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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:
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:
pevdoki1 2008:
Type of undergrad: Mid-sized state university (SUNY Binghamton)

GPA: 3.99 (math/econ double major)
Type of Grad: none
GRE: Q800, V470, AWA 4.5
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Intro to Higher Math, Complex Analysis, Real Analysis I-II, Mathematical statistics I-II
Econ Courses: The usual. No graduate level courses.

Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 1 really good one from an economics professor who knows me well, 2 from math professors
Research Experience: Virtually none. Started a thesis, never finished
Teaching Experience: TA intermediate macro for 1 semester. 1 year of tutoring experience.
Research Interests: Macro and monetary, but these can change

SOP: Pretty good, I think. Standard 1st page, customized second (mentioning professors and all)

RESULTS:
Acceptances:
University of Minnesota ($)
WUSTL ($)
UT Austin ($)

U Toronto (MA, $)
UBC (MA, $)
Indiana ($)
Rutgers ($)
Purdue ($)
Virginia (no funding)
Cornell (no funding)

Waiting list: none


Rejections: University of Western Ontario

No word: Queen's

What I would have done differently:
Applied to less lower ranked schools. However, I'm quite happy with getting into Minnesota (and WUSTL, for that matter).s Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
yayflipflops 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small LAC
Undergrad GPA: 3.6/4
GRE: 770Q 710V 5.0W

Math Courses: Calculus I,II,III, Algebra I & II, Analysis I & II
Letters of Recommendation: economics professor, math professor, and staff economists at Fed. should be strong.
Research Experience: Undergrad Thesis and research assistantship.

Research Interests: financial economics
SOP: I invested a lot of time in it.

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Hopkins ($), Wisconsin, Cornell

Rejections: Berkeley, Columbia, Yale, Michigan, Maryland, UCLA
What would you have done differently?
Try to do some presentations, publish during RA-ship. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
bertthepuppy 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 50 private university by US News
Undergrad GPA: 3.61

Type of Grad: a couple semesters of non-degree courses, medium-sized, well-ranked state school
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 790/500/5.5
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Lin Alg, Real Analysis, 3 semesters of Stats
Econ Courses: Int Micro & Macro, Money and Banking, Public Finance, Int'l Trade, Int'l Finance, Thesis Course, Econometrics...

Other Courses: many policy-related analytical courses
Letters of Recommendation: solid, all knew me very well one Yale, one Johns Hopkins, one Berkeley, and one Northeastern (but ironically, probably the most well-known)
Research Experience: RA in undergrad and currently RA for one of my letter writers
Teaching Experience: TA for Econ for Public Affairs and Macro
Research Interests: Labor, Applied micro

SOP: well-tailored to each school, and given emphasis on my drive, with comparisons to running the two marathons I did

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Wisconsin (short list for $), Texas (w*it list for $), UNC-CH($), Ohio State (no $), Iowa ($), Colorado (?), Illinois ($), Cornell (no $), Vanderbilt ($), Kentucky ($)
Waitlists: Georgetown (then given fellowship)
Rejections: Duke, Michigan, MarylandWhat would you have done differently? I wish I would have realized that April 15th seems like this magical day when everything will be done. However, this is not always the case, especially if you are near the middle of the pack at some good programs. Even though I've been formulating preferences for months, I feel like they have all changed within the past week. I'll probably go to Wisconsin if I get off the wait list for $, otherwise I think I will go to Texas, perhaps unfunded. Ask me tomorrow and I will change my mind again. 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:
kevinomic 2008:
Undergrad: Small private university (Loyola University New Orleans) majored in Accounting and Finance
GPA: 4.0

Grad: MA Economics University of Colorado Denver
GPA: 3.98
Math:Calc I-III (As), Linear Algebra (A), Diff Eq (A), Abstract Math (A), Real Analysis I (A)
GRE: 790Q/530V/5.5AW
Teaching experience: Principles of Macro Instructor, Stats Lab Instructor, TA for Econometrics (Grad), Research Methodology (Grad), Intermediate Macro / Micro, Principles of Macro/Micro

Research experience: Masters thesis, turned into co-authored paper w/ advisor, submitted for publication. Blogged about on Freakonomics! (College Football and Crime). RA job during MA program (2.5 years)
LOR: 3 from professors. I think they were really good.
Interests: labor, education, health, applied metrics
What I learned: I'm very pleased with my results
Accepted: UCSB ($$$), Cornell - PAM ($$), UC Irvine ($$), MSU ($), Washington ($), CUNY ($$), Oregon ($$), CU Boulder ($$), Michigan (no $), Wisconsin (no $), UT Austin (no $)

Rejected: Berkeley, Princeton, Maryland, Wharton (Applied Econ)

Attending: UC Santa Barbara, very excited. Not the best program I got into, but great faculty to work with, great location, great fellowship package. I know a lot of people (especially in this forum) stress going to the best ranked school you get into, but I'm a little older and location and fit were very important to me. I'm very happy about my decision.

Other: I don't have any of the pedigree (top undergrad, grad, etc.), but feel that I did very well. I got to know my professors in grad school very well and got lots of research and teaching experience. I think my LORs pushed me up a few notches and allowed me to get really good funding packages from lower ranked programs (30-70) and got in with no funding to some 10-20 ranked programs.

Although I didn't contribute, I found this forum very helpful and a little addicting. Good luck to all you future applicants. 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:
99luftballoons 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large Private University, Top 10 Econ/Top 5 Math
Undergrad GPA: 3.82 (4.0 Econ, 3.9 Math)
Type of Grad:

Grad GPA:
GRE: 790Q, 640V, 6.0AWA
Math Courses: Calc Sequence, Linear Algebra, Number Theory, Real Analysis I, Real Analysis II, Algebra I, Combinatorics, Topology, Math Stats, Grad. Linear
Econ Courses: Intros, Micro Theory, Macro Theory, Econometrics, Senior Seminar, International Econ (1 yr), Organizational Analysis, Finance, Math Econ
Other Courses: Ind. study in Game Theory and Math Econ, Intro Operations Research

Letters of Recommendation: 2 really good ones, 1 fairly good one
Research Experience: Spent a summer RAing and trying to write a paper
Teaching Experience: Grading
Research Interests: Micro theory, decision theory, game theory, mech. design, experimental... list keeps growing actually

SOP: Wrote about what I liked, what I'd done, I got comments on being "very specific" in my SOP from schools that I've gotten in to

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Harvard, Caltech, Rochester, Cornell, PSU, Northwestern, UMinn
Waitlists: UPenn

Rejections: Princeton, Stanford GSB, Stanford Econ, Berkeley
Pending: NYU, BU
What would you have done differently? I would have applied to less safeties, but that's really an ex-post judgment. I think I had a good year, though Stanford GSB was my dream school, but oh well, life goes on.

