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I’ve been active duty military for the better part of 20 years and it’s been more than 15 since I’ve taken math. I started with college algebra for a foundational refresher. I’ve returned to school with the goal of beginning a graduate program in Economics upon reaching military retirement. Not surprisingly, it took some serious studying to get back into a mathematical flow. I fumbled through some topics, but did fine overall. It’s humbling to see the level of math education on this forum. My question is, has anyone here started that low? If so, how easily were you able progress through to advanced calculus, linear algebra, real analysis and beyond? Finally, how many Econ grad students do you see in their 40s, and is age a factor for admissions? Thank you for your insights.

Hello Everyone, I’ve been lucky enough this season to get into great programs. I’ve received an acceptance into all three M.A. Economics programs at top 3 Canadian universities (Queens, UofT, UBC) with 18K in funding. I've also been accepted into LSE MSc Statistics, without any funding. My long term goal is to complete a PhD in Econometrics. I am currently living in Canada, so it would be much easier and affordable for me to continue at a Canadian program. I can still afford LSE with a little debt. My question is whether going to LSE would have significant long term advantages over attending one of the other programs? Are the advantages that LSE offers in terms of a better international reputation worth forgoing a generous scholarship for ?

So I’ve self-studied through an introductory real analysis text (Gaughan) and Baby Rudin Ch 1-8. I’ve not taken a formal real-analysis course in school, but have gotten As in PhD micro I & II (textbook is MWG) and complex analysis. Do you think it would be worth it to take RA 1 in the fall (RA 2 is only offered in Spring) to have it on my transcript, or should I use that time to take different course/research (or is there a way I should leverage my self-study on my SoP)? For context, I’m entering my senior year at an unranked school. EDIT: As tutonic requested, for more context, here's my profile: Type of Undergrad: BA Economics, BS Math from Medium Unranked University (ranked in other disciplines, just not econ). I’m not sure if this counts for anything but 80% of the econ faculty come from Top 30 and 30% from Top 10. Undergrad GPA: 4.0 Grad GPA/Concentration: N/A GRE: Q170 / V168 / AWA 6 Undergrad Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro & Macro, Econometrics, Economics of Networks (As) Math Courses: Honors Multivariable Calculus (A), Introduction to Advanced Math (A), Probability Theory (A), Mathematical Statistics (A), Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A), Complex Analysis (A), Topology (A), [self-studied introductory analysis text & Baby Rudin] Graduate Econ Courses: Econometrics I (A), Micro Theory I & II (A), Mathematics for Economists (A) Programming: Strong working proficiency in R and Python. LORs: 1 from thesis advisor and professor, 1 from PhD class professor, 1 from PhD class professor whom I RA for. Research Experience: By time of applications, will have 2 years RA experience under two professors. Also finished proposal stage of honors undergraduate theory thesis, should take a year (end of senior year) to finish.

I’ve been lurking here for a long time and trying to learn as much about the entire graduate school process as possible. Posts like this, this, and this have been extremely helpful for building an understanding of what a strong application looks like, and many other submissions have helped paint a picture of what research looks like in practice. It lines up with exactly with the type of career I’ve been interested in since I was young, but I never thought I was smart enough for it. After a lot of soul searching and working through a mental issue I’ve committed to getting a doctorate and pursuing a career in research. I’ve made some bad decisions and tripped over some hurdles up until now that have set me back, but here is what I will have at the end of this semester: GPA: 3.1 Math Courses Calc I Calc I Calc II Intro Stats Physics I and II Econ Courses Intro Micro/Macro Intermediate Micro/Macro International Trade Antitrust and Regulation Research Exp: Independent Publication Programming Exp: R, Python (weak) From there, I’m not sure how to proceed. My original plan before now was to join the navy as an officer (hence the phys courses), put in my 5 years, and use military benefits to pay for a masters. My ultimate goal was to work for the FED. That is still an option, and it would certainly be financially better than any of the other options. My concern is that it seems much harder to go back to school after you’ve left. Another thing I could do would be to delay graduation for a year, adding a math minor and finding a Research Assistant position. Delay Graduation Math Courses Calc III Linear Algebra Diff Eq Real Analysis Probability Econ Courses Econometrics Game Theory Behavorial Econ Money and Banking? Grad Courses Research Exp: RA With this, I’m not confident in my ability to get A’s in all those math courses. My university prides itself on having had almost no grade inflation over the last 50 years, and I’m not sure I can compete with the top-flight engineering and CS students for those A’s. I know I need to have a very strong math foundation, and I’m not trying to eliminate rigor from my course load, but I do want to give myself the best chance possible at showing that I’ve turned things around. Getting a bunch of B's doesn't help my GPA or make me look like the type of student a program should admit. Other things I could try would be graduating on schedule and then getting a research assistant position at the FED or NBER, or applying for a terminal master’s program, but it’s unclear to me if I have the background to be competitive for those spots, or if they are the best ways to get into a PhD program. Any advice you could give to help me build an actual plan to get my profile to where it needs to be is greatly appreciated. Also, If you have any tips for networking with professors/asking if they need help that would be beneficial as well. TL;DR: Currently have a weak applicant profile with only a year left of undergrad. I know what courses/experience I should gain to strengthen it, but I don’t know how to deal with a rapidly approaching graduation. Need help deciding where to go from here.