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Prometheus_Econ 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 50 public university
Undergrad GPA: 4.0 GRE: 800Q, 610V, 5.0AWA
Math Courses (all As):
Undergrad Math: 3 semesters Calculus, two semesters proof-based Linear Algebra, Intro to Statistics, Probability Theory, Differential Equations, Intro to Topology, Analysis 1, Game Theory and Math. Programming, Proof Writing, Stochastic Processes (IP), Analysis 2 (IP)
Econ Courses (all As):
Undergrad Econ: Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, Intro Econometrics, Game Theory, Experimental Economics
Grad Econ: Quantitative Methods, Micro 1, 2nd year seminar in behavioral economics
Letters of Recommendation: 1 math professor, 2 econ professors, from 3 different universities, all advised me on research, only one I took classes with
Research Experience: Summer REU program, independent research in mathematical finance, honors thesis, gave 2 seminar presentations and 1 poster presentation
Teaching Experience: Calculus 1 (undergraduate TA), lots of tutoring
Research Interests: Microeconomic Theory, Financial Economics
SOP: emphasized research experience, and explained how I became interested in economics, customized last paragraph
Other: Applied for NSF (got honorable mention), got several departmental scholarships and awards in mathematics
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
(with fellowship)
NYU
Caltech
UPenn (after being waitlisted for funding about 2 weeks)
Carnegie Mellon Tepper
Johns Hopkins
University of Michigan (external funding)
Boston University
(with TAship)
Penn State
UT Austin
(without funding first year)
Wisconsin
UCSD
Rejections:
Princeton
Stanford GSB
Harvard
Harvard Business School
Northwestern
Berkeley
Waitlisted:
MIT
Stanford
What would you have done differently?
I would have applied to Yale as well, and perhaps applied to less safety schools.

Mobil 2007:
Profile:
GRE: 800Q/520V/3.5A
TOEFL: 263/300, 4.5/6.0
GPA: I don't know how to translate:
Undergraduate: 8.7/10
Master: 8.13/10
Classes:
Math:
Undergrad: Calculus I-II, Static Optimization, Lin Algebra, Int to Probability and Statistics.
Grad: Real Analysis, Dynamic Optimization, Probability and Statistics
Econ:
Lots of undergrad, core grad sequence in Micro, Macro and Econometrics
Electives: Money Theory, Development Economics, Advanced Theory
Type of Undergrad: International
Research Experience: Master's thesis
Teaching Experience: TA for two grad Macro
LORs: 5 LORs from professors who are based here in my home country. 3 are tenured professors (PhDs from Berkeley, Minnesota and UPenn) and two more junior (PhD from Chicago, PhD from a domestic university).
SoP & Interests: It was just about my academic history, research interests (emphasizing the field in which each university is best) and professors I could work with in each of the universities.
Other: International, Latin American, 25 yo.
Interests: Macroeconomics, Money Theory, Development Economics
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
(with funding):
NYU
Minnesota
Columbia
PennState
(no funding): Rochester
Rejections:
Princeton
UPenn
Northwestern
Yale
No answer at all: Toronto
What would you have done differently?
Nothing, I guess...

Econ07 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: International, Top in the country
Undergrad GPA: 9.3/10.0
Type of Grad: MSc
GRE: Q800, V550, A4.5
Math Courses:Undergrad: Calculus I-III, 2 semester Lin Algebra, Probability, Statistics, Real Analysis
Grad: Real Analysis II, Measure Theory, Statistics
Econ Courses: Lots of undergrad, core grad sequence in Micro, Macro and Econometrics
Electives: Contract Theory, Finance, Advanced Theory
Letters of Recommendation: All domestic based. Two tenured, two junior. All had PhDs from top 7.
Research Experience: MSc thesis in progress, Undergrad thesis
Research Interests: Theory, Public Finance
SOP: Discussed my background and interests
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Chicago(Ext fund), Columbia($), MIT($, not immediately), Northwestern (waiver, Ext fund), NYU($), Princeton($), Penn($), Yale (lots of $)
Rejections: Chicago GSB-Econ, Stanford GSB-Econ, Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford
What would you have done differently?
Not have applied for the Fulbright. Focused more on the GSBs, emphasizing theory or not have applied to those.
Advice: Relax. Focus on every aspect of the app (LORs, courses, research exp). Now, I believe this forum overemphasizes math (but, still, you should have Real Analysis). Having recomendants that are known by the Adcom seems to be important.

