The chart will appear within this DIV. This text will be replaced by the chart.
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:
sonicskat 2007:
PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Small Liberal Arts...Not well known
Undergrad GPA: 3.76
GRE: 760/510/5.5
Math Courses: Calc 1-3, Proofs and Topology Class, Linear Algebra, Diff Eq
Econ Courses: Inter. Micro/Macro, Business, Math, Experimental, Forecasting, Econometrics, Statistics, Int'l trade and finance
Letters of Recommendation: Two Associate professors (Duke and MSU), and one Assistant Professor (FSU)
Research Experience: One paper published in undergraduate journal, research using dynamic programming with two professors ongoing, presented at professional conferences twice, associate editor for undergraduate journal for two years, presented at campus research forum twice.
Research Interests: Macro, Int'l
SOP: Wrote how I have adequate math skills, despite no real analysis. Briefly discussed extensive research experiences. Then honed in on a couple professor's who's work I enjoy.


RESULTS:
Acceptances: UVA, MSU, UC Davis, Vanderbilt, Rice,UCSB
Waitlists: Pitt (i guess), ASU (i guess)
Rejections: UT Austin, Iowa

What would you have done differently?
Taken more math and gotten an 800 on the gre
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:
Jhai 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: 40-ish ranked American LCA
Undergrad GPA: 3.70

Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800 M, 690 V, 5.0 A
Math Courses: Calc I through III (taken while in high school, mix of A's & C's), Linear Algebra (A), Analysis (A-), Differential Equations (B+), Operations Research I (A), Operations Research II (A-), Probability & Statistics I (A), currently in Probability and Statistics II

Econ Courses: Intro (A), Int Micro (B-), Int Macro (A-), Quantitative Analysis (A-), Math Econ (A), International Finance (B+), Nobel Laureates & Their Work (A), International Econ (A), Game Theory (A-), Econometrics (A-), Advanced Micro (A)
Other Courses: Advanced Logic (A-) - it was pretty proof-intensive
Letters of Recommendation: Three from econ profs at my undergrad (head of the dept from Southern Methodist, assistant prof from Minnesota, and associate prof from Stanford) plus a new math professor from U of Indiana. I expect (and in some cases know) them to be very, very strong, but none of the professors do much research since they're at a teaching college.
Research Experience: two summers of research (at undergrad in international finance and at Georgia State in urban), plus a big project in Econometrics, which then developed into my senior thesis this semester (on H-1B applications)

Teaching Experience: 3 years of tutoring econ, math, and logic classes at undergrad. Also TAed a freshman seminar on ethics & leadership, which was taught by the chair of the econ department
Research Interests: International (trade) and development. Some interest in labor & political economy
SOP: I think it was a pretty well-written SoP, with the last paragraph customized for each school (mentioning professors, strong research groups, facilities, etc). Said I was interested in the overlap of development, labor, and international, with different emphasis depending on the school's strengths.
Other: American female student. Partially Hispanic. Applied as a senior in college. Philosophy as a second major.


RESULTS:
Acceptances:
UC Davis (no funding)
UC Santa Cruz ($21k fellowship for two years followed by TA/RA)
Georgetown ($27k fellowship for five years, two with work responsibilities, includes summer research work with a professor/mentor) Accepted! :D
Waitlists:
None

Rejections:
Stanford
Stanford GSB
UC Berkeley
UCSD
UCLA
Duke
Johns Hopkins

What would you have done differently?
I think I probably should have applied to a few more schools in the 30 range - I guess I overestimated my chances. I suppose I could have given up my philosophy major and taken more math, but you're only an undergrad once, and I really, really like philosophy. I think part of the problem was that my professors are pretty unknown, as is the school. I'm very happy with where I'm headed, though, so I guess it doesn't matter too much. In the end, I doubt I would have changed much at all. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
ptm 2007:
Profile:

Gre: 800 Q, 720 V, 4.0 W - I write like an engineer.

