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Hi everyone, I have a couple of questions about my profile: Educational background: -Bachelor: 4/4 with honors (top 100 university, Europe) -Master: 3.6/4 (top 20 university, Europe) Core Courses at Master level: -Math (real analysis) B- -Statistics B -Econometrics A- GRE: Quant 160 Verb 162 (planned retaking) Reference letters: My Master thesis supervisor, top faculty member and reasonably strong My Bachelor thesis supervisor, I assume not so strong Research experience: No RA Work experience: currently in a one year traineeship at ECB with high programming content questions: -Apart from retaking the GRE, are there other ways to make my profile stronger? What are the European universities reachable? A sincere thank you in advance.

Hey guys: What are my possibilities to get into PhD in economics in Europe? Like Zurich, Bocconi, SSE or EUI? I am not considering US My grades are pretty low: Masters in economics (8.2/10) at Carlos III Bachelor in economics (7.3/10) at Carlos III But I have a lot of research experience: Research intern at Bank of Italy Research assistant at UPF (Pompeu Fabra) Research intern at a famous German institute Research Fellow at Barcelona school of economics Soon I will join DG Research at ECB Really good recommendation letters Do I have any chance? I did not take GRE yet.

Test Scores (GMAT/GRE): GRE VA: 165 (98 percentile), QA: 168 (97 percentile) Undegrad GPA: 8.5/10 (Top 20% of class- Top 10 Indian Engineering College) Graduate GPA: 7.1/10 (Top 20% of class- Top 5 Indian B School) Research Experience: No publishing experience as such. During my professional career I have undertaken some secondary research for my consulting projects and primary research in the form of interviews and surveys, especially with think tanks like the World Resources Institute and the United Nations Environment Programme. Some of my MBA courses and business case competitions also required some basic secondary research. Teaching Experience: None Work Experience: I have a work experience of two and a half years in a Tier 2 strategy consulting organisation with their Sustainability Services practice. I have primarily worked with non profit organisations and multilateral organisations like WWF, The Nature Conservancy, Red Cross Society, UN agencies. I have supported various strategic projects with them. For example, I have worked with the UN Environment Programme to develop science based targets for businesses to reduce their impact on oceans and this involved a pair bit of literature based research. The current project I am working on is one of the world’s largest assessments of impact of 250+ consumer goods organisations on palm oil sustainability. This also involves literature review and surveying companies. Concentration Applying to: Strategy Number of programs planned to apply to: 6-8 Dream Schools: Yale, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, USC Marshall, University of Washington Foster, University of Minnesota Carlson School Letters of recommendation: I will be asking for LORs from my MBA professors. It’s going to be of moderate strength since I don’t have any research experience to speak of but will only be asking those professors in whose courses I have ranked among the top 5 scorers. Note: I have also attached my resume for more information. Other Questions: What made you want to pursue a PhD? I have working on the topic of how businesses can operate responsibly and contribute positively to nature for the entirety of my professional career. Prior to that I have won several business case competitions on similar themes like sustainable agriculture. I believe there is scope for a great deal of innovation in this topic especially looking at how different stakeholders in the ecosystem can collaborate to drive change. Through my experience I realise that businesses who are now working on net positive value creation in the environment will have a first movers advantage when the regulations change. They will also have an effect on policy drivers. However in order to get there, businesses need guidance on how they can function responsibly while maintaining profitability. This is where academia will play a role going into the future because the ground is still nascent and it requires backing up with strong research. This is the journey I want to be a part of which is why the first step would be to apply for a strong PhD program in strategy, business environment and business economics. Questions or concerns you have about your profile? Given my overall MBA GPA isn’t extraordinary (may come to a 3.5 I guess, using the Columbia school chart of conversion) and I have no big research experience to speak of, do I have a shot at any of my dream schools or at least a top 30 college in the US? Does this forum have any suggestions on which schools I should be applying to? How does the GPA conversion work (from a 10 point scale to a 4 point scale)? What points should I stress upon in my SOP to give my application a push given my lack of research experience? Any additional specific questions you may have: Is there a possibility of getting part time remote research projects under professors in the US? Given the COVID situation in India, it’s not possible to do that here right now.

