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Most Recently Selected profile:

The data below comes from testmagic forums and shows accepted, waitlisted, and rejected applicants for 2007-2009 for economics graduate school. Clicking on the graph above will make the most recent profile appear to the right of the graph.

All profiles:

Acceptances:
tunedradio 2007:
PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.89
Type of Grad: audited 1st year micro, 2nd year development
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q/700V/6.0A
Math Courses: Multivariate Calc (A-) Linear Algebra (A), Real Analysis (currently taking), Statistics (A), Diff Eq. in High School

Econ Courses: lots, A's throughout, A+'s in intermediate micro and macro
Other Courses: lots of political science / development / policy
Letters of Recommendation: one very famous, one very good one (coauthor) but junior, another junior
Research Experience: substantial; senior honor's thesis, presentations at four conferences, year of RA full-time, co-authored (yet to be published) less-technical papers with two professors (one very famous)
Teaching Experience: TA for three semesters (one at graduate level)
Research Interests: devo / trade

SOP: good (but it doesn't really matter)
Other:

RESULTS:
Acceptances: NSF, Yale ($), Berkeley ARE ($), Michigan Econ/Public Policy ($), USSD ($), Penn State ($), Brown (w*itlisted $), Duke ($), UC-Boulder ($), LSE (Msc)
Waitlists: Princeton PolyEc PhD
Rejections: Harvard KSG, Cornell, LSE (PhD), MIT


What would you have done differently? I actually applied last year with substantial less math and research experience and was accepted into two top 20 programs but no top 10 programs (and honorable mentioned on the NSF), so for those who are considering it, I found a year of RAing and a few more classes (and better recs) can really boost your admits. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
anukriti 2007:
Type of Undergrad: Masters in Economics from the best economics department in my country...history of students being accepted to Top 10 universities every year.
Undergrad GPA: 69%. Ranked 3rd in my class.

GRE: 800Q, 570V, 4.5 W
Math Courses:
Undergrad Math: Linear Algebra , Differential Equations, Topology, Real Analysis, Statistics, Partial Differential Equations, Game Theory, Calculus
Econ Courses:
M.A.Econ: Microeconomic Theory, Advanced Macroeconomic Theory, Basic and advanced Econometrics, Public Economics, International Trade, Forecasting Methods and applications, Economics of Regulation, Applied Consumption Analysis, Comparative Development
Letters of Recommendation: All economics professors with Ph.D.'s from Yale, Cornell, Princeton. One of them working in a leading research institute in the US now.
Research Experience: One year research with an international research organization in DC.

Teaching Experience: Undergraduate Statistics for one year.
Research Interests: Development, Health, Education
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Columbia
Rochester
Maryland

Brown
Wisconsin
Waitlisted
NYU
Rejections:
Princeton
Harvard
MIT
Yale

Cornell
UPENN
What would you have done differently?
Nothing actually. I tried my best!
vbrep_register("442973") Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
P=NP 2007:
Gre: 800 Q, 660 V, 6.0 A
GPA: Overall: 3.95. Math: 4.00, Econ: 3.98
Classes (all A+'s):
UGrad Math: Abstract Algebra, Logic, Analysis

Grad Econ: Micro I, Micro II, Macro, Econometrics I, Business Cycles, Monetary, Economic History, Regulation
Grad Math: Measure Theory, Topology, Group Theory

Type of Undergrad: International, top in country

Research Experience: macro project, summer intern at Central Bank (econometrics), micro thesis, summer project in maths


Teaching Experience: 6 semesters of tutoring economics (micro, macro, international)

LORs: I hope they're good :). My letter writers have PhDs from Minnesota, Stanford (x2) and Yale.

Interests: micro theory, macro theory, non-parametrics


Results Admits (with full funding)
Chicago
Stanford
Northwestern
Princeton
Yale
UPenn
NYU
Columbia

Brown

Waitlist
Harvard

Rejects
MIT
Cornell


What would you have done differently? Spent time writing and polishing a great research paper. I only submitted a writing sample to Chicago.

--Going to Yale Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
wcd123 2008:
PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 25 American research University
Undergrad GPA: 3.97
Type of Grad: none
Grad GPA: none
GRE: 800/510/6.0
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A's), Linear Algebra (A), Probability and Statistics (A), Introduction to Math Reasoning (A)

Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Game Theory (A), Math for Economists (A--graduate course), Public Economics (A), Health Economics (A), and a bunch more
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 1 assistant prof that I RA for, 2 senior faculty that I was in class with. All 3 are actively publishing, and both senior faculty are well established in their fields
Research Experience: 1 year RA, Honors essay
Teaching Experience: Tutoring
Research Interests: Applied micro--more towards public/labor/health than IO, but I generally like empirical research and applied econometrics.

SOP: I thought it was pretty good. Don't know if it helped or not. Talked about why I like empirical work, some current research I'm working on, and tried to signal that I know what I'm getting into.
Other:

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Yale (going there), Michigan, Columbia, Duke, Brown, Maryland, Wisconsin
Waitlists: Chicago
Rejections: MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley

Pending: none

What would you have done differently? Not much. I would have liked to have gotten in to Princeton or MIT, but I am extremely happy with my outcomes. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
ephyou 2008:
Type of Undergrad: top 10 liberal arts

Undergrad GPA: 3.5
Type of Grad: none
GRE: 790/630/6.0
Math Courses: multi, linear alg, real & complex analysis, diff-e-q, stat+prob
Econ Courses: metrics, math-econ, history of thought

Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ profs, 1 math prof from top 10 uni's
Research Experience: RA at university, govt agency, private sector
Teaching Experience: TA, math/stats/econ/stata&sas tutor
Research Interests: "inequality," metrics
SOP: spent 5 min on it


RESULTS:
Acceptances: osu, virginia, jhu, ucsd (attending), boston uni, brown
Rejections: chicago, berkeley, mich, columbia

What would you have done differently? i graduated in '07 and took a year off. would have tried to do one of those full-time academic research assistanships Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
2008applicant 2008:
Undergrad: Top three LAC in US

GPA: 3.75/4.0 Econ (Econ major)
Math:Calc I-III, Linear Algebra
GRE: 790Q/710V/5.5AW
Teaching experience: TA in college for Intermediate Macro and Econometrics
Research experience: Senior thesis, since turned into co-authored paper w/ advisors, submitted for publication. RA job since college (3 years) supervising big field experiment in Latin America. Started (no results yet) small independent field/lab experiment here.

LOR: 2 from my current bosses and the other from my thesis advisor.
Interests: development, demography, experimental
What I learned: I did very well except at the very top schools and it was obviously my weak math background that hurt me there, but it was my choice not to take those classes. It was a really hard choice between Michigan and Berkeley ARE.
Accepted: Michigan ($), Wisconsin (AAE) ($), Davis (ARE) ($), Berkeley (ARE) ($), Brown ($), UCSD ($), UCLA ($), Duke ($), Penn (Demography) ($)
Rejected: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, NYU

Other: NSF Honorable Mention Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
nash12 2008:
Undergrad: B.A. in Mathematics (2006) from a well known college/university in my country (South-East Asia). Grades: 84%


Graduate: M.A. in Economics from a well known school of economics in my country. It is a two year course and I only had the grades of the first year or two semesters when I applied. Grades for the first year: 70%

GRE: 800Q, 530V, 5.0AWA. TOEFL: 117/120


Math Courses: Since I'm a math undergrad so lots. Real Analysis, Basic Algebra, Topology, Ordinary Differential Equations, Partial Differential Equations, Probability and Statistics, Linear Algebra, Group Theory, Ring Theory, Mechanics, Multivariable Calculus, Numerical Analysis, Number Theory, etc.

Econ Courses: All Grad Level. On my transcript with grades when I applied- Microeconomic Theory, Macroeconomic Theory, Introductory Econometrics, Mathematical Economics and two more. On my transcript without grades when I applied- Topics in Economic Theory, Game Theory-I, Topics in Macroeconomic Theory and Econometric Methods.

Research Experience: Was a visiting research scholar in a European Institute during the summer of 2007. Wrote two papers there. Both were selected for decent conferences which I mentioned in my application. Sent one of the papers in all the applications.


LORs: One a well published and reasonably well known econ theory professor at University of Warwick. One econ professor in my grad school, phd from Princeton. Another econ associate professor in my grad school, phd from Yale. I think all of them were strong.

SOP: Talked about my interests- Micro and Game Theory. Talked about some of the papers that I've really liked. Also, about my motivation to do economic theory.

Teaching Experience: None.


Other: Male, 22 years old.

Results
Acceptances: NYU($), Columbia($), University of Chicago($), LSE MRes/PhD($), Cornell($), Brown($), Penn State($).
w*itlisted and finally in Yale($) and Princeton($).
Rejected: Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, UPenn and Stanford.


Attending: Princeton. Yuhoooo..:)

What would have I done differently? Nothing in particular. Well I don't really know if I would have ever made it to Harvard and MIT. None have made from my school in the past 10 years. As an aspiring economic theorist, Princeton was really my dream school and I'm over the moon to have got it..:) My suggestion to all the future applicants, esp the International Students is guys dream big and work hard. Dreams do come true..:) Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Swingkid 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: University of California, BA Econ & Applied Math, French Minor
Undergrad GPA: 3.85

Type of Grad: micro
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 800/700/6.0
Math Courses: Multi-var Calc, Linear Algebra, Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Numerical Analysis, Probability
Econ Courses: Grad Micro, Intermediate Micro and Macro, Metrics, Applied Metrics, Corporate Finance, Game Theory, Contract Theory, Development
Other Courses: a lot of French
Letters of Recommendation: 3 letters, one of which was from a fecund researcher that I've worked with for two years. The other two are from my grad micro professor and my undergrad development professor; the former barely knows me, the latter I've spoken to about my research ideas.
Research Experience: Two years undergrad RA. Thesis (?)
Teaching Experience: Does dance count? =P

Research Interests: Development, Applied Micro
SOP: I don't think it was that special. In any case, it probably didn't carry much weight.
Other:

RESULTS:
Acceptances: UCLA, Yale, Berkeley, Brown
Waitlists: U Penn
Rejections: MIT, Columbia, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern, NYU

What would you have done differently?

I would have definitely submitted a better-prepared application for the NSF, since funding is kind of an issue for me. I found out about the fellowship a week before the deadline and decided to apply anyway. That said, I wouldn't have done much else differently, since I'm really ecstatic about my acceptances! :-)
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
freecon 2009:
PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BA Econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.90/4.0 (gpa in math&econ 3.96) Top ranked out of 150
Type of Grad: No grad degree
GRE: 780Q
Math Courses: Calculus I-II, Linear Algebra, Math for economists, Math Analysis, Graph Theory and Networks, Probability and Statistics I-II
Econ Courses: Many...Macro and micro theories, Game Theory I-II, Growth and Development, International Trade I-II, Public Finance, Monetary, Econometrics I-II, Time Series

Other Courses: Java, Matlab, Management courses...
Letters of Recommendation: I used five different recommenders. One was a famous prof, one was department chair, others were associate profs knowing me well.
Research Experience: non
Teaching Experience: Tutoring in Econ 101&102 for two years, assisting in CS 123 for a semester
Research Interests: Game theory, Macroeconomic theory, macroeconomic policy games
SOP: I have sent a standard SOP to each school by just changing the name of institution. It is neither bad nor well-prepared, although I spent great time on it.