Type of Undergrad: Top 5 national university - physics + computer science double major. unmatriculated econ coursework at a 3rd-tier local university
GPA: Overall: 3.3, math ~ 3.0, majors ~ 3.3, econ 3.9
Classes:
Math: Calc, diff eq's, linear algebra, probability
Econ: junior/senior macro, micro, econometrics, resource + environmental, US income policy, history of thought; grad field course in resource + environmental
Physics + Computer Science: lots

Research Experience: Minimal - tech on various things, a couple REU's and similar programs, don't think that was in my application
Teaching Experience: TA'd and taught as an undergrad, don't think that was in my application
LORs: Three from the econ professors, all quite complimentary. One from a guy in my field, but in a different niche than me or my potential advisors.
SoP & Interests: Probably pretty mediocre - see my GRE Writing score. Discussed my professional background and academic interests.
Other: Five years of experience as a computational scientist, programmer, etc.



Admissions Decision Results

My list is a bit different as I'm just looking at environmental/resource programs.

Going to:
Duke (env program)

Admitted with funding:
Duke (env program
UCSB (env program)
Calgary
Withdrew applications:
Davis ARE
Oregon State ARE
Berkeley ARE

Rejected:
Wisconsin AAE


What I learned: At no point did I really feel comfortable that I understood the process.

While you can always do more research, I got into the programs that fit me best (Duke and UCSB env). I'm okay with that. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
fidelio 2007:
Profile:
Gre: 800 Q, 670 V,

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

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

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

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

Going to UCSD.

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

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


Good luck to all! Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
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:
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:
sonicskat 2007:
Profile
Type of Undergrad: LAC in US, not Graduate program in Econ

GPA: 3.78
GRE: 760/510/5.5
Math: Calc 1 and II (A-), Calc III (A), Stats (A), Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A), Math Reasoning [Intro to real analysis](A)
Econ: Inter Macro (A) and Micro (A), Math Econ (A), Int'l Trade (A), Econometrics (A-), Experimental (A), Bus. Econ (B+, stupid class)
, Econometric Forecasting (A)

Honors: Phi Kappa Phi, Beta Alpha Psi, Omicron Delta Epsilon, Pi Mu Epsilon, Magna Cum Laude
Letters of Recommendation: Three econ (MSU, Duke, FSU, and also a Vanderbilt econ Phd)
Research Experience: 1 published paper in undergrad econ journal, associate editor for undergrad journal for 2 years, multiple conference presentations, multiple grants for co-authored paper with professors
Teaching Experience: Writing center tutor and casual econ tutor
Research Interests: Computational economics (Macro, int'l)
SOP: Addressed my lack of Real analysis, my research experiences, passion to contribute to modern research, talked about the professors that made me apply to the school


Results:
Acceptances: UCSB ($15k), Rice ($20k), Vandy ($15k), MSU (no $), UC-Davis (no $), UVA ($12.5k)
Rejections: UT-Austin, ASU, Iowa, Pitt
What would I have done differently? Known that I wanted to do this earlier.I would have applied to less lower schools and more higher waited (20-50 range). I also wouldn't mind finding out about some of my rejects. UT was a reach, but I was pretty surprised about ASU given the interest I expressed in my SOP. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
octavio 2008:
Type of Undergrad: Large US state university, econ program ranked very low
Undergrad GPA: 4.0
Type of Grad: Currently enrolled in econ masters at a US public university

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

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

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

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


What would you have done differently? Things worked out well given that my pedigree was so poor. I got into Berkeley ARE, which is a perfect match for my interests, so I can't think of much to do differently. Probably shouldn't have applied to Stanford and chosen a different reach instead, not that I would have gotten in. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Valhalla 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in economics in continental europe, huge public university but internationally not very well known I'd say.


Undergrad GPA: 3.72/4 (using WES-conversion table), top 5% in my university

Type of Grad: MA Economics (I'm currently in the second year)

Grad GPA: 3.77/4 until now


GRE: 790 Q, 600 V, 4.5 AWA

Math Courses:

(900f those courses were not required in the economics-track (BA and MA) but I did those courses additionally as offered by the math department for math-students)

UG-Level: Mathematics I,II, III (dealing basically with integral calculus, differential equation systems, vector calculus...), Real analysis I, II, III, Functional Analysis I, II, Probability theory I,II,III, Linear Algebra I, II, III, Topology I, II, Differential Topology, Measure Theory, Optimization Theory,



Graduate Level: Real Analysis, Topology, Linear Algebra, Operator Theory, Recursive Methods/ Dynamic programming, Statistics I (using Casella and Berger), Statistics II (using Davidson's Stochastic limit theory)


Econ Courses: That's just an endless list... but some highlights:

UG Level: Micro I,II,III, Macro I,II,III, Game theory I, II, Evolutionary Game Theory, Cooperative Game Theory, Industrial Organization I, II, International Trade I, II, III, Monetary Economics I, II, ...


