iamelben

My profile has gone through many incarnations as I've scrambled to get more math classes. Here's how it ended up: PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Bachelors in Community and Organizational Psychology (double minor in math and econ) @ absolutely unknown VSLAC Undergrad GPA: 3.78/4.0 Econ/3.5ish Math Type of Grad: none Grad GPA: n/a GRE:160Q, 170V, 5.5 AW Econ Courses : Principles of Macro/Micro: A/A, Intermediate Macro/Micro: A/A, Labor: A, Monetary: A, International and Trade: A, Math Courses: Intro to Prob/Stats, Calc I-III: A, B, A, Linear Algebra: B, Differential Equations: A, Intro to Logic, Proof, and Topology: B, Real Analysis: taking now...(prolly an A), Hybrid independent study in math econ co-offered by econ and math departments (yay small schools!): A Letters of Recommendation: 1 outstanding "best student I've had in ten years" letter from a well-respected economic historian, 1 fairly strong one from the chair of the math department addressing my mediocre math grades in light of departmental rigor (classes in which I got a B, I was still in the top 15% of the class), and one strong one from dean of the business school: very well-known in libertarian and monetarist circles "demonstrated competence and inquisitive nature, well-suited for the rigors...blah, blah, blah". I didn't read these letters, but each professor gave me a general idea of what they wrote. Research Experience: Lots and lots and lots of behavioral psych research (published abstract, senior thesis, multiple conference presentations), but no econ. :-/ Decent coding skills in R. Pretty proficient in SPSS. Good with LaTeX. Teaching Experience: TA for both principles classes, international, Calculus I, and Statistics. (again, yay small schools!) Research Interests: Behavioral/Experimental/Applied Micro. SOP: Talked about the unconventional nature of my profile. Mentioned work experience and school leadership stuff as evidence of maturity/work ethic. Concerns: Incredibly unconventional profile, mediocre grades, low quant GRE. Strengths : Professors deeply invested in my success. They went above and beyond. Strings pulled, old friends called, etc. RESULTS: Acceptances: GA State $$, Claremont Graduate University $$, UI Chicago $, U Warwick MSc (no funding) Rejections: U Arizona, UC Irvine, UCSB, Duke (obviously) Attending: GA State Comments: I've become a lot of firsts this application cycle: school's first math minor and first matriculant to a PhD program, first person in my family to graduate from college (I'm most proud of this one). I worked my butt off from start to finish here, but I also had a lot of support from faculty. Also, I did a lot of research into knowing where I fit school ranking-wise. That paid off in spades. Also, I visited my first choice school and sat down with the grad director and made my case face to face. (Not advisable for everyone) It was a big risk that ended up clinching a good offer and reinforced my love for the school.

Well, my application season is officially over. Not a bad gig. 8 total applications. Four acceptances. I'll take it. Full funding on two. Partial on one. None on the last. I look forward to sleeping. Not too bad for a ****** profile like mine.

Re: Admission and Rejection Institution: Georgia State Program: Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition Waiver + Fellowship Notification date: 03/18/2016 Notified through: Email to check website Comments: Grad director told me that I was #1 on the WL weeks ago. Guess someone dropped.

Been out of the loop for a while, but my apps are in (mostly). Guess I'm the guy going after the lower-ranked schools here. That's what no Real Analysis will do for ya, heh. Applying -GA State -UC Irvine -U Illinois Chicago (that Deirdre McClosky, tho) -U Arizona -Purdue -Claremont Acceptances -U Warwick (MSc Behavioural and Economic Sciences) -GA State (informal based on meeting with grad director)

Your last comment makes me a little nervous. Could you elaborate?

Any opinions about Georgia State from any folks here applying or who have applied in the past? Ferraro is leaving, apparently, and he seemed to be a big guy in their experimental/environmental program. Their ranking looks lowish. I just don't know much other than what their website says. Placement looks decent, though. A little industry-heavy.

Heartily agreed. Calc-based stats are foundational for econometrics. Real Analysis is almost completely for signaling purposes.

Lol, you've just given up, haven't you?

Derp, ok I forgot about Rabin. His marriage equality speech after Prop 8 was super compelling. Thanks. And yeah, I'm not counting on any boost to my app, just poking at any funds earmarked for folks like me, scarce though they may be. Anyway, thanks for the help!

Hi all. Hope you're all having a good day. So as I'm looking through online applications and the specifics of my target schools, I keep noticing diversity statements (especially in the U of California system) that "encourage students from underrepresented backgrounds" to apply, and that special funding might be available to those students. So, here's the thing: I don't know of ANY gay economists. I know McCloskey at UI Chicago is trans*, but that's about it. Do you thing being LGBT constitutes "underrepresented" or are those classifications only for ethnic minorities? I would ask each individual school, but the wording of the diversity statements vary so much, and I also don't necessarily feel comfortable being all like "Hey, I'm gay! Give me money!" but I also don't want to exclude myself from any possible financial assistance. What do you folks think? Worth a shot or leave it blank?

