spivakisgod

You do not necessarily need to major in math for a PhD in economics, but it definitely helps. Short of majoring in math, you should take as much math as is relevant (which is more than what people usually take), covering linear algebra, real analysis, mathematical statistics, and multivariable calculus. Differential equations and some optimization courses might also be very useful. Basic Calculus is also necessary, but by the time you get your PhD, you should have completely mastered it. Since you have not even begun college yet, it is hard to advise you. It is much better to apply to the best economics program that you can get into, take as much math as you can, and then re-evaluate your options from there. It is way too early to decide whether you will need to do a masters or if you should go straight to grad school or if you are the type of person who should go at all. Remember that, unless you've spent many late nights writing real analysis proofs and getting stuck, you do not know what grad school will be like.

You have not taken something like real analysis? You should take the basic proofs course. That will be what your first year econ courses will be like the first year.

If you think you've turned things around since your freshman year, your math grades now and next semester are crucial. If you're not getting straight A's and mastering the the material from now on out and throughout your masters, you probably have little hope of getting into a top 15. To put it bluntly, your profile needs a lot of work, and you might want to keep all sorts of options open (in terms of masters program, industry work, etc.), especially if you are financially constrained.

You should probably post a full profile (see Roll Call thread for examples). In terms of your interests, keep in mind that a lot of people change their minds after the first year of grad school. Also, targeting a particular institution or academic placement is often a nice dream but almost impossible to do this early, even for the best grad school candidates out there. In short, I have a lot of recommendations for macro, monetary, and time series but it really depends on what range of schools you can get into.

First of all, you do not need to be "scrambling". Your profile is strong enough for top 10-13, so any value added will be pushing you towards the top 5 instead of the top 13. I doubt that grad micro is really that scary (Try to ask actual PhD students instead of listening to rumors). but if it is really that brutal at your school, you can take grad macro or grad metrics. Grad metrics might be especially useful as a foundation for IO and applied micro. In short, with a profile like yours, no, you do not need to take it. And there are many alternative options for grad school classes if you want to take something.

I would highly disagree with taking it at a community college. In fact, I'm surprised community colleges even have real analysis. Even if you get a good grade, it will be highly discounted. There's a very good chance that the level of instruction would not be close to adequate for preparation in PhD micro theory and econometrics. Take it at the best institution available to you. If you live in Chicago, take it at UChicago/Northwestern. If you live in LA, take it at UCLA. Since you are in northern California, why don't you do it at one of the UCs like Berkeley?

I'm going to dissent and say that (1) and (3)... or (2) and (3) look like good combinations. The reason I like #3 is that: (a) recommendations praising RA work sometimes gets repetitive (b) an admissions committee professor at a top 5 school once told me that seeing at least one letter that says, "this student was the best in my class and one of the best in my career" is very important © Being top 5% repec is not nearly as important as the ability of professors to describe you in detail (in the context of students), but it's still a bonus. I basically see it as a lottery. Most of the time, it doesn't matter, but top 5% repec means some chance of name recognition or academic connection between admissions committee and recommender.

I don't live in Northwood. The only comment I have about your housing is that it's very far from Lorch hall, so make sure you get used to the transportation (buses and everything). Other than that, I'd relax and enjoy the summer by walking around and going to the Arboretum. Crack open some math books only if you're bored and you are really in the mood; otherwise, it's not necessary. Note that the probability of failing math camp is not zero, but very close to it.

I'm a current student at Michigan. If anyone has any questions, please feel to ask here or message me.

The bottom line is that you can be an absolute expert at Python, and the most you can do is to put "expert on Python" on your resume when you apply for grad school. If you do well in a hard math class and you get a good grade, it will go on your transcript. And schools look at your transcript a lot more than your resume.

Keep in mind that you do not have to pay for an entire Masters degree to take PhD Econ Courses at UChicago (or most other schools). It's much more cost and time effective to just enroll as a GSAL student, prove to the counselor that you have a chance at not totally failing, and you can register for the class. I know lots of people who took an entire micro, macro, or metrics sequence and placed into top schools because they did well in the UChicago PhD classes.

I'd go to LSE. The UChicago MA seems less relevant, and I think LSE has a much better infrastructure in PhD placements. Also, you can go pretty much anywhere for a 1 year full time RA gig. Think tanks, Feds, universities, etc.

If there is any department on an upward trajectory, it is Michigan and not UCSD. Michigan consistently has better funding offers (on average) than UCSD. Michigan also been hiring like a top 10 program, especially in macro and micro theory. I'm also not sure if the placements this year, which are on par with top 10 schools, can be sustained, but the placements have always been very good. I don't see why anyone doubts Michigan is possibly the best program right outside of the traditional top 10 schools right now.

