Profiles and Results 2011

[Rehan]

Type of Undergrad: BS Mathematics, top Asian university

Undergrad GPA: 4.0/5

Type of Grad: MA Economics, European university. Not well-known.

Grad GPA: 3.65/4

GRE: 800Q, 640V, 4.5 AWA

 

Math Courses (UG): Real Analysis (B+), Complex Variables (A-), Operations Research (A-), Game Theory (A), tons of others not relevant to Econ

(Grad): Statistics, Real Analysis, Optimization (A/A+), Econometrics (C+)

 

Econ Courses (Grad): usual 1st year Macro, Micro (all A/A+ except for first-sem Macro, got C+.)

 

LORs: 2 Math, 2 Econ/Finance. None particularly well known.

 

Teaching Experience: None.

 

Research Experience: wrote undergrad independent research paper and honors thesis, both in abstract algebra. Now working on MA thesis, which is really more math than it is econ.

 

Research Interests: Public econ, game theory, micro theory. But still learning, so everything but Metrics (hate it!) is fair game.

 

SOP: Not strong content-wise, but I like the way I write :).

 

Concerns: bad grades in certain subjects, LOR writers don’t know me well.

 

RESULTS:

Accepted: Michigan($), UWO($, declined), UAB($$, declined).

Waitlists: None

Rejected: Maryland, UIUC.

 

What would you have done differently?

I definitely should have applied to more places. Applying to just 5 was a big risk, and an unnecessary one in retrospect.

 

I also really should have thought more about where I was applying. At the time I my only considerations were: schools that had late deadlines, accepted GRE >2yrs, and was willing to waive my TOEFL (I’m not from a country where TOEFL is normally waived). I ended up with a very short list of schools. Also did not take into consideration the strengths of the universities, so my LOR writers all think that I applied to random places. (One told me bluntly that it was obvious from where I was applying that I had no idea what I wanted to do, and recommended that I take a year off to think about it instead of accepting any offers.)

 

Overall, I’m pretty happy with what I got. Now choosing between going to Michigan or staying back a year to soul-search.

[Integral]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BA Math & Econ, top-30 US undergrad

Undergrad GPA: 3.7 overall; 3.5 in math; 4.0 in econ, or near enough

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: 790Q 640V 5.5AWA

Math Courses: Calc I-II-III, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Probability, Advanced Calculus, Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Topology

Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, Econometrics, lots of field courses, PhD Micro I

Other Courses: nothing special; a few programming classes

Letters of Recommendation: 1 from thesis advisor; 1 from honors director & RA supervisor; 1 from a course instructor. All quite good, I think. Two of the three are reasonably well-known.

Research Experience: Honors thesis (money/macro), RA for one summer (trade), RA for a private research firm for one summer

Teaching Experience: Six semesters of teaching Intro Micro, Intro Macro, and Intro Stats.

Research Interests: Social Choice Theory, Mechanism Design, Monetary Economics, Macroeconometrics, Nonparametric Econometrics (it's a weird combo, I admit)

SOP: Nothing special.

Other: Some schools got my grades for Micro I, Algebra, and Topology; others didn't. I took those three in the fall.

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Iowa State ($$), UC-Davis, Boston College ($$)

Waitlists: Wisconsin-Madison

Rejections: Columbia, NYU, NWU, Penn, Brown, Duke, WUSTL, Penn State, Carnegie-Mellon

Attending: Boston College

 

What would you have done differently?

 

Two things stand out:

 

1) Gotten better grades in math. I had B's in several key math courses which I'm sure torpedoed my chances at more than one school. On the other hand, I am fortunate enough to have a control: a friend of mine, at the same institution, who had a far better math record than me, was rejected across the board at the top 10. So who knows?

 

2) Taken the GRE earlier and gotten an 800Q. I doubt it would have made much of a difference, but I think the GRE cutoff is near 800, if not exactly 800, at the very top. At the very least, getting an 800Q would have put off one dimension of uncertainty.

 

 

In terms of undergrad institution and letters, I did about as well as I possibly could have. I started teaching very early; while that didn't affect admissions one iota, teaching was one of the things that opened doors for me in the department and got me the letters of rec I needed. I did all the research I could within the constraints that I had.

 

It's been a wild ride; I have no true regrets about any of it. I'm incredibly excited to join BC in the fall.

[urbanecon2011]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Economics and Math Major from a non-Ivy research university in New England

Undergrad GPA: 3.56/4

Type of Grad:

Grad GPA:

GRE:800 math/720 verbal/5.5 writing

Math Courses: A bunch but my grades were all over the place. Linear Algebra, Multivariate, Proofs, Stochastic Calculus, Probability Theory, Statistics, Groups, Introduction to Mathematical Research, Real Analysis I, Differential Equations

Econ Courses (grad-level): None

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): 7 Courses with A/A-, three B+s

Other Courses: Odds and ends. Spent a semester abroad

Letters of Recommendation: Mostly unknown, but one is from a math prof for whom I did an inspired bit of research on Catalan numbers.

Research Experience: Wrote one paper where I was a single author, still being reviewed for publication. Research assistant on a paper that was published in a peer review journal on law and economics.

Teaching Experience: None

Research Interests: Urban economics and all related fields. Passing interest in several other areas, such as econometrics and labor economics.

SOP: Nothing extraordinary, I don't think, although as a native speaker of English with a few writing awards under my belt, I suspect mine would read a bit better than most.

Concerns: Where to start. I was often distracted and unfocused as an undergrad, so I didn't do extraordinarily well in either major compared to most who are applying for economics Ph.D. programs. None of my recommenders are particularly famous. My post-college life has been pretty productive, however, and my GRE scores are where they should be, so I think that should help me.

Other:

Applying to: UCSD, Brown, BC, UIUC, Pitt, Irvine, and Syracuse Ph.D., and Cornell's city and regional planning MA as a backup.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UC Irvine, Cornell City & Regional Planning Masters

Waitlists: Boston College, Syracuse (sort of, anyway)

Rejections: UCSD, Brown, UIUC, Pitt

Attending:: UC Irvine

 

What would you have done differently?

 

Two things stand out:

 

1) Gotten much better grades in math and econ. For both majors, I really did a terrible job of spacing out of my course load appropriately, so I was both unfocused and overwhelmed during a few critical semesters.

 

2) Gotten to know the department better and sooner. I never had many professors I was incredibly close with until my senior year of college. If I had to do it over again, I would have started forming relationships sooner and maybe gotten even stronger LORs.

 

Like the poster above me, it's been a wild ride; I have no true regrets about any of it, even through the often frustrating process of realizing I needed two years off to burnish my resume, taking two different jobs (one of which involved a couple of 80+ hour weeks), and writing my own academic paper down to the wire. I am very happy to be going to UC Irvine, and I look forward to moving to California come August.

