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Been awhile since I've been here, but I had amazingly got admittance and joined a PHD a few year back. Unfortunately I left after a year due to many issues including family illness but also issues with some faculty and having my desired research area changed. While I was excited and loved the program I was not fully prepared for what it entailed and when I started getting pushed into a different research area I wasn't in a position to fight or adapt so I left. I did not get close to any professors while there or keep in touch with them sadly since I was so stressed. Quitting the program was ultimately for the best since I was able to help care for my guardian and be with them when they passed 8 months after I left but going back has been on my mind ever since, I want to reapply and try again for a PhD but I'm not sure how to handle the fact that I left one already and also how to get new LORs. I had already struggled the first time and now I'm almost 10 years out of undergrad. I was wondering if I can ask my previous recommenders to be one again or if it would be weird. Also how do I address my leaving in my SOP and is it bad I don't have a rec from my prior program.

Hi there! I am currently finishing up my first round of application deadlines, and I was wondering what y’all think about some of the common requirements. 1) CV/Resume: How long is yours? How much detail do y’all go into? Do you include “unrelated” things like internships not in Econ/finance/data? 2) Statement of Purpose: How do you avoid simply rehashing things on your resume? What have y’all prioritized including? How much do you spend talking about your past (experiences, research, coursework) vs your future (why that program, what you want to focus your research on, career goals)? 3) Personal Statement: For schools requiring another statement, how are y’all using it? Are you using it to discuss something you didn’t have room for in your SOP, something personal about you (I.e. life-changing experience, “light bulb moment”, etc), or something else entirely? Obviously no need to answer all of the questions! I was just curious what your thoughts were about some things I’ve been thinking about throughout this process. Best of luck, everyone!

Hi there! I am currently finishing up my first round of application deadlines, and I was wondering what y’all think about some of the common requirements. 1) CV/Resume: How long is yours? How much detail do y’all go into? Do you include “unrelated” things like internships not in Econ/finance/data? 2) Statement of Purpose: How do you avoid simply rehashing things on your resume? What have y’all prioritized including? How much do you spend talking about your past (experiences, research, coursework) vs your future (why that program, what you want to focus your research on, career goals)? 3) Personal Statement: For schools requiring another statement, how are y’all using it? Are you using it to discuss something you didn’t have room for in your SOP, something personal about you (I.e. life-changing experience, “light bulb moment”, etc), or something else entirely? Obviously no need to answer all of the questions! I was just curious what your thoughts were about some things I’ve been thinking about throughout this process. Best of luck, everyone!

Hi all, Well the time has come and I will be sending masters applications out shortly. I plan on applying to the top Canadian MAs, some back ups and U of T and Westerns MFE programs. Any advice on crafting statement of interest letters will be greatly appreciated, Thanks!

Hi guys! I'm been working on my personal statement for past few weeks. And guess what, when I finally was done with it, word count was 1157 words. I really need to make it shorter. Maybe someone can give me an advice on how to delete about 300 words. I've read in Making Your Business Professional Personal Statement Really Count that I should remove unimportant details wherever they appear. But it feels like a punch in the guts after all the work I've put into it, and I don't know what details are unimportant. They ALL are important to me. :wallbash:Maybe I should start all over again? :upset: Please, help me! :notworthy

I've been heavily involved in financial literacy education and helped start a community loan fund at my university. Should I / How do I work this into my SoP? I'm interested in bounded rationality and development, so these activities sort of connect to my research interests, but will Adcoms care? More generally, what's the best way to talk about non-academic involvement in a statement of purpose?

Question: Does your name go at the top of the statement of purpose like you are writing an article, or at the bottom like a letter? If it goes at the bottom, do you write "Sincerely" or "best regards" or something like that? Thanks for your help. I'm a bit flummoxed by the lack of guidance on SOPs.

I have a question regarding the personal statement. When i'm discussing my research interests and my influences, should I take about faculty and researchers from other schools or do I have to only mention the ones from the school I'm applying to in this particular PS? Thanks

When mentioning why you want to attend University X should you mention a professor you find interesting on their faculty? I've heard this can backfire. Obviously don't say you want to work with their top person when they likely don't advise students as you can look ignorant. What did those of you who made it to grad school do?