Other:

RESULTS:
Attending: BU ($$$)
Acceptances, declined: UMD ($$$), JHU ($$), Brown, LSE-MSc, UPF-MSc ($$$)
Waitlists: Brown funding list

Rejections: MIT, Princeton, Berkeley, Yale, UCLA, UPenn, Northwestern, NYU, UCSD
Pending: UWM

What would you have done differently? Firstly, I didn't study for GRE assuming that the quantitative part was easy. Yes, it was easy. But I should have studied to gain speed. Further, the verbal part was horrible for me as an international student. If I had studied, I may do well. Secondly, I didn't apply to Cornell, Columbia, Michigan, Chigago and Minnesota. I should have made a better combination of schools instead of applying Princeton,MIT,Berkeley,Yale and so on. Thirdly, it is the important one: I should have written more specific SOPs. But, it was impossible for me since I still haven't know exactly my research interests. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
dancerdf 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ from top-ranked university in the Netherlands
Undergrad GPA: 3.9, Summa Cum Laude
Type of Grad: M.S. Econ, LSE
Grad GPA: -
GRE: 790Q, 550V, 5AWA
Math Courses: Standard, although no separate courses, everything included into quantitative methods 1-3
Econ Courses (Master-level): Micro, Macro, Metrics, Development
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Public, International Economics, Micro, Macro, Competition Policy, Growth Theory, Financial Economics, Development Economics, History of Economic Thought, Auction Theory
Other Courses: Finance, Strategy, Marketing, Sociology
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ professors (2 from Maastricht, 1 from LSE)
Teaching Experience: Tutor for microeconomics at student association in cooperation with the university
Research Interests: Development
SOP: Standard
Concerns: 790Q GRE, no course in real-analysis
Applying to: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Northwestern, Chicago, UPenn, Stanford, Berkeley, NYU, Columbia, Brown
Can't wait for the results!!! :rolleyes: Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Rejections:
butler blue 2007: Profile:

Gre: 800 Q, 650 V, 6.0 A
Type of Undergrad: Basically a liberal arts college; good but not elite
GPA: Overall: 3.99, Econ: 4.0, Math: 4.0

Classes:
Math: Calc I through III (A's), Linear Algebra (A), Analysis I (A), Differential Equations (A), Probability & Statistics I and II (A's), Topology (A), Topics in Game Theory (A), Discrete Math I and II (A's), Modern Algebra (A), Analysis II (in progress)
Econ: Intro (A), Int Micro (A), Int Macro (A), International Econ (A), Econometrics (A), Comparative Economic Systems (A), Environmental and Natural Resource Econ (A), Math Econ (in progress)
Other: A programming course...
Research Experience: Summer research program within my university producing a paper about Doha's potential impact on China; Senior thesis on the political economy of foreign aid donation

Teaching Experience: Lots of tutoring econ and math but no TA'ing
LORs: One from the econ prof (Ph.D. from Pitt) who advised both of my research projects; one from another econ prof (Ph.D. UCLA); one from my real analysis prof (Ph.D. Indian Institute of Technology). All of them were very high on me and know me well, but the economists are not well-known or well-published.
SoP & Interests: Talked about my interest in research, reasons for applying to the Ph.D., particular interest in working in development policy institutions, and reasons why I was interested in their department.
Other: American citizen



Admissions Decision Results
accepted
Virginia
UC Santa Cruz - partial TAship
Maryland - no funding
UCLA - no funding
Indiana - w/ TA
Georgetown - w/ fellowship funding for 2 years and all summers

rejected:
Berkeley
Brown
Columbia
Harvard
Johns Hopkins
Yale

What I learned: Research programs throroughly to find ones that fit your career goals and then be honest. I did what is generally taboo in my SOP by stating outright my interest in policy over academia. It may have hurt me some places, but I ultimately got into programs that fit what I want to do. Also, don't get caught up in groupthink on this board. I should have applied to Cornell (given my interests) but didn't because of concern on here about their placements. I may very well not have gotten in (given my record with Ivy's) but I should've applied there. Finally, it is true; your undergrad school is very important, but you can still get into a good (though probably not top tier) school coming from somewhere no one's heard of if everything else is top notch.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
applying07 2007: PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Large Private
Undergrad GPA: 3.81 (Econ: 3.9, Math: 4.0)
GRE: 800Q, 560 V, 6.0A
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Lin Alg, Prob Theory
Econ Courses: Principles, Intermediate Theories, Stats, Intl. Econ, Econ Thought, Environmental Econ, Econometrics, Intl. Econ Relations, Senior Thesis

Other Courses: A bunch of other International Studies class (poli sci, sociology, etc.)
Letters of Recommendation: Associate Prof. (Ph.D. MIT) thesis advisor and teacher, Assistant Prof (Ph.D. BC) Econometrics Teacher, Associate Math Prof. Lin Alg Teacher
Research Experience: Senior Thesis, summer of consulting as an RA
Teaching Experience: Tutoring

Research Interests: Trade and Development
SOP: Probably nothing too special, described career goals, why wanted to study econ and bits about each school


RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Duke

Michigan State
Boston College
UNC-CH
Colorado

Rejections:
MIT
Northwestern
Brown

UMich
Columbia
What would you have done differently? Maybe waited a year and taken more math or worked doing a research job to fill in those gaps. Pretty happy with how turned out though
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
wobo82 2007: PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 25 research university per USNWR
Undergrad GPA: 3.33 (electrical engineering BS)
Type of Grad: Top 100-ish research university without an econ PhD program
Grad GPA: 3.87 (economics MA)
GRE: 790Q/670V/5.0A
Math Courses: Calc I through III, Diff Eq, Matrix/Linear Algebra, Math Stats, Stochastic Proc, Analysis

Econ Courses: Micro Theory, Applied Econometrics, bunch of field courses
Other Courses: Bunch of undergrad EE courses (lots of Matlab, some C++)
Letters of Recommendation: Three from econ profs at grad school. (They were not alumni of the schools I applied to so where they got their PhDs was of no consequence.)
Research Experience: Very insignficant.
Teaching Experience: None.
Research Interests: Development, broadly speaking.

SOP: I liked it.
Other: Male, international

RESULTS:
Acceptances: USC (fellowship), UMD AREC (RA), UMN APEC (fellowship), UVA (w*itlisted for aid), GWU (w*itlisted for aid), UW-Seattle (no aid)
No news as of Apr 3rd (not that I care anymore): UNC-CH, Pitt, Purdue
Rejections: Berkeley ARE, Brown, Georgetown, Vanderbilt


What would you have done differently?
Nothing. (Well, perhaps tried the PowerPrep tests.) My personal circumstances were such that I couldn't have done things differently. I do feel that I had overestimated the difficulty of getting in (to the departments I chose) but underestimated the difficulty of getting funding. But hindsight is 20-20. The biggest holes in my profile going in were: unknown grad school, bad undergrad record, lack of research experience, complete absence of a macro course (taking my first one right now). I feared the lack of macro would shut me out from the straight econ depts. All in all I am happy with my acceptance tally.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
EconCandidate 2007: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small, relatively unknown private university in the northeast.
Undergrad GPA: 3.65 (3.83 in Econ and Math)
GRE: 800Q/550V/4.0A
Math Courses: Intro Calc (A), Calc of Single Variable I (A-), Calc of Single Variable II (A-), Calc of Several Variables (A-), Integral Calc and Differential Equations (A), Linear Algebra (A-), Numerical Analysis (A-), Advanced Calculus (A), Intro to Real Analysis (A), Math Stats and Probability I (A), Math Stats and Probability II (In Progress)

Econ Courses: Honors Principles of Micro (A), Honors Principles of Macro (A), International (B+), Money & Banking (A), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Law & Economics (B+), Public Finance (A-), Game Theory (A), Econometrics (In Progress), Advanced Public Policy Thesis (In Progress)
Letters of Recommendation: From 3 professors who knew me extremely well. I can't imagine they could have been any stronger.
Research Experience: Completed a summer research project about the term structure of interest rates. Currently working on a senior thesis about funding for public education.
Teaching Experience: Certified Level III Tutor. Math and Econ tutoring experience. Teaching Assistant for Intro Calc and Calculus of a Single Variable II.
Research Interests: Public Finance, Game Theory, Applied Micro.

SOP: Discussed my math preparation, research project, teaching/tutoring experience and my goals.

RESULTS:
Acceptances:
University of Wisconsin-Madison ($) (Attending)
University of Virginia ($)
Waitlists:
Boston College

Rejections:
University of Chicago
Yale University
Northwestern University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
University of Rochester
Duke University
University of Maryland-College Park

Brown University
The Ohio State University
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign

What would you have done differently?
My experience suggests that this process is incredibly random. I ended up with funding at a program that is clearly top 12- top 15, and got rejected outright by many programs that were not ranked as highly. Don't rule out any programs that you have been admitted to, because you never know what can happen, even at the last minute! Overall, I should have tried to improve my overall undergradaute GPA and scores on the other sections of the GRE, because coming from an unknown university probably hurt my applications some. Additionally, I would have tried to complete more research as an undergrad. A combination of these factors might have made my applications considerably less random. The best advice I can give people is that a high GPA, high GRE Math, and an extensive math background are the norm for applicants, and they are minimum preparation to be an appealing candidate. These do not seperate you from the pack any more. In the end though, no regrets at all.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
rdblots 2007: Profile:

Gre: 800 Q, 570 V, 6.0 A
GPA: Overall: 3.86. Math: 3.96, Econ: 3.94 (Econ major with math minor)
Classes:
Math: Calc II, Multivariable, Intro Lin Alg, Diff Eq, Math Stat, Intro Proofs, Linear Algebra (A's), Advanced Calc (A-)

Econ: all the usual undergrad courses (A's). PhD Math Econ (A), PhD Micro (B+).

Type of Undergrad: Virginia Tech
Research Experience: this past summer and fall I RA'd for a professor at my school, I only did minor tasks, but it was still a pretty good experience
Teaching Experience: 3 semesters of tutoring economics (principles and intermediate micro)
LORs: All of my letter writers were encouraging and thought my choice of schools fit me well, so I am taking that to mean the letters should be decent. 1) Assoc. Prof/Head of Undergrad (PhD Stanford) who I tutored for and with whom I took a class, 2) Assist. Dean/Assoc. Prof who I worked with on my RA project (PhD Northwestern), 3) Prof., tutored his intermediate micro course, took intermediate micro and PhD Math Econ with him. (PhD Minnesota)

SoP & Interests: I talked about being interested in applied micro research. I named some professors from each school who had research that I found interesting.
Other: male/white/american. Boring.

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Funding- Duke (attending), Cornell, Boston College, UNC, UVA, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Georgetown
No funding- Maryland, Boston U.

