econ546

Got the offer yesterday, thanks 🙂

Pro: you get to live in Vancouver for 5-6 years Con: you have to rent in Vancouver on a PhD stipend for 5-6 years

Just got an email asking if I was still interested in admission to Boston University's program, that they may have spots available after the April 15th deadline. Had previously been rejected by them, so this is a total surprise. Anyone else get this? How much should I get my hopes up? Application season didn't work out well for me so my current plan was to do a masters next year and reapply to PhD programs in the fall, so this would really change things for me.

No and my video for them is still at zero views. If I get rejected from there without them ever having watched it I want a refund on my application fee lol.

Just checked, I have post-decision materials and miscellaneous for my Harris application (didn't apply to econ there). Don't know how long it's been there. I'm American so not a surprise they aren't asking for my passport.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: First Class Honours Economics and Minor Mathematics at a Top 3 Canadian University Undergrad GPA: 3.54/4.0, 3.8/4.0 for Econ Type of Grad: NA Grad GPA: N/A Predoc: At another T3 Canadian University with relatively well known, albeit younger profs. GRE: 168 Quant (92nd percentile), 166 Verbal (97th percentile), 5.0 writing (92nd percentile) Math Courses: Calc 3 (D, B+, I'll explain later), Differential equations ©, Linear Algebra 1 (B+), Honours Linear Algebra 2 (A), Intro to Statistics (A), Probability (A), Statistics (A), Analysis I (A). Econ Courses (grad-level that I took as an undergrad): Game Theory (A-), Micro I (B+) Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Honours Intermediate Micro (A-), Honours Intermediate Macro (B+), Honours Intermediate Stats (A-), Honours Econometrics I (A); Honours Econometrics II (A), Honours Advanced Micro (A), Honours Advanced Macro (A); various econ courses outside the core classes, some honours some not (All A- or A). Other Courses: Foundations of Programming (A), Intro to Computer Science (A) Research Experience: two internships in economic policy with well known think tanks in Washington DC, part time RA for labour economist while in Undergrad, part time RA for a different labour economist at another institution during undergrad and summer after undergrad, part time RA on NBER project summer after undergrad, Predoc at a different top 3 Canadian University. Letters of Recommendation: All from professors I've been an RA for. Two have published decently however are quite young, another is more senior. Research Interests: Primarily in Urban, but also interested in Public and Applied Micro in general SOP: Going to talk about realizing my late interest in graduate economics in tandem with my upward performance in my grades. My GPA is bad because I wasn't very focused on school at the start. I started my undergrad as a geography student and got bad grades in those courses, the gen-ed freshman courses, and the math courses. I switched into econ 2nd year, enjoyed it, and started taking school more seriously and have gotten significantly better grades since (3.33 average for first two vs 3.84 average for final two years). Additionally, I got straight As in the math courses I took in the latter half of my degree (Honours LinAlg 2, Analysis, Probability, and Statistics) vs the B+ and C I got in the first half in Calc 3 and ODEs. Other: Deans list, 2019/2020 academic year. Received an award for being the graduating student with the highest academic standing in the economics department. Applying to: Would love some advice as to the caliber of school I should be applying to, open to anywhere in US, Canada, or Europe. A very tentative list would be Reaches: University of Pennsylvania, NYU, Columbia, Brown, UCLA, UCSD, Oxford Target: University of British Columbia, University of Toronto, USC, UC Irvine, Boston University, Queens, University, Maryland, UCL, Toulouse School of Economics, Georgetown, University of Washington. Safety: McGill University, University of Pittsburgh, CU Boulder, George Washington University. Is that list realistic? Should I shoot higher/lower? Are there other places I should look at specific to my research interests? Thanks in advance!

Hey, bumping this thread. Got some updates: got an A in analysis and a B+ in Grad Micro. Also did better than expected in some classes I gave predicted grades for. Probably gonna be doing an MA Econ at the school I went to for undergrad. I recently posted an updated version of my profile if you wanna take a full look here: https://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/162236-profile-review-school-suggestions.html

