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As the title suggests, I am interested in finding out how difficult the EME program is at LSE. I have done my research and used the search function to look for past discussions on this topic. While there are posters who say that the EME is so tough that about a third of the class fail their finals, they don't quite go into the details of why the course is so difficult. I would really appreciate it if you all could weigh in and let me know what you think about the following questions. What is the math background of the average student in the 1 year long EME program? This information would be helpful for me because it could help me get an idea of the types of students I will be competing with. Do I have sufficient math experience to do well in the program? I want to make sure that I am not entering a program that uses concepts from advanced classes that I have not taken such as Real Analysis, Measure Theory, Topology etc. I have taken ODE, PDE, Lin Algebra, Probability Theory, Stochastic Processes, Numerical Analysis, Number Theory and Calc I-III. In addition, I have taken Econometrics and Advanced Econometrics and have been exposed to using linear algebra to derive the OLS estimators, etc. I received As in all the classes mentioned except Calc III and Number Theory (Got B+s in them). I was taking a look at the classes that students in the 2 year version of the EME take in their preliminary year. The first year of the 2 year long EME is meant to equip students without a strong math/econ background with the required knowledge for the actual year of the EME program. I thought it would be helpful to look at the classes that LSE prescribes in the 1st year because it could reveal what LSE believes to be essential knowledge for successful completion of the core EME courses in the 2nd year. The website states that 1st year students can take Probability, Distribution Theory & inference, Further Mathematical Methods, Microeconomics, Microeconomic principles II, and Economic Theory and its applications. These classes look like the standard Linear Algebra, Calc I-III, ODE, economic theory and econometrics sequence that a Mathematical Economics student in the US would take in their sophomore or junior year. They don't seem to cover upper level topics such as RA, Abstract Algebra, Topology, Math Stats, and Measure Theory. Since these first year classes are meant to equip students with the necessary mathematical and economic tools for the core EME classes, can I assume that the EME core courses do not, in fact, require exposure to upper level proof based classes such as RA and Measure Theory? If the LSE only equips its 1st year EME students with what many URCHers would consider basic level math knowledge in the first year, why are there so many posts here stating that the EME course is the toughest thing out there. It must either be the case that the classes that LSE puts its 1st year students through is not adequate preparation for the core EME courses and that the 1st years who move on to the 2nd year are all of a sudden expected to understand proofs and concepts that they have never been exposed to, or that the 1st year courses are adequate and that the people who have posted here did not have good exposure to Linear Algebra, Calculus, etc. I find it hard to believe that the latter is the case so maybe LSE does in fact under prepare its 1st year students. What are your thoughts on this? If the EME does use upper level math concepts in their classes, how are these concepts used? Are they presented in a hand-wavy fashion such that students only need to understand the concepts from a high level without getting down and dirty with the proofs, or are students actually expected to produce rigorous proofs akin to the proofs one might write in a RA class? Thank you in advance to everyone who can help me with this. I look forward to hearing from you.

Hi all, I am a long time lurker out here and have been posting a lot lately since I am thinking of applying to grad schools this fall. I want to apply to Masters programs in the UK because I feel that my lack of Real Analysis, Math Stats and other proof-based classes will make it unlikely for me to get into good Ph.Ds. I am hoping that good performance in a good masters program will allow me to strengthen my profile for Ph.D applications in the future. I am considering applying to Oxford's Mphil Economics, Cambridge's Mphil Economics and LSE's Msc Economics. Can you please tell me what you think my chances are at these programs? Also, do you think I can receive funding from these institutions? If so, by how much? Lastly, are there any other programs that I should consider given my profile? Type of Undergrad: Top 30 US Liberal Arts college Major: Mathematical Economics GPA: Cumulative 3.81, Econ 3.94, Math 3.8 GMAT: 740 (I plan on taking the GRE this summer. I feel that I will be able to get a good score with preparation) Math Classes: Calculus I II III (A-, A, B+), Linear Algebra (A-), Number Theory (B), Ordinary Differential Equations (A), Partial Differential Equations (A), Probability Theory (A), Probability and Statistical Modeling (A), Stochastic Processes (A), Numerical Analysis (A). Econ Classes: Intermediate Micro (B+), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Advanced Econometrics (A), Mathematical Economics (A), Labor Economics (A), International Finance (A), International Trade (A), Environmental Economics (A) Research Experience: Wrote a thesis that won the award for most outstanding senior thesis. Advisor was impressed and we are trying to publish the work. I have also worked as a research assistant for three other professors, with one professor publishing the paper I helped him with. The work with these professors mainly involved writing Stata code, importing and cleaning datasets using excel and SAS, and creating pretty graphs and tables for the final paper. Recommendations:Should get excellent recommendations from all of the professors I researched with, especially my thesis advisor. My thesis advisor, who also taught me two advanced mathematical economics classes, will be able to talk to my aptitude for econometrics and mathematical economics since I aced all of his classes. He also saw me self-teach myself time series econometrics for the thesis. The other recommendation will come from the professor who had published the paper I had RA'd for. He also taught me two econometrics classes, both of which I aced. Teaching Experience: Worked as teaching assistant and grader for multiple economics classes. Also worked as a tutor at the college's mathematics tutoring center for three years. SOP:​ Not sure yet. Will think of one if I feel that I have a decent shot at getting in.