Rejections: Brown
What would you have done differently? I would have only applied to Duke.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
forkie 2007: GRE: 780 Q, 630 V, 5.5
Type of Undergrad: Big Midwestern State School , Econ and Math Major
Undergrad GPA: 3.95 All A's or A-'s in all math/econ major classes
Classes: Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Math Stats, etc
Research Experience: Worked for 1 prof, 1 grad student, had an honors thesis, worked for big journal

Teaching experience: tutored econ for 2+ years
LOR: Good, all chicago economists, all know me really well
Interests: Applied Micro
Results Admitted w/ Funding: Maryland, Wisconsin, Duke, Cornell, BC, UVA, Georgetown
w/o funding:Michigan
Rejected: Chicago, Northwestern, Princeton, Brown

Going to: University of Maryland

What I learned: make sure your applications are in AND complete. I realized a few weeks before I got my chicago and northwestern rejections that they hadn't gotten everything....i felt like an idiot!
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
stupidolive 2007: Profile:
Gre: 800 Q, 550 V, 5.0 A
GPA: Overall: 3.87 Double Major: Econ and Math (BA's)

Classes: (all undergrad)
Math: Calc I through III, Linear Algebra, Abstract, Real Analysis, two semester sequence in Probability and Statistics, Independent study in ODE (current), Complex analysis, Operation research
Econ: Int Micro, Int Macro, Econometrics, bunch of others
Type of Undergrad: 30th LAC
Research Experience: departmental honors thesis...unfinished as of application time. Research assistant for 3 professors for the last 3 years

Teaching Experience: TA for calc, econ

LORs: One math, 2 econs

SoP & Interests: my SOP was nothing special. interested in development or international. said i want to work in the bank. but i think i can change now :D

Other: Female international. Applying as a senior in college. Graduating with departmental and college honor


Admission Decision Results:
Admitted: UMD (no $), GWU (18k), OSU (15k)
Rejected: Cornell, Brown, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Berkeley
Probably going to OSU

I wish I had applied more!
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
lumina 2007: My profile is not spectacular at all. But I owe a lot to this board...

Profile:
Gre: 800 Q, 510 V, 3.5 A
GPA: 3.9
Classes: (all undergrad)
Math: First Year calculus, Vector Calc (current), Diff.Eq, Elementary linear algebra, Junior level stat
Econ: Int Micro, Macro, Intro to Econometrics, History of economic thoughts, Comaprative Econcomics, money & banking, experimental econ, game theory

Etc: 3 CS classes (for CS majors)
Type of Undergrad: Large public
Research Experience: none
Teaching Experience: none other than econ tutor for one semester

LORs: Very strong. (all from econ professors)

SoP & Interests: Generic.


Other: Male. Working for an internet company

Admission Decision Results:
Admitted: UVa (no funding), VT (13k TA), Georgetown (18k) (ATTENDING)
Rejected: JHU, UMD, Rice, Emory, Cornell, Brown, Columbia
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
fidelio 2007: Profile:
Gre: 800 Q, 670 V,

GPA: Overall: 3.89 Major: IR Minor: Econ
Classes: (all undergrad- all As)
Math: Calc II, III, Linear Alg., Real Analysis, Econ: All the ones everyone else typically does.
Type of Undergrad: Top 50ish National Univ.
Research Experience: Nothing, really; have work exp. at econ consulting.
Teaching Experience: Taught English abroad, that's it.

LORs: Two from school, one was probably fantastic, one good. Third was from boss at work, probably not much better than lukewarm, unfortunately.
SoP: I thought it was pretty good; focused on why I spent so much time away from school and why I knew I wanted a PhD in Econ.
Interests: Dev., Trade, Micro

Admissions Decision Results
Admitted w/funding: JHU
w/o funding: UCSD, UC-Davis

Rejected: MIT, Harvard, Brown, Yale, Columbia, Penn, Stanford, Berkeley

Going to UCSD.

What would I have done differently? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I think that my profile said everything about me as accurately as it could, though I tend to like math a lot more than my profile would imply. I figured I'd get rejected from most of the places I applied to, but I thought it wasn't worth spending five years of my time at a place I felt I was settling for. Luckily, I actually had UCSD ranked ahead of quite a few of the schools I got rejected from for a variety of reasons, and am incredibly excited to be going there. In retrospect I've thought that maybe I should have applied to Maryland, but I've never really gotten a good feel from the campus there, and so am OK I decided against it.

Advice: Even if they don't make a flyout offer, visit schools! My visits definitely impacted my decision, and made me feel so much more comfortable and confident about it.


Good luck to all!
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
whitewinghk 2007: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: A School in HK, statistics major, no analysis

Undergrad GPA: 3.66, first class honors
Type of Grad: A school in HK, MA (Econ)
Grad GPA: Grade A average
GRE: Q800, V570, A5.5
Math Courses: no rigorous math courses, but some hard statistics courses, e.g. Statistical Inference A+, Stochastic Inference A+, Nonparametric testing (A+), linear model and forecasting (A-), Stochastic calculus (A-), Risk theory (A)
Econ Courses: Intermediate macro (A+), Micro theory I, II (A+), Macro analysis (A+), Econometircs (A), International trade (B+)

Letters of Recommendation: all strong, two from econ and one from statistics
Research Experience: 2 year RA experience, working on trade and economic development of Mainland China
Research Interests: Development and micro theory
SOP: very general indicated my research interest and RA experience at university and United Nations

RESULTS:

Acceptances:
Wisconsin ($), Boston University ($), MSU (no $), PSU (no $), UC Davis (no $)
Waitlists: ever w*iting, Uni. of Toronto and UBC
Rejections: A long list, Minnesota, UCLA, NYU, Columbia, Maryland, Brown, OSU, Cornell

What would you have done differently?
I think I have tried my best or may be I should have applied to some applied econ programs as I have strong interest in development. Yet, I am happy with the results.


Advice: Apart from Math, RA exp really helps a lot, it may make up weak math background. There would be lots of RA opp at any university. The job may be very simple like formulting Excel sheets, collecting data or plotting charts, yet it shines in your application.

For international students, the process can be quite random especially for some are from unknown schools like me. Try to apply as many as possible, certainly you need to take into account money and how willing your referees are to write so many letters for you. Yet, if you can, try to apply as many as possible and do have a super safe one as a back up. I have seen a lot of Chinese students transfer to another school in one to two years.

All the best and good luck
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
JAlfredPrufrock 2007: Profile:
Gre: 770 Q, 560 V, 5.0 A
LSAT: 156

GPA: Overall: 3.51, Econ: 3.85, Math: 3.61, Majors: Economics and Mathematics
Classes: (all undergrad- highest grade is A)
Math: Calc II(B+) Calc III (B-), Calc IV (B+), Dif EQ's (B), Foundations of Math (A), Mathematical Statistics I (A-), Math Stats II (A), Math Stats III (A-), Math Modeling and Optimzation (A-), Statistical Computing (A), Matrix Theory (A), Linear Algebra (B), Advanced Calc I (A), Advanced Calc II (A), Elementary Point Set Topology (A-)
Econ: Intro Macro (A), Intro Micro (A), Intermed Macro (A), Intermed Micro (A), Advanced Micro (A-), Advanced Macro (A-), Econ Stats (A-), Econometrics (A-), Public Finance (A-), Game Theory (A), Economics of Heath Care (A), Environmental Economics (A).
Type of Undergrad: Medium Sized Mid-West State University
Research Experience: One year Research Assistanship for Econ Faculty memeber, 1 year+ Research Assistanship for small think tank with ties to econ department (ongoing)

Teaching Experience: University hired tutor in Math (2 years), Supplemental Instruction for Principles of Micro and Macro (3 yrs)
LORs: Econ professor (PhD Florida State) who taught me Public Finance and Econometrics. Econ Prof (PhD Rochester), who taught me Econ Stats, Game Theory, and Health Care Economics. Math Prof (PhD Bowling Green) who taught me Math Stats I, II, III and Statistical Computing.
SoP: Mentioned my research interests and how each school was a good match.
Interests: Econometrics, Law and Economics, Applied Micro, I/O.

Admissions Decision Results

Admitted: UVA (no funding), UW-Seattle (No Funding), George Mason (No Funding), Florida State (Generous Funding)
Waitlisted: Boston College
Rejected: MIT, NYU, Duke, Vanderbilt (Law & Econ), UCSD, UC-Berkeley, UI-UC, Brown.
Never Heard Back From: WUSTL

Heading to: Florida State.

What would I have done differently? I would have gone to a more prestigious undergrad institution if I had realized what a handicap not going to one would be. Also I would have started caring about my grades a lot earlier, and studied for the GRE and LSAT. Also I would have applied to more mid-level schools. I knowingly applied to alot of reaches, just on a lark.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
mikethechampion 2007: My profile will be a good indicator for those at poorly ranked state schools I believe:


Profile:

Type of Undergrad: Average state school (econphd ranking 250-300) of about 30,000 students, valedicatorian/scholar of the year

Major: Dual econ theory/math major, econ honors plus university honors, 181 undergrad credits, 18 phd econ credits

GPA: 4.0/4.0


GRE: 800Q/760V/6.0A

Classes: Took almost all econ courses offered by the department, undergrad and grad, started the phd econ first year courses in my third year including Math for Econ 1 and 2, Metrics. Took all standard BA math courses plus advanced analysis, topology, Math/Stat theory, Lin al. theory, etc.

Research: Wrote three honors papers (all empirical) and a theoretical grad micro paper, senior honors thesis last semester. 3 years RA experience plus worked as a data analyst for two years.


Teaching: Substitute taught for various professors in micro, macro, labor, etc. while they were at conferences or vacation. Taught the econ sequence in the MBA core courses.

SOP: Outlined my senior honors project dealing with life-cycle consumption, outlined my interests in IO, labor, applied micro. Very poorly done as it sounded like it was computer generated and I wish I could go back and make it unique and instead of highlighting my math and econ skills, highlight my creativity, talents, and show them who I am..

LOR: 3 very strong letters (Phd's MIT, Chicago, Oregon), I did research with all three and knew them as friends going to their house for dinner etc. I wrote one of the LOR, read one, and was shown the general outline and flow of the third. They all basically said that I am the best undergrad they have seen in 30 years (the one I wrote was especially lauditory lol).

Other: 2 years foreign volunteer experience, won a national econ competiton (not well known).


I hope those of you from small state school realize that you can get good admits but I would recommend applying everywhere because grad schools may have never had a student from your school and they may think you're a great candidate but not willing to take the risk, plus you need to do a lot to overcome the ranking of your school. Good luck!

Admission Desicion Results:
Admits:
Stanford (32k)
UCSD (no $)
BU (no$)
UPenn (waitlist)

Rejects: Harvard, Princeton, Berkeley, Northwestern, UCLA, Columbia, Brown, Cornell, Caltech






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Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
AstralTraveller 2008: Profile 




Type of Undergrad: Top research institution in the country (Latin America), Economics major.
Undergrad Ranking: 54th out of almost 300 people
Type of Undergrad: Doctoral Stream MA in Econ at same University as undergrad.
Grad Ranking: 4th out of 38

GRE: 780Q, 550V, 3.5 AW
GMAT: 710 Overall, Percentile 95%Q, 83%V.
Math Courses: Calc I,II, Statistical Probability, Statistical Inference, Classic Algebra, Linear and Matrix Algebra, Optimization Methods, Mathematical Economics (Differential Equations).
Econ Courses:

UG: Intro Econ, Intro Micro, Intermediate Micro I & II, Industrial Organization, Intro Macro, Intermediate Macro I & II, International Economics, Econometrics, Urban Economics, Econ Growth Theory.
Graduate: Micro Theory (MWG), Macro Theory (Journal articles), Econometric Theory incl. Probability Theory (Spanos, Greene), Applied Econometrics (Hamilton, Maddala, Baltagi), Resource Economics (Journal articles), Behavioral Economics (Becker + Journal articles), Economics of Regulation (Tirole), Macroeconomic Programming (too many things to mention!), Social Projects Evaluation (Fontaine + Journal articles).
Letters of Recommendation: 3 Profs from my alma mater (two econometricians who graduated from Econ departments ranked 30-50, plus the director of grad studies who graduated at a top-15 institution), 1 prof from the current B-school I work at (graduated from a B-school in Europe, but who has held visiting positions at several top-5 US schools) and 1 letter from a professor (Info Systems and Technology Management) at a US Top 30 B-school who studied at a top-5 PhD program in the New England area. To all I related either as a student, research assistant, or both.

