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Hi! I am planning on applying for a PhD eventually, but I want to hedge my bets and apply to MA programs too. My math background is strong (4.0 applied math major), but I am missing some classes like Real Analysis, Calc IV, and other advanced, proof-based courses. I would absolutely prefer an MA in economics because stats/pure math does not interest me that much. Right now I plan on applying to Columbia, NYU, and Wisconsin's terminal MA programs. Do you have any other recommendations that could strengthen my PhD application? Thank you!

Hello, I am an international student and have an undergraduate degree in economics from India, a master's degree in economics from UK, and have been working in economics research as a Research associate at an independent think tank for last 3 years. My query is whether it is okay to have my 3 recommendations from professors from my masters only? 1. My undergrad professor will give an average recommendation most probably (it's been a lot of years now since I've graduated + she doesn't herself conduct any research. Only teaches) 2. While I have been working as a researcher, my professional recommendation, although great, would be from non-phds. Any advise is most appreciated. Thank you!

I'm in a situation where I could take a few classes before I apply for a PhD through a non degree program (I finished my undergrad but my background is not strong enough so I'm taking a few extra classes). I try to use these classes to impress one or two good professors so that I can get good recommendations. How do you impress them? Obviously I'll work hard and get As in those classes. However, in addition to that, what else should I do if those classes only have exams but not papers or research projects? Or should I take classes that have research papers and projects as finals, so that I can demonstrate my research abilities and maintain a closer connection?

Hi, I'm new here and am looking to apply to econ PhD programs this coming Fall 2016. My question pertains to the fact that I'm not coming from the typical econ/math double major or major-minor background (profile below). Typically, I've heard advice that two out of the three letters should be coming from your undergrad/grad degree, and usually I've heard something like this: 1. One letter from professor in econ or math, detailing your performance as a student 2. One letter from a thesis advisor or something you were an RA for 3. One letter from a more senior member from where you work (if out of college, like I am) However, because I don't have an econ/math background, I have no relevant research work from that time in my life. My graduate degree is in Applied Economics, but again, not much research there. Most of my research work is coming from my current job, as a Fed RA. Would it be odd or bad if I had two letters from the Fed? One letter I have lined up already: He was my professor in my grad program, now I work with him, and I am currently working on coauthoring a paper (maybe more than one) with him that should hopefully be submitted by the time I apply. I'm thinking of having one from him detailing my research capabilities and another from a more senior staff member who could use their notoriety or senior stature to discuss my work ethic. Is this too out-of-the-box to do? I don't want to appear too different from the standard applicant, which I'm afraid I already very much do. Any advice you could offer on recommendation letters or, from looking at my profile, where I should shoot for ranking-wise would be greatly appreciated. Profile: Undergrad Major: BA International Studies (private, research university, unranked econ PhD program) Undergrad GPA: 3.8 Relevant Honors: Dean's List multiple semesters, graduated Magna cum Laude, does graduating very early count as an honor? Undergrad Math Courses: Calculus I (A), Linear Algebra (B+), Real Analysis (B+) Undergrad Econ Courses: Intermediate Macro/Micro (A,A) Grad: MS in Applied Economics (private, research university, top 25 econ PhD program) Grad GPA: doesn't report, but around 3.5 Grad Math Courses: Math for Economists (A), Statistics (B) Grad Econ Courses: Macro/Micro (A, B+), Econometrics (B), International/Open-Econ Macro (A+), Regional Economics (B) bad format/professor, Macroeconometrics (A), Microeconometrics (B) professor was new, Development Micro (A), Topics in Macro (focused on banking/fin. crises models) (A) Other Courses: International Econ Policy (A), Econ. of Transnational Crime (B+) GRE: verbal and writing are fine, not where I need to be for quant, shooting for 165+ Letters of Recommendation: 1 awesome one from a former professor in my grad program who I now work with and am currently coauthoring a labor paper with, otherwise I have not figured this out (hence my discussion above) Research Experience: Fed RA, thanked in papers, worked on many projects, and am working on coauthoring a paper now Teaching Experience: volunteered to teach financial literacy, not much otherwise Research Interests: Development, Labor, Banking/Financial crises models, Macro issues SOP: Need to address my shift into econ from my undergrad degree, detail outside things I've done to increase my knowledge such as sitting in on PhD Macro class (was unable to actually register), taking free courses through MIT's Open Courseware and trying to learn more about labor search models on my own Other Stuff: Stata, Matlab, SAS, Fame (is this even relevant?), I'd say I have a pretty good understanding of theoretical models which I think is a plus Thanks!

I am an older candidate (10+ years of work experience) and planning to apply to mgmt PhD programs this year. I would like to get some advice on who to get my recommendation letters from. I am planning to apply to a wide range of schools, ranging from top 10 to top 50. I have a hard time thinking about how to get just even one of the three recommendations required from a professor. I have done quite some work in consulting (big three + a well-recognized boutique firm). I have a Master's degree, but it was on policy and it did not require a thesis. My graduate classes involved research papers, but they were qualitative policy research papers and none of the classes were intense research focused. It was also 5+ years ago that I did my MA. The people whom I have worked with could speak a lot about my skills in research and analysis, but such industry/company/customer research and analyses are recognized as different from what is done in PhD programs. None of my bosses had a PhD either. Any thoughts and suggestions? Thanks a lot!

