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Hi everyone! I am currently preparing my applications for Econ PhD. I have applied three times (18 19 20 fall), and this is probably my last chance. I am quite nervous and not sure if my profile is strong enough to get in good program. I would appreciate any advice. Here is my background: Bachelor: bachelor's degree in economics (mainland of China, top 10), 3.54/4.00 GPA (about B+ or high 2-1) I didn't take any advanced courses in bachelor. One short RA and one TA during my bachelor. Master I: MSc Economics, Barcelona GSE, 7.3/10 (B- maybe?). I did really bad in the first term (and also why after BGSE I have to do another master) master thesis, 7.8. Master II: Master of Statistics and Data Science, KU Leuven, 14/20 (barely distinction), just finished first year, the grade of this semester will come out a few days later, hopefully a bit higher RA: two year part-time RA, full-time during the breaks, coauthorship, drafting. we will submit the paper this fall. LORs: 1. my RA boss (from my bacholer uni, he has good publications) 2. my thesis supervisor (ORSTAT, econometic), 3. to be decided (1) researcher from Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, helped with an environmental econ paper (2) another coauthor of my RA paper (new AP) (3) my BGSE professors GRE: in September pervious: V153+Q166 Work: 6 month trainee at the OECD in development center, half year external consultant. (mostly cleaning data using Stata) Research Interests: labor economics, applied micro (I still want to try other field, and willing to try theory, but maybe not econometric) Applying to: good mres (leading to PhD) programs in Europe, top 20-50 in US (but not quite familiar with US unis) for European uni, I am considering Zurich, Bocconi, TSE M2, KU Leuven, UC Leuven, MGSE, Mannheim, Bonn, if any chance get back to BGSE maybe, CEMFI, SSE, Berline School of Economics I am also considering ANU, Monash, McGill, UT, and UBC. Concerns: low GPA, no advanced math course. the program should provide scholarship (maybe German and American programs outstand) I failed twice applying to PSE, science po, and TSE; once bocconi, warwick, and tilburg. I really don't know where I am and where I can go. I am okay with doing mres and taking QE again if with scholarship, but I cannot afford another master or another RAship. Please tell me if I should lower my expectation (to which level) and save the application fee for any of these schools I mentioned. Many thanks to any advice or comment.

Hello all, hope you all doing allright. I got accepted to Tilburg MSc economics with pre-master condition. I was just wandering that if I could switch to researxh master after I done MSc economics. Or do I have chance to get in research master or Tinbergen after regular master? And does MSc economics in tilburg worth 15000 euro? Thanks for your answers, much appreciated, cheers!

Hello people. I am deciding between applying for a PhD in economics and going for a Masters first, and I've noticed that most of the Masters have higher tuition fees than the PhD programs (actually, the PhD usually don't have). I want to ask you, how easy or probable is to get a scholarship for a Masters? what can you tell from your experience? Comments about all parts of the world and all universities are welcome. I also would like to note that I am a Math major.

I have offers from the following master programs: – MSc in Economics (one year) at LSE, – Master in Economic and Social Sciences (two years) at Bocconi, Which offer should I accept? If you think I should accept X, how much better is that compared to accepting Y? (I only have until Friday 25 July to respond, so I would appreciate any thoughts as soon as possible! :)) Some background about me: – I have done RA work for two years, so I already have two good letters. – I have a fairly weak math background, so I hope to take a master that can signal that my math abilities are strong. – I aim for an academic career with the next step being a PhD in economics either in the US or at a top institution in Europe. Although in case I change my mind, it would be useful to know how these programs are perceived outside of academia as well (especially in policy). – My main research interest is microeconomic theory, especially decision theory and game theory. Thanks! (I posted a similar post at EJMR a couple of days ago. Having looked at some of the threads on the Urch forum, my impression is that answers are of a higher quality here)

Hi everyone, I have an undergraduate degree in Economics from top Canadian university, GPA 2.7/4.0 I am finishing my second undergraduate degree in Computer Science from the middle rank Canadian university, GPA 3.93/4.0, with two research experience from the field of data visualization, two faculty level awards and one national award. No publication. I want to apply for the PhD in quant Marketing in the future, according to my current background, is it a good idea to pursue a Master degree in Economics to enhance my research experience in business related field? Thank you.

