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So ultimately I want to take Grad Micro and Statistics while at undergrad and was wondering what math classes I would have to take beforehand in order to be best prepared for those two. Right now I'm planning to take honors sections of Calc III and Linear Algebra but I'm not sure what the rest will entail? Maybe some real analysis? Any abstract algebra? Thanks

I'm a year out of undergrad and am just starting to think about the process of applying for an econ PhD. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and unsure on my chances so I'm hoping to post here to get some advice. A brief profile and questions are below... I graduated with a BA in econ from a small, no-name liberal arts school. 3.7 GPA overall. I haven't taken the GRE yet so no scores there. All A's in my econ classes (including econometrics) besides intermediate micro (B+) and one econ elective (B+ as well). Math courses include calc I & II and stats. A's in all three. I had very close relationships with my econ professors to have solid recommendation letters, however none of them are by any means famous in their field. I have two main questions/concerns. The first...will coming from a school with no reputation hurt? I suppose there's nothing I can do about this now, but just so I'm prepared. Second, I realize I'm lacking quite a bit in math courses. What should I do to supplement this? Should I be looking to get a masters first? If so, in what (I likely won't get into a stats program because of my lack of undergrad math). Should I just take grad level math courses that PhD programs recommend? I definitely want to note that I'm not aiming to get into the Harvards of PhD programs. I love research and data and I think a PhD in this field would set me up for a career I love. Any advice? Thank you so much!

Hi all, I am currently attending Top 10 Econ undergraduate in the U.S. Eventually, my school allows students to take graduate level math courses if students show sufficient mastery of undergraduate mathematics and have certain grade point average. I was originally planning on taking graduate-level math courses such as Measure Theory, Functional Analysis and etc. Then, I noticed that our undergrad math department offers independent study course where students get to choose the topic and take the 1:1 course with a faculty member of their choice. here are my questions: would it be better off learning the grad-level math topics through independent study? (I believe that this can help me adjust the pace of my study and lower the risk of getting a bad grade) or would it be better off taking the actual graduate courses? Would A-s in math courses send a negative signal when I apply to Econ Ph.D?

Hi All, I'm currently a third year at an okay university (~50 US News, lower in Econ) double majoring in Math and Economics. For the math major, I have to take a math modeling class (more of an engineering class than math imho) and PDEs. In the math modeling class I'm doing poorly, and will probably end the semester with a B-, but a B isn't out of the question (neither is a C+ :upset:). I'm obviously trying to bring this up as much as possible, but it's too late to drop the course or take it pass/fail. In PDEs I'm in the B/B+ range, so not horrible but not amazing. Keep in mind that my math department strictly curves even upper level courses to a B- (at least that's what the modeling professor said). These courses aren't the traditional litmus test for success in Econ grad school, but it seems like the conventional wisdom is that if you take any math class, you're expected to do well. My other math grades are: Calc 1-3: AP, A, A Intro Stats with Calculus: A- (Econometrics: A) Linear Algebra: A ODE: A- Math Reasoning (Intro to Proofs): B+ Real Analysis I: A So how much are lower grades in these courses likely to affect my chances at getting into grad-school or getting a position as an RA, assuming all other Econ classes are A's or the occasional A-? The other math courses I'll be taking before graduating are Numerical Analysis, Topology, and potentially Math Logic or something similar.

I'm a senior economics theory and policy major at a small private liberal arts college. My plan for after graduation was to go to Grad school for economics, but I feel as though that's been jeopardized by my recent failure to succeed in calculus II. I haven't received my final grade yet, but I can only imagine it will be in the the range of D+ to C (hopefully C). What should I do now?

Hi everyone, I currently have a Bachelors in Finance and Accounting (no Masters). I have a strong, but informal, math background since my undergraduate degree required literally no math courses from college (I scored 5s on Statistics, Calc 1 & 2 from AP courses, which was sufficient). I don't want to spend money taking math courses I already know/can teach myself. Would most admissions committees accept a math specific GRE to prove my math skills for lack of the formal education (in addition to the general GRE, of course)? Thanks for your help!

