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Hi! First of all I am glad that I found this forum while just searching all the random questions that come to my mind in this "decision time" of my life where I am. Those sticky threads (with the FAQs) and all that where really helpful and made me clarify some things. However, I would also like to post my personal question if you don't mind, so I can introduce a bit my doubts and receive your advice. I am a 23 years old Economist from Argentina. I’ve finished this year my Licenciatura (4-year undergrad program) being the 2nd GPA of my class, and I am really passionated about doing research and policy design and evaluation on Poverty issues. I am actually fascinated about the work that Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee do at MIT and J-PAL, and my dream would be to pursue my PhD at MIT having them as professors. I am now looking for a Master in Economics that I guess will make it easier for me with the PhD application. As an undergrad I did a semester at a German University, and liked a lot germany and Europe as well, that’s why I would love to spend my 2 years of Master there. But, as much as I would love to live in a pretty place and enjoy, I don’t want that to erode my PhD chances,. So I am asking for advice about where (country, university, department) in Europe would be the best (or worst) place for studying prior to aplying for the PhD at a top US university. Thanks a lot!!

Dear all, I've just completed a bachelor degree in PPE (Politics, Philosophy, Economics) and I decided to take a year-off in order to best decide what to do the next year. For sure I'll apply to a master degree and atm a MSc in Economics seems to be my first choice. I say this because almost all econ programs offer the chance to gain a very good analytical preparation and data analysis is something that really fascinates me. Besides I would also like to deepen my economic tools, especially in macro/int. econ/industrial econ which I find very interesting, but also explore new fields of the subject. I couldn't find any other course as interesting as some of the Economics programs that I've looked up so far. My perplexities are twofold, namely that I feel like being admitted to one of these programs would be very hard for me, as my GPA is 3.10 (and I'm well aware that it's rather low), but these days I'm also starting to prepare for the GRE test, in order to improve my chances of admission. Moreover, even if I got admitted, I fear that the progrm itself could be very very difficult, especially "mathwise" (as I don't have too strong of a mathematical preparation but I'd be ready to work hard on it) and even though I (think) am very interested in economics and in data analysis, I'm still not so sure if I should consider something else. So guys, what I'm asking you is: do you think I might be a good fit for a MSc in Economics or should I change my plans? What kind of economics programs could I be admitted to with my GPA and a decent GRE score? Any suggestions for some unis? Thanks :)