Comments: I think italos is right, LOR is everything! Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
myrrh 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: University of Maryland - Environmental Economics w/ Math minor
Undergrad GPA: 3.77, magna cum laude
Type of Grad: none

Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 770Q 540V 4.0AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A-,B,A), Linear Algebra (A-), Differential Equations (A-), Number Theory (B), Advanced Calculus I (B), Probability Theory (B), Mathematical Statistics (TBD)
Econ Courses: Intro Micro and Macro (A,B+), Intermediate Micro (B+), Economic Statistics (A+), Intro Econ & Environment (A), Econ of Nat'l Resources (A), Econ of Land Use (A), Public Finance (A+), Game Theory (A+), Econometrics I (A), Intermediate Macro (TBD), Econ of Climate Change (TBD)

Other Courses: Environmental Policy and Philosophy courses, all A's
Letters of Recommendation: 2 AREC and 1 ECON professor, well known and respected in their fields, should have been solid
Research Experience: ~2-3 years as an undergrad RA in the AREC department. Currently and at time of application, working on honors thesis that has been described as "ambitious," hope to have a publishable version this summer.
Teaching Experience: None

Research Interests: Environmental/resource economics, computational economics, applied micro
SOP: Tried to make it engaging, explained why I wanted to be an econimist (environmental research!), talked about my own research and what I wanted to in the future, etc.
Other: n/a

RESULTS:
Acceptances: UC Davis ARE Ph.D. ($), UW Madison AAE MS (no$), Cornell AEM (no$)

Waitlists: none
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Michigan, UT Austin, UC Berkeley ARE, UW Madison AAE Ph.D., Cornell AEM Ph.D.
Pending: none
What would you have done differently? On hand I would have done nothing differently: you really only need one good admit and I am more than satisfied with UC Davis. On the other hand, if I had to do it all over again I would have made sure to have a 4.0 Econ GPA (because I'm sure those 2 B+'s set off red flags), got at least ONE A in my upper level math and found the time/energy to take the graduate micro series. My QGRE was also at the lower bound of what I would have liked it to have been, but I do not think taking the GRE again would have been worth it. I also would have applied to more mid-range top 20-25 ECON schools instead of Harvard and Yale.

All in all, I feel pretty good about how the whole thing went. I'll be attending UC Davis ARE in the fall! 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:
EnviroEcon 2009:
PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: B.A. Mathematics and Economics; UCSD, Top20 Econ/Top10 Public University
Undergrad GPA: 3.73 Overall, 3.67 Major
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 770Q, 620V, 5.0AWA (5.5AWA the first time I took it, like they care)

Math Courses: Calc I,II (B+, A-) Mutil-Var Calc (A+), Diff Eqs (A-), Linear Alg (A), Real Analysis I,II (B,C), Math Stats I,II (A-,A), Probability (B), Adv Linear Alg (A+)
Econ Courses: Intro Econ (A), Inter. Macro I,II (A,A), Inter. Micro (A,A+), Game Theory (A-), Public Policy (A), Metrics III (A), Econ of Oceanic Resources (A)
Letters of Recommendation: Not "A" list profs, but I'm sure enthusiastic: Math prof (UCSD PhD) who I RAed for, History prof (Harvard PhD) from minor in Hebrew Lang and Lit, Senior Analyst from consulting firm
Research Interests: Environmental and Resource Economics

SOP: Relatively strong I'm told, then again, who's to judge but the adcoms.
Teaching Experience: None at the university level, but tutored for two years during BA at local elementary (math/reading/kickball).
Research Experience: Summer RA in Math dept studying mathematical transformations, Independent Research on Economic Sanctions
Work Experience: Research Analyst for 1+ year at consulting firm doing market/econometric research for the housing industry.


RESULTS:
Acceptances: Maryland AREc, UCSB, Oregon St. ARE, Ohio St. AED, UArizona, Colorado @ Boulder, Riverside, Cornell AEM MS, Davis ARE MS
Rejections: Berkeley ARE, UCLA, UCSD
Pending: USC (don't care)
What would you have done differently?
Applied to some Top15-20 pure Econ programs. Gotten close to Econ profs for LORs (had 0 among my 3). Relieved at the time, my C in RA II killed me. Taken PhD Micro/Metrics in undergrad. Analogous to the job market, two people concurrently aiming for PhDs in different disciplines while wishing to wind up at the same school is beyond sanity. On a brighter note, I believe my SOP was essential at the margin as many programs noted its strength and appeal to their adcoms. Only found this forum after I sent in most of my apps. Glad I obliviously chose Math/Econ major, otherwise I'd be screwed. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Lurker_ 2009:
Type of Undergrad: McGill University (B.A. Math and Econ)

Undergrad GPA: 3.89/4.00 overall
Type of Grad: Cornell, 1st Year in the Econ PhD (2007-2008)
Grad GPA: 3.84/4.30
GRE: 800Q, 590V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Multivariable Calculus, Advanced Calculus, Analysis 1, Linear Algebra, Abstract Algebra, ODE, Differential Geometry, Numerical Analysis, Theory of Interest (All A's), Analysis 2 (B+), Analysis 3 (B+), Analysis 4 (B), Complex Analysis (A-)

Econ Courses: Undergrad: Intermediate Micro, Statistics, Intermediate Macro, Econometrics, Advanced Theory (All A's). Grad: Micro I, Micro II, Metrics I, Mathematical Econ (All A+'s), Macro I (A), Metrics II (A), Macro II (C-).
Letters of Recommendation: Two junior and one well-known.
Research Experience: Part-time RA for one year at Cornell and Full-time RA this year at the NBER.
Research Interests: Theory, Behavioral Economics

SOP: Awkward.
Concerns: The lack of tractability of current behavioral models.

RESULTS:
Attending: Going back to Cornell.
Admitted, Declined: Northwestern

Waitlists: Princeton (Ultimately Rejected) Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
rvalchev 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small private school. First tier according to US News but dead last in that tier :p
Undergrad GPA: 4.0 - I have another 2 weeks till graduation but hopefully it'll stay this way
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a

GRE: 800Q, 530V, 5.0 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Optimization, Real Analysis, Topology, Probability Theory, Computational Statistics, Differential Equations
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro and Macro, Econometrics and Forecasting, Game Theory, Money and Banking, Public Economics
Other Courses: Assortment of Business core classes.
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Letters from Econ Profs and 1 from a math prof. I think letters will be good to great, math professor has taught me for 2 years and I've conducted research for an year together with one of my econ profs.

