economie

If you are certain you want to do a PhD, you should consider starting it now. Masters classes don't really prepare for PhD anyway. If you have a good math background, econ PhD classes are not that hard. They are fast-paced, the courseload is heavy, but you already know everything you need to know to be able to do them.

Generally, real analysis don't require preparation. Where I studied it was the first class in which we had to do some proofs. For some, it went well, for some it didn't. Half of the class failed... but it had no prerequisites. And I don't see what kind of class (except some intro to proofs) would help prepare to it.

Normally you receive an official letter from the graduate school which includes admission conditions to clear. This is not the same letter as the first acceptance letter you've received. It usually says that if you don't meet these conditions, the department could take back the offer. However, unless you absolutely fail everything, I doubt that they really would. What is more likely if you don't meet the conditions is that they put you on academic probation. But verify that with the school in question.

Last year they mentioned the stream in the letter. If they don't, your funding should give you an idea of which stream you are in. Doctoral stream gets you 24-27k (depending on TA/RA hours offered) + maybe an additional admission award of 2000 $ (I got that last year, not sure if some others got it)

do what you like.

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They know what they are doing, and it means that they feel the applicant is able to suceed (which doesn't mean the student will maximise his/her potential by following that way) in the program. In some (but not all, it really depends) cases, taking the time to do some applied work and to think about economic questions can benefit a lot even though they are already able to get through the math.

Yeah I read too fast and didn't notice that OP had already done a masters, which makes the benefit of doing another one lower, both for preparation and to improve his/her chances.

Note that in a two years Master's, you'll learn a lot and you'll be more prepared for a PhD. On this forum, many people seem to view the PhD admission to be the ultimate step, but in reality, you have to perform well in it to get the greatest options. It's really about whether or not you feel ready to enter a PhD now and to be one of the bests students at your school, or if there are things you want to improve before. Skipping steps isn't always a good idea. Taking your time, although it is costly, sometimes gives better result. Also, doing a masters gives you the opportunity to do some more applied work and gives you more time to get "economic culture". You'll have more time to think about economic questions you want to work on. That is an important thing that shouldn't be overlooked. It's really about how you feel ready and know what you want to do. Edit: just saw that you've already done a masters, so maybe my advice isn't as important as I thought.

Institution: University of Montreal Program: Ph.D Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 18k Notification date: Feb 25 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Any feedback would be appreciated Institution: University of Toronto Program: M.A Economics (Doctoral Stream) Decision: Accepted Funding: 24k Notification date: Feb 24 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Any feedback would be appreciated

I'm also interested in financial mathematics, not for the Ph.D but just because I like the subject. It's really a tradeoff between what I want to do/learn now, and what will be better for my applications, or the possible negative effects of withdrawing from a class.

To give you a better idea of the impact it could have, here are the math classes I have taken with (grade;class average) Real Analysis 1 (A+;D) Linear Algebra (A; C) Intro to Statistics (A+; C) Discrete Mathematics (A+;C) Multivariable Calculus 1 (equivalent to Calculus III) : (A-; C-) Multivariable Calculus 2 : (C+; C) : that one sucks Probabilities (A;C) Scientific programmation in C (A+;B) Optimization Techniques (A;B) Currently taking (math classes) : Real Analysis II, Stochastic Process and a more advanced Stats class. Aiming for A+'s in all of them. So I think I already have a appreciable amount of math, and got good grades in it (except for one class, I have a good reason and I'll explain it on my SOP I guess). What I really want to know is the harm that dropping Differential Equations could do to my application, considering my math profile. I can pass that class, easily. But it could make it harder to get stellar grades in Analysis II, Stats and Stochastic Process. Also, like I said, the main reason is that I'm interested more in the two other classes I could take this summer. Is dropping worth it? Or could it affect my application? Thank you. Also note that I'll be doing a master's degree before Ph.D. (although I won't have much grades to send after only one semester, so these grades will probably be what matters the most)

Well my feeling is that a Linear Regression class from the math dept will be more rigorous and a better preparation for graduate econometrics. But yeah, it's a subject I have already covered in metrics.

Just wondering which class would be the most important for a Ph.D admission. I have an option mathematics to take to end my undergrad degree. I'm currently taking Differential Equations, but I feel one of the two others would be more beneficial. Should I drop it to take a more important class during the summer? Will the W affect my chances if I don't take the class again? (I know this has been discussed on the first page, but I want to know how it'll look if I tell them I dropped DE to take a class that I thought was more interesting). Thank you. Note that Ph.D adcoms will see my grades of this semester, because I'll be applying for 2017.