Graduate level: Micro I,II, (using MWG) Macro I,II, (using Ljungquvist and Sargent/ Stokey and Lucas), General Equilibrium Theory, Incomplete markets, Asset pricing, Public choice theory, Auction theory, Game theory, Voting theory, Industrial Organization

Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ profs, 2 are well known

Teaching Experience: TA UG Level for elementary economics, TA Graduate level in math and macro


Awards: 2 merit based awards from my UG - university, scholarship from my graduate institution, award from our central bank for my diploma thesis,

Research Interests: Micro-theory

SOP: talked about personal interests/ hobbys and connected it with some papers I read... but I don't think someone cared about it


Schools I applied to:

NW
UPenn
UCSD
Tilburg
UIUC
JHU
Purdue

U Arizona
BC
UC Davis
Toronto
IUB


RESULTS:


Acceptances:

UPenn (nada $)
Tilburg ($)
UIUC ($$)
U Arizona ($$)
BC ($$)
IUB ($$)
UC Davis (?)


Rejections:

NW... (I'm still shocked):eek:

Pending:

Toronto, Purdue, JHU, UCSD


What would you have done differently?

A lot! I wouldn't underestimate me anymore and I would apply for some top ten universities. My tip: aim as high as possible otherwise you get a lot of acceptances from middle-ranked universities and what can you buy with that?









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Show 30 post(s) from this thread on one page Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
EMEQU 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Good Latin American university
Undergrad GPA: 15.4/20

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

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

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

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

What would you have done differently?
I think LORs matter a lot, specially for international students (since one professor may recommend 4 or 5 students at the same time to the same university). I wish I applied to fewer safety schools. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
semischolastic 2008:
Type of Undergrad: Small-Medium state school, no econ grad program.
Undergrad GPA: 3.7 (Economics, Information Systems double major)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other: NSF Honorable Mention Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
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:
scrobles 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Econ and Math, MIT
Undergrad GPA: 4.7/5.0 (equivalent to 3.7)

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

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

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

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

Rejections: MIT, Columbia, Brown


What would you have done differently?
My results were great, I think mostly because of my LORs so I think my after-college job really saved me. If I had to do it again, I would get As in key courses (mostly math) and do an economics thesis, but this is just theoretical since it wasn't necessary. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
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:
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:
cjw10 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: LAC – Economics, BA (with honors) + English minor
Undergrad GPA: 3.65
Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 760Q, 540V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses: (3.73 average) Calc I-III, Discrete Math, Linear Algebra, Stats, Differential Equations (Audit), Real Analysis (spring 09).
Econ Courses: (4.0 average) Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, Public Finance, Environmental Econ, Market Experiments, International Econ, Money and Banking, Econometrics I, Senior Thesis
Other Courses: English minor, Env. Studies, Scuba Diving.

Letters of Recommendation: 4 Econ profs -- exceptional. 1 well known.
Research Experience: REU at top 50 econ Program. Research internship at consulting firm in London. Honors Thesis.
Teaching Experience: TA for Prin. Micro + Market Experiments; Academic Tutor (Micro + Macro)
Research Interests: Environmental/Resource, Experimental, Development, Applied Econometrics
SOP: Why I want a PhD + career goals + research experience + research interests matched with faculty. 2.25 pages, 1.5 spaced.

Other: 1 conference presentation + internship at investment bank
Post-doc goals: Academia.


