Mopey

I'm aware ISI-D still regularly has their students securing admissions into good U.S. PhD programmes, but I'm curious as to what proportion of DSE students seeking admission into U.S. top 50 or so PhD programmes still manage to get accepted. I've recently heard some disconcerting things regarding the institution and have begun wondering if it lives up to all its hype. Although, its probably still second to ISI for a postgraduate course in Economics in India.

Apologies, I should have clarified that, I will not be applying in this year's cycle, naturally. The seminar takes place in June, so I have some quite some time to prepare. As of now I do not even have a commitment to speak, so, if I wish to, I can still withdraw my participation from the event. Field of interest is labor economics, but I don't think I can get too serious and in-dept about it, the whole affair is a little light-hearted.

This particular title might be misleading so please allow me to clarify. The forum I speak of is in no way comparable to an academic "seminar", I only use that phrase for lack of a better word. It is essentially a TED-ish platform where participants speak about anything they wish to (there are certain finer points of the framework that are not disclosed here but are not exactly relevant either). I too enlisted to speak, given that a few of the members involved in the admissions of a university I am applying to will be present. The catch is that the general audience in the "seminar" will have no technical knowledge of economics whatsoever. The event itself is not related to academia at all, with most speakers sharing their life stories/experiences and a few briefly over-viewing the relate able aspects of their area of expertise (be it computer science, law, medicine, etc). I am struggling to find a topic that is both engaging and simple, such that I can create an impact on both the audience and the academics in the room. There is no time limit as such, although most speakers do not talk for more than ten minutes. I would be truly grateful if someone could suggest any topics that I might be able to use? They do not necessarily need to be related to Economics although I do think that if they are, I could set a better impression on the university's faculty. TL;DR: What do you think is a simple, relevant and engaging topic in economics?

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