Hi everyone! I am new here and impressed at the enthusiastic atmosphere. I have some uncertainties, and I will really appreciate your advice! So I am planning to apply for a PhD in Econ (or business school) this year(2021fall) or the next year(2022spring). I am an international applicant so my undergrad was at an international school in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (hope this implies good programming abilities). Then I enrolled at an Ivy league, same department, and graduated this summer. (By the time I realized I want to pursue the Econ PhD, it was too late and passed the application ddl, so I enrolled in the engineering master program.) My professor suggested me to take another master program before PhD application in related fields. So I took his advice, and got three admission offers. -Cornell: Master of Professional Studies in Applied Statistics One year program, flexible courses selections (many phd Econ courses could be taken), famous faculty, excellent LoRs. But limited research experience, no thesis needed, since it aims to help students find jobs. -Rice: Professional Master's of Computational and Applied Mathematics program One and half year program, ten phd level math courses. But up to three Econ courses can be taken. Also aims to jobs hunting, so no thesis needed, no research experience. -UT Austin: Master of Economics One year program. Some great placements to Econ phd and top B-school. Yet it feels like MA in Econ is not a good option from some old threads. Honestly speaking, I do not know whether math or stat is more wanted, nor which program could better prepare myself for the application. Thank you all! Please stay safe and sound!

Hey everyone! I am applying for a master program that might potential help me transit into econ. I did psychology for my undergraduate but became more and more disenchanted about empirical studies in psych. I understand that it won't be possible for me to get into any prestigious econ program unless I can somehow prove my mathematical abilities with a Master degree. I am wondering if there is any Master program that is willing to take students with weak mathematical background but have strong Econ PhD outcome. I understand these two criteria are conflicting but any feedback will be greatly appreciated. I have been applying for a few applied stats program but I doubt that will be enough for a econ PhD. Type of Undergrad: 2 years in Top 10 University in China and 2 years in Top 15 in UK Undergrad GPA: 3.80/4.00 Type of Grad: BSc Psychology GRE: 169Q - 163V - 4.0W Math Courses: Calc Ⅰ,Ⅱ, Linear Algebra, Probability Theory, Introduction to Statistics, Regression Analysis, Structural Equation Model Computational Courses: C++, Matlab, R Research Experience: field study that estimates effects of different education intervention/polices on academic outcomes; Research Interests: Behav Econ, Labor Econ, Econometrics

Hi, I desperately need your help Profile: Asian Undergraduate Degree: BBA from European Business School (full-year exchange in Eco and Finance) Economics Courses: Macroeconomics for business (in Business School Module) (A+) Microeconomics for business (in Business School Module) (A+) Asian Eco (A+) Industrial Organization (A+) Econometrics (A+) Applied Eco (B+) Applied Econometrics (B+) Intermediate Macroeconomics (A+) Labour Eco (B+) Finance Courses: Finance Principle (A+) Financial Math (A+) Financial Accounting (A+) Financial Management (A+) Mathematics Courses: Statistics (in Business School Module) (A+) Multivariable Calculus (A+) Financial Mathematics (from Math department)(B+) *planning to take Linear Algebra online course… Cumulative GPA: 3.88/4.0 GRE: not yet received the result around V160, Q165-170 W4-4.5 I guess... Research Experience: Non-journal publication about FinTech in uni research centre RA half year about FinTech Professional Experiences (Intern): Congressional offices (6 months) Investment bank trading (2 months) asset management sales (3 months) venture capital sales (3 months) Teaching Experience: No Research Interests: Banking Intermediaries, Alternative Finance broadly Financial Eco, International Fianance Prospective Programs: Master High Reach: Duke Master in Eco, LSE Master in Finance and Economics Reach: Imperial Finance, CEMFI, UCL Finance, LSE Finance, Columbia Finance and Economics Safety: HEC, KCL, my own uni master After master, my ultimate goal is High Reach: INSEAD PhD in Finance, Duke PhD in Finance Reach: Top 30 Uni Finance or Eco Safety: N/A (Go to private sector) My Concerns ・I’m from BBA in Business School, so my transcript is full of non-academic, practical courses ・Severely lacking math classes I am pretty aware that I am far away from normal profile, and quite tough application ahead, but would kindly like to know Around which uni is achievable? Do you have any recommendations for other uni? Because of my lack of academic and math classes, I am planning to apply for master, and then PhD later. But even master, I’m not sure whether I still have any chance of acceptance… Thanks in advance.

