firstyearz

Type of Undergrad: Top 30 Econ Dept (USA) Undergrad GPA: 3.96 Type of Grad:N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE:164 Q/156 V/4.5 AW Math Courses: Calc I-III(A+,A+,B+), Intro Stats (A+), Mathematical Stats and Probability (B+), Linear Algebra (A), Diff EQ (A), Real Analysis (A). Econ Courses: All A's so far including Intermediate Micro and Macro. Other Courses: Letters of Recommendation: Great, 2 of them I have worked with for research assistantships, 1 of them I took a class with. Research Experience: 1 year of RA to two faculty members. Wrote my own research paper in Development Economics. Teaching Experience: N/A Research Interests: Development Economics SOP: Good, had the career center proofread it for me. Other: RESULTS: Acceptances: UIUC PhD ($$), Notre Dame PhD($$), CU Boulder PhD ($$), Clemson PhD($$), Michigan State off waitlist PhD($$), University of Washington Seattle PhD ($), GWU PhD(no funding), UMD AREC PhD($$), UW MADISON AAE PhD($), OSU AEDE PhD(No Funding), Minnesota APEC PhD (No Funding), UC Davis (Ag Econ MS), Waitlists:Michigan State (later accepted) Rejections: UT Austin, Yale, Cornell, Northwestern, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, Vanderbilt, BU, UBC Pending: UCR Attending: UIUC ! Comments: I am happy to attend UIUC ! Given my not so stellar GRE Q Score, I was surprised to get in to a few top 30s. I think that my letter of recommendation plays a huge role in it because of my RA experience. Moreover, my SOP also shows a clear research interest. My math classes are not that exceptional either ( I didn't take more proof classes like a lot of guys/girls here). My GRE Score probably didn't get me through the first round on the top 10 schools though. What would you have done differently? Did better on the GRE ! That said, I have no regret because I did my best (took the GRE more than once). What I learn through this process is that strong letter of recommendations are absolutely critical !! Make sure you know your letter writers and do good work so that they could write you a strong letter.Try to get research experience, and if you can, write a research paper and include it in the application because it will signal your research ability, which is what your PhD's is all about (your math courses is a signal whether you are adept enough to survive the first year).

Type of Undergrad: Top 30 Econ Dept (USA) Undergrad GPA: 3.96 Type of Grad:N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE:164 Q/156 V/4.5 AW Math Courses: Calc I-III(A+,A+,B+), Intro Stats (A+), Mathematical Stats and Probability (B+), Linear Algebra (A), Diff EQ (A), Real Analysis (A). Econ Courses: All A's so far including Intermediate Micro and Macro. Other Courses: Letters of Recommendation: Great, 2 of them I have worked with for research assistantships, 1 of them I took a class with. Research Experience: 1 year of RA to two faculty members. Wrote my own research paper in Development Economics. Teaching Experience: N/A Research Interests: Development Economics SOP: Good, had the career center proofread it for me. Other: RESULTS: Acceptances: UIUC PhD ($$), Notre Dame PhD($$), CU Boulder PhD ($$), Clemson PhD($$), Michigan State off waitlist PhD($$), University of Washington Seattle PhD ($), GWU PhD(no funding), UMD AREC PhD($$), UW MADISON AAE PhD($), OSU AEDE PhD(No Funding), Minnesota APEC PhD (No Funding), UC Davis (Ag Econ MS), Waitlists:Michigan State (later accepted) Rejections: UT Austin, Yale, Cornell, Northwestern, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, Vanderbilt, BU, UBC Pending: UCR Attending: UIUC ! Comments: Given my not so stellar GRE Q Score, I was surprised to get in to a few top 30s. I think that my letter of recommendation plays a huge role in it because of my RA experience. Moreover, my SOP also shows a clear research interest. My math classes are not that exceptional either ( I didn't take more proof classes like a lot of guys/girls here). My GRE Score probably didn't get me through the first round on the top 10 schools though. What would you have done differently? Did better on the GRE ! That said, I have no regret because I did my best (took the GRE more than once). What I learn through this process is that strong letter of recommendations are absolutely critical !! Make sure you know your letter writers and do good work so that they could write you a strong letter. My Q score on the GRE is below average of the admitted students. It shows that although GRE is important, it is not everything (it depends on the range of schools that you are applying, of course). Try to get research experience, and if you can, write a research paper and include it in the application because it will signal your research ability, which is what your PhD's is all about. And of course, do well in your advanced math courses.