kevin1297

Ok, I'll delete my profile, or at least change my password to something that I will never remember so I can't access it again. I'm sorry to be such a nuisance to everyone on this forum. Goodbye, and I guess that I'll figure it out on my own from here.

Thanks for the advice man. I know that I need to get my math grades up, and hopefully, with me figuring out in the future what I'm doing wrong, I can do it. In terms of targeting schools, I would be happy with a top 70 or a top 80 school for a PhD in economics. But at the same time, my plans could change in the future regarding what kind of grad program I want to do. If I do something in policy, I'll probably have more options. I'm undecided right now, but am keeping on the econ path at least until I graduate from my undergrad program. Then I'll take a hard look and figure out what specifically I want o do. So it sounds like people are moving towards the Singapore thing. I'll definitely take a look at that, and put that as my number one choice for now. Thanks again for all you help, it really means a lot.

Thanks for the advice. Like I said before, I want an MA in economics, but I'm open to getting a policy or political science degree. The professor that I'm currently an RA for does really cool political economy work on Southeast Asia with a PhD in political science, and I can see myself doing that too. On the other hand, there is a lot of cool work that economists do too. I can see myself doing both, and I am open to doing both. Both possible future careers make me just as happy, but I prefer economics because it can be applied to more areas of policy. Although I'm not 100% yet what kind of degree I ultimately want to get, I still want to finish my math minor. For that, I need Linear Algebra, Discrete Math and an advanced class like Real Analysis or Ordinary Differential Equations. I'm planning on taking those classes at other universities than my home university so my grade doesn't impact my GPA. Regarding the advice that people like tm_member and chateauheart gave me, I know that I have deficiencies in my profile, and I'm working to correct them. However, this thread was specifically about what I should do over the summer, and nothing else. You guys have told me 1000 times that my profile sucks and I should just I've up economics grad school entirely. I know what you think about me and my profile, and you don't have to respond to the threads that I start. The only that I asked was what I should do over the summer, and that's it. I don't your advice anymore because I've heard it before/. Posting your opinion again is not helping me figure out what I should do over the summer, which is the point of this thread. So please either answer my question or stop commenting on my threads that my profile is weak for economics grad school, my math grades are awful and that I should give up trying. I've heard it before.

I still want to have some research experience, which why I am applying for internships. Since I would taking the class at a place that's not my home university, the grade won't transfer, so it won't really matter what I get, as long as I get at least a B. I'll definitely work hard and try and get the best grade that I can in order to show myself that I can do it. I would take two math classes, but my university ends in mid-June, since I'm studying abroad, and as a result, I can't take two math classes. If I was back home at my home university, I could. As a result, I can only do one term of summer school. I'll check to see if I can do two math classes in that term, but with the internship, it might be too much.

Like I said in my original post, no matter ifI get an internship or not, I will be taking a math class over the summer ad improving my math skills. What more can I do?

Thank you for your feedback. I am doing well in my economics courses (3.59 GPA), but I was never really that strong in math, so for me, it's like an engineer taking medieval english literature. I was always really strong in, and interested in, IR, that's why I majored in it. I'm sorry that I'm not a math and economics double major, and live in a Banach space all the time, but I'm just trying to figure out my path at this point. I took math classes because I wanted to go to grad school in economics, and I still do. I am making up for my weak math grades by taking math classes over the summer (starting this summer), and getting as much research experience and as good letters of recommendation as I can. Regarding math, I need to figure it out, but I have time. I have until July, when my classes start to figure out how to better understand the material, and to do well in the class. The reason that I am taking only one economics class this semester is because I have two classes for my IR major that I need to take, and an art GE. Doing a double major and a minor doesn't leave a lot of free space to take extra math and economics classes. I literally don't have much space in my schedule to do anything more than my major requirements, and maybe an extra class or two. The advanced macro class that I am taking doesn't really use any calc or advanced math, and it's more conceptual. As a result, it's not extremely technical, but I am hoping that if I do well in the class, I can remedy my B+ n intermediate macro. I was just asking for your help in choosing which option might be the best. I'm sorry if that's such a waste of your time, but you don't have to answer my thread. I am only asking for advice on what to do over the summer, since I have a lot of options.