Hello everyone! I would like to thank you all for taking a moment to help me. This is my first time on this site, so if a similar thread already exists please point me in the right direction. I have recently graduated from college, having double majored in Business/Finance and Accounting, and I currently work in a financial position. Although I believe my background is useful for an Economics Ph.D., I have not had much of an opportunity to take math courses while in undergrad. I do have Statistics and Calculus 1 & 2 on my college transcript but they were all taken during high school (5s on the AP exams). I believe that I am a strong math student that simply never took math courses in college because it was never required in an already full curriculum. With that said, going forward, I'd really like to explore opportunities in Ph.D. programs. It appears most, if not all, of the top programs require a mathematics background (Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus, Econometrics and Differential Equations). Is it true that I should look towards taking these classes before applying to Ph.D. programs, or will there be a "grace period" to complete these math prerequisites once accepted into a program? In the event I should take the courses before applying, I have been considering enrolling part time at a nearby community college (since it is extremely affordable). Would the fact that I'm fulfilling these requirements at a community college have a negative impact on an application as opposed to spending more money on a school with higher brand equity? Thanks again for all of the responses and help. I am truly appreciative.

Hello-- I am preparing to apply to an Econ PhD. I have taken Calculus I, II, multivariate, differential equations, and linear algebra. (I have also taken statistics and two curses in applied econometrics.) I have time and money for an extra course. I am debating whether to take Real Analysis or Probability Theory. Which one would you recommend I take?

This is my first post, but I've been lurking here for a while. I'm trying to decide whether I should apply straight to PhD programs or get a Masters first. I'm currently out of school and considering taking a few classes to improve my resume. Here's my profile. Undergraduate GPA: 4.0 at a small liberal arts public university; Economics major (4.0), Political Science minor (4.0). GRE: 163V (93rd Percentile; 650 on old scale) 165Q (93rd Percentile; between 790 and 800 on old scale) 4.5 AW (72nd Percentile). Economics Courses (all A's): Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, Industrial Organization, Econometrics, Economic Development, International Monetary Theory, American Economic History, Principles of Micro, Principles of Macro, Freshman/Sophomore Economics Seminar (included research paper), Senior Seminar (included journal style research paper). Statistics Courses (all A's): Statistics (with calculus), Linear Regression and Time Series. Mathematics Courses: Calculus I (AP test in high school), Calculus II (AP test in high school), Matrix Algebra (introductory Linear Algebra) A, Calculus III (taken credit/no credit; would have been a B). Other courses (all A's): (Political Science Minor) Intro to Political Science, American National Government, Comparative Politics (included journal style research paper), International Relations, Political Science Methodology (included journal style research paper), Politics of War (included journal style research paper), Public Policy, (included extensive research paper). Letters of Recommendation: unknown Economics professor, unknown Statistics professor, unknown Political Science professor. Applying to: Mostly mid-level Midwestern schools. Most ambitious will probably be WashU, University of Illinois, and maybe Northwestern. I feel more likely to get into lower ranked programs, though. And as the thread title suggests, I'm also considering getting a terminal masters first. I'm considering taking a few math courses: Differential Equations, an introductory proof-based course, and Real Analysis (which I won't be able to take until the spring before I would start grad school). What other math courses should I consider? I'm also thinking of doing a combined Economics and Applied Mathematics Masters at the University of Missouri. I have the feeling my math and stats courses are not good enough. Thank you in advance for evaluating my profile.

