kicpatl17

True. But at times it feels like people on this board are forgetting one simple fact: You only need ONE acceptance! While people from schools you are mentioning will likely get more acceptances than OP in the upper part of the range, I think it's nearly impossible for him not to get at least one at that range of 25 schools.

Apply everywhere 10 to 35 -- I'd put my money on you getting at least one top 20.

Guys, anyone heard anything from Purdue? Last week they said they are still in the process, and there is absolutely nothing on Gradcafe. What are they doing I wonder

OP, I actually think the idea is not bad. You'll get to have a relatively easy year, will definitely learn stuff you didn't know, and will probably have time to read some papers and prepare. The question in my opinion is, can you really ask such a thing from your top 10 without something going wrong (e.g. making a bad impression, pissing someone off etc)? Not sure it's worth the risk -- would definitely not do it if you are not American.

There are some similarities in our profiles check if you'd like. Masters would definitely help if you do very well there, otherwise not so much. If you want to apply for PhD directly, my advice is: - Nail GRE. 167+ in Q, 157+ in V. Allow enough time for 3-5 attempts - Apply everywhere 10-45. 30-35 applications totally - Take more math if you can If you do above, you will be able to get some offers in that range IMO

Thanks for reporting. So I'm guessing 10-15% should be a reasonable expectation for most places

That sounds extremely high. I used https://smartasset.com/taxes/income-taxes#lpuQe7d1oy , inputting $25,000 income at Boston, MA. Here's what I got: Federal+State+Local+FICA = $4652, subtracting FICA: 4652-1913 = $2739, aka 2739/25000 = 11% Am I missing something here?

The way I see it -- no matter whether you apply lower -- you will need three new/different letters, at least two of which from economists. If you do RA, will you be able to get these?

With your profile in my opinion it would be a mistake not to target top 10. Some of your concerns are out of your control, and for those which you control it's pretty obvious what you need to do. If I were you I would file 20 application at my 20 first choices, it's pretty much a guarantee you will get into one of them IMO. Oh, and make sure to nail that GRE :) Best of luck

Duke is best

Quality/placement-wise Duke is clearly best. If you wanna look at it from a value for money perspective, then the answer may be different

Guys, anyone know how much time school usually give you to respond to an offer?

Thanks guys, problem has been solved

If I may ask, why you wanna do MA Econ?

I am cross posting from the Business sub forum, since my applications are split between Econ (minority) and Finance (majority) programs, but mainly because this is now urgent to me. Is it correct that in Economics late letters are not be a huge issue until the AEA conference is over. Does anyone know how differently things might work for Finance admissions? I have this one recommender that is almost never replying to my emails. All our communication has been face to face, with me showing up after his class etc. I didn't pressure him in any way to write a letter and gave him all the space to say no to my request. I last met him early December, and he said he was busy and was going to do the letters around the 10th of the December. He still hasn't done any of the letters, many deadlines have passed, and a bunch are approaching. I've sent him the full list of places I am applying at, and informed him that I have finished sending him the requests (in case he was waiting for me to send him all requests, and then complete all forms in one sitting). This spring semester he is on leave, so I won't have the opportunity for face to face communication any more. This has been driving me nuts, since I feel its totally out of my control. Any input on how big of an issue this is, or any ideas on what I should did, would be appreciated

I understand that in Economics that's not such a huge issue until the AEA conference is over. Does anyone know how differently things might work for Finance admissions? I have this one recommender that is almost never replying to my emails. All our communication has been face to face, with me showing up after his class etc. I didn't pressure him in any way to write a letter and gave him all the space to say no to my request. I last met him early December, and he said he was busy and was going to do the letters around the 10th of the December. He still hasn't done any of the letters, many deadlines have passed, and a bunch are approaching. I've sent him the full list of places I am applying at, and informed him that I have finished sending him the requests (in case he was waiting for me to send him all requests, and then complete all forms in one sitting). This spring semester he is on leave, so I won't have the opportunity for face to face communication any more. This has been driving me nuts, since I feel its totally out of my control. Any input on how big of an issue late letters are in Finance, or any ideas on what I should did, would be appreciated

Lol, what are some people ITT talking about? Not enough math? LOOOL. What else should he take for MA Econ? OP I am also applying to grad school, so other people opinions might worth more -- my advice would be submit the high Quant GRE one if a significant number of applicants in the programs you are applying to, submit GRE scores. Otherwise submit none of them (especially if you are native speaker). Btw the difference from 161 to 167 is nothing -- could be one night of bad sleep, or an argument with your girlfriend -- many people have similarly distant numbers on distinct attempts

Guys, additional question: What do chances for Toronto PhD Stream MA look like? They have quotas on international applicants, and looking through some profiles of international students there, I think I have very little chance for doctoral stream -- but wanted a second opinion.

