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ockam 2007:
hey, I just heard about this forum a couple weeks ago. wish I had know about it earlier, but I hope somebody else might find my info useful
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: large "top-ten" public research university w/ top 15ish econ dept
Undergrad GPA: 3.95 overall, 3.97 math
GRE: 800Q/610V/5.0
Math Courses: majored in math, with rigorous year-long sequences in analysis, stats, and abstract algebra. upper div electives included applied linear algebra and mathematical modeling. note to future applicants: the admissions director at princeton seemed to take very seriously the fact that i had taken the more rigorous math courses
Econ Courses: very few: intro to micro, mathematical econ, grad-level micro. After applying, some macro and behavioral (and said I would do so on application)
Other Courses: lots of philosophy including grad-level coursework in philosophy of science.
Letters of Recommendation: These were probably the strongest part of my application. One from a full professor each of: econ, math, phil departments. Math letter came from my real analysis prof who is also a college provost. Phil letter was from my honors thesis advisor. I took a grad course with the econ prof. I know all my letter writers quite well, so there were lots of very specific things they could say about me.
Research Experience: none in economics. Assisted research in epidemiology (with a sociologist) and genomics. Independent research in philosophy of science and sabermetrics.
Teaching Experience: tutor/TA for the computer science dept (java)
Research Interests: very broad. mostly micro and metrics, both theory and applied
SOP: 700 words, nothing fancy. described how my background in math and phil led me to economics. said my interests in econ were broad and described a couple specific topics that interest me. Used mostly the same statement at every school, changing just the last two sentences for each application
Other: Residential advisor, phil club president, and undergrad phil journal editor.
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
full funding:
Princeton, Stanford, Chicago, UPenn, Columbia, Northwestern Wisc-Madison, UBC
no $: UCSD
Waitlists:
Yale, MIT
Rejections:
Harvard, Berkeley
What would you have done differently?
absolutely nothing.

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.

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.

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)
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.

kartelite 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Graduated Top 20 liberal arts college, 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

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.

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"!

macrodude84 2007:
Type of Undergrad: Graduated top 5% of top 10 university
Undergrad GPA: 3.90 overall and major (double major math and economics)
GRE: 800Q, 800V, 6.0 W
Math Courses:
Undergrad Math: Linear Algebra (A+), Differential Equations (A), Differential Geometry (A), Grad level Abstract Algebra (A-), Topology (A-), Grad level Real Analysis I/II (A-/A-), Statistics (A), Partial Differential Equations (A-)
Econ Courses:
Undergrad Econ: Intro Econ (A+), Intro Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Intermediate Micro (A+), Intro Econometrics (A+), International Trade (A), Monetary Economics (A+), Health Economics (A-), Financial Economics (A), Industrial Organization (A), Game Theory (A+), International Macro (A)
Grad Econ: PhD-level micro (A), PhD-level macro (A-), PhD-level econometrics (B+), Mathematical Economics (A+)
Letters of Recommendation: All economics professors, including the chair of the department.
Research Experience: Two years research with public policy professor, plus summer internship with think tank in DC.
Teaching Experience: TA master's-level micro and macro
Research Interests: Macroeconomic theory, search theory, labor economics (theory), some interest in behavioral econ
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
UPenn (funding)
Rejections:
Princeton
Harvard
MIT
What would you have done differently?
Not really sure. Perhaps done a little better in the math classes. Written a better statement of purpose, maybe?

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.

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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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...

cooper 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small state school, no PhD program in Econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.2
Type of Grad Mid-size public uni, no PhD program in Econ
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 770 Q, 370 V, 4.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calc 1-3, Diff Eqs, Linear Alg, Operations Research (Linear programming, Integer Programming, & Dynamic Porogramming), Math Stats 1, Adv Calc 1. (All A's) Taking final semester: Adv Calc 2, Topology, Stoch Calc.
Econ Courses: Micro and Macro up to masters level, Math Econ up to masters level, Econometrics up to masters level (including regular Econometrics, Time Series, and Financial Econometrics), and Game Theory. (Two B+'s in undergrad courses and rest A's)
Other Courses: Some programming courses.
Letters of Recommendation: Strong letters from not well known Profs (two econ and one math). One more letter from a well-connected econ Prof, not sure how strong it was.
Research Experience: Research asistant for Prof for two years in masters program. Research Assistant for another Prof for one year. Completed Research paper at AEA summer program. Completed a masters research paper. Did some Matlab programming with another professor for independent study on oil and monetary poicly.
Teaching Experience: Tutor for calc 1&2 in undergrad. Tutor for Principles of Micro in undergrad.
Research Interests: Macro: RBC theory, monetary policy, oil and empirical macro
SOP: Talked about my interests and experience, and a little about the particular school.
Other: AEA summer program
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Iowa (full $$), Vandy (full $$), Indiana (full $$), Virginia ($$-?), Rutgers (no $$)
Waitlists: I guess Pitt since I emailed them and never got a decision
Rejections: Princeton, Duke, WUSTL, U Wash, Illinois, JHU
What would you have done differently? I think I found my range, but I probably should have tried some more top 30's and mayber one or two top 20's just in case.

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.

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...

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

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 (waitlisted $), Duke ($), 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.