Research Experience: RA for three years: one at my alma mater's Econ department, two at a nascent local B-school. Several working papers.


Publications: Published an empirical paper on an ISI indexed blind-refereed minor journal, and a chapter on Maximum Likelihood Estimation on a Math for Economists textbook.

Teaching Experience: TA for entire Econometrics and Statistics sequence, undergrad and graduate Economics, and MBA.
Lecturer for graduate econ: Math camp (you know, the pre-enrollment course we'll all have to go through before our PhD...I have taught it!), plus Introductory Econometrics and Optimization Methods the following term. Also lecturer of Statistical Inference (for 2nd year undergrad business and econ) and Advanced Econometrics (for 6th year engineering students).

Research Interests: Industrial Organization, Econometrics.


SOP: Prepared over a 18 months timeframe.

Other: Male, single, 25 years old. Since I didn't take analysis at college, self taught Real Analysis from Baby Rudin and Topology from Ivorra. Pointed it out on my SOP.

RESULTS:
Acceptances: none so far
Waiting: UCLA (Anderson) [interviewed, shortlisted according to prof, but "not admitted" according to PhD program secretary]

Rejections: Northwestern (Econ), Chicago (GSB), Minnesota (Econ), Stanford GSB (EA&P), Duke (Fuqua), Brown (Econ).
Pending: NYU (Stern), MIT (Sloan) [these two already notified their admits:(], UCSD (Econ)

What would you have done differently?
Don't quite know yet :(. Prepared this season's application for years. As Mr. Keen, I don't know what a Micro or Macro course is without calculus. Have done my best throughout years to get admitted at a good place and so far I only have been "booted out". Maybe I applied to one too many business schools. Should have tried more Econ schools (2 top 10's) and some definite safeties.
Not sure if I want to go thru this process once again.:rolleyes:
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Internationalstudent08 2008: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: top U.S. school
Undergrad GPA: 3.7+
GRE: 800q, 670v, 4.5w (yeah, me knows how to writing)

Math Courses: Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, Groups and Topology (intro proofs), Mathematical Probability. In my senior fall I took optimization and now in the spring I take analysis.
Econ Courses: many...
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from econ profs (1 of them is famous, the other is well-known)
Research Experience: 2 summers

Teaching Experience: I have some. does it count anyway???
Research Interests: Macro, Pol. Economy, Public stuff.
SOP: I bet they don't read it
Other: International student, good at foosball.


RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Waitlists:
Rejections: Northwestern, Columbia, Duke, Stanford, Brown, Berkeley
Pending: Princeton, Chicago, NYU, UCSD,

What would you have done differently? I could write an essay about this, but I'll do it at the end
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Thesus 2008: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BSc Econ, minor in math. School does not appear on econphd.net.
Undergrad GPA: 3.97, 4.00 in math/econ
Type of Grad:n/a
Grad GPA:n/a
GRE: 800Q, 770V, 5.5 AWA

Math Courses: Calc I,II,III, Linear Algebra, Vector Calc, Intro Stats, Mathematical Stats, Real Analysis I,II, Integration & Metric Spaces, ODE, Discrete Math
Econ Courses: Micro I,II,III (not very rigourous), Macro I,II,III (ended with Romer), Math Econ I,II, Econometrics I,II, another ten electives or so, honours essay in progress.
Other Courses: nil.
Letters of Recommendation: Used four econ profs and a math prof, depending on school. None of them are well-published or
Research Experience:n/a

Teaching Experience: TA, three semesters.
Research Interests: Growth, economic dynamics.
SOP: Short, succint. Didn't reference names of professors. Briefly discussed interests but admitted I wasn't committed to the field.
Other:

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Rochester(fellowship), UBC(MA,TA)
Waitlists: Minnesota
Rejections: Brown, Yale, Berkeley, Princeton
Pending: Queen's, Toronto

What I would have done differently: I think I should've transferred to a different undergrad after two years. Now unsure whether to do the MA and reapply or head directly south.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Elly 2008: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small LAC (women's college)
Undergrad GPA: 3.91
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: 720V/790Q/5.0A
Math Courses: Math Major: Linear, Advanced Linear, Multivariate, Differential Equations, Probability and Statistics, Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra I and II, Grad Analysis and Topology
Econ Courses: Econ Major: Micro, Macro, Int'l Trade, Int'l Finance, Econometrics.. etc.
Other Courses: Intermediate Programming

Letters of Recommendation: all strong- one from my math advisor, one from my econ advisor (who I also did research with and TA'd for), one from a respected economist at a top department at which I took classes
Research Experience: Summer REU in Game Theory, Senior Thesis
Teaching Experience: TA'd for Calculus, Linear Algebra, Intro to Econ, Macro, MBA Micro Theory, MBA Statistics and Econometrics
Research Interests: Development, Micro Theory

SOP: I took it seriously but it wasn't too long
[b] Other:

RESULTS:
Acceptances: MIT($), NYU(off of list), UCLA ($), LSE (MRes/PhD Track 1, $), Toronto (Research MA, $), NSF
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, Brown
What would you have done differently? Nothing! I will be attending MIT.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Antonio 2008: PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Good Italian University (not Bocconi, but good)
Undergrad GPA: 28/30
Type of Grad: Italian School of Excellence (oooooh)
Ggrad GPA: 30/30
GRE: 800Q 540V 2.5AWA

TOEFL: 107/120
Math Courses (undergrad and grad): Mathematical Methods, Mathematics for Economics I&II, Statistics I&II, Advanced Statistics, Generalised Linear Models.
Econ Courses(undergrad and grad): Advanced Micro/Macro, Game Theory, IO, Advanced Econometrics I&II, Public Finance, Corporate Finance, Applied Econometrics, Financial Economics, Experimental Economics, Advanced Topics in Macro (PhD Course).
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from Economics professors, my graduate academic tutor and a guy from LSE (summer school). The others changed with respect to the target. However they were all economists but one (math).

Research Experience: Undergrad Thesis, one Working Paper and visiting researhcer at ENS-PSE for my grad thesis.
Teaching Experience: Undergraduate Micro.
Research Interests: Applied Micro, IO and Applied Econometrics.
SOP: Pretty good...I think.

Other: GMAT; LSE Summer school (A+); Visiting for 6 months at University of Southampton in UK. Italian, 22 (almost 23).

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Berkeley ($$), Northwestern ($$), BC ($), Toulouse (M2).
Waitlists: NYU.
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, UChicago, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, UCSD, Brown, Duke, UPenn.

Pending: BU.
What would you have done differently?
I really have not understood almost anything!
My results show a lot of randomness (i.e. MIT was wrong in rejecting me) and/or luck (i.e. Berkeley was wrong in accepting me).
On one hand I think that waiting another year, with another master from a well reputed European University and with two more well known LORs I could have had some better shots for Cambridge MA or Princeton.
On the other hand, I could say that I have been very lucky and that I must take this opportunity as soon as possible.
Just some advices for European and, more in dept, Italian guys since this forum is too American-oriented: there is always a trade off between time (apply just during my last year of school) and odds (wait one year in order to improve my chances). And only you can decide upon this. You can speak with your profs and they will suggest you. But in the end it is just a matter of your own preferences.
However I have learnt two things:

1) Getting accepted in a very good US School (Berkeley or Northwestern) is less difficult than I used to think.
2) Getting accepted in a TOP US School (MIT or Princeton) is more difficult than I used to think.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Nymaj 2008: Type of Undergrad: Big Ten School

Undergrad GPA: overall 3.0 degree in Econ
Type of Grad: mid size university - terminal master econ program
Grad GPA: 3.9
GRE: Q 770/ V 410 / AWA 5.5
Completed Math Courses: Calc 1-2, Multivariate Calc, Diff Eq, Stats, Prob, Real Analysis
Completed Econ Courses: Micro, macro, metrics and many others

Letters of Recommendation: Strong LOR's from two Duke prof. and two strong LOR from my home university
Research Experience: One research project with professor from Michigan State University and also with an professor at Duke. Currently working on another research project.
Teaching Experience: Teach Principles of macro and also TA for advance micro and metrics
Research Interests: Alot of stuff

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Michigan, Maryland, UT-Austin, Texas A&M, Rice, Houston,

Waitlists:
Rejections: Brown, Duke, Boston College, Iowa
Pending: Cornell

What would you have done differently? Should have listen to my professors and drop some lower ranked schools and applied to Yale and Harvard for kicks.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
needeconhelp 2008: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: large US public university(SUNY-SB), Econ and applied math Major

Undergrad GPA: overall GPA: 3.79; eco: 3.89 ; math:3.88.


GRE: 800Q, 510V,AWA 4.0

Math Courses: Calc 1-3 (A), differential equations(A),Logic, Language and Proof (B), Introduction to Real Analysis (A), Mathematical Statistics(A), Data Analysis(A), Finite Mathematical Structures (B+),Applied Linear Algebra (A), Linear Algebra(fall), Real Analysis(fall),

Econ Courses: A's: Intro, Micro, Macro, Strategic thinking, Regional, Mathematical Statistics, Applied Microeconomics, Financial; Econometrics (A-), Money and Banking (B+)

Grad classes: Graduate Data Analysis (A), Introduction to Probability(B-), Microeconomics(fall)

Other Courses: Intro to comp. sci.(A)


Letters of Recommendation:
4 strong letters(Yale, Stanford,LSE )
Research Experience: Independent research(fall) with Economics honors thesis
Teaching Experience: Grading assistant for intro to economics.
Research Interests: economics of education, family ( i guess labor, developement), applied microeconomics

SOP: probably below standard.
Other: I have been part of a scientific research on arsenic in drinking water in bangladesh. Thus, I have been co-authored in a few science publications. I can get some very strong recommendations from some of these professors who are really well-known in their fields.

RESULTS:
Acceptances: UVA($$), Ohio state($$),Duke (no stipend), Wisconsin(no $$ or tuition), Pittsburgh(no $)
Rejections: Berkeley, Columbia, Michigan, yale, brown, harvard, stanford, wharton, Upenn, UCLA, Maryland


What would you have done differently?
-more Pure math classes and actually work harder
-not send my Honors thesis to some school, because it was not that great.

Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
tennisboy85 2008: Type of Undergrad: good but not elite program, no PhD or grad econ

Undergrap GPA: 3.8 (3.9 in finance and econ)
GRE: 800q/450/4.5
math courses: Calc 1 (A), Calc 2 (A), Stats (A), Linear Algebra (in progress)
econ courses: a lot including math econ and econometrics
other courses: finance and econ double major, thus a lot of finance courses as well
LORs: Tufts, Purdue, Virginia, good rec-s, but not from well-published profs
Research experience: none, not in my school
Teaching experience: none
reseach interests: macro

SOP: very good one, spend a lot of money and time on it

results:
acceptances: Tufts MA Econ ($), LSE F&E (no $)
waitlists: Wustl MS Finance
rejections: Brown, Cornell, Yale Phd-s in econ, Cambridge Mphil Finance, Princeton MS Finance
pending: JHU PhD, BC MS Finance

What would you have done differently? I would not have applied to any PhD-s. Clearly I have no shot to get into them, because of my lack of my lack of math background. Not really sure if I actually want to get a PhD.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
EMEQU 2008: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Good Latin American university
Undergrad GPA: 15.4/20

Type of Grad: Good Latin American university
Ggrad GPA: 8/10
GRE: 800Q 500V 4.0AWA
TOEFL: 260/300
Math Courses (undergrad and grad): Calculus, Probability, Statistics, Real Analysis, Mathematical Economics (optimization and optimal control)

Econ Courses(grad): Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Aplied Econometrics.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 strong LOR from one very well-known senior professor, 2 strong LORS from two assistant professors.
Research Experience: Master's thesis, few working papers.
Teaching Experience: TA (undergraduate), Lecturer (undergraduate)
Research Interests: Macroeconomics.

