Roll Call 2015

[Santigarza]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Bachelor of Arts in Economics in a Latin American University placed around 100th in QS Ranking.

Undergrad GPA: 3.89

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: Q:165 V:162 AWA:4.0

Math Courses: took 3 courses of 75 class hours each, all with highest grade (A). Covered main topics of calculus and linear algebra. I also took Statistics I -and probability- (A-) and Statistics II (A)

Econ Courses (Undergrad): Intro to Economics (A), Intro to Micro (A), Intro to Macroeconomics (A-), Descriptive Economics (A), Advanced Macroeconomics (A-), Economic History (A), Game Theory (A), International Trade (A), Econometris I, II, III and IV (all with A), Economic Development and Growth (A), Industrial Organization I and II (both with A), Public Sector Economics (A), Digital Economics (A), International Macroeoconmics (A), Monetary Economics and Monetary Policy (both with A), History of Economic Thought (A-), Economic Policy (A), National Economy (A), Economics of the Firm (A), Thesis (A).

Letters of Recommendation:

I used 5 different recommenders, selecting the more suitable ones acoording to the program:

1- Teacher, thesis advisor and actual boss at the Central Bank. Ph.D. from UCLA. Well known and really strong letter.

2- Professor who gave a DSGE course at work. Afterwards I worked with him in the development of a DSGE model for our country. Has a good reputation, many publications (some in American Economic Review). Holds a Ph.D. from Duke and works at a Central Bank and an University in Latin America.

3- Former workmate. He holds a Ph.D. from Iowa and is Teaching Assistant in the Department of Economics at University of Houston.

4- Teacher and former workmate. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Lecicester (UK). Has published some papers in relevant Journals and in the last years he has held important positions in Government, mainly related with Industrial Policy.

5- Teacher and workmate. He holds a Ph.D. from Toulouse, Jean-Charles Rochet was his Advisor and also worked with Tirole. Has some publications in top Journals and has an important position at the Central Bank.

Research Experience: Worked at the Department of Economics and the Competitiveness Institute of my University for 4 years (started before finishing undergad). Since mid-2013 I have worked at the Research Department in the Central Bank. I have been involved in several projects. My undergraduate thesis was a relevant and innovative project. I received an Honourable Mention in a prestigious Latin American prize and then published it in a peer-reviewed Journal.

Teaching Experience: TA for Introduction to Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics and Monetary Policy. In 2013 I was appointed as Primary Teacher in Introduction to Macroeconomics.

Research Interests: Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics and International Trade.

SOP: Why I would like to pursue a Ph.D.? Relevant academic experience, relevant research experience, Teaching experience, why I could not apply earlier (tight financial constraint), future research interests (very broad), mentioned Faculty members which I would like to work with, finished showing commitment and enthusiasm (not that much).

Other: Won scolarships during undergrad and for short programs abroad. Received a Research Candidate Grant from the Research Agency in my country.

Concerns: Have been out of school for 4 years. Average math preparation. Not very well known recommenders.

 

Applying to: Princeton, UCLA, Indiana, Minnesota, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Santa Cruz, Washington St. Louis, ASU, Houston, UCL (UK), Barcelona GSE, Carlos III, CEMFI, Warwick, IDEA (Barcelona).

[bvd]

Type of Undergrad: BS Econ, BA Bio @ midsized Catholic school

Undergrad GPA: 3.6 (3.8 econ/math)

Type of Grad: none

Grad GPA: none

GRE: Quant 167 (95), Verb 165 (97)

Math Courses: Calc 1/2 As, Calc 3 B, LinAlg B+, Upper and Lower div Stats As

Econ Courses (grad-level): None

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): As in lower div, A in intermediate micro, metrics, and all fields (development, labor, pub finance, banking), B+ in intermediate macro (for shame)

Other Courses: Decent bio grades w/ focus on ecology, wouldn't get into any life science programs or med school though

Letters of Recommendation: Great relationships with younger assistant profs and one associate, scored research experience with one (paper in review), definitely made positive impressions in class and office hours, had drinks with one last week and wrote tenure rec for another, also got one from biology research advisor of 2+ yrs

Research Experience: Two papers in review as 2nd (one applied ecology, one transportation policy), 1+ yr for econ, 2+ yr including fieldwork in summer for ecology, multiple undergrad conference talks

