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Hello fellas! First post here. I was wondering on taking these courses, but my time slots are limited. Assuming I would like to concentrate in macro in the future, in order or priority, which ones should I take? Which ones give a better signaling value to admission committees? I was thinking that Time Series might be more useful but always thought that math courses for micro theory give a better signal.

I always appreciate your help and recommendation. profile: Currently a law school faculty at one of Asian university. BA in Econ (Ivy league), MA(Yale IDE), JD, LLM and SJD in the US. Real analysis and math courses taken in distance learning program Field experience in both public and private sectors. Age: 40 (Yes indeed) Published various articles and books including the best peer-reviewed journals in my field. I write many law and economics articles and i think i need further training and economics. The following is my questions. 1. Do you think i am eligible to apply ? Have you seen a crazy person like me before? Would there be any way that i could waive some GRE or other admission requirements? 2. I guess i prefer a part-time PHD since i have a job now. Do you know anything about part time program at Oxford? 3. Do you think i can try top 15 economics PHD in US.? 4. I am sort of aiming Oxford or Cambridge since they require less extensive coursework and time. Do they have qualifying exams? if so, what is the passing rate etc? I would be grateful for your further advice and suggestions.

Hello everyone, I got an offer for an econ-finance 2 year pre-doc starting this fall. I am finishing my master's now from a (very?) good European university with good but not outstanding grades. I have both RA and TA experience and a couple of publications from my time as an RA. I was thinking of applying to Econ PhDs next year and work as predoc/full time RA while applying. I think I would get very good recommendations and like the place and profs, but is it worth waiting two years, considering I already have a master's and RA experience? At the same time I have no other offers so I don't know whether I am confident enough to decline. Any thoughts?

Hi all, Does anyone know how good is a RA at IMF for those interested in getting into top PhD programs? (I know that being an RA at a top10 univ is a better option but it's not available for me at this time). I looked for the PhD placement of former IMF RAs but couldn't find anything. Thanks in advance!

I did an at-home test in September - happy with the result all things considered. Resources Used Manhatttan 5 lb. (Quant Only) (Strongly Recommend) ETS official practice book (Strongly Recommend) Nova Maths Bible (Only use if you've exhausted the other resources) Magoosh (Strongly Recommend). Buying the service a couple of weeks out bumped up my score from about 155V/160Q. Test Day The test itself was a lot longer than I had practiced due to the extra hoops that they make you jump through in securing the testing environment. I spent little time on the AWA section (less than 20 minutes each), as the section isn't relevant for the grad schools I'm applying to. General Advice Start early - I began studying about 3 and a half months out and I needed all of this time. It only came together in the last 2 weeks or so, before that my practice results were around 155V/160Q Emphasize practice - The concepts themselves can be learned through doing questions - I did over 2000 practice questions and didn't spend any time on the 'theory' as such Be organised - this is critical. Mock up spreadsheets to track progress, make sure you allocate enough time to practicing each section and ensure that you can find practice materials easily. Simulate test conditions - This is probably the most important aspect of preparation. Simulate the test conditions as closely as possible (including the time of day you take the test) and take full practice tests (including all sections). I found it difficult in the first few full-length practice tests to remain focused, but improved after the 5th practice test. Plan to take the test multiple times - Even if you ace the first test (which I was lucky enough to do) make sure you have enough time to take another before applications are due. I planned (and booked) another test before taking my first test, which relieved some of the pressure. Hopefully the above helps. Remember that the GRE is a specific test and needs to be prepared for as a test. The test itself has its own quirks are requires tailored preparation. The topics and questions themselves are not difficult in a vacuum, but the test itself is due to the way it is structured. Best of luck! Happy to answer questions.

I am planning to take an Accounting PhD soon and am curious about alternative careers just in case the academic job market dries up by the time I finish my PhD in 6 to 7 years time. I am not expecting to land at a top-ranked uni and will probably study in the lower-ranked schools (maybe top 50 to 100). For Business PhD graduates not just in accounting but also in finance, marketing, OB, and others, do industry firms generally stay away from them? What types of industry roles are suitable for PhD graduates given the skills they get in gradschool? For example and to be more specific, can business PhD graduates ride the current big data and machine learning trend and work as a data scientist?

Hello! Would you (particularly those of you who are in adcoms) say that it is inadvisable to delve too much into then ongoing graduate level math papers at the time of application and when writing the statement of purpose to enter an Econ PhD program? I know that math is seen as a good thing generally, but don't know if then ongoing graduate level math papers (in topology) might be viewed as a misappropriation of time? There will be, however, at the time of application two writing samples of completed graduate level economics manuscripts (both relevant to the strengths of the school of interest and its faculty). I just don't know if I should divulge that I'm working on math papers at the time or just not mention it (they'll see "Directed Research" on my transcript). Thank you...