SOP: Explained why I wanted to pursue a PhD in economics.

RESULTS:
Acceptances: University College London (no $), Texas A&M ($$), UC Davis ($$), University of Virginia ($$), Arizona State University ($$$), UIUC ($$$, 1st year fellowship), Carnegie Mellon ($$$, 1st year fellowship).
Rejections: UC San Diego, Brown University, UC Santa Cruz, JHU.
Pending: Queen's University.

What would you have done differently?
I think LORs matter a lot, specially for international students (since one professor may recommend 4 or 5 students at the same time to the same university). I wish I applied to fewer safety schools.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
pdilly 2008: Type of Undergrad: BA from a less prestigious liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.75
Type of Grad:

Grad GPA:
GRE: 770M/590V
Math Courses: Cal I-III (A's), Linear Algebra (A), Applied Stats (A), Probability Theory (B). Taking Differential Equations this semester.
Econ Courses: A's in Macro I, Intermediate Macro, Intermediate Micro, Urban Econ, Labor Econ, American Econ History, Law and Economics, B's in Micro I and Regional Econ.
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: Very strong, but not from well-known professors. My best came from my statistics prof, who is also the dean of natural sciences.

Research Experience: None
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Urban, applied Micro
SOP: Not especially strong. I have only a vague Idea of what I want to do at this point.
Other:


RESULTS:
Acceptances: Syracuse ($$), UConn (MA only, at this point)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Texas, Boston College, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, UC Boulder
Pending:

What would you have done differently?

I probably shouldn't have aimed quite so high... I didn't have much of a shot at BC and Texas. I would have applied to more schools in the 40-60 range.

I'm actually putting off grad school for a little while. Syracuse agreed to hold my offer till next year, and I'm going to work on improving my resume. I'm taking advanced cal and complex analysis at my dinky liberal arts college in the fall, and I'm planning to transfer to UT-Austin in the spring to take real analysis and econometrics, among other things. Hopefully I'll be able to work some research experience in at some point too.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
friendlyskies 2008: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small, mid-ranked LAC
Undergrad GPA: 3.99 Business admin major, Econ minor

Grad GPA: 4.0 as non-degree math grad student
GRE: 780q, 620v, 5.0w
Math Courses: multivariable calculus, linear algebra, diff eq, real analysis (2 sem.), math stats (2 sem. w/ Casella&Berger)
Econ Courses: intro micro/macro, intermediate micro/macro, IO, statistical analysis for econ
Letters of Recommendation: 2 fed economists, 1 undergrad finance prof.
Research Experience: 3 yrs as a Fed RA, a couple undergrad publications in weak journals

Teaching Experience: TA for a couple semesters in UG
Research Interests: macro, int'l trade and finance
SOP: pretty standard...try to explain away the weaknesses and accentuate the positive. emphasized my fed research experience, recent math classes, programming abilities, teaching experience.

RESULTS:
Attending: Arizona State University
Acceptances: UVA ($$), Boston College ($$), Boston University ($$$), UNC ($$), Arizona State ($$$), Vanderbilt ($$$), Tufts MA ($)

Waitlists: UT Austin
Rejections: Maryland, Duke, Brown, Georgetown
Pending: Never heard from WUSTL
What would you have done differently? I don't think I would have done much, if anything, differently. I think I targeted the range of schools pretty well given the outcome, and I'm happy with the results. ASU is a small but growing program, and I'm stoked about the opportunity to work closely with guys like Prescott and Rogerson. I am really glad that I took a few years after undergrad to build up my resume before applying though...getting good research experience, working with well-known economists, and taking higher math classes made all the difference in the quality of programs for which I was a competitive applicant.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Chess is life 2008: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Public University BA
Undergrad GPA: 3.94/ 4.0 Math/ Economics
Type of Grad: Public University MA
Grad GPA: 4.0/ 4.0 Economics
GRE: 670 V 800 Q 5.0 Writing (I took it when I was 19 to get a job at Kaplan and it worked!)
Math Courses: Topology, Real Analysis, Linear Algebra, Calculus 1-3, Differential Equations, Probability and Statistics, Numerical Analysis, Econ Courses: International Economics I and II (MA), Math for Economists (MA and PhD), Microeconomics (MA and PhD), Urban Economics (MA), Econometrics (MA and PhD), Health Economics (MA), Macroeconomics (MA), Intro. to Econometrics, Statistical Methods, Intermediate Micro and Macro, Industrial Organization (Best Class ever), Seminar in economics, Money and Banking, several independent studies,
Other Courses: Physics 1 and 2 (I seriously considered majoring in it). Computer science 1.Letters of Recommendation: Math and Economics professors. I did research with the economics professors.

Research Experience: A lot. Washington, DC think tank work for almost a year now, mainly immigration and trade issues. However, I am currently doing research on state policies that effect economic growth and presented at the CATO Institute on microcredit. I also have done research on child abuse, social capital, fed policy and housing prices, a senior thesis on NAFTA's effects on Mexico, municipal government efficiency (Global Perspective), and the fed challenge (Rutgers won our district).
Teaching Experience: Tutor for my University 2 years and tutor/teacher for Kaplan test and prep.
Research Interests: Probably Microeconomics, most likely something very game theoretical. This is subject to change given that I have yet to take a PhD level economics course in Macroeconomics.
SOP: General but adapted to each university I applied to.
Other: I think being affiliated with the CATO Institute (libertarian think tank) hurt me. Also, Rutgers has a tendency of sending students to programs and watching them promptly fail the qualifier. This couldn’t have helped me.[/font]

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Rochester (24k Fellowship), Duke (17k fellowship), Washington University, St. Louis (TA/ RA 20k), Rutgers (30k Presidential Fellowship), Michigan (Nada), UCLA (Nada), Wisconsin (Nada), Georgetown (w*it-list for funding), UCSD (TA and after a complicated formula 7k), Cornell (Nada)

Waitlists: Minnesota, NYU (High whatever that means), MIT (later rejected)
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Chicago, Columbia, UPenn, Brown, Stanford, Berkeley, Northwestern,
Pending: Nothing
Concerns: My letter writers are not very well-known

What would you have done differently?
Maybe take more math? I really don’t know what else I could have done. I think I will regret not taking more computer science courses.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
jazzcon 2008: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Econ major at a US state university with top 200 Econ grad program (ie not very strong).
Undergrad GPA: overall GPA: 3.6; econ: 3.9 ; math:3.7.
GRE: 800Q, 520V,AWA 5.5
Math Courses: Calc sequence (A), Differential equations (B+), Linear Algebra (B+), Probability Theory (B), MathEcon w/ S&B (A)

Econ Courses: The basic sequence of things.
Grad classes: MathStats w/ Casella (A), Econometrics sequence (A)
Letters of Recommendation: thesis advisor, econ prof I graded for, 2 Economists from work.
Research Experience: Undergraduate thesis, 2 years RA at the Fed.
Teaching Experience: Grader

Research Interests: IO, public, applied micro.
SOP: didn’t really spend much time on it.
Concerns: Not stellar pedigree. Not great grades. No Analysis.



RESULTS:
Attending: Virginia($$)
Acceptances: Virginia($$), Boston U.(no $$)
Rejects: Berkeley, Yale, Chicago, NWU, UMD, UMich, Brown, Duke
What would you have done differently? Went to a better undergrad? Taken more math. Better grades in Math. I am very happy with my Virginia($$) admit though.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
zwicker 2008: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Econ Major, Private not well known University (US)
Undergrad GPA: overall GPA: 3.9; econ: 4.0 ; math:4.0.
GRE: 800Q, 510V,AWA 5.0

Math Courses: Calc sequence (A), Differential equations (A), Linear Algebra (A), Probability & Stats (A), Adv. Stats (A), Discrete Math (A)
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ, 1 math; all were strong (but not MIT, Harvard, etc.)
Research Experience: Very little.
Teaching Experience: Graded and have taught occasional undergrad classes.

Research Interests: IO, micro.
SOP: I thought it was good.
Concerns: No grad level classes. No analysis. No research. Not from well known school.



RESULTS:
Attending: Arizona ($$$)
Acceptances: Wisconsin (none 1st year), Virginia($$), UNC ($$), Kentucky ($$), Arizona ($$), Texas A&M ($$), Clemson ($$),
Rejects: Yale, Brown, BC, Caltech
Pending: WUSTL (list), Vanderbilt (list)

What would you have done differently? Nothing really. I am happy with arizona. I will be a good fit there. If I was shooting for a top 10 school then I should have done a masters program in stats first and/or finished my math major. I shouldn't have applied to so many lower ranked schools. I wish I would have applied to UIUC.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
semischolastic 2008: Type of Undergrad: Small-Medium state school, no econ grad program.
Undergrad GPA: 3.7 (Economics, Information Systems double major)

Type of Grad: Currently enrolled in a MA Econ. program, top 15 school.
Grad GPA: 3.5-ish with a semester to go.
GRE: 770Q, 760V, 6.0 AW
Math Courses: Undergrad: Calculus, Linear Alg., Set Theory. Grad:Taking Real Analysis at the time of admissions. Did not have perfect grades in these. Taking math econ probably helped make up for it.

Econ Courses: Undergrad: Micro/Macro/Metrics/Electives Grad: Stats, Game Theory, Adv. Micro, PhD Micro (this was probably crucial), Macro, Research Seminar, Econometrics, Math Econ.
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from grad instructors, one of whom I did research for. The other has a reputation for writing strong letters. 3rd is from the dept chair in undergrad.
Research Experience: RA at the Fed for a year, two papers (one completed, one working). The working paper is relatively sophisticated.
Teaching Experience: Tutoring while an undergrad, TA for graduate Urban Econ.

Research Interests: Applied Micro, Public, Urban
SOP: Specialized for each school, naturally. Talked about my past experience, explained my transcript, talked about dissertation topics, faculty I wanted to work with.

Results: Admits: Chicago($$), Berkeley($$), Duke($$), Davis($)
Rejections: Brown

Ambiguous: UI Chicago (I withdrew my application), Syracuse (never heard back)
Attending: Berkeley :grad:

Done differently: It's hard to say. Some things are obvious in retrospect (I should have gone ahead and applied to Harvard and MIT, just for peace of mind; shouldn't have wasted money on Syracuse and UIC; more math). Others aren't so clear (I probably would have done physics and philosophy as an undergrad and just taken a couple of more advanced econ classes, but maybe that would have hurt my chances? And would I still have gotten the Econ MA?)

