scheng75

I'm glad you're so driven at a young age. I have not been through the Canadian school system so I cannot tell you what your chances are. But you might ask your current counselor what schools the alumni at your HS have been accepted to. It'll give you an idea of where you are at compared to other students. I'm not in the Linguistics field so I also can't comment on whether or not your chances are better due to your fluency in multiple languages, though it sounds like it probably will help. One thing to note about your Iceland visit, if you plan on writing about it, make sure you're not just writing about it to "show off" or just write about it, you want to make sure you illustrate how this trip affected you as a person or its significance in your life...remember that people can learn significant things at any time in their life, doesn't necessarily have to be a special trip. I would definitely talk to counselors at your school or even try to contact students/professors at the school you intend on applying to get tips. Good luck!

Unfortunately, you are required to disclose all transcripts on your application. It's not a matter of legality (you won't get fined or jailed) but if any school finds out, you will immediately get dismissed from the school. US universities take these things very seriously, I would not risk it even though I'm sure there have been people who have gotten away with it. You might start over at a community college, do really well and actually apply as a transfer student in 2 years. At that time, your old grades would matter less. I always encourage people to make the right choice not because they don't want to get caught but because they want to make the right choice. Good luck!

Unfortunately, as with many public schools, funding is affected by state wide budget cuts (as California is going through right now). I would suggest you contact current Ph.D students and ask if everyone gets funding every year. I'm not sure about Berkeley but some schools funding is pretty competitive after the first year.

If you're talking about prestige, Cal has more prestige than say Duke or UIUC (I heard there are tornadoes there) and for non-econ people who won't know Agricultural econ, saying econ is totally fine if that's what you care about.

Congratulations!!!

If you retake, I would aim for 500 on Verbal, 800 on Q and 4 on AW. Anything more is bonus!

My HS in California required 1 semester but I don't remember what was taught. It was one semester of Civics/Govt and one semester of Economics taken in 12th grade.

Welcome archuleta7 to our lovely TM community! I have to say this is usually a very tense time on this board (lots of people waiting for admission results) and this probably led to the very edgy comments people are making. I know most of these posters over the last few years and they are all usually very helpful, many of them might have just spent all night studying or been checking admission websites 24/7 and are on the crabby side. All the moderators are volunteers and we try very hard to keep this place clean, intellectual and respectful. Erin actually does not profit from these boards so considering we are all doing this out of the goodness of our hearts and the desire to serve the community, we do feel like we can do whatever we like within reason. I'm sorry that people just started to call you a cheater (I think that was unnecessary), but considering that most of us have a few years on you, it might benefit you to consider listening to some of us. Schools and professors often treat "cheating" differently and define "cheating" different but in the strictest definition, your behavior would be consider cheating, whether it's one problem or six, whether it matches your answers or not. When I was in high school more than 10 years ago, I compared my take home exam with a classmate at school and someone reported it to the teacher. Though my classmate did not change ANY answer on his test and I only changed ONE answer, the teacher still gave us both a F on the test. And because my friend didn't fess up right away, he was dropped from the Honors program from our HS. We were actually A+ students when this happened, but the teacher didn't care whether or not we were A+ students nor the fact that only one of us changed one answer. We were both perfectionists as you can see and really didn't know we were "cheating" or else we wouldn't do it so publicly in another class where we could be reported. So, all this to say that you may not consider your action to be cheating but professors might disagree. I know your case is slightly different because your professor said you can work in groups but that is usually limited to your classmates (regardless of the fact that they are confused) and not Econ Ph.D students. I'm not questioning your morality but I have to warn you that some professors would consider your action cheating (getting help from people outside of your class) and will fail you in the class. Hope that was helpful and not disrespectful. Welcome again!!!

I think UCSC is great if you are sure you want to focus on International Economics.

Mamou, you are actually posting this question the wrong thread. You would want to start a new thread with your own title, right now you are in a George Washington University Econ Ph.D thread. If you want to know more about applying to Econ Ph.D, start with reading everything on econphd.net, especially the Admission Guide section. Good luck!

Though it may be common in your program for people to leave, that doesn't mean it's a good sign. Those people may not get in at another top 50 and it might be a sign that your program has a high attrition rate. Unless maybe all the transfers went to higher ranked ranked programs. The Ph.D path is not an easy one nor a lucrative one and therefore you should really consider whether or not this is what you really want to do with your life. Considering that you are already working in Economic consulting, you might make the same amount of salary after 4-5 years of Ph.D. I'm in CA and typically Economic consulting pay quite well, often times after just 2-3 years you'll make just as much as an associate professor. So what is your motivation for an Econ Ph.D if you won't make more money. Is it teaching or just the sheer joy of learning or research? But wouldn't you want to ask yourself why those motivation did not keep you in the program the first time around? A ~15 program was not easy to get in, either you studies hard in college and got good GRE score or you had some good research to show...again why did you not continue after so much hard work? Also, did the program provide full aid? What if you incur debt and then drop the program again? I ask so many questions because typically one year is not enough time to become re-motivated unless you just had a bad year due to some serious personal reasons. If no serious personal reasons caused you to drop out of the program, what will keep you going for another 4-5 years? Sorry I'm asking so many questions, if you haven't had a break in school since 3, then I am quite a few years older...so maybe I just have more worries :D. Good luck no matter what!

