kcirtap35

Hi all, PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Economics and Math double major from USNEWS top 40 liberal arts college Undergrad GPA: 3.85 (class rank somewhere in the top 10%) GRE: Q: 167, V: 168, AW: 4 Math Courses: Calc I-III (A-, A-, A-), Linear Algebra (A-), Principles of Analysis (basically intro to proofs) (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Modern Algebra (A), Mathematical Biology (a lot of ODEs) (A-), Complex Analysis (B+), Real Analysis (Taking this semester), ODE (Taking this semester) Econ Courses: AP Micro/Macro, Environmental Economics (A-), History of Economic Thought (A), Intermediate Micro (A-), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Research Methods (A-), Thesis research course (Taking this semester). Will most likely take Game Theory and some other mathematically focused econ course in my last semester Other Courses: French 201-202 (Taking the sequence this year) - Not sure if this is incredibly important, but I have an interest in development economics so maybe from a pragmatic standpoint? Letters of Recommendation: 1. Top 30 PhD, Full (tenured) professor - Advisor to independent research this summer and to my thesis - Have a feeling this one will be the best 2. Top 20 PhD, Assistant professor (non-tenured), RA'd for him last summer - I'd say it'll be good 3. Top 20 PhD, Full (tenured) professor - Involved in a project with him last summer - made me a coauthor on the book chapter we wrote - He also oversees the summer research program so he's seen me quite a bit Research Experience: 1. 1 summer as an RA for a professor (rec #2) - labor economics, public economics, sports economics 2. 1 semester as an unofficial RA for a professor (rec #2) - behavioral economics 3. 1 summer on an independent research project with rec #1 advising - health economics 4. Honors thesis with rec #1 advising - health economics Other Potentially Relevant Work Experience: 1. 1 year as a grader in the math department (probably will continue this into this year) 2. 1 year as a tutor for econ/math (probably will continue this into this year) Research Interests: Development econ, health econ, public econ In a perfect world, I'd like to integrate all three - like health and developmental policy Planning to Apply to: *All master's programs Cambridge (Gates Cambridge), Toulouse, UBC, CEMFI, Bocconi, Simon Fraser, VU Amsterdam (Fulbright), Queen's, Toronto, Tinbergen, U of Minnesota APEC, Paris School of Economics (Public Policy and Development) Also RA positions Concerns: 1. I'm not entirely sure if I should write off PhD applications completely, but I also don't want to waste time an money if it would be better to just apply in a later cycle once I've had either some research experience or a Master's. Should I apply to PhD programs? And if so, what would be a feasible range? 2. Is it okay to express interest in development econ even though I don't have any research experience directly tied to it? Or is that seen as odd? Any advice you could give is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hey all, I've been really excited about my GRE scores since seeing the 'unofficial' scores when I finished but was disappointed with my AWA that I just received tonight. Verbal: 168 Quant: 167 AWA: 4 To give a bit of context this is overall improvement from when I took it last year: Verbal: 161 Quant: 163 AWA: 4.5 I plan to apply broadly to the top 30 programs since I'm coming out of an LAC with the knowledge that I may have to take an RA position if I have no luck in my first run with applications. Should I think about retaking because of the AWA? Thanks!

Thanks startz. That was what I was thinking but I wanted some reassurance

Hey y'all, After doing some research with a professor this summer, we decided we wanted to continue researching into the fall. He found out that I could get course credit by enrolling in an independent study and doing research instead of studying. Another professor in the department says this is not uncommon. I was thinking that instead of taking History of Economic Thought, I could do this independent study/research course. Would this be worth doing or would it look weird from the standpoint of admissions? Thanks!

I've secured a spot in my college's economics research program for this summer, Our program assigns us to specific research advisors and I've been selected to work with a recent PhD recipient who's only at my college as a visiting professor. Since I'm a sophomore, applying to a PhD program is a while away and he will probably not be here by the time I apply. Can I still get a recommendation from him? Should I? Thanks!

Recently, I stumbled upon an faq post from 2005 for people who want to apply to econ grad schools that said top 30-50 schools could be reached with a 3.5 GPA. Is this still the case? And if not, what would you say the cutoff is for a top 50-70 program? Thanks!

I mean RA as in Resident Assistant, just to clarify. I know a research assistant position is important, but is a resident assistant job as important?

Hey all, So I'm an RA at my college, but have been thinking that it may get in the way of my academics. I need money, but I feel as if it would be less of a time commitment to just work in the cafeteria (although it's less "prestigious", I actually like it more). Would it be worth it to continue as an RA for the sake of applying to graduate school? Because otherwise, I don't feel as if I get any use out of it and honestly I'm only doing it for the money at this point. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated!

Oh ok. So you think it could be the case that transferring wouldn't really be beneficial? I might apply for transfer anyway just to see if I can climb up the ranks to a better program. I suppose I misspoke. When I say I don't like it here, I just mean that I don't think I would like it anywhere more than this. I think my experience anywhere will be pretty similar, so I have no problem with transferring. It's not that I'm not enjoying college, I just think I'd enjoy it equally elsewhere.

Thanks for replying. Yeah here's the thing: Our college has an awful track record of immediate conversion to PhD programs. Both of the econ profs I've talked to have said either get a stint at a research job or get a Masters in between. Apparently we do a pretty decent job of placing at research gigs and our department seems to be feeder into Tufts for masters, but very rarely do we see people graduate from here to go right into a PhD program. Should I still think about transferring? Honestly it's no skin off my nose I don't really like it here anyway. I'm more concerned about credit transfer.

Thanks for the input. Do you think I should apply for transfer for my Junior year? The only thing I'm worried about is if my credits will transfer. But honestly, I kind of want out anyway. In regards to math, I've been talking to my advisor and think I'll be majoring in math as well as econ. There is quite a bit of math at this school. Up through real analysis and topology. I don't know if it's graduate level, but it seems like a lot to a newbie.

Hey all! I'm currently a sophomore at a top 40 LAC. I've been talking to my economics professors about the potential of going to grad school or a PhD and they say that I'm at a disadvantage since I'm coming out of an LAC so I don't really have access to graduate level economics and math classes. Their advice is to probably get a Master's or do a stint as a full-time RA somewhere before applying to PhD programs. Do you all think this is a requirement just because I'm coming out of an LAC? I'm afraid I wouldn't have the money for a Master's. I'm really not gunning specifically for the top programs. I'm just trying to get in somewhere with full funding so that I can research what I love. I'm well-aware that I'm two years away from graduation, so I don't necessarily know that I'll want to get a PhD in economics in my senior year, but I was hoping that you all could answer a question for a curious mind who loves economics. Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!