[EastCoastGuy]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Canadian research university with a low-ranked econ dept, BSc Economics & Math

Undergrad GPA: ~3.86

Type of Grad: n/a

Grad GPA: n/a

GRE: 760Q, 530V, 6.0 AWA (did not submit, only applied to MAs in Canada)

Math Courses: Calc I-IV (A, A, A-, B), Linear I-II, (A, B+), Intro to Analysis (A-), Real Analysis I-II (taking now, grades weren't available for schools), Graph Theory (ditto)

Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A+), Intermediate Macro (A-), Public Economics (A), Economics I (A+), Econometrics II (A), Math for Economists (A+), Advanced Micro (B+), Advanced Macro (taking now, grades weren't available for schools), lots of field courses (mostly A+)

Other Courses: Wrote on an honours thesis, did well; lots of stats course, did okay.

Letters of Recommendation: Honours advisor who is well-known is his field in Canada, and my metrics prof who has been around for a while

Research Experience: none, aside from my honours thesis

Teaching Experience: none

Research Interests: labour, macro

SOP: n/a except for one school. I mostly talked about why economics was attractive to me as a discipline.

Other: Recommended for the SSHRC by my school. That probably did not have affect admissions, but it may have helped schools increase my funding after I was admitted.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Queen's MA ($$$), UofT Doctoral Stream ($$$), UBC ($)

Waitlists: UofT Doctoral Stream initially

Rejections: none

Pending: none

 

What would you have done differently?

I would have prepared more for the GRE last year so I could have done better (I did not really prepare and that was a poor choice), and I probably would have applied to more schools (like LSE). That said, I got into my first choice with their top funding offer, and I wasn't looking at applying to Phd programs, anyway, so I have no complaints or regrets.

[LoS]

PROFILE

Type of Undergrad: Best school of business in Poland (but an American citizen)

Undergrad GPA: 3.37/4.0 in conversion, though it's not that simple

Type of Grad: Master's at the same school, exchange semester in Tilburg

Grad GPA: 3.30/4.0 at home school, 7.8/10 at UvT

GRE: 800Q, 610V, 4.5AW

Math Courses: Multiple courses in calculus, mathematical analysis, linear algebra, probability, statistics - though some dispersion in grades

Econ Courses (grad-level): advanced macroeconomics (comparable to US grad courses), bayesian econometrics, field econ classes (labor, public sector, development, institutional)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): multiple intermediate courses in micro and macro, mathematical economics, game theory.

Other Courses: lots of econometrics (did major both in grad and undergrad), retirement and life cycle economics at Tilburg

Letters of Recommendation: 2 Polish profs, 2 phds, one phd from Tilburg

Research Experience: bachelor's thesis, RAed for over 1 year at a large Embassy

Teaching Experience: none

Research Interests: empirical work, econometrics both at micro and macro level, also development and environment

SOP: standard I think, maybe a little chaotic but revealing passion and interests

Concerns: no outstanding or internationally renowned LORs, dispersion in grades, maybe too wide research interests

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Tinbergen ($$), EUI Florence ($$), Minnesota (TA, from waitlist), Tilburg, QEM

Waitlists: Minnesota (admitted April 11th)

Rejections: Columbia, NYU, Northwestern, Maryland, RA positions at FRB and JPAL

What would you have done differently?

As you can easily notice, I cracked practically everything in Europe, but I was pretty unsuccessful in the US. I think what I lacked was one strong LOR from somebody in a good standing on the other side of the ocean.

Edited April 17, 2011 by LoS

[spaceship earth]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Double major in Business Economics & Environmental Studies; Top 10 public, top 40 econ

Undergrad GPA: 3.88

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: 780Q 640V 4.5AW

Math Courses: calc series (A+/A), diff equations (A)

Econ Courses: intro micro (A+), intro macro (A-), Micro I (A), Micro II (A), Macro (A+), Nat Resource Econ (A), Env Econ (A+), Data Analysis (A)

Other Courses: lots of ecology & environ science for my environ studies major; relevant because of my research interests, but no substitute for more math/stats/econ

Letters of Recommendation: 1 tenured prof known for resource econ, 1 tenured prof who i performed research under (also known in env/resource econ), 1 recent phd in env econ who was probably unknown but was close to me (TA'd several of my econ classes & guided me through admissions process, now teaches at another unranked school)

Research Experience: employed about 9 months doing econ research part time; also got course credit another time for doing not very technical research related to role of competitive social pressures in mitigating climate change

Teaching Experience: nothing formal; just tutoring on & off for a while

Research Interests: Resource Econ, Environmental Econ, Sustainable Development, Energy Econ/Policy, etc

SOP: Talked about why I wanted to be a economist studying environmental issues. Emphasized extra-curriculars & research.

Other: Was president of an undergrad campus org. Also, I've been working at a global financial services firm since undergrad and I got a CPA license. It probably would have been relevant if I wanted an MBA, but I'm thinking it was no use in this PhD application

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UC Davis ARE ($), UC Santa Barbara (wl$), U Maryland AREc ($)

Waitlists: None.

Rejections: Stanford, UC Berkeley ARE, Columbia, NYU, Yale, Cornell AEM, UC San Diego

Pending: None.

 

What would you have done differently? No regrets; I was appropriately placed given my research interests. I reached high and the results were similar to my expectations. Also, you only need 1 good admit. That said, if I knew I was going to get a PhD earlier on here's what I would change (in no order):

1) Take the GRE earlier, so I could retake for an 800Q (I took it in Nov, just weeks before the app deadlines; I'm confident i could have gotten an 800Q since I did on several practice exams)

2) Get a straight "econ" major instead of a "business econ" major (this would mean more math/econ/stats/econometrics instead of more finance/accounting)

3) Get a job post-undergrad that is a better stepping stone to PhD (ie: research job, econ thinktank, econ analyst, certain consulting positions) instead of a job that is a stepping stone to an MBA (ie: finance, accounting, certain banking positions)

4) Realize the importance of LORs earlier and connect with more professors who have connections at top institutions (& do more research under them)

5) Regarding top straight econ depts, I also think I was out competed by alot of people w/ masters degrees. It might have served me well to get a masters to bulk up on econ/math/stats/etc.

[blinvisible]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BCom/BSc (Hons) Australian university. Honours in maths.

Undergrad GPA: 3.93 equiv - 89% average.

GRE: 800Q, 650V, 4.5AWA

Math Courses: subjects in calculus, linear algebra, real and complex analysis, topology, measure theory, functional analysis, abstract algebra, probability, statistics, stochastic calculus and processes, partial differential equations

Courses (PhD-level): probability, measure theory, functional analysis, statistics

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro to micro/macro, Inter macro/micro, metrics, topics in micro, game theory

Other Courses: operations research, finance, history and philosophy of science

Letters of Recommendation: Maths prof and thesis supervisor, Econ prof (BU), Statistics prof (UMN). All enthusiastic I presume.