I took the GRE a while ago when the now outdated method of scoring was in use. I scored a 1410. My GRE has since expired and I need to take it again. Additionally, I need scholarships. I'm broke. I have a crummy job, and there is no way I can go back to school without crushing the GRE again... hopefully better than I did the first time. I'm a little worried that if I study and spend all of that time I can't earn a better score. I have been busy, haven't read a book since college... I'm worried that I've been dumbed-down and that I should just avoid this all together. Any insights?

Hi All, Bit of a long post thanks to anyone who reads. I am seeking advice on how to spend a year between my MBA program and grad school. Before I begin here's where I am at: Undergrad school: McDaniel College (2009-2013) Undergrad program: Computer Science, minor in Mathematics Undergrad GPA: 2.99 :( Graduate School: unranked business school at University of Baltimore (2015-2020) Graduate Program: MBA Graduate GPA: 3.9 GMAT: Not within past 5 years. Research History: I am working with my advisor in my program to design a research topic in the fall. Hoping to nail down what the topic is by the end of next week. I anticipate it will be a study of how disruptive innovation has affected the landscape of a particular cloud based system, and I hope to draw conclusions about how companies are handling disruptive innovation in modern times based off my findings. This will be for academic credit, but I hope to create something that is capable of being published. Teaching experience: None. My Spiel (feel free to skip to questions below): Although it was always in the back of my mind, I never really anticipated on getting into academics. I currently serve as an assistant CTO for medium sized MSP/MSSP my family runs. Up until about a year ago I had full intention to take over the company when my dad retires. Currently, I manage a small team ,and I work directly with our clients to help them determine which technologies to implement in their businesses. After some soul searching and a few trips to an occupational therapist, I have decided some of my proudest achievements and relationships were academically based, and I am deeply interested in pursuing this further. Unfortunately, I don't feel like my academic resume matches my enthusiasm for it currently. I was very blessed to have gotten a taste of what it was like to be part of an academic cohort in my undergrad, but my GPA definitely does not reflect that because the first half of my undergrad was spent partying. After undergrad, I started working immediately for my folks. Around 3 years in to work, I started my MBA program at UBalt. I did not apply to any other programs because I could walk to that school from my house, and I was mostly pursuing the degree for a piece of paper, and I had a tremendous amount of pressure to pursue technical certifications which I have never particularly enjoyed. The MBA program was a good excuse to avoid those. Fast forward to today, and I have fallen in love with the study of digital innovation. With COVID19 having us all working from home, a lot of my daily tasks at work have been mitigated. I have used my spare time to take a deep dive into digital innovation as an academic study, and I have read 50+ academic publications since the start of COVID19 on the topic. I have been jotting down my takeaways on the ones that seem most relevant to the paper I want to write in the fall. I am gearing up to apply to PhD programs. I am graduating from UBalt in the fall, but I will not be applying for programs December 2021. I need to take a year off because my Fiancé is stuck at the hospital where she works her until then, and her presence is vital to my success in any program I am in! So until then I am stuck in Maryland. I am faced with the decision of how to spend that year. I have been transparent with my folks about my decision to leave the company. I do have the option to work part time and use the remaining time for academic pursuits. I really love technology, and I am really grateful my career gave me the option to work closely with CEOs and implement some really cool projects, but I am excited to be able to analyze how businesses use technology in a different lens. Additionally, I am excited to be part of an academic community again. My MBA program has been at night, and it has not quiet scratched my academic itch that I got a taste of in my undergrad. My Questions: Anyway, if you all had a year to kill between grad school and PhD, what would you do? I think I want to spend it doing part time research, but I am not sure if that is better than being a full time research assistant. The finances will work out to be similar on my end, as part time at my current job is comparable to full time as a research assistant. Perhaps I could do both and work as a research assistant for half the year? How would you prep for the GMAT if you had to do it again? What courses would you take on it? What programs would you recommend me look into? I really want to study the way companies handle digital innovation is evolving, but I haven't dived in quite deep enough to find what programs are a fit for me. I don't think my academic resume is that great so telling me I won't get into a top ten school won't hurt my feelings. Finally, I don't have any formal teaching experience. Is that a big deal? Is it a good use of my time to change that? I think I would love sharing ideas with students, but I have not tested that theory.

