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Hi everyone! I am currently preparing my applications for Econ PhD. I have applied three times (18 19 20 fall), and this is probably my last chance. I am quite nervous and not sure if my profile is strong enough to get in good program. I would appreciate any advice. Here is my background: Bachelor: bachelor's degree in economics (mainland of China, top 10), 3.54/4.00 GPA (about B+ or high 2-1) I didn't take any advanced courses in bachelor. One short RA and one TA during my bachelor. Master I: MSc Economics, Barcelona GSE, 7.3/10 (B- maybe?). I did really bad in the first term (and also why after BGSE I have to do another master) master thesis, 7.8. Master II: Master of Statistics and Data Science, KU Leuven, 14/20 (barely distinction), just finished first year, the grade of this semester will come out a few days later, hopefully a bit higher RA: two year part-time RA, full-time during the breaks, coauthorship, drafting. we will submit the paper this fall. LORs: 1. my RA boss (from my bacholer uni, he has good publications) 2. my thesis supervisor (ORSTAT, econometic), 3. to be decided (1) researcher from Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, helped with an environmental econ paper (2) another coauthor of my RA paper (new AP) (3) my BGSE professors GRE: in September pervious: V153+Q166 Work: 6 month trainee at the OECD in development center, half year external consultant. (mostly cleaning data using Stata) Research Interests: labor economics, applied micro (I still want to try other field, and willing to try theory, but maybe not econometric) Applying to: good mres (leading to PhD) programs in Europe, top 20-50 in US (but not quite familiar with US unis) for European uni, I am considering Zurich, Bocconi, TSE M2, KU Leuven, UC Leuven, MGSE, Mannheim, Bonn, if any chance get back to BGSE maybe, CEMFI, SSE, Berline School of Economics I am also considering ANU, Monash, McGill, UT, and UBC. Concerns: low GPA, no advanced math course. the program should provide scholarship (maybe German and American programs outstand) I failed twice applying to PSE, science po, and TSE; once bocconi, warwick, and tilburg. I really don't know where I am and where I can go. I am okay with doing mres and taking QE again if with scholarship, but I cannot afford another master or another RAship. Please tell me if I should lower my expectation (to which level) and save the application fee for any of these schools I mentioned. Many thanks to any advice or comment.

