furyinsane

Tinbergen isn't much of a stepping stone as far as I can tell. Apparently, most students who do the MPhil stay for the PhD or leave academia altogether.

Hi all, Does anyone know the kind of questions they ask in this interview? How competitive is this stage? I might have to turn down other offers before I even interview with EUI ...

Hi all, I am in a similar situation at the moment. I already did a European Master's program (2 years) and some RA work, and I am also looking for a PhD program, not another "stepping stone" as you put it. As far as I can tell, at the top EU schools, you have to go through the MSc program first (and do pretty well in it), in order to graduate to their MRes/PhD (I think this goes for UPF, LSE and UCL, right?). The question is, how much do you like the risky outlook of attending a better school in one year compared to the safe option of attending a second tier school this year. I am torn ...

Would be very interested in this too! I already did a MSc at another European institution, and doing another 1-year Master at BGSE and not getting into their MRes/PhD program afterwards because the selection process is too competitive would be pretty frustrating I guess.

Could anyone give information on how the interview process goes? What kind of questions do they ask? Any idea on how selective this process is?

Thanks very much for the detailed answer! Do you or anyone else know whether rejected applicants for the MRes program are automatically considered for the MSc as well?

Holy mother of f***. Why is it so hard for Barcelona to clearly state the structure of their programs? If I am looking to attend a PhD plus one year of coursework in Micro/Macro ... (MWG etc.), do I apply to the MRes/PhD or do I have to go through the Master program at BGSE before? I hold a Bachelor's and a Master's degree from a different European program already, but want one more year of graduate-level coursework.

Thanks for the feedback guys, it was very helpful for me!

I'm applying this winter for PhD programs. Since the Profs that I want to ask for LoRs are pretty busy (who isn't?), I'm thinking of giving them pretty explicit directions on what to include in the letters. For instance, I want one to mention that a course I took with them was mathematically demanding. Also, I would ideally like for them to compare me to other students how have successfully completed the respective PhD programs in the past. My question is: How far can I go in telling them what to write/what topics to cover in the letters? Any opinions or experiences?