cdreier
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That sounds reasonable to me, if you get to do research with a PhD Economist there's no reason that should be discounted. Otherwise, the position will probably have minimal impact, but it sounds like a good way to deal with the hand you were dealt.
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I don't think I'm qualified to give an overarching answer, but my impression is that one of the major strengths of having an RA position is that it can provide you with strong letters of recommendation (this was certainly the case for me). So when you say "my letters should stay just as strong", does that mean you don't expect to get a new letter from this position? If that's the case, my guess would be that you're losing out on a large part of the benefit of a research position. Of course, take this with a grain of salt, and I'd obviously put more weight on the input of someone more intimately familiar with the proccess like startz or chateau.
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Undergraduate Research: What's most useful?
cdreier replied to coloradoecon's topic in PhD in Economics
I mean, I can only speak from my experience as a Fed RA, it was maybe slightly underpaid when I first started at about 55k but after a couple years I feel like it's very fairly compensated in a very nice work environment.- 12 replies
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Undergraduate Research: What's most useful?
cdreier replied to coloradoecon's topic in PhD in Economics
As an RA that just finished the application process, I would definitely echo both of these points. As a Fed RA, it might be different than working for a professor, but I feel very comfortably compensated, and wouldn't want anyone to be dissuaded by the idea that you'll be living uncomfortably (I make probably 3x what I will be making in grad school in a few months.) And while there is a certain amount of "mindless" work that I do, and everyone understands that, once the relationship has been built up enough there are certainly opportunities for engaging in more interesting problem-solving alongside an economist. Overall it's been an incredibly positive experience and undoubtedly drastically improved my placement to boot.- 12 replies
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Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics with Honors, B.A Math (Top 15 Public University, top 15 econ dept) Undergrad GPA: 3.68 overall, 3.7 in major Type of Grad:N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE: 167 V, 170Q, 5.5 W Math Courses: Multivariable Calculus (C, first semester of freshman year was rough), Linear Algebra and Differential Equations (A), Real Analysis (A), Complex/Functional Analysis (B), Math Logic (A), Modern Algebra (A), Prob Theory (B), Math of Finance (Stochastic Calculus, A-) Econ Courses (undergrad+grad): Honors Macro (A-), Honors Micro(A), Intro Metrics (A), Game Theory (A), Honors Thesis (A-), Behavioral Econ (A), PhD Econometrics (B), International Econ (A-), Numerical Methods for Macro (A-) Further Edu: A couple Post-Bacc classes at top 10 econ university Letters of Recommendation: Thesis advisor (very prominent macroeconomist/econometrician), one very strong letter from the labor economist I RA for at a Fed Bank, one strong letter from the econometrician I RA for at a Fed Bank Research Experience: Full time RA in the research department at a Fed bank for 3 years, extensive experience in a variety of research projects, coauthored paper in progress, many independent write-ups, but no fully independent, full research projects. Teaching Experience: N/A Research Interests: Macro/empirical labor, game theory, behavioral Statement of Purpose: Fairly strong I think, edited by professors in various top departments, each tailored to the specific school (but no requests to work with specific profs) RESULTS: Acceptances: Minnesota, Maryland, UCSD, (Columbia Masters, LSE Masters, Wisconsin Masters, Chicago Masters) Waitlists: Cornell, Michigan Rejections: Duke, Penn, Yale, Stanford, Berkeley, Princeton, Brown, Northwestern, NYU, Pending: Attending: UCSD Comments: Overall approximately as expected, I was probably a tad optimistic with my range of schools but knew that going in. What would you have done differently? If I had known what I wanted to do earlier in my undergrad career it would have changed how seriously I took some courses, and what courses I took. Would have liked to have taken a first year Micro course for a serious grade, and probably cared a little more about not getting a B here and there in undergrad math classes. I don't think I would change much with my applications themselves though.
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I know what active professors on this forum (startz, in particular) say fairly often. I also know that professors are typically intelligent, reasonable individuals that have been through the PhD process themselves, and I'd hope they are able to not be offended that you won't mortgage your future for the sake of politeness and a fairly arbitrary deadline that other schools have not been able to stick to. You have to have faith that in the end you are dealing with (mostly) rational individuals and not just some monolithic, faceless Department.
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You will have to request a release from the school you accepted at. They will very likely give it without any hard feelings.
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21k, first two years guaranteed and continuing assuming you have made satisfactory progress. First year is either through a fellowship or graduate assistantship, but final assignments haven't been made yet.
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Georgetown vs Wisconsin vs Maryland vs UCLA
cdreier replied to lakeside972's topic in PhD in Economics
I would echo the above statement, but wouldn't be doing my duty if I didn't defend Madison as more than just a "small town". Obviously it's no DC, and if you want to do Federal government or think tank stuff it's hard to do better location-wise than Maryland or Georgetown, but Madison is the state capitol and a top-tier college city. It's a pretty great place to live, as long as you can deal with some cold, and you'll find it near the top of pretty much every "Best Cities to Live In" list.- 2 replies
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Should we have a single decisions thread?
cdreier replied to therealslimkt's topic in PhD in Economics
I think that overall that would make it more difficult to give and get good advice. It's pretty easy to sort through thread titles and know whether or not those are relevant to you; it can be a bit more confusing to have just one thread where people are replying to any number of comments amidst other unrelated comments. -
Perfect, this is exactly the kind of first/secondhand knowledge I was looking for, I really appreciate it. I guess their marketing got me somehow, but it sounds not unlike the American Master's programs that I immediately declined. Thanks for the help!
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Yea, that's what makes the program seem promising to me, but it's not clear exactly what that means. Do the top 2 or 3 students get Distinction, or is is more like half the class? I'd just like to have some idea of my chances before throwing away great PhD offers.
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I wonder if anyone has any insight into how the Econ MSc program at LSE works as a feeder into PhD programs? It's the only Master's program that I would consider passing up good PhD offers for (UCSD, Minnesota) because it seems like there's a fairly established path to move on to the PhD program if all goes well enough. It's not entirely clear to me how common that is, though, and exactly what "well enough" means. I've contacted the department, but haven't heard back, so I just thought I'd see if anyone has any experience or direct knowledge of the viability of that path. Thanks!
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I wouldn't worry about not knowing anyone on the forum; for the most part those who stick around here do so to be helpful to anyone they can help. Making a standalone post with an informative title will allow people who think they can help to drop in and offer what advice they can. While it is probably true that a large majority of people here know mostly about western programs, discussion is certainly not reserved for westerners! Don't hesitate to make a standalone post and see if you can get some useful info out of it.