RESULTS:
Acceptances:
NC State (RA 17k + 5k fellowship + tuition + health insurance)
UC Santa Barbara (TA 16.6k + 5k fellowship + tuition + health insurance)

Iowa State (TA 14.4k + 2.5k scholarship + in-state tuition + health insurance)
Oregon State AE (RA 12.6k + tuition + health insurance)
UC Davis ARE MS (readership)
Washington-Seattle (waitlisted for funding)
Colorado-Boulder (waitlisted for funding)
Oregon (no funding)
Rejections: Berkeley ARE, Maryland AREc, Wisconsin AAE


Will be attending: North Carolina State University

What would you have done differently? I’m satisfied. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
boiboi1986 2009:
PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 10 LAC
Undergrad GPA: Overall 3.91; Math 4.0; Econ 3.92
Type of Grad: -
Grad GPA: -
GRE: 800Q, 690V, 6.0AWA

Math Courses(undergrad): Multi, Diff Eq, Probability, Statistics, Stochastic Processes, Real Analysis I (Taking while applying in the fall), Taking in the spring: Measure Theory + Abstract algebra
Math Courses(PhD): -
Econ Courses: Standard sequence, Public Finance, Experimental Econ, History Econ Thought, Honors Thesis
Other Courses: Liberal artsy stuff
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Econ (MIT, Yale, both young assistant profs), 1 Math (Stanford fairly senior profs). The math one didn't know me much (took 2 classes with him). The other two I'd done research for, so should've been fairly good.

Research Experience: 2 summers
Teaching Experience: 2 semesters at homework tutoring sessions.
Research Interests: broad
SOP: terrible, i picked a bad topic to write about.
Other:


RESULTS:
Attending: UMich (Ann arbor)
Accepted: UMich ($$ on apr 15th!), Wisconsin (TA$ on apr 15th too!), UC Davis (TA$+Fellow$, but with only a approx 1/2-tuition reduction) [not sure what one $ =?]
Wait List: Upenn, presumably rejected in the end.
Rejections: "Almost everywhere" (top 10 + a few other top 11-20's)



What would you have done differently? a lot. i messed up my applications cuz i did it very last minute, i pretty much did it all over 3 very intense nights before the collective deadline (dec 15). so my SOP was a disaster, apparently i picked the completely wrong topic to write about. and also my LOR writers didn't have too much time to write it.
In any case, while i was initially quite disappointed, im now very happy to be going to michigan! Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Texcards 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Minor Economics and Math at very large state school (top 15 engineering, top 50 economics)
Undergrad GPA: 3.35/4.0 (3.65 Math, 4.0 Econ)
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: 800Q, 550V, 4.0AW
Math Courses: Calc I-III(A,B,A), Differential Equations (B), Linear Algebra (A), Mathematical Probability and Statistics (A), Fund Discrete Math (Spring 09)
Econ Courses: Principles of Micro and Macro (A, CR by exam), Intermediate Micro and Macro theory, Econometrics (A,A,A)
Other Courses: Lots of engineering
Letters of Recommendation: 2 not well known assistant econ professors (UT-Austin, Rice) but excelled in their classes, 1 associate engr professor (Berkeley) that I went on a study abroad trip with

Research Experience: none
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: International and Development
SOP: Paragraph about why I wanted to do econ even though I did engineering as an undergrad, another on my interests, and another on why I wanted to be an academic. Slightly altered my interests paragraph depending on the school, but for the most part the same for each one.
Other: Didn’t start considering this until fall of last year.

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UC Riverside (Fellowship), University of San Francisco MA in International and Development Economics (1/2 tuition remission + TA), UC Davis, University of Washington, UC Santa Cruz, Colorado, Oregon, UI-Chicago
Waitlists: Oregon fellowship, eventually notified of no funding
Rejections: Maryland, Boston University, Boston College, UT Austin, Michigan State, Georgetown, UBC MA
Pending: Toronto MA, Queen’s MA

What would you have done differently?
I wouldn’t have applied to the Canadian MA’s (1 year wouldn’t have been enough to help me), Michigan State, UCSC, or UI-Chicago and maybe applied to a couple more reaches instead, but I really didn't think I would get into as many as I did. I don’t know if it would have changed anything though, after really thinking about it I think an MA is a very good choice for me. I’ve realized that my 3 economics courses hasn’t given me enough of a background in general economics knowledge. Yes I could learn it in the course of a PhD but I think strengthening my economics background will allow me to have more focus on what field I want to go into and give me more ideas when I eventually start to write my dissertation. An MA will also allow me to improve 3 big weaknesses in my profile: (1) Do some research which will allow me to have (2) stronger LOR’s and (3) a more focused SOP.

I think I learned a lot in this application process and feel like I will be able to put together a much better application in 2 years after an MA.