Masters/ PhD Application (Planning to apply Fall 2021) Background: I was originally a double major in business and biology with the intention to go to med school, and I was not overly motivated my first two years. I got quite a few B's and one C, and this is the main reason my GPA is not where it should be. The courses listed below were mainly taken over my last two years, where my GPA averaged > 3.9. GRE: Yet to Take (Averaging 170 on Quant section) Undergrad: University of Michigan '21, BA Economics with Highest Honors - 3.6/4 Courses & Grades: Econ: Intro Micro (A-), Intro Macro (A+), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A+), International Economics (A+), International Finance I (A), International Finance II (A-), Labor Econ Survey Course (P for pass), Intermediate Econometrics I (B+), Intermediate Econometrics II (A+), International Trade Theory (A), Experimental Econ (A), Game Theory Seminar (A) Math: Calculus 2 (A-), Calculus 3 (A), Linear Algebra (B+), Probability Theory (A), Differential Equations (A) Research Experience: RA'd for Michigan professor, expecting strong LOR from him. Wrote a research paper on the East Asis Crisis which was published in the Michigan Undergraduate Research Journal Wrote a senior thesis on theoretical micro theory/game theory under a prominent game theorist at Michigan. LOR's: Thesis advisor, a prominent game theorist at Michigan. Expecting a really strong letter (he said my thesis is among the best pieces of undergraduate research he has ever seen in his career). He also mentioned he would absolutely recommend me to the top economics PhD programs. Professor that I RA'd for - also expecting strong letter, however we do not have as much of a relationship as I do with my thesis advisor Work Experience: I will be spending one year working as an equity analyst at JP Morgan starting July. Planning on going to graduate school after one year. Concerns: Not enough math classes (the B+ in linear algebra was a fluke - I packed calc 3 and linear algebra into a spring term, which is twice as fast). Also, I have not taken Real Analysis. However, my thesis is quite mathematical so I hope this signals some mathematic competence. Awards: Received award for best undergraduate Economics paper at Michigan in fall '20. Also expecting a prestigious award for my honors thesis. Plans: I want to apply this fall for a graduate program, and preferably I would go straight to a good PhD program. However, my thesis advisor also suggested doing a masters abroad (Bocconi, LSE, some Israeli universities like TAU or Hebrew University which have strong programs) to make up for my deficiencies. He has connections to the top Israeli programs and said he would love to recommend me to their programs. How would my profile fare in PhD applications, and how would it fare in Master's program applications (specifically abroad)?

Hi everyone, thanks so much for your help on evaluating my profile. My background is kind of complicated, I am quite confused about whether apply for a finance or econ PhD. My desired PhD topics would be development/behaviours economics or environmental economics. I have been actively working on SDGs and trying to help the people in third-world countries personally. Education: BComm (grad at 2018): Top 2 University in a European Country, majored in Business Analytics, relevant courses: Business Economics B+, Business Analytics A-, Quantitative Methods in Business A+ (basic linear algebra, calculus etc), Computation modeling B, Econometrics B-, Statistics A-, Optimization in Finance A-, Behavioural FInance B- Final year project: Business Analytics Project A, highest in the class Part-time MSc: Top 2 University in a European Country, best grad school in the country, majored in Environmental finance, relevant courses: Capital Markets and instruments A-, Environment finance and impact investing A-, Green data science A-, Energy economics and policy A-, Quant methods A+ I didn't finish the pt MSc degree after I finished all the core modules, don't want to waste another 11k+ on some useless courses. Research: 1. Jul 2020 - Present, Research Fellow at an American Institute(not academic institute). Working on two projects and acting as team lead, one is stock market prediction and another is water data science. 2. May - Jun 2020, Research assistant in my MSc programme director's lab, the project is to build up a tool to recognize greenwashing. 3. Jun - Jul 2017, Summer research assistant in my Uni, Data Analysis for Energy Systems Integration Working experience: 1. May 2020 - Present, Investment Analyst in a private investment group 2. May 2018 - 2020, Project Management in a startup Extracurricular Activities: 1. A forthcoming paper, presented on an international conference, awarded best presentation, paper will be published on IOP Science 2. Scholarship recipient and attendee of United Nations Summer Academy 2020, my video video was presented on General Assembly of United Nations 75th Anniversary 3. 2016 Google Code Jam for Women, ranked 39th worldwide 4. Working paper: circular economy related GRE: 154+168+4 Reference letter: 1. AP and my lecturer, strong letter, I worked with him in the greenwashing project 2. AP (another university), strong letter, we worked together on the working paper 3. Owner of the America institute, relatively strong letter, he has strong connections with top universities in the US 4. Full professor(another university), relatively strong letter, good reputation + editors in top journals Other: I actually got a PhD offer in Finance for 2020 fall but my scholarship got cancelled because of the covid-19, the 4th referee (the full professor from another university) was my 'potential' PhD supervisor. Thank you so much again!

Hello everyone, I hope y'all are safe and healthy. I'm taking the GRE next week, and practicing the AWA section. I wrote an issue essay and argument essay ( attached ) and would really appreciate it if someone would kindly evaluate them for me. Thank you in advance. [ATTACH]7270[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]7271[/ATTACH]