Research Experience: Honors Thesis, RA for two summers but I wasted those summers so nothing really came out of it.
Research Interests: Metrics, applied metrics ... i am open to anything
SOP: It was weak, unfocused and not customized for schools

RESULTS:
Attending: Duke ($$$)

Acceptances, declined: Wisconsin ($$$), Cornell ($$$), Ohio State( $$$), UNC -Chapel Hill ($$$), Michigan State ($$$), Pitt ($$$), Tinbergen Institute ($$$), LSE EME (Research), Oxford MPhil, Michigan (no $), Texas(no $), USC ($$$),
Waitlists: Duke funding waitlist, BU funding waitlist, Princeton Waitlist, Texas Waitlist, Michigan waitlist
Rejections: MIT, Princeton (rejected from waitlist), Berkeley, Yale, Harvard, UPenn, Chicago, UCSD, Penn State, Boston College, Cambridge
What would you have done differently? First, read jeeve's thread about suggestions for people from less known undergrads (it was impossible since it was not written until a couple of days ago, but that's what future people should do). Second, apply to NYU, Columbia and Northwestern (but most probably I would have only taken Northwestern over Duke. But still, my portfolio of schools was a little unbalanced). Third, write a much, much better SOPs that would be much better tailored to different schools. You'll be surprised how much SOPs matter (heard it directly from admissions directors at TOP10 and TOP20 schools).Fourth, don't get RA positions that are in the network of your schools and professors because you are already part of this network, so it doesn't add much to your profile. Go out and work for somebody different. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
z109620 2009:
PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics with Minor in Math and Philosophy from a mediocre state school which does have an Econ and Math PhD (NIU)
Undergrad GPA: 3.76/4.00 (Econ: 3.93/4.00 Math: 4.0/4.0)
Type of Grad: Just two masters course Econometrics and Math for Econ
Grad GPA: 3.5
GRE: 750Q, 470V, 4.0AW
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Diff Eqs, Undergrad Analysis I, and Prob. & Stats (also Undergrad Analysis II (W))

Econ Courses: Typical stuff, plus Grad Math for Econ (B) and Grad Econometrics (A)
Other Courses: A couple proof based logic courses (B,A)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 really good letter (Senior Prof., Wisconsin), 1 good letter (Visiting Prof., Penn) and 1 ok letter (Chair, London)
Research Experience: Senior Paper
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: My main focus is Applied Micro Development, however, within the above field I am interested in Agriculture, Trade, Behavioral, Public and Political Economics

SOP: I think it is ok, talked about my Senior Paper, my passion for research and my goals for the future.
Other: I did not get into econ until junior year

RESULTS: (all masters programs)
Acceptances: UC Davis ARE (partial tuition and job as grader), UBC (partial tuition), UPF (no$), Cornell AEM (no $), Purdue ag econ (no $), UIC (no $), U York, U Bristol, U Sussex, USF (20k over two years)
Rejections: Wisconsin AAE and Toronto Doctoral Stream

Pending: Queen’s MA

What would you have done differently?
Well I wish I would have known that I wanted to do Econ earlier, as well as gone to a more prestigious undergrad. However, besides that I feel that I did very well, especially considering the tough year. I am very happy with UC Davis ARE, I plan to work really hard and advance to their PhD, seeing as there program is probably one of the best in the world given my prefers.

Attending:
UC Davis ARE masters 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:
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:
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:
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:
snigai 2007: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: International Student, top 10 University in the country, exhange student in the US.

Undergrad GPA: 85%
Type of Grad: MA in Economics, Top 3 University in the Region
Grad GPA: 4,10 out of 4,33
GRE: 770/420/5.0, TOEFL: 115/120
Math Courses: Mathematics for Economists, Mathematical Programming
Econ Courses: relevant Micro I, II; Macro I, II; Econometrics I,II all grad
Other Courses: Statistics, Probability
Letters of Recommendation: all grom grad economics professors
Research Experience: GRA for 1 semester for visiting professor

Teaching Experience: GTA for 2 semesters
Research Interests: Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics
SOP: It was allright I suppose )))
Other:

RESULTS:
Acceptances: UVA, Penn State, UC Riverside, American U (probably)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Harvard, Berkeley ,Cornell, Georgetown


What would you have done differently?Nothing. I did the best I could.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
kartelite 2007: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Graduated Top 20 LAC, after 2 years at Top 30 University
Undergrad GPA: 3.79 both schools

Type of Grad: Top 50, MS in Applied Mathematics
Grad GPA: 4.00 (at time of application)
GRE: 800Q, 640V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses:
Undergrad Math: Linear Algebra (A), Multivariable Calc (A-), Applied Stats (A), Probability (A), Operations Research (B+), Foundations of Mathematics (A-), Combinatorics (A), Number Theory (A), Abstract Algebra I/II (A/A), Real Analysis I/II (A/A-), Graph Theory (A), ODE's (A)
Grad Math: Abstract Algebra (A), Linear Algebra (A-), Cryptography (A+), Functional Analysis (IP), Probability (IP), Combinatorics Seminar (IP)

Econ Courses:
Undergrad Econ: Intermediate Micro Theory (A-), Intermediate Macro Theory (A), Econometrics (A-), Int. Trade (A), Int. Finance (A), Econ Stats (A), Comparative Economics (B), Game Theory (A), Experimental Econ (A), Money and Banking (B), Mathematical Econ (A)
Grad Econ: Phd-level Econometrics (IP)
Letters of Recommendation: All math professors, 2 from undergrad (real analysis prof + adviser), 1 from grad (thesis adviser/probability prof)
Research Experience: Summer REU program in mathematics, research assistant for a couple summers

Teaching Experience: Calculus 2/pre-algebra/geometry instructor, Linear Algebra TA
Research Interests: Decision theory, perhaps financial or international econ
SOP: Yes
Other: Cross country captain, NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, lots of sports awards; one publication from REU program, hoping to get thesis published in good journal; applied for NSF

RESULTS:
Acceptances:

Virginia ($19,000)
Duke ($17,000)
UNC ($14,400)
UCSD (none)

Rejections:
Princeton
Kellogg MEDS
Columbia

Cornell

What would you have done differently?
Gotten recommendation from econ professor, sent master's thesis to someone at programs, applied to Stanford
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:
peterB 2007: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top public univeristy, excellent econ dept.