I always believe that we can learn something from the helpful forum. So any comment is warmly appreciated! And in fact my profile may seem a little bit weird since I only spend 2 years in my home institution, then during my exchange period in Master 1 international program, which is my junior year, I was admitted into a formal master program (Master 2 ETE program in TSE)and will be granted a master degree in my senior year. Many thanks for your kind patience in advance. Type of Undergrad: Economics & Math, top university in China from 2016 to 2020. Undergrad GPA: 3.9/4.0 Ranking 1/239 (Freshman and Sophomore Year) TOEFL:105 Undergrad Econ Courses: Principles of Microeconomics(A-), Principles of Macroeconomics(A), Intermediate Micro(A), Intermediate Macro(A), Labor Economics(A), Economic issues in contemporary China(A),Economics of Money and Finance(A), Economic History of China(A), Public Finance(A), International Finance(A), Foreign Economic history(A). Math Courses: Mathematical Analysis (I A, II A, III A), Linear Algebra(I A, II A), Probability Theory(A), Statistics(A), Mathematical Programming(B+), Real Variable Function(A-), Mathematical Statistics(A-), Ordinary Differential Equation(A-) Type of Graduate: Master 1 internation track in Toulouse School of Economics Graduate Econ Courses: 1st semester: Markov Chains(18.87), R programming (18), Intermediate Econometrics(14.6), Game Theory(11.3), Macroeconomics(13.7) 2nd semester Ranking 2/ 70+ in master student: Program Evaluation(17.125), Industrial Organization(18.5), Time Series(17.45), Behavioral Economics and Experimental Economics(17.5), Dynamic Optimization(19), Advanced Macroeconomics(17.7), Advanced Microeconomics(16.8) Going to be admitted into Master 2 ETE program Programming: Proficient in R, Stata, Matlab RA in progress: 1. Theoretical Economics, Contract theory and mechanism design (Ecno Prof) 2. Empirical Econometrics, Data Processing and Treatment effect analysis (Ecno Prof) 3. Nonparametric statistics, Mathematical Inferences (Math Prof) Research Experience: 2 final projects paper. Questions: 1. Can I aim at Top 5 in USA 2. How should I bolster my math side of things? 3. Weaknesses in application? 4. How can I make up for my weakness

Hello, everyone. I would like you to share anything regarding UBC master's academic (PhD) placement. I have two offers so far. One is US top 50 PhD program (with 5 year full funding), and the other is UBC master (with TA-ship). In my plan, I will take UBC master of economics and then apply again to US top 30 program or stay at UBC PhD. My concern is whether UBC master program will improve my chance to go to better PhD programs given that my degrees are BA and Master in Commerce (Business). I have already asked those kinds of questions to UBC people, but their answers are ambiguous. Would appreciate it if you told me something about UBC master's placement for PhD programs.

Hi folks, I am recently admitted to the PhD program in Management at Louisianna State U. Will it be worth attending it? Most of its graduates ended up going to teaching schools. Should I reapply after I complete the master program so that I can be more competitive and get into better schools like u of maryland? I applied without a master degree and am admitted to the master program of public administration of State University of New York. The curriculum of this program has a few quant related courses. Would that help with PhD applications? Also, my GMAT score is a bit over 700. Would that be good enough if I want to apply to 2nd tier schools like maryland/umn? If not, how much should I have on GRE? (I am not gonna retake GMAT) Any thoughts? I'd really appreciate your kind help!

