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Hi everyone, I am a junior planning to applying for graduate econ program of 2020 fall. My undergraduate school is in China, while I spend the whole junior year exchanging in Notre Dame. In China (freshman & sophomore): Overall GPA: 3.2 Main Econ Courses: Micro (A), Macro (B+), Metrics (B+), Game Theory (A), Labor Econ (A) Main Math Courses: Mathematical Analysis I-III ©, Linear Algebra ©, Prob & Stata © Exchange (junior): Overall GPA: 3.91 (last semester) Main Econ Courses: Advanced Micro (A), Public Econ (A-), IO (taking), Health Econ (taking) Main Math Courses: ODE (A), Operation Research (A), Real Analysis (taking), Stochastic Process (taking) Gre (preparing): In recent practice, I could keep Q 167+ My first two years are terrible, especially in math, and I'm sure that they'll have large negative effects. I was wondering if there is any possibility to compensate these drawbacks? (online math courses/gre math sub/undergraduate research?) Basing on my background, my expectation is top50 programs, is that too high? Or it's a better choice to apply some master programs first. Welcome to any suggestions! Thank you :)

Hello everyone! I have received an admission offer from Barcelona GSE for the M.Sc in Macroeconomic policy and financial markets program. The offer is partially funded, so I will have to spend 10000 euros + living expenses (1 year). As an international student, I need to get a clear idea of how would this programme help me in the future, that is, whether an investment worth it or not? Background: I am a Mathematics graduate from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and have worked as a research associate in the economics area at Indian Institute of Management (IIM). Both of these institutes are the best in the country and have an excellent international reputation. Through my work until now, I have garnered an enormous amount of interest in financial markets; I aspire to either work for international development institutions as a financial economist or as a global investment manager in international corporations. The concerns I have in mind are as follows: 1. Non-EU alumni placement information: It is not possible to figure out how non-EU students have fared after graduating from the Barcelona GSE website and resources. As a non-Spanish speaker, I want to know how the opportunities to find a job within the EU after this program are? As another poster @iitiim has mentioned before: "At the end of it, if I have to return to my home country, then I don't think I will be able to get a job that offers any significant raise from what I am currently earning, which basically means I will get no return on the investment." 2. Location of the programme: The programme takes place in the Bellaterra campus, and all other BGSE master's programmes take place in the Ciutadella, how does this affect the living experience (as I see networking one of the essential components)? Thanks for taking the time to read and reply! Cheers, notmyname

Most of the PhD applications are done and now we are just waiting it out. Call it musings of an empty mind, but I was wondering if being an international applicant reduces my chances of getting an admit. Recently I'd come across some US-MBA aspirants who were discussing how the % of international students is falling year on year, after Trump's stringent immigration policies and how universities are refraining from handing our admits to international students. Students applying for MBA and PhD have an entirely different outlook and I understand how some international students would be hesitant in opting for an MBA in the US if they have difficulties in finding work there after their education (to pay off the loans). But are these policies likely to affect the decisions made by the admissions committee, especially when it comes to a PhD program that is funded by the Univ itself? Also, is a PhD applicant likely to be overlooked for funding/tution fee waiver if they are an international applicant? I did my bit of research and couldn't come across anything conclusive regarding whether or not this affects the decision by admissions committee, but maybe someone here can shed some light on this....?

Hello, I'm an international student that wants to achieve a good result on the GRE test. I was thinking about doing this Kaplan course designed for international students called "IGRE". (GRE® Exam Preparation Course | Kaplan International) What do you think? is a good idea or just a waste of time and money?

