deconomics

That clearly counts as research experience. Doesn't matter what it's registered as, it produces research and you were involved in producing that research.

Hey. You're grades sound pretty good and the thesis award thing is impressive so I reckon you'll probably get into all of them. Funding is another matter though, there's not that much available (particularly if you're from outside the EU) so it's very competitive. There's little funding for the LSE msc unless you qualify for some kind of bursary but there's more for Oxford and Cambridge. If I were you I'd apply for outside sources of funding and then apply to those programmes and see if they give you anything. I would also consider going for it even with out funding if you're in a position where you can do so.

There is a guy currently doing a PHD at MIT who did the msc. He applied during his PRS year (year you take between the mcs and dphil if you stay on at Oxford) rather than the msc year. So yes, it's well regarded.

Cheers for the advice everyone. I think my best bet is Columbia at the moment (although LSE has the advantage of being in my home country so it's a tough choice). Will update with info on where I end up in the end.

Right, going to do these all at once. No time to trawl through my emails to get notification dates but here they are in the order they arrived: Institution: Columbia Program: Economics, PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Full + deans fellowship ($40k stipend + health, extremely generous) Notification Date: Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Institution: Princeton Program: Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Institution: MIT Program: Economics, PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Apparently unlikely if I get off waitlist Notification Date: Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Institution: LSE Program: Economics, PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Full Notification Date: Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Institution: Harvard Program: Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Institution: Stanford Program: Economics, PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Full ($37k, very generous) if I get in. Notification Date: Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Institution: Berkeley Program: Economics, PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Partial for first year full thereafter Notification Date: Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Really annoyed about this. I can't go because as an international student I have to pay 'nonresident supplemental tuition' for the first three years. This amounts to like $15k a year which is near the size of the stipend and means I wouldn't be able to eat or have shelter, both of which seem pretty important. Don't know why I bothered Applying. Really liked Berkeley as well. What I've learnt: Probably ought to have applied to more places (like Chicago, Yale, business schools etc.) Think the objectively best options are Columbia or, if I get in off the waiting list, Stanford. Berkeley thing is a shame, apparently they're having cash flow problems so can't really blame them but if it wasn't for the NRST thing I would likely have taken the offer.

Yeah I got that too.

Yeah I get standard funding after year 1, but with the nonresident extra tuition thing it would still barely be enough to live off. Cheers, guess there's no harm in asking...

I one of those was fortunate enough to get some good offers but I have no idea how to decide between them. I get the impression that out of that three Berkeley is by a margin the highest ranked department but I only got partial funding during the first year and you have to pay 'nonresident supplementary tuition' as an international student which means I'd be broke the whole time I was there. On the other hand Columbia, whilst lower ranked has offered me a much more favourable fellowship. Does the ranking even matter for much? I'm struggling to get a straight answer to that. Also, how does LSE rank compared to those two? Apologies if this is a stupid question or annoys people who didn't get offers from one of those places. Any info/advice would be hugely appreciated.