A few months? Never heard of that much before. They usually say a couple of weeks before. They'll 5-6 weeks to write them for the places I am applying to.

Hi guys, I'm about to contact some professors to get LORs from them. I was just wondering if some of you know how to actually ask for it. Like, what is the protocol to ask for a LOR? Thank you.

Hello! I'm a last year undergrad student in Quebec, Canada, currently aiming for gratudate studies. My opinion might not be as credible/accurate as some other posters here since I'm not a graduate student yet, so take it for what it's worth, but I know pretty well some of the universities you've mentioned. I can tell you that the fact that you have no research or work experience probably won't matter at all in applying to a Master at Concordia, Ottawa or McGill : local students applying to those masters usually don't have any experience either, because our undergrad programs are based on coursework, not research. Research here starts at the Master's degree. Usually, Masters programs ask for a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or 3.2 on 4.3 to be accepted. I don't know how Delhi compares to our universities, but your GPA is a borderline admit/reject (assuming it is 3.1, but 64% in our classes here is about 2.0-2.3. Maybe they grade harder in india so it really is a 3.1, I don't know). You could be admitted if you have good letters from your professors, but you could also be rejected. If you don't mind waiting a year to get into a Master's, there are some options to improve your "profile" and maximize your chances. I'm pretty sure you could easily get into Condordia or McGill as an independent student for a year (an independent student is someone who takes the classes he/she wants, without being in any program) and take some undergraduate classes in micro, macro and econometrics to improve your GPA. I would take second year micro/macro and econometrics classes (2 micro/macro and 1 econometrics). Those classes should be similar to what you've had in Delhi. If you do this and suceed well, you'll get into a Master's degree easily. Quebec tuition fees are based on the number of classes you take. They are higher for international students than for local students, but if you take 5 classes in one year, it shouldn't be that expensive, nothing close to US/UK tuition fees. I would look at this if I were in your situation. About your GRE scores : I don't think Quebec universities (it could be different for other canadian universities) require GRE scores. In fact, I'm 100% certain they aren't required for local students, but maybe they require them for international students (but I doubt it, honestly : ask them or look at websites). If they aren't required, I wouldn't send them. If English isn't your mother tongue, AWA/Verbal scores are probably not a good representation of your real skills, so I wouldn't send something that could underestimate you. Hope that helps. Also, if you plan to come to Montreal, I would recommand you to learn a little bit of french. You don't have to be 100% fluent if you don't plan to live here longterm, but you need to know the basics. You could technically live in Montreal in English only, as there are many tourists and it's a pretty cosmopolite city, but learning a little of bit of french could help you in many situations.

Hello guys, I was just wondering if professors are usually open to evaluate profiles from students and give advice to them to find the best match for masters/Ph.D. Like, professors you don't know very well, but that you have had. I was thinking of contacting some of them by email to ask them to meet me to evaluate my profile. Also, if they usually accept, what should I say in the email to, let's say, maximize the chances of them actually accepting to meet me? I know they are very busy so I don't want to mess up with a poor asking. Thanks.

That is an interesting factor too. I know that if I stay where I'm at for my Masters (2 years), I'll have a lot of opportunities to be a TA and a RA, which could help me signaling more research experience and get better LORs. And as I'm familiar with the institution (and already doing a graduate class), I'm pretty confident that things would go well. However, the reputation of my university is good, but probably not enough to get into a top tier Ph.D. Toronto's Doctoral Stream would be better and offer me RA and TA aswell, but 1 year is what bothers me. I'll have to apply after the first semester, so my experience won't be that great either...

Interesting. Here, I'd say that 3 or 4 students get A+'s in the last undergrad econ courses, with classes of 100-150 people... and it's rarer than that in most math classes, like Analysis. But there's obviously a lot of bad students, honestly, that probably wouldn't be in some private colleges. A's are given a little more often than A+'s, but not as much as in the States according to what you've said. Makes me wonder how you can really distinguish yourself as an undergrad in the States if so many people get the maximum grade. By being a good researcher? Here, we don't have that possibility as undergrads. It's really not the same dynamic. And this is why I'm scared for my LORs, I don't know my professors much, all they have is my grades. And I'm pretty sure that most of them could see me and not even know my name. I guess I'll have to ask to meet them to talk about grad possibilities or something, so at least they know me a little. This really could hurt my chances.

Thank you for the answer. I'll look at this pdf and practice for the GRE. The class average in my C+ class was C. I've already seen D in some classes, such as Analysis I. If you're saying this is like a A- in the US, it means that classes averages are around B/B+? What is the proportion of students who get A's in a typical US class?