Hi everybody, Could you please give me your opinions about my profile? I'll try to keep it short but informative: Degrees Bsc in Humanities (major in Econ): SciencesPo Paris. 3 years. No GPA calculated, but something like 14/20. Main weaknesses: no maths, an exchange year at San Diego State University where I did averagely (3 of GPA, one Econ class where I got a B). Main strengths: performed quite well in my econ classes. MA in International Economic Policy: SciencesPo Paris, 2 years (+ a gap year). No GPA calculated but something like 14.5/20. Main weaknesses: no maths, one failed metrics class in first year. Main strengths performed well in other econ and metrics classes. MSc in Economics: BGSE (Pompeu Fabra), one year. 8.5+ / 10 of GPA. Main weakness: no math per say. GRE 166Q/161V/ incoming score for writing part Courses 7 Metrics classes in total. Failed one at Sciencespo, did 1 point above median in advanced metrics at BGSE, and performed top 10% or even 5% in the other 5. Introduction to Micro at Sciencespo (14/20 - between 35th and 50th percentile). Advanced Micro at BGSE (7.7/10 - around median) 7 Macro classes: 2 in undergrad at SciencesPo (one 35th-50th percentile, one 10th-35th). 1 in my exchange year at SDSU (got a B). Two in my SciencesPo master (one at the median during 1st year, one top 5% in 2nd year). One advanced macro at BGSE (around 40th percentile), one normal macro at BGSE (top 10-5 %). Other Topic courses such as labour economics, sovereign debt, and few others, in which I did top 5%. Research experience 6 months in a French bank as an economist trainee (forecasting, etc). 1 year at the OECD as a research trainee. Some econometric analysis, mainly qualitative research. Supervisor was a Phd. Currently 6 months (maybe more) at the research division of the ECB. Most research supervisors have US PhD, and publish a lot. My work is mainly econometrics and data management. A bit of writing as well. Letters One from a young but rising economist (US PhD, publishing a lot). Ready to write me a strong letter for unis below top 5. Did around top 5% in his class. One from a more established econometrician who also publishes a lot. Top 8% according to ideas.recep. top 5% as well. He knows me less than the first one, but ready to write a strong letter. Probably one letter from the ECB. Other possibilities: young but rising economist (PhD harvard, assistant prof. at SciencesPo, visiting top 10 US uni right now). Scored 4th in his class of 25 student. One visiting macro professor from BGSE, also teaching at NYU. Does not publish a lot but I finished top 5% I believe. Other useful informations Starting this year the second year of a BSc in Maths from a French Uni (Aix Marseille, remotely). Won't have results before application deadline, but for potential interviews I will, and for next year as well. 2nd prize of a Banque de France student essay contest. In particular, which range of programs do you think I should I target? Should I retake the GRE? Should I try to perform good in this Math BSc and apply next year as well? Any opinion would be helpful! Thanks a lot, Cheers :)

Hi all, I am a current Master of Science in Statistics student beginning the process of applying to Economics PhDs for Fall 2021, though I'm struggling to get a sense of the caliber of programs I should be applying to. Of particular note are an F in Calc II, a D- in Linear Algebra, and a C in Econometrics, due to then-untreated mental health problems (which I'm assuming I should not mention in my SOP, correct?). I'm hoping my GRE, strong econ (bar metrics), and more recent math/stats record will overcome my spotty undergrad grades. Many thanks for any input you can provide regarding program caliber. Graduate program: MS in Statistics, online program. Top ~25 statistics program. MS in Statistics GPA: 4.00/4.00 Undergraduate Degree: BA in Economics, Public Policy, Minor in Statistics. Top ~30 program. Undergraduate GPA: 3.47/4.00 GRE: Q 169, V 169, AW 5.5 Math Courses (reverse chronological): Grad Linear Algebra (ongoing), Advanced Calculus I (A), Diff EQ (A), Linear Algebra for Applications (D+), Discrete Math (A), Multivariable Calculus (B+), Calc II (D), Calc II (F). Stats Courses (reverse chronological): (Ongoing grad courses in Bayesian methods, regression, multivariate analysis, and spatial statistics), Grad Statistical Methods I (A), Grad Mathematical Statistics (A), Grad Statistical Computation in R (A), Spreadsheet statistical models (B+), Intro to Probability (B), Linear Statistical Methods (B-), Intro to Statistics (A). Econ Courses (reverse chronological): Senior Paper II (A-), Senior Paper I (B-), Advanced Micro Theory (A), Applied Econometrics ©, Advanced Macro Theory (A), Economic Thought (A), IO (A), Labor (A), Intermediate Macro (A-), Intermediate Micro (A), Economic Statistics (A-), Econ 101 (A). Related Experience: No RA. Undergraduate TA for intermediate macro. Private sector experience as an oil and gas research analyst at a reputable firm. Letter of Recommendation: Planning to get two from econ research faculty members: one under whom I served as an undergraduate TA, extracurricular chair, and pseudo-collaborator (nothing published), and one under whom I wrote my senior research paper (not published, and I didn't actually submit an honors thesis for defense, again largely due to mental health, but he liked my paper and suggested I reach out to him for a letter if I wanted to pursue grad school). Then either my Advanced Calculus I professor or my undergraduate Econ Department Chair. Research Interest: Very strong interest in empirical macro, but don't want to over-commit to an area. May pivot toward applied analysis of education/anti-poverty interventions once I start taking reading more literature/engaging with research more. Thanks again!