Undergrad GPA: 3.1; 3.95 continuing ed. program
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: math 780 verbal 780
Math Courses: stat and probability, real analysis, calc II and III, linear algebra
Econ Courses: inter'l trade, monetary econ., 20th century econ. history, development economics, history of development economics, econometrics
Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ people and one poli sci prof, no big names. Two of them knew me very well, and this must have helped a lot.
Research Experience: summer RA
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests: development, IO, applied micro
SOP: explained the circumstances for my low GPA, other than that pretty standard
Other:


RESULTS:
Acceptances: UT, BU, Davis, UCLA, Riverside, Penn State
Waitlists:
Rejections: lots, NYU, Columbia, Stanford, Berkeley ARE, UCSD, U Mich, Cornell

What would you have done differently? If I had more time and money, I would have taken a grad-level micro course. Overall I feel really lucky to be in at UCLA; anyone else headed there?
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:
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:
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:
Dannyb19 2007: Sorry, I thought I already posted this, hope its helpful to someone!:D

Background: After undergrad I worked for18 months for a boutique investment consulting firm doing financial analysis, decided I was unfulfilled, spent 11 months beefing up my math, and applied for Fall 2007 admission.

GRE: 760Q, 510V, 6.0AWA (hurt me I’m sure).

GPA (undergrad): 3.72 (cum laude), 3.87(Econ), 3.92(Math)
GPA (grad): 3.90 (math & econ)
Undergrad Insitution: Lewis and Clark College (small LAC in Pacific NW)
Graduate/Post-Bac Institution: Portland State University


Honors/Awards (all undergraduate): Phi Beta Kappa, Delta Mu Delta (equivalent to departmental honors in Business-Economics major), 2003 Northwest Conference Scholar Athlete Award.
Econ Courses (All at L&C): Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), International Econ (A), Money and Banking (A), Management and Organization (A-), Econ History (B+), Corporate Finance (A), Competitive Strategies (A), Radical Economic Systems (B), Micro Computer Applications in Business (A), Intro to Statistics (A-), Econometrics (A-), Financial Analysis (A), Managerial Analysis (A), Financial Decision Making (A).
Math Courses (All at PSU other than Calc I): Calc I (B+), Calc II-Calc IV (A/A/A-), Intro to Linear Algebra (A), Applied Linear Algebra (A), Applied Diff. Equations (A), Advanced Calculus (A), Mathematical Statistics (A-).
Graduate Level Courses (All at PSU): Real Analysis (A), Set Theory/Topology (A-), Public Economics (A).
Letters of Recommendation: Two from undergraduate econ professors (PhD’s from Michigan State and Chicago) and one from graduate level Real Analysis Professor (PhD Rutgers). All letters should be strong since I worked closely with each of them and performed well in their classes.

Research Experience: None. Did not write a senior thesis, did not work as a research assistant. Wrote a few term papers building on the work of my professors, but I doubt it would count as any significant field work.

Results
Admitted: Johns Hopkins ($), Virginia (no-$), U. Washington (no-$)
Rejected: Chicago, Yale, LSE, UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, Wisconsin, and Cornell
Waitlisted: N/A


What I would have done differently: I wish I had applied to more schools, namely: Michigan, Minnesota, Maryland, Duke, and Rochester. I am certainly not assuming I would have been admitted to any of these, since all are very strong programs, but based on the randomness I’ve observed on TM alone, I think I may have had at least a shot at these schools. I also should have studied harder for my GRE’s, who knows how different my outcomes would have been had I scored 600V and 800Q or something like that. Anyway, hope this helps others!
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Karina 07 2007: Profile:

Gre: 800 Q, 780 V, 800 A -- taken just barely within the last 5 years!
GPA: Overall undergrad: 3.82, Major: 3.89, Junior and Senior year: 3.95 or something. Graduate: about an A- equivalent.

Classes:
Math: Calc I (entrance credit), Calc II (P), Calc III - Vector (P), Linear Algebra and Differential Equations (B), Intro to Probability (A), Graduate Statistics (A-)
Econ: Intro Micro (A), then TA'd for it. During graduate school, also took catch-up intermediate micro, macro, international economics (A-). Independent research in environmental economics for two terms.
Type of Undergrad: Ivy
Research Experience: A lot, including published papers, including an economics one.
Teaching Experience: TA for intro micro during undergrad.

LORs: Strong. One from an internationally famous economist who supervised a paper of mine, one from another fairly well-known economist... then one from an unknown environmental economist who does not have an Econ Ph.D. and one extra one from an unknown Econ prof. The one from the most famous economist came late, so some schools probably didn't get to use it in their evaluations.
SoP & Interests: I *think* I've strong evidence of interest in the areas that I marked. I have a good history, having done a master's degree in international development first. I'm interested in environmental issues, development, even trade....
Other: I won a major full scholarship at a very prestigious university for my master's degree. This is probably my greatest ace up my sleeve, considering my weak math background. I took a lot of courses pass/fail at the time because I had just embarked on a set of courses which I did not have the prereqs for (essentially jumped into the middle of an honours physics sequence without having done any before even in high school or middle school). In the end, this may have actually helped me, because after a term of struggling I ended up doing better than majors, despite not having either the physics or math prereqs, showing that maybe I can pull off the same for econ. Oh, I also used to do well in math contests in high school. I know, that sounds silly (and who didn't?) -- but I'm talking on the level of top 10 out of 10,000s. Gosh knows if they care, though.

Admissions Decision Results
rejected: Cornell, Yale, Northwestern
accepted: Berkeley
Others to come....
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:
Canuckonomist 2008: Type of Undergrad: Queen's University, Canada (Top 40, depending on where you check.)

Undergrad GPA: After conversion, 3.75/4.0: Econ 4.0/4.0, math 3.7/4.0

GRE: 790Q, 530V, 5.5 AW


Math Courses: Calc I-III, probability, statistics, abstract algebra, differential equations, analysis I, stochastic models in operations research

Econ Courses: Standard package in the 300/400 levels, Grad math econ, Grad Financial Theory, Grad Cost benefit analysis.

Letters of Recommendation: 1 JHU, 1 BU, and one fairly extensively published and quite influential finance prof. Funny, his alma mater is not one anyone would think would be big, but he's made a name for himself, at least so he says (ANU)


Research Experience: RA for one term for Prof with JHU PhD. Worked on a paper to be published in a year.

