Swagatam Sinha

Has anybody heard back from the University of Zurich, dept of Economics? It is likely my top preference ( I applied only to European schools), and the wait is scary...

@jrdonsimoni: I understand all your points! Yes, I accept All souls is the most exclusive place to get into (last time I checked, to be a fellow you need to clear a paper in Latin!!), so I am not even thinking on those lines. My only hope is, from what I know, your college and your supervisor's college are allowed to be different! I need to cross-check this, of course. And yes, I absolutely agree about choosing an university with more people in my interest area. That is precisely the reason why I am considering a shift out of Glasgow- the dept is great and I love the people here, but there is just one senior professor who works on Behavioral Econ, which is a little scary. Of course, the recommenders I am looking at are quite senior, and I hope (and I pray) that they are reasonably convinced with my abilities. I am certainly looking seriously at EUR, in fact they have PhD project Applying behavioural economic theories to economic problems which sounds like it is close to where I want to go. It is under Prof. Han Bleichrodt, Prof. Aurélien Baillon and Prof. Kirsten Rohde. This can be a good opportunity, if they find me acceptable! I could apply through Tinbergen too, but I would prefer to go straight into research, if the dept allows this. I am also quite keen on Bonn- thanks for pointing it out to me! They have a structured program which is similar to a funded 4-year PhD, and 4-5 faculty members who are both quite active and very well-published in behavioral. Also, you may have heard of Prof Alexander Cappelen- it is because of him and his team that I am trying to get through to NHH. I hope someone reading the forum would be able to give me a better understanding of that dept beyond what I can read off their website! Thanks again for your excellent points! I am sure this will help me tons over the next few months. Good luck to you too for your research! :):)

@jrdonsimoni: Thank you so much for your detailed reply! My knowledge about German programs was always hazy- thanks a lot for clearing things up for me. Can I ask you a couple of things? Firstly, do you feel I have a fighting chance at Zurich (by which I mean, a better chance than at Oxford or LSE)? It accepts 12-15 students every year (source: website), and to be honest, right now it is my top choice! Please note, I will be applying at a time when my Glasgow degree is not yet complete. But after completing 2/3rd of the course requirements, I am holding a GPA of 18.28 (you need 18.0 or more for distinction.) Which means I could ask my recommenders to mention in their letters, that my chances of getting a distinction is quite high. Secondly, looking at Oxford, Mark Armstrong and Vincent Crawford appear to be well-known academics who are actively working in the dept. Also, they have a dedicated Behavioral Economics group, and they are ranked 11th globally for Cognitive and behavioral econ by IDEAS. This is why I thought Oxford can be a good match for me ( I agree, experimental at Oxford is not much of a focus). Would you agree/disagree? Thanks again for your time and for your comments!

@tutonic: Thanks a lot for your suggestion! I checked it out, and it seems that PhD track admission through BGSE is the way ahead, which I will take up. Do you have any thoughts on my current list? Does it seem too ambitious? Or is it more like a fighting chance, could go either way?

Hi, I am applying for the 2017 admission cycle, and I am focussing on behavioral/ experimental economics for my PhD. I am looking forward to getting through to an Economics PhD program in Europe, and the following is my shortlist for now: University of Zurich, Stockholm School of Economics, Oxford, LSE and Norwegian School of Economics (NHH). The deadlines to most of these places are approaching, which is why I need any feedbacks that you may offer urgently! My profile is as follows: Type of Undergrad: Electrical Engineering, from a top 5 department in India Undergrad GPA: 7.96/10, placed in top 30% of my class. Type of Masters 1: M.A in Economics from top department in India Maths courses: Analysis (68/100), Probability and measure theory (72/100) Linear Algebra (70/100) Econ courses: Game Theory (60/100), Intermediate macro (70/100), intermediate micro (70/100), econometrics (66/100) Masters 1 grades : 63%, in the top 30 percentile of my class. Type of Masters 2: M.Res in Economics from University of Glasgow, UK (the program is new, but taught by professors who are well known). Courses: Intermediate maths (multivariate calculus, Real analysis, linear Algebra etc): A2, intermediate micro A5, intermediate macro A5, Econometrics B1 [ where A1-A5 correlates with 80-100 points in a 100 mark paper, and B1 is just below A5]. Ranked within the top 1-2 students in class. Dissertation: Currently in progress, should be a nice writing sample, not publication level work but promising according to my supervisor. Awards: I have received full University funding for my 2nd masters course. Letters of recommendation : 2 of the most senior professors in my current department, who are well-known in the Econ Theory community, but not behavioral economists. The letters should be quite strong. Research exp: I worked as an RA for 1 year between the two masters degrees listed above, and I am currently collaborating with a professor from the law faculty on a joint paper on internet economics. My dissertation is a paper on internet economics intersecting with IO. Teaching exp: none SOP: Since I shifted my concentration after my undergrad, my first Masters grades were below par. But with my second masters by research I have tried to fill up the gap, and thrown in some research exp in the mix GRE: 168 Q, 164 V, AW 4.0 Research interest: Behavioral/ Experimental econ. Am I aiming too high? Are there any schools, of a similar stature, that I should consider in addition to these? Please note, receiving funding is crucial for me, for example in places like LSE, where quite a few students self fund/ receive external funding. I would love to hear any suggestions/ thoughts that you may have! Thanks a lot