Hello, first post on here. I would like to know what is reasonable for me before I get my hopes up. Is something in the 20-30 range attainable? For context, I would rather wait another year and improve my application than attend a school ranked 50+. I am very interested in pursuing a career in academia. PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top 20, flagship public research university. Economics Major, French Minor + lots of chemistry, biology and some physics. Undergrad GPA: 3.35 cumulative, 3.65 last 2 years, 3.60 major GRE: 168 Q/164 V/4.5 W Math Courses: Calc 1 (B-), Calc 2 (B), Calc 3 ©, Calc 4 (C-), Linear Algebra (B+), Differential Equations (A-), Real Analysis (A+) Econ Courses: Stats for Economists (C-), Intro Economics (A-), Intro Economics 2 (A), Intermediate Micro (B+), Econometrics (A+), Econometrics Lab (A+), Intermediate Macro (B-), Theories of Growth/Development (B+), Advanced Econometrics (A+), Behavioral Economics (A), Advanced Macro (A+), Advanced Macro Lab (A), Economic Forecasting in R (A-), Advanced Microeconomics (B+) Other Courses: Mechanics (C+), Thermodynamics and Waves (A), PChem1/2 (C+/B), OChem1/2 (C/B), Cells&Tissues (C-), Stem Cell Biology (A-), Cell&Molecular Bio (A), Genes&Evo&Ecology (A) Letters of Recommendation: 1) Co-signed letter from neuroscience research advisor employed by my university and the head of the lab; 2) business school professor who I know personally, we are working to publish COVID-19 survey data from a survey that we co-designed, 3) *unverified* advanced econometrics professor who is near the top of the field and has encouraged me to chase my aim of becoming a professor. We are in touch and have been communicating but I didn't feel ready to ask her for a letter until now-- asking her this week or next. Research Experience: In neuroscience lab-- adapted github python script to parametrize neural power spectra, used this to transform and analyze multiple datasets of 100+ patients. Analysis included review of related literature and basic statistical tests. This was ongoing for 18 months. Covid-19 Survey-- assessing population level outcomes and integrating accepted behavioral scales to investigate mediating factors. I designed half the survey, the prof I'm working with designed the other half and has been providing guidance. I am solo performing analysis on outcomes of my portion, the plan is to publish the results in the next few months. Teaching Experience: None-- impossible for undergrads to get RA at my institution; chose extracurriculars over tutoring. Research Interests: Complexity and macroeconomics, although also curious about neuroeconomics/behavioral and I am sure that econometrics will be a key part of my toolkit. SOP: I dealt with a combination of depression, anxiety and untreated ADHD throughout undergrad but especially in the first 2 years-- would it help to mention in SOP? Other: Python (3/5, have used professionally to automate demand planning and numerous coursera projects), R (2/5, several large statistical projects), Stata (yuck). Graduated 2019, worked 9 months as a 'Product Development Analyst' before covid layoffs. I am worried that my performance in micro courses is going to be an issue (they bored me at the time, so not in terms of my capabilities), and I have no idea how my poor early math grades will be seen. Thank you for any input you may have.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Mathematics, Economics at a Large State School, Top 60 US) Undergrad GPA: 3.83/4.00 overall ( 3.95 in Econ, 3.72 in Math) GRE: Q170, V166 Econ Courses : Intermediate Micro/Macro (A,A), Behavioral Economics (A), Econometrics (A), Game Theory (A), Grad Micro II (Game Theory) (B+), Mathematical Economics (next fall), Advanced Econometrics (next fall), Advanced Macro (next spring). Stat/Math Courses: Intro to Statistics (A), Multivariable Calculus (A), Diff Eq (B+), Honors Intro to Proofs (B+), Honors Real Analysis (B+), Honors Linear Algebra I-II (B+,B+), Probability Theory (B+), Linear Optimization (A), Mathematical Statistics (A), Graph Theory (A), Intro to Stochastic Processes (next year), Grad Discrete Optimization (Operations Research PhD course) (A), Other Courses: Intro to CS (B+), Data Structures (next year), Time Series Modeling (A), Operations Research (A), Decision Analytics under Uncertainty (A) LOR's : 1. Economics Professor (taught Micro II), will also be doing Senior Thesis with them next year. 2. Operations Research Professor: Taught the Grad OR class that I took and did well in. 3. Another OR Professor: Currently writing a paper with them. Research Experience: Year-long research assistant on a research project involving state government decision making. Currently working on Operations Research paper with economic applications. Will be doing an Econ Senior Thesis next year. Research Interests : Microeconomics (Market/Auction Design, Industrial Organization), Computational Economics Concerns : No internship experience or publications. Coming straight from undergrad. Two non-economics letter writers. I am posting because I'm not sure which type of schools I should apply to (ranking-wise). I'll probably apply to places like UMD, CMU, BC, and Rochester as a long-shot, but I feel like my focus should be on lower 30s - mid 40s schools. I really like Iowa State for example. I'll also be sure to apply to some safer schools. Please let me know if this plan sounds unreasonable. Thank you in advance for your advice!

