PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: US Public University, T30 UG, T15 Econ, Math & Econ Major
Undergrad GPA: 3.94
Type of Grad: N.A.
Grad GPA: N.A.
GRE: 166(V), 170(Q), 4.5(AW)
Math Courses: Analysis (A+), Linear Algebra (A), PDE (A+), Multi-variable Analysis (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Stochastic Processes (A+), Measure Theory (A+)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A+), Intermediate Macro (A+), Game Theory (A+), Labor Economics (A-), Intermediate Metrics I & II (A+, B+), International Finance (A), International Trade (A), PhD Micro Sequence (A+, A, A+, A+), PhD 2nd-year Game Theory (A)
Other Courses: Some philosophy courses. Bunches of random business management courses from my previous university.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from micro theory prof with whom I RA-ed (well-known); 1 from micro theory prof with whom I took three courses (top 5 PhD); 1 from math prof with whom I took one math course
Research Experience: RA in micro theory with one of the profs above
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Micro theory
SOP: A detailed description of research projects that I did and would like to start. Did not customize school-wise.
Other: Transferred to current school from a little known university in Asia.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Stanford, Yale, Columbia, Northwestern (waitlist for first-year funding)
Waitlists: None
Rejections: Harvard, Stanford GSB, Princeton, Chicago, Penn, NYU
Pending: None
Attending: Stanford
Comments: This is definitely more than I had hoped for. Extremely happy about this. Advice for future applicants: Research experience and letters are way more important than many think. As far as I know, applicants tend to over-estimate GPA and under-estimate research experience and letters. I've seen at least 4 applicants (some applying for econ, some for other PhDs) who have perfect grades but little research experience with profs, and got rejected almost everywhere. Grades in math and graduate econ classes weigh more than grades in UG econ classes and/or irrelevant classes.
What would you have done differently?
Spend less time on video games (Delete civ 5!), and spend more time on coursework, research, socializing and exercising.