Most of that is useless navel-gazing, I think. I was fortunate to have been admitted into the schools which accepted me, and I couldn't be happier with the way things have gone. Onwards and upwards!
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
MNGoon 2008: PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics and Political Science with a Math Minor from large state University top 25ish in general, top 20 in Econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.07/4.0
Type of Grad: Master of Regional Planning
Grad GPA: 3.8/4
GRE: 780Q, 710V, 800A
Math Courses: Calculus (multi variate), Linear Algebra, Differential Equations

Econ Courses (PhD-level): None
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Public, Input-Output, IO, Urban, Housing, Game Theory, Micro and Macro Theory
Other Courses: A whole pile of Economic Development and GIS courses for Masters
Letters of Recommendation: 3 economic develoment professors (1 UC-Berkely PhD, 1 Cornell PhD, 1 Rutgers PhD), all extremely solid.
Research Experience: RA for Econ Development Prof, thesis, and cited extension work
Teaching Experience TA for Masters level Urban and Spatial Econ

Research Interests: Public Finance, Urban Econ, Spatial Modeling, Community Economic Development, Extension
SOP: Critiqued by Econ Profs
Other: Been out of school for a while, Former Peace Corps Volunteer, Currently working for a non-profit loan fund

RESULTS:
Attending: UW-Madison (Agricultural and Applied Economics)
Acceptances: Applied/Ag Econ Programs: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia State, Clemson

Waitlists:
Rejections: Econ Programs: Brown, BU, UMass-Amherst, UConn Applied: Cornell, Wharton, UNC
What would you have done differently? Maybe not have waited until I turned 30 to accept an offer. In all seriousness, as far as the application process goes, I would not have done anything differently. I spent last summer talking to former professors and asked them to introduce me to the people they know in departments that they thought would be a good fit for me. I also talked to them extensively about my interests and the work I had done with them in the past so that they would have more information to draw upon when writing the LORs. As a result, I got into more, and better programs than my profile may have suggested. I am though going to get my *** handed to me at Madison.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
elcapitano 2008: GRE: 800Q 720V 4.5AW(doh) (2nd Attempt)

Undergrad: Good but not brilliant research university

High 1st Class Degree
All Maths and Econ Courses 1st in 12 of 14 including all the maths courses.
Graduated 2nd in class.

Math: All that I was allowed to take

SOP: Probably weak


Experience: Two years in government

Interests: Growth, Development, Trade

Applied: Brown, Columbia, Harvard, Oxford (MPhil), NYU, UBC (MA)

Results: Accepted - UBC ($$), Oxford ($?)

Rejected - Brown, Columbia, Harvard, NYU

What would you have done differently?
I would've realised that UK undergrad and some work experience is not sufficient to get into a top US program. Having realised this I also would've applied to Cambridge for their MPhil and probably LSE and not bothered applying for US programs this time round. However, i'm still pretty happy.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
LagrangeJames 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. econ, B.A. math, large state university, EconPhD top 60
Undergrad GPA: 3.9/4.0
GRE: 800Q, 650V, 4.5AWA

Math Courses: Calc III (A+), Linear algebra (A+), Differential equations I, II (A-, A), Introductory probability theory (A, fall), Math modeling (A, fall)
Econ Courses (PhD-level): Optimization theory (A-, fall), Econometrics II (spring)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): All of them, including two econometrics courses and game theory; A- in intermediate microeconomics, A's otherwise
Other Courses: Spanish minor
Letters of Recommendation: Four economics professors -- nobody famous, but I had collaborated on research projects (that I had initiated) with three of them

Research Experience: Two working papers co-authored with faculty
Teaching Experience: Teaching assistant for introductory microeconomics, spring
Research Interests: Growth and development, specifically microeconomic development
SOP: Used a standard template for all statements but tailored last couple paragraphs to specific program, mentioning examples of faculty research I was interested in (but did not mention any faculty by name)

Concerns: No real analysis, but optimization theory provided a good crash course
Applying to: Maryland, Brown, MIT, Harvard, Yale, UCSD, Berkeley, Minnesota, Michigan, NYU, Boston, Columbia, LSE (M.Sc.)

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Yale (with funding), Michigan (no first-year funding), Boston (with funding), UCSD (with funding)
Waitlists: Minnesota

Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Columbia, Maryland, Brown, NYU
Withdrawn: LSE
What would you have done differently?
If I had discovered this forum sooner, I probably would have taken more proof-based math courses, which most likely would have boosted my chances at top top schools. However, I think research experience, letters of recommendation from faculty involved in that research and a good "fit" (in terms of my research interests) -- factors that are often overlooked, including by myself -- helped my chances at several schools. Good luck, everyone.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Internationalstudent08 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top-5
Undergrad GPA: 3.7
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: Q800, V670, A4.5
Math Courses: Real Analysis, Optimization (As)
Econ Courses: Typical undergrad courses, intro+field courses
Letters of Recommendation: 3 good ones
Research Experience: 1 year RA (+2 summers as an undergrad)

Teaching Experience: Some tutoring
Research Interests: Mostly applied micro
SOP: Must have been good
Other:

RESULTS:
Acceptances: UChicago (waiting to hear about funding), UMaryland (18k), Penn State (25k)

Waitlists: Wharton AE
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, Brown

Total Score: 10-1-3
Pending: None

What would you have done differently?


I really didn't take advantage of my undergrad school as I should have. I should have started RAing earlier, and I should have taken graduate-level courses as an undergrad, instead of being a chicken. Also, I made some bad thesis-related choices hehe

However, since last year's admission cycle, I did everything that I could to improve my profile, and ended up working with some great people. I learned a lot- perhaps more than what I'm going to learn in grad school.

The only significant econ-phd-related mistake I made was to apply to all top-10 schools and almost none of the schools between 10 and 20 (except for UMaryland). I rejected most of the schools in that range based on location preferences. Since my profile was not clear-cut top10, I should have been more careful.

Anyway, I'm glad I made it!!!!!
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
scrobles 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Econ and Math, MIT
Undergrad GPA: 4.7/5.0 (equivalent to 3.7)

Type of Grad: none
GRE: 800Q/740V/5.5W
Math Courses: Calc 1&2, Linear Algebra, Probability, Statistics, Real Analysis, Intro to Discrete Math, Modern Algebra, Intro to Stochastic Modeling (Grad course). About half As and half Bs, with more As in the later years.
Econ Courses: Intro and Intermediate Micro and Macro, Econometrics, Education, Development, Behavioral, Public Policy, Environmental, Econ research class. Mostly As.

Other Courses: Chinese
Letters of Recommendation: 3 profs with PhDs from MIT. The first was my development teacher and I RA'd for her a couple of semesters. I worked for the second two doing field research for 2 years after graduating.
Research Experience: Working at a econ research NGO for 2 years after college. RA for a bit in college.
Teaching Experience: Tutoring probability course in university, and general tutoring stuff.
Research Interests: Development, Behavioral, applied micro

SOP: My experiences and my interests. Why I like econ.
Other:

RESULTS:
Acceptances: UCSD, UCLA, UC Davis ARE, Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, USC, Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford
Waitlists: nope

Rejections: MIT, Columbia, Brown


What would you have done differently?
My results were great, I think mostly because of my LORs so I think my after-college job really saved me. If I had to do it again, I would get As in key courses (mostly math) and do an economics thesis, but this is just theoretical since it wasn't necessary.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
fhk 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A Economics, Yale
Undergrad GPA: 3.20
Type of Grad: Masters of Economics, ANU
Grad GPA: 73/100 (Upper Second Class or 2.1 as they call it in UK)

GRE: 800Q/660V/6A
Math Courses: Multi Variable Calc, Linear Algebra, Probablity and statistics, Optimisation, Math for Economists 1 and 2 (Masters)
Econ Courses: Masters Micro, Macro, Applied Econometrics, Econometric Techniques, Quantitative International Economics, Development Economics (all masters) plus a bunch of courses in undergrad.
Other Courses: Nothing relevant
Letters of Recommendation: One Professor (really famous), one lecturer, and an Associate Professor.
Research Experience: Masters Thesis

Teaching Experience: Teaching introductory economics at a Management Sciences Department in Pakistan
Research Interests: Trade and Development
SOP: Ok. Tried to explain my terrible undergraduate record and point out the improvement since. Didn't really work
Other:

RESULTS:
Acceptances: ANU (already attending)

Waitlists:
Rejections: U Chicago, Tepper School of Business, Pen State, Oxford, Brown, UCSD
Pending: Boston, UBC
What would you have done differantly? Performed much better in my undergrad obviously. And applied to much lower ranked schools. Also should have been more careful about whom to ask for LORs.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
xbar 2009: PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: B.S. Economics: Management Science (Top 10 US Institution by IDEAS)
Undergrad GPA: Econ: 3.5/4, Highest Distinction; Cumulative: 3.14
GRE: 800Q, 550V, 4.5W
Math Courses (undergrad): Calc II (B-), Calc III (C+), Linear Alg (B-), Mathematical Reasoning (B)
Econ Courses (grad): Econometrics I (B), Micro I (B-)

Econ Courses (undergrad): Everything besides macro (A's and B's)
Other Courses: Bob Marley and History of Jamaican Culture, MMW 5
Letters of Recommendation: MIT, Stanford GSB, UCSD
Research Experience: Senior Thesis (A)
Teaching Experience: TA for one year (Intro. Micro/Macro)

Research Interests: Econometrics, Game Theory
SOP: Concise.

RESULTS:
Attending: Rochester
Acceptances: Rochester ($$)
Rejections: Penn State, JHU, Cal, Brown, BU


What would you have done differently?
Stress out less. Maybe taken one or two more grad courses. Topology, just because it is interesting in itself.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Sonaar 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics, minor in History from a Latin American University

Undergrad GPA: 4.3/5.0, ranked 2nd in cohort.
Type of Grad: M.A. Economics, same Uni as undergrad
Grad GPA: 4.4/5.0, ranked 7th in cohort.
GRE: 790Q, 500V, 4.0 AWA. Second time.

Math Courses: Calculus I, II and multivariate (A, B+, A), linear algebra (A), Math for economics (A), Math statistics I and II (both As), Econometrics I and II (both As)
Econ Courses (PhD-level): Micro (A+), Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Growth theory (A), International Economics (A), etc. for M.A.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I, II and III (A, B+, A); Macro I, II and III (A, B, A+), Fiscal and Monetary theory, Public Economics... lots of them, lots of As.
Letters of Recommendation: one from a pre-tenured economics professor, one from the senior economist of a IFI, other from an economist of another IFI. One from a prof of a Public Policy School.

Research Experience: lots, almost 7 years between an Latin American think tank, now at IFI.
Teaching Experience: tutor of linear algebra and other econ courses, TA and later main instructor.
Research Interests: Applied Microeconomics, Health economics, Development, Labor
SOP: Done, pretty good

Concerns: some weak grades and econ and math courses (I was young and stupid then), and no formal, more advanced math.
Other: M.A. thesis published at local refereed journal, presented at an international conference.


RESULTS:
Attending: Maryland ($)
Acceptances: Maryland ($)

Rejections: Michigan, Duke, Michigan St, UT Austin, Johns Hopkins, U British Columbia, Brown.
Pending: BU
What would you have done differently? A lot. besides the obvious (more math, better grades, apply to more safeties), I should have applied earlier. Too much RAship (7 years!) probably hurt my application. I was extremely lucky to get a funded offer.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
elcapitano 2009: PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BSc Economics, University of Sussex
Undergrad GPA: ~3.9+
Type of Grad: MA Economics, UBC
Grad GPA: ~3.8+
GRE: 800Q, 720V, 4.5 AWA. Second time.
Math Courses: Not many, all (A's)

Econ Courses: A bunch, mostly (A's)
Letters of Recommendation: Will have been enthusiastic, although might not have the highest profile in the US.
Research Experience: fairly little, two years working in government, undergrad thesis.
Teaching Experience: TA for introductory courses.
Research Interests: Political Economy, Development (macro/institutions/policy), Trade, Economic History

SOP: Short, dull.
Concerns: Not much real math.