econchick06 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large, not highly ranked public university
Major: Economics Minor: Mathematics
Undergrad GPA: Overall: 3.96, Econ: 3.98, Math: 3.85
GRE: 780 Q, 600 V, 5.0 A
Math Courses: Calc I through III, Diff Equations (A+), Discrete Math (A+), Foundations of Math (Intro to Proofs) (A-), Matrix Algebra (A+), Linear Algebra (A), Probability (A), Advanced Calc (A, only A in the class)
Econ Courses: Undergrad:
Int Micro (A+), Int Macro (A), IO (A+), Urban/Regional (A+), Public Choice (A+), Math Econ (A), Econometrics (A+), Development Econ (A), International Economics (A), Money and Banking (A+)
Grad (taken as an undergrad):
Macroeconomic Theory (A), Mathematical Economics I (A-)
Other Courses: Intro Stats I and II (A+, A+), Intro to Comp Statistical Packags (SAS) (A+)
Letters of Recommendation:3 econ profs- 1 who I RA'd for and co-authored w/, 1 from grad macro prof, 1 from department chair.
Research Experience: RA for 1 year for one of my professors/TA this
Two sort-of publications (co-authored with professor,1 empirical paper in non-peer reviewed journal, and one study funded by a think tank)
Completed a thesis-type paper (we don't have a formal thesis program), will be submitting for publication shortly (and I did submit this paper to the schools I applied to as evidence of my research aptitude)
Teaching Experience: TA one semester
Research Interests: mostly applied micro
SOP: talked about my experiences with and passion for research, first para was tailored to each school
Other: founded economics club
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
full funding:
Chicago (Will be attending )
Rochester
Duke
University of Maryland
University of Virginia
Johns Hopkins
no funding:
UCLA
University of Pennsylvania (accepted off waitlist)
Waitlists:
Stanford
Rejections:
Harvard, Berkeley, UCSD, Michigan, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, NYU, Northwestern, MIT
What would you have done differently?
Hmm.. I think it turned out pretty well, I probably applied to too many schools but I am happy with the outcome and wouldn't really change anything. At least I don't have any "what ifs"!

Zoethor2 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large public state university, no reputation in economics or mathematics. I will be the 3rd graduate ever from the economics department to pursue a PhD in Economics.
Undergrad GPA: 3.93 overall, 4.0 economics, 3.85 math
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 780Q, 660V, 4.5A
Math Courses: Intro Calc, Intro and Theoretical Linear Algebra, Intro Proofs sequence, 2 semester Theoretical Stats sequence, 2 semester Real Analysis sequence, Theoretical Complex Variables, Intro to DiffE
Econ Courses: Intro and Advanced Econometrics, Intro and Intermediate Macro and Micro, Managerial, Monetary, International Trade, Experimental (Game Theory), 6 Independent Studies doing my own research (fun!)
Other Courses: Majored in Psych, also, so a whole slew of those, but I doubt they hugely impacted my application.
Letters of Recommendation: Very strong, but by relatively unknown professors. Two econ, one math.
Research Experience: Did about 6 independent (though overseen by faculty) pieces of research, each culminating in a paper. 2 in experimental economics, several in economics of education, and one in game theory and conflict situations. Each paper was presented at a professional conference, mostly in non-student sessions.
Teaching Experience: Was a TA for Johns Hopkins CTY for 2 summers for the Probability and Game Theory course.
Research Interests: applied microeconomics/econometrics, experimental economics, economics of education
SOP: I think it was reasonably strong. My advisors and I revised it quite a bit.
Other: Triple-majored in economics, mathematics, and psychology. This meant a lot of semesters with 6 courses, as well as taking me 5 years to graduate.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: U of Maryland (no funding), UCLA (no funding), U Michigan (no funding), Georgetown (funded), Boston College (funded), CMU's Decision Science PhD (funded)
Waitlists:
Rejections: MIT, UPenn, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Caltech, Princeton, NYU (presumably), UPitt (presumably), GMU (presumably)
(Presumably = I still haven't heard either way from these schools as of 4/12.)
What would you have done differently? I would have applied to more schools in the top 20. When all my results were in, I was choosing between unfunded offers from top 20 schools and funded offers from schools ranked below 40. I wish I had looked into and applied to more schools in the 10-30 range, where it seems I could've performed well. As I said, pretty much no one from my school has applied to graduate programs before, so I had very little information to go on as far as my chances at top programs. Overall, though, I'm ecstatic about my results. I was expecting to get into GMU, UPitt, BC and maybe one other school. Getting into UMD, UCLA, UMich was a fantastic surprise.