Research Experience: Honours thesis in probability/statistics, summer RA work in statistics

Teaching Experience: Calculus and probability for 2 years

Research Interests: Decision theory, mechanism design, market design

SOP: There was one.

Concerns: My application was non-standard in enough dimensions that it was difficult to get comparisons. I had the minimal econ background, unusual LsOR and a few years since completing undergraduate study. I had no idea what to expect.

Other: 3 years working between finishing uni and application

 

RESULTS:

Attending: Duke-Fuqua (Decision Sciences)

Acceptances: Duke-Fuqua (Decision Sciences)

Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Caltech, Wisconsin-Madison, U Penn, Stanford GSB (EA&P), Kellogg (MECS)

Waitlisted: Minnesota, Princeton

 

What would you have done differently? During the admissions process not much... This forum is a great resource and lurking here helped me avoid many mistakes I may otherwise have made.

 

A few years back I would have attempted to forge stronger relationships with professors. This would have helped me both figure out what I wanted to do earlier as well as potentially provided the elusive RA/LOR opportunity. As it was, I didn't realise that I liked real (as opposed to undergraduate) economics until my final semester and did not take the classes I could have.

[mikekohyw]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad:BS in Business at private top-25 school

Undergrad GPA:3.62, 4.0 in econ courses

Type of Grad:MA in econ at Public Master's univ.

Grad GPA: 4.0

GRE: 800Q/630V/4.0AWA

Math Courses: Calc 1-3, Intro linear alg and diff equations (all A's), math probability, linear algebra, proofs (all A's; completed in Fall 2010), real analysis, math stats (in progress, will complete by Spring 2011)

Econ Courses (grad level): MA Macro, Micro, econometrics (all A's), time series (B+, Fall 2010), research methods (A, Fall 2010)

Econ Courses (undergrad level): Basic and intermediate macro/micro, econometrics, math econ, macroecon and growth (all A's)

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: 4 econ professors from master's program

Research Experience: Master's thesis (Still in progress), 1 year as graduate assistant

Teaching Experience: 1 year as econ tutor

Research Interests: Not sure yet...leaning towards applied micro/development

SOP: Probably not well-written as indicated by the results...

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Houston ($$$), UC Santa Cruz ($$), Hawaii (waitlist $)

Waitlists: Rice, Washington

Rejections: Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, UT-Austin, Vanderbilt, USC

Pending: Texas A&M

Attending: Houston

 

What would you have done differently? Taking more math courses in undergrad. I've spent 2 years in grad school trying to catch up the math courses, as I have no math courses under my belt in college. Apparently, I still fell short of the top-50 programs after 2 years of preparation. Since I spent most of the time playing catch-up, I could not start to do some research of my own as I was too occupied with course works. That probably hurts my profile as well. Overall, I would say if I could choose again, I will definitely not do the garbage degree called business administration in my undergrad years.

Edited April 14, 2011 by mikekohyw

[goose88]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 15 undergrad, Top 30 Econ PhD

Undergrad GPA: 3.5/3.76 for econ

Type of Grad:n/a

Grad GPA: n/a

GRE: 800Q, 620V, 4AW

Math Courses: Calc(I-III: B+,B-,B-), Linear Algebra(B+), Intro to proofs(A-), Real Analysis(A), Lebesgue Integration (In progress with an A so far)

Econ Courses (grad-level):

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro and Macro, IO, Property Rights, Intro and Applied Econometrics, Game Theory etc. (all A-/A's except for one B)

Other Courses: MATLAB(in progress)

Letters of Recommendation: All econ PhDs...2 well Known professors (one Stanford and another from Rochester), and one ok recommendation (Stanford)

Research Experience: Award winning Honors thesis, summer fellowship

Teaching Experience: Teaching Assistant for a intro level macro class

Research Interests: Development econ, Applied Micro/IO

SOP: Good but didn't bother to customize it for each school...highlighted my diverse background

Concerns: Weak GPA and Math grades...I was not the best student for the first two years of my college career and my grades suffered...hopefully they can also see the radical change in my grades from B's to A's

 

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Northwestern($$), WUSTL($$), ASU($$), UWO-PhD stream MA($$)

Rejections: Brown, Duke, Georgetown, Michigan, NYU, Queens, Rochester, Stanford, U Minnesota, UC-Berkeley, UCLA, U Wisconsin, Yale

Withdrawn: Columbia, Purdue

Attending: Northwestern

 

What would you have done differently? So, so many things. I think I was ridiculously lucky given how marginal my profile looks (but I promise, I am not as bad as I look on paper)

i) I would have started out as an Econ major instead of waiting till junior year to switch out of the Business school (no offense to business majors but that place drained my soul and made me super lazy)

ii) I would have taken my Calculus classes seriously or at the very least attended them for more than the first week

iii) I would have taken some more stats classes than the basic courses such as Stochastic Processes or Probability Theory

iv) I would have done more research/get to know more professors but then again, this is tied to (i)

[mgou]

Type of Undergrad: Top 50 U.S. Institution

Major: Quantitative Economics

Minors: Math, Statistics

Undergrad GPA: Cumulative 3.47/ Econ GPA 3.8

Type of Grad: None

Grad GPA:None

GRE: First take 760Q/450V 4writing…Retake 740Q/480V TBAwriting

 

Math Courses: Calc I-II(A,A) Math for Economists(Linear Algebra and Multi-variable Calculus) (A),Intro to Linear Algebra (C+), Linear Algebra (B+), Real Analysis II(A),Analysis of Several Variables (B), Intro Prob&StatsI-II-III (A-,B,A-), Stat Method in Finance (A-)

 

Econ Courses:

Basic EconI-II(B+,A), IntermedEconI-II-III(A,A,B+), Global Econ (A), Intl Trade (A-), Industrl Econ (D), Math Econ (C+), EconometricsI-II-III(B+,A,A-), Game theory (B), Labor Econ (B+), Finance Econ (A), Econ Honors thesisI-II(A-,A), 6 terms of Research (all A's)

 

Grad Level: (Stats Dept)Stats Methodology I-II(A-,A-), Survey Data and Analysis (IP), (Econ Dept)Business Cycle History(A)

 

Letters of Recommendation: A great letter from my advisor (Berkeley) whom I worked with for 8 terms. A good letter from the econ honors director (UCLA) who helped guide my thesis and is aware of the research I do. I've taken courses from both econ professors and done well. A good letter from a statistics professor (Washington) whose grad stats class I've taken that can comment on my ability to analyze and interpret data and is also aware of my research I do.