Profile Type of Undergrad: US Institution (around 50th in the country) GPA: 4.0/4.0 up to this point Graduating: May 2020 Math Courses 3 semester of calculus (including multivariable) Linear Algebra Differential Equations (taking now) Real Analysis (taking now) Statistics Courses Statistics for Applied Scientists Mathematical Statistics (taking now) Mathematical Statistics II (taking next spring) Econ Courses Intro Micro Intro Macro Intermediate Micro Intermediate Macro Money and Banking International Trade Labor Behavioral Econometrics Strategic Behavior (Game Theory) (taking now) Departmental Distinction Thesis (taking now) International Macroeconomic Theory (taking next spring) Programming/software knowledge C++, Java, Matlab, STATA Research Experience: I have been a research assistant for several academic institutions (both on campus, abroad, and in Washington DC) including at the Federal Reserve Bank. However, many of these research assistantships were at public policy research institutions, and thus my work was not necessarily strictly on economic research, but more on the impact of certain economic policies on other issues, etc. I am also in the process of finishing a Departmental Thesis on International Trade issues with one of the individuals who will be writing my recommendation letter. In addition, this summer I received a university fellowship to pursue independent research abroad on labor market concerns. My mentor for this project will also be writing a recommendation letter for me. I have not published a paper yet though. Letters of Recommendation: 3 economics professors (including 2 research mentors - one for my trade project and one for my labor project described below) Research Interests: International trade, labor, game theory

Hello , I am a pharmacy graduate from India looking for career suggestions in pharmacy ,healthcare. I am working as a pharmacy technician. I am registered pharmacist in India and did certification in clinical research. According to USA educational evaluation system my pharmacy graduation from india is equivalent to Bachelor in pharmaceutical sciences. I really appreciate your help.

Reading Passage: In an effort to encourage ecologically sustainable forestry practices, an international organization started issuing certifications to wood companies that meet high ecological standards by conserving resources and recycling materials. Companies that receive this certification can attract customers by advertising their products as "ecocertified." Around the world, many wood companies have adopted new, ecologically friendly practices in order to receive ecocertification. However, it is unlikely that wood companies in the United States will do the same, for several reasons. First, American consumers are exposed to so much advertising that they would not value or even pay attention to the ecocertification label. Because so many mediocre products are labeled "new" or "improved," American consumers do not place much trust in advertising claims in general. Second, ecocertified wood will be more expensive than uncertified wood because in order to earn ecocertification, a wood company must pay to have its business examined by a certification agency. This additional cost gets passed on to consumers. American consumers tend to be strongly motivated by price, and therefore they are likely to choose cheaper uncertified wood products. Accordingly, American wood companies will prefer to keep their prices low rather than obtain ecocertification. Third, although some people claim that it always makes good business sense for American companies to keep up with the developments in the rest of the world, this argument is not convincing. Pursuing certification would make sense for American wood companies only if they marketed most of their products abroad. But that is not the case—American wood businesses sell most of their products in the United States, catering to a very large customer base that is satisfied with the merchandise. Listening Transcript: Narrator: Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about. Professor Well, despite what many people say, there's good reason to think that many American wood companies will eventually seek ecocertification for their wood products. First off, consumers in the United States don't treat all advertising the same. They distinguish between advertising claims that companies make about their own products and claims made by independent certification agencies. Americans have a lot of confidence in independent consumer agencies. Thus, ecologically minded Americans are likely to react very favorably to wood products ecologically certified by an independent organization with an international reputation for trustworthiness. Second point—of course it's true that American consumers care a lot about price—who doesn't? But studies of how consumers make decisions show that price alone determines consumers' decisions only when the price of one competing product is much higher or lower than another. When the price difference between two products is small—say, less than five percent, as is the case with certified wood— Americans often do choose on factors other than price. And Americans are becoming increasingly convinced of the value of preserving and protecting the environment. And third, U.S. wood companies should definitely pay attention to what's going on in the wood business internationally, not because of foreign consumers, but because of foreign competition. As I just told you, there's a good chance that many American consumers will be interested in ecocertified products. And guess what, if American companies are slow capturing those customers, you can be sure that foreign companies will soon start crowding into the American market, offering ecocertified wood that domestic companies don't. My essay: The lecture explains why American consumers would be open to buying "eco-certified" wood products. The passage preceding the lecture contains three reasons why American consumers won't buy those products, but the lecture provided further evidence which if true, can invalidate the argument presented by the passage. The first reason provided by the passage is that Americans do not take advertisements seriously. The lecture challenges that statement by mentioning that is not the case for all advertisements. While people might not believe the advertisement claims made by the company itself, they seem to trust the claims made by international certification agencies. So, if Amerian wood companies obtained such eco-certifications, their consumers would believe the advertisements that claim the companies provide eco-friendly products. The lecture also mentions that Americans might be willing to pay extra for eco-certified products. While it is true that American consumers are concerned about the price of a product, under certain circumstances, it is not the only factor they consider while purchasing products. According to the lecturer, when price difference is small (about 5% or so), the consumers consider other factors too. The additional price incurred due to obtaining eco-certification is a small increase. Also, these days, Americans are concerned about the environment. So, considering these factors, the author concludes that Americans might be willing to pay for environment-friendy products. The last argument is about American wood companies and the international market. The passage says that American wood companies don't have to enter the international market as the domestic market is large enough. But, the professor argues that they need to enter the international market. He says so because he believes that to survive in the competitive market, international expansion is necessary. Moreover, if American companies don't adopt the eco-friendly policy, international companies may take over the domestic market. In this way, the lecture opposes the points made in the passage.

