PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 200 USNWR, very small PhD program, BA Economics, minors: Math and Health Systems Administration
Undergrad GPA: 3.86
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA:
GRE: 163Q, 157V, 4.0AW
Math Courses: Calc I-III(B+,A-,A) Multidimensional Mathematics A+, Diff Eq in progress, Linear Algebra in progress, Intro to Proofs in progress
Econ Courses: UG: Intro Micro/Macro, Intermediate Micro/Macro, Undergraduate Math Econ, Econ/Business Stats, Health Econ, Money and Banking, Econometrics, Senior Seminar. Grad: Math Econ (All A or A+)
Other Courses: a few Computer Science and Engineering software courses.
Letters of Recommendation: I would imagine they would have to be fantastic for my profile to get accepted where I did, all were instructors I had from top 40 or better schools.
Research Experience: None, outside of pretty extensive Health Econ paper
Teaching Experience: Math tutor at a local high school (employed by district).
Research Interests: Macro/Public
SOP: Seemed pretty basic, explained how I came around to wanting a PhD late in the game, what drew me to get my PhD, career goals ect.
Concerns: I would have to say my lack of math was my primary concern, my GRE wasn't great but I knew it wouldn't hold me back too much and I really didn't think it would have been worth it to try to get a couple more math questions right. Lack of research experience was also something that worried me.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Missouri, Kentucky, North Carolina
Waitlists: Georgia? (Initially waitlisted, asked if interested and said I wasn't, not sure where to place it)
Rejections: Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan State, WUSTL
Pending: Purdue
Attending: Kentucky
Comments: Alright it might sound crazy to pick Kentucky over North Carolina, but I really loved my visit there. Their faculty seemed great and I really liked the structure and size of the program.
What would you have done differently? If I could go back and figure out this is what I wanted to do when I first went to college that would have been great, but with the way things progressed I really can't complain about the outcome. Maybe I could have tried harder to get a RA position and maybe have taken another math class or two, but I am extremely happy with my season.