RESULTS:
Attending: LSE (MRes/PhD) ($$$)
Acceptances: LSE (MRes/PhD)

Withdrawals: Cambridge, Oxford, Cornell
Rejections: Columbia, Brown.
What would you have done differently? Not too much, LSE was one of my two target schools. Could possibly applied to more of the top ten, however given the funding and location offered there are only perhaps 5-6 schools that I might have taken ahead, and my chances at these were probably infintessimal. I think British undergrad certainly helped applications to British schools and probably hinders in the US.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
veryshuai 2009: PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Nicely ranked midwest LA
Undergrad GPA: 3.62
Type of Grad:Econ
Grad GPA: ~85/100
GRE: 800/700/4.5

Math Courses: Calc 1-3 (A,A,A-), Stats (A), Real Analysis (A)
Econ Courses: Grad series Macro, Micro, and Econometrics and some other stuff...A's except Micro 1 (B) and Time Series (B) (no pluses or minuses in our program)
Other Courses: Nothing that should matter
Letters of Recommendation: UCLA (thesis advisor), Brown, U Mich
Research Experience: RA for a semester, Master's Thesis

Teaching Experience: Nope
Research Interests: Development, Applied Macro Theory, not sure...goal to work in the research dept. of international organization
SOP: Spent a lot of time on it, but who knows...
Other: Fulbright fellowship and some other money awards...


RESULTS:
Acceptances:Penn State ($$),BU (no$), UW Madison(no$)
Waitlists: none
Rejections:Michigan, Minnesota, Brown, Harvard, U Chicago, NYU, Columbia, UPenn, Berkeley, UCLA,
Pending:Georgetown

What would you have done differently? Applied to a few more mid-ranked schools...it would be nice to have another funded option or two. Having said that, I am glad that I got firm rejections from all the top 20's, so that I don't have to wonder "What if?"
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
mjsmith1986 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ from small but respectable LAC with well known Econ researchers; they don't do minors but I have taken enough math to qualify for a "minor" at other schools
Undergrad GPA: 3.67 cumulative, 3.83 econ
GRE: 800Q, 590V, 5.5 AWA

Math Courses: Calc I (A-), Calc II (A), Calc III (A), Linear Algebra (A), Proofs and Fundamentals (B), Stats (A), Real Analysis I (A), Topology (A), Real Analysis II (Spring '09), Dynamical Systems (Spring '09)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): The relevant ones: Intermediate Micro (B+), Intermediate Macro (A), Advanced Micro (A), Econometrics (A), Senior Thesis (A)
Other Courses: Some political studies/physics
Letters of Recommendation: Two from Econ Profs (UT-Austin and Yale), one from Math Prof (head of Math dept.)
Research Experience: RA for Econometrics professor; Awarded summer research grant (co-authored a paper with a professor, in publishing stages); senior thesis

Teaching Experience: TA for intro micro
Research Interests: Labor Economics (specifically Economics of Education), Behavioral Economics, basically Applied Micro and Econometrics stuff.
SOP: Just talked about my research experience and interests.
Other: Applied for an NSF grant to build on some conclusions from my undergraduate thesis.

Concerns: That my Verbal score might be a little low. I was easily testing in the high 600s but I basically rushed through it on the GRE to get to the Quant. I also declared a late major in Econ (in my junior year) and have spent the last year and a half rushing to make up the appropriate math/econ courses for grad school, so I don't know whether that sends a good or bad signal to the adcomms. Also, high volume of apps this year with rather homegenous profiles.
What I would have done different: Majored in math from the start. Curse my fickle interests!
Applying to: Princeton (Woodrow Wilson School), Cornell, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, George Mason, Carnegie Mellon, Boston U, Boston College, Virginia, Duke

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Boston College ($$), Johns Hopkins ($), UVA ($?)

Rejections: Princeton, Brown, Maryland, George Mason, Boston U, Duke, CMU
Pending: Cornell (Probably rejected)

ATTENDING: Boston College

What could I have done differently?
As I said before, I would have majored in math from the start rather than rushing in my last semesters to make up the appropriate coursework. Aside from that, not much; I am pleased to have the offer that I do and am looking forward to graduate school!




Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
anx1ous 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Econ & Int'l Affairs from top 10 U.S. public (with an 'unranked' econ dept.)

Undergrad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 800Q, 680V, 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Diff Eqs, Stats I, grad Prob & Stats
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): the usual suspects
Other Courses: lots of poli sci/int'l affairs

Letters of Recommendation: all econ, 2 'unknown' (Berkeley ARE & Michigan State) and 1 'known' (MIT)...probably 2/3 were 'really' strong
Research Experience: in my 4th semester as an RA, worked on 2 projects that led (or rather, are leading) to a working paper & a senior thesis
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: applied micro--labor (specifically education) & development

SOP: standard?
Other: did a summer research program at a top 20 dept. (which I think was incredibly instrumental in my outcomes); tried to show that despite my weak math background I at least had some programming skills
Concerns: LACK OF MATH...everything else was ok, I think
What I would have done different: TAKEN MORE MATH, but I didn't know I wanted to do an econ PhD until 2nd semester junior year and was always drawn more to the social sciences than math (and had no idea they could be one and the same!)


RESULTS:

Acceptances: Columbia ($), Maryland ($), Berkeley ARE ($), Texas ($), Vanderbilt ($), Georgetown (waitlisted w/ $), GW (no $)
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, NYU, Brown

ATTENDING: Columbia :D

What could I have done differently?

In terms of the application process: applied to 2-3 fewer lower ranked depts. and put that money/time/effort towards applying to a few more top 10 schools (probably just to cover my bases, as I have no reason to believe that I would've done any 'better'). Also: stayed away from TM/Gradcafe during admissions season! ;)

In terms of preparation: again, done a math minor/double major (for admissions as much as self-preparation--I'm pretty worried now!), but you can only take this 'should've/would've/could've' question so far, since I simply didn't know until later that I wanted to pursue this path or what was required of me.

All in all, however, I am extremely happy with my outcomes. I obviously had zero expectations or I wouldn't have applied to such a wide-ranging group of schools.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
FierceEconDR 2009: Type of Undergrad: B.A. Math & Econ from the Poor's people Harvard aka CUNY

Undergrad GPA: 3.92/4, Summa Cum Laude
Type of Grad: M.S. Economics courses
Grad GPA: ?
GRE: 790Q, 540V, 5 AWA
Math Courses: All required courses for math degree, Calc I-III + Real Analysis I (B), Abstract Algebra, Linear Algebra 1 and 2, Probability Theory(B+), Statistics (Theory) (A+) All others A's

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro and Macro Theory, Labor, International Finance(Macro), Development theory- All A's Advanced econ stats (A+)
Grad courses: Took the Macro, Micro, Econometrics, and some other stuff at a masters in europe. Not in my applications.
Letters of Recommendation: 4 econ professors=1 Berkeley ('semi-known') + 1 Harvard + 1 Kansas/NBER +1 Queen's ('Known'), I am confident they were solid and very enthusiastic.
Research Experience: AEA Summer Training Program, some development research in Paris IX

Teaching Experience: Macro & Micro, Math Tutor
Research Interests: Labor, Development, Applied Micro-econometrics
SOP: I think it was ok, I did it alla S. Athey: Why I want it (duh research!) what research have I done, what papers did i like, some questions I would like to answer, why U X is good. Name dropped in all of them (2 names).

RESULTS:


Acceptances: Maryland ($),Texas ($)
Withdrawn: UC Davis
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Yale, Chicago, UPenn, Berkeley, Michigan, NYU, Cornell, Northwestern, UCSD, Brown, Penn State

ATTENDING: Maryland :grad:


What could I have done differently?
In terms of the application process: not apply to PSU and apply to Columbia for my NY Bias (not that I would've gotten into!). I have to second: stayed away from TM/Gradcafe during admissions season! ;)

I am extremely happy with UMD so in the end it payed off.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
funkychinamen 2009: PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 10 Econ program, transfer from top 40 Econ program, Econ major
Undergrad GPA: 3.892 /4.000
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 780Q 480V 4.5AWA

Math Courses: Calc I, Calc II, Calc III, Vector Calc, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Probability Theory, Linear Algebra - proof-based, Intro to Proofs, Real Analysis, Math Stats (Spring)
Econ Courses: Intermed Micro, Intermed Macro, Topics in Macro, Analysis of Econ Data, I.O., International Micro, International Macro, Labor, Intro to Mathematical Econ, Game Theory, Econometrics, Grad Micro I, Applied Econometrics (Spring)
Letters of Recommendation: One from an associate professor in the Ag Econ department who I researched with, one from an assistant professor at Business School who I researched with, one from professor who taught grad course
Research Experience: One year with an associate professor in the Ag Econ department, One semester with assistant professor in Business school, senior thesis in progress

Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: I.O., Micro Theory, Labor
SOP: Looked back at it the other day. I HOPE they didn’t read it.:(
RESULTS:

Acceptances:
USC Marshall ($), Duke ($), Northwestern ($), UCSD (No $), Texas (No $), Boston U (No $)
Waitlists:
UPenn (rejected), Caltech (rejected)
Rejections:
Yale, Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, Minnesota, Maryland, UCLA Anderson, Harvard, Michigan, NYU, Cornell, Brown
What would you have done differently?

I would have studied harder for the GRE, finished a major in applied math, and applied to UCLA econ.

(Not-so) Fun Facts:
-Not accepted to any Ivy League school (UPenn waitlist)
-Not accepted to any school that used the Embark system (Caltech waitlist)

Attending: Northwestern!
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
tmdruie 2009: So I can get on the shiny charts!


PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Physics and Economics from a top 10 liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.14/4.0
Type of Grad: One stats class
Grad GPA: 3.3

GRE: 790Q, 600V, 5.0AW
Math Courses: Calc I-III(I took them in high school, I really don’t remember and nor do my transcripts), Linear Algebra (B), Mathematical Probability and Statistics (B-, B), Real Analyst(A, at a different school then my undergrad), Stochastic Processes (B+, grad course, at a different school then my undergrad)
Econ Courses: AP Micro and Macro (A, in high school), European Economic History (B+), Law and Economics (B), Intermediate Price Theory (B), Intermediate Macro Theory (B), Econometrics (B), Contemporary British Economy (B), Industrial Revolution-Britain (A-), Econ of Multinational Corps (A-), Thesis (labor econ)
Other Courses: Physics, which I put in my math lists. Quantum Mechanics I, Partial Differential Equations (B+), etc. I only did the bare minimum for a liberal arts major
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ professors (my thesis advisor and the person who led my study abroad), 1 physics professor (thesis advisor), 1 economist who is my supervisor

Research Experience: RA for 2.5 years at ‘a central bank’
Teaching Experience: Tutored, graded and lab assisted for two years for physics in college
Research Interests: All over the place. Labor, policy, experimental, applied micro, development, etc.
SOP: Intro, I did physics I can do math!, I wrote a thesis in economic and liked doing research, I’m working as an RA and like doing research, I took extra math and can write proofs, I was part of an econ paper reading group and like reading papers, interests (changed a bit depending on what the school had, and more policy oriented for ag econ schools). Also a few sentences about things I did that I removed or added depending on the school. The 500 word schools were hard, the 1000 word schools were easy. I also had a Personal History Statement about being a female doing math for the schools that wanted it.
Other: Applied for the NSF. I tried not to say anything to risky, and not say much about interest in policy to non policy/ ag econ schools. I like Aikido.