Hello Urchers-- Reading the various pieces of advice and profile evaluations on this forum got me thinking about the value of accumulated advice / anecdotes versus quantitative data. So naturally, I wrote a survey to collect information on our applicant profiles and admissions outcomes. This survey will not collect any identifiable information, but it will give us a basis for understanding the applicant pool at various universities and the likelihood that a person with a specific profile would be within the range of accepted applicants. Hopefully it will also give us some information on the relative importance of scores, GPA, letters, SOP quality (fuzzy to measure), personal connections / contact, work and research experience, English proficiency, etc. The survey should accommodate applicants to Economics and Business PhD programs, and is geared towards US programs. If you have specific suggestions (important data points I'm not including, revisions for clarity), please let me know. This is the product of a few hours of quick tinkering, so I'll be shocked if there are no errors. This is not formal research and has not been reviewed by any ethics committees, FYI. You can access the survey at the link below. Please take it only once, and take it AFTER you have received all of your admission results. This year's cohort will need to wait until March / April to complete the survey, but those of you who are already in PhD programs or who applied in previous cycles can provide information now. Survey link (via google forms) About you Good luck to the current applicants, and thank you to anyone who chooses to participate. (cross-posted in PhD in Business and PhD in Economics)

Test Scores (GMAT/GRE): Q164(86), V163(93), AWA(4.5) Undegrad GPA: Bachelor of Computer Science from BMSIT, Bangalore, 81% (4th in my class) Graduate GPA:N/A Research Experience: 8 months with a professor at HAAS, Berkeley Teaching Experience: N/A Work Experience: 5 years - founded the technical team of a start up, working in a unicorn for the last 3 years. Strong engineering knowledge. Have side projects featured extensively by the press. One of these included a crowd sourced flood map which has been repurposed and re-used by individuals/governments in multiple countries and received recognition from the United Nations. Another project studied the gender of street names. Strong recognition and media/press presence in the open source communities in India recognised Concentration Applying to: Information Systems, Organisational Behaviour/Studies Number of programs planned to apply to: 7 Dream Schools: * NYU Anindya Ghose * Minnesota Information Systems * Maryland Information Systems * MIT * Harvard Business School * Wharton * HAAS Berkeley In addition to information systems programs at business schools, I am also applying to Information Science programs at several universities. Other Questions: What made you want to pursue a PhD? I have been part of the open source movement for a while now, and I am interested in using qualitative and quantitative methods, and openly available materials like Wikipedia stats and mailing lists to study themes of culture - so studying contributor motivations, influence of application design in inviting crowd-sourced contributions Questions or concerns you have about your profile? * My GRE quant score. I know it's not too bad, but I think it's pretty bad for the schools of my choice. Should I retake the test? * Research experience - I have no publications of my own, even though I have been doing research that has made a significant difference to the paper that the professor and I are working on. * Letters - I have a strong letter of recommendation from a business school professor at HAAS who's an MIT alum with whom I am working on a review paper that studies the effects on information seeding on contributions in an open source project. My other letters are from an MIT alum who's the director of an open source project and another person from my company who also founded a large open mapping platform, which are also strong. My prof is also reviewing the latter two letters to vouch for my research capabilities. Any additional specific questions you may have: Should I be looking at other programs?

Hi guys! How are you doing? What about my profile? I'd like to know if I have any chance... I really appreciate any advice and suggestions. Type of Undergrad: Economics - LA University (well known university in my country; middle ranked econ depth in my country - 10~20) UGPA: 8.99/10 (2nd highest) (with honors) Type of Graduate: Master in Economics - same university GPA: 9.51/10 (1st highest) TOEFL: 103 GRE: Expecting score >=167 (Q) SoP: working on it. Some undergrad courses: Micro I,II,II (8.7, 8.3, 9.7), Macro I,II,III (10, 10, 10), Calc I,II (5.2, 9.5), Dynamic Econ[EDO] (8.5), Linear Algebra (8.5), Statistics I,II (9, 5.8) Econometrics I,II (9.5, 9.4), Topics in Econometrics (9), Sampling Techniques (10), Applied Comp Methods (8.5) Graduate courses: Math Economics[Real Analysis and Optimization] (9.3), Micro I,II (9.7, 9.8), Macro I,II (8.8, 9.7), Topics in Econometrics[Linear Algebra] (9.5), Econometrics I (9.8), Labor Economics (Expecting 9.5). Others courses: Introd to Real Analysis at dept of math (No grade) - summer course Teaching: 3.5 years as TA (Micro I, Econometrics II, Linear Algebra, Econometrics I) - all undergrad level. Research: 2 years as RA (1 year during the undergrad and 1 year during the master's) LoR: 3 good letters (2 econometric professors with PhD from USA and 1 math professor with PhD in Pure Math from USA) Others info: National Exam for entry in graduate programs[Macro, micro, statistics and math] (Top 7% overall, being top 3% in math and statistics) - It is same test for all students in my country. Fields: Applied microeconometrics, applied micro, labor, education, and economics of crime. Planning to apply to: UC3M, Michigan State U, Bonn GSE (PhD), U of Mannheim, Tinbergen, CEMFI (PhD), Rice U, U of Essex, and CU Boulder. Comments: I had 2 low scores in my undergraduate.

