I know this is a topic that has been addressed in past threads here but if anyone's willing to humour me by revisiting it I would appreciate any contributions you can make. I've been admitted to the MA program at Queen's and the Doctoral stream MA program at UofT. Queen's has offered a financial aid package which is sizable but much smaller than UofT's and it is highly likely that because of this I will accept UofT's offer. However, before I decide I thought it might be worth considering which program would be preferable in the absence of financial concerns. I hope to apply to PhD programs next year (and/or the following year) so my main consideration is which program would be better for my prospects in that application process. Reading through past threads I gather there is something to be said for the signalling value of taking and performing well in a PhD micro course which might seem to give an edge to Toronto, though the grad coordinator at Queen's told me this was something that would also be possible to do there. I've also noticed a recurring sentiment that Queen's is somehow a more friendly environment with smaller classes in which it might be easier to get to know professors and cultivate good LORs. That said, it has also been noted that at UofT there seems to be a greater opportunity to take field courses with independent research components, which presumably would create an opportunity for getting a solid reference letter. A cursory glance at past syllabi from both institutions would seem to support this hypothesis. I've also noticed that the MA metrics course at UofT has a term paper component whereas the Queen's equivalent does not. That said, the Queen's program includes the opportunity to write a thesis which I suppose would be beneficial in the case that I end up applying to PhD programs in 2015. There seems also to be a general sense that Queen's may have had a better MA placement record in recent times with respect to PhD admissions, though I am not sure how well substantiated this is. If anyone has any insight on this point, let me know. Another consideration for me personally is that I have some concerns the strength of my math background. Both programs claim they allow MA students to take courses from other departments but I'm not necessarily confident enough in my math background to take a graduate-level real analysis course while also taking PhD micro. It seems that in past years Queen's has run a mathematical economics course which might be an easier burden but I don't know how beneficial this might be to my profile. Any thoughts? One final possibility I came across is that admission to the DSMA program might be a good signal in and of itself. Any idea whether this might be a legitimate point? At present, my thinking leans towards UofT, even absent financial concerns though perhaps I am just rationalizing the option that might allow me the financial leeway to do a bit of travelling before grad school. Am I missing anything? Any thoughts or insights that anyone would care to share about which program would be a better choice would be greatly appreciated. On a side note, this is the first thread I've posted on this forum so I apologize in advance if I have inadvertently violated any important social norms.

I heard from Queen's a couple weeks back as well. Their offer had a deadline attached as well so, in addition to requesting an extended deadline I recently contacted the department at UofT and told them about the offer from Queen's as well as the deadline. Within 24 hours had received an email telling me I'd been accepted to the Doctoral Stream MA. I would recommend doing something similar in your case as I know this alleviated a lot of stress for me and they were far more receptive to it than I had expected. I've also applied to UBC but did not contact them though I imagine this sort of thing might be standard practice.