Phd Financial Economics/ Economics Evaluation ( Planning to Apply Fall 2021): GRE: Yet to Take ( Planning to take in June) TOEFL: Yet to take ( Planning to take in June) Undergrad: NIT Durgapur'2017 , India( Chemical Engineering)- 8.20/10 Grad: IIM Indore'2019 , India(Top 5 in Management as per NIRF ranking published by Ministry of Human resources India)-MBA ( 3.38/4.33, Top 35 out of 540, Don't have a proof yet but I am trying to get one from Admissions Office) Courses & Grades: 1.Mathematics I :Functions of Single Variable,Functions of several variables,Integral Calculus, Multiple Integral, Vector Calculus, A (9/10) 2.Mathematics II:Liner Algebra, Ordinary Differential Equations,Fourier series,Laplace and Fourier Transforms,Probability A (9/10) 3.Mathematics III:Partial Differential Equations (PDE),Numerical Method,Complex Analysis,Optimization: Mathematical Preliminaries: Hyperplanes and Linear Varieties; Convex Sets, Polytopes and Polyhedra,Linear Programming Problem (LPP)A (9/10) 4.Advanced Numerical Analysis: Eigen Values A(9/10) 5.Probability & Statistics:Random Variables and Associated probability distribution,Sampling Distributions and Statistical Inference, Hypothesis testing,Simple Linear Regression Analysis A (3.783/4.33) 6.INTRODUCTION TO QUANTITATIVE DECISION MAKING:LINEAR PROGRAMMING,DECISION TREES,EXTENSIONS OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING: IPP AND MILP,APPLICATIONS OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING, B (3.367/4.33) 7.Microeconomics Introductory Microeconomics Course A (3.867/4.33) 8.Macroeconomics Introductory Macroeconomics Course A (3.917/4.33) 9.Economics of Strategic Interactions Market Structures and Organization,Review of Competition and Monopoly,Homogeneous Goods,Heterogenous Goods,Concentration, Mergers and Entry Barriers, R&D,Advertising, Quality, Durability and Warranties; readings from Industrial Organisations A ( 4.1/4.33) 10.Macroeconomics of Developing economies:Growth Models ( Solow etc)A ( 4.1/4.33) 11.Financial Markets & Central Banking:Stabilisation Policies in Closed and Open economy IS-LM Models,Monetary policy transmission mechanism, Credit Channel Expected Inflation and Monetary Dynamics, Optimum Policy Target,I nflation targeting B+(3.433/4.33) 12.International Finance:Balance of Payment, Exchange Rate, Drivers of Exchange Rate and,Foreign Exchange Market,International Parity Conditions: Interest Rate Parity,Foreign Exchange Risk Management,Hedging B (3.1/4.33) 13.Corporate Finance- Corporate Finance I (A) Corporate Finance II (B) 14.Investment Analysis & Portfolio Investments (B)- Portfolio Management 15.Equity Financing (B)- IPO/FPO/PE/VC 16.Practicing Corporate Valuation B- DCF/ Relative / M&A 17.Corporate & Retail Banking B- RWA calculation, CaR Ratio, Asset Liability Management, Basel Norms Research Experience: 1. IIM Indore: Microeconomics - Course of Independent Study Project- Given Presentation to Economics Department ( Awarded a credit ). Was working on the paper but it is still incomplete not sure if it is going to be completed before I apply. 2. IIM Indore: Live Project ( Cost Analysis) with Idea Cellular (before the merger of Idea & Vodafone) -Worked in a group although- Term Paper submitted 3. NIT Durgapur: Not relevant to econ research. Have a paper published (co-authored) in chemical Engineering in Springer ( impact factor 1.47) and a chapter (co-authored) in a book. 4.NIT Durgapur: Final year Thesis (Chemical Engg) (In a group) Work experience: Deutsche Bank ( almost 2yrs) - Corporate Banking Analyst Also, I am CFA L1 candidate- Hoping to pass! LORs: 1. Microeconomics Professor -IIM Indore under whose supervision I completed the Microeconomics project 2. Macroeconomics Professor- IIM Indore- Who took courses 3. Statistics Professor - IIM Indore - Who supervised the Live project Concerns: I know my profile is lacking in the following: RA ships, Not enough math/econ courses. I am planning to take up online econ/math courses ( real analysis, measure theory) and R/ Stata courses as well. Which kind of certifications will be considered by admissions committee ( any course certification from US univs?) Can someone specify some certification courses covering the above topics which can compensate for the lacking in maths/econ courses? I do know I like research , but till now most people have suggested me to go for a Masters rather than a Phd. is there any hope for me to get into a PhD econ program with this profile? Kindly suggest some schools I can apply to for both Phd & Masters in econ/ Financial economics where I might have a chance! Any suggestions are welcome! Would really like to gain some insights. Thank You!

I'm an incoming third-year undergraduate planning to apply to start my PhD in fall of 2020. I'll be applying in 2019. Since I've only finished two years, I don't have grades information for all the classes I plan to take, but I just want to know if I'm generally on the right track so far. Profile: Gender: Female Ethnicity: Caucasian Undergraduate Major: Applied Math and Economics- top Ivy League university Undergraduate GPA (overall): 3.9 Undergraduate GPA (math): 3.92 Undergraduate GPA (econ, all mathematical/quantitative courses): 3.75 Math/Statistics Courses: Multivariable Calculus (A), Linear Algebra I (A-), Applied Math Modeling (A), Intro to Set Theory, Group Theory, and Real Analysis (A), Advanced Econometrics (forthcoming), Probability Theory (forthcoming), Real Analysis (forthcoming), Linear Algebra II or Differential Equations (forthcoming-see below) Economics Courses: Advanced Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory (mathematical) (A-), Advanced Intermediate Microeconomic Theory (mathematical) (A-), Political Economics (empirical research seminar) (A), Capital Markets (mathematical finance theory) (A-), Monetary Policy (forthcoming), Economics Seminar (forthcoming) Research Experience: I've worked as an RA for a well-known professor at my university for the past year and plan to continue researching for them throughout my remaining two years of undergrad. I have done one summer of economic research work as an intern for a well-known top financial institution, I'm planning to work as an RA on campus for an entire additional summer (forthcoming), and I'm planning to write a senior thesis (forthcoming). Programming: Basic/intermediate econometrics work in R, pretty proficient in MATLAB, I will learn advanced econometrics in Stata (forthcoming) and a solid introduction to about six other languages in forthcoming computer science classes. Questions/Concerns: 1. Am I on the right track so far? Is there anything I'm missing? 2. What are my chances of being admitted to a top 5, or top 10, program? 3. Will my research experience be enough, or should I take two years after undergrad before applying? 4. I will likely only be able to take one of Linear Algebra II/Data Analysis or Differential Equations (ODE and PDE) next year. My intro to linear class was very badly taught and I got an A- in it; I'm confident I can learn linear better with another course. However, I have no experience with differential equations at all. Which of these classes should I take if I can only take one? 5. Do I need a lot more math or statistics than what I already have taken and have planned?