Just wrote this article: You can be sure that a few months from now, when high school seniors are writing their college applications, everybody, their brother, and their dog will be writing about COVID-19. It’s just going to be unavoidable. Many of you are a little young to remember this, but after 9/11 something similar happened—everybody wrote something about how the attacks affected them (even if in truth fortunately the worst many of us endured was some level of uncertainty or longer waits at the airport). This time is different. Half the planet is under orders to shelter in place. We are united in a way that has not happened in our lifetimes, and we are, for the first time in history, able to communicate in real time with almost every other part of the globe. I personally have friends in China, Brasil, Africa, and Europe that I’m chatting with daily about quarantining. I’m sure you have similar stories. Of course, the admissions committees will be aware that there is now the ‘easy, obvious’ topic to write about and many will likely craft new prompts to ask you specifically about your unique experience in a way that suits college applicants. So, now is the time to get busy. Think about what you can do for yourself, for your community, and for the world. But also think a few months ahead about what you’ll be writing about for your college applications. I’m sure you have some great ideas yourself, and I’d love to hear them. I have a few ideas that I would like to share (and perhaps you’re already doing one or more), with a couple of other ideas that may inspire you as well. 1. Keep a journal You may be doing this already, as I know a lot of teachers are requiring their students to keep a journal. I agree with them—this is a historic time, and you’ll want to look back on it some years down the road. I would also suggest recording short videos and taking photos as well; you may want to turn this into a project of sorts, and having various media on hand will help. But at the very least, write down a few sentences every day to record what you did and how you felt. Take a couple of pictures or videos of life at home, six people in the kitchen, your no-haircut hair, your freezer stuffed with food. 2. Set up an accountability/study group If you’re like most of the kids I know or work with (even my own children), then you’re seeing this situation as a kind of extended spring break and are enjoying your time off, maybe sleeping later than usual and watching a lot of Netflix. But you’ll admit that you’re starting to feel just a tad bored. Unfortunately, this is the human condition—we don’t like working so much as having worked, and we often need an outside motivator to keep us working. This is perfectly normal. Don’t beat yourself up over it. But if you truly want to set yourself apart, now is the time to be the kind of person you know you can be. This is your chance; there’s no better opportunity. You’ve got the time, and you have more freedom to make choices than you’ve probably had in your entire life. And you also know that developing your mind is a lifelong pursuit, but one that is especially important to engage in now at your age—learning a lot as a young person is developmentally more important in your early years than it is in later years since your brain is still maturing and is able to take in information in qualitatively different ways now than it will when you’re, say, 60 years old. Disclaimer: Learning is always important. It’s never not important. In fact, learning as an adult can slow down certain kinds of aging and help retain brain function. But young people who don’t get certain kinds of information at certain stages of their development have trouble catching up, and some may never catch up. Finally, if you’re the type that’s aiming for top schools, then you’re also the type who’s a self-starter, someone who does the hard stuff because you enjoy it or like the challenge, not because you have to. If your teacher recommends reading an article, you do it. You take detailed notes in class, highlight with yellow, pink, blue, and green, and review your notes later. You ask at least several questions in every class, not to kiss up, but because you really want to know. If that’s you, then you’ve probably already figured out some kind of study schedule. If it’s not you, but you’re becoming that person, here’s your chance to inch towards your goal. So find a group of friends from school. Set goals for yourselves, set times to meet, and check in on each other. You can even set a time to set daily expectations. ‘Yo Adrian, let’s set up a Zoom meeting for every morning at 9:30 AM to check in on each other. We’ll have a stand-up and announce to everybody what we’re going to get done for the day.’ Maybe even create a Google spreadsheet to write down your assignments and goals with due dates. You will thank yourself if you do this. Your grades will thank you. And your teachers will appreciate not having to manage you as well. And on that note, another way to stay busy while helping others coming right up. 3. Offer to help a teacher You may find this hard to believe, but many teachers are feeling a little overwhelmed right now. For years, they’ve been teaching in one way, and then almost literally overnight, they’ve been told that they need to change virtually everything they do in just a few days. It’s like coming home to your house, and suddenly, you’re living in a tent while you’re rebuilding your new house in a different country. Everything is different. I know some teachers are working 12-15 hour days right now just to adapt to this new learning scenario. If you feel comfortable doing so, you could approach a teacher and ask if there’s any way you could help. Most likely, the teacher will politely decline and say that she, he, or they is happy if you just keep up with the work assigned, but maybe if you offer to help by setting up study groups to keep all students on track, your teacher will be thankful. 4. Give back/help someone else So much of our lives is consumed by our own desires that we often forget that others have desires just as powerful and real as our own. You may not think so, but someone out there could really benefit from some help from you specifically, from someone to talk about random life stuff to going over some difficult concepts in Pre-Calc. Yes, you. You can make a difference. Put yourself out there and offer to help. Perhaps even get involved with some local tutoring organizations, from your library to community centers to other organizations that are popping up to help others. 5. Make masks Here’s an easy one! Our President has recommended that we all wear masks when we go out in public. I think this is a great idea, and wearing a mask shows others that you’re taking this situation seriously; by wearing a mask, you’re functioning as a role model. Maybe someone somewhere will see you wearing your mask and think, ‘Hey, if she’s doing it, so will I.’ And that person could also inspire another person! So a lot of people are asking where they can get masks, while others are stepping up to make them for others to give away. It’s probably just a matter of time before people in the US use masks to make fashion statements, to distinguish themselves, or to promote their club or brand (because if you don’t have your own brand, you aren’t playing the game!), so this is a good time to get in on the ground floor if that’s your thing. Here’s a good resource to start with: Use Cloth Face Coverings to Help Slow Spread | CDC And you never know, you may save a life! (For real.) 6. Reinvent yourself Finally, this is your chance to ‘reinvent’ yourself. If you’ve had something in the back of your mind that you thought you could accomplish, now’s the time to start working towards it. I have a friend who, at the very beginning of the COVID-19 spread in the US, lost her job as a direct result of business shutdowns. Not a week later, she and her longtime boyfriend broke up (not unexpected, but still). With no job, and no boyfriend, instead of sinking into the pits of dark despair and self-pity, she has decided to throw herself into remaking herself to be better than she ever was. She is taking online courses in her interests, meditating, keeping a journal, and exercising at home. So, think about setting some goals for yourself. Here are some examples to get you started. Write out the following somewhere: When COVID-19 ends, I will have: Completed six chapters of Learn Python the Hard Way. (Link: Learn Python the Hard Way) Memorized 60 Chinese characters. (Hint: Look into Anki, which uses spaced repetition, to maximize memorization: Anki - powerful, intelligent flashcards) Done three sets of 20 burpees every day + a daily bodyweight routine. (Link: kb/recommended_routine - bodyweightfitness) Helped a friend, relative, or fellow student at least once a day. Again, these are just some ideas to get you thinking. Surely you have your own ideas of what to learn or improve, from knitting to baking to Spanish to Arduino. Final thoughts These are historic times; what you do now will shape you forever. You have a (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime chance to make something of yourself, to be a new you. And more pragmatically, if you’re applying to college in the next year or two, you may very well need to write about what you’re doing right now.

