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KleanKanteen

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  1. KleanKanteen
    So I've been digging in this forum trying to find any recent discussion on writing samples and couldn't find any. What do adcoms look for in a writing sample? My BA did not have a thesis component and my master's thesis text won't be anywhere near ready by the time I apply for PhD programs, and I'm not sure how much I should be worrying about this. Would a literature review submitted as a term paper for a class be enough? What if it's something different from the field I want to do research in? Should I dedicate part of my summer to a research paper to submit as a WS? Saw some guy in an old thread from 2007 say that he got into Chicago by submitting lecture notes as his writing sample, but I think that might've been a joke. Also, 2007 was a very different admissions environment than today..
  2. KleanKanteen
    You should know that the UK now has the equivlent of a two-year OPT for international students.
  3. KleanKanteen
    This is all very good to know, thanks! I think the obvious choice here is IHEID and my ego is just making it hard to get over the brand name aspect of the decision...
  4. KleanKanteen
    Thanks! I think my main concern about the PhD route (beyond not being that familiar with econ) is that I don't know if I could get into a (top 50ish) program because of my mediocre performance during undergrad (3.55 GPA). Econ PhD admissions seem to be brutal. Every time I look at top 10-20 admits they have perfect undergrad GPAs, years of RAing and TAing, ridiculously advanced math classes, etc.. I guess the small class size at IHEID and the two year format could help me get there with really good rec letters?
  5. KleanKanteen
    So I was admitted to both of these programs. I like both because, coming from an International Affairs background, they both seem pretty good for making the switch to econ. The SAIS program is entirely a professional program, while the IHEID program is a lot more academic in nature. The IHEID program also seems better (it's two years long yet cheaper than the one year MIEF, the cohorts are significantly smaller, both professional and academic placements are really good). My one concern is that nobody in my small Central American country knows what IHEID is, while a lot of people know Johns Hopkins. If I were to stay in Europe that wouldn't be an issue as IHEID is well known over there, but if I fail to do that I don't think my degree would help me too much back home. I think I'd like to do a PhD but at this point I'm not familiar enough with economics as a field to be certain about that (and also my 3.55 undergrad GPA might hold me back even though my GRE scores are pretty great). What do you think? Any help is appreciated!
  6. KleanKanteen
    Thanks!! Really needed this.
  7. KleanKanteen
    I applied to masters, not PhDs, but I just got my first rejection from Bocconi ESS :( And I thought this was going to be one of my safeties... I guess at the end of the day this was an experiment to see if I could switch from IR to econ through grad school, and it seems like the answer is not really.
  8. KleanKanteen
    I'm very interested in this program but I can't figure out how competitive it is. I come from a political science background so it might be difficult for me to get into standard programs. Also the website is super sketchy, it has multiple typos and strange UI choices (see below) [ATTACH=CONFIG]7272[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]7273[/ATTACH] That said, the program is super cheap and it gives me the opportunity to study at both Paris 1 and Autonoma de Barcelona. Any help with this is greatly appreciated!
  9. KleanKanteen
    What about the Warwick Diploma + MSc. It seems like some Warwick MSc students have placed into the university's PhD program and some others. I can't find substantial information on their MSc placements, though. Would this be a reasonable path for me?
  10. KleanKanteen
    Does anyone here know about the HKS MPA/ID and whether I would be a good fit? I think that program could be a solid middle ground for me, and I meet all the prerequisites.
  11. KleanKanteen
    I disagree, the PRGS has almost no placements into academia or multilaterals and virtually no placements into development non-profits. They do have some government placements but as an international student I'm not interested in that. I know a few people from college that ended up there, but it was mostly the security people who have been slowly disappearing into the classified world.
  12. KleanKanteen
    Thank you both for your responses! I'm lucky enough that tuition won't be too much of an issue for me. Work savings have me covered there. I'm not rich, though, so a tuition free masters would be amazing. You're right, though. The German programs I've looked at so far require that I have an undergraduate degree in economics (I'm sure they make exceptions but they would still ask me for a lot more econ classes than I have). By decent program I meant well known, respected programs, like the ones I mentioned. I think the only two in my original list that aren't that well known are the IHEID and SAIS masters. The IHEID one is still very competitive and I've seen it place into top 5 PhDs so I'm guessing it's really good. The SAIS one probably won't lead to a PhD but they've got a solid pipeline into DC based development multilaterals. From what I've seen so far (and granted, I know very little about academia) it seems like public policy PhDs have abysmal job prospects once they're done. Not to say that econ PhDs are incredibly high in demand, but their employment rate, both in and out of academia, seems to be much higher. I'm also not sure that PPol PhDs play a significant role in development institutions. Certainly very few of them end up employed by the World Bank/IDB/UNDP, and I don't think I've seen any of them when looking at the profiles of people working at places like J-PAL or Innovations for Poverty Action.
  13. KleanKanteen
    Hello everyone, I'm struggling to figure out whether I have a chance of being admitted into any good econ masters programs (I have 0 chance of being admitted into any decent econ PhD). I have almost no background in economics, which is why I'm looking for advice here. Undergraduate Degree: BA in International Affairs from a top 10 IR school, virtually unknown for economics Undergraduate GPA: 3.55/4.0 GRE: Q 168 V 169 AW 5.0 Math Courses: Calculus I (A-), Calculus II (A), Statistics (A), Linear Algebra and Real Analysis (A-) (this last one is an intensive, proof based linear algebra and multivariable differential calculus class with a real analysis module) Econ Courses: Intro to Macroeconomics (A), Intro to Microeconomics (B), Intro to Int'l Economics (A-) Related Experience: None. 2-3 years in industry doing policy (sometimes economic/financial) work, and I have some policy research experience, but no economics research experience. Letter of Recommendation: Two letters from former and current bosses (which would be 10/10 for policy programs, probably not worth too much in this scenario, and one letter academic letter that I still have to figure out (I graduated over 3 years ago and haven't kept in touch. Possibly will be from an international finance professor that I had a friendly relationship with). Research Interest: Development economics, impact evaluation. Programs I'm thinking about applying to: Barcelona GSE MA Economics, PSE PPD, Bocconi ESS, IHEID MA International Economics, SAIS MIEF, LSE Two Year MSc(I don't think I make the GPA cut for this but maybe my GRE can push me over the edge?), UCL MSc. I think the ideal program for me would be something like the LSE Two Year MSc that's specifically made for people with very little background in economics. I unfortunately haven't been able to find any other programs like this one, though. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! I know that my chances would increase substantially if I took intermediate micro and macro but my local academic institutions do not offer open enrollment and I need to save money for grad school so I can't take any more online classes.
  14. KleanKanteen
    Hi Bayes, thank you for your input. Just to be clear, you're referring to the linear algebra and real analysis class I mentioned in the OP? Here's the catalog description: "This course is an integrated treatment of linear algebra, real analysis and multivariable differential calculus, with an introduction to manifolds. Students are introduced to higher-level mathematics and proof-writing, with a requirement to learn twenty-six important proofs." I uploaded the syllabus here just in case (not expecting you to read it, it's just in case you're curious): Smallpdf.com I understand what you're saying and I am wary of the masters classes being possibly more than I'm prepared for, but my concern right now is getting admitted in the first place.
  15. KleanKanteen
    So do you think I should take the advanced linear algebra and real analysis class? Or should I just take calc 3 and not bother with the extra effort? I'd love to get into BGSE and Bocconi, but I also want to raise my chances as high as I can.
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