I'm not 100% sure that I have the option to do it at home, but I think that there is a pretty good chance of the professor letting me do it at home. I'm currently an RA for a professor at my home university, and although I'm studying abroad, I'm still doing research for him. Although not being physically in Singapore might be a bit of a problem it would allow me to take a math class over the summer, given that I don't think I can do that when I'm in Singapore. I'm considering going GRE prep over the summer. However, I'm not 100% sure about whether I want to go into an MA in economics program straight out of undergrad. I'm seriously considering working at a think tank or being an RA for an economics professor for a year or two after undergrad. Would this hurt my chances of getting int an MA program?

Money is a bit of an issue, but if I get a grant from my university to go to Singapore, it won't really be that much of a problem. Regarding grad school, I'll take out loans, and get some support from my parents. My family is upper-middle class, so although I don't have an infinite amount of money, my parents can help out a bit.

Thanks for your input. I'm thinking got getting an MA in economics first, and then hopefully go onto a PhD, provided that my math skills improve. My profile is as follows. I know that I have a weak math GPA, and am trying to improve it University: Top 40 liberal arts college Major: Economics and International Relations, minor in math GPA; 3.36 (overall), 3.59 (economics), 3.54 (international relations) Economics Courses: Principles of Econ I/II (A-,A-), Intermediate Macro/Micro (B+, B+), Econometrics (A-), Economic Development (A-), International Economics (A-), Advanced Macro (currently taking) Math Courses: Calc I/II/III (B-, C+, C+), Statistics (A-), Linear Algebra (planning on taking), Discrete Math (planning on taking), Real Analysis (planning on taking) GRE: not yet taken Research experience: Research and Data Intern at a immigration policy organization (did a lot of quant work in Excel, used Pivot tables to analyze data and wrote an analytical report), Intern at Economic Policy Research Institute (South African think tank) (did a lot of quant work in Stata, wrote lit reviews and reports, typical RA things), Research Assistant for an international relations prof. who is writing a paper on the effects of increased trade between China and ASEAN and China's currency devaluation on ASEAN economies (typical RA stuff, did some stuff in Excel and Stata, will be quoted in paper and mentioned as a contributor) (Prof.'s co author is the economist who I might work with in the summer) Letters of Recommendation: great, as a far as I know. One professor described by letter as "glowing" Other: Planning on publishing my econometrics paper on the effects that institutions have on recovery time from war in a peer reviewed undergraduate journal (Got an A+ on the paper and the professor who graded it described it as very strong) The thing about the Reship is that I might be under close supervision if I actually go to Singapore and work for him there. It's expensive and I need to find the money, but will figure out whether to take the offer once I get final decisions from the other places that I am applying to and have interviews with (See original post). I could do it from home and work remotely to save money, but wouldn't be under personal supervision. Would that be a problem? Also, I am planning on taking a math class in the summer in either Discrete Math or Linear Algebra no matter what I do.

Thanks for for the advice. The only internship that will be short will be the one at the national bank of Poland, which will be 3 weeks. Other than that, all the other ones would be 8 to 10 weeks. In addition, I'm planning on taking a summer class in math regardless of which option I chose anyway. So it would be an internship and a summer math class. Does this change anything?

bump....

yeah I am

Hi, I realize now that I have more options that I thought. The professor that I'm currently an RA for said that his coauthor, who has a PhD in economics, and specializes in the subfield that I'm interested in, development, wants me to be his RA for the summer. However, I also could, potentially, get offers from think tanks, that are non-development related. I have a lot of options to consider, but I don't know which one is best. I could use your guys' help here. Definite Options 1. National Bank of Poland internship and a summer class 2. Summer class 3. Doing research with an economist in Singapore and summer class. Speculative Options 4. Per Capita internship and a summer class 5. Center for Economic and Policy Research internship and a summer class 6. American Institute for Economic Research internship and a summer class 7. Institute for Economic Affairs and a summer class Which one is the best choice, assuming that I get offers to all the ones that are speculative at this point? Best, kevin1297

Thanks for the info on AIER.

I thought that I was going to get the Fed internship because I got an interview with the Richmond Fed, and I'm really good at interviewing, so I thought I was a shoe-in. I counted my chickens before they hatched, and assumed that something would happen when it didn't. I also didn't know about me not being able to apply for the AEA Summer program until after I made that post. So, if I misled anyone, I'm sorry. Can we get back to my original question please?

Hi, I think that I have a really good shot at working at the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) over the summer. In addition to that, I'm going to take a math class, ether at a local CC or state university, or online. Is the AIER a well-known organization? Can I get valuable experience there, and a good LOR from my boss for future research related internships and jobs?

That's what I'm planning on doing.