It's that time again! Institution: Program: Decision: Funding: Date: Notified through: Comments: For funding, please report the type of funding, tuition waiver, stipend, time period, and work duties. You can list actual stipends in dollars or use the following rough guides - anything around $15k is one "$", anything over $20k is "$$", anything closer to $30k is "$$$." Example; Institution: Podunk State University Program: Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition waiver + 4 years stipend ($$), first year no TA responsibilities. Date: 2/13/2020 Notified through: Phone call from DGS Comments: Podunk State has always been my dream school! Woohoo! NOTE: Absolutely no "comments" allowed. If you have a question for someone PM them. If you think it would be of interest to the community, start a thread.

Is it a very formal event?

Hey guys, I was wondering do universities usually send accepted/rejected/waitlisted notifications around the same time, or do they send rejections at the end (like around April)

Hello All, I am interested in part-time phd economics programs in the USA. Though I am more interested in programs around DC, Virginia and Maryland am open country wide. I would appreciate if people shared the part time programs they know of given that I didn't get a good result on google search. Thanks

Hello all and thanks in advance: Test Scores (GMAT/GRE): 160Q 157V Undegrad GPA: 3.25 (Thesis on financial ratio analys of companies in the stock market, Actuarial Science) Graduate GPA: 3.8 (The written project was not mandatory and it is barely thorough, becauseI did an MBA) Research Experience: 2 years as research assistant (regressions, Strectural equation modeling, time series) Teaching Experience: 3 years (Quantitive Tools (MBA level), Decision Analysis (MBA level) and in January 2020 Mathematical Finance II (for actuaries and finance, undergrads) Work Experience: 4 years, bank, insurance and consulting in finance Concentration Applying to: Finance Number of programs planned to apply to: 7 (Would you recommend more?) Dream Schools: Stockholm, Vienna, Essex, Washington, Bocconi, Bath Other Questions: What made you want to pursue a PhD? Since I started teaching I was at the same time hired for research assistant and throughout the first year I really enjoy it a lot, which make me start pursuing the Ph.D. Last year I did apply but got no luck, the "tier" of schools I selected were Tier 1. Questions or concerns you have about your profile? I am worried that I am 30yo, although people have told me there is no problem about that I am from a country that doesn't promote research, so I have tried these past 2 years to compensate it, ideally I would start helping a professor with a paper (but there is no definite time, which is why I am not putting it as an experience) and if we started it, it might be too soon to even put it as Work in Progress. Still I have been assisting PhD candidates on their research analysis. I am doubting about my GRE in regards to Finance, a professor that comes from top tier schools told me it would be too low to even pass the first filter and that I should apply to the area of Management and maybe later move to Finance (got me a little down :upset: ) Since it is my second time applying I am looking at schools that: I would really like to go, that I do in theory have the qualifications to be accepted (based on their websites about no GRE min, and if they have I am in their range) I am working strongly in my SOP and in an attractive Research Proposal (for the European schools). I am looking to work on a more empirical result, I do know that my strength is not necessarily in the theory, but more in the practical research, which is what I have done. Any additional specific questions you may have: I would like to know your opinion or if maybe I should restructure my approach.