Hi folks, I am not sure if it is worth attending LSU's phd program in business, as I am recently admitted to this program. Most of its graduates ended up going to teaching schools. I wonder if I should try to apply to better schools like u of maryland after I finish a master program. I am an international applicant and don't hold a master degree. I also applied to some master programs in public policy/administration, because this kind of program has a few courses related to quant analysis and I think that might help with my PhD application ( I want to focus on macro organizational behavior). I might be able to get the admissions of U of Chicago/indianna u (top 10 programs in public affairs). If so, would that make my application more competitive, if my targets are 2nd tier schools like emory/umn? However, my concern is that even for school like this, some of the graduates's placements might not be as good as I expected, so is it wise to do the master and then reapply ?My GMAT score is just a bit over 700 but I am not gonna retake it. Would it be good enough for 2nd tier schools? The emory's average GMAT score is around 730. If not, how much should I get on GRE? I feel like taking GRE is also a torture, thinking about the vocabulary. Any thoughts on this? I 'd really appreciate your advice!

Hello everybody! I've just found this forum and I'd love to share my profiles and hear comments on it to alleviate the mounting stress before the application. I'm coming from an unknown school, aiming for the top 20, hoping to get admitted since I am afraid that despite the high satisfaction I felt with our undergrad and master courses, I do not find the PhD program to be fulfilling. Here's my info: Undergrad: Economics, statistics and quantitative finance. Unknown school, but by far best in my country and probably in the region. GPA: 10/10 - best student in generation Two masters right after undergrad in parallel: 1st master: Econometrics GPA: 10/10 - best in generation 2nd master: Quantitative finance - in progress GPA: 9.66/10 - best in generation Standardized tests: TOEFL: 116 GRE: 168Q/161V/4.5W (retaking in 10 days - hoping for 170Q, this was without serious preparation) Teaching experience: 3.5 years as TA (Introduction to Econometrics, Econometrics, Time series analysis and an LSE course - Elements of Econometrics E2020) (we have a cooperation with LSE) Research: One year RA on two research projects in applied micro. Two papers on conferences, one received an award for the best paper done by students (coauthor). Done one master thesis - developed a new test of specification for MIDAS, corrected some specifications and did extensive Monte Carlo to bolster my results. Hoped to apply this in my PhD research. Doing the second thesis at the moment. Letters of recommendation: Two from the best professors at my faculty (not that known outside of my country) and one from a famous professor. The first two should be really strong, and one of them is from my current PhD advisor. SoP: Detailed and focused on my research in my first master thesis. Explaining the delay in finishing the second master, since it was done in parallel and I had a huge teaching load - 285 hours taught per year, not counting in the 100 exams I have to proctor and 164 office hours (3 years for master's instead of normal 2) Some undergrad courses: Real analysis, Calculus, Multivariable calculus, Intro to Statistics, Theoretical Statistics, Econometrics, Time series analysis, Multivariate analysis, Financial economics, Operations research. A lot of them proof based. Apart from that standard Micro and Macro undergrad courses. Graduate courses: Panel data analysis, Cross section Econometrics, Applied Time series analysis, Time series analysis, Statistics, Mathematics, Stochastic calculus, Research methods in Economics Others courses: One summer school in econometrics and time series analysis, one in machine learning. Others info: A lot of programing practice on my finance courses in undergrad and masters in Wolfram Mathematica. Awards on the national level for talented students on several occasions. Chosen for the best economics student by the University. Interests: Theoretical econometrics and mixed frequency modelling, specifically. Willing to do anything that is related to econometrics. Planning to apply to: [TABLE] [TR] [TD=class: xl65]Harvard[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]Berkley[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]San Diego[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]Wisconsin Madison[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]Columbia[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]Yale University[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]Princeton University[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]University of Chicago[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]MIT[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]Northwestern[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]NYU[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]Duke[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]University of Pennsylvania[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]Boston University[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]Washington University of St Louis[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]UCL[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]LSE[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]Oxford[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]Cambridge[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]Brown[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: xl65, width: 260]Stanford[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Comments: Afraid that being from an unknown school, my application will be simply overlooked by the admissions committees. Any suggestions are welcome! Thank you!