 

Research Experience: Undergraduate honors thesis. I am coauthoring a paper with my advisor. I have applied for 3 research grants and received three research grants. I presented my work at my university's undergraduate research symposium.

 

Teaching Experience: Tutored undergraduate calculus for two terms

 

Research Interests: Economic History, Empirical Macroeconomics.

 

SOP: tailored for each school I applied to.

 

Concerns: I studied abroad for a quarter and did poorly in Ind Econ, and Math Econ due to many reasons. I couldn't retake those courses at my home university since I took them abroad...unless I studied abroad again. Instead I decided to take harder math, econ and stat courses to try to compensate for those poor grades. Also, nowhere in my transcript does it formally say I've taken multivariable calculus. My GRE scores also aren't the best. So there is a lot I have to explain in my SOP.

 

Results:

Acceptances: UC Irvine($) Rutgers(no $)

Waitlists: UW

Rejections: UCB, NWU, GMU, Vanderbilt, BC, UofA, UVA, WUSTL, Emory

Attending: UCI

 

What would you have done differently?

Ummm...I don't know. I got bad grades when I studied abroad, but I don't regret that at all. GRE probably couldn't have been much better(actually did worse on the retake). Im happy to be going to UCI. As stated in the previous posts, you only need one good admit :)

[goodvery]

Type of Undergrad: B.S. Economics with Minor in Math from one of the top private universities in Turkey

Undergrad GPA:3.8/4

Type of Grad:in Fall took Micro I, Macro I, Measure-theoretic Probability Theory

GRE: 800Q 590V 3.5AWA

Math Courses: Calc 1(A) Calc 2 (A-) Linear Algebra (A) ODE (A-) Intro. to Prob (A) Calc based stats (A) Real Analysis (A)

Econ Courses: General Undergrad Courses, but I took advanced micro and information economics if that matters. (all A's)

Letters of Recommendation: 1 prof, 2 assistant profs at my school. they hold PhD degrees from decent American institutions

Research Experience: Minimal

Teaching Experience: 1 year as a teachers assistant. Helped students and graded papers

Research Interests:Micro, Game Theory, Information Econ.

 

Acceptances: UCLA($$), Carnegie Mellon($$$), Boston College($$), Texas Austin($$), ASU ($$$)

Rejections: Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, UPenn, Columbia GSB, NYU, Michigan, Northwestern Kellogg, Brown, Duke, Georgetown.

Attending: UCLA

 

What would you have done differently?

I might apply after a 2-year master program that would have strengthened my profile. However, I am happy with my results. As stated repeatedly in the previous posts, you only need one good admit :) I think UCLA is a good match for me.

[LameDuck]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BS Mathematics, Physics Minor @ state university

Undergrad GPA: 3.24/4.00 (3.8ish Math)

Type of Grad: First year of Mathematics MS @ same university

Grad GPA: 4.0/4.0

GRE: 800Q 700V 3.5AW

Math Courses: Around 20 -- Topology, Grad Analysis Sequence, Grad Algebra Sequence, a few Linear Algebra courses, DiffEQ, Stat Theory, Programming/Applied courses, etc.; mostly A's

Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A+), Intermediate Macro (A+); both taken as a non-degree student after my BS

Other Courses: Programming (Java), Physics courses (Mechanics, Circuit Design, Math Modeling, etc.)

Letters of Recommendation: Good(great?) letters from 3 math professors who are somewhat known in the math world -- I really had no access to econ letters

Research Experience: Math research (Approximation Theory)

Teaching Experience: One year as a TA for Calc. III, and one year as an Algebra instructor while I was in the MS program

Research Interests: International Macro, Development, Game Theory -- admittedly, I'm not entirely certain which route I'll go.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Iowa($$), Boston U.(MA), Pitt(unfunded)

Waitlists: U. Washington - Seattle

Rejections: Columbia, Minnesota, UPenn, Boston U. (PhD), Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Maryland, UWO, Wisconsin

 

What would you have done differently?

This year was my full-court shot at some high ranked programs; I already held a deferred offer from Pitt. In retrospect, I might not have applied to some of the places that weren't really a good fit for me -- live and learn.

 

If I had it all to do over again? Well, I'd be a less capricious youngster, perform better in the first years of my undergrad, and I'd realize an interest in economics earlier than a few years ago. That being said, I'm happy where I am, but I wouldn't recommend my circuitous route to anyone; the hope is that experience matters, no?

 

Given my lack of access to econ reference writers and my nontraditional background, I think I did alright for myself. The fact that I missed out on funding at Pitt this year gave me a scare, but I got into another program that I heavily targeted.

[hzzhangyu]

Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ from a top-tier Chinese university; Exchange at a top-15 econ department in U.S.

Undergrad GPA: overall 91.3/100 (1/48, but the program includes people doing sociology and political science); Exchange GPA 4.0

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: V700 Q800 AW4

TOEFL: 119 (iBT)

Math Courses: Single Variable Calculus (90), Multivariate Calculus (92), Linear Algebra & Analytical Geometry (91), Probablity Theory & Math Stats (97) -- (mandates of my program, these four appear in transcripts as College Math for Social Sciences 1, 2, 3, 4: really bad course names which need explaining in the SOP) -- , Real Analysis (96, rank 1st), Stochastic Calculus(92).

Econ Courses (grad-level): Phd Micro I (A), Math Econ I (A). both at the exchange department and top in both classes.

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): typical econ major requirement at home university (all but one are above 90/100); International Finance (A), Game Theory(A), Econometrics (A) at the exchange department, top in all three classes.

Other Courses: lots of typical mandates required in China.

Letters of Recommendation: all come from professors in the exchange department, two senior faculty from grad micro and undergrad international finance (both relatively well-known in their respective fields), one AP from grad math econ course (should be very enthusiastic).

Research Experience: Virtually none. Started to write a Honor Thesis only after applying.

Teaching Experience:No

Research Interests: Macro theory and behavioral macro. likely to change after 1st year.

SOP: talks about my love for math, however I have no solid research experience to write about.

Concerns: lack of research experience (also all three letters are supposed to talk about not much more than performance in class); bad names for math courses.

Other:

RESULTS:

Acceptances: MIT(wl for $ -> unfunded), Stanford($$$), Princeton($$$), Minn, UCLA, PSU

Waitlists: UPenn(-> rej), UMich

Rejections: Harvard, Chicago, Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern, NYU, Columbia, Duke.

Withdrawn: UCSD, Wisc.

 

What would you have done differently?

My lack of research experience partly results from some family reasons and an unexpected health incident; I guess I couldn't have done much differently.