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I've used Urch to guide my decisions about subjects and research so far, and now I'm getting a bit closer to application season I want to narrow down my choices for applications. My friend from the year above was accepted in the 5-15 range, she had more math but less research, so I'm not really sure where I fit. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! :) PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: BEcon Honours from Go8 Aus University that usually ranks in Top 50 on Repec Undergrad GPA: ~90/100 . Not sure of conversion to 0-4 GPA. Type of Grad: - Grad GPA: - GRE: 168Q, 165V Math Courses: Mathematical Analysis (90), Probability (90), Linear Algebra (94), Statistics (88), 2 Semesters of Calc (83, 81) Econ Courses: Microeconomics I-IV (82,86,96,91), Macroeconomics I-IV (78,80,93,91), Econometrics I-IV (!62!,81,88,98), Microeconometrics (98), Industrial Organization (86), Math Econ (99), Game Theory (83), Labour Economics (84) Other Courses: Nothing relevant Letters of Recommendation: (1-2) Two younger professors in the Econ department, I have RA'd for both of them and taken a class that I did well in from one of them. Neither are superstars but both have PhDs from top institutions and publish relatively well. They know me well and expecting them to be helpful. (3) The last letter will likely come from my Department Chair who doesn't know me as well as the other two, but knows me indirectly through the other two professors and is also involved closely with the honours program, so can probably compare me to past honours students who have gone onto U.S. PhD programs. Research Experience: Honours thesis which is a solo R&R at a good field journal. Co-author on a paper with one of letter writers where I started out as RA, has been submitted. Contributed to a couple of other papers while an RA, some have been published. Teaching Experience: Tutor for undergraduate micro and econometrics classes. Concerns: Half-baked mathematics major. I enjoy maths and do well but wasn't finding the higher level classes rewarding or helpful with my economics classes so dropped the major and decided to continue just with Econ. Worried this will send a bad signal. GRE could be a little better and I have the chance to take it again with some more preparation. Mediocre marks in my first year Econ subjects, including a 62 in Econometrics I. I hope the improvements in the more advanced versions of Macro and Econometrics in particular will make up for that.

Hi guys, thinking about reapplying. I'm still waiting for a couple of results, but I'm not so confident anymore. 0a/1w/5r + 2 implicit. I think I overshot my chances (applied to a mix of ranked 1 ~ 70 with a goal of something between 20 ~ 30), but I'm not quite sure. Type of Undergrad: Mathematics & Business (120 ~ 130 ranked undergrad) Undergrad GPA: 3.88 GRE (V / Q / AW): 162 / 161 / 4.5 (hoping to improve GRE to 166+ next time.) Math Courses: 1st Year Calc series, Multi Calc Series (All A's), Linear Algebra Sequence (A, -A, A), Probability Courses (A, A), Ordinary Differential Equation (A-, one in progress), Topology (All A's), Intro to Complex Analysis, (A), Game Theory (in progress), Advanced Calculus (A-, one in progress), Intro to CS (A) Econ Courses: Intro + Intermediate Micro/Macro (All 4 A's), Intro to Econometrics (A), Industrial Organization (A), International Trade (A) Teaching Experience: No in-class experience. But I was a reader/ out-of-class TA for a business professor for 2 quarters Research Experience: No publications. Math research that's more related to CS. Was a RA for a business professor a couple of years. Research Interest: Economic History. Developmental Economics. Concerns: Non-Econ major. Low GRE score, hope to fix this next time around. I took it once without studying for it. Underestimated the time crunch I guess. SOP quality. 2/3 letters from Economic professors. The third is from a math professor. UC Davis is my goal. Do I have a chance if I up my GRE? What can I do during my one year of break?

Hello, My profile is Under GPA : 3.46/4.5 (WES version converted to US standard 3.26/4.0) - Korea Top 10 School/Business Major Grad GPA : Currently 4.0/4.0 (I can maintain around 4.0) - Master of Accountancy at US top 40-50 business school Work Experience : Accounting Department at one of the global companies in Korea for 5 years GMAT : 730 (Q50,V38) No Research experience, but planning on applying for RA at the master program I am currently studying at. Almost No Math background (Business Math at undergraduate: Grade B) No Statistics background, but planning on taking SAS class this winter Letter of Recommendations : Planning on asking 2 from accounting research professors, 1 from accounting lecturer Research Interest : Financial Accounting, Earning Management Target Schools : Around Top 20-50 schools 1. I would like to apply for some schools this year even though I know I am not that competitive right now. Will it be an acceptable idea to apply this year without research experience and math/statistics background? 2. If I apply next year after adding some research experience and statistics background, as mentioned above, will I get more competitive? 3. Please evaluate my profile and feel free to give any suggestion. Thank you very much.