I am currently seriously considering master of public policy. I know the programs in this field is mostly on practical, job oriented But I just wonder if there is any student got into econ phd for the next step. Cause I got low grades in math so I have very little chance to get directly into econ phd ..or econ master probably. It was more than 10yrs ago for bad grades but still wondering how i could make it up to study econ. Overall gpa is not bad, and I have job experience related to the public policy. Thanks in advance

Hey everybody, I'll start to apply to PhD programs in a few months and I'm looking for your opinion about the schools I intend to apply to - whether I am aiming too high or should diversify more. I will be very grateful for any advice. GRE: 167 Quant, 157 Verbal, 3.5 AWA Undergrad: unknown, but very good Eastern European Uni, Mathematics Major Finance Minor GPA: 3.5 (second in my class) Lots of advanced Maths courses (i.a. Real Analysis 1, 2, 3, 4), intermediate Economics and Finance courses Grad: first year Master in Mathematical Economics in Western Europe (top 50-100 World) second year Research Master at another institution (top 10 World) - starting in the fall first year GPA: 3.95 (A+ in every class except Econometrics (A) and Micro 3 (B+)) Courses: Micro, Macro, Econometrics, Financial Economics, Public Economics, Risk, Money and Finance, Behavioral Economics, Probability, Statistics. Working and Teaching Experience: Internship at a central bank Undergrad tutor Interests: My interests are still quite vague: macro, finance, labor - undergrad thesis was micro (GPA 4.0). LORs: 1. The math professor from my undergrad uni, he did his PhD in Canada, director of studies, knows me very well, it should be very strong. 2. The econ professor from my first year master, he did his PhD in UK, I was very active in his lectures and got the top grade, it should be quite strong. 3. The econ professor from my second year master - TBD. Target Schools: I am thinking of applying to: SSE Stockholm, York, Warwick, UCL, Tilburg, MGSE Munich, VGSE Vienna, UZH Zurich, HEC Lausanne, Bocconi, EUI Florence, PSE Paris, UPF Barcelona, CEMFI Madrid, UAB Barcelona. Concerns: - low GRE AWA (because of that I gave up Cambridge) - low undergrad GPA - the first two LOR not from very known professors - the third LOR should be submitted before I take any exams - undecided about the research proposal

Hi! My name is Dung Le and I’m from Vietnam. I have a desire to pursue a PhD in economics in a top-20 graduate school in the USA, but I feel that, with a background of undergraduate in Vietnam and having no master degree, my dream will not come true. So I’m thinking of taking a master degree in Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) or Paris School in Economics (PSE) as an intermediate step. I have two LoRs, one from a professor at PSE and the other from a professor at TSE, so it is very likely that I will be accepted for admission from TSE and PSE. Please help me with my questions! I heard from one of my friends that TSE and PSE are respected for their theoretical and mathematics-focused teaching style and curriculums. Is this insight correct? Is master degree from TSE or PSE highly recognized in top graduate school in the USA (Chicago, MIT, Stanford, …)? If I study well (top 5 in class) in the Master program from TSE or PSE, is it possible for me to be admitted to top PhD in economics in the USA? Between PSE and TSE, which one is best suited for me if my goal is to be admitted in top PhD in economics in the USA? Below are master programs in these two schools. Public Policy and Development – PSE PPD - Public Policy and Development - Paris School of Economics Analysis and Policy in Economics - PSE APE - Analysis and Policy in Economics - Paris School of Economics Master 1 in Economics (international track) – TSE Master 1 in economics (international track) | TSE Master 1 in Econometrics and Statistics (international track) - TSE Master 1 Econometrics and Statistics (international track) | TSE In Master 1 Econometrics and Statistics (international track), I see that there are apparently two options in which the first one is Decisions Mathematics Path and the second one is Statistics and Applied Econometrics Path. You can find the curriculums of these two paths at Master 1 Econometrics and Statistics (international track) | TSE . Please elaborate on the differences, and pros and cons between these two paths. Thank you so much for your help!

