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Hi there. As I understood, the cheapest option (1.5k) of Harvard Extension is non credit and you’ll get "pass" or "not pass" grade, not A,B.. So, is the juice worth the squeeze? Or better to take credit-degree one to get a grade?

Incoming PhD applicant here. I would like to ask how would an average undergrad thesis grade affect PhD application? Some additional info/question: I did a masters and scored the highest marks for my master thesis. I believe that the grader gave me an average grade out of spite, and eventually my paper was published in a top non-economics outlet (without my name, even though it is my idea/codes). Should I include this in the SOP?

Hi all, I'm a senior looking to apply to PhD programs this year and am hoping to get a profile evaluation and possibly hear some advice on how to approach the next couple months. PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics at a private U.S. News Top 25 university Cumulative GPA: 3.85+ GRE: 169 Q / 165 V / 5.0 W Math Courses: Calc III (A-), Linear Algebra (A), Intro to Proofs (A), Ordinary Differential Equations (A), Probability and Statistics (A), Real Analysis (IP, but midterms were rough and I'm expecting a B+, hoping for an A- but it seems unlikely) Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (B+), Intermediate Macro (A), Stats for Econ (A), Econometrics (A), Game Theory (A), Monetary Theory (A), Fiscal Policy (B, this was a study abroad class taught in a foreign language, and was not particularly quantitative, but I'm not sure how to indicate that the poor grade does not reflect my abilities the same way my other courses do?), International Macro (IP, expecting an A), PhD Micro I (IP, expecting an A), Thesis Seminar (IP, expecting an A). Letters of Recommendation: 1) Professor whose intermediate-level course I took and worked for briefly. 2) Professor whose upper-level elective course I took last year. 3) Thesis advisor I have fairly good relationships with each of these professors and am expecting their letters to be pretty strong. Research Experience: Worked for about 2-3 months as an RA for a professor before everything got shut down due to the pandemic Completed a summer research internship with a central bank in a developing country Senior honors thesis Teaching Experience: Have worked two semesters a grading assistant for econometrics, if that counts Research Interests: Labor economics, behavioral economics, political economy Programming Skills: Latex, Stata I haven't done a ton with the SOP yet, but will start working more on that this week. My biggest concern at the moment is how a B+ in real analysis will look on my transcript. I feel like I have a good understanding of most of the material that just isn't translating to doing well on the exams and am a bit frustrated with this. I'm also wondering how much an A in PhD Micro might potentially make up for this grade (as well as the grade from intermediate micro)? The other concern I have grade-wise is a B in my study abroad class, which was intended for native-speakers of a language that I am decent (but not fluent) in. The content was not super rigorous mathematically (my only grade was from a paper written in said foreign language, no tests or anything) and thus not reflective of my abilities, but I don't want to waste space in my SOP on something so trivial, so is there any other way for me to provide this context in my applications? I just want to make sure it isn't viewed equivalently to my other courses, since it definitely is not. Any advice would greatly be appreciated. I'm tentatively shooting for top 30 programs. Is this safe, and is top 20 even possible? I have gotten mixed feedback from my professors about how high I should be aiming. I've been told that top 20 is definitely possible, but I'm having trouble believing that, especially if I get that B+ in real analysis. Given my research interests, are there any particular schools you would recommend? Thank you! :) If you need any more info just ask and I'll be happy to reply.

I'm currently taking first year PhD courses at a T30 program as an undergrad; with that said, the grade distribution of PhD Micro 1 is very rough. In my department 15% or less get 4.0's(A) while the majority get 3.0's(B). Do schools take this kind of grade distribution into consideration?

I think I will just drop the issue.

As a PhD applicant, I am working while taking a PhD level course part-time. I am getting a B and I don't have time to improve my grade due to working. The school I am applying to only requires me to include schools that I attended for more than a year, not every single course that I took from any university. The course is a hardcore course with B as average. If I am applying to top 5 programs, would this grade help me or hurt me? My whole profile is here: https://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/161313-profile-evaluation-help-needed-non-traditional-applicant-weak-coursework.html

Type of Undergrad: BA Economics , BS Math from Top 30 Econ school in US Undergrad GPA: >3.90 Grad GPA : N/A GRE: 165V/169Q/ AWA 5 Math Courses: Undergrad: Calc 1/2/3 (all A), Probability Theory (A), Mathematical/ Applied Statistics (both A), Matrix and Linear Algebra (A) , Differential Eq. (A), Partial Diff. Eq. (A) , Stochastic Processes (A), Number Theory (A), Real Analysis (B+) Graduate: Mathematical Statistics I (A), Complex Analysis I (A) Econ Courses: Undergrad: Principles of Micro/Macro (both A) , Intermediate Micro/Macro (both A), IO (A), Econometrics (A), Development Econ. (A), Public Econ (A) Graduate: Econometrics I (A) Research Experience: 2 year full-time RA at a Fed. Part time RA at Public Policy lab in undergrad for 2 years and part-time RA for Econ professor in undergrad for 1 year. LORs : 2 Fed Economists and 1 from Professor who I RA'd for Questions: 1. Which schools to aim for? (Are top 10/15 too high?) 2. Weakness in application? 3. How damaging is the Real Analysis grade?

