Search the Community

Hi, I am a candidate from India. I have done business administration at both undergraduate and graduate levels specialising in Finance (BBA and MBA). I have also completed two levels of CFA. I am planning on pursuing a PhD in Finance but I do not have sufficient math background. After speaking with several people (past and current PhD students, and Professors) I have come to the conclusion that I need to do a Masters in order to bring my math skills up to scratch. I have gone through a lot of posts and have a fair idea of the kind of quant courses that are required of PhD finance students. Although I have taken courses in Statistics, Econometrics and Probability, I understand that the level at which these courses were conducted is not considered very competitive, especially to do research. I have no college level Calculus at all. So, my question is, which Masters should I pursue? I could not see a lot of MFin courses that taught the kind of math courses that were required of a PhD candidate. Should I go for an MS in Stat or Economics? Are there colleges that offer specialised courses for this very purpose? I saw that TAMU was one. Any information on this would be very helpful. Please keep in mind that I am an International candidate and options like taking courses in the evening at a local US university is probably ruled out because I would need to be enrolled full time in a course to get a student visa. 1) MS in Stat or Economics or anything else? 2) Any university or college that offers specialised courses for people like me? Thanks!

Hi! No one from my family has ever gone abroad for higher education, so I'm quite clueless. I'm looking at all colleges in all countries.. but would prefer US over anything else. Here's my profile - UG - B.A.(hons) Economics from Sri Venkateswara College, DU Current degree- One year Diploma for Graduates in Economics from University of London (Mentored by LSE) UG %- 71.3% GRE- V:160, Q:168, AWA:5 IELTS - 8.5 Written two papers, Would soon be joining a one-month RAship, President of Art Association in College, and of Enactus. Internships - Ministry of Finance, Delhi Govt. & ACDS (an NGO in Delhi) Please please please please evaluate and suggest any safe level and medium level colleges for me.. (safe as in I have more than 60% chances of an acceptance) I'm worried sick as I'm not even able to shortist colleges..

Hey! I am a Math student who has never taken any econ course during under graduation. I developed an interest in economics only after my under grad when I was working on an internship and have since then been studying up a lot on my own. I wish not just to do a Masters in Economics but get into research as well (especially Development Economics). I have done well in most of my Math courses and taken adequate Calculus and Statistics apart form Real Analysis. I have now got an admit into a pretty good 2 year Econ Masters program in India but it specializes mostly in quantitative finance. Given my non- existent academic background in economics, would it be advantageous for me to take up the Masters and then apply for Phd programs in the US? Right now, I can only manage LORs from two of my Math professors and one Econ professor( who got me into the internship). Also, would it be acceptable to finish just a year of the two year Master's ( in order to get courses like graduate level Micro Macro and Econometrics under my belt) and directly start a PhD in the US in Fall 2015? Would really appreciate any input. Thanks in advance!

Reposting this from the Grad Admissions Forum (hoping it gets more responses here - aware this isn't a PhD programme!) Hi, Would be very grateful for help/evaluation on where I stand with the following development-based masters programs and if there are any others I might be suitable applying for? Any general guidance/advice on the whole process is also much appreciated! Looking at applying for: Yale IDE Oxford MSc Economics for Development Cambridge MPhil Economics LSE (unsure - too many degrees to pick from!) Type of Undergrad: Top Bachelors degree in a joint Economics programme (top 3 UK university) Undergad GPA: High 2.1 (Upper Second Class Honors) in first year exams - working towards a first for my final degree but its gonna be tough GRE (Taking this week, this is where I have been scoring in the recent ones): 167Q / 158V Math Courses (grades are roughly converted to US GPA system): Most intense available -Mathematical Methods (comprises Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Probability) etc Econ Courses: Core Macro, Micro, Econometrics, Development Econ (most use grad-level textbooks: Mas-Colell, Gravelle & Rees etc) Letters of Recommendation: Econometrics Prof with a top US PhD and well renowned in his field, Project manager for one of the NGOs I did research with, Accounting prof (less known) Work Experience: Recent experience working as a field associate for a top micro-finance institution in its central African subsidiary, previously interned at J-PAL's major Asian subsidiary, consulted for a local charity helping them solve funding issues following council cuts, most recent summer spent working in top investment bank's mergers & acquisitions division SOP: not yet written - should be standard, stressing my enthusiasm for entrepreneurship/grassroots growth initiatives/microfinance and the academic researcher - practitioner intersection etc Concerns: 2.1 might not cut it, GRE verbal perhaps could be raised? Once again thanks for any help!

Hi all, this is my first post, and I would really appreciate any advice. I just graduated an honours math program from McGill University and I applied to the Econometrics and Mathematical Economics program at LSE. I think my chances are pretty good, as I have a 3.88 GPA, including four courses in real analysis (B- in Analysis 1 in second year, but A's in Honours Analysis 2,3,4 so I'm hoping that will make up for my poor mark early on). I also have many calculus, probability/statistics, and a summer project in stochastic processes. My econ might be lacking a bit, but I have intro micro/macro, intermediate micro (year long course, baby varian), money and banking, and intermediate econometrics (Russel/Davidson econometric theory and methods, taught by Davidson). A's in all of the above, except A- in money and banking. The problem I have is that I'm not 100% sure I want to do a Ph.D., I would rather work for a year or two first. Unfortunately I don't have much in the way of work experience, other than an internship with TD in technology. Is the EME program seen as too theoretical for the industry after? Would I be in trouble without work experience? I wouldn't mind doing an internship after if need be. The kinds of work I'm thinking of would be along the lines of economic consulting, work for a central bank/international institution, or work as an applied econometrician or something in a more technical line of work. Any advice would be greatly appreciated .