Doesn't seem like there are any Roll Call threads anymore, but I'll still use the format from the old ones. I'm finishing my final year of undergrad and will be applying to PhD programs for Fall 2022 start dates. I will likely be attending a 1 year masters of economics at the same university I did my undergraduate at next year. I tried and failed to find a predoc position for next year, however with the decision deadline looming for the masters program I've been accepted to, it looks like I'm going to go with that and give up on being a predoc. Anyway, here's my profile: PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Honours Economics and Minor Mathematics at a Top 3 Canadian University Undergrad GPA: 3.5/4.0, 3.8/4.0 for Econ Type of Grad: MA Econ from the same school I did my undergrad at, starting next year. Grad GPA: N/A GRE: 168 Quant (92nd percentile), 166 Verbal (97th percentile), 5.0 writing (92nd percentile) Math Courses: Calc 1 (B), Calc 2 (B-), Calc 3 (D, B+, I'll explain later), Differential equations ©, Linear Algebra 1 (B+), Honours Applied Linear Algebra (A, it's a more advanced course than the first linear algebra), Intro to Statistics (A), Probability (A), Statistics (In Progress, probably an A), Analysis I (A). Econ Courses (grad-level that I took as an undergrad): Game Theory (A-), Micro I (B+) Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Honours Micro, Macro, and Stats (A- in all 4, all full year/two semester courses); Honours Econometrics I (A); Honours Econometrics II, Honours Advanced Micro, Honours Advanced Macro (In Progress); Independent Research Project (A); various econ courses outside the core classes, some honours some not (All A- or A). Other Courses: Foundations of Programming (A), Intro to Computer Science (A) Letters of Recommendation: One very well known metrics prof from our school, one prof who I am a research assistant to currently, then one of the ones I used for my masters admissions: Well known prof that barely knows me or very young prof who supervised my independent research project. Research Experience: two internships in economic policy with well known think tanks in Washington DC, independent research project, undergrad research assistant x2. Teaching Experience: N/A Research Interests: Urban, Public, Applied Micro, Econometrics SOP: The two things I want to talk about are my strong upward trend in my undergrad grades (particularly with math courses) and my late realization that I am interested in pursuing an econ PhD. I had a 3.2ish GPA after my first three semesters of undergrad. In my three since I've gotten a 3.77, 3.94, and 3.86, leaving my GPA at a 3.51. Also, my bad grades in Calc 1 and 2 came when I was in high school and they let us take community college courses. For Calc 3 and ODEs, they came as a second year. I think I've matured a bit as a student since then, and went on to get As in Analysis, Honours Applied Linear Algebra, Probability, and (hopefully) Statistics. As for my late interest in an econ PhD, I originally wanted to go into the public policy world, however after my two internships I pivoted to academic economics, thus I didn't get my first RAship until my last semester of undergrad. If there's a way to frame my policy experience as a good thing I'll take it, but I've heard that PhD admissions don't really care about it. Concerns: My grades in computational mathematics suck. I got a D in Calc 3 during the first semester of my second year. I took a supplemental exam (essentially counts as retaking the class in one exam) and got a B+, which is decent I suppose. C in ODEs is tough, but the class average (which is given on my transcript) was also a C so I pray schools take that into account. I'm hoping my As in Analysis, Honours Applied Linear Algebra, Probability, and (hopefully) Statistics can lessen that blow, but I've accepted it will hold me back. I am contemplating retaking ODEs or taking another math class at a community college this summer to get a better grade, if people think that would help. Other: Published quite a few policy papers in housing and tax policy during my internships, one even had a regression in it!:glee:.Self or co-author on all. Applying to: Please tell me where I should be looking. So much of the advice out there seems geared toward people applying to top 10 schools and I don't think I'm at that level, even if I got straight As during my masters program next year. Fine with anywhere in the US, Canada, or Europe. I speak English fluently and French intermediately if that helps.

Forgot to mention, the Honours Micro/Macro/Stats/Metrics are all 2 semester courses. In addition, I will be taking advanced theory one and two this coming year.

Doesn't seem like there are any Roll Call threads anymore, but I'll still use the format from the old ones. I'm a rising 3rd year, and will be graduating in 3.5 years: PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Honours Economics, Minors Mathematics and Urban Systems at a Top 3 Canadian University Undergrad GPA: 3.5/4.0, 3.8/4.0 for Econ Type of Grad: N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE: Yet to take Math Courses: Calc 1 and 2 (No grade, AP credit exemption), Calc 3 (D, B+, I'll explain later), Differential equations ©, Linear Algebra (B+), Algebra 1 (A), Algebra 2 (A), Mathematical Statistics (A), Analysis I (taking next fall), Analysis 2 (taking next winter) Econ Courses (grad-level): Game Theory (A-), Micro I & 2 (next fall & winter) Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Honours Micro, Macro, Stats, and Econometrics (A- in all 4), Honours open economy macroeconomics (A), Political Economy of Trade Policy (A) Other Courses: Foundations of Programming (A), Urban Field Studies (may be relevant? taking next fall), will take a few more Computer Science courses, particularly Data Structures. Letters of Recommendation: Haven't asked yet but will be my pretty well known metrics prof, my game theory and open economy prof, and a younger prof who will be supervising my undergraduate thesis. Research Experience: Research internship with a well known think tank, undergraduate thesis Teaching Experience: Going to try and find a TA position in either the MATH or ECON departments this year, have worked as a tutor for the econ students association Research Interests: Urban Economics and Game Theory SOP: Haven't thought about it yet Concerns: My grades in computational mathematics suck lol. I got a D in Calc 3 during the first semester of my second year. I took a supplemental exam (essentially counts as retaking the class in one exam) and got a B+, which is decent I suppose. Other: Sorry that a lot of this is speculative. I'm really just trying to get a feel for where I should be looking for a PhD, or if a masters first would be better. Also, just to clarify, the linear algebra I got a B+ in was the 100-level version, Algebra 1 and 2 are the 200-level majors version. Applying to: Please tell me where I should be looking. I'd prefer to stay in Canada or go to Europe, but am not against somewhere in the US.