Teaching Experience: private tutoring for 7 years.

Research Interests: Financial Economics, Micro Theory


SOP: Standard.

Other: Male, 21 years.

RESULTS:
Attending: Queen's University, M.A Econ
Acceptances: Queen's MA ($$), UBC MA (no $), LSE F&E MSc (No $),

Rejections: Northwestern, UPenn, UCSD, Cornell

What I would have done differently: I would have started taking math earlier, but from someone who didn't like math in high school, things changed around fast enough for me. With my fall marks in graduate courses, the RAship this summer, and stronger letters from the same people, I expect things will look up next year. I did, after all, get past the first few rounds of rejections @ NWU, and almost all of them at Cornell.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
mogelsworth 2008: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Well ranked US research university (public). Major in economics with a minor in math.
Undergrad GPA: 3.7
Type of Grad: None

GRE: 720Q/510V/5.0AW
Math Courses: Calculus I,II,III, Advanced Multivariable Calc, Differential Equations, Matrix Algebra, Linear Algebra, Mathematical Thinking (proof-based course), Real Analysis I
Econ Courses: Advanced Micro/Macro, lots of undergrad field courses, Intro Math Stats
Other Courses: Logic
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from well-known professors at my undergrad institution, 1 from non-academic consultant with an econ phd
Research Experience: 2 years a econ consulting firm

Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: International, macro, development
SOP: Discussed background and research interests, very thoughtful.
Other:

RESULTS:
Acceptances: UVA(no$), Univ. Washington-Seattle (no$), UBC MA (no$), BU MA

Waitlists:
Rejections: Penn State, Cornell, UT Austin
Pending: Syracuse
What would you have done differently? I wish I had taken my GRE earlier to allow time for a retake. I should have taken Real Analysis II, topology, and optimization.
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:
Fermat 2008: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 25 per USNews (UVirginia), Math and Econ double
Undergrad GPA: 3.3, 3.4 in Econ, 3.0 in Math

Type of Grad: Master's in (applied) Mathematics, Clemson Univesity (Not sure of the ranking, top 100?)
Grad GPA: 4.0 through first year, summer courses, and fall semester
GRE: 800Q, 450V, 3.5 AW
Math Courses: All the standard as an undergrad math major. I had a lot of B's in those classes, nothing worse than a B-. As a graduate student:Discrete Math (A), Matrix Algebra (A), Statistical Inference (A, Casella and Berger), Functional Analysis (A), Statistical Models (Regression, etc., A), Operations Research (Linear Programming, A), Probability (A), Stochastic Processes(A), (Network flows(A), Computation (A), more stochastics (A) finished in fall semester...sent grades to places where I applied)

Econ Courses: The highlights are Intermediate Micro (A-), Intermediate Macro (B+), Game Theory (A-), Stat and Prob for Econ (A), Econometrics (B), Economics of Taxation (B+), Econ and Gender (A-), Money and Banking (B)

Letters of Recommendation: Not from economists. Statistician (pretty well-known), Operation Research professor (had best grade in her class), and Anaylsis Professor. All were pretty good I believe
Research Experience: None at the time of applications

Teaching Experience: Worked as TA last year and teaching two sections of a business calculus class in the previous fall and one in the spring (currently) of this year.
Research Interests: Micro Theory and IO, perhaps econometrics, but also applied to engineering programs and OR programs.
SOP: Ok, had a typo or two. Had to rush to get it done. Don't think it mattered much.
Other: American Male.



RESULTS:
Acceptances: ECON: UTaustin(no $), UVA ($$ eventually), UCIrvine ($$), Georgetown ($$)...NON-ECON: UVA Systems Engineering ($$)
Waitlists: none
Rejections: Cornell Operation Research,
Pending: Haven't heard from Ohio State econ or UNC econ...don't care anymore

What would you have done differently? Nothing really...I decided to take the UVa systems engineering offer as I now feel I would make a better engineer than economist given my background. I am really happy to be going back to UVA, my undergraduate institution and being closer to my family. Since this is an econ board, there really is nothing different that I would have done with the econ applications. I would have been really happy taking the georgetown, uva, or UTAustin offer. I hope this helps, let me know if you have questions on my profile.
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:
filroz 2008: GRE 800/510/3.5
TOEFL 112/120 (30R, 28W, 24S, 30L)

Undergraduate Charles University in Prague, best school in my country, top in central Europe, I guess

1) econ BA, GPA 2.8
2) math BA, GPA 2.45 (beat that )

Graduate Charles University econ, 3.75

VISITING POSITIONS/EXPERIENCE
-Summer School at LSE in Advanced Macro, (A)
-Visiting student (ERASMUS) at University of Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne (FRA), GPA cca 3.8


Research I hope strong, internship in Czech central bank, one my paper awarded and I was offered to publish it in Czech impacted journal, but I still want to work on it a bit
LORS should be strong, one from thesis advisor, he promised to write it very strongly, but I am am afraid he lost some addresses where to send it , second from senior guy in nation bank, last from another prof. All know me well and for some years... but they are not very know internationally

Scholarships and Awards
- Scholarship as exchange student (ERASMUS)

- National Economic Association prize
Interests macro (esp. monetary policy, business cycles)

Results: Accepted: Rutgers, UNC($), BU, BC($), LSE msc econ, Georgetown($)

Rejected: Columbia, Cornell, Duke, LSE EME, UMich, Maryland, Ox, JHU

What would you have done differently?: Maybe I should have chosen BC, but I don't know:confused:
Overall, I think I did really well, given my undergrad profile.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
ranjan123 2008: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics from a large South Asian University, best in my country.
Undergrad GPA: 63.5% (60 0s considered first class)
Type of Grad: M.A. in Economics from the same institution

Grad GPA: 66.2%
GRE: 800Q, 420V, 4AWA
Math Courses: Mathematics for Economists (Chiang), Mathematical Economics (Simon & Blume) (covers Multivariable Calculus , Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Introduction to Real Analysis among others)
Econ Courses (PhD-level): None
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): All typical economics undergraduate courses

Other Courses: Masters level micro, macro, econometrics and international economics.
Letters of Recommendation: 3 economics professors (1 Harvard PhD, 1 Sussex PhD, 1 Manchester PhD) first two should be solid, third might be a general one.
Research Experience: 6 months for a policy research institute in my country.