Hi everyone I am interested in doing a Master in Economics in France. Namely, TSE, Ecole Polytechnique/ENSAE and PSE (I have been accepted at the former two schools). Does anyone have any experience at the programs above? I am particularly interested in the following: The quality of training and administration (for example, size, teaching quality and rigour of the program - from posts five years ago, it seems that teaching at TSE was poor... has this changed more recently?) RA/reseach work opportunities available to students Placement into PhD programs (either in the US or other UK/European schools) Any information you could share would be very much appreciated (either directly or second hand). Thank you.

I am a foreign pharmacy graduate, and applying FPGEC. I graduated 4 years Bachelor of Pharmacy and 2 years Master of Pharmacy. Now, NABP is asking me to submit syllabus of my master degree to review my education. Did someone submit syllabus to NABP? My pharmacy school has only simple syllabus document because I received the master degree 8 years ago. I am not sure the type of syllabus would be acceptable. If someone is in the same situation, or experienced similar things, I would like to know what you guys did.

Well, it's about time to make a decision. I'm from Taiwan and we don't have many European PhD or Masters. 90 percent of the faculty are from the US in my department. I browsed the website of the BGSE. Their courses seem good. Advanced courses seem to be a good preparation for further PhD. The teaching faculty is also outstanding in Europe, especially for the connection with the US. The fee seems reasonable compared to the US. (Unfortunately I don't got any waive or scholarship and have some issues with the funding.) Their PhD placement seems competitive as well. Is there any consideration, particularly the negative one that I haven't considered? I also got admission from Tilburg and lately applied for LSE but I guess Barcelona GSE is the by far best for me. I would like to know the PhD foresight for the master degree in BGSE. Thanks.

Hi all, PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Economics and Math double major from USNEWS top 40 liberal arts college Undergrad GPA: 3.85 (class rank somewhere in the top 10%) GRE: Q: 167, V: 168, AW: 4 Math Courses: Calc I-III (A-, A-, A-), Linear Algebra (A-), Principles of Analysis (basically intro to proofs) (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Modern Algebra (A), Mathematical Biology (a lot of ODEs) (A-), Complex Analysis (B+), Real Analysis (Taking this semester), ODE (Taking this semester) Econ Courses: AP Micro/Macro, Environmental Economics (A-), History of Economic Thought (A), Intermediate Micro (A-), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Research Methods (A-), Thesis research course (Taking this semester). Will most likely take Game Theory and some other mathematically focused econ course in my last semester Other Courses: French 201-202 (Taking the sequence this year) - Not sure if this is incredibly important, but I have an interest in development economics so maybe from a pragmatic standpoint? Letters of Recommendation: 1. Top 30 PhD, Full (tenured) professor - Advisor to independent research this summer and to my thesis - Have a feeling this one will be the best 2. Top 20 PhD, Assistant professor (non-tenured), RA'd for him last summer - I'd say it'll be good 3. Top 20 PhD, Full (tenured) professor - Involved in a project with him last summer - made me a coauthor on the book chapter we wrote - He also oversees the summer research program so he's seen me quite a bit Research Experience: 1. 1 summer as an RA for a professor (rec #2) - labor economics, public economics, sports economics 2. 1 semester as an unofficial RA for a professor (rec #2) - behavioral economics 3. 1 summer on an independent research project with rec #1 advising - health economics 4. Honors thesis with rec #1 advising - health economics Other Potentially Relevant Work Experience: 1. 1 year as a grader in the math department (probably will continue this into this year) 2. 1 year as a tutor for econ/math (probably will continue this into this year) Research Interests: Development econ, health econ, public econ In a perfect world, I'd like to integrate all three - like health and developmental policy Planning to Apply to: *All master's programs Cambridge (Gates Cambridge), Toulouse, UBC, CEMFI, Bocconi, Simon Fraser, VU Amsterdam (Fulbright), Queen's, Toronto, Tinbergen, U of Minnesota APEC, Paris School of Economics (Public Policy and Development) Also RA positions Concerns: 1. I'm not entirely sure if I should write off PhD applications completely, but I also don't want to waste time an money if it would be better to just apply in a later cycle once I've had either some research experience or a Master's. Should I apply to PhD programs? And if so, what would be a feasible range? 2. Is it okay to express interest in development econ even though I don't have any research experience directly tied to it? Or is that seen as odd? Any advice you could give is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hey Guys... I would like to ask for your help in picking a European master program. My two offers are LSE MSc Economics and BGSE MSc Economics (with partial tuition waiver). My main goal is to work in global macro development organizations or monetary policy organizations (WB, EBRD, IMF, ECB, BIS, etc). Or to continue to an Econ Ph.D. (maybe at the same school ill do the master), with specialization in macro development/monetary economics/international trade. It seems that both programs have good reputation and faculty for these particular subjects. However, from a brief search on the internet, I got the feeling that the LSE reputation is going down recently (IDEAS ranking placed BGSE above LSE) and also that the LSE invest less in their MSc students (big class and a weak thesis supervision). Of course, the BGSE option is much cheaper, but are both products really similar? is BGSE can place students in jobs such as WB or IMF like LSE? is LSE selective admission process (13% acceptance rate) really worth the money in this case? Thanks for the help!