I'm trying to decide which courses to take next fall and the math department in my school is offering courses in Measure Theory and Foundations of Optimization at the graduate level. This is what they'll cover: Measure Theory: Measure and integration: sigma-algebras, measures, outer measures, Borel measures on R, measurable functions, integration of non-negative functions, mode of convergence, product measures, Lebesgue integral on R, decomposition and differentiation of measures, signed measures, the Lebesgue- Radon-Nikodym theorem, differentiation on R, functions of bounded variation spaces, basic theory of Lp spaces and the dual of Lp. Foundations of Optimization: Study of the fundamental theory underlying linear and nonlinear optimization; unconstrained and constrained optimization; first- and second-order optimality conditions for unconstrained optimization; Fritz John and Kuhn-Tucker conditions; fundamental notions of convex sets and convex functions; theory of convex polyhedral; duality; linear programming, quadratic programming. I'm taking grad micro I, grad metrics I, game theory taught by math deparment (calc/proof based) and probability theory, so I'm afraid that taking either one of the above courses would be suicidal. I also have the option of taking both courses, which would be completely crazy. A third option is taking Linear Methods in Operations Research, which should be a much lighter course. It covers:[TABLE=class: PSGROUPBOX, width: 541] [TR] [TD]Introduction to convex sets. Theory of linear programming. Applications to transportation and assignment problems. Introduction to graphs with applications to network problems, including shortest route and maximum flow problems. Introduction to game theory. [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone, I've been on this forum for a short period of time but I can safely say that I've read a fair share of threads on profiles/results and recommendations for applicants. I must say the information I found is incredibly useful and I'd like to take just a second to thank all the people who have posted advice and their profile/result, this helped a lot ! However on a more selfish note, I was wondering if you guys could tell me what you thought of my profile, I'm not posting my current profile but the profile I will have when I graduate from my MSc in Behavioural Economics (U of Nottingham) in september 2013, so a year from now (I'll only start that degree in september of this year). Type of Undergrad: Low ranked (56 out of 69) UK Econ department Undergrad GPA: 3.67/4.0 (equivalent to a high 2:1 in the UK according to I forgot whom) Type of Grad: Top 35 UK Bus School (Business Management) & “World top 52” and “UK top 6” Econ department (Behavioural Economics) (==> thats U of Nottingham) Grad GPA: 3.7 (Business) & and I am hoping 4.0, I know I can achieve it, but worst case scenario, I should still end up with at least a 3.8 equivalent GRE: not taken yet but when I do I'll ensure I score perfectly on Quants Math Courses: Mathematics for Economics (A), Statistics (A), Calculus, Multivariate Calculus, Complex Numbers & Vector Calculus, Real Analysis (A-), Linear Algebra, Dynamic Analysis, Probability Theory, Linear Regression Econ Courses: Intermediate Macro (A), Micro theory, Macro theory, Econometrics, Econ data analysis, Behavioural Econ, Time series econometrics, Adv. Micro (hoping for all A's by the end of the MSc) Other Courses: Business courses in strategy analysis and development, HRM, Marketing and so on, mostly A’s and B’s Letters of Recommendation: PG teachers I guess (Micro, Macro, Metrics) Research Experience: 1 UG and 2 PG theses Teaching Experience: None, since this is not customary in Europe to RA or TA while in UG, too bad Research Interests: behavioural econ, experimental econ & decision theory SOP: really standard, I put the accent on my PG degrees and the math I took, as well as emphasise my interest in behavioural economics/ decision theory Ok so i'll need to clarify some things: 1) Most of the math I took was in high school in France where I studied Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, Probability Theory (Bernoulli distribution, Pascal’s Triangle), Congruence, Bézout’s identity, Euclid’s lemma, Scalar Product and Similarities. I achieved the equivalent to an A-, but it was 6 years ago. And my MSc at Nottingham will offer a pre-sessional math class covering: Univariate Calculus Functions, Differentiation, Integration, Optimisation Linear Algebra Matrix algebra, Inverse, Determinant, Systems of linear equations, Eigenvalues Multivariate Calculus Functions, Differentiation, Opimisation, Constrained optimization, Comparative statics Dynamic Analysis Systems of difference and differential equations, Stability, Dynamic optimization 2) I do plan on scoring a 170 on the GRE, it's quite feasible though not that easy I am aware of this, but I am currently revising to take it in September/October, so plenty of time to ensure a perfect quant score. Also I know I'll be able to get straight A's in my modules at Nottingham, if I don't (which is always possible of course) then I'll just stay there for my PhD, since it might be easier. 3) I am not too confident about asking my professors there about recommendations for a December/January deadline :/ these people will have known me for 3/4 months and unless I majorly suck up to them, I have troubles seeing how they could possibly write outstanding LORs which I know are crucial to the process I do know a few other people who could help, but they are either not econ profs or not very well known, even in their field. Bottom line is I hope I can sell my math high school and pre-sessional grad math as sufficient, and pray for good LORs from my professors, if all this panned out, what would you guys think I should do? Look for work as RA or TA somewhere in the UK or apply for a north american MA perhaps? I realise none of you are really experts per se, but I figure you have seen enough of it to give educated guesses and valuable advice :) Thanks a lot for taking the time to read it and may the force be with all of us -__-

I took not so much MATH classes at my undegrad (Precalculus lol (A+), Intro Analysis I (A), Intro Analysis II (A))...only three, however I test-out most of it (Calc I, II, II, Ordinary Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Multivariate Calculus). So here is my questions: 1) Is it ok that I test out most of my MATH classes at my undegrad instead of taking them during semesters? Meaning I don't have a grade for this class, just credits. 2) How it will affect my university application? 3) Some universities require minimum of four semester of calculus and linear algebra, so does that mean that I needed to take them during semester? Thanks guys!

Hi, I'm a sophomore in one of the Ivy schools, majoring in physics and economics. I am getting a very good grade (3.9/4.0) so far, and I understand I have to try hard even more when I take graduate level courses. However, since I am majoring in physics, I have to take 2-3 physics courses per semester. This leaves me only 2-3 courses of econ/math per semester. I am planning to take analysis and topology (+2 other math courses if I have to) and grad level micro/macro/econometrics. Can you suggest some more courses that would be helpful in PhD admission? Any advice that would be helpful for preparing grad school would also be good.

Hey everyone! I've been combing through these threads for a couple of weeks, but I would still like a little bit of guidance. I'll keep this short, hopefully. I'm a junior Economic and Mathematics double major at a fairly large private university in a big US city, with a decent reputation of its grad business and law schools, but not much beyond that, and there is a lack of substantial research in most areas. My economics advisor has expressed some concern over the reputation (or lack thereof) of my school making admission to a good PhD program difficult. So, I'm wondering if my course choices are alright considering my school. Relevant Courses taken: Honors "States, Markets and Society" (political economy course), Principles and Intermediate Micro, Principles Macro, Calc I-III with Scientific Applications, Mathematical Reasoning and Proofs Somewhat relevant?: Year of bio, two trimesters chemistry, two trimesters physics This term, I'll be taking: Real Analysis I, Multivariable Calculus I, Advanced Microeconomics (grad level) and an Honors Program Junior Requirement course. The rest of Junior Year: Real Analysis II, Multivariable Calculus II, Linear Algebra, [Grad] Research Methods for Policy Analysis I (closest thing to econometrics), Intro to Econometrics... and then Differential Equations or Game Theory or some other math course? I considered Mathematical Economics but apparently it's too low-level in terms of math. Senior year: Full year of 300-level Prob and Statistics, intermediate macro, hopefully [grad] Advanced Macro, and a bunch of other econ and math courses (suggestions, anyone?). Some of the courses that I mentioned as possibilities can definitely be taken senior year, but the question is whether it is better to take them junior year so they're on my apps to PhD programs? Also (what happened to keeping this short?), what else do I need? I'm going to RA for a young, top 5 PhD professor later this year. What kind of stuff should I aim for during the summer between junior and senior year? What about senior year? And I suppose I'll ask this now: Should I apply during my senior year to PhD programs, or wait a year or two while working at the Fed or in economic consulting, etc? I'm dead-set on an Econ PhD, so it's not an issue of 'getting a feel for the "real" world'. It's an issue of building my resume to compensate for the fact that I'm not coming from a well-ranked university (though I love it here), and a not-perfect GPA (darn pre-med sequences!). And I gotta say, though I've only been a creepy lurker, you guys and gals have impressed me with your intelligence, ambition and friendliness. I look forward to being more active here in the future. Thanks in advance for your help!

Help PLEASE! I am currently RAing at a well known but unfortunately less technical institution and going to be applying to econ phd in 2012. I am looking at math courses for the fall and here are my options... Linear Algebra II Real Variables I (graduate level) Description: Theory of measure with applications to analysis. Riemann and Lebesgue integration. Mathematical Stats I (graduate level) Reported by another RA to be poorly taught Math background: Calc I-III (A, A, B+) Intro to Proofs (B+) Differential Equations (A-) Linear Algebra I (A) Real Analysis I (B+) Math Stats I undergrad (A-) I want to go to a top 30 institution if possible...what would they prefer to see? I want to the stats but am concerned about the quality of the course and was thinking that the real variables might help to make up for my B+ in analysis (it is doubtful whether the university will offer Analysis II, well, ever, since not enough people want to take it)