Hi all, I have got my TOEFL scores report: reading: 30 listening: 25 speaking: 23 writing: 28 total: 106 I am wondering if I need to retake a test since my speaking part is kind of lower than the average. And I am worried the total score is not strong enough. Any suggestions? Thanks a million!

I'm a UK-based student, currently doing an MSc and applying for PhDs in econ for Fall 2018. I'm trying to figure out where I should aim to get accepted. Would that potentially be top10, top20, top30 or maybe lower? I'd really appreciate your suggestions. Undergraduate Type of Undergrad: Top 3-5 UK uni for economics and maths Major: Economics and statistics (basically 50/50) GPA: 80% (First-Class honours) Maths: two-semester analysis, one-semester linear algebra, set theory, multivariate calculus (all 1st class honours, top 5% of the class); loads of statistics courses (all of them 1st clas honours). Economics: 12 courses in total, mathematical economics, intermediate level micro, macro and econometrics (almost all 1st class honours). Thesis: (macroeconomics)Top 1 in almost 400 students cohort; received a departamental prize for that Graduate Type of Grad: Oxbridge Major: Statistics GPA: won't be available before I apply for PhD. Courses: loads of advanced mathematical statistics. GRE: 169 Quant Research Experience - Two internships in governments related to macro policy. - Research assistant at a national research institution. I know it might not be enough information to give an accurate evaluation, but I was wondering whether based on that you could make a suggestion how I stand among applications from the US and what sort of range of unis I should apply to. Cheers!

Test score: GMAT 750 Q50 V41 Undergrad GPA: 3.6 Economics (several rigorous courses with A and A-, but some with B and B+. I did lots of jobs and internship during my undergrad, which helped me build experience to select marketing but did affect my grades in courses) Graduate GPA: 3.5 (with A- in quant/strategy courses, but also some Bs and B+ in other courses) Research experience: some class research projects in college (not publishable but presented in school conference) and some research assistantship for a professor with research relevant not too complicated responsibilities. Teaching experience: none Work experience: 3-4 internships in marketing and marketing research, mainly marketing and research for managerial purposes Concentration applying to: Quant or Strategy Marketing (Digital Marketing, Customer Satisfaction, and E-commerce) Number of programs to apply: 15 (+/- 3) programs Interested in: Washington St Louis, Wisconsin-Madison, Houston, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Penn State, Temple, UTDallas, UC Berkeley, Rice, Drexel and some other schools I am still reading about. Questions: Could you let me know if my profile is good for Top 20 and Top 50? Which range should I aim for? Which range can be considered safe for my profile? (as Quant candidates concentrated in top schools, I seriously not consider applying to any schools ranking below 90 in the UTD list) Should I add/reduce schools from the list above (as I am thinking that my schools are quite close to each other in terms of ranking - I just chose schools based on faculty research and haven't decided on Dream, Reach and Safe yet) I haven't contacted any professors at the schools above. Do you think that I should contact them now before submission? My weakness is in research experience. How should I improve it in my applications? Thank you so much!

Hey folks, I just started my applications for PhD in computer security. Please take a look at my profile below and inform me if the universities I am aiming for are a possibility or not. GRE- 335; 167v 168q 5.0w TOEFL- 117; 30 in speaking, reading and listening; 27 in writing BE in IT from Manipal Institute of Technology- 9.47/10, rank 1 of 150 MS in CS from ETH, Zurich- 5.18/6 One paper published; 3 under review. 3 recommendations from ETH; 2 from Manipal- all excellent Universities that I am applying to: Stanford, MIT, UCB, Cornell, CMU, Princeton, Cambridge, Oxford, Toronto, Australian National Uni. Do you think I have a reasonable shot at getting in them? I have been operating under the principle that the last two are 'safe' given my profile, is that a valid assumption? Thanks a lot for your time!

Hi all, I am planning on applying to Finance PhD programs next fall (entry fall 2019) and I hope to use the next year to improve my resume and boost my application. I would highly appreciate any comments/tips/concerns. Here are my stats: Undergrad: BS in Math and Finance at a public state university in the South GPA: about 3.7 (includes classes from math/finance major, spanish minor, and electives) Work Experience: a few internships including one summer at a bulge bracket bank GMAT: 640 At this point I know that the GMAT score is going to hurt me, so I am planning on taking the GRE to see if I perform better. Additionally, I will be working as an RA over the next year (no undergrad research experience) alongside a full-time job (Finance related). I also do some math tutoring, not sure if that's worth mentioning. I hope to learn some coding too (i.e. R, Python) Any thoughts? I'll take any and all positive/negative comments.