Umlaut Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Profile: - BSc Econ & BSc Applied Math Top 10 school in Europe/Best in country. Did myself a disfavour by going for difficult and harshly graded courses and other commitments (see later) and ended up with definitely above average but not stellar grades. Somewhere around top 15% of overall GPAs, grades in most exams Top 15% or better, never worse than top 30%. I gather in the US this would be mostly As, where I'm from it certainly isn't. - MSc at Top UK school w Distinction - Started work as Full time RA in US for well known full professor at Top 5 US School. Math courses: A lot with a mixed bunch of grades - all of them above average, but in an exam where the median is a D+ a B- is still a B-. High grades in real analysis though if that's worth anything. Grades in Europe are different from the US is my excuse, I guess. Econ courses: Pretty much the whole lot with a focus on financial economics, more consistently good grades. Letters: Hopefully my current supervisor and some professors from my master's who have agreed to write letters that should be good, I hope. Other: While we don't have collegiate sports like in the US in Europe, I was training and competing at the level of a decent D1 athlete throughout my studies and spending a fair amount of my time on this. Have some top 5 finishes at a national level to show for it. Concerns: Obviously grades are a major concern. Grading in Europe is different from the US where apparently an A is frequently the median grade. Might apply this year, might apply next year - what is the marginal value of working an additional year as RA given that I can't really change anything about my profile? No idea what US schools are realistic to aim for and strongly considering a bunch of schools in Europe closer to home where I know I have strong chances of getting into at least some places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startz Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 The advantage of another year of RA is that the professor will know much better what to say about you than after a few months. A letter from a full professor at a top five potentially outweighs a lot of the rest of the record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidschindler Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 Adcoms will take different grading standard into account, so you shouldn't worry too much about your grade. Make sure your letters (especially from grad program) are stellar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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