tryingforecon

Would it be better to retake the GREs? I've heard that as long as you're past the 90th percentile most schools will look at your application? I want to get a PhD in economics so I can pursue a high impact career in development eg as a researcher for JPAL (I did some of their online courses). Honestly as much as I love proving theorems about cohomology it just doesn't feel like valuable work for me whereas economics might be a better fit. Well I guess I don't know what getting a PhD in economics entails but it's probably not that different from a PhD in maths, which I was fully prepared to do at one point

Hi everyone I'm finding it difficult to guess where I stand in terms of application strength as my background might be a bit disadvantageous when it comes to applying for PhDs in economics since I didn't have room in my degree to do any foundational economics units. Would like to know what sort of schools I should be applying for. I don't think my profile is strong enough for US top 15, maybe top 50? Should I consider doing a masters in economics first? PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Pure maths, with some bioinformatics and philosophy from an Australian university. I guess top tier but we don't really care about that much down here. Undergrad GPA: 6.71/7 (about a 3.8), 1st Class Honours in Mathematics (this is comparable to summa cum laude but with a research thesis) GRE: Q 166, V 168, AWA 5 Math Courses: 3 semesters of analysis, 1 semester of probability, 6 semesters of algebra/geometry, some applied maths, other random maths courses Econ Courses: 1 reading course on economics Other Courses: Bioinformatics, philosophy, Letters of Recommendation: Honours maths thesis supervisor, worked together for a year, thesis was in combinatorial algebra/ solving a problem in linear algebra Maths professor I worked with for half a year as a teaching assistant, Final letter writer will likely be a professor who knows me fairly well but also in maths! Research Experience: Honours thesis in algebra: 1 year 4 research courses I did in my undergrad: each one lasted a semester. none of these are in economics. Teaching Experience: Got a job as a tutor for a first year course in my second year of uni. I've been doing that for three years. Research Interests: Development economics, mathematical economics Concerns: I reckon my lack of a strong econ background definitely sets me back. Is there anything I can do about this at this stage? Looking to apply this year. Thank you for any advice