The problem is, that besides the IPA, the WB, and the IMF, and some think tanks that exist in developing countries, I can't really think of anywhere else to apply. I tried applying to think tanks in developing countries, but they're mostly at universities and government agencies, and aren't looking interns who are still pursuing their BA.

How good of an opportunity is it to work at the American Institute for Economic Research? I'm fairly confident that I can get a place there.

I assumed that I would be able to get into the AEA Summer Training Program, and that I would get the job at the Fed, and at least some interviews at economics consultancies. You're right, I should have been honest that I was in the process of applying for these, but I did have an interview with the Richmond Fed. Thanks for your opinion on the Polish Central Bank. I'll consider it when I'm making my final decision on what to do over the summer, which is now between taking a math class at a local CC, or (assuming that I get the position), being an intern at the American Institute for Economic Research.

The other thing that I should mention is that I applied for a summer internship at the American Institute for Economic Research. Hopefully, I'll at least get an interview there.

Hey, There is no reason why I would troll in this thread, or any others that I've started. I genuinely want advice in various aspects of economics graduate school, that the people in this forum seem to have. The advice that I've received from the vast majority of people who I've talked to about grad school in economics is to give myself time to figure it out, and that it will all fall into place eventually. I strongly believe this to be true, and am taking this to heart, while still take math and economics classes to try and get into economics grad school at some point in the future. Why would you be running out of patience with me? I'm not being offensive, rude or trolling in any way, the only thing that I want is some genuine advice, that's it. Nothing more, nothing less. Regarding my poor communication skills, what do you mean by that? To be honest, it is quite offensive for people to say that I'm trolling on this forum. As stated previously, I have no reason to, and only want help and genuine advice. Regarding my profile, sure I may not be a star student and have a 4.0 and be at Harvard. But not everyone who gets into economics PhD programs has that kind of profile. There are a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds who get masters of PhDs in economics, including those with "sub-par" GPAs like mine. Regarding math, sure I may not be the greatest at it, but that hasn't stopped me from trying. If there is anything that you can commend me for, it's that. Math has caused me much sorrow and depression and emotional pain over the past two and a half years since I've taken it, but I keep going. I have a goal, and despite all of the challenges that I face, I keep going. Surely, you can take that into account. Regarding my summer options, since I am currently studying abroad, my school ends in mid-June, rather than in mid-May like my home university does. As a result, that limits my summer options substantially, because I have much less time with which to work with. In addition, I want to have some fun over the summer too, and the past two years that I've had summer internships, I've gotten back in early to mid-August to give myself some well needed time to relax, and hang out with friends. There is no way that I can work for the entire summer, get a day or two break, and then go back to university. It would simply be too stressful and too little time to actually have a summer. Regarding the Fed, I've sent out over 30 applications to various internships at several Fed branches, and the only interview that I received was for the one in Richmond as a regional economics intern. Unfortunately, after the interview, I didn't get the position, probably in part due to me having to start later than I otherwise would. In addition, I never got an interview with any economic consultancies, and have yet to hear from any of the other places that I have applied to (I've sent out over 70 applications at this point). In addition, since the AEA program starts in early June, I ow;don't be able to make it. I called and explained my situation to them, and they said that I wouldn't be eligible to apply. I can still apply next year though. So, that leaves options 1 through 3 from my original post off the table. Regarding doing research at my home university, I thought about it, and sent out emails asking professors whether they would need research assistants for the summer. None of them said that they would need any. So, I am left with sending out more applications for internships, and seeing where I get accepted. The best option that I have right now is working at the National Bank of Poland for three weeks and taking a math class over the summer (either Linear Algebra or Discrete Math). I'm sorry if that is such a terrible idea for you guys. So far, it's the best option that I have. What else at this point do you expect me to do? Regarding internships, I'm putting in my all, and that's all that you guys should expect from me.

Hi, I recently got accepted to work at the National Bank of Poland (Poland's central bank), for three weeks between June 20th and July 8th in the Economic Research division. Since the internship is so short (they only offer three to four week internships), I am planning on taking a math class (Discrete Math), when I finish the internship and get back to the States. Is this a good plan? Given that the internship is only three weeks, I am planning on putting it being from June - July 2016 on my resume. Does anyone have prior experience working with the National Bank of Poland? What can I expect from my internship there?

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Consultancies are more of a backup. If I get nothing but a consultancy, then I'll take that, but hopefully I'll get something more research oriented.