 

 

[kipfilet]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Economics, top school in small European country

Undergrad GPA: 18/20, converted to 4.0/4.0, top of my class

Type of Grad: MPhil in Economics in progress (2 year Masters including 1st year PhD coursework)

Grad GPA: 19/20, converted to 4.0/4.0

GRE: Q800, V710, AWA 5.0

Math Courses: Calc I (already includes some intro real analysis and lots of proofs), Calc II (multivariate calc, topology, lots of optimisation), Linear Algebra, Math I (difference eqns, dynamic programming, discrete-time optimization), Math II (differential eqns, optimal control), Advanced Math (advanced topology and real analysis, measure theory, correspondence theory). All A's

Econ Courses (grad-level): Full Macro and Micro sequences, lots of random trimester courses (game theory I and II, time series, microeconometrics, energy economics, etc), all A's.

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Lots of them. In my country, programs are not flexible at all. We spend 3 years being bombed with economics courses just about everything.

Other Courses: some Law, Finance and History courses. Two seminars on European Union institutions.

Letters of Recommendation: My thesis advisor and three assistant professors who know me well I guess (was a student and worked/working in projects with all of them).

Research Experience: Summer internship at a Ministry, applied macro research; lots of minor projects; macroeconometric paper with two colleagues; co-authoring an empirical paper; my MPhil thesis (in progress) is supposed to be one of the three papers one usually writes for a PhD.

Teaching Experience: twice TA (lecturer) for Multivariate Calc, twice TA (lecturer) for intermediate macro (all undergrad)

Research Interests: Macro: monetary economics, DSGE's, asset pricing. Also interested in behavioural.

SOP: Pretty standard, not customised at all. I actually sent the same SOP to ALL schools, only changing their name.

Concerns: Coming from a school that is virtually unknown in the US (and better known as a business school in Europe), no LOR from a senior professor.

Other: TOEFL 119, Erasmus in a well-known university in the Netherlands.

RESULTS

Acceptances: Minnesota ($$$), UPenn ($$$), LSE (££), Oxford (MPhil, no £), Columbia ($$$), Chicago (no $), Northwestern (no$ 1st year), NYU($$$)

Waitlists: UCLA (rej), MIT (rej), Northwestern (acc), NYU (acc)

Rejections: Yale, Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford, Princeton, UCLA, MIT.

Attending: NYU

 

What would you have done differently?

Not much, I think. I regret not having asked a LOR from a well-known professor at my university whom I later discovered to be rather willing to write it (I had never worked for him). Not asking any senior prof for a LOR was a huge risk I took, and I only discovered the value of seniority much later (i.e. after having discovered TM). My 2nd year MPhil grades (1st year PhD courses) have been rather good so far, and my thesis is going really well (my apologies for not being very humble in this aspect), so I guess I could have a stronger profile if I decided to apply next year. Anyway, I'm not going to cry over it, as I'm already ecstatic with my outcome! This was an extremely long and stressful process, and I'm really glad that it has come to a happy ending. See you all in the job market!

[chisquared]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BBM Quantitative Finance and BSc Economics. Small university in SE Asia.

Undergrad GPA: 3.92/4.00

Type of Grad: MSc Applicable Mathematics, LSE

Grad GPA: In Progress

GRE: 800Q, 660V, 5.0AW

Math Courses: Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A-), Real Analysis (A-), Intermediate Mathematics for Economics (A+), Advanced Mathematics for Economics (A), Stochastic Calculus (A), Numerical Analysis (A), Probability Theory and Statistical Inference (A-), Continuous Time Optimization (Grad, IP), Probability and Measure (Grad, IP), Stochastic Analysis (Grad, IP)

Econ Courses (grad-level): Advanced Microeconomics (IP)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Microeconomics (A+), Intermediate Macroeconomics (A-), International Economics (A+), Economics of Financial Intermediation (A+), Applied Econometrics (A), Economic Development in Asia (A)

Other Courses: A lot of other business and finance courses. A few courses in psychology, sociology and political science.

Letters of Recommendation: 1 Stanford PhD, 1 Berkeley PhD, 1 Harvard PhD, 2 UPenn PhDs distributed over different schools. All supposedly good letters.

Research Experience: Undergraduate thesis in political economy (A-), a few research assistantships

Teaching Experience: A few terms as a teaching assistant

Research Interests: micro theory, game theory, financial economics, political economy

SOP: Standard

Concerns: Unknown undergrad institution. Limited (read: almost none) placement history. Unknown LOR credibility.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: LSE ($$$, initially on a waiting list for funding), Michigan (off the waiting list, $$), BU ($$, initially on a waiting list for first-year funding)

Rejections: Tons. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern (Kellogg MEDS), UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, UCSD (actually, I never heard from them. Should probably send them an angry email.), Chicago Booth, Stanford GSB, Wharton, Minnesota

Withdrawn:

Attending: LSE

 

What would you have done differently?

 

It's hard to say, really. A few ideas, though:

 

(i) Work harder on my senior thesis. Winning the senior thesis prize may have helped me sneak on to a few more waiting lists.

(ii) Write a more interesting SOP. It probably wouldn't help much, but it just might matter on the margin, and it's hard to say where I was or wasn't a marginal candidate exactly (at least, for the schools ranked just above where I was admitted. I'm only kidding myself by trying to claim I could have been a marginal candidate at Harvard/MIT.).

(iii) Done more undergrad field courses in econ. This would help me write a more interesting SOP, I guess, since it would give me more research ideas. This would mean that I'd have to drop one of my majors, or not do a senior thesis, though. I'm not sure I would be willing to do the former ex-ante, nor the latter ex-post.

(iv) Tried to go on exchange at the one top 10 department my undergrad had an exchange program with. Someone from my undergrad did this, and it seemed to have helped her out a lot this admissions season. That being said, that entails the same kind of tradeoffs that I mentioned in (iii), so I'm not sure I'd do this if I could do everything over again.

(v) Worked really hard on my MSc, graduate with distinction, and apply for admission in fall 2012 instead. I may still consider this, in fact.

(vi) Considered schools that I was applying to more carefully. While I don't think I'd have applied to fewer schools, there are some programs (PSU, CEMFI, Toulouse) I wish I applied to after all the deadlines were over but before the admissions results were released. While I wouldn't have gone to any of those aforementioned programs over any of the options I had, this may have been a wiser decision ex-ante (even if I may be out a few hundred dollars ex-post).

Edited April 16, 2011 by chisquared

[FromTheHip]

Well, time to throw out my profile, which I suspect will make my results a source of hope for many with mediocre undergraduate GPAs.