Hi all, I'm trying to apply to top Econ PhD programs, and I lacked a math background so I decided to take summer classes at Harvard this summer and I'm at Columbia right now for Quantitative Studies for Finance. Graduated Top 20-30 U.S. Undegrad (Summa Cum Laude) Double Major: Economics/Marketing and concentration in Finance Major GPA:3.90 (Cumulative:3.81) (Econ All A's except 1 B+) Honors: Beta Gamma Sigma (top 10% of business students) Math background: Linear Algebra, Calc III (both A-'s at Harvard), current classes at Columbia: Analysis & Optimization (A/A-), ODE (A/A-), Modern Analysis (A- to B; pretty wide range). GRE: Q160 V158 AW N/A (just took it this past week after midterms; in retrospect, I should've taken it earlier). LOR: I had my professor for three classes and I got two A's and 1B+ and he corresponds with professors at Harvard and the top schools. One particular professor at Harvard said a good recommendation from him would mean a lot. I'm also intending on asking one of the math professors at Columbia to write me one. I'm not sure I'll be able to get into the top programs so I'm thinking about MA programs. Can someone please list some PhD programs/MA programs that are within my grasp? And perhaps a few that are out of my reach so I can see where I stand in my current situation. Should I apply to MAFN at Columbia or Masters of Finance at Princeton as stepping-stones to my PhD? I understand there are numerous threads like this but I haven't been able to find one that is quite similar to mine. I'm hoping that AdCom will see that I'm motivated to do Economics with my post-bacc studies. Thanks in advance.

Hi guys, I am applying for PhD admission for Fall 2012. However, as a backup plan, I also want to apply for some Master programs. I am wondering whether I should apply for a Master program in the same school which I have already applied for PhD admission. For example, I am applying for PhD in Finance, should I apply for Master in Accountancy in the same school? I don't know whether applying for a second program will hurt my chance of being admitted to its PhD program or not. Is the admission committee the same or different for different departments inside the business school...? Some schools specifically says that one applicant cannot apply for more than one program at the same time, but other schools don't mention that. If anybody has any info or experience, please let me know. I really appreciate it. - mufan611

Hey guys, I am in my third year of bachelor studies in Prague, Czech Republic. Currently studying economic theory, quite heavily based on math, statistics, econometrics and all things quantitative. What do I enjoy? I really like stuff related to data, analysis, maths, ... So I was looking for a master in econometrics somewhere in Europe. I do like math a lot, I've taken some extensive courses, but I don't know if I would manage to study a master in mathematical economics, it seems to be pretty tough. What am I looking for? I've always wanted to teach, so I'm looking for 2-year masters with a PhD possibility at the end. So far Tilburg sounds pretty cool, Tinbergen might be hard to get into, have not considered other options yet. My other option is a one-year master, where I'd probably return to the Czech Republic with a cool diploma from abroad. That's why I'd prefer the longer (research) master — I could use the knowledge more and share it a bit. The title says low key, but don't take it too literally. It's just that I've enjoyed attending a uni where I know each other, we hang out all the time, kind of like high school. I don't like it when it's too anonymous. I want it to be a fun but tough experience abroad. Not just something I need to go through to do well in the future. What is my profile? Third year, university in the CEE region, GPA 1.5 (1-4, where 1 is the best), mathematics/statistics/econometrics GPA 1.0, top 10% of the class, GRE quantitative 170 (99 percentile), TOEFL 110/120. Quite a computer science geek, so any inclusion of some light programming is a plus. Where have I applied? I sent an application to Tilburg (1-year master, Econometrics), will be applying to their Research Master program in Econometrics. I was considering U. of Amsterdam (either econometrics or economics — track Behav. Econ and Game Theory). Maastricht looks promising, but their econometrics track is quite finance based, so thinking about Mathematical Economics. I dig Game Theory. I wanted to apply for a school in Britain, but their application forms are so extensive that I gave up midway :-) (Warwick, Cambridge) Another problem with those high-profile British schools is that they often offer only Economics, but I'd like something more specialized. Finance The Netherlands are cool that the tuition is only 1700 euro for students from EEA countries. That + living expenses for a year is something I could afford (with the help from my parents, of course). The two-year programme would probably be feasible only with a full/partial scholarship. So I'm looking for a uni that is significantly better than the current (Charles University), but where there are not a lot of people that study only to obtain a very nice piece of paper (Oxbridge and the likes). And where you don't pay ridiculous amounts just for the tuition (the same unis). It's been overwhelming, so I welcome any tips. Sorry for such an extensive post, got carried away I bit. Thanks a bunch.

