PROFILE: Top 5 US research university
Type of Undergrad: BA, Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.8/4.0
GRE: planning on taking in August
Math Courses: Multivariable calculus (A), statistics and probability (B), linear algebra (A-), Real Analysis (B-)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Planning on taking a semester of graduate-level macro Fall 2015
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate micro (B+), intermediate macro (A-), econometrics (A), capital markets (A), economic growth (A), international macro (A), sophomore research tutorial (A), junior research seminar (A)
Other Courses: coursework in computer science
Letters of Recommendation:
1) young prof, big rising star in international macro; took her class and RA’ed for last semester; know her well and she says she’s willing to advocate for me
2) older prof, big name in econometrics, took research seminar with him, did very well in class and should get solid letter of rec
3) ??? — hope to get one from taking graduate classes this fall; otherwise, can probably get one from capital markets professor or from boss at investment bank (who has a PhD from top-5 university)
Research Experience: RAed for 2 semesters with different professors; did what amounted to 2 summers of pretty serious RA work in econ department of BB investment bank, but from what I hear that doesn’t amount to a hill of beans in academia; looking for more RA work this semester
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: macroeconomics, international macro, finance
SOP: not written yet
Concerns: numerous
Applying to: ??? — but aiming for top 10
Really have no idea where I stand, and grateful for any comments/guidance.
I go to a brand-name school with a famous econ department. I think I’ve made some good connections with profs and generally done well in (undergrad) econ classes, but I’m concerned that my spotty math grades will sink me. Real analysis in particular is a worry. My intermediate econ grades are also ugly, but I got those when I was a freshman with no inkling of pursuing grad school, and the overall trend is up, which I hope is a good sign.
I want to do all that I can over the fall semester to strengthen my application—taking another research assistant job, taking graduate-level macro, and perhaps taking another math course (optimization, maybe, or statistics?) to bolster an area of weakness. From these experiences I hope to also get my third recommendation letter.
I was just curious where I could reasonably expect to get into with this mixed record—top 10? Or is that out of the picture?
I’m also strongly considering the option of taking a full-time RA job over the next year or two to strengthen my application, or perhaps pursuing an MA abroad. The eventual goal is grad school, and I guess I’m willing to sacrifice a year or two of time to get into a better program. Given the data above, is that even possible?
Thanks in advance.