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Hello! How would you rank the quality of the following California econ PhD programs: UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, University of Southern California, UC Los Angeles, and UC San Diego? Please explain briefly. Also, how dangerous, politically liberal, and/or expensive is living near UC Davis, USC, UCSD and UCLA? Thank you!

I've been looking at the websites for UC Davis, UCSB, UCSD, and other UC schools, and I'm quite confused about funding. I am a US citizen and resident of another state. I understand that I should be going through the process to apply for California residency. I understand this may differ from school to school, but for example, for UC Davis & UCSB, am I correct that TAships just cover resident tuition (or do they cover non-resident fees) and provide stipend? At UC Davis, can you get both a Non-Resident Tuition Fellowship (to offset the cost of the non-resident fee) and a TAship? Obviously I'll be reaching out to the financial aid departments at whatever institutions I apply to, but information from students who have attended would be quite helpful.

If you could sort the following into Top-10/20/30/50/etc, how would you do so? USC UCLA Stanford Berkeley UCSD UCSB UC Davis UC Irvine Rice Virginia UT-Austin Texas A&M Duke UNC

I was accepted at Penn State (2800 p/month), UC Davis (2300 p/month), and UT Austin (1500 p/month) for the Ph.D. in Economics. I am interested in applied micro and development. What do you recommend? Thank you.

I saw a post on econ job market rumors that claimed that 2 thirds were told to leave due to failing their core exams. The thread goes on and on about pass rates under 50% for the last three years. I know most of these posts are just a bunch of sexist bullies talking trash. Thus these are relevant questions: Are pass rates that low at UC Davis? They mistreat their students? How well they treat students? Davis is my best shot so far so I'm really interested on those issues. (2 acceptances, 4 rejections and 9 applications pending)

Hey guys! I've been a lurker on this board for a long time but this is my first time posting! I've had a completed application at UC Davis's Agro Econ Ph.D program for a while now and I am still waiting for a decision. I called them a couple of weeks back and I was told that I was in a small group that they have yet to make a decision on. I saw on Grad Café over the weekend that a few people were just rejected but I have yet to hear anything. I have checked the portal and I'm really nervous because that's my top choice program! Has anyone had a similar experience or know of someone who does? I've only got until the 8th of April to accept the masters program at UT Austin, but I don't want to call again because I do not want to put any pressure on a final decision. Any advice?

I thought it would be nice to have a thread for people considering UC Davis for Fall 2013. Is anyone else going to the flyout on April 5th?

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