Thanks for the input guys. I do appreciate it, and has affected my gameplan

Thanks, I'd like to leave the option of doing asset pricing open, but to be honest I think that before being exposed to relevant PhD level coursework, there is a significant chance that ones interests can change (area not being what you thought it would be). Actually I have a school specific question if you feel you could answer: For Rice university the Finance program is pretty much the exact same program as the Econ program if you take electives in financial economics, so through which department do you think I should apply to have most chance of admission? Thanks, I looked at your profile, it was clearly much stronger than mine for Econ PhD -- I guess the lower range of the schools you applied at could be around the middle of my range..

Thanks, which ranking are you referring to when you mention 50-70? From what I have gathered, Finance PhD's almost always take the econ dept Micro and Econometrics sequence, however the Macro sequence is almost never a requirement, and in most cases it can't be taken as an elective either (which is why I have slight preference for econ program). I have found that this doesn't apply at top schools though, so you must be in one :) And yes, my goal is academia

Thanks for replying, all. I understand that my profile is better suited for a finance program and that the job prospects are better -- half of my applications will be for finance programs. Three reasons I am also applying to econ programs: - My profile might be better for finance, but admission is extremely selective there (decent programs get ~100 applications for 2-5 spots), so I am unsure whether I actually have a better chance of admission - I will only be submitting GRE, and while nearly every finance program accepts it, there are many that state "we prefer GMAT" or "we strongly prefer GMAT". If this preference affects my chances considerably, then my finance program target range is restricted to schools that explicitly state no preference (plus schools that make no statement of such type). Then again it might be that this preference affects ones chances when scores are more mediocre, do you think this will be an issue given my that my scores are very high? - All else equal, I would have a slight preference for Econ PhD coursework. This is a small consideration though, since clearly all else is not equal Also there is no general consensus on finance rankings (I know there are UTD, ASU rankings), and I am having an even harder time determining what schools to apply at there. I am assuming that I would stand very little chance at finance programs at schools whose econ departments are ranked US News Top 25. What do you guys think on all that? What kind of schools should I apply at for finance?

Type of Undergrad: Top 10 US Engineering School, Major: Electrical Engineering, Minor: Economics Undergrad GPA: 2.6/4.00 Type of Grad: 2 year Master of Finance, from business school in Europe (ranked top in 30 by FT, but unknown in Econ academic circles) Grad GPA: Equivalent of 3.5+ GRE: Q 170, V 162, AWA 4.0 Math Courses (undergrad): Calc I (A), Calc II ©, Calc III (A), Differential Equations ©, Mathematical Statistics (A) , Game Theory (A, taken from EE department) Econ Courses (undergrad): Intro Micro (A), Intro Macro (A), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro ©, Money and Banking ©, Economic Development (B), Econometrics ©, Courses at Master program: Macro & Monetary Econ (A), Statistics & Econometrics (A+), Financial Economics (A+), eight more finance courses Letters of Recommendation:Intermediate Micro prof from undergrad, Stat & Econometrics prof from Masters (used to be tenured prof at Ivy League math dept), Research Supervisor from Masters Research Experience: RA at finance dept at my current business school, at Empirical/International Econ/Finance (8 months, recommendation letter from supervisor) Teaching Experience: none Research Interests:macro, monetary, international, financial, applied micro SOP: explaining bad undergrad GPA and decision to pursue Econ PhD instead of finance Concerns: terrible undergrad GPA, C's in some undergrad econ and math classes, not taken Real Analysis Chance at 10-20 ranking? Chance at 20-30 ranking? Chance at 30-50 ranking? Really confused on what my range should be, any help much appreciated guys

kk, got them message, not doing it lol. Thank you both

Guys, I realize that the SOP is expected to be not more than two pages, but I come from a non-standard background and have to explain the reasons for a very low undergraduate GPA, and the reasons why I elected to pursue a Master of Finance, among other things. This alone cannot be achieved in less than 2 pages, so my entire statement will have to exceed 3 pages including research interests, reasons for wanting to pursue PhD Econ, future plans etc. What do you think of the idea of creating a table of contents and mentioning in the first paragraph that it wasn't possible to make it any shorter? If exceeding 2 pages is a big no-no then which parts should I kick out? Thanks