I have a fairly atypical profile. I am 39 and have had a fairly successful Wall Street career working for a few top banks and hedge funds as a proprietary trader and a portfolio manager with a focus on macro strategy. I've thought for a while that I'd like to get back into academia as a second career and finally pulled a trigger this year in applying to most of the top 20 programs in both, Economics and Finance. I haven't given it a ton of thought in the past but now I realize that my age could be a factor in the admissions process. I think that aside from that I have a pretty competitive profile: Ivy League Econ + CompSci minor with 3.5 overall and 3.7 Econ GPA; 163V/167Q/4.5AW GRE; top 15 MBA in Finance; top 3 MS in Math ( all A's after a bad first semester ); I have two solid LORs from a well known Finance prof who is a dept chair in a top 15 school and from my former advisor who is an econ prof with a strong reputation/recognition in his field, the third letter is from a former colleague who is Columbia PhD and worked as an economist at a top ibank and now a CIO at a small hedge fund. So, I think that aside from my age and making academia my second career, I probably have a decent shot at a top 10 program. However, the age factor gives my profile an extra "risk" parameter which not all schools will be willing to accept. I've addressed in my SoP how my experience could be beneficial to the schools I am applying to, as I have spent a number of years pondering some of the relevant questions in macroeconomics, monetary econ, and finance and that I know how to frame those questions and have developed plenty of ideas that i'd like to work on as a practitioner, which makes me more informed than a typical straight out of undergrad candidate. The issue that I am struggling with as to whether there are any other ways to mitigate the "Risk factor" since most programs dont interview candidates and I won't have that forum to address my profile's shortcomings. Would appreciate any feedback from anyone who has either been in my shoes before, has worked or studied with people who have gone to a PhD program later in life, or has been involved with adcoms that have looked at candidates similar to myself. or for that matter, anyone who can share an intelligent opinion or advice - would be highly appreciated! Thanks in advance to all !

Hi, Rings and fields and geometry happen to be the only two upper level math classes offered next semester and I have not taken them yet. Which one would you guys recommend to strengthen my profile for econ phd? Rings and fields doesn't require prior class of group theory (which I have never taken it) and I have no idea how much those two are related. I have taken the second semester of analysis and advanced stats already. Or shouldn't I take those but take python instead since I don't have any computer science background and it can be useful when dealing with huge data? preparephd

Hi everyone, Does anyone have recommendation about how international students (who are studying in the US) should prepare their well-rounded experiences (I'm not talking about doing research at their institutions) before applying for econ grad school? It's really hard to get an internship in the US as many internships require citizenship. I have been interning with government of my country (all major macroeconomic-oriented govt agencies) for two summers including this upcoming one and I really appreciate any thoughts/comments for my next summer in 2015.

Hi everyone, I'm trying to choose between group theory and adv prob and stat (which will talk about Bayesian Stat). Which one is more useful? I am planning to take real analysis and econometrics for sure and I want one more math class. Math department divides abstract algebra into 2 classes: group theory, ring and field. Both group theory and adv prob and stat won't be offered again next year and ring and field will be offered next year. My concern is if I should take ring and field, I might be better off to have some background in group theory as well. FYI, I have taken both prob and stat. did very well in stat and did not so well as I expected in prob. Please give me advice.