I took it in the spring semester and am applying to phd prgrams in the fall. How much is this going to hurt me? I was previously targeting T30 schools and hoping for a shot at a T20 school. This fall I have the opportunity to take a graduate probability course and/or a graduate applied linear algebra course. Could a good grade in one of those classes help offset the bad real analysis grade? Thanks for your advice!

Hello, I’m looking into applying to PhD in Economics (think about top 10) and a handful of masters (think Duke's Economics and Computation, NYU's Computational Science etc.) with a GPA of 3.85+ and (170 Q) (160+ V) (5 AWA) in GRE. I graduated from Bangladesh with a BS in Economics. I’m kind of in a pickle for this particular situation. I have numerous amount of mathematics courses in my transcript, including the calculus sequence, linear algebra, analysis, optimization and mathematical statistics and achieved A in one but all of them; the one too didn’t have that bad a grade (think A-). Analysis was offered by the Economics department and had a syllabus similar to that of the course generally taken in the first semester by Economics PhD students. I acquired an A. However, in my second to last semester, I also enrolled in one offered by the Mathematics department, but didn’t achieve that good a grade (think C) as I couldn’t attend the final exam due to illness. I chose not to retake the course and moved on. Both the course and the grade of course is showed in my transcript. Mostly the same goes for couple other courses (Intro to Finance and Intro to Physics) that I took during my earlier days of my undergrad and didn’t do good as I couldn’t attend the final exam of one, and was going through a very rough time during the other (sick mother). I retook only one of them (Physics), but only scored a B+ the following semester as I still hadn’t overcome that tough situation. My questions are how the admission committee will view this and if I should mention the problem illustrated here in my SOP (of course in a more articulate way). As my CGPA probably already reveals, I had As in most of my other courses. The grades of these three courses aren’t counted toward my CGPA since they weren’t required for the program, and I was only exploring.

Dear all, I am studying Economics in Germany and interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in Canada or UK. Considering my weak background, I have been somehow hesitating. I sincerely ask for your help and I would greatly appreciate any advice you may raise here! Profile: Undergrad: 3.05/4.0 --- Not well-known financial college Grad: Currently is around B-/C+, but it is continuously increasing after the first semester, so an overall grade of B/B+ later would be likely --- One of the top German universities in Economics Interest in: Managerial Econ/Organizational behavior/Business Analysis GRE: Q-165 / V-148 (It seems to be expired based on many programs requirement of within 2 years, so I will refresh it) Math Courses: Calculus I&II --- 15ECTS Linear Algebra --- 3ECTS Probability and Statistics --- 4.5ECTS Statistics --- 4.5ECTS Average Grade: 76% Econ Courses: Macroeconomics & Advanced Macroeconomics I --- 13ECTS Microeconomics & Advanced Microeconomics I --- 14.5ECTS Advanced Econometrics --- 10ECTS Applied Time Series --- 8ECTS Labor Market Search --- 6ECTS Development Econ --- 6ECTS Communication --- 6ECTS Management Research --- 6ECTS Average Grade: 73% Next Semester Econ Courses: Compensation --- 6ECTS Topics in Applied Econ --- 10ECTS Mathematical methods for Econ --- 10ECTS Other backgrounds: 1. No research experience, only one short research paper (18 pages) for an optional course with full grade and one research thesis in behavioral econ topics(empirical). 2. References: 1 to 2 out of 3 referees may be strong recommendations (at least my supervisor would). 3. Programming skills: Matlab; Stata. Goal: An okay program with certain scholarship (e.g. tuition waived) or A good program with the self-financed condition and potential scholarship after the first year. Core Questions: Do you think is it possible for me to successfully apply for a PhD program in Canada or UK based on all the conditions mentioned above? IF so, could you please recommend certain universities/programs that you may think is proper for me? I have found I am interested in research very late and I firmly understand my background is weak and not that matching my interest, so till now I am very hesitating to have a try or not, since, if so, I need to re-take my GRE exam and probably also the IELTS and that would disrupt my schedule of taking an internship in the next semester. I HAVE TO DO A TRADE-OFF SO I REALLY NEED YOUR OBJECTIVE ADVICES! Thanks in advance!

Hi, I'm currently a junior in college, and I was wondering how a withdrawal grade on Finance would look on my transcript, assuming that I retake Finance in the future. This course is technically under the business school, not under the economics department. If i don't withdraw, I think I can get a B but I don' think an A is a possibility. Please help. Thank you.