RESULTS:
Acceptances: Boston University (waitlist for $), Michigan State(no $), University of Essex (ISER), Ohio State (Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics) ($-Fellowship), Indiana University ($-TA), Iowa State University ($-TA)
Waitlists: University of Minnesota
Rejections: MIT, Harvard (Econ and Political Economy and Government), Yale, Berkeley (Agricultural & Resource Economics), Northwestern, NYU, U Penn (Econ and Wharton), University of Wisconsin – Madison (Econ and Agricultural and Applied Economics ), Columbia, Brown, Cornell, Caltech, University of British Columbia , Ohio State, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor (Econ and Public Policy and Economics), University of Maryland (Econ and Agricultural Economics), Boston College, Johns Hopkins, University of Minnesota (Applied Economics), University of California – Davis (Econ and Agricultural Economics), Duke, University of Essex, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Carnegie Mellon (Econ, Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Public Policy and Economics)
Pending: Toronto MA, Queen’s MA


What would you have done differently?
Gotten better grades in undergrad. When I really started understanding what the things I need to do for a PhD I think I did the best I could, took real analysis, applied for the NSF (if only to write a SoP for them), read papers etc. I probably could have gotten more research experience at my job (co-author), and I defiantly could have gotten better grades and taken more math as an undergrad. But over all I’m happy.

Attending:
Boston University
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
jito32 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Finance from Univ Florida
Undergrad GPA: 3.89/4
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800Q, 650V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc Sequence (A), Sets & Logic (A) Diff. Eq, Linear Algebra, Mathematical Statistics next semester
Econ Courses: Principles (As) Intermediate Micro (A) Urban next semester
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ professors, one great one good, 1 from finance lecturer
Research Experience: RA for a year
Teaching Experience: TA for a year
Research Interests: Macro, public, interational
SOP: Boiler plate
Concerns: Just decided to pursue the degree this summer, so lacking in math/econ classes.
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Waitlists:
Rejections:
Pending: Stanford, Princeton, Cornell, Brown, Rochester, Boston U, Texas, Virginia, WUSTL, Iowa, George Mason
What you would have done differently: Started applying sooner. I knew all semester what I was doing but somehow everything got pushed back with my late GRE date of November 1st. Wish I would have read this forum earlier.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Waitlists:
commodore 2007: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: top 20 private research university with an average econ department
Undergrad GPA: 4.0
Type of Grad: none

Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800 Q/750 V/ 6.0 AW
Math Courses: calc I & II (A), linear algebra (A), diff eq (A), advanced calc (A), stats (A), applied stats (in progress)
Econ Courses: everything, all A's

Letters of Recommendation: three good ones, two from people who are somewhat known. It turns out that one of my recommenders is a friend of Truman Bewley, Yale's DGS. I didn't know that until last week. I certainly hope that's not the reason I got in, but in looking at the results, I have to wonder.
Research Experience: undergraduate honors thesis (to be submitted for publication:luck2:)
Teaching Experience: 2 semesters as a TA for intro micro & macro
Research Interests: development, labor, economics of education, IO, trade

SOP: I really don't think it matters much. I talked about wanting to do development. I hid my love of teaching and played up my love of research.

RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Yale ($)
Northwestern (no funding)
Michigan (no funding)
Kennedy School ($)

Duke PubPol ($)
Waitlists:
Brown
Rejections:
Princeton
Berkeley
Stanford
Cornell


Attending: Yale
What would you have done differently? I'm not really sure what was wrong with my application, but I'm very glad to have gotten into Yale, and I'm sure I'll be happy there. I guess that if I had it to do over again, I'd apply to even more good schools, because admissions really are random sometimes. Cast a wide net and don't take anything for granted. I really thought Cornell and Brown were my fallbacks, and I didn't even get in. Doing it over again, I'd probably pick 3 or 4 more schools to apply to.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
octavio 2008: Type of Undergrad: Large US state university, econ program ranked very low
Undergrad GPA: 4.0
Type of Grad: Currently enrolled in econ masters at a US public university

Grad GPA: 4.0 through first semester
GRE: 800Q, 690V, 6.0 AW
Math Courses: Undergrad: Calc 1-4, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Real Analysis; Grad: Topology, Optimization (IP)
Econ Courses: Undergrad: All the standard intro/intermediate, econometrics, electives; Grad: Micro, Macro, Econometrics

Letters of Recommendation: All three were from economists and should be very positive. Nobody famous, that I know of... but I get the impression that they were very specific.
Research Experience: Summer RA for econometrics professor, currently an RA for a couple of professors working in applied micro
Teaching Experience: None, except some grading
Research Interests: Development, trade, applied micro

SOP: It was very conservative, about a page long, talking about what I had done as a research assistant, what my general research interests were, and my desire to work in academia after graduation. For the AREC programs, I added a short paragraph about my experiences studying abroad in a developing country and my eagerness to do field work (without sounding naive).

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Berkeley ARE ($, will be attending), UCSD ($), Maryland ($), Michigan (no $), Wisconsin AAE ($), Michigan State ($), UC Davis ($)
Waitlists: Brown
Rejections: Stanford, Yale


What would you have done differently? Things worked out well given that my pedigree was so poor. I got into Berkeley ARE, which is a perfect match for my interests, so I can't think of much to do differently. Probably shouldn't have applied to Stanford and chosen a different reach instead, not that I would have gotten in.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
mysherona 2008: My turn!

Type of Undergrad: Economics from Philippine university

Type of Grad: Mathematics from the same university (will not complete degree)
GPA: I can't convert it so it's useless
GRE: 800Q, 760V, 6.0AWA
TOEFL: 118/120
Courses: Typical in the programs I took; nothing special

Teaching: A year of intro calculus
Research: First prize for undergrad paper
RA: Small jobs here and there
LORS: Former econ profs
Interests: International, Monetary

SOP: Used the same thing for all the schools
Others: Male, 22

RESULTS:
Attending: Columbia ($)
Other acceptances: Northwestern ($), Duke ($), Georgetown ($), master's programs at Oxbridge, LSE and Toulouse ($)

Waitlists: Berkeley, Penn, Brown---all rejected me in the end
Rejections: the rest of the top 10 econ programs, UCLA, UCSD
Comments: I was very lucky so I'm happy with the way it turned out. If I could start over again I'd probably do my BA abroad.

Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
freecon 2009: PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BA Econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.90/4.0 (gpa in math&econ 3.96) Top ranked out of 150
Type of Grad: No grad degree
GRE: 780Q
Math Courses: Calculus I-II, Linear Algebra, Math for economists, Math Analysis, Graph Theory and Networks, Probability and Statistics I-II
Econ Courses: Many...Macro and micro theories, Game Theory I-II, Growth and Development, International Trade I-II, Public Finance, Monetary, Econometrics I-II, Time Series

Other Courses: Java, Matlab, Management courses...
Letters of Recommendation: I used five different recommenders. One was a famous prof, one was department chair, others were associate profs knowing me well.
Research Experience: non
Teaching Experience: Tutoring in Econ 101&102 for two years, assisting in CS 123 for a semester
Research Interests: Game theory, Macroeconomic theory, macroeconomic policy games
SOP: I have sent a standard SOP to each school by just changing the name of institution. It is neither bad nor well-prepared, although I spent great time on it.

Other:

RESULTS:
Attending: BU ($$$)
Acceptances, declined: UMD ($$$), JHU ($$), Brown, LSE-MSc, UPF-MSc ($$$)
Waitlists: Brown funding list

Rejections: MIT, Princeton, Berkeley, Yale, UCLA, UPenn, Northwestern, NYU, UCSD
Pending: UWM

What would you have done differently? Firstly, I didn't study for GRE assuming that the quantitative part was easy. Yes, it was easy. But I should have studied to gain speed. Further, the verbal part was horrible for me as an international student. If I had studied, I may do well. Secondly, I didn't apply to Cornell, Columbia, Michigan, Chigago and Minnesota. I should have made a better combination of schools instead of applying Princeton,MIT,Berkeley,Yale and so on. Thirdly, it is the important one: I should have written more specific SOPs. But, it was impossible for me since I still haven't know exactly my research interests.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
calgrad08 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: UC Berkeley, double major in Economics and Applied Math (with high honors)

Undergrad GPA: 3.9
GRE: 800Q, 710V, 5.5A
Math Courses (Undergrad level): multivariable calc, linear algebra (2 semesters), abstract algebra, numerical analysis, real analysis, complex analysis
Econ Courses (Undergrad level): micro, advanced micro, macro, metrics, applied metrics, game theory, development, psych & econ

Econ Courses (PhD level): metrics (2 semesters)
Other Courses: probability theory; operations research courses for applied math concentration
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from prof for whom I’d worked for years as an RA, 1 from advanced micro prof, and 1 from grad metrics prof
Research Experience: 3 years (including summers) working for Berkeley profs; 1 summer at Treasury Dept; 1 year at Federal Reserve Bank
Teaching Experience: none

Research Interests: metrics, applied micro
SOP: nothing special, and I didn't customize it at all for the different schools
Other: submitted NSF app but didn’t win

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Berkeley, Chicago, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, UCSD, Wisconsin

Waitlists: Brown
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Yale
Pending: none

Attending: Princeton

What would you have done differently?

--Senior honors thesis, both for the sake of submitting it along with my apps and being able to say that I'd done one, and for the good practice it would have been to have done my own research. I also would have tried to coauthor something with my profs, or at least get more involved in the analysis/writing of their papers rather than the (mostly) data-prep work I did for them as an RA.
--Attend office hours. I got quite good letters from my recommenders, but I can't help but think it would have been good to get to know them (and other professors) better.
--Grad-level micro. Metrics was great and I would certainly take it again if I was doing things over, but it would have been nice to have had micro under my belt as well.

But honestly I've had great luck in the admissions process and I'm thrilled to be heading to Princeton this fall. These "things I would have done differently" are really minor in the grand scheme of things, and with so much noise in the process anyway, would hardly have made much of a difference. The admissions game is as much a mystery to me now as it was before I applied!
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
mathy backpack 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large Public University, BA Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.75 Overall, 3.9 Econ, 4.0 Math
Type of Grad: MA Economics (1/2 of credits were math though)
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 800Q, 690V, 5.0AWA
Math Courses: Calc I, Calc II, Vector Calc, Linear Algebra, Logic, Probability/Statistics (multivar calc), Real Analysis, Linear Algebra(grad), Probability Theory(grad)...All A's Taking: Statistical Theory(grad)
Econ Courses (grad): Micro(MA), Macro(MA), Econometrics(MA), Labor(MA), Public Finance(MA), GameTheory(MA), Optimization I(PhD)...All A's Taking: Adv Macro(PhD), Optimization II(PhD)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermed. Micro & Macro, plus 12 other Junior/Senior semester courses for the major...All A's in these, but with a spicy little B and a C in intro Micro and Macro(101 and 102) as a Freshman
Other: English Minor, Drum & Bass show on student radio
Letters of Recommendation: Different combos of 5 Econ profs from master's program
Research Interests: Micro Theory, Game Theory, Behavioral, Micro-ish Development
SOP: Spent way too much time, 1 1/2 pages, standard I'm sure
Concerns: Picked a great year to apply!?!
Other: Despite the random attacks of anxiety, I am pretty excited. Trying to prepare myself to not take the rejections too personally. I have faith that I will end up exactly where I am supposed to be.
Applying to: The usual suspects...Princeton, Yale, Berkeley, Chicago, Northwestern, NYU, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Penn, WUSTL, Duke, Carnegie Mellon.... hopefully enough!
Fingers: crossed
:)Good Luck to everyone.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists: