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Hello, I am enrolled in a master in economics program, which is not in North America, and applying for PhD in economics program in North America presently. More than three economics professors agreed to be my referees and I have decided to use recommendation letters of different professors for different programs. However, there is a question: for my dream school, which referee should I choose between the following two professors? Might someone be nice to offer me some suggestion? One professor has some connection, because he is affiliated with some economics associations in North America and also had cooperation with researchers in North America. However he said he will write the recommendation only based on my performance in his class. Although I achieved good grades in the class, the information is still limited. Another one is my academic advisor, though he has little connection with departments of economics in North America, he knows me very well and would like to write strong recommendation. Since I know recommendation letters are critical for PhD application, I dare not to randomize between them though I have decided the choice of other two referees. Therefore, would someone be kind to give some advices?

Hello, I am currently in an Economics master programme in Japan, and plan to apply for an Economics PhD programme in US in this autumn. I am targeting at top 30 universities, but I hope I could be admitted by top 20. Since I learnt that math background and recommendation letters are crucial for application, I am wondering whether someone could be kind to give some advice about them? First, math background. There are math courses which I have taken: Advanced Mathematics B I (A) Advanced Mathematics B II (A-) Linear Algebra (A) Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics (A) Statistics (B+) (A is the highest score level, we don’t have A+) And Advanced Mathematics B I & II cover single variable differential and integral calculus, multivariable calculus, ordinary differential equation and basic knowledge of space analytic geometry. However, I know that such kind of math curriculum in US is classified into different courses, like Calculus 1, 2, 3 and Differential Equations. Therefore I am wondering how these two courses will be evaluated during application. Will they be thought of equal as Calculus courses + Differential Equation in US? And I am to take Real Analysis next semester, but I am not sure whether I should also take the following classes: Adv. Calculus I – Vector Calculus Function Theory of a Complex Variable (Complex Analysis) Honors Mathematics B (Group, Orthogonal functions and Fourier series, Riemannian geometry of a surface) Set Theory & Topology Would someone be kind to provide some advice? Second, as to recommendation letters, in my current programme, I know some lecturers and professors graduating from US universities, and these universities are also in my application list. Will recommendation letters from these lecturers and professors be helpful when I apply for universities that they graduated from? Thanks a lot! >

Likely applying to econ Ph.D programs this fall. Likely RA-ing starting this summer for an econ prof at a ~#50 econ program who has connections to top-5 programs. (I have no prior interaction with this professor. No classes.) Two questions: 1. If I do somewhat rigorous RA work for this professor for the summer and fall, can I expect a strong rec letter by December, or is that generally too short a time period? 2. Would it be horribly awkward to bluntly ask, prior to RA-ing, "If I do good work for this time period, is it possible to receive a strong rec letter by December?" (I assume generally yes, but this prof first offered the RA opportunity after asking me, out of the blue during our initial meeting, if I'd be requesting a rec letter from him.)

Hi everyone! Briefly about myself: I am a rising senior at a top15 university in the U.S, double majoring in economics and psychology(GPA 3.93, TOEFL 111, GRE V164+Q170). Originally from China, I transferred from a Chinese university to the US two years ago. I want to pursue a PhD in organizational behavior. Now I have 4 possible references and I am confused about which ones I should choose. I have been thinking this over and over without a final decision. This forum seems to be the best place in the world for me to ask this question! Glad that I found you ;) 1. An OB associate professor in my university. I am doing RA and TA for her starting this August and throughout the year. I am in arts&sciences, which is physically and systematically separated from the B-school. So doing an RA seems to be the best way to get myself exposed to the relevant stuff about OB. My responsibilities would include literature reviews, data coding, and maybe some presentations, etc. The drawback is, since I only made up my mind this spring to go for the OB PhD and started to seek for RAship, this RAship is a bit late - she only got a few months to know me before writing the recommendation. But anyway this reference seems to be the best one. 2. An economist who was my instructor when I was an undergrad researcher in the applied economics instituted in my university. I published a paper on the official website of the institute as the only author, which is the only paper published among the researchers that semester. I worked very hard on the paper. He will be able to elaborate on my ability to gather data, analyze data and write a detailed and precise report. I have impressed him with my precise writing style. BUT the topic of the research is about currency and monetary system, which is related to my economics major but has nothing to do with psychology or OB. 3. A professor who I have taken one class with(and got an A) and will be taking another with the next semester. She is a professor in Industrial and Organizational psychology. Among all the classes I have taken, her courses are closest to, or within, the OB field(the class next semester is called "psychology in the workplace"). I think she would be able to talk about my dedication and participation in class. I also got some advice from her about my application so she knows my enthusiasm in OB. 4. My internship supervisor. He is the director of business development in an infrastructure-related advisory company, and I worked on the data model and project research under his supervision. I made out charts, did macroeconomic research on many countries, and wrote report. I dedicated a lot to the work. It is a small company, though. He will be able to talk about my dedication, enthusiasm and how I suit myself as a foreigner in a U.S. company. He is also impressed with my oral English as a foreigner and my report writing. He volunteered to write a recommendation for me. Any advice on whom I should choose? Thanks in advance!!!

hi there I am a undergraduate student in an east asian country. I just studied at a school in the states for a semester as a study-abroad. (It was like top 50~60 public school.) Although I haven't taken a lot of courses there, there was one econ courses - environmental econ - which I didn't expect to but nailed. I was able to top the class for two exams out of the three. So... is it a good idea to get a LOR from the professor of the course? My concern is that I hadn't interacted with the professor very much. There were one casual conversation and some e-mails. That's all. Another concern is that I am not applying this year. Though I WILL be graduating in a year, but it's customary in my country to apply for phd program while in masters. So I think I will be applying in 2015. On the plus side, I'm pretty sure that the professor of the course is more renowned than the professors at my school. Should I continue to keep in touch with her to ask for a LOR? or just forget about her and concentrate getting LOR from the professor at my school? Thank you in advance haha.

I decide to ask for recommendation letters from Professors. However, I still haven't finish my CV right now. I don't want to be too late in case that miss the application deadline of the PhD program in US. So, could you give me some advice about when should I send professors emails to ask for recommendation letters? What is the latest time for example, mid November? Thank you.:)