Hi, I have recently completed a Taught MSc Economics at a top 10 UK university and was interested in continuing on a MPhil/PhD. Since I have found full time employment in an Economist role, I was looking to do the PhD on a part time basis in the UK. Unfortunately, my MSc results were not very strong. I had an average of just 59% (58% from the taught and 60% from the research component) which is just a pass. Many of the PhD programs I have checked usually require at least a good Merit (of 65%+) or a Distinction. My undergraduate degree was quite strong (First-class honours, within top 5) with very high scores (80%+) on all quantitative subjects as well as my dissertation, however, I got my undergraduate only from a top 50 UK university which is not very strong in research. My question is therefore if you guys have any idea what the chances are of getting into a PhD programme with a weak MSc? Is the master qualification usually a k.o. criteria or do they put more weight into the proposal and work experience or can one demonstrate suitability through taking the GRE?. Further, do you know if part time (self funded) programmes have the same entry requirements as for full time programmes? If chances are too low of getting into any programme, would you have any suggestions of alternative routes? I.e. doing a second master to show academic suitability? My research interests are in economic growth and development as well as financial economics. Thanks for your help!

Dear friends, i am an MS aspirant and want to do my masters in Software engineering.I shortlisted a few universities for my course.I came across Carnegie Mellon University Application requirements website and i was shocked to see that they admit students on minimum of 290 score(more information can be found at Application Components for Software Engineering-Silicon Valley Campus - Carnegie Mellon University) my GRE score is 321.As far as i have learned CMU is best in the field of computer's considering the researches and the placements they offer. so as a result I am bit confused, would it be wise to take admission in CMU?? Thanks all for your time

Hello all, This is my first time posting but I've read some very informative respones on other individuals' situations and hope I can find some guidance here! I am looking to gain admission to a PhD program in International Development, Political Economy, or Sustainable Development. I went to an undergrad institution in the top 30's and recieved a sad 2.7 gpa. That said, I was editor of two papers, headed a sustainability organization, worked full-time in the hospitality industry to pay for school, and held multiple relavant internships. Because of my low gpa, I'm wondering if a masters degree at a lesser school will help my application into a greater phd program. I live in Boston and was thinking about Economics at Suffolk (I've already studied Politics and Science so want to round out the development scene). That said, Suffolk isn't ranked for Economics but they have a program with courses and faculty that focus on development and I could take them part time/ still work topay off that undergrad. Does anyone have any words of wisdom on how to build up an application from a very good undergrad institution with a low gpa for a phd? Would a part time masters at a lesser institution help if the grades were fantastic? What if I add relevent research and possibly a publication?

Hi m8s! I am about to apply for a phd in management (concentrations in organizational studies). I would like to understand what kind of biz school (i.e. top10 - top20 - top50 - top1/0) i can aim at, given my profile, in order to maximize my chances to succeed. What matters for me is getting into a phd program, which means: Harvard much better than Homer Simpson School of Management but Monty Burns Business School much better than nothing (as long as I am provided with funding by the University). Currently I am thinking about a portfolio of 10 business school to apply to: 3 in the top 10, 3 in the top 20, 2 in the top 50 and 2 in the top 100. My profile is: BS and MS: Business economics at LUISS (Rome) GPA: 29/30 (in both BS and MS) which means I was one of the finest students Toefl IBT: 104 GRE: 620V, 760Q (dunno AW yet) LORS: ex professors of mine (who are very good and reknown in Italy but I doubt their international fame in the US even if some of them had studied in some top business schools - Columbia, Sloan MIT, Wharton UPenn) Professional experience: 2 years in business consulting, working on competitive analysis, business process analysis, post-merger integration. Language skills: Italian (mother tongue), english and spanish (fluent), french (good). SW skills: proficinecy with excel, power point, Visio and Aris (as every business consultanat :) ) Do I need to add further details? Thank u very much for your kind attention and suggestions!