Teaching Experience: Athletics dept tutor for econ/acct/math, some independent tutor gigs, helping organize "econ lab", a semester of bio lab TA

Research Interests: bioeconomics, ecological economics, ag econ, development

SOP: Nothing special, probably wrote too much though, emphasized biology and extensive research experience

Concerns: funding (duh)

Other: Phone convos with profs at Minn, Wash, personal meeting with 2x at Davis (hometown), emails with Wisco, Oregon

Applying to: Minn Applied (admit), Wisco Ag, MichSt Ag, Oregon, Wash, Berkley ARE, Davis Ag

[EconPhDAppF2015]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Pure and Applied Math (Double major)

Undergrad GPA: 3.87 CGPA, 3.98 major GPA

Type of Grad: Economics MA (Accepted into the remainder of the PhD program for F2015 with more than full funding)

Grad GPA: 4.0

GRE: 168Q/161V/5.0AW

Math Courses:

A+: Multivariate and vector calculus courses (AP credit for intro calc.), ODEs I and II, intro to mathematical finance, computational finance, numerical analysis, cryptography, linear algebra I and III, analysis I and II, complex analysis, algebra II, stochastic processes, mathematical stats I and II

A: Honours algebra I, PDEs, intro stats

A-: Linear algebra II

Econ Courses (grad-level): Fall 2014: Microeconomics I (94%, MWG), Macroeconomics I (98%, SLP), Econometrics I and Mathematical Economics (100% each); Winter 2015: Micro II, Macro II, Metrics II, Applied Econ Workshop

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Engineering econ (B+)

Other Courses: Three years' undergraduate academic background in mechanical and biomedical engineering

Letters of Recommendation: Three econ profs from my fall courses, trained at top-40 institutions; should be as strong as possible, given that I have only known them since August 2014.

Research Experience: Research project in artificial neural networks during an internship abroad a few years back, as well as a research paper this term.

Teaching Experience: None

Research Interests: Mathematical economics, economic theory, mathematical finance.

SOP: Well-written but fairly generic, with some personalizing and relevant profs noted for each school.

Concerns: Lack of research experience.

Other: Departmental award for graduating with the best academic performance, and consistent reception of scholarship funding throughout my academic career

Applying to: Berkeley, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale

[mishy]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: large American public university, double major in Economics and Political Science, minor in Math

Undergrad GPA: 4.0 (a couple B grades but my school averages in A+ grades at 4.3)

Type of Grad: None

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: 168V/163Q/5.0AW

Math Courses: Calc I,II, II (A, A, B), Real analysis (B+), Probability (A), Linear Algebra (A), Intro to Proofs (B-), Statistics (A+), Differential Equations (in progress)

Econ Courses (grad-level): None

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro/Macro/Metrics (A+, A+, A), Various other field/topics classes (all A or A+). Econ major

Other Courses: Double major in political science

Letters of Recommendation: moderately well known professors, not

Research Experience: Several different RA positions, internship with labor statistics office. This is the strength of my application

Teaching Experience: TA and tutoring experience

Research Interests: Labor, economics of education, economics of gender and race

SOP: I think strong description of my research interests and how each individual school fits in with those

Concerns: lower math GRE score than I would want, B+ in real analysis, no graduate classes

Other:

Applying to: Duke, Penn, Maryland, UC Berkeley, Cornell, UT Austin, Michigan, Virginia, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, Wisconsin, Boston U, British Columbia, UCLA

[Econhead]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Triple Major: Economics, Mathematics, Psychology. Small, state unranked institution in the midwest. Graduate program was dissolved many years prior, although only a master's ever existed.

Undergrad GPA: 3.09 (Cumulative), 3.2 (Econ), 2.4 (Math), 3.0 (Psychology)

Type of Grad: Master's/Ph.D Coursework at T70 Institution based on Econ Grad US News

Grad GPA: 3.5

GRE: 151 (V), 161 (Q), 5.0 (AW) - This is the one that I submitted. I had 156 V on a prior attempt when I was sick and received a lower Q score.

