Forest06

Actually, I am just wondering whether I can increase the chances of success by taking more math courses. I suppose that it does not matter in which university I take them....? (In fact, I am in a top university in Japan, but I really have no idea whether it means a lot when applying for PhD programs in US.) Anyway I am to contact previous student who have applied for Econ Phd in US. Thank you for the advice. :)

Hello, I am currently in an Economics master programme in Japan, and plan to apply for an Economics PhD programme in US in this autumn. I am targeting at top 30 universities, but I hope I could be admitted by top 20. Since I learnt that math background and recommendation letters are crucial for application, I am wondering whether someone could be kind to give some advice about them? First, math background. There are math courses which I have taken: Advanced Mathematics B I (A) Advanced Mathematics B II (A-) Linear Algebra (A) Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics (A) Statistics (B+) (A is the highest score level, we don’t have A+) And Advanced Mathematics B I & II cover single variable differential and integral calculus, multivariable calculus, ordinary differential equation and basic knowledge of space analytic geometry. However, I know that such kind of math curriculum in US is classified into different courses, like Calculus 1, 2, 3 and Differential Equations. Therefore I am wondering how these two courses will be evaluated during application. Will they be thought of equal as Calculus courses + Differential Equation in US? And I am to take Real Analysis next semester, but I am not sure whether I should also take the following classes: Adv. Calculus I – Vector Calculus Function Theory of a Complex Variable (Complex Analysis) Honors Mathematics B (Group, Orthogonal functions and Fourier series, Riemannian geometry of a surface) Set Theory & Topology Would someone be kind to provide some advice? Second, as to recommendation letters, in my current programme, I know some lecturers and professors graduating from US universities, and these universities are also in my application list. Will recommendation letters from these lecturers and professors be helpful when I apply for universities that they graduated from? Thanks a lot! >