Any chance of getting specific grades? It'll give us all a better idea of how better to rate you. Thanks. :)

My concern right off the top has less to do with your performance (which, a C in your grad macro sequence is SUPER concerning), but with your lack of research experience, lack of stated research interests (which could just be an omission on your part, but comes across as a sort of negative signal to me), and your lukewarm reference to your letters of rec. Your maths background and your GRE score will likely get you past the first round of cuts, enough at least to get your letters of rec read. If they aren't stellar, they could actually hurt you more than help. What sort of recommendation do you think you can expect from your thesis advisor and course supervisor?

This isn't technically a behavioral econ book, it's philosophy, but it cites behavioral economics studies in addition to sociology, psychology, and political science. Check it out: What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets Michael Sandel

So, let's talk about my primary letter-writer. We'll call him Dr. T. Dr. T is a great mentor and friend, a hell of a scholar, and one of the smartest guys I know. He's well-published in economic history and education journals, and is an expert on an industry particular to my region with multi-disciplinary citations on his work in that industry from government organizations, think tanks, and other economists. Here's the problem. I googled him just to get an idea of what adcoms might find if they looked into him a little, and the very first pages of google isn't populated with his economic history and teaching research, or even the industry research for which he is best-known, but with three pages of his work with the von Mises institute and publications in the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. I asked him about this and he just sort of laughed it off. His exact words were "well, I used to be a little eccentric before I had kids." Does this heterodox background (he was VERY prolific with the von Mises people) hurt him as a letter-writer? Keep in mind, that I adore this man. He's one of the main reasons I want to study economics, and of all our faculty, he has the best idea of my capacity for success in graduate school.

Yeah, me too since it apparently qualifies my advice as bad. Further, Chateau, why is it also bad advice for OP to take intermediate Micro? You really think he has a chance getting into a top 20 school with that sort of gap in theory? I'm legitimately asking because finance isn't my area. Is there some sort of overlap that I'm not aware of?

OP, this!!! A little insight from an aspiring behavioral econ guy with a background in psych: your olfactory bulb, a tiny little nugget of neurons that sits right behind your nose, is responsible for a big part of how your brain interprets taste. This is important because it also has--and here's where it gets cool--a DIRECT connection to your cortex via the hypothalamus, which is the seat of your limbic system's administrative functions. This is the suite of subsystems relating to emotions, emotive memory, and it includes the HPA axis which has a major role in stress reduction. I could go on and on about the importance of good food to well-being, but I'll summarize with this: the knowledge of how to make good food is the cheapest antidepressant you can buy: it's free. Invest the time in learning to make dishes that your parents or grandparents made for you. My grandmother's chicken and dumplings recipe has 5 ingredients and has gotten me through many a stressful time. Also another suggestion: pick up the habit of exercising. A 20-minute jog costs next to nothing in terms of time commitment, and gives you a great opportunity for a brain dump.

So, honestly as long as you pick up intermediate micro, then I don't see a problem with your profile as long as you're looking

How is nobody mentioning ? So Keshwani is this ornery old Indian dude on Youtube who walks you through every single quant problem in the ETS official GRE study book (he's now completed the second edition). He's been my sole studying resource, and I swear to god, the man is some kind of freakish genius. The first 20 episodes of his series are basically a refresher of algebraic manipulation as he works through the problem, but then he actually starts to CLASSIFY problems and their iterations in a way where you can just look at a quantitative comparison and know how to manipulate it to get what you need. It would behoove you to check him out.

Please take care of yourselves this summer. Go outside, get some fresh air, and look at something green. I've been stressing over my senior thesis project coming up, and with a particularly methodology question regarding . Went camping this past weekend with some good friends and my dog, and came home feeling TOTALLY refreshed. I cracked open my notes on my project, and a solution presented itself almost immediately. Listen, I'm not saying you should do something fun because it will make you more efficient. We're all quantitatively-minded sort of folks, so that might be a tempting point to make, but you should do something fun because it will make you HAPPY. Your mental health is no joke. So, go do something fun (preferably outside)!

I've also heard some good advice recently: that now might be a good time to start tinkering around with LaTeX since it's used so heavily in paper-writing.

Right! That was my point, and what I believe to be the whole point of an RA position outside of learning to do actual research.

Psych/econ double major here (Behavioral econ, ya know. :P) Please, please, please ensure that your mental health is STABLE before you enroll in graduate school. Your early to mid twenties (if you're male) are very tenuous years as your brain finalizes the myelination process, and it is not uncommon for psychopathology to emerge in these high-stress environments. You should know that there is lots of good evidence in existing literature that mindfulness meditation, physical disciplines like running, yoga, or weight lifting, all have powerful effects on your brain chemistry, increasing overall well-being, concentration, and mood. Some of these effects, especially that in mindfulness meditation is AS EFFECTIVE as standard anti-depressant medication WITHOUT ANY SIDE EFFECTS. Please, please, please take care of yourself FIRST.

From the website: "UCLA does not offer a terminal master's degree."

Seconding this. Not sure if I want to be a full-time prof, yet. Pretty sure I want to do the same as OP, but we will see.

Pounding out some of the BS classes for my math minor (History of Math, Discrete Math), doing some TA'ing (International Econ), picking up some research experience at the local branch of the World Trade Center. Also, parking my pale *** on the beach with my dog as much as possible. It's a tough life living on an island. :P