Attending:
University of San Francisco MA in International and Development Economics 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:
Rejections:
Econtastic 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ/Math from U of Oregon
Undergrad GPA: 3.07/4
Type of Grad: M.A. Econ

Grad GPA: 3.8/4
GRE: 760Q, 610V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Multivariable Calc (x2), Linear Algebra (x2), Differential Eqns, Statistics (x3), Real Analysis
Econ Courses (PhD-level): Micro (A), Macro (B+), Econometrics (B+,B,A-) Game Theory(A), Time Series(B+), IO(Winter), Monetary (Winter)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Just about every one offered, mostly As

Other Courses: 2 finances classes
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ professors (MIT, Chicago, Wisconsin), should be pretty solid
Research Experience: None to speak of outside of term papers
Teaching Experience: None, though I did grade for math and econ

Research Interests: Financial/Monetary Econometrics, IO and Public Policy
SOP: Not too long, but fairly good I think
Concerns: Bad undergrad GPA, which is when I took all my math. Low Q on GRE. Lack of teaching/research may have hurt my chances of getting $
Other: This whole application process was fairly miserable, I'm glad I never have to do it again

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UW-Seattle ($0), UC Riverside ($$)
Waitlists: None
Rejections: UC Davis, U Arizona, Arizona St
Pending: None

What would you have done differently? Besides work much harder as an undergrad? Maybe take more math (topology and such), and definitely retake the GRE. Also, my little piece of advice, ask for LoRs with plenty of time before the deadline! Having to bug your recommenders every day to make sure they submit them on time is no fun, and a bit nerve-racking
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
crangeon8214 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics, large top 25 American research university
Undergrad GPA: 3.4
Type of Grad: none

Grad GPA: none
GRE: 760Q, 620V, 5.0AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A,A,B), Linear Algebra (C), Diff Eq's (C), Probability and Statistics (D,B (retaken... )), Real Analysis (C)
Econ Courses: Introductory Economics (A), Principles of Microeconomics (A), Principles of Macroeconomics (A), Intermediate Micro Theory (B), Intermediate Macro Theory (A), Game Theory (B), Econometrics I,II(B,A)
Other Courses: physics up to quantum mechanics

Letters of Recommendation: 3 full professors (2 very strong, 1 medium..strong?)
Research Experience: Honors economics thesis paper, not published (got one of very few scholarship awards at graduation), physics research fellowship
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Micro, behavioral, environmental

SOP: Primarily talking about my research experience
Other: Expert with SAS, worked at a notable consulting firm, not sure if that even helps
Concerns: Math grades suck. Econ grades are just ok. GRE nothing to write home about.

RESULTS:
Attending: UC Irvine($$)
Admitted, Declined: UVA, Boulder ($$), Washington, Oregon State ($)

Waitlists: none
Rejections: UMD-AREC, Davis-AREC, Penn State, GMU
Lost in space: JHU, UCSB

What would you have done differently?
As far as the application process goes - I wish I had exhaustively researched faculty interests before applying, I feel as though I might have let some potentially good schools (for me) like Iowa and Arizona slip through. On the whole, I am very pleased - my profile is all over the place, and Irvine matches me very, very well. As for undergrad, well, it is what it is.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
big_o12 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Good but not great LAC, Econ.
Undergrad GPA: 3.80
Type of Grad: MPP, Minnesota

Grad GPA: 3.98
GRE: 750, 580, 5.5
Math Courses: Calc I & II, LA, Math for Economists, Intro to Proofs, Stats, all A's
Econ Courses: Undergrad: intros, intermediates, open-economy macro, econometrics. Masters level: micro, labor, econometrics I & II
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 2 great, one good, nobody famous. One was from a professor who had supervised my masters thesis and said it was the best he had seen, suggested that I send it to a field journal.
Research Experience: aforementioned master's thesis

Teaching Experience: semester each as TA for micro, macro, stats
Research Interests:
SOP:
Other:

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Riverside ($$), Oregon($), Minnesota Applied
(waitlisted for $-withdrew), UMass ($), U Washington (no $)
Waitlists:

Rejections: Berk ARE, Davis ARE
Pending: Never heard from UConn, I think i'll call and ask for my $80 back.

What would you have done differently? I have a strong heterodox streak, so UMass is really a nice admit for me. I feel like I just snuck in there given my low test scores, minimal math and unexceptional undergraduate institution, and i'm greatfull for that, so nothing different.

Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
singmeat 2009: Drumroll for the non top 50 club please.........

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Economics from small state non-flagship non-PhD granting university.

Undergrad GPA: Overall: 3.1/4.0, Econ: 3.7/4.0, Math: 3.4/4.0
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 740Q 610V 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Concepts of Calculus (A), Calculus 1 (B), Calculus II (B), Linear Algebra (B), Statistics (A), Econ Statistics (A), College Algebra (D!)
Econ Courses: Intro Micro (A), Intro Macro (B), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Growth and Development (B), Managerial Econ (A), Labor Econ (A), Econometrics (A)

Other Courses: Linear Programming (B), Intro Finance (D), Multinational Finance (A), lots of Decision Science, Marketing, Accounting, Management, Strategy, etc courses (As and Bs)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Econ profs and a math prof
Research Experience: n/a.
Teaching Experience: n/a
Research Interests: Micro and Applied Micro

SOP: I personally think it was very good. I told my academic story concisely with elegance.

RESULTS:
Funded Admit
Wyoming (Attending): Assistantship + Tuition + Fees + Insurance

MTSU: Assistantship + Tuition + 50% Fees + Summer Research Grant
Missouri: Assistantship + Tuition + Fees
Clemson: Assistantship + Tuition + Fees

UT Dallas: Was told I’d be funded, told them I was going to Wyo.
Florida FRED: Wanted to fund me, but is having a budget crisis or something
UNC Greensboro: Admitted to MA, Assistantship

Arizona AREC MA: Half-Time Research Assistantship + Tuition + Fees
Michigan State AREC: Offered funding in email without details (RA presumably), told them I was going to Wyo.
Unfunded Admit:
Oregon: No funding

Kentucky: WL for funding, didn’t hear back
New Mexico: Never heard about funding despite emailing
U of Utah: No funding

Fail (Reject):
UC-Davis AREC: Rejected, Scholarship below that of admitted applicants
Maryland AREC: Rejected
Florida Econ: Didn’t finish the app, rejected anyway

NC State: One of my LORs never made it, didn’t care enough to pester prof.
???:
Kansas: Admitted, but no idea about funding, paperwork problems with Grad School and I declined before I got any update. Assuming no.

Comments:

Not too shabby considering my profile. I must have some rockin’ LORs or my SOP was magical. I really hated to decline MTSU, I’m hoping they do well in the future. I should have studied more for the GRE: I kept putting it off because Calc 2 was actually pretty fun. Looking back, I should have applied to more flagship state unis and a few more reaches, and actually finished my NC state and Florida apps.

My GPA is low because of a few stupid unrelated courses: Geography (F/D), Algebra (D), lots of Cs my first semester (tough year for me, PM for details on that), etc. Econ, business, math were As and Bs.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
untitled 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Math, BA International Studies (mid ranked Midwest Flagship State School)
Undergrad GPA: 3.65
Type of Grad: M.S. Math (mid ranked but slightly better Midwest Flagship State School)

Grad GPA: 3.6
GRE: 800Q, 600V, 5.5AW (scored 800, 590, 6 before MS degree)
Math Courses (undergrad): Lots, some Bs, B+/A- average
Math (grad): Lots, still a couple Bs, A- average
Econ Courses (grad): Few
Econ Courses (undergrad): None

Other Courses: Physics Minor, once, lots of Poli Sci before I realized math + poli sci =~ econ
Letters of Recommendation: Two Math, One Poli Sci, One Econ. Econ was extremely strong
Research Experience: Math Thesis, RA at academic leaning econ consulting firm
Teaching Experience: Taught micro, macro, math econ, and econ stats principles courses during two year stint at local university while working as a consultant
Research Interests: Econometrics, Resource Economics, Decision Theory, Development

SOP: Focused on work/research experience - probably would have done it differently
Concerns: yes, mostly private.