Dear Forum, I've only been reading quietly up until now, but would love to ask for your help. I'm an international student from an approx top 10 European undergrad business school having done a somewhat unusual program focused around business administration, organizations and society. I'm now headed to one of the UK schools (think: Oxford, Cambridge, LSE) to get a (one-year) masters in sociology. Since I'm simultaneously looking to apply to phd programs (mostly) in organizational behavior or management, some feedback would be highly appreciated. Test scores: GRE Q:164 (87th) V:164 (94th) Undergrad GPA: converts to 3.83/4.00 (top 5%) Graduate GPA: no grades available at the time of application deadlines. Research experience: started out as an editorial assistant for a (barely respectable) journal about 2.5 years ago. Started taking on more research related tasks for the prof/editor over time (mostly data cleaning in the beginning) and am now heavily engaged in research project for which I am going to be a coauthor. We might have the paper handed in somewhere by the time of the applications, but there won't be any results yet. The paper itself is situated in a field I probably would not consider myself to be working with when doing my own research, but it is business research. Going to try to do everything in my power to get another RA position at my master's institutions by the time of the application deadlines. Teaching experience: none Work experience: nothing substantial Concentration Applying to: Management/Organizational Behavior (/Strategy) Number of programs planned to apply to: as many as I can produce high-quality statements for throughout the next months. Probably between 10-15. Dream Schools: MIT, LBS, Berkeley-Haas What made you want to pursue a PhD? - the editorial and research assistant tasks described above, as well as my undergraduate program, in which each year ends on a research paper had my become super interested in the type of work associated with research. I've got to experience the back and forth that research can be quite a bit by now, but I've thoroughly enjoyed it. Questions/concerns? - I barely missed the 90th percentile for quant, which bugs me, since I had reached that during practice sessions. I don't quite have the time to retake it though and couldn't guarantee the same verbal score again, so that probably won't be happening. Given the obscure nature of admissions half of the people I talk to tell me that I should be fine and the other says that without a 90th I'm out. (Since I'm not planning on retaking, this is more of a concern than a question, but as always, any kind of comment will be appreciated. - LORs: I have two strong LORs from my bachelor thesis advisor as well as from the prof I've been doing research with. I am uncertain about the third. I could get one from a professor I've had two classes with (and done well in, but she does not know anything about my research abilities as such), the second professor of my research project (although he does not know me quite as well as the first one and I'm afraid it will just be the same letter twice), or I could try and build a relationship w someone at the UK school and do research for them (but given that there are only two months between meeting and deadlines, I don't know how enthusiastic that one is going to get). Any advice would be much appreciated. - As many might do, I am currently aiming as high as possible (top programs) and would love some feedback on that? Am I aiming too high? How low down the rankings should I go with my applications and how many lower ranks should be mixed in there? I hope that this is enough information for you to give me some feedback on, if not I will happily provide more. Either way, thanks for the help. This forum has truly been insightful (and I should probably check it less often than I do). Anything you can provide me with is going to be highly appreciated.

Hi everyone! Please look at my profile and tell me your thoughts and feedback. As an International student from quite un-kown university and no MS degree, I am still pretty much on the fence about the whole applying to PhD thing. Do you guys think I have a chance at all on this or am I really just delusional? Should I just go find a master degree first from a reputable US or at least top European schools then come back later? Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance! International female student from a Non Popular International University (Though top research one in my country) major : Pharmaceutical Science | GPA: 3.60 GRE : 322 (163Q159V) | TOEFL: 119/120 Research Experience: 2 years (started as senior thesis and now still working on it as research assistant) - the use of protein cytotoxicity on breast cancer cell (including nanoparticle formulation, antibody conjugation, cell cultures, electrophoresis, etc) 1 summer internship in Serbia - examining substance's anti-genotoxic effect on damaged cells (comet assay) 1 short (5 months) independent group research project on in-vivo test of plant extracts One publication under review on international journal (middle author) and one paper still on writing stage (probably won't help any) Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Government research grant - for the group project Uni merit-based scholarship for one academic year Finalist on International chemical product design competition Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 1 Semester TA in lab 1 month RnD Intern at pharmaceutical company Currently research assistant in my undergrad uni I am applying to PhD in these universities: PennState University - Molecular and Cell Biology University of Maryland, College Park - Biological Science Georgetown University - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Florida State University - Cell, Molecular Biology University of Delaware - Biological Science Let me know what you think, thanks!

Hi, as a fourth-year undergraduate student, I am quite anxious of my application for PhD Program on Marketing (CB track). Please help evaluate my competence. My profile stats are as follows. 1. Standardized Tests: GRE: Verbal 164 (94%); Quantitative 168 (95%); Analytical Writing 4 (56%). TOEFL: Reading (29) Listening (30) Speaking (24) Writing (29) Total (112/120) 2. Undergraduate School: Bachelor of Science on Economics; Bachelor of Science on Psychology GPA: (Economics) 3.95/4.00 (top 5%); (Psychology) 4.00/4.00 assessed by WES Tsinghua University, China (Top 2 University in China) Exchange Student on Economics GPA: (Economics) 3.84/4.00 University of Mannheim, Germany 3. Graduate GPA: null, I am currently a fourth-year undergraduate student. 4. Research Experience: a) Independent Research as Term paper for the PhD Course Consumer Behavior Research I: Judgment and Decision-Making. Accepted by SPSP Annual Conference Undergraduate Poster Session. Proceeding as my Honor Thesis. b) Summer Research Assistant at Top10 U.S. Business School for 11 weeks, assisting with one part of Job Market Thesis. Designed Four surveys with data from MTurk. c) Research Assistant on Psychology for one semester. d) Research Assistant on OB for one semester. This research has been published at JAP but I had no authorship as RA. e) Training Editor for Journal of Marketing Science (Leading Scholar Journal in Chinese). 5. Teaching Experience: TA-ed One-Week EMBA Overseas Session at New York City 6. Work Experience: one irrelevant summer internship 7. Concentration Applying to: Consumer Behavior 8. Number of programs planned to apply to: over 20 9. Dream Schools: Any PhD program that gives me an offer. 10. What made you want to pursue a PhD? I simply want to be a professor rather than anything else. Research is inherently fascinating for me while industry is tedious and depressing for me. Questions or concerns you have about your profile? 1. What are my chances of getting into the Top 20 programs? 2. I have learned quite much courses (44 ETC) on economic theories, econometrics, statistics and industrial organization as an exchange student at one of the leading Econ institutions in Germany. But now I am determined on CB research. Do you think these Econ courses (typically for quant track) will destroy my application? 3. If I fail to get enrolled in any Ph.D. program this year, what research master programs on Econ or Psycho do you recommend for me to pursue my academic goal? 4. Do you think it is a better idea to get a Master Degree first if I wish to become a competitive Job Market Candidate in five to seven years? Best Regards and Many Thanks.