Teaching Experience: Teaching in a public university in my country; 2 semesters micro, 2 semesters development, 1 semester labor.
Research Interests: Microeconomic Theory, Game Theory, Applied Microeconomics, International Economics.
SOP: Just wrote about my interests in economics
Other: Male, 26
RESULTS:
Attending: Simon Fraser University (MA)

Acceptances: MA: SFU ($$), Concordia (no $)
Waitlists: PhD: NYU (later rejected)
Rejections: MA Programs: Waterloo PhD Programs: Cornell, Duke, Virginia, Vanderbilt
No Result: Queen’s (MA), Toronto (PhD)

What would you have done differently? May be my relatively unknown undergraduate institution harmed me. I had to apply for an MA right after completing undergraduate.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
myrrh 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: University of Maryland - Environmental Economics w/ Math minor
Undergrad GPA: 3.77, magna cum laude
Type of Grad: none

Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 770Q 540V 4.0AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A-,B,A), Linear Algebra (A-), Differential Equations (A-), Number Theory (B), Advanced Calculus I (B), Probability Theory (B), Mathematical Statistics (TBD)
Econ Courses: Intro Micro and Macro (A,B+), Intermediate Micro (B+), Economic Statistics (A+), Intro Econ & Environment (A), Econ of Nat'l Resources (A), Econ of Land Use (A), Public Finance (A+), Game Theory (A+), Econometrics I (A), Intermediate Macro (TBD), Econ of Climate Change (TBD)

Other Courses: Environmental Policy and Philosophy courses, all A's
Letters of Recommendation: 2 AREC and 1 ECON professor, well known and respected in their fields, should have been solid
Research Experience: ~2-3 years as an undergrad RA in the AREC department. Currently and at time of application, working on honors thesis that has been described as "ambitious," hope to have a publishable version this summer.
Teaching Experience: None

Research Interests: Environmental/resource economics, computational economics, applied micro
SOP: Tried to make it engaging, explained why I wanted to be an econimist (environmental research!), talked about my own research and what I wanted to in the future, etc.
Other: n/a

RESULTS:
Acceptances: UC Davis ARE Ph.D. ($), UW Madison AAE MS (no$), Cornell AEM (no$)

Waitlists: none
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Michigan, UT Austin, UC Berkeley ARE, UW Madison AAE Ph.D., Cornell AEM Ph.D.
Pending: none
What would you have done differently? On hand I would have done nothing differently: you really only need one good admit and I am more than satisfied with UC Davis. On the other hand, if I had to do it all over again I would have made sure to have a 4.0 Econ GPA (because I'm sure those 2 B+'s set off red flags), got at least ONE A in my upper level math and found the time/energy to take the graduate micro series. My QGRE was also at the lower bound of what I would have liked it to have been, but I do not think taking the GRE again would have been worth it. I also would have applied to more mid-range top 20-25 ECON schools instead of Harvard and Yale.

All in all, I feel pretty good about how the whole thing went. I'll be attending UC Davis ARE in the fall!
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
shubhamk 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B. Tech. from IIT Kanpur (Best Techno-Managerial school in India)
Undergrad GPA: 3.0/4

Type of Grad: MBA also from IIT Kanpur
Grad GPA: 3.2/4
GRE: 800Q, 660V, 4.0AWA
Math Courses: All quantitative courses for Electrical Engineering (Communication Systems specialization). That also means related courses on probability, calculus and Linear Algebra
Econ Courses (MBA-level): Micro, Macro and International business economics
Other Courses: 4 Sociology courses (during undergrad). 1 Development Economics course (during MBA)

Letters of Recommendation: 1 econ Prof (IIT Kanpur), 2 other Prof (IIT Kanpur)
Research Experience: 1 research case study was done for UNICEF while I was UN intern for 3 months in India itself. This was published for internal UN circulation. I have been working on development field for 3 years with small IIT Kanpur reports being published internally.
Research Interests: Development Economics, Labor Economics and Public Policy
Results
Will be attending: Penn State ($$, Economics)
Rejections: Wharton (Applied Economics), UCLA (Economics), Columbia GSB (Economics), Cornell (Applied Economics)

Pending: CMU Tepper (Econ and Public Policy), ERIM (Labor Econ)

What would you have done differently?
Nothing!!! I am happy that I am finally going to do research in Economics which is more important than many other parameters we try to judge our acceptances and rejections on.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
wind up bird 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large Public University, Top 50 Econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.82
Type of Grad: Masters in Statistics at same school

Grad GPA: 3.75
GRE: 800Q, 700V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc Sequence, Linear Algebra, Intro to Abstract Math (Baby proofs), Cryptology (Baby Number Theory), Real Analysis I & II, Algebra I, Lots of probability and stats.
Econ Courses: Intro, Intermediate sequences, Econometrics, Public econ, Game Theory, Asymmetric Info, Economic Anthropology, Economic History (graduate), Empirical Methods (graduate), Math camp

Other Courses: Sociology of Sexuality
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Berkeley, 1 UCSD, 1 Stanford. All apparently pretty strong.
Research Experience: 2+ Years of RAing, summer research internship at Fed, crappy honors thesis and undergrad presentations
Teaching Experience: Tutoring for intermdiate micror, TA-ing for stats (only made it to my Cornell application)

Research Interests: Micro theory, decision theory, game theory, mech. design, experimental, economic history, social choice, public economics, etc etc. Short answer is "not macro"
SOP: It was kind of bad, I'm not going to lie. Mostly I tried to demonstrate how I have been gearing myself up for research. Then the last paragraph was tailored for each school; I dropped names at all of them.

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Caltech($$$), Northwestern(WL$), UCSD(No$), BU($$$), University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign($$), UNC-Chapel Hill (?$), Boston College($$), UW-Seatte(WL$)
Waitlists: None! Awesome.

Rejections: Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Chicago, UCLA, Cornell
What would you have done differently? Besides working harder in school? Probably nothing. I have an acceptance with funding at my dream school and have some other ego-boosting admits as well.

Comments: Italos is right, LOR is everything ;)

Might as well document some of my weird admissions cycle happenings as well:


- Boston College sends me an email saying I am not being offered admission because I will get into "superior" schools.
- UW-Seattle pulls the same thing
- Northwestern rejects me, then admits me a week and a half later. Looks like my one top 10 admit really did involve a clerical error.

