econgal2015

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: BA Economics (Top 50 research university, unranked Econ) Undergrad GPA: 3.8 Type of Grad: NA Grad GPA: NA GRE: 165Q, 161V, 5.0 AWA Math Courses: Calc I-III (As), Linear Algebra (B+), Real Analysis (A), Differential Equations (A) Econ Courses: Intro/Intermediate Micro (As), Intro/Intermediate Macro (A- s), Econ Stats (B+), Dev Econ (B+), Games (A), Economic History (A), Senior Seminar (A), Regulation (A), Writing with Data (A), Econometrics (A) Other Courses: 3 education/teaching courses (not for economics).Several statistical programming mini-courses at current position. Letters of Recommendation: (1) Professor I researched/co-authored with for 1 year, took 3 courses with (including senior seminar). (2) Economist at Fed who I worked for as an RA and co-author (in progress). (3) Boss at Fed who can speak to general research ability, specifically my individual research. All 3 from T15 schools. NSF commenter implied they were good letters. Research Experience: Summer REU and one year in undergrad for same professor. Presented findings at a conference, co-authored paper in R&R at a journal. 3 years at Fed, included individual research and research with/for economists. Teaching Experience: None for Econ. Some in K-12. Research Interests: Applied Micro in general. Specifically, mentioned potential interest in: economics of education, consumer finance, health econ, behavioral. SOP: Standard.Customized slightly for each school to mention why I liked their school in particular (general environment, specific professors, and/or field strengths). Broke it down into sections: Summary, academic history, research experience, research interests. Other: Graduated in 3 years from undergrad, so most math courses were taken while at Fed to play catch up. RESULTS: Acceptances: U Minnesota($$), UCLA ($$), BU ($$), Wash U ($$), U Arizona ($$), UCSB ($$), USC ($$), NSF ($$$). Waitlists: UMD, UT Austin (requested to be removed before final decision was made for both). Rejections: MIT, Berkeley, Yale, U Wisconsin, U Michigan, UCSD, Brown, Duke, BC. Attending: UCLA! Comments: Super happy. I applied all over the board because I wasn't quite sure how I would do with my limited math and borderline GRE. I ended up at one of my "potentially attainable reaches" and my results were pretty understandable and expected. Except for the NSF, which was a very pleasant surprise. What would you have done differently? During the application process? Nothing. I spent a lot of time researching schools, interviewing economists at my work, reading this forum, and talking with other RAs. I had an amazing support system and letter writers and used them well. I would also like to credit Google docs, which kept all my application materials well-organized. Before the application process? I would have been a Math/Econ double major and not graduated in 3 years. However, I did not know I wanted to go to graduate school until shortly before I graduated so can't really change that. That said, I think once I knew what I wanted, I did all the right steps (becoming an RA, getting more research experience, taking the needed math courses).