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?

grahamcoxon 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics from top university in my country (who has always placed students in top US PhDs)
Undergrad GPA: Econ 28.73 / 30 (= 3.83 / 4.0 ); Overall 28.27 / 30 ( = 3.77 / 4.0 )
Type of Grad: 2 years long MSc in Economics from the same university
Grad GPA: Econ 28.73 / 30 (= 3.83 / 4.0 ); Overall 28.73 / 30 (= 3.83 / 4.0 )
GRE: 790 Q, 520 V, 4.0 A
Math Courses:
Undergraduate: Mathematics (29/30; one year long course), Statistics and Probability (30/30), Econometrics (30/30)
Graduate: Multivariate Analysis (30/30), Microeconometrics (28/30)
Econ Courses:
Undergraduate: Industrial History (30/30); Microeconomics (27/30); Industrial Organization (30/30); Macroeconomics (29/30); Organization Theory (28/30); International Trade (29/30); Innovation and Industrial Dynamics (27/30); Economic Policy (28/30); Technology and Economic Development (28/30); International Monetary Economics (30 cum laude / 30)
Graduate:International Trade (30/30); Industiral Organization (29/30); Theory of the Firm and Corporate Governance (27/30); Business History (30/30); Economics of Innovation (29/30); Labour Economics (27/30); Public Economics (29/30).
Other Courses: Undergraduate: German Language, International Financial Markets, Innovation Management, … ; Graduate: Knowledge and Innovation Management, Comparative Politics, Spanish Language, …
Letters of Recommendation: associate econ professor and MSc thesis advisor (PhD UCLA); full econ professor and teacher of graduate labour econ (PhD NYU); associate econ professor and RA supervisor (PhD Northwestern); at least two of them are very very strong letters from people who know me well; two letter-writers are well-known economists and all publish on top economics journals.
Research Experience: Honors MSc thesis; started to work on co-authored paper with my MSc thesis advisor (I don’t mention it in my application but he probably talked about it in his letter of recommendation); 3 months RA at Dept of Quantitative Methods of my undergrad/grad university; 1 year RA at CHILD (Center for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics);
Teaching Experience: 1 semester of Multivariate Analysis (graduate)
Research Interests: Political Economy, Behavioral Economics, Microeconomic Theory
SOP: nothing special, talked about reasons to pursue graduate studies in economics, research experience, research interests and future plans; used almost the same text for all universities; 2 pages research proposal outline added for European programs who asked for it (LSE, UCL, Oxford, UPF)
Other: international applicant; TOEFL: 107/120; no application for external funding; honor roll student in both years of MSc; submitted everywhere MSc thesis as writing sample; at least other 10 (very very strong) students applied this same year for almost the same US top programs from my university (in this sense, this was a strong year for applicants from my country/university)
RESULTS:
Admitted : Caltech (w/ funding), BU (w/out funding), LSE MSc (w/out funding), Oxford MPhil (w/out funding)
Waitlisted: Yale (not admitted in the end)
Rejected: UCSD, Columbia, Berkeley, MIT, Princeton, Northwestern, Stanford, NYU, Chicago, Harvard, LSE MRes/PhD, UPenn, Oxford Dphil, Stokcholm School of Economics, Stockholm U
Never got an answer : UPF, UCL
What would you have done differently? I would say the standard “taken more math classes” or try the alternative version “taken more graduate econ theory classes”, but since I decided to try the path of an Econ PhD less than 12 months ago (when I had already taken all classes needed to graduate) this wasn’t an option. Maybe I should have applied to a more diverse set of schools (no European at all; some Business School or some lower-ranked school with programs/faculty in line with my interests like Stanford GSB, Northwestern MEDS, Rochester or Carnegie Mellon), because I acted clearly as a risk-loving individual (I didn’t overestimated my profile, though…I know my chances at top15 schools were thin, but just wanted to come all the way to the U.S. only if it was really worth). Anyway, in this case, it worked.