Type of Undergrad: Around 100th in the world according to QS Ranking. Not in the US. Double major math and econ Undergrad GPA: Currently 4.12/4.3 overall, 4.3/4.3 in econ. Getting A+ (4.3) here, from what I've heard, is harder than getting a A where this is the max grade, but our A is lower than the usual A (but better than the usual A-, and so on). My overall GPA is deflated by one bad grade that I had 2 years ago. I don't know if that fact affects my profile. Edit : A+ = 90%+ A=85-89 A-=80-84. Saying this may give you a better idea. Type of Grad: I'm currently taking Graduate macro as an option of my undergrad degree. GRE: Will do in October. I'm not scared about the Q, but analytic writing is what scares me. I'm usually good at this, but English isn't my mother tongue, so it could be harder for me, although I believe I'm fluent enough in English to study in an English institution, and my English will improve while there. I'd like it if some non-native english speakers could describe their experience with analytic writing GRE. Math Courses: Calculus I and II are made before university here (but after high school), I had the equivalent of A+'s in them. University : Analysis (A+), Statistics (A+), Multivariable Calculus I (A-), Linear Algebra (A), Probabilities (A), Multivariable Calculus II (C+ : that one is bad), Mathematical Programmation in C (A+). Doing right now : Discrete Mathematics, Optimisation Techniques. Will do next semester (my grades won't count for the admission) : Stochastic Process, Differential Equations, Stats II, Analysis II. My school has a better reputation in maths than econ, between 50 and 100th in the world according to QS. Class average is usually between C and D. Econ Courses: All Micro, Macro and Econometrics undergraduate classes (A+ everywhere, which means 90+/100). Textbooks used were Nicholson & Snyder in micro (for 2 semesters), Blanchard and Williamson in macro and Wooldridge in Econometrics. Currently doing graduate macro. I've also taken option classes such as international trade and got A+ in all of them. The best class average I've seen is C+ and the worse C-. Letters of Recommendation: This is where it gets tricky. As we have pretty big classes in my school, I do not know my teachers well, although I had A+'s in all of my classes. I will ask teachers from my hardest classes in micro and macro to write me LORs. I have heard that they usually accept and write them based mainly on grades. One of them is an experienced and well respected professor. The other one is a new prof (assistant professor), I don't know how this can affect the LOR. I would like to ask my prof from my graduate macro class (and get her to know me) to write a LOR (she's an experimented and well known professor), but I'm not sure if I'll have my grades in time to apply. (We usually get them in January... around the 5th-15th). I'm also wondering : If I apply for a Ph.D later, could a LOR from a math professor be good? Research Experience: Not possible for undergrad students at my university. Teaching Experience: N/A Research Interests: Public economics, econometrics Concerns: 1. GRE Analytical writing, because of the language barrier. I'd like to get infos on it. 2. My C+ in Multivariable Calculus II. Will it hurt? Sometimes, things go wrong in an exam that counts a lot, and that's what happened. This is mostly a course applied to Physics, not sure of it's utility in economics, but I guess it will send a bad signal. Without that class, I'd have 4.22/4.3, which would be very good. But I don't have it. How do advisers usually react to one single bad grade decreasing the GPA, rather than averaging less in many classes? (I'm not sure that sentence makes sense...) 3. My LORs will be big question marks. 4. Time. I'm not sure that I'll have my Graduate Macro grade in time to get a LOR. Also, a lot of my math classes which could really boost my profile (Analysis II, Stats II, Stochastic Process...) will be taken next spring, so I can't use them for this year. I will be able to use them when I'll apply for a Ph.D, though, which is one of the reasons I won't try applying in a Ph.D for next year. Here are the universities I'm considering (for masters) : University of Toronto (Doctoral Stream), University of British Columbia, Paris School of Economics, Toulouse School of Economics, McGill University, I wanted to consider the London School of Economics too, but the tuition fees makes it impossible for me (unless I get funded, but they don't seem to offer much $$ for Master's students). Note that I want to do a Ph.D after, as I'm interested in academia. I'd like to do it in a very good school. Funding is very important, unless there are litterally no tuition fees (like PSE or TSE) What do you guys think of these universities for a Master's degree? And in particular, how do Paris School of Economics and Toulouse School of Economics do? They seem very good in public economics, which is what interests me the most. Rankings online sometimes put them in the top 10, sometimes not even in the top 100. Which rankings are the most respected? Is QS Ranking any good? IDEAs ranking? And if you have better options for me in mind, don't hesitate to tell me! Thanks in advance. Edit : Do you think that my profile, with all my math classes done (let's say i will get A+ or A in all of them), would be good enough to get in a good Ph.D? Like, if I apply for 2017, would it work?