Ajay Pai

Hey startz, thank you so much for that. Yes, I will definitely have to write my GRE again. Yes, I am short in math but could you suggest how I can go about meeting that requirement? I don't know if doing another course would help or do more harm. Also, I do know the faculty well enough to get a good LOR. Plus, I will have another year to talk to them.

Hey guys, Having applied to a couple of masters programs in the UK and Europe for admission in Fall 2018, I managed to get only one conditional offer and I'm finding it hard to understand what I've gotten wrong. I don't know if my profile is strong enough and if I'm setting too high expectations or if there are some glaring issues in my profile that I should rectify. I aspire to work in academia or at a central bank and I'll have to get a good PhD for that. So here's my profile. Any advice or feedback would be much appreciated. My profile: 1. Indian Student 2. Undergraduate: - BCom with Honours in Finance and Investments - From a university that is ranked as one of the top 5 in India for Commerce - GPA of 3.73 on 4.00 - Two semesters of Business Economics, one sem of Stats (basic stats, regressions, etc) and one sem of Maths (calculus). - A whole bunch of extracurricular activities in finance and management. 3. Postgraduate - Post Graduate Diploma in Economics from a Top 5 departments for Economics in the UK - Masters in Economics from the same uni (expected) - Optional modules in Time Series Econometrics and Monetary Economics 4. Research Experience: - Worked with a macro professor at a top Indian uni for one year as an RA. Got credited in a couple of his working papers. - Area of research; debt management, fiscal policy and monetary policy 5. Test Scores: - GRE: Q-161, V-163, AWA-4.5 (might have to give it another shot) - TOEFL: 113 6. Research Interests: Monetary economics, international economics, fiscal policy (taxation) and labour economics I'm a little unsure of the route to pick as well. I don't know if I should work for a while after my masters of if I should apply immediately after it. I don't know if my undergrad will be seen favourably or if I have to pursue a second masters (possibly MRes) before applying to the PhD program. I will definitely have to give my GRE again because of the low quant scores. But the real problem is that I don't know if I'm aiming too high if I'm going to make applications to the Top 5 of UK, Top 30 of USA and Top 5 of Europe for PhD. Would really appreciate some advice and guidance. Thanks a lot in advance.

Hey guys, I'm having a bit of trouble tackling some issues with my future prospects. I don't know if I'm aiming too high, given my profile or if there are some key ingredients that I lack in making a successful application. For starters, here's my profile: 1. Indian student 2. Undergrad: Bachelor's of Commerce in India from one of the Top 5 universities in the country GPA of 3.73 on 4.00. Two semesters of Business Economics (A- in both). A whole bunch of extracurricular activities. Honours in Finance and Investments Ranked among top 10 in my department. 3. Test scores GRE: Q-161, V-163, AWA-4.5 (worried if I have to give this another shot) TOEFL: 113 4. Postgrad: Diploma in Economics from a Top 5 uni in UK. Optional modules on Time Series Econometrics and Monetary Economics Will complete masters year ending 2019. 5. Work Exp: A. Worked with a renowned econ prof from a top-ranked management uni in India as an RA One year long RAship. A couple of credits in working papers. Area of research: fiscal policy and debt management Was a TA for one of the prof's economics courses. B. Worked as an intern at a national business newspaper. Got a couple of news articles written. 6. Research interests: International macro, monetary policy, labour markets, fiscal policy, debt management and taxation 7. Future plan: Unsure of the route. Should it be a couple of years of work followed by PhD or PhD immediately after masters? PhD - No specific preference but Top 5 of UK, Top 20 of USA and Top 5 of Europe. Work - macro policy research institutes and think tanks or RAship 8. LORs From the prof I worked with as an RA. The second one will be from a prof who I studied under, in the UK. I'd really appreciate all the advice and feedback I can get. The reason I'm worried is that I made applications for masters to Top 5 unis in UK and Europe during the year and got just one conditional offer. Thanks in advance for all the help. Much obliged.