Urch mates I am doing a master degree in economics now, I would like to ask about Ph.D. offers from my serious situation currently. I have got few offers from graduate schools I applied this cycles. However, for my personal issues, it's hard to admit but I cannot sustain my master study. In this case, my phd offers will be revoked? i.e the offers are conditional on my master degree or just unconditional? Of course, I have a bachelor, but I have no idea what this would be and it's quite sensitive to ask the departments. When I completed the phD applications I filled in the information of my master degree in progress. Is there anyone knows or was in the same boat? What is rule of the thumb?

I'm currently an undergrad at the LSE studying Econ and Phil BSc and I am keen on studying the MSc Econ and Phil at LSE. I've spoken to the relevant admissions people, and I believe it's likely that they will accept me. In particular, I think it's more likely that I get accepted here than for pure economics MScs at LSE and other good universities (UCL, Oxbridge). Moreover, I am also interested in pursuing a PHD after my Masters. I'm slightly worried that not doing a pure economics MSc will reduce the chances of getting into a competitive PHD after my Masters. I believe I can compensate with publications since I'm currently co-authoring some game theory papers with my professors, however, I'm not sure this will be enough. On the other hand being at LSE for my MSc will likely mean that it will be easier to get into the MRes & PHD at the LSE since the relevant professors will get to know me. Secondly, if I decide to do my PHD in the United States, it might be less important for me to have a great Masters degree since most applicants will lack masters degrees anyway. Do these last two considerations make sense, or should I consider doing an MSc in Econ at a slightly less good university? ---- Also, I really do enjoy Econ Phil, because it allows me to study Mathematical logic, set theory, computation and some other great fields.