Keeping you up at night? ;) I totally remember these anxious times since I've been through it myself but it's also a very exciting time!!! Wish you the best!!!

That's really awesome!!! Congrats!!!

Oh please don't feel discouraged about bring up your point(s), sometimes it's just a difference of opinions, no harm either way. Learning from peers can be more valuable to some than others. I'm super social so when I was in my master's program, I would always organize study groups and everyone in my study group that came regularly passed all of our comprehensive exams. But there were a few people that passed the exams on their own, either because they preferred to study alone or they were working. Of course passing comps/prelims is entirely different than research but the point is not everyone benefit equally from smarter peers.

These 2 companies come to mind for now (will post later when I think of more): Economics Research, Economic Planning, Economic Analysis, Policy Welch Consulting - Expert Services in Economics & Statistics (reputable in LA)

I chuckle at your candor :). I do think that it is very possible that you will become more efficient as you age. I did. I always felt like I didn't have enough time to study as an undergrad, but when I did my Master's and worked 10-12 hours/week, it was a breeze. Now I work close to 55 hours a week (usually solid hours because we track our work hours closely at work but that includes my drive time) and I still have time to take care of my family. I cook every weekday night, do laundry weekly, go to church 3 times a week, go on a date with my husband every week, occasionally have people over, I see my family or my husband's family at least once a week, and I have a teenage daughter who I drive around. Oh ya, and I help moderate this board. Both my husband and I work between 50-55 hours/week (and have a lot of life outside our work) and we don't go over unless we get the consent of the other which is rare. Sometimes I feel slightly frustrated that I cannot break through to a higher salary range because I absolutely cannot take jobs that might require more than 55 hours/week. I refuse to compromise my family life. But I'm lucky because I work for a small family oriented company where if I have to work until midnight one day, I can come in late the next day, this is not so at many other firms. I am tired a lot of days but I never imagined I had this capacity when I was 21. Hopefully, you will learn to do things more efficiently and get more bang out of your time ;).

When I got 750Q one year (I know it fluctuates) it was only a 79 percentile! Forgot what 780Q was though.

Yes, most of us (maybe including adcoms) agree that the GRE is not THE measure of scholastic aptitude but why give the adcoms an easy way to weed you out? I think your GPA is fine, but 710 for GRE Q is low. I know for Econ Ph.D programs the average GRE Q is 770 for most programs so I assume it might be higher or the same for Math Ph.D. Sometimes it can also be a signal to the adcoms how much you REALLY want to get into the program. If 710Q was a fluke and it's easy for you to get 800Q, they would wonder why you didn't retake. Unless you get a 800 on your GRE Math Subject test then they'll think 710 was just a fluke. Another thing that might hurt you is you are applying to mostly programs that are higher ranked than your current school. As you may already know, pedigree matters. Most schools like to think of themselves as higher ranked than their current ranking (e.g. if they are #8, they like to think they are in the top 5, if they are #30, they like to think they are in the top 20), which means that they are more likely to take students from higher ranked programs (if the student profiles are comparable). I think the grad work might be impressive but not that much unless one of your professors considers you in the top 1-5% of the students he's worked with in his career (that would be a STRONG letter), or that he knows someone on the admissions commitee and puts in a call for you. It's interesting that you put UNC and and CUNY as comparable schools but my impression is that UNC is a pretty high ranked school. Anyway, I think if you don't get 800 on your GRE Math Subject test I would retake the GRE and shoot for a 800Q. Other than that, there's not much you can do other than write an awesome personal statement. Good luck!

That is such a good point! Work out, eat right and sleep well so you can be at your prime.

I think for you, taking timed GRE practice tests at Princeton Review should help you increase 80-100 points per section given that you learn how to concentrate really well during those 3-4 hours. And you should also be learning how to work faster, and identify which ones to skip/guess quickly. Good luck! 200 points per section is entirely possible, but I think studying efficiently is key! How about taping flash card of vocabs or math formulas in the bathroom? :D

Agreed. Or you can cancel score unless you feel like you've "aced" the test. You know you probably didn't "ace" the test if you feel rushed in the end. When I got 750 I think I guess on the last 2 questions due to time. When I got 780 I had about 6 mins left for the last 5 questions so no guessing but still rushed. Didn't get 800 but figured if I finished with adequate time I would probably get 800Q.

I would (and did) retake if it were 750Q, but would NOT retake with a 780Q. Most programs' median Q score is 770.

Oh..I think the Finance program admits more than the Global Econ & Mgmt program. See their grad students. If there are 20 "current" students in the Finance program that may mean that they only admit a few every year.

You can apply to both programs. I did (didn't get into both) and I know past TMians who did (1 actually got in to the Anderson program). The year I applied to the Anderson School Ph.D w/ focus on Global Econ & Mgmt, they took less than 5 people. Tougher because they admit less. Not sure how many the Finance Ph.D program take but I'm sure it's no more than 10. I think the Econ program generally admits 40+.

Good job! Thanks for posting your experience. When you get a chance, can you post your experience in the "Just Finished GRE" section for the benefit of others (a public good you are providing).