Ok, so I finished my TOEFL some time ago now, but I just discovered this forum today. I prepared for about a week or two, with "cracking the TOEFL" which I did not find helpful at all - the tasks in there are much more difficult than what the TOEFL asks. You don't need to understand any texts, or interpret them, or rewrite sentences, or invent new paragraphs. Nothing like that. You don't need to tell engaging stories, at no point in the test. You also don't need to entertain your tester, nor sound overly natural and believable. What helped me most was using the practise exams online, and watching some videos / reading about other people's experiences. So what I really needed to practise was speaking quickly without thinking. SOmewhere I found a template that was something like 1) summary of question/problem 2) state your opinion/solution 3) give three reasons/arguments 4) summarize your suggestions and how they relate to the problem/question Not sure if that is actually required, but it helped me to feel confident. There was one question where my mind turned blank after half the time, so I didn't speak for like 15 seconds, and then just said a grammatically not very correct summary about the very few things I mentioned earlier Still got 30/30. What also helped to feel less nervous about talking to a computer in a room full of people was, as I saw someone say on youtube, trying to be the last one in the cue so that others start before you. Also, in general, if you always wait until the time for each task is up (you can skip it if you want to just continue), some people are going to be speaking before you have to anyway. Listen, so you can guess the topic. I just catched one answer for the first question but it made all the difference to my stress level. I was able to think of a sound structure before even knowing the question, and with that successful experience, the following questions were much easier to handle. I feel like the comprehension questions are very tricky, more than once I thought that there might be several correct answers. One listening excersice was particularly difficult, about some particles or bugs I don't remember, I didn't understand it too well, but I did not get that throughout the lecture they were talking about 2 different types - they sounded extremly similar and I did not notice. So when there were questions about (made up words, I don't remember the names) "miops" and "myops", I did not know which one was which so... I guessed. I'm pretty certain that was the testing question, because I got the number of questions expected in all other parts and one more in listening, and it's just extremly unlikely that I guessed everything correctly. I got 30/30 so it must have been that question that didn't count. I got 29/30 in writing and I think I know why. As again I did not want to finish early, I kept staring at my essay improving a word/sentence here and there. Unfortunately, do avoid stress, I had accostumed myself to not look at the clock. So I didn't know I didn't have time for another adjustment, but I started moving sentences around anyway. This lead to my final essay having a half sentence somewhere, as I cut the first part of it, intending to move it elsewhere and then adapt everything - stupid mistake, but well. I might have made some spelling mistakes as well, I'm used to autocorrect. Overall I have no clue why they give people so much time. I had 45 min left in reading, and over 30 min in each of the other parts except speaking because there you can't do anything after finishing the timed recordings so you don't have extra time. So what I can recommend: get there early. Don't worry about the other people, you'll never ever see them again. Also, their stress or (over) confidence do not help you. Just focus on yourself. You can go to the bathroom and take snack breaks whenever you feel like it. I think they tell you how to do it in the instructions, but since I had so much time left and did not want to skip forward, I walked around quite a lot and nobody cared (to be fair, I was the only one doing this, everyone else was very busy). Do the freely available online quizzes to get a feel for the questions and the time you need to answer them. If you know you don't have to worry about the time, don't. Just don't commit my mistake either - before changing anything, do check the time! Read the available "good" text examples. Practise writing a few essays about similar topics. A specific structure can be helpful as a guide for your writing, but again I doubt that it's necessary. Learn everything about the the test (e.g. the test questions that are evaluated, but do not affect your result). Know its duration and have your strategy to deal with the (extra) time. Know that it may take some more time to start the test than they tell you (I started about an hour late, not my fault but obviously only happened because I was last in line. Everyone else started about half an hour late). Have your drinks and (non-noisy) snacks if you think you might need them. Wear comfy clothes, but choose a colour and shirt that look decent enough for applications - the result document contains a photo they take there! Get more paper for notes if you need it, before you need it. Make sure you have enough paper for the speaking and oral comprehension questions, before you start those parts. Have an extra pen as well. Focus on your grammar and easy sentences. Nobody is trying to evaluate your intelligence, it's not like an exam at school, the content doesn't really matter as long as it's not wrong. Know your strategy for the oral comprehension part with respect to taking notes. For speaking, as mentioned above, a certain structure can help to make it easier to think of complete sentences. Before the test actually starts, there's some time which I used to write down the structures (which I had memorized) so that later, when my memory was filled with funny topics of the reading part, I could just refer to my own notes. I made a template for each question, so it was easier to take notes and the notes already formed the structure. And as you will have noted throughout this text (which obviously does not meet TOEFL criteria!), my English is far from perfect. I also have an accent. Before taking the test I had never been to an English speaking country (except for some stop overs) nor did I study in English. I feel it's really all about understanding how the test works, and using that knowledge.