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BS in a science field at a highly-ranked U.S. university

Undergrad GPA: 3.34/4

Type of Grad: Part time classes at a top-5 econ program

Grad GPA: 4.0/4

GRE: 800Q, 700V, 4.5AW

Math Courses: Linear Algebra (A), Multivariable Calculus (A), Vector Analysis (B), Differential Equations (A-), Real Analysis (B+)

Econ Courses (grad-level): Two semesters of core micro (A/A), both grades near the top of the class

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Micro (A-), Intro Macro (A-), Intermediate micro (A-), Intermediate Macro (A-), Two term theoretical econometrics course (B/B+)

Other Courses: A lot of very quantitative science courses.

Letters of Recommendation: All three were economists with tenure at a top-5 econ program and PhDs from top programs. One was a professor from my core micro who talked about my coursework, while another was my long-time boss (see below). The third worked as my advisor on an independent project.

Research Experience: Two years as an RA and an independent research project (still ongoing).

Research Interests: Resource/environmental, development, game theory, IO. Statement focused on resource, game theory, and development.

SOP: Fairly long. I’ve spent some time outside of undergrad and was not an econ major, so I spent a bit of time explaining how I’d come to be interested in economics and putting my non-economics accomplishments into context.

 

Other experience: Several years work experience before starting my economics career

Concerns: Non-economics background, low undergraduate grades

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Cornell (no $), Georgetown ($), Iowa State ($),LSE ($), Penn State ($), Rochester ($), UC-Davis ($), UC-San Diego ($), UC-Santa Barbara (no $), University of British Columbia ($), University of Colorado ($), UPenn (initially wl for $, then $), University of Wisconsin ($), Yale ($).

Rejections: Berkeley ARE, Brown, Caltech, Chicago, Chicago Booth, Duke, Harvard, Minnesota, NYU, Northwestern, Princeton, Stanford, University of Maryland, University of Michigan

Waitlists: BU (withdrew), Columbia (withdrew), MIT (eventually rejected)

Withdrawn: University of Wyoming

Attending: Yale

 

What would you have done differently? Gotten better undergraduate grades and started as an economist sooner.

Other Comments: Given where I was coming in, I’m pretty ecstatic about my results. There was a lot of variance in my admits, and I’m grateful to all the programs which were willing to take a chance on me.

[bassmantin]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: B.S. Accounting/Finance at a Big 10 school

Undergrad GPA: 3.97

Type of Grad: M.B.A. Accounting/Finance

Grad GPA: 3.91

GRE: 800Q, 700V, 5.0AW

Math Courses: Calculus I, II, II, Linear Algebra, Intro to Advanced Math (all A) After submission of application: Differential Equations, Real Analysis (all A expected)

Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, Econometrics, lots of grad level business school classes that overlap somewhat: managerial econ, real options, valuation, corporate finance, international monetary systems and hedging (all A) after submission: History of Economic Thought, Monetary Theory (all A expected)

Other Courses: Lots of business

Letters of Recommendation: Accounting professor, math instructor, former employer

Research Experience: N/A

Teaching Experience: two semesters intro to managerial accounting

Research Interests: macro/monetary

SOP: addressed my somewhat unique situation

Concerns: no econ prof LOR, not too much math before submitting app

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Vanderbilt, Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue, Iowa State, George Mason, Missouri

Waitlists: WUSTL (eventually accepted), Minnesota (withdrew)

Rejections: Chicago, Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin, Notre Dame

Attending: WUSTL

 

What would you have done differently? Take more math. Get LOR from economists. Get a mentor to guide me through the process.

Edited April 15, 2011 by bassmantin

[Potica]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BA econ and psych from top 10 LAC. Post-BA math classes in continuing studies program at top 20 University

Undergrad GPA: 3.5 (overall), 3.4 (BA institution), 3.8 (post-BA), 3.6 (econ classes), 3.6 (final two years of UG at LAC)

Type of Grad: None

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: Q780, V650, AWA 5.0

Math Courses: Calc I-III (C, A, A), Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A-), Game Theory (A-), Probability I-III (A, A, A-), Real Analysis I-III (B+, A, A-), Math Stats I (B-). All but Calc I taken post BA.

Econ Courses: Intro Micro (B+), Intro Macro (B+), Intermediate Micro (A-), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (B+), IO (A), Decision Making (A-), IO Seminar (A), Trade (B+), Managerial Econ (A-), Law and Econ (P)

Other Courses: lots of psychology courses, a few history classes.

Letters of Recommendation: Two young (well known) economists at top 10 econ PhD program for whom I had a 1.5 year RA job. One economist who previously had a senior position at the FTC who supervised me at a consulting firm for 5 years. Letters were clearly strong.

Research Experience: Undergrad thesis (both econ and psych), work at econ consulting firm (5 years), full time RA job at top 10 university (1.5 years), co-authored working paper with supervisors at RA job, and a little bit of very preliminary work on a couple of my own ideas

Teaching Experience: TA for 2 quarters of intro micro and 2 quarters of intro macro

Research Interests: Applied micro (changed the fields a bit from school to school)

SOP: Probably strong. Good argument for why I want to study econ and why I am prepared. Wrote extensively about two research ideas. Customization varied from school to school.

Concerns: Relatively old, weak undergraduate grades, no grad classes.

Other: Presented co-authored paper as a poster at a conference in late March (a mention that the paper was accepted for the conference made it onto about half of my apps)

RESULTS

Acceptances: UW Madison ($), Cornell ($), UT Austin ($), UVA ($), OSU (unclear), Vanderbilt ($), UC Davis ($), UC Irvine ($), Notre Dame ($)

Waitlists: U Chicago Booth econ (accepted), U Michigan Ross econ (accepted), Brown (accepted), U Maryland (accepted, no $), U Michigan (withdrawn, prob could have gotten in at last minute), UNC (withdrawn), U Minnesota (rejected)

Rejections: Yale, Harvard PEG, Berkeley ARE, Stanford, Princeton, UPenn, Wharton Applied Econ, U Chicago, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, CMU, Duke, JHU, Rochester, University of British Columbia, UCSD, Wash U

Attending: U Chicago Booth econ

 

What would you have done differently?

Not much. Would have changed my mix of schools slightly and not applied to UBC (with its $150 application fee). Obviously I could have done better as an undergrad, but at the time I had no interest in graduate school. I think the RA job was hugely beneficial (for a number of reason). My results would have been much worse without it. The last five months have been very busy and stressful, so I'm happy it's done even, especially given how well it turned out.

[claphands]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: B.A Area Studies, minor Spanish, urban state university

Undergrad GPA: 3.65/4

Type of Grad: M.A. Area Studies, top 25 econ program, big public school

Grad GPA: 3.8/4

GRE: 770q/710v/5.5a

Math Courses: (All taken at the big public, over three semesters at the end of my M.A.) GPA: 4.0 - Calc 1&2 (includes multivariate); Intro to Discrete, Intro to Real Analysis, Probability 1, Linear Algebra

Econ Courses: Excluding misc topic courses I took as an undergrad, I took a bunch of calc-based undergrad econ courses at the top 25 program at the end of my M.A. GPA: 4.0 - Intermediate Micro/Macro, Economic Stats, Intro to Econometrics, Development Economics, Computational Economics

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: All from full professors with reputable PhDs I had for a single econ course each. One may have been strong, others were probably good but not personal.