Attending: Caltech!
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:
IrrationalActor 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small private research university, USNWR undergrad ranking around 70, econ PhD program not highly ranked
Undergrad GPA: 3.9, 3.99 in econ, 3.85 in math
Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 790Q 560V 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-IV, Linear Algebra, Advanced Calculus, Probability, Math Stats, Regression, Grad Math Stats I II (In Progress), Real Analysis. A's in everything except Calc III and IV.
Econ Courses: Many
"Important" Courses: Intermediate Micro, Advanced Macro, Mathematical Economics, Econometrics. Also a Masters level research seminar in transition economies. All A's except for an A- in advanced macro
Letters of Recommendation: I used 4 letters: the Department Chair, I wrote an independent research paper for his class (PhD Stanford), an econometrician I'm doing research with (PhD Berkeley), a statistics professor, and my thesis supervisor. All are full professors, and the econometrician is very well known, though in a somewhat esoteric subfield of econometric theory.

Research Experience: RA on an applied econometrics project, wrote a senior thesis.
Teaching Experience: One semester as a TA for principles of microeconomics
Research Interests: Applied Micro (Labor, Urban, Education), Econometrics
SOP: Not really sure how to judge. I spent a decent amount of time on it and used the same basic outline for each school and changed the last paragraph.
Other: Transferred from a very low-ranked school after my freshman year.
RESULTS:
Attending: Wisconsin ($)

Admitted, Declined: UVA (No$), UT-Austin (No$), OSU($$), MSU($)
Rejected: Maryland, Michigan, Yale, Duke, WUSTL, Berkeley ARE, UCSD, UChicago
Never Heard From: Cornell
What I would have done differently: I would have attended a more well-known undergrad and built stronger relationships with my letter-writers. I was also considering taking an additional year of courses like PhD Micro, Econometrics, and Measure theory and shooting for the top 10s, but I am quite happy with Wisconsin.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
baconos 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ/Math from good LAC (~50)
Undergrad GPA: 3.71, 3.90 math, 3.80 econ

Type of Grad: -
Grad GPA: -
GRE: 800Q, 600V, 5.0AWA
Math Courses: Calculus I-II (A-), Discrete(A), Probability and Statistics I-II (A,A), Lin Alg (A), Diff Eq (A), Abstract Algebra (A-), Real Analysis (A-), Real Functions and Measures(B), Complex Functions (A), Financial Mathematics (A), etc.
Econ Courses (PhD-level): -

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Macro (A), Micro (A-), Statistics, Econometrics(A), American Economic History (B+), Ind. Study on Criticisms of Economic Thought (A)
Other Courses: some philosophy, history and religion
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ professors, all full professors - 2 from Chicago, 1 PSU - solid but nothing too spectacular
Research Experience: Best econometrics paper of the semester, some research on financial mathematics published in undergrad math journal

Teaching Experience: TA for Calculus I-II, Principles of Micro, Macro for a couple semesters
Research Interests: Anything and everything, Applied Micro, Development, International trade, and some political economy
SOP: it's an SOP, not looked into too much
Concerns: Lack of research, undergrad reputation/connections
Other:


RESULTS:
Attending: UColorado!!!
Acceptances: UWisc (no$ first year), UWashington (no$), UColorado ($$)
Waitlists:
Rejections: UMich, Cornell, OSU, PSU
Pending: None

What would you have done differently? Not really sure. I definitely did not make a huge effort to get to know professors (skipped classes a lot, no participation or visiting office hours too much) but I did well in their classes and they liked me, so that could've been better. Recommendations matter! I also applied when I was in a different country away from my home institution so I don't really recommend that - it's hard to get things done. Maybe applied a year earlier? hah.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Zmoney 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large U.S. Public University ranked 40-55 (best in state) typically known for Football not Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.93 overall 4.0 in Econ 3.69 in Math Graduating Summa

GRE: 800 Q 540 V 5.0 AWA
Math Courses: Calc 1-3 1,2 tested out 3(B+), Differential Equations(B), Stat 1(A), Probability(A) Lin Alg (A) Math Stats 2 in Spring
Econ Courses: Intros, Intermediates, Public Econ, Sports Econ, Empirical Research, Independent Study (for research) Labor, Empirical Public Econ I (PhD field) All A's
Other Courses: Minors in Food and Resource Economics, and History
Letters of Recommendation: 3 LORS 2 excellent letters from pretty well known Econ faculty in their concentrations (one Phd Chicago the other Wisconsin) and 1 very good letter from a senior member of the Ag Econ Department (Purdue well known in Ag econ)
Research Experience: 2 written empirical papers one for the class in research and the other (to be my thesis) I want to get published. Database work and research at Fed

Teaching Experience: N/A
Research Interests: Public Econ, Public Choice, Taxation Policy, Political Economy
SOP: Solid i think, had multiple profs say they wouldn't change a thing
Other: Internship at the Federal Reserve, Strong Undergraduate leadership positions
Concerns: My B in Diffy Q, Coming from a big public school, No Real Analysis.
RESULTS:

Attending: Virginia
Admitted, Declined: Michigan State, Boston College, Florida
Waitlists: none
Rejections: Northwestern, NYU, Penn, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maryland, Texas-Austin, Cornell, Duke

What would you have done differently?
Started taking math freshman year as opposed to junior year. Double majored in Stats
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:
Nebuchadrezzar 2009: PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: european, gpa scale
Undergrad GPA: 3.8/4.0
Type of Grad: european masters
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800 q, 440 verbal, 4.0 awa

Math Courses: calculus 1, 2, 3, diff eq, real analysis 1 2, topology, lin alg
Econ Courses: int mic, int mac, labor, game theory, io, phd micro 1 2, phd macro 1,2 , phd metrics 1, 2, optimization
Other Courses: -
Letters of Recommendation: 3 from home inst, at least 2 of them should be good
Research Experience: term paper, honors thesis

Teaching Experience: ta in several courses
Research Interests: micro-macro theory, game theory
SOP: standard sop summarizing my profle
Other: -

RESULTS:

Acceptances: rochester($), wisconsin(no $), michigan($)
Waitlists: wustl
Rejections: harvard, mit, chicago, nw, upenn, nyu, columbia, stanford, berkeley, caltech, cornell, yale, princeton...!!
Pending: -

going to: university of michigan

What would you have done differently?
i could study more in masters and send my transcript and get a letter of recommendation from there maybe. i don't know if that would help with the top 10. but i am happy to go to michigan!
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
EconJames 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: International students. Good university in my home country but not well known.
Undergrad GPA: Major in Econ, minor in Math, GPA 3.8
Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q 570V 4.0A
Math Courses: Mathematical analysis, Advanced algebra, Numerical analysis, Analytical Geometry, ODE, Real analysis, Complex analysis, Functional analysis, Probability theroy, Mathematical statistic, Dynamic optimization, Stochastic process
Econ Courses: many, all basic courses including intermediate marco,micro,metrics.
Grad Econ Courses: Advanced macro, Game theory, Advanced finance
Letters of Recommendation: Not famous professors, but know me well

Research Experience: Two papers published in domestic journals
Teaching Experience: No
Research Interests: Macro

RESULTS:
Acceptances: UMN, JHU, OSU, UBC, IOWA, IUB, ASU
Waitlists: Princeton UPenn (rejected on April 15)

Rejections: UCLA, UCSD, Michigan, Cornell, WUSTL, Rochester, Duke, CMU

What would you have done differently? Perhaps attend a MA first. Or maybe should prepare a paper with a DSGE model.