Hello everyone! I have a small favor to request... I will be applying to graduate econ programs for the fall of 2011. Unfortunately, I by no means have the same sort of extensive background in the subject as many of the other people on here. I touched upon it briefly in college, but economics, behavioral/experimental/computational economics in particular, is something I grew profound interested via a very circuitous route in my years out of school. I'm mostly considering PhD programs, but for the above reason, would certainly consider masters programs if they would boost my chances of getting into a reputable PhD program. If you would be so kind as to evaluate my profile, offer some advice, or give any feedback at all, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks! Academic Profile Major: Mechanical Engineering School: Purdue University (Ranked #7 for MechE) GPA: 3.1 (I realize this is low, but as the school with the lowest grade inflation, it is still in the top 1/3 of the class) Minors: Electrical Engineering, Philosophy Research: none to speak of Undergrad Math: Through the 300 levels for calculus and algebra, mostly Bs with a few Cs Undergrad Econ: Tested out of Micro I & Macro I, Intermediate Micro (B), Intermediate Macro (A), and a 400 level class in behavioral (A) Grad Math: B+ in Probability Career Profile (Please read! It provides a glimmer of hope! :-) Graduating as a master of nothing, I first took a job teaching in India. Somehow this lead me into IT consulting, where in my spare time I co-authored a book on currency transactions in ORACLE. I then jumped back across the pond as a strategy consultant doing mainly operations research related work for a Big 3 consulting firm. In the past year, I retired those boots and now work professionally as a researcher in a corporate lab working on a class of technologies called support vector machines (related to optimization, artificial intelligence, and text/data mining). I've thus far co-authored one paper, presented a paper at the International Journal Conference on Neural Networks, and am currently working on another paper where I will be the primary author. I also developed the original paper that I co-authored into a fully functional, patent pending piece of software that has been deployed at several Fortune 500 corporations. Given my background, what I am really interested in is the nexus between computer science and economics, and so I've created the following initial list of schools I want to apply to roughly in the order of desirability (and inverse to my chances of getting in ): List of Masters Programs I will be applying to (and PhD if possible) 1) LSE - MPhil in Philosophy and Economics (my one exception to the above statement) 2) Tilburg - Research masters in Economics 3) Cambridge 4) Oxford 5) Duke 6) Indiana University List of PhD Programs I will be applying to 1) Carnegie Mellon - Social & Decision Sciences 2) Berkeley 3) Yale - SOM 4) ETH Zurich 5) CalTech - Social & Decision Sciences 6) Cornell 7) U. Chicago GSB 8) U. Chicago Harris (school of Public Policy) 9) UCSD 10) Purdue I should be able to get two recommendation letters from my alma mater, an additional one from my boss (who used to be on the admissions committee for CMUs Computer Science program). I will also be taking a course in game theory at U Chicago GSB this fall. Hopefully I can get a recommendation from there as well. Given all this...what are your thoughts? Am I aiming too high? Are there other schools I can consider? Is there anything else I can do to shore up my application? Thanks for all your help! :luck2: --Gau

Hi guys, General Question: how useful you think involvement in open source projects can be for admissions? Not big projects like Apache or Linux, but small to moderate size. Will universities have enough time to checkout what we have done and what project it is to consider it as a factor for admissions? Specific part regarding me: I was doing some course in Artificial Intelligence, and as a course requirement I had to do some project. And I chose to do a AI project on Automatic Document classifier (or can call a Spam Filter too), I got very much interested in that topic and want to take it more seriously, work for sometime and convert it from a course project to a serious piece of software and release it as a open source project(working with one more guy on this). So, my question is, will such things help in admissions? Will they(can they) really go checkout the project and if its good, consider my application seriously. I am a non-CS guy (or more specifically, Electronics and Communications Graduate), and want to do MS in CS. Will this be more helpful in my specific case? Also, I would release it may be in July, And will be applying in November!!! So will it make it seem deliberate act for admissions??? :hmm: Please share ANY information/Thought/Opinion you guys have regarding this. Please also take the Poll I have put on top of this post (Numbers really help!!!:p)... Thank You MicroKernel :)