I attend Temple University, and while I've had great experiences with all of them, I have had most of my economics classes taught by graduate students, which leaves me at a loss with letters of recommendation So far I have: 1. An Econ professor (MIT Grad) whom I've worked with extensively on research and departmental stuff; 2. Political Science professor whom I took a public policy analysis class and a research methods course; she was recently head-hunted by Duke to work on environmental econ. However, I'm stuck when it comes to my 3rd. I have a good relationship with a very esteemed professor (twice published in Econometrica), but he wants to do a "You write it, I sign it" deal, and I have *great* trepidation about that. My options are very limited, however. I have two other choices, a professor I took International Trade from who I had a good relationship with, but nothing research oriented. I'm currently in a grad class, but I don't know that I'll really build a relationship with him by December. Ideas? Aside from my letters, I have a pretty strong application. I scored 170V,165Q,5.0AWA, I have a 4.0 GPA, I'm in the Honors Program, I have math minor, several stat classes, and a grad econometric class, and I won a competitive research grant over the summer. I work as an economics, math, and statistics tutor for the university as well. Am I just worrying too much? Thank you to all for any advice you can give!

Hi All, I have just started to actively pursue my PhD dreams. I have gone through this forum in detail and appreciate the honest feedback, comments and advice put forward. I hope you could help out in my pursuit too. About Me: Nationality: India Age: 25 years Post Graduate Diploma in Management - with dual specialization in Marketing and Operations Management; CGPA: 7.38/10 The course is recognized as an equivalent to MBA by Association of Indian Universities. [*]Bachelor of Science (Computer Science); CGPA: 7.28/10 [*]Yet to take GMAT and TOEFL - Have started preparations and planning to take TOEFL in September, GMAT in mid-October. [*]Research Experiences - A couple of decent projects during my Management programme. [*]Active in college level activities One of the winners (came 7th) of a national level marketing competition (Nissan Student Brand Manager). Was a leader in organizing Asia-level round of an International Programming Contest (ACM ICPC) for two consecutive years. Headed students associations and actively led multiple regional and college-level events. [*]Work Experience: 1 year as a Software Developer and 1+ years in Sales and Marketing. Expectations: A career in academics. I hail from a family of academicians and I think it runs in my blood too. Have two very specific areas of research (though nothing is finalised) Comes under PhD Marketing (is around B2B Branding) Not sure if it would come under Marketing or Strategy (is around high tech innovations by SMEs - mostly from a marketing perspective) [*]Initially wanted to do a PhD from India. But after some research, was saddened to find that the best of PhDs are merely MBA+ programmes. Hence is open to any university/country with good research culture and facilities (US, UK, France is my top 3; Scandinavia is another option I am thinking). Concerns: The universities I attended (esp the one for my Management degree) does not have a favourable reputation at international level. My grades are not all that great too. However, I would be in the top 20-25%. Breaking into 700+ in GMAT could be a challenge. To be realistic, I am expecting around 650 - 680. I am good in verbal and is working hard on the quant area. I am not really sure if I should even be targeting the Top 30 institutions. Recommendation letters- It is another challenge all together as only a very few of my professors have PhDs. Neither did I have any close interactions with those that have it. I can barely think of 2 valid recommendation letters! I am planning to start my PhD by fall of 2015. Please advice if I stand any chance and which schools I should be targeting. Also, if I manage to get a high GMAT score (around 720+), do you think I have a chance in schools like Harvard or Wharton? (In that case, I can wait and make it happen). Thanks in advance.

Since the previous threads on laptop recommendations were a bit dated, I wanted to know what the folks on this forum thought about which new laptop to buy. I don't want to get into a discussion of mac vs windows and I am more or less decided on the latter since they are cheaper, but I would like to hear from you on choice of processor and amount of RAM. My work in empirical micro requires me to do programing on MATLAB and work on large datasets on STATA (and maybe even GIS later). What is the difference between the 2nd and 3rd intel processors? Is i7 really required or can one work with an i5? What about dual core vs. quad? Finally, is 6GB memory enough or should I consider at least 8GB and perhaps even 16GB? If you have specific computer models that you would like to recommend that would make my search a lot easier. Thank you! Edit: I should probably mention my 'budget constraint' as well - anything under $1000, preferably.

Hi all, One of my recommenders for Berkeley ARE just told me that the recommendation deadline isn't until 2012. My default assumption was that it was the same as the application deadline, which is today, December 10. I have not been able to verify this on either ARE website or the Berkeley graduate website, nor can I log back into the my application, which has been submitted. Does anyone have any idea? (My letter writer is apparently traveling, which is why this is an issue.) Thanks in advance!

Hi all, I'm currently a research assistant to two economists, and my work has been roughly divided equally between the two of them. I've floated the idea of a jointly signed letter, which at least one of them thinks would be a good idea as well. My reasons for potentially going this route include: 1) I already have two other letters lined up, 2) I've only been at my current job for six months, and consolidating what my two bosses might have to say about me and the work I've done into one letter seems appealing, and 3) it would likely save them both some work. I assume I would only be able to register the letter under one name, but do you think schools would object to a jointly signed letter? Does this make sense as a strategy? Thanks in advance for your help!