Comments: The undergraduate school's reputation matters a lot. If you cannot change this, try to get strong LOR then.
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:
DesperateEconomist 2009: It's time to do this:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Bachelor in Business Administration, prestigious institution in Latin America.
Undergrad GPA: 7.6/10
Type of Grad: Master in Economics, same institution than undergrad.
Grad GPA: 8/10
GRE: 800Q, 490V, 4.0AWA
TOEFL: 104 (30R, 30L, 20S:crazy:, 24W)
Math Courses: Mathematics I, II, Linear Algebra, Metric Spaces, Statistics I, II, III, Mathematical Economics (grad).
Econ Courses (Masters): Macro I, II, Micro I, II, Metrics, Time Series and others not so relevant.
Econ Courses (undergrad): Macro, Micro, no Metrics.
Other Courses: Several other courses, but with small or no relevance for admission purposes.
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ professors (1 Chicago PhD, 1 UCLA PhD, 1 Cornell PhD), and I believe that all of them are solid.
Research Experience: RA for two econ professors and currently working on my master's thesis. I also presented a paper in an economics meeting in my country.
Teaching Experience: TA for two graduate courses (Macro and Time Series) and 1 undergrad course (Statistics).
Research Interests: Macro and IO.
SOP: The usual stuff: I put a brief description of my profile and talked about my preferences and why I think I would succeed in their program.
Concerns: Low score on the speaking section of the TOEFL. Maybe my math background is not as strong as desired by some schools. At least a few low grades that could hurt me.
Applying to: Berkeley, Boston College, BU, Cornell, Columbia, Maryland, MSU, Minnesota, Northwestern, NYU, UT Austin, UCLA, UPenn, Washington St. Louis, Yale.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Waitlists:
phdphd 2007: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Business Administration
Undergrad GPA: 7.5/10

Type of Grad: MSc Business Administration
Grad GPA: -
GRE: 790Q / 580V / 3.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III / Operations Research I-II / Stats I-II / Linear Algebra / Advanced Probability (Grad)
Econ Courses: Econometrics I, II, IV (Grad), Stochastic Economics I-II (Grad) (kind of asset pricing courses, devoted specially to derivative pricing).
Other Courses: Micro I, Macro I, Mathematical Analysis - First year PhD courses, I didn't have the grades at the time of the application

Letters of Recommendation: One supposed to be strong, finance PhD from Stanford GSB; the other two good ones I think (PhD North Carolina, local)
Research Experience: Two papers presented at a National Conference in Finance, MSc dissertation thesis.
Teaching Experience: TA for the MBA courses in my university.
Research Interests: Finance, applied micro, political economy.
SOP: I did the following: first I explained my interest in finance, second why pursuing a PhD in economics and not in business, third I mentioned three professors that I would like to work with at the university that I was applying.

Other: Male, 26, Latin America.

RESULTS:
Acceptances:
University of Southern California ($)
UNC ($)
Minnesota (no $)
Penn State (no $)

Boston University (no $)
UC Davis (no $)
Waitlists:
Cornell (I suppose) - rejected in the end
Rejections:
MIT
Princeton
Stanford
Chicago

Columbia
Northwestern
UCLA - Anderson
Rochester
Maryland
Wisconsin
Caltech

Going to: University of Southern California


What would you have done differently?
First of all, a good MSc in economics, not only because it would increase my chances of being admitted at better places but to feel more comfortable with the courses in the first year; second, I should have participated more in this forum, I remember that I asked for the evaluation of profile stuff but only this. I should have gathered more information about the places that I would fit better with the TM's; I'm happy with the school that I'm going to but a little bit frustrated being rejected in all the top 15 schools. What I mean is that the idea of applying to a lot schools can hurt a lot. Now I have kind of mixed feelings about all of this: should I wait one more year, finish the PhD core couses sequence in my program right now and apply again? Or this is just a dream? I don't know...
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Canuckonomist 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A (Hons.) Economics, Math Minor with Distinction, Queen's University
Undergrad GPA: Overall: 3.75/4.0, Econ: 4.0/4.0, Math: 3.65/4.0

Type of Grad: M.A Economics, Queen's University
Grad GPA: 3.9/4.0
GRE: 790Q 530V 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calculus I-III (A+/A+/B), Linear Algebra (B), Differential Equations (B), Probability (C), Abstract Algebra (B), Statistics (A+), Analysis I & II (B+/B), Stochastic Models in Operations Research (A+)

Econ Courses (MA/PhD-level): Micro (A-), Metrics (A), Money and the Macroeconomy (A), Mathematical Economics (A+), Finance Theory (A+) Continuous-Time Finance (A+), Risk Management (Audit), Cost-Benefit Analysis (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro (A), Macro (A+), Metrics I & II (A/B+), Finance (A+), History (B+), Corporate Finance (A),
Letters of Recommendation: 1 ANU, 1 JHU, 1 Harvard, 1 BU
Research Experience: R.A for three semesters. Co-authoured paper published in REE, 2008. Working paper with same author
Teaching Experience: UG Finance (fall), Tutor for department in mathematics for economists, Micro and stats.

Research Interests: Financial Economics, Micro, Credit
SOP: Working on it all summer

RESULTS:
Attending: University of Toronto ($$$)
Acceptances: Queen's University ($$), BU (no $)
Rejections: Chicago, NWU, Yale, Columbia, NYU, Rochester, Michigan, Minnesota

Pending: Cornell (will withdraw)
What would you have done differently? The only things I could have done differently would have been to start liking math before second year, and to know economics was the thing for me before second year. So really, outside of changing the fabric of my very being earlier in life, all the decisions on the equilibrium path were correct. Very happy to be attending UToronto. Would I be a true Canuckonomist if I didn't do a Ph.D in Canada? I like to think not.
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: