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More info on my background here, but relevant highlights: Undergrad: USNWR top-5 school but in History and English (almost no math or econ courses) Masters: Currently working on M.S. in math and stats, set to graduate Spring 2018 Ph.D: Planning to apply to top-20 econ Ph.D programs this fall, to start Fall 2018 My understanding is that the four broadly accepted “core” math classes for an application are: Calc III, Linear Algebra, Ordinary Diff Eq, and Real Analysis. I’ve taken Calc III and Linear Algebra. And I’ll be taking Real Analysis this summer. To “check” the ODE box on my app, though, I’m in a bit of a bind. My options: A course in my grad program I’m currently in this spring, called “Deterministic Mathematical Models,” deals heavily with ODEs and I imagine to a large extent covers a lot of the same material as typical ODE course. A $1,100 course at a local community college (not sure Ph.D programs would scoff at this) A $4,500 course at a local university (which would be difficult to manage with my job and also overlap with my Real Analysis course) I’m leaning toward Option #1 and just hoping admissions committees will not be extremely stringent about having a course literally titled “ODE” on my transcripts. (I don’t know if there’s a place on my application where I can explain this course heavily covers ODEs.) My M.S. program deals with math far more advanced than what’s covered in an ODE course, so I’m hoping this won’t be an issue. But I’m not sure, especially since I’m already such an unorthodox candidate with a B.A. in History and English. Thoughts?

So I've been asking some professors which math course I should take next semester and it seems like the theorists say that Diffe Q is trivial and the empiricists say that Diffe Q is extremely important. Is this what you guys have experienced too? Can anyone tell me why or venture a guess as to why there's such a stark difference? I know the usual math courses that are recommended, but I have one more elective to fill for next semester and I was thinking of Diffe Q until I started to talk to people.

Hi everyone! I am an Australian undergraduate student majoring in Economics and Mathematics. At the end of my degree I am hoping to do an Economics PhD at a highly-ranked American or British university. Next semester I have to choose one of the following two maths units, and I was wondering which you would recommend: ' MATH2968 - Algebra (advanced) MATH2065 - Introduction to Partial Differential Equations ' The PDEs course is aimed primarily at engineering students and I have gotten the impression that PDEs are fairly unimportant outside of finance. The content of the algebra course is even less relevant to economics, but the course looks really interesting and would give me some practice writing proofs, so I am leaning towards algebra The websites of various American universities state that differential equations is recommended for students considering a PhD. I am already familiar with the basics of ODEs from a first year course called "Integral Calculus and Modelling" and I can teach myself the relevant content in the holidays, so I am not worried about my understanding. I am however worried that not having a differential equations course on my transcript may reduce my chances of getting accepted into a top program. Will adcoms look down on my application if I have not taken differential equations? Which course would you recommend taking? Thanks!