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aweu

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  1. Hi everyone, I'm applying to a few top EU PhD's and some RA positions. Previously, I have completed an MSc in Econ from one of the top schools in Europe. While my BSc grades are great (not a known uni though), my first term grades in the MSc were somewhat poor, but got better and in the last term quite good. Last year, I got rejected from a great RA position based on my grades (they said this was the reason when I asked). This was after doing the coding test and an interview. I didn't have my last term (best) grades at the time of applying and interviewing. I have RA experience from two positions, and currently doing another MSc. The rough start was due to some lack in math background and overall a big hike in difficulty, but as I mentioned grades got better as I got used to it. My question is: how do I treat this in the cover letter? I feel like I should mention it somehow but ofc I don't want to emphasize the negative too much as I think that my profile is otherwise quite competitive. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
  2. 1) Yes, the standard tracks will be similar to the master programmes you mentioned. Of course the one may be a little different or a bit harder than the other, but overall they should be comparable. (Though ofc, I only have direct experience in the BGSE one) 2) Admission from the standard track to the Mres means you will basically be taking the master at BGSE again, but now with all advanced courses. The year after all advanced, you can continue to the last master year, which is full of topics courses. Admission is solely based on 1st trimester grades. Not many take this route. If your grades are good/very good, this should be easy. 3) To be clear, If you want to do the PhD at UPF and start at the normal courses, you will take three years of master before starting the PhD phase. Also, doing the advanced courses if you don't want to do the PhD means you're killing yourself for no reason. 4) haven't got grades yet, so don't know.
  3. Current BSGE econ student, I'm taking a combination of adv and normal courses. Which books did you use for micro and macro courses? In the first weeks of the year you can sit in lectures for both the adv and normal courses to get a feel for what suits you best. In general, people realize what will suit them best during these first two weeks. I also worried about this question before starting, but honestly, the best way to make a decision is to go there and see for yourself. If you have other questions, feel free to ask.
  4. Congratulations! Are you roughly aiming for the same in terms of PhD's?
  5. Thank you again for your input. I'm in the process of applying for a whole bunch of them, waiting to see where I get accepted and where I get funding. Would you be able to comment on some of the questions regarding profile improvement? I'm of course aiming as high as possible. A 4.0 GPA bachelor and good European master might give me some chances, but I'm really looking to improve my profile to be competitive for top 5.
  6. ​Thanks for your reply :) Would the Warwick Mres be a bad choice? I'm indeed applying to the other schools you mention, I must say though that my impression so far has been that a LSE or oxford master would give better exit options than CEMFI, PSE, TSE, BGSE/UPF? Could you give any recommendations on how to improve application profile as European student?
  7. Undergrad Institution: Uni in the NL Major: Economics & Business Econ GPA: 4.0 (international degree, US style GPA reported on transcript) Masters Institution: Applying atm to top 10 European masters in Econ. Honours & Awards: Two honours programmes at my uni, also on transcript, giving an additional 45 ECTS (60 ECTS is 1y of study load) Undergraduate Courses: standard stuff inc. few business econ courses (mandatory). Degrees here have little formal math courses, I have one intro math course, and am now taking 'advanced mathematics'. GRE: studying atm, will be retaking until I get 162+, 169+, 4.5+ (not native speaker). Research Experience: Did a RA'ship for a professor in my 2nd year. Letters of Recommendation: Two good ones, from Profs that know me very well. Would need to get others at master ofc. Applying to: Top 10 US schools Top 5 would be my ambition. Research Interests: Macroeconomics (microfoundations), monetary economics, and ~fundamental theory (my second love is philosophy). Did a LSE summerschool in Money&Banking last summer. Currently writing thesis on forward guidance. I have several questions: - What would be the best master in Europe in terms of US PhD exit options? I am applying to both 1y and 2y programmes. Some are 1y Msc's others are 2y Mres/Mphil. As I've heard so far, I would have the best chances from a good UK program. (2y Oxford Mphil, 2y Warwick Mres, 1y LSE, 1y UCL). I would much appreciate any thoughts on what would be the best choice. In case of 1y masters, I would probably do a full time RA'ship after? Which brings me to the next question. - Do I have any chance if I apply coming round? The problem is that I'd apply 3 months in my master, so not much to go on except for maybe reputation of master school. I imagine it will be hard to get good RL's in such a short time. I would prefer next round. Partially because if I'd do a 2y master here, and then go to US PhD, the first 2 years would be lot of repetition (if e.g. one comes from Oxford Mphil). - What would be the best way to boost my profile in the coming 1 or 2 years? I was thinking of: Rank in the top of my masters ofc. Real analysis course at LSE, which is a summer school, to get an A or A+, just to signal proficiency in math? (I would probably study it before actually attending, to make sure I get a good grade) Try to find some summer research job. I've been trying to find information on something in the US, but its hard to find, and most stuff seems only open to US residents. Looked at Feds and summer RA'ships at top uni's, Any advice here? Really looking for something like this for this summer Write a kickass thesis (on forward guidance), hopefully to signal consistency in interests. Several courses on monetary econ, the summerschool last year, and then the thesis (possibly monetary econ as field course in master). Possibly a thesis prize. If possible, probably only in 2y master, doing more RA'ships - Would it make sense to use 1 LoR from bachelor and 2 from master when applying for PhD, or all 3 from master? - What specific points make a LoR strong? In general, I find it hard to evaluate options as most information I can find is US-system based. Any advice on how to boots my profile would be much appreciated!
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