Math Courses (Undergrad-level): ​Calc I (B), Calc II (B-), Calc III ©, Differential Equations (D+), Intro Proofs (Dropped --> retaken F --> retaken C), Linear Algebra I (A-), Probability Theory (B), Math Stats (D+), Intro to Analysis (B+), Abstract Algebra (C-), Topics (research/regression, B)

Math Courses (Grad-level): Math Stats (A)

Econ Courses (Undergrad-level): Princ Micro (A), Princ Macro (A), Intermediate Micro (C+ -->B), Intermediate Macro (B), International ©, Money and Banking (B), Intro Econometrics (Drop Fail -- > D), Senior Seminar (B), Independent study joint with Psychology (A), Honors Thesis joint with Psychology ©

Econ Courses (Grad-level): Math for Economists (CA), Game Theory (A), Dynamic Optimization (A 1 credit, B 2 credits), Econometric Methods (B), Ph. D Micro covering MWG as an independent study (A), Research (A), Econometric Analysis (B+), Master's/Ph.D Macro (In progress)

Other Courses: ​An entire degree's worth of psychology courses. Because I decided to do a triple major, I didn't take any course that (i) wasn't a requirement to graduate, or (ii) couldn't be double counted for multiple majors. As a result, really the only courses that I have are for my 3 majors. No true electives, no true fun courses...except at the beginning when I took many history courses with some freshman desire to potentially enter History. (I

Letters of Recommendation: (1) [/b]Undergrad Econ Dep. Chair. He picked me for an internship at a D.C. Institution. I was the first in a potential ongoing relationship, because I was considered the best candidate for research potential, and the best to make an impression for future candidates. He indicated to me that although they could send someone every year, they have only sent 2 others picked over the 5 years possible, of which 1 was immediately after me and an individual that I recommended. Did not receive a copy, but presumed that he spoke to my research ability and drive. I never had a course with him. He indicated that he has not written a letter for someone applying to programs ranked T30 or better in a very long time, and refuses to do so anymore given that those whom have asked haven't been promising. He doesn't publish, and to my knowledge has only 1 connection to a university that I applied to.

(2) Research Advisor at the D.C. Institution. When I did this, I was technically considered an "intern," but I was a research assistant. This was 5 years ago. He still views me very favorably, and continues to offer his support. He's also continued to offer comments indicating that he's more impressed with me than others that have worked for him, and that I have a drive/dedication/path set that he did not expect (in other words, I know what I'm working for, and how to get there). Letter indicated that I am as good as any of the "best" individuals that worked for him, elaborated on my research abilities, the projects that I worked on for him, and my ability to present complex material in a clear and concise manor. Also indicated my hardworking nature and dedication.

(3) By far my best letter - my graduate advisor. Don't know exactly what was said, but personalized each letter for each institution. Favorably compared me to students that he has placed in the past (at T30 institutions). Surprisingly, I have the least to comment about this letter. I've worked with this professor on research, and it is ongoing. He oversaw my independent study of MWG. He has complete faith in my, and an absolute belief in my capabilities. I know that he sees something in me that many other professors have not in the past. My relationship with this letter writer began my first semester when I received the best grade in his Game Theory course. He believes in me to such a degree that he's already offered to be a writer for me when I enter the job market after completing my Ph.D. He has incredible faith in my ability to complete and produce quality research now and in the future. Has connections or knows someone at most of the institutions that I applied to, although not all the relationships are close. Some are more like acquaintances in terms of an ability to sway the committee.

Research Experience: My research experience was 3 fold: (i) Undergraduate, (ii) as a Research Assistant, and (iii) as a graduate student

(i) Did a lot of self study getting into behavioral econ. Read a LOT for the first 3 years of UG. Did an independent study with experiment that spanned 2 years - joint with the psychology department. Did everything from inception to report. Was intense - was enough for an honors thesis. Did an honors thesis later, but was trying to do it senior year while overloading myself to graduate in time, too late to get a good experiment in, and then tried to finish it while packing/moving. Hence the bad grade. It wasn't ever completed.

(ii) D.C. institution. Worked more than asked. Did statistics, wrote white papers, gave presentations to research advisor, etc. Primarily focused on macro/international trade/development. Not my interests, but devoted myself.

(iii) Been working on research with advisor. Prior to starting this, worked on many ideas and discussed those with advisor. What we're working on is not something that I initially came up with - what I initially came up with ended up being too long and complicated for what we'd potentially have time for. This was completed primarily through course credit, but there's been a lot of "pro bono" discussions, so to speak.

Teaching Experience: Undergraduate TA for Intro Micro, Macro, and an intro quantitative course (econ based) for 3-4 years. Private tutor for Math for high school students (1 year). Private econ tutor for international, individuals with learning disabilities, and other students (4 years). University tutor for Math (1 year). "Math department lab tutor" for all levels of math (2 years).

Research Interests: Game Theory (and Auction Theory), Behavioral Economics, Experimental Economics, and more broadly Microeconomic Theory. Very heavily on the Theory side of everything - aside from the experimental, not very interested in doing much in the way of "applied" work.

SOP: Discussed my interested in program, my research experience, and my goals. Spent only a single paragraph discussing that my wife and I began taking care of her brother after their father died just 2 years after I started UG. Disrupted everything. That+working full-time as an UG from them on caused problems with my grades. Framed this in a positive way by describing what I've learned and how it has made me a better student (and husband). Did graduate work to improve my abilities so that I'd be ready for a Ph.D program.

Concerns: Took a year off after undergrad before entering grad program for a variety of reasons. Worked full time for last 3 years of UG, and worked full time since then. Travel + the work load (40-60 hours/week) has decreased my ability to earn straight A's as a grad, but worked hard to do everything that I could. I put all my eggs in one basket by focusing on my graduate advisor, our research, and developing my relationship with him. Although I was admitted to the Ag-Econ program, I quickly decided that wasn't what I wanted. After such a strong first semester, I worked with my advisor to take the same coursework as a normal econ student. I effectively gave up the potential to complete the ag-econ master's at that point. Was never accepted into the econ master's program. Several in the department are not avid supporters of mine, and I believe that I may actually even have an adversarial relationship with 1 of them. I not only have had complete faith in my advisor, but also trusted that it was the best course of action even if I didn't get accepted into any programs. What i've learned from him has been invaluable. I don't want to do Ag-Econ, so it was a clear dominant strategy for me. What was very nerve-wracking for me was that I wasn't going to have taken Macro until this semester (well after applications were in/decisions were being made), the lack of straight A's, and most importantly how my research would be viewed in combination of my independent study of MWG.

Other: Will save other comments till profiles/results thread, or another.

Applying to: From Highest to lowest ranked: Maryland, Ohio State, Virginia, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, Arizona, Boston College, PITT, Purdue, Indiana (Business Econ in Kelly), Georgetown, Rutgers, UC-Santa Cruz, Notre Dame, UC-Riverside, Louisiana State University, Tulane

[chyu1040]

Sorry, I think I mis-posted in the wrong (year) thread. :(

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top Go8 Australian University

Undergrad GPA: 89/100 (HD average)

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: V164, Q170, AW waiting

Math Courses: Honours Calculus (90), Honours Linear Algebra (89), Discrete Math (90), Vector Calculus (79, concern), Real and Complex Analysis (78, concern)

Econ Courses (grad-level): N/A

Econ Courses (honours-level): Business Cycles and Monetary Policy (91), Topics Development (90), Industrial Organization (83), Topics in Labor (taking), Topics in International Macro (taking)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Macro (90), Advanced Intermediate Micro (92), Advanced Intermediate Macro (92), Math for Econ (90), History of Economics Thoughts (84), Family Economics (87), Advanced Micro (89), Advanced Macro (88), Intro to Econometrics A (90), Intro to Econometrics B (95), Regression Modeling (87), Time Series and Forecasting (91), Econometric Theory and Methods (93), Applied Econometrics (94), Applied Microeconometrics (98)

Other Courses: some first year units from the Business school.

Letters of Recommendation: Three from my Honours Thesis Supervisors and one from Honours Coordinator (also teaching the Topics in International Macro).

Research Experience: Has been RAing for my honours thesis supervisors for two years in empirical micro areas. I am responsible for data cleaning (Stata) and regression analyses. Received an acknowledgement in a recent publication and will potentially get a co-authorship if the results were to be good enough.

Also, I am working on my honours thesis, which is also in empirical micro.

Teaching Experience: TAed in first and second year economics and econometrics units since my third year.

Research Interests: labor, microeconometrics, and econometrics theory

SOP: still writing.

Concerns: Those math units where I only had Distinctions, though they roughly translate into an A- in the US system; they could be a bad signal. I could explain the relatively low grade in my SOP because I crammed those units concurrently with my honours units. I was overloading for that semester.

Other: Experiences in Stata, R, Matlab

Applying to: all Top 10, some in the Top 10-30, LSE, UCL, Toronto and UBC.

Edited August 29, 2015 by chyu1040