Issue Topic: Universities should require students to take courses only within those fields they are interested in studying. My Response --------------------- If being a student would have been a vocation, it would be tougher than the toughest jobs out there. Expectations from a student run the gamut from being a protean performer who can handle any subject with equanimity to adhering to the strictest disciplines of life. What if in a divine intervention a student was allowed to take the only courses required to excel in the field of study that she -- herself -- opted for? That would surely be beatific, not to mention the grades would surge to new heights. Today in freshman year a student is expected to study a vast array of subjects that has nothing to do with the field of study that she has opted for. A student enrolled in the hopes of making a career out of electrical engineering is supposed to remember what would happen if the pH balance of a its-difficult-to-even-pronounce mixture goes up and how to counteract it; the annals of computer science programming; of how the stoic Brutus was led by the fell Cassius to act against the redoubtable Caesar. As a result: her grade suffers, her confidence plummets, a feat of depression takes over. She would be better off had her university granted a curriculum that delved into the works of Faraday and Tesla instead of Keats and Shakespeare. In addition to the plight and pathos a student has to suffer, the immense pressure of the irrelevant curriculum deteriorates her grades. Even the second year syllabus won't cater to the exact requirements of her vocation -- no, not even the third year. There will always be a subject or two hounding her, determined not to let her study with peace. Thereafter, she will suddenly be facing an awe-inspiring recruiter from an esteemed company who would be asking her questions not from the marginalia of her curriculum but from the very core subjects that she is expected to know having opted for a specialization in that particular field. It is not to say that thousands of students heretofore have not cracked difficult job interviews, notwithstanding the pressure of a superfluous curriculum, but it is certainly difficult and also places an extra amount of stress on the student. Apart from the added stress thrust upon students, they are required to spend an extra year (on an average) in order to complete the course. This is dilatory and frustrating for a student who is eagerly looking forward to either a career in research or an industrial job after passing out. Also, an extra year at a university requires extra fees; not every student can afford that with equal ease and it places a pecuniary burden either directly on the student or on her family. This is infelicitous considering that the student could have completely done without the unnecessary courses and obtained her degree much earlier. Refuting this point of view, one might argue that in absence of a curriculum that offers a wide range of subjects to students, a student would have been unable to glean knowledge from diverse domains. Undoubtedly having an understanding of concepts from different genres help sharpen the research acumen of students and the extra burden helps them to deal with the pressure they have to endure in real life once they leave the comfort of campus life only to step in the treacherous waters of anonymity; but, there could have been other ways and means to accustom students to real life situations and also allowing them to explore different genres. For example, there could be one elective per semester allowing students to choose from a wide pool of subjects that can help them explore areas other than what they are already studying. This way neither is a student forced to accept subjects with an altogether different parlance nor does her grades take a toll. In conclusion, there is nothing more difficult for a student to step into a graduate course and being subjected to a grinding curriculum. They should enjoy the prerogative to study their subjects of choice, study them with passion and work hard towards achieving what they had set out to achieve in the field of education. Extra subjects should not be meted out to them as a punishment but rather should be proffered and students willing to venture into new territories to find that extra edge and flexibility should take them up confidently. This way a perfect balance can be struck and would benefit both the students and the society as a whole.

Hi I'm from an East Asian university and our grading system is on a 4.00 scale. However I realised after randomly stumbling upon a grade conversion post that my university's grading system differs from the general grading system. For example an A is 85%-100%, and a B is 70%-74%. My overall GPA is about 3.40 (75-79%). p/s I haven't done my GRE yet. Thx!

Hello everybody I wrote my essay depending some good book this is my first essay I correct it with office word but I kept the mistakes I need you to grade my next essay ........................................................................................................................................................................ Thequestion is do you agree or disagree with the folloingstatement? Personallyspeaking, I agree that the student mustlike the teacher , that important to learn and benifit fromthe teacher , i will state my reasons First,ifthe student liked his teacher he will love to come to the classevery day that means he will learn very good ,for example I likedEnglish teacher in the primary school , hE was love his class as he told us , and he was the best in the all school ,forthat I was always think about his class when I be in my home andduring the other lessons ,that made me very good in English . Second,as student you will be so interesting to do the homework , ihave story , i remeber some friend was carlessabout his homework when i advise him he was tell me that Heunderstand me but the problem bad with him consequently he hates histeacher and he doesn't want to do the homework ,this clarifysthe importance to good relation and good feeling between the studentand the teacher. lastand not the least , the student will make high degrees in theteacher's subject because he will bemore attractive during the lesson. Tosum up , I agree when the student likes his teacher he will learnmore and more from his teacher , doyou agree with me? begin now and try to respect your teacher andimprove you relation with him . ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. word count 261 and I hope to give me comments and advice If you want I can summarize the information in that book thank you in advance

I was just wondering what the FPGEE passing score is ? How is it graded, and whats the highest grade (not that I'm expected that!!) ?? thanks in advance