I'd also go to Michigan not only for PF and Labor, but also if I want to do fields like macro, international, finance, IO. There are very good professors in almost every field except possibly metrics, where there is only one senior guy. The macro faculty basically doubled in size with 3 new top junior and senior hires, and macro has placed exceptionally well these last two years (one got a BU offer and another got a Stanford offer).

You should go to Brown if you're 98%+ sure you're going to do development. Otherwise, Michigan is a full service department where you can do basically anything, and their placement is better.

Barista, if you received mostly straight A's in undergrad and in grad school, went to an MS Econ program, wrote a masters thesis, and only go into top 50 schools, there is very little chance that OP who has very subpar grades, test scores, and absolutely no research experience is going to be comparable in outcomes. You had redeeming factors; it appears that the OP doesn't. I'm struggling to find a single thing in his profile that's going right, and that's a bad sign. It's very likely OP is not PhD material and may be better off pursuing other options. People who get C's/B's in math courses typically do not survive the first year or pass comps.

Almost all applicants to PhD programs have much more math than you do, and have done much better than you have. C's and B's in Calculus aren't mediocre; they're pretty much the bottom end of the distribution of applicants to PhD programs. That being said, it's possible that an absolute stellar performance in a masters program might overweigh some of your challenges, but that would mean you're a massive outlier, and most people are not massive outliers. If you want more specific advice, perhaps you could post a full profile, or give us details about what kind of undergrad school you attended, what your grades are in your MA program, and what additional math classes you are taking (and what you expect your grades to be). Also, let us know if you have any research or thesis-writing experience.

I disagree with tm_member. The placements for Maryland recently have been stellar for a top 25 school (see last year) whereas BU has placed more or less at what you'd expect from their ranking. BU has great faculty, but their placement is nowhere near a top 10 school, and doesn't even compare to schools like Michigan. Also, I think you can manage a low stipend in Maryland a lot easier than in Boston. PSU is a great school, but I'm really afraid that you won't be able to find your place there doing applied micro and development, but feel free to research the faculty and disagree with me.

Maybe you can give us more information by posting a profile or something. However, as a person who doesn't have anything to add about the CEMFI vs UNC situation, I'd say that unless you think admissions this round totally screwed up and you are in fact clearly top 15 material, I wouldn't bet on a significantly higher outcome, although it is certainly quite possible.

(1) I think it would be a good idea to ask for some Masters to PhD program placement info from each school. (2) Not taking into account funding/cost, BU seems to be the better option given a stronger faculty and a lot of access to top economists in the Boston area. This might help with letters of recommendation, conditional on your ability to form good relationships with your professors, including but not limited to working for them as an RA. (3) If you simply plan on getting good grades and getting out of there, I'm not sure your training and degree prestige will be *that* different, but others might disagree.

Note that Michigan is known not for its elite placements (someone at Stanford, and someone at Chicago Booth two years ago) but for its *median* placement, which I think matters a lot more. Michigan has one of the highest placement records at the Fed and in government agencies (like the Treasury). OSU's record is overwhelmingly in foreign universities and the private sector.

More importantly, have you considered posting a profile (in the same format as the other people) on this forum for us to give you advice?

I think the programs in the U.S. are much better. If you think you have a shot at a top 10 school, you HAVE to go that route. The valued added, I think, is a lot because the difference in placement at a relatively unknown international school compared to a top US/UK school is huge. If you are top 10 material, I think you may realize in the future that you wasted some potential on an institution with limited options. There's a lot of different perspectives on the value added of top schools. A lot of these are comparing top 10 to, say, top 30 schools and asking if the value added is that much. There are a lot of stories about peer effects, signaling, advising, etc.. Since you're talking about schools that are far below top 30 schools, I think the differences will be dramatic. I think the level of competition, as well as the level of instruction, will be very different. Finally, studying at a top school is definitely NOT only for students who plan to live long term in the states. There are boatloads of PhD's who return to their home countries for good jobs. (I would have to say, however, that returning home is a backup option for many people.)

I don't get it. If you expect to get good grades in them (I'm assuming A- or higher), wouldn't you want it to affect your GPA? This only means you don't expect to get good grades in them, which is troubling. But Catrina hits a very good point. I'd add that, if you have B's and C's in calculus, I'd be very concerned about whether you've even learned enough in those classes to do well in future math classes. I would focus on really trying to learn the basics of mathematics first. Math is kind of like building a house. If your foundation on the bottom is shaky, you are never going to able to build on top of that.

I'm torn. So what do you think you'll do after you get your MA?