Research Experience: None in econ except for course work, M.A. thesis involved reading an obscene amount of academic economics articles to analyze economic thought in the region I was studying

Teaching Experience: None

Research Interests: Open-economy macro, development, trade, inequality, poverty, agent-based computational

SOP: Pretty good I think, tied together why a student with such a background was going to study economics. On one of my flyouts, grad director asked me questions about things I'd mentioned in my SOP which made me think having said those things helped me.

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Cornell (-), Washington (-), Colorado ($$), Oregon ($$), UMass ($), UC-Santa Cruz (partial$)

Waitlists: NA

Rejections: UC-San Diego, Georgetown

Attending: Colorado

What would you have done differently? Based on my results, I would have applied to several more programs ranked, say 20-40. But money and letter writer goodwill were very much on my mind and I think I did alright in that respect. I actually wouldn't really have changed my academic trajectory, I think most, if not all of the courses I took to get my M.A. and B.A. were interesting and useful for making me the type of thinker and writer I am now. If you are curious where I started from (before I had taken a single math class or basic econ prereq), check this thread: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/114935-interdisciplinary-grad-student-weak-math-needs-econ-phd-advice.html

[JerseyBoy89]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: B.S. Economics, B.A. Mathematics (Top ~10 Econ Dept / Top ~5 Math Dept)

Undergrad GPA: 3.85/4

GRE: 800Q/700v/5.0a

Math Courses: Linear Algebra, Multivariate Calculus, Intro Probability Theory, Mathematical Statistics, Stochastic Calculus, Numerical Analysis, Analysis I, Topology, Vector Analysis, Abstract Algebra (Overall, 3.85 GPA)

Econ Courses: Basic Microeconomics Course, Math for Economists, Micro Theory, Macro Theory, Global Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Adv. Macro and Finance, Adv. Micro Theory, Independent Study (Overall, 3.9 GPA)

Other Courses: Finance Courses (foundations financial markets, corporate finance), Business Core (don't wish to list these :))

Letters of Recommendation: I received one recommendation from an extremely well known econ professor. Other two recs from well known econ academics that are very successful as well.

Research Experience: RA work sophomore and junior summers. Also worked on independent thesis project senior year.

Teaching Experience: None

Research Interests: Macro-Finance (consumption-based asset pricing, term structure models), Corporate Finance in macro setting, Monetary Economics, Business Cycles

SOP: My statement was pretty straightforward - I discussed my research interests and motivations, coursework, research experiences, and my broad fit with each program.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Carnegie Mellon ($$$), UMN ($), UPenn ($$), Wharton Finance ($$$), UCLA ($$ eventually)

Waitlists: Michigan, Princeton (eventually rej), Columbia Business

Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Stanford, among others

Attending: Wharton

What would you have done differently? I am very very happy with my results and am really pumped to go to Wharton. That said, I think the one thing I should have considered is attending an MA program in econ (eg. Toronto, LSE) or an RA job at one of the regional Federal Reserve banks. Given my relatively strong recommendations, either one of these would have solidified my candidacy for a higher-ranked program (not that I didn't get into a great program already!). Looking back, coming from an undergraduate program, I also wouldn't mind some more economics training before I start a PhD program - it would certainly make me more economically mature as well. Nonetheless, I am very very happy with my results.

Edited April 16, 2011 by JerseyBoy89

[LoveFinEcon]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics at top university in my country

Undergrad GPA: 4.0/4.0

Type of Grad: MSc Economics from UK

Grad GPA: About 3.9 equivalent

GRE: 800Q, 480V, 4.5AWA

Math Courses: Few, just math econ I & II and statistics

Econ Courses: Lots of both intermediate and advanced economic courses

Other Courses: Lots of finance courses

Letters of Recommendation: 2 undergrad profs and 1 master prof

Research Experience: RA after my master and 2 independent projects (undergrad and grad)

Teaching Experience: Lots

Research Interests: macro-finance, applied econometrics

SOP: standard - just my goal, academic experiences, research interests, and fitness to the school

Concerns: very very few math courses, unknown LORs

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: OSU, UNC

Waitlists: WUSTL (eventually accepted)

Rejections: 11 US schools (within top 30) and 2 Canadian schools

Attending: WUSTL

 

What would you have done differently? Take more math. Get LORs from more famous people. And read this thread before pursuing my master.

[kevinp123]

Type of Undergrad: BS Econ; Top 30 public, not highly ranked in econ

Undergrad GPA: 3.94

Type of Grad: MA Econ, same school as undergrad

Grad GPA: 3.92

GRE: 780Q, 610V, 4.5AW

Math Courses: Multivar Calc (A), Math for Econ (A), Adv. Calc I (A), Lin. Algebra (A), Probability (A)

Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro/Macro, Development, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Econometrics I,II, Game Theory (A), Corp. Finance (B)

Grad Econ Courses: Micro I,II, Public Finance (A), IO (B)

Letters of Recommendation: 1 Chicago, 1 Princeton, 1 Stanford; 1 somewhat famous

Research Experience: Master's Thesis

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UT-Austin, Maryland

Waitlists: Initially Maryland

Rejections: Harvard, Chicago, UPenn, Northwestern, Yale, NYU, Stern, UCLA, Michigan, Duke, CMU-Tepper, UVA, VanderbiltWhat would you have done differently? I would have started taking math courses before my junior (and mostly senior) year, especially statistics courses. I think not having any calculus based statistics courses really hurt me (other than probability). I also would not have withdrawn from an honors research course to take and LSAT prep class.

[econm]

PROFILE: econm

Type of Undergrad: Double major math (top 20) economics (top 30)

Undergrad GPA: 3

GRE: 800, 590, 4.5

Math Courses: all of them

Econ Courses: intermediates + urban, international, game theory, policy, development

Other Courses: year of bio & chem, 2 CS courses (matlab, java, C++, some unix), Thermal Physics & Statistical Mechanics

Letters of Recommendation: 1 semi-famous, 1 young rising star, 1 visiting, 1 emeritus

Research Experience: None

Teaching Experience: None

Research Interests: Varied

SOP: Bad, just really not good

Other: Rejected by Oregon, accepted by MSU for a difference in ranking of about 30

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: MSU ($$), Illinois (MS)

Waitlists: OSU (rejected on 14th after emailing), Purdue (withdrew)

Rejections: Virginia, Washington, Penn St, Oregon, BC, Cornell AEM, Iowa St

Attending: Michigan State University

 

What would you have done differently?

