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Hi all! I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on applying to RA positions or masters programs in preparation for eventually applying to PhD programs in economics or public policy. I had a rough time during undergrad due to the deaths of a few close family members and I'm worried about the low grades in important courses. I would like to apply to a AREC Masters program or a two year full time RA program to make up for the deficiencies in my profile and to better define my research interests before applying to an AREC PhD program. Do I have a shot at either of these two routes? Would one be more advantageous for PhD admissions than the other? Thank you! Undergraduate: Top 5 in Econ (Princeton, MIT, UChicago) 3.45/4.00 GPA Graduate: N/A Math Courses: Calc 1 (B+), Calc 2 (B+), Calc 3 (B+), Intro to Proofs (B-), Real Analysis I-III (B+, A, A), Linear Algebra (B), Abstract Algebra I (C+), Abstract Algebra II (A-), Formal Languages and Computation Theory (A), Measure and Integration (B) Econ Courses: Intermediate Microecon I (C+), Intermediate Microecon II (A-), Intermediate Macroecon I (B+), Intermediate Macroecon II (A), Econometrics (B+), Economics of Domestic Policy Analysis (Poverty and Public Policy related) (A), Environmental Economics (A), Economics of Crime/Law (A) Misc Courses: Statistics I (B), Computer Science Intro Sequence I-III (A-, B, A-) Research Experience: (1) Five months RA experience for a research institute on campus (2) RA to prof at university's business school for eight months (3) Wrote independent research paper for environmental class, earned top grade in the class. Potential Rec Letters: Letters from UC Davis AREC grad, MIT grad, and Berkeley grad. Other Information: Been working as an analyst at a economic consulting firm for the past few years.

I am interested in applied micro. My research experience has been all in development economics. Nonetheless, I know that my interest my change. UMD AREC offer me 4 years of guaranteed funding (I don't know how easy it is to get year 5 and 6 funding if I need it, although a professor told me that students usually get RA position or get employment in many agencies in DC). The connection to the DC organizations such as WB and IMF is great. It's also located in DC (city life), although the stipend is the same as Notre Dame. The placements are of course greater than ND, although I have heard from EJMR that the department is not a pleasant place (I take this with a grain of salt though, if anyone have more insights into this that would be appreciated). With ND, the funding situation is great as I am guaranteed for 5 years of funding. The department is on a fast upward trajectory from hiring like crazy with good faculty members across the applied micro field, which would give me more options in case I change my field. The department is also very collegial, with close interactions between faculty members and student. That said, the placement aren't as great as UMD AREC for academic positions. South Bend is also not inspiring as a city. Currently, I am indifferent between academic positions or private sector. Any advice would be very much appreciated ! Thanks guys

Hey guys! Please help me! I have been driving myself crazy trying to decide between these two programs. I managed to get accepted into the PhD program in Agricultural and Resource Economics at Maryland. It is a fully funded offer. I also got into Yale IDE and MESc (research track) with a $30K/year scholarship from the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. I am completely torn between the two programs. One on hand you have Maryland AREC which is a great program for environmental and development economics--my areas of interest. I also visited the school and absolutely loved it. The professors were all fantastic as were the graduate students. On the other hand, there is the joint degree program at Yale. Yale is great for environmental economics and the MESc program is flexible so I can make it a hybrid policy and science degree even though it is an MESc. My assigned research adviser is pretty awesome as well. Also, I have the chance to learn more about development economics through the IDE program. I am completely torn between these two programs. Any help or additional information would be extremely appreciated. I have to make a decision soon and I've never been more lost. Thanks guys! :)

I guess this is probably a good time to start the thread for Agricultural and Resource Economics applicants. I realize it's much earlier than last year's thread, but I guess this way we can have more time to do profile evaluations specific to AREC, give each other advice on which programs to apply for, and just share general knowledge in addition to what's been done in previous threads. Any thoughts anyone?

Hello Guys I am putting this out there for those who are applying for Ag and Resources Economics programs for the fall of 2012. Is anyone applying at ACE UIUC? I am considering applying but do not know a lot about the school. A little about me: Undergrad BA Marketing Grad MBA Finance Grad: Ms In Resources Economics My research interest is in food safety nutrition and health economics. ACE has a couple of people who do excel in that field and thought it will be great to work with them. I am also considering MSU and Purdue are there any other schools out there that you guys think i might consider? Financial assistance will be the main decision factor

Hi all - I just found this site and it looks like a great place to get input on my application profile and the schools where I am planning on sending applications. I'm looking at AREC program due to my interest in natural resources economics, but I also have interest in experimental and behavioral economics and decision science. Here's my profile: Bachelors: B.A. in Economics and Biology from a top U.S. liberal arts college. 3.70 GPA, cum laude. Received an award for a top essay in economics. Masters: M.S. in Resource Conservation from University of Montana. My masters thesis was a discrete choice experiment questionnaire I used to estimate non-market damages of invasive plants. 4.0 GPA. GRE: Q 770, V 680, A 4.0 Math and statistics courses: Multivariate calculus (A-, at college level--previous calc was in high school), Statistics (A), Econometrics (A), Econometrics (A, at graduate level). Econ courses (undergrad): Intro Micro (A), Intro Macro (A-), Intermediate Micro (B+), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Environmental Economics (A), Poverty & Public Policy (A-), Tax Policy (A), Public Economics Seminar (A) Econ courses (grad): Econometrics (A), Economics of climate change (A), Advanced Micro (A) Letters of recommendation: Graduate advisor from University of Montana (Asst. Prof, PhD University of Queensland), current supervisor at my job (US Forest Service Research Forester, PhD in Economics from Oregon State University), and either a current colleague (US Forest Service Research Economics, PhD in Economics from University of New Mexico) or my econometrics professor from University of Montana (PhD in Economics from University of Oregon). Other notes: Since completing my Masters, I've been contracting as a research economist with the US Forest Service. I have one article in review (though not in an economics journal), and another (which I will be first author on) close to being ready for submission to an applied economics journal. Also, I taught an undergraduate Forest Economics course last spring at The University of Montana as an adjunct instructor, and this fall I'm co-teaching another course. Schools: Cal-Berkeley (AREC), UC-Davis (AREC), Wisconsin (AREC), Oregon St. (Applied) Others considering: Texas A&M (AREC), Arizona, UCSB Strengths: Strong research experience, teaching experience, and experience in economics. I have a start developing a publication record. Weaknesses: I'm a bit too awesome. But seriously…Math. No linear algebra or math beyond calc. Hopefully my GRE quantitative scores help me out a bit here, but I know this will be seen as a weakness on my application. Questions and Requests: 1) I would really appreciate any general input on my profile and the schools I'm applying to. 2) How many schools should I think about applying to? I see some people on this board who have really long lists of schools. Is this because they just want to go to the best school that let's them in, or is this because it's THAT hard to tell where you'll be admitted? It seems like applying can cost $100 per school, so I'd like to apply to 6 or fewer schools, unless people here strongly feel that would be a mistake. 3) What are people's opinions on contacting professors prior to applying? I've read that this can actually hurt you by making it seem that you don't understand the process, but some posts here have mentioned this can okay in some situations. Thanks a lot for the help