If Universities in your country don't do grade inflation, will you still be judge by your GPA? I mean, a GPA of 3,2 is top student in a lot of places around the world, but in US it's average or below. When a university say they want GPA 3.0 or 3.x or higher, are the message just for American students? :shy:

Hi! I'm hoping to get some recommendation about preparing for Econ PhD as a Non-Econ Undergraduate. I'm currently double majoring in Math and Business in Top School in South Korea (Top in Korea but not sure about its international reputation). In business, I mostly took finance courses and in economics, I took Principles of economics, Micro, Macro, Stat for Economics, International Finance. I've got 2 or 3 remaining semesters till the graduation. So my questions are: 1) For remaining semesters what economic courses do you recommend me to take? 2) Considering the circumstances of Universities in Korea, its hard to get strong recommendations as an undergraduate. So I'm actually thinking about first applying for masters in econ in USA schools. Would it help? Or are there better alternatives?

Hi, long time reader and first time poster here. First of all, let me detail my profile a bit: I'm a Venezuelan researcher, and I'm 29 years old. I hold a Bachelors Degree of Industrial Engineering from a mid-tier Venezuelan university (gpa=15/20, 2nd of my class), a Masters Degree in Applied Economics (gpa=19/20, first of my class) and a Doctorate in Economic Sciences from the best private university of my home country (both Masters and Doctorate degrees are from the same school). I have a strong research background, having published several papers throughout my career. Basically, most of my research has been focused on the impact that public policies have on financial markets. However, as time passes, I'm feeling more compelled onto focusing my research on finance. This, aligned with the fact that my country is currently going through an enormous financial crisis, which has affected on a greater scale our academia (researchers with higher degrees here make about 400 $, PER YEAR! :miserable:), has made me consider to pursue a PhD in Finance abroad at a top university. Given this, and assuming that I achieve a good GMAT score (+750, +50Q), would any good university will be willing to accept me on their Finance PhD program? Specially, given the fact that I already have lots of research experience and my research interests are mostly multidisciplinary between Economics and Finance.

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.

Dear all, I'm new to here. But I have a really bad situation here. I'm graduating from college without a job and a school lined up in two weeks. My GMAT is 640 Quan: 47 Ver: 30 AWA: 6 My First GRE is Quan: 760 Verb: 550 My Second GRE is Quan: 780 Verb: 580 GPA first two year of college at Wabash(a top liberal arts program) 2.57(had a bad semester with 3 fs)(econ major) GPA at Kutztown(regional tier1) 3.96(1b, 3withdraws, all else A)(finance and international business double major, an economics minor) Math courses: cal I(passed the entrance given credit), Cal II (A-), Econometrics(B), Linear Algebra(B-) Experience: Supplemental instructor for financial management course Honor Society: FMA and Phi Kappa Phi International student from burma(does it count more for me since not many students from my country apply for phd studies?) Above average recommendations from 2 professor, 1 excellent recommendation Worked during college to finance 100% Internship + on campus work experience 0 academic research except projects in classes. LOVEE economics but heard pay is better for finance professors.... Please comment me on my chances of getting into a top program. If you dont think it's possible any suggestion to improve my application strength?

Dear all, I am a Spanish student and I would like to ask for help since I do not know where I should apply. My profile is the following: LLB Bachelor in Laws, top 20% of my class (top school in Spain) BBA, top 15% of my class (best school in Spain, or second, depending on the ranking) Master of Arts in Economic Integration and Business in a top postgraduate European Institution Mainly my education and grades in Spain are great, but I guess that is harder to perceive when being assessed by an American School. Exchange in Emory Goizueta for one semester, GPA 3.6 (too much partying) and Loyola NOLA (also 3.6) Experience only in law firm (weak point) and as an RA for one year but also in Private Law, so no business-related. Mainly my research is all law-related. Letters of recommendation from a Prof in Finance, a Prof in Econometrics and a Prof. in Law. GMAT score of 710, 5.5. I would like to apply for a PhD in Business, have not decided the field yet but no marketing, no accounting. I would consider Finance and Business Economics but they are very competitive, especially the former. Would you say I have any chance in any top school? Any suggestions, please? I am a bit lost so any help is more than welcome!