I'm in at UC-Denver as well as UNCG ($), while still waiting to hear back from Northeastern. After getting my MA I'd like to work in the public or private sector in labor, health economics or consulting (i.e. - Dept of Labor, Abt Associates or RTI to name a few). Is there a discernible difference between these 3 schools? UC-Denver seems to place marginally better than UNCG and Northeastern, while Northeastern may have a slight brand advantage. However, UNCG seems to be the most generous when it comes to funding. I'm leaning heavily towards UNCG, but wanted to get some other opinions before making my final decision.

Biggest Question: SHOULD I RETAKE THE GRE ?????? I dont have much time, bc im applying for fall 2011. I feel like 750 is absolute minimum for the masters programs im looking at. Any opinions or recs???? PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Flagship state school Undergrad GPA: 4.0/4.3 (Econ 4.2/4.3 Math 4.0/4.3) Type of Grad:NA Grad GPA:NA GRE: 750Q/530V still waiting on AWA probably a 5 Math Courses: Calc I (A) Calc II (A) Statistics (A+) Mathematical Econ. (A) Linear Algebra (B) Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro (B) Mathematical Econ. (A) Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Lots. All A's and A+'s Other Courses: Physics (A-) Quant Anthro (A+) lots of Philosophy (all As and A+s) Letters of Recommendation: 1 very strong (thesis advisor), Phd from UT-Austin 2 other relatively strong (grad math/micro profs neither have Phds from famous schools) Research Experience: RA for 1 year cleaning data using Stata. 6 months working at Econ. Research Institute at my University. Teaching Experience: NA Research Interests: Behavioral, Development.... but havent pinned myself down. SOP: Decent. talked about travelling to latin america which made me want to study development and my research experiences. Concerns: low GRE, lack of math, two B's Other: Applying to: All masters: UBC, TSE (M2), Tufts, Queens, Oxford, Davis ARE Maybe's: LSE (local econ. development) Tinbergen Inst., Vanderbilt GPED, Boston U, USF, Toronto

What are my chances of getting into these schools? PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Mid ranked Liberal Arts College: graduated in 2010 , US Majors: Economics and Mathematics Cumulative GPA: 3.71 Econ Major GPA: 3.83 Math Major GPA: 3.51 GRE: 800Q, 600V, 4.0 AW Math Courses: Calc I,II,III, Discrete, Linear Algebra, Mathematical Structures, Financial Mathematics, Mathematical Statistics I, Mathematical Statistics II, Real Analysis, Research in Math (Mostly A's and B's) Econ Courses: International Economics, Economic Development, IO, Game Theory, Economics of Non profits...the list goes on (Mostly A's) Letters of Recommendation: 2 from Northwestern and 1 from Princeton ( I'm expecting very strong recommendations) Research Experience: Im currently working at a think tank in my home country (not USA) Teaching Experience: TAed Accounting and Managerial Finance SOP: not written yet........ Application list: Oxford MSc in Economics for Development LSE MSc Econ LSE MSc Finance and Economics Cambridge MPhil Econ Yale IDE

Type of Undergrad: BA from flagship state school with top-ten grad program (only in Environmental, the rest isnt even top 50) Undergrad GPA: 4.02/4.4 overall...4.2/4.4 Econ....4.0/4.4 Math Type of Grad: NA Grad GPA: NA GRE: Yet to take.... expecting ~750Q/600V (thats what my practice tests have been) Math Courses: Statistics (A+), Calc I (A), Calc II (A), Linear Algebra (A-), Mathematical Economics (A) Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro (A) Mathmatical Econ (A) Development Econ (A) Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I and II (As) Macro I and II (As) Econometrics I and II (A+ and A) Environmental (A) Latin American Econ (A+) Econ Policy (A) International Finance (A) Other Courses: Letters of Recommendation: 1. Thesis Advisor with Phd from UT-Austin. Very enthusiatic letter. Also took grad course with him. 2. Int'l Finance Prof. Phd from Brown. 3. Grad Micro Prof. Phd from Colorado School of Mines. All know me pretty well, especially 1 and 2. Research Experience: RA for 1 year cleaning big data set. Also working for Economic Research Institute as a survey tech. Teaching Experience: Academic Advisor for 2 years, not sure if that counts. Research Interests: Poverty, Development, Applied Micro SOP: Standard. Should be decent. Concerns: Lack of Math (no RA, Calc 3) Potentially low GRE (im shooting for 800Q, but who knows...these Kaplan CATs might be sandbagging my score) Other: Also worked as the Director of a Non-Profit in Latin America for 1.5 years Applying to: UBC (MA), LSE (Econ and LED), TSE (M2), Vanderbilt (GPED), Tufts (MS), USF (MA), Tinbergen Institute (Phd), Oxford (MA in development). MAYBE's: Berkeley ARE, BostonU, UC Davis ARE Im trying to be as realistic as possible and want to know my chances for these schools. I want to get my masters to work for a year or two and then get my Phd. Also, I would greatly appreciate anyone who knows details about: -LSE's Local Economic Development program -UBC masters placements -Vandys GPED -The quality of USFs masters program I REALLY appreciate ANY feedback here!