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 waiting, 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

Nalfien 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: SUNY University Center
Undergrad GPA: Econ (4.0)/Math (3.8) overall 3.84
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: None
GRE: 800/590/5.5
Math Courses: Multi Variable Calc A- , Diff Eqs A, Real Analysis A, Measure Theory A, Linear Algebra I B+ &II A, Computational A, Typical Math Major,
Econ Courses: Grad Micro, Metrics. undegrad Math Stats, Metrics, Money and Banking, Computational, Interm Micro and Macro. A's
Other Courses: Honors College
Letters of Recommendation: 3 strong ones. One very very strong one. I really think the biggest reason I got in where I got in is because one of my recommenders put his neck out for me and called people to tell them about me.
Research Experience: Year long honors thesis senior year.
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Labor, Development
SOP: Pretty nice... I think, didn't hear anything bad about it. two pages.
Other: Used to go to departmental research seminars since sophmore year, got my face seen and showed an interest in research.
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Stanford ($)Yale ($)UCLA ($)UVa ($)UNC ($)..... no money: UCSDU,Mich
Waitlists:
UPenn,NWU,NYU
Rejections:
Princeton,Berkeley,Columbia,Duke
What you would have done differently: I would have applied to less places. But there is no way I would have imagined I would have made out how i did. Very very fortunate.

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!
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macrotime 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Third world country (unknown to most)
Undergrad GPA: 76/100 (math 90/100)
Type of Grad: Third world country (well known top program)
Grad GPA: 6/7
GRE: 780Q/500V/4.5A
Math Courses: Calculus, Linear algebra, ODE, Dynamic prog., optimization, probability, econometrics
Econ Courses: micro, macro, just as many courses an econ major should take
Letters of Recommendation: 1 (MIT), 2 (NYU), 1 (Duke), 1 (UCLA) all of them really strong. 4 of them publish or have published in top journals, one less known.
Research Experience: 2 years as an RA in a well known research institute, 2 years working in an interntional organization but in a more policy oriented position
Teaching Experience: TA ecometrics grad level, TA international macroeconomics, instructor undergard macro, TA while undergrad macro, an intro courses to economics
Research Interests: Macro, econometrics
SOP: Honest, just described my research interests
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Duke ($$)
Georgetown (no $$)
Rochester ($$)
Waitlists:
NYU
Rejections:
MIT
Harvard
Northwestern
Columbia
BU
What would you have done differently?
First, I would have resaerched more the universities I wanted to apply. Probably, that would have led me to apply to other set of universities. I would have worked less, and I would have taken more math classes.

chappl 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: small university in Switzerland, 215th on econphd.net
Undergrad GPA: not easy to compute
Type of Grad: same as undergrad
Grad GPA: 5.73/6
GRE: 800Q, 610V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III, LinAlgebra, Mathematical econ (undergrad), Mathematical methods in finance (undergrad), Math and Statistics (MA-level), Stochastic Processes (MA-level)
Econ Courses (MA-level): Adv. Macro I-II, Adv. Micro, Game theory, Public econ, Empirical Macro, Experimental econ, Econometrics (general), Time Series econometrics, Microeconometrics, Applied Econometrics, Theory of Finance I-II
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Macro I-IV, Micro I-IV, 3 Development econ courses, Labor, Trade, Monetary, Public, 2 metrics courses
Other Courses: lots of undergrad management and law courses (compulsory in my school)
Letters of Recommendation: 3 professors (1 Princeton PhD, 1 Swiss PhD, 1 German PhD), 1 head of research dept at central bank; all probably very positive
Research Experience: 1 year RA at central bank
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: modern macro, international finance
SOP: stated my background and research interests
Other: I have no BA, only an MA, as a consequence of the transition of my school to the Bologna system. My MA transcript only contains grades for MA courses, translation of undergrad level transcripts all sent as individual sheets of paper. This might have confused some adcoms.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Michigan (no $), Wisconsin (no $), Maryland ($), Rochester ($), JHU ($), BU ($), Virginia ($), UBC ($)
Waitlists: NYU, ultimately rejected
Rejections: Princeton, Yale, Penn, Northwestern, Columbia, Duke, Toronto
What would you have done differently? I would have taken advanced math classes, like real analysis, topology, etc. As my school had no math dept, I would have had to take these at another school. I shouldn't have applied to my supposedly safety school (MA & PhD): Toronto; and should have applied to 2 more top 10 schools instead