Hi everyone, I am planning to apply to accounting PhD program this fall and looking for advice about the best way to improve my profile at this point given that I still have a few months before starting applications. Brief background: Went to a top 20 undergrad accounting program, also got my masters in accounting at that school, have my CPA, will have 6 years of experience at time of application (including time in Big Four audit). Undergrad: GPA between a 3.5-3.6. Only took a few math classes in college: Calc 1 (grade: A), business Calc (grade: B), and statistics (grade: A). Have not touched math since these classes (nearly 10 years ago!) but have always enjoyed math and pick up on it pretty quickly. GMAT: took recently and scored a 730 (46Q/44V, 8 IR). Could make plenty of excuses for underperforming on Quant that day but I won’t. I’m very interested in research (still not decided on method or specific areas of interest). I’ve been reading different publications and starting to refine my specific interests but I am ultimately hoping to end up at a school where I will have some flexibility as I don’t know what will ultimately interest me the most/ what I will be good at. Any advice for best ways to improve my profile at this stage? I think my math background could appear weak given the time away, so I’ve start a Calculus class on Coursera and plan to complete that class as well as another Calc and Linear Algebra course (or at least have them in progress at the time of application). Would focusing on taking these classes be the most beneficial or should I focus on re-taking the GMAT in hopes of scoring closer to my practice tests (~760) with a higher Quant score? thanks for any advice! Stalking this forum has been very helpful haha

Hi, This may seem very counterintuitive but I am very interested in time series analysis and macro-econometrics. However, in my first year of economics degree in took a rather difficult time series module and got a borderline fail grade. After that I have taken much more complex maths(serious analysis, topology), stats (Brownian motion, probability theory, stochastic processes, stochastic stimulation) and metrics (time series included as part of a broad metrics module - following Hayashi, Brockwell & Davis) modules and received straight As. Now, i have a choice to take a time series module again. Do i take it? Instead of this I could take a math module or a stats module. Thanks

Hi! Could someone please give me some feedback on my essay? It's Official Guide's First Practice. Prompt: Some young adults want independence from their parents as soon as possible. Other young adults prefer to live with their families for a longer time. Which of these situations do you think is better? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. My response: As our society develops, more and more young adults are seeking independence from their parents, believing that moving out is the only way to do this. However, I oppose this view and believe that this action actually does more harm than good. To start with, many of these young adults are not prepared to live alone. They are not equipped with the skillset to do household chores, and when they live alone, doing them becomes a necessity. When they have to mop the floor or make their own meals without knowing how, they would usually utilize incorrect or less efficient methods, resulting in a longer time doing work around the house instead of studying. Hence, their grades may deteriorate significantly. Also, the young adults are often too immature to be put in charge of their own financial resources. They tend to spend their money too quickly without thinking twice. Moving out intensifies this situation as there will be no supervising parents or guardians. As a result, the young adults living alone are more prone to poor financial management. Also, moving out worsens the relationship between the young adults and their family members, which can de devastating to both parties. Once, I had to move away from my family on an exchange program at another city. And my parents and I rarely communicated during that period. Soon, we discovered that we began to feel quite distant about each other, and our intimate relationship did not restore until a few months after the end of the program. I believe that the situation can be worse for those living alone for a longer period of time. Imagine an 18-year-old teenager who needs emotional stability the most: What will happen if he or she lives alone for 1 or several years? The result would be disastrous, and moving away is just irrational. Another reason for not moving out is that contrary to popular belief, young adults can actually develop their independence when living with their parents. By making them do certain household chores like cleaning the tables and washing the dishes from time to time, they can learn to do these things without parental guidance; by ensuring a certain degree of financial freedom, the young adults can learn to manage their money without the risk of making poor financial decisions. It is apparently a better way to foster their independence than throwing teenagers into the cruel world without any guidance. It is due to these three reasons listed above that I argue that young adults should postpone their agendas of moving out to a later date at which they can manage themselves. Doing so briskly will only cause unnecessary hassles for both the young adults and their family members. Therefore, I believe that it is more reasonable for them to stay longer with their families - their safe harbors. Thank you very much!!!

Question: Some young adults want independence from their parents as soon as possible. Other young adults prefer to live with their families for a longer time. Which of these situations do you think is better? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. Be sure to use your own words. Do not use memorized examples. I believe it is better for young adults to live with their parents for a longer time, instead of rushing out as soon possible. First, because I think moving out is not a decision that should be made on a whim, it should happen when you are ready, as long as that is agreed with your family. And second, as I feel that young adults often underestimate the importance of those last years living with their family and I believe they should be appreciated. It is common to see young adults who can’t wait to get out of their parents houses. They’re looking for freedom and independence, but a lot of the time they don’t have the faintest idea of how to survive by themselves. As long as the family has the means and the will to have the young adult living in for a longer period of time, I believe they should only leave “the nest” when they are ready, both financially and psychologically. It can be hard to deal with the pressures of living by oneself, jobs are only getting harder to find, pay is getting lower, and being on your own can take its toll on someone who’s just starting out your professional and adult life. It’s better to pace oneself than to end up needing the safety and stability of your parent’s home and being too ashamed to go back. Another important point to make is that those first few years of adulthood are very likely going to be the last you spend so close to your family. As siblings grow up and start moving out and maybe getting their own families, the tendency is to see less and less of each other. Parents will start getting older and after you move out you won’t be able to enjoy their company as much. As exciting as it seems to be by yourself, the company of family, that feel of home, is something most will miss a lot further down the road, which is why I think it should be enjoyed while it’s possible. Of course, I’m not in favor of staying home and living with your parents forever. I believe the time comes when that is clearly the healthiest option. However, I think the points made above are good reasons for taking some time, pondering things well, and enjoying being with your family before you go out to face life’s adventures on your own. 408 words 22 minutes I would really appreciate comments/rating as I have no ideia where I stand in terms of Writing scores. Thank you so much!