Hello, everyone, I’d like your opinions and know to which schools should I apply. PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Unknown School at South-America Undergrad GPA: 3.2 Type of Grad 1: Top of my country (GPA: 3.8/4.0) Master in Economics Type of Grad 2: Top-Latinoamerican (GPA: 4.0/4.0) Master in Economic Theory GRE: 152V, 170Q, 3.0AW TOEFL: 102/120 AWMath Courses: Calculus I-IV (B, B, A-, A-); Linear Algebra (B); Real Analysis I (A+); Real Analysis II (A+); Measure Theory (A+). Econ Courses (grad-level): Microeconomic Theory I (A+), Microeconomic Theory II (A-), Game Theory (A+), Macroeconomic Theory I (A+), Macroeconomic Theory II (A+), All Courses of Econometrics (A+) Letters of Recommendation: 1) Full Time Professor and Researcher at Economics Department when I did my second master. Solid letter (Co-authors in a econometric paper). I have been his RA and TA for 1 year and a half. 2) Full Time Professor and Researcher at Economics Department when I did my second master. I have been his RA and TA for 1 year. Solid letter. 3) Full Time Professor and Researcher at Economics Department when I did my second master. I have been his RA for 1 year. Solid letter. Research Experience: A paper with one of my recommenders and I worked as a RA for my 3 recommenders. Teaching Experience: One year and a half as a TA for international economics and macroeconometrics courses. Research Interests: Macroeconomics, Econometrics and Finance. Concerns: 1)Low undergrad GPA and low AW and Verbal scores (GRE). I am mainly concerned about my scores of GRE. Applying to: Yale, Columbia, Berkeley, Princeton, Northwestern, NYU, Chicago, UPenn, UCLA, UCSD, Minnesota, BU, JHU, Wiscosin-Madison, Michigan and Rochester. Please, give me your advices!!! Thank you very much.

Hello, everyone, I’d like your opinions on which schools I should apply for. PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top 70 State University, Top 15 Econ Department, Dual degrees in Math and Econ Undergrad GPA: 3.31 Master in Economics Type of Grad: Top 40 State University, Top 15 Econ Department Grad GPA: 3.71 GRE: 153V, 167Q, 3.0AWMath Courses: Calculus I-III (B, B, A); Linear Algebra and Differential Equations (B+); Intro to Analysis/Proofs (A-); Applied Linear Algebra (B+); Master level Financial Mathematics (C+), Stochastic Process (A), Master level Honors Analysis I(B-, A(retake)), Master level Honors Analysis(B-, B(retake, I know it is a very bad signal..)); Master level Theory of Statistics (A, A-); Econ Courses (grad-level): Master level microeconomic theory (B, C), Master level microeconomic theory(A, at my master's program), Master level macroeconomic theory(AB), master level Econometrics I-III (A, AB, currently taking), Math for Economists(A), PhD level microeconomic theory(currently taking, highly likely to get an A), PhD level macroeconomic theory(currently taking, highly likely to get an A) Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Principles of Micro, Principles of Macro, Int. Micro, Int. Macro, Financial Economics, Economic Development, Money and Banking, International Economics, Advanced Quantitative Analysis of the Macroeconomy, Econometrics. Other Courses: Some CS major courses Letters of Recommendation: 1) Research advisor, tenured AP at the department, Top 5 Econ Ph.D. Solid Letter. 2) Micro theory instructor, AP at the department, Top 5 Econ Ph.D. Solid letter based on course grade. 3) Titled professor at the department, Top 5 Econ Ph.D. Not the best student in his class, but he said my writing sample is impressive. Will be a solid letter. 4) Distinguished Chair of the department, Top 5 Econ Ph.D. My applied econometrics paper advisor. Told me my paper is well-written but not the best among the whole class. 5) Distinguished Chair of the department, Top 5 Econ Ph.D. Supervising my co-authored writing sample with another student in my cohort. Not sure how strong the letter would be. He said it will be based on the final product I submitted to him. Teaching Experience: None Research Interests: Econometric theory, micro theory, macro(Yes I have broad interests in all these of areas) I have a co-authored writing sample on proposing a new estimator of discrete choice dynamic panel data model with fixed effect. It turned out to be not a big deal, but at least it was a very good research experience for me. SOP: Mainly focused on my development of writing sample. Concerns: 1)Low undergrad GPA and low GPA on math courses.. 2) Don't have very strong letters... Other: N\A Applying to: Yale, Caltech, UCLA, UMN, Cornell, BU, BC, PSU, MSU, UC Davis, USC, U of Washington, Iowa State, Rice, UCSC, NCSU, Notre Dame, Stonybrook. Please give me comments on this list.. Do I need to apply more/lower ranked schools? Any help will be appreciated!