Hello, I'm a recent graduate and hoping to enter graduate school within the next two years. Currently, I'm working as a research assistant for a large international organization in Washington, DC. I am under a two year contract, but I can terminate it if I please (although I'm definitely leaning more toward doing the full two years) Here's my profile: PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: BA Economics, Minor mathematics from Top-100 institution Undergad GPA: 3.810 Grad GPA: N/A GRE: 163Q/155V/4.5 AW (retake?) Math Courses: Calculus 1 (B+) Calculus 2 (A) Multivariate Calc (B+) Number Theory (A-) Linear Algebra (A-) Mathematical Statistics (A) Differential Equations (A) Real Analysis (A) Econ Courses: Intro to Micro (A) Intro to Macro (A) Intermediate Micro (B+, taken abroad[most failed class at the university]) Intermediate Macro (A) Labor Economics (A) Econometrics (A) Economics of Development (A) I/O Independent Study (A) History of Economic Thought (B, also taken abroad) Letters of Recommendation: Econ Prof who is within the top 1% of cited professors (2 PhDs: Math and Econ); Econ Prof from Top-20 institution; Economist at the international organization I work at (Econ PhD from top 5) Research Experience: Three undergraduate empirical papers (unpublished); Research Assistantship for a Top 1% cited Econ Prof (1 year); Research Assistantship at large international organization (2 years) Concerns: I think the B+'s in Intermediate Micro and especially multivariate calc could hurt me. I'm also concerned that my GRE Q score is not high enough. But from what I understand, the grades in diff eqs and analysis help out in determining my mathematical ability. Interests: Applied Micro Computational Economics Behavioral/Experimental Economics Econometrics (Applied and Theoretical) Monetary Policy (and its effect on capital markets) Financial Economics I realize the above is a long list, but at this point it's very hard for me to choose just one field. Of the above, I'm most interested in behavioral/experimental and financial economics (which I think pair well together, no? Reach Schools: Chicago (my dream) Northwestern NYU Columbia Berkeley Stanford Yale Princeton Harvard MIT UPenn (Applied Economics Program) Target Schools: Wisconsin Michigan Caltech UCSD UCLA Penn State Maryland Brown Purdue "Safety" Schools Boston U Boston College Illinois Iowa Virginia I'm definitely open to suggestions if you think there's a good fit for me to go (whether abroad or here). Thank you all for your help.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: BA Economics, Minor mathematics from Top-100 institution Undergad GPA: 3.795 (still in progress), expected Magna Cum Laude Grad GPA: GRE: 163Q/155V/4.5 AW Math Courses: Calculus 1 (B+) Calculus 2 (A) Multivariate Calc (B+) Number Theory (A-) Linear Algebra (A-) Mathematical Statistics (A) Differential Equations (IP--A expected) Real Analysis (IP... not sure what to expect)' Econ Courses: Intro to Micro (A) Intro to Macro (A) Intermediate Micro (B+--taken at a university under British system where only 4% of students receive A's) Intermediate Macro (A) Labor Economics (A) Econometrics (A) Economics of Development (A) I/O Independent Study (A) History of Economic Thought (B--same story as above with the British system) Letters of Recommendation: Econ Prof who is within the top 1% of cited professors (2 PhDs: Math and Econ; I am also a research assistant for him), Econ Prof who from top-20 Econ Institution, Econ Prof from Top-10 Economics Institution. Research Experience: Three undergraduate empirical papers (unpublished); Research Assistantship for the Top 1% cited Econ Prof. Concerns: Lower grades in mathematics courses. But I feel my profile will be strengthened if I receive an A in Analysis as well as Differential Equations. Also I'm not coming from the most rigorous undergraduate program. Other: I'm hoping to work as an RA for the Fed or some other research institution (if anyone knows of any opportunities please let me know). Interests: Applied Micro Computational Economics Behavioral Economics Econometrics Thank you all for your help.