Are you aware of any person who has successfully negotiated for a modified or part time PhD schedule? I know most programs say they do not offer part time studies, but I wonder if there are ever exceptions to this rule. For various reasons related to family constraints and my own utility optimization function, I am brainstorming options for spreading the PhD coursework over more than 2 years or otherwise arranging for a more flexible pace over the course of the program. I see this kind of negotiation as something similar to negotiating salary and benefits with any other private sector employer--In that scenario I am aware of many employers who don't advertise part time positions but are sometimes willing to make accommodations for the right candidate. Has this been done before? Am I crazy to think it might work?

Hey guys and girls, I am applying to do a PhD at the University of South Carolina in International Business. Profile: 7 years of professional experience at two fortune 500 global consultancies. Undergrad GPA: 2.5 from the University of SC (Low.. but a long time ago) I have a Master's in Risk Management from Florida State -- William T Hold Scholar, Dean's List - Final GPA 3.53 (Did this while traveling as a consultant 4 nights a week) Currently, I am studying at The London School of Economics for a MSc in Management, Information Systems and Digital Innovation. I will have two Master's and 7 years professional experience at the time of entry. Problem areas: GMAT -- I took the GMAT in 2015, one time, without studying, to get a feel for the test and got a 540. I never studied for it again, applied to FSU and got in -- When applying to the London School of Economics, I did not need to submit my GMAT so I didn't retake it. 540 is obscenely low. I did not have time to retake this test prior to applying to USC. I was working/consulting full time and upon arriving in London my time is better spent working with world class researchers and studying than reviewing for the GMAT. Also, before anyone trolls -- I did buy GMAT study materials and attempted to prepare -- but here at LSE, if any of you have attended, you read nearly 12 hours a day. It's just simply not possible, there's not enough time in the day. What do you guys think? Is this a killer? I've tried my best to articulate this and point towards my profile strengths in my essays.

I do not qualify for their TOEFL requirement. 4 points below the minimum in one area. Would it be a waste of time and money to apply for Yale and Cambridge's phd programs? Thank you.

Hi guys, I did the GRE for the first time two years ago, and got Q164 (86) /V167/AWA5.0. Since I am planning to apply this December to an Econ PhD, I need to retake it, and this time with a near-perfect quant score. I have a quantitative background (bachelor and master in Economics). Any suggestions on how to tackle this? I don't think I have the time to go through all of the basics again, but maybe after 2 years later I need to do so... Ideally, I would be taking the test about 1 month from now. Would you recommend any online prep course? Thanks!