RESULTS:
Acceptances: University of Washington - Seattle
Waitlists: none

Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, Duke, Boston University, Davis, Pittsburgh, UCSD, UBC

What would you have done differently?
I can think of one or two classes where an A might have made a difference. Also, it might have been helpful to take at least some econ classes as an undergrad, but I'm glad I didn't, as I enjoyed my undergrad enough. Many private things.
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:
AREStudentHopeful 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in Econ from a medium-sized public university in the Southeast

Undergrad GPA: 3.4/4.0
GRE: 740Q, 510V, 5.0AWA
Math/Stat Courses: Calc I & II, Axiomatic Systems, Linear Algebra
Econ Courses: Intro to micro and macro, intermediate micro and macro, advanced macro, econometrics, managerial, natural resource, environmental, developmental, comparitive systems and money/capital markets ...all A's or A-'s

Other Courses: many environmental science courses
Letters of Recommendation: 5 econ professors (1 Berkeley ARE, 1 Chicago, 2 NC State, 1 UVA)
Research Experience: a final paper for metrics on gas pricing and some limited experience RAing for professors (mostly surveying)
Teaching Experience: tutoring
Research Interests: environmental and natural resource

SOP: pretty standard

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Colorado State ARE MS ($), UNLV MA, UNM MA, UNCG MA ($)
Attending: Colorado State ARE
Waitlists: none

Rejections: Berkeley ARE PhD, UMD AREc PhD, Oregon State ARE PhD, Colorado-Boulder PhD, UMass RE PhD, UC Davis ARE PhD
Pending: NCSU MA, Ohio State AED MS, URI ERE MS (I have retracted all of these)

What would you have done differently? I would *definately* have started taking math classes a year earlier so I could fit more in. I also would have not screwed around as much as a freshman which screwed up my GPA. Overall I feel I'm better prepared now for two years down the road when I do this again for my PhD.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
lovertothemoon 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A in Economics, B.A. in International Relations, minor in French from U of California Davis
Undergrad GPA: 3.33
Type of Grad: entering first year phd in economics

Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 680 verbal, 720 quantitative, 5.5 writing
Math Courses: Calculus 1(B), 2(B+), 3(A), vector calculus(B), differential equations(C+), linear algebra (A), set theory(B+), real analysis 1(B+), 2(B), 3(C), applied linear algebra (C), mathematical statistics (C+), probability theory (A).
Econ Courses (undergrad): macro 1 (B+), macro 2 (B+), micro 1 (A-), micro 2 (A), world economic history 1 (A), world economic history 2 (A), game theory (C+), topics in macro economics (A-), econometrics (C), international macro (B+), international micro (A), east asian economics (A+), individual research (B+)
Other Courses: lots of political science regarding the international arena, french, and 19th/20th century history courses

Letters of Recommendation: 1) one of the top economic historians, who also was my research adviser and department chair. 2) ecn professor who pushed me to go to grad school and really liked me. 3) ecn professor who also acted as research adviser.
Research Experience: research in monetary history for a two quarter independent honors research course
Teaching Experience: nothing beyond french tutoring
Research Interests: macro, growth theory and development, economic history, and international economics

SOP: standard, focused on research experience and dropping a french major to take math classes my senior year to be prepared for ecn.
Concerns: bad math grades and gre score
Other: Female, worked all throughout college,

RESULTS:

Acceptances: U of Washington, George Washington U, both without funding
Waitlists: (ultimately rejected from all) U of California Irvine, UMASS, Notre Dame U, Texas A&M
Rejections: MIT, Caltech, Stanford, U of California Davis, U of Michigan, Michigan State U
Pending:noneWhat would you have done differently?

1)I would have applied to less schools in the top 20 and more lower ranked schools, because i wasted money applying to schools i never had a chance at. also would have applied to more schools in my home state of california.

2) started my calculus series early and taken the right one first, so that i didn't have to take business calculus, and then real calculus. I also would have given up french altogether and just gotten a triple major in international relations, mathematics, and economics.or at the very least, begun my math earlier so i could have taken that 1 last class i needed for a math minor. taking all your math in the last 4 quarters was not good planning. oh, and probably would have taken more statistics classes.

3) probably would have actually studied for the gre, rather then just going in an expecting to do calculus, not geometry.

in reality, i have no idea how i got in. my gre scores where horirble in comparison to the rest of y'all, and my grades were not nearly as good. i think i only got in because i took so many math classes (even with the bad grades), and i had a couple of REALLY good recommendations and a nice SOP. so, never undersetimate the power of good relationships with professors and the resulting recommendations.

i'm going to University of Washington's ecn phd program without funding, and hope that the lack of money only lasts the first year. wish me luck :)










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