1) Taken less math

2) Taken math in the right order

3) Drank more milk

4) Not applied to Iowa St, Cornell AEM, Penn State, BC

5) Applied to UC Davis, UBC, Toronto, Texas, UNC

[SubEffect]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 5 US liberal arts college.

Undergrad GPA: overall 3.89, with about the same in econ/math and a strong upwards trend since freshman year

Type of Grad: NA

Grad GPA: NA

GRE: 800 Q 720V 5.5 AWA

Math Courses: Modeling (A), Math Stats I (A), Math Stats II (A), Differential Equations (A), Data Analysis (A), Real Analysis (B+), Topics in Analysis: Dynamical Systems (A+), Senior Research Project (A) [freshman year: Honors Linear Algebra (P), Honors Multivariable Calc (B)]

Econ Courses (PhD-level): NA

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro (A), Advanced Micro (A/A-), Intermediate Econometrics (B+), Adv Econometrics (A), Polit Econ of Africa (A), Economic Development (A+/A), Public Policy Evaluation (A), Experimental Economics (A+), Behavioral Economics (A), Senior Research Project (A+), [freshman year: Int. Macro (A-), International Polit Econ. (A-)]

Other Courses: Nothing too useful, except for Comp Sci (A+).

Letters of Recommendation: 1) prof with MIT PhD, took two high level classes with and talked a lot about research ideas; 2) assistant prof with Berkeley PhD, did independent research and took three classes with; 3) prof at top policy school who I worked for. From my NSF feedback, it sounds like they were all good, though the ones from my undergrad profs were probably stronger.

Research Experience: JPAL field RA for a year; RA for a prof at a top 5 econ for a summer; did independent research project with a prof at my school; thesis for my math major, which won best paper award in department; separate thesis-like econ paper, which won best paper award in my department

Teaching Experience: TA for Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Econometrics

Research Interests: Development, Behavioral, Auctions, tons of different applied micro topics

Statement of purpose: Probably fine.

Other: Can't think of anything

 

RESULTS:

Attending: Yale

Acceptances: NSF, Yale ($$, off waitlist), Berkeley ($, off waitlist), Cornell ($), Brown ($)

Waitlists: MIT, Chicago Booth, Columbia

Rejections: Harvard, Princeton, NYU

 

What would you have done differently? I spent a long time thinking about this, especially the painful stretch between the first wait list and getting the NSF. My school has had really good placement in the past, and my profs had been pretty excited about my chances at top 5 schools, so letting them down was a bit of a bummer. With another year at JPAL, especially at the Cambridge office, or taking real analysis 2 to get the A , maybe I could have been a contender at M/H? Still, I'm pretty eager to start working on my own research, so wouldn't have wanted to take more time off beforehand; this also lets me be near my girlfriend, which is a high priority. The one thing I would change is to apply to more business PhD programs, but Yale was my third choice behind the Cambridge schools, so I am very happy to be going there. Since they do a lot of behavioral/dev combined, it might even be a better fit for my interests than the others.

 

A couple of people have asked for advice on the NSF. It didn't end up helping me too much with admission (since Yale would have worked out anyway), so I feel kind of bad getting it when it might have helped someone else, but it did get me into Berkeley. Jeeves and others have a lot of good things to say, so I'll just focus on three things.

 

First, working at JPAL/doing a proposal on development topics is clearly a huge advantage. JPAL produced at least 20% of the NSF's this year, which is just absurd. All three my reviewers mentioned it, and two included it in their comments on both intellectual merit and broader impacts. Second, don't be bashful about multiple applications. I put out feelers in a proposal last year, and the comments were extremely helpful in succeeding this time around. Even if you're rushing to finish it, you'll be able to get a sense of what they think of your idea. Third, just follow their criteria for broader impacts. In your personal statement, you can dedicate a paragraph to each one individually; make their lives easier in checking off excellent for each one. Non-econ related things, such as tutoring or mentoring other students is looked upon favorably, especially if you plan to continue doing so. Also, make sure to devote some substantial part of your research proposal to broader impacts, they look for that too: I had the final half page be just about ways that my proposal could be broadly applied. If you can tie in broader impacts in any way, do it.

[gkhn]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad:Econ (one of the top state universities in my country) and Math

Undergrad GPA:Econ CGPA:4/4, math CGPA:3.86/4

Type of Grad:n/a

Grad GPA:n/a

GRE:780Q 550V AWA(3.5)(rescore 3.0),First try was 760Q 530V 3.5 AWA

Math Courses:Calculus 1-2,Advanced Calc.1-2(all AA except Adv. calculus 1 CB) linear algebra 1-AA,Basic linear algebra AA,Differential equations AA, Real Analysis BA,point set topology(AA),Lebesgue Integral(AA)

Econ Courses (grad-level):n/a

Econ Courses (undergrad-level):Mathematical economics 1-2,intermediate macro,micro, Mathematical statistics for economist 1-2,Intro to Econometrics 1-2,International Trade courses(1-2),and other standard courses all AA

Other Courses:-

Letters of Recommendation:1 from stanford phd,1 from upenn phd,1 from university of manchester.

Research Experience:No experience.

Teaching Experience:TA-intermediate micro,and econometrics

Research Interests:Micro theory,Game theory,Mechanism design

SOP:ordinary.I described my research interests and some papers I appreciate.

Concerns:GRE score,and no research experience.

Other:

RESULTS:

Attending: Minnesota :)

Acceptances: Toulouse M2(ecomath)($$), UBC MA($$), CEMFI($$),

Waitlists: UCLA(rej), Uminnesota($$,eventually)

Rejections: Yale, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, NYU, Northwestern(on hold,rej afterwards), Upenn, JHU

 

Comments:

 

(i) I do not know which school got which GRE score as I rescored my AW, and ETS did not send my second scores to some places.(UCLA got my first try scores).In the nutshell, I can say that GRE destroyed me completely. First, my classmate with less stellar math grades, similar econ grades got into places where I was wait-listed. In such a case, it is important to make yourself known to DGS. After an inquiry regarding my rejection, UMN put me on short-list for admission(they said they had made a clerical mistake). Northwestern put my application on hold for a while although I was rejected eventually. So, GRE myth is true in some sense.

(ii) For internationals, having a master's degree is very important. This is what I heard from the ad-com member working at Top10 after his seminar.

(iii) Initially, my plan was to apply only top places and master programs in order to have a chance to strengthen my profile for the next cycle. However, this process turns out to be too long and stressful. For this reason, I avoided attending master program to improve my profile.

Edited April 17, 2011 by gkhn