Been working on this for a couple of days. Hope it helps someone. I'm also open to feedback or questions, if you have any! Summary Summary: Here are the key points that I will cover. If you need more information, read on. Tenth grade is a pretty good time to start prepping for the SAT. It’s not too early or too late. Before you start, get your baseline SAT score. Work from official SAT tests. Practice, review, repeat. Keep track of your performance, scores, questions missed and questions that confused you. Expect to spend anywhere from 10 to 1,000 hours prepping. (Or more. Or less.) At the very least, be sure to take at least one practice test before the real thing! Hi there. Today I’d like to focus on one of the most common questions that I hear from parents who are contacting us for the first time: How to prepare for the SAT. It’s a very general question, and there are countless specific details that could change your approach. For example, some students will focus on an extracurricular more than on their SATs (such as a sport or an internship), while others may try to get the highest SAT score possible to maximize their chances at a few colleges they’ve selected. That said, the following should be a good starting point for starting to develop a good study plan during your SAT prep, and at the very least for some people, will help make sure you don’t get caught by surprise when the time comes to apply to college. When to start prepping for the SAT While it may sound like a pretty straightforward question with a clear answer, the optimal time to begin your SAT prep really depends on several important factors, including, for example, what colleges you plan to apply to and how much you need to improve your score. For example, someone who’s scored 980 on the PSAT and hopes for a 1300 is quite different from someone who has scored a 1400 on the PSAT and wants to raise her score to the 1500s. However, in a word, earlier is usually preferable to later, and you want to be sure to leave plenty of time to prepare comfortably. First, let me give some background on what I see here at TestMagic. If you averaged out the school grade during which most of our students start prepping for the SAT, you’d see that a good chunk of our students start in the middle of 10th grade. Of course we have plenty of students who start in 11th grade and a small number who start in 12th grade, and we also have a few students who start even earlier, such as in 9th grade. (Of in middle school--we have had a small number of students who want to take our course in middle school for a couple of reasons. The two main reasons for preparing for the SAT at such a young age are one, preparing to take the SAT for CTY, Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, and two, visiting from abroad for the summer and taking our course while here in San Francisco). But again, the most common age to start for our students is sometime in 10th grade. This is a nice time to start because it’s plenty early in case something comes up (Oh no! I need to study more trigonometry!) and starting in tenth grade also alleviates some of the pressure of junior year, when students typically feel the most stressed, especially near the end of the school year, when final exams, AP tests, SATs, ACTs, and SAT Subject tests all happen around the same time. Oh, every now and then we work with people who have only a couple of weeks to prepare, sometimes because they didn’t realize it was such a big deal to get ready for the test or because they’re too busy. It goes without saying that this situation is less than ideal. (But not hopeless!) SAT study plan First, I just want to say that there are a zillion variations of the plan that follows. I suggest you try what appeals to you, and add in whatever I’ve not mentioned that works for you. (Remember, every student is different, and what works for one person may not work for another.) Step 1: Establish your SAT baseline Your SAT baseline is your starting SAT score or current level. Knowing your starting score is vital for many reasons, but especially if you have a goal score or will be working with an SAT coach. Quick note: I suppose theoretically you could start your SAT prep without taking a diagnostic SAT—you would just do your prep, and when you take your first practice test, you would get a score. But a lot of people like to know their level so that they have a clearer goal. To get your baseline SAT score, simply take an official SAT under simulated conditions—download an official SAT, set aside about four hours in a quiet place, and time yourself for the test. Be careful about not getting distracted! Consider doing it with a friend to keep yourselves honest, so to speak, or go to a public library to take it. (TestMagic also administers practice tests onsite if you feel like you might get distracted at home.) In some cases, using your PSAT score will work almost as well to establish your baseline, especially if you’ve taken it recently. Finally, record your score somewhere, either on paper or in a spreadsheet. Now to the next step—the actual studying. The SAT study plan It goes without saying that the bulk of your SAT prep will consist of studying, reviewing, and practicing. Whether you’re self-studying or studying with a course or tutor changes the process and materials a bit, but in general, you’ll need the following: The official SAT tests (fundamental) A good SAT manual (helpful, if it’s well-written) A good dictionary (crucial; my favorite is the Merriam-Webster dictionary, but the American Heritage and Random House collegiate dictionaries are fine for test prep) Explanations of the questions on the official SAT (helpful) Video tutorials, such as those found on Khan Academy (helpful, but not vital) Nice tools—a pretty (physical) notebook or computer document, a nice mechanical pencil, a nice eraser, a graphing calculator, snacks, a water bottle, headphones, etc. Your basic study plan involves a combination of learning the material on the SAT (with books and videos), reviewing, taking practice tests, and reviewing those. A sample plan of study would be something like this: 4 hours: Take your diagnostic SAT 2-4 hours: Review diagnostic SAT; find areas to improve 2-10 hours: Review SAT concepts in your manual or from the test. For example, study vocabulary, practice combinations and permutations, review punctuation rules, and so on. 2-10 hours: Study SAT concepts again. Repeat two to six times. 4 hours: Take your next practice SAT to see how you’ve improved. That is the basic cycle of improving your SAT score. We’ll begin the discussion of materials in a bit. (I will do more in-depth reviews in the future) Variations of SAT prep I started teaching in 1991, and one thing I learned right away—teachers need to employ a variety of techniques in the classroom. Here are some variations on studying that I’ve successfully used: Take the test untimed. This is actually an extremely helpful technique, and I highly recommend that at least in the beginning of your SAT prep, you take a couple or several tests with no time limit. Why? Simple—it’s important to know which questions you’re capable of answering regardless of time limit. For example, if you can get through a tricky math problem in ten minutes, then you should work on improving your speed. But if you can’t do it at all because you haven’t studied that material in school yet, then you would need to work on building your foundation for the test. Instead of taking a full-length test in one go, try taking each section one by one. Some people can’t concentrate for four hours straight. Or if they can, they certainly don’t enjoy it. If you find that you can’t sustain your concentration and mental energy for four hours, consider taking the test a section at a time. (But of course, you need, at some point, to get used to taking the SAT under realistic conditions.) And here’s a radical notion: During school, starting in middle school, pay extra attention in class, especially your English, History, and Math classes. Take notes, look up words you don’t know, and review everything. Do that for a couple of years, and you’ll be really well prepared for the SAT. And your grades should improve as well! What materials to use There are a lot of great materials available, but unfortunately, there are probably more materials that we sometimes call “score harmers”, i.e., material that was hastily thrown together just to sell books and contains inaccurate information. (The big publishers are most guilty of this, though now in the age of the Internet, they’ve gotten better in this regard.) Of course, the official SAT tests are vital. You can’t prep without them. For books, videos, courses, tutors, online courses, etc., check reviews online. From my experience, most teachers genuinely want to help their students, so don't fear reaching out to people to ask questions or gauge the fit with the tutor you might work with. I know this section on materials is a bit short, but at some point in the future, I’ll review some of the better known options to review them.