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Internationalstudent08 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top-5
Undergrad GPA: 3.7
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q800, V670, A4.5
Math Courses: Real Analysis, Optimization (As)
Econ Courses: Typical undergrad courses, intro+field courses
Letters of Recommendation: 3 good ones
Research Experience: 1 year RA (+2 summers as an undergrad)
Teaching Experience: Some tutoring
Research Interests: Mostly applied micro
SOP: Must have been good
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UChicago (waiting to hear about funding), UMaryland (18k), Penn State (25k)
Waitlists: Wharton AE
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, Brown
Total Score: 10-1-3
Pending: None
What would you have done differently?
I really didn't take advantage of my undergrad school as I should have. I should have started RAing earlier, and I should have taken graduate-level courses as an undergrad, instead of being a chicken. Also, I made some bad thesis-related choices hehe
However, since last year's admission cycle, I did everything that I could to improve my profile, and ended up working with some great people. I learned a lot- perhaps more than what I'm going to learn in grad school.
The only significant econ-phd-related mistake I made was to apply to all top-10 schools and almost none of the schools between 10 and 20 (except for UMaryland). I rejected most of the schools in that range based on location preferences. Since my profile was not clear-cut top10, I should have been more careful.
Anyway, I'm glad I made it!!!!!

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.

mermel 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Math, B.S. Econ honors from top 40 public school, Math semester abroad at strong Russian math program
Undergrad GPA: 3.94, Econ 4.0, Math 3.93
GRE: 800Q, 600V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Multivar Calc, DiffEq, Number Theory, Matrices (Linear Algebra), Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Probability, Topology, Complex Analysis, Computability and Complexity (all A's), Combinatorics (B), Integer Partitions (B+)
Econ Courses: All those required for undergrad econ, was in Honors Economics program my senior year
Letters of Recommendation: 3 from econ professors, one from Econ PhD partner at the firm where I work, PhD's from Chicago, Princeton, Harvard, and Berkeley, 2 I am sure are very strong, and others are probably strong as well
Research Experience: Not any good research experience undergrad. Have been working in econ consulting since, so that sort of counts.
Teaching Experience: just tutoring
Research Interests: Micro theory, game theory, decision theory
SOP: I'm not really sure how to judge my SOP, I think it told a good story of why I want to get econ PhD.
Concerns: Lack of research experience, I had a withdrawal passing from graduate level analysis when I decided to do a second major in econ rather than doing a masters in math. I stated this in many of my essays, so hopefully that's ok.
Other: Working for past 2.5 years in economics litigation consulting
RESULTS:
Attending: Northwestern
Admitted, Declined: UPenn
Waitlists: Princeton(eventually rejected), Chicago(Admitted without funding for first 2 years)
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, NYU, Berkeley, Stanford, NSF
What would you have done differently?
I think some RA'ing as an undergraduate would have helped, but I am very happy with Northwestern and don't really have any regrets.

jeeves0923 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Math, B.A. Economics (Both Honors), Virginia Tech
Undergrad GPA: 3.90
Type of Grad: M.S. Math, Virginia Tech
Grad GPA: 3.90
GRE: 800Q, 610V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses(undergrad): through Real Analysis I & II.
Math Courses(PhD): Abstract Algebra, Stochastic Processes, Measure Theory, Matrix Theory
Econ Courses: Lots of electives + PhD Micro, Metrics, Labor.
Other Courses: Half an engineering degree, history minor.
Letters of Recommendation: 3 Econ Profs (didn't end up using the math prof). All extremely good (at least that's what a couple adcoms told me)
Research Experience: A couple of papers, 4 semesters of econ research, one math theory paper, a bunch of presentations
Teaching Experience:Quite a lot- Calculus, Vector Geometry, Writing Coach, Micro Econ Theory, and some tutoring
Research Interests: Micro Theory, Political Economy, IO... maybe some other applied micro
SOP: I think it was too long, and I would have done a bit differently (see the link below)
Other: I fly airplanes and cook, but not at the same time
RESULTS:
Attending: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Accepted: NSF, MIT($$), Kellogg (MEcS) ($$), UChicago ($$), Minnesota($$), Duke ($$), Michigan(no $), Berkeley Law School
Wait List: Princeton, not eventually admitted
Rejections: Stanford GSB, Yale, NYU, Columbia, Penn, Harvard, Berkeley
What would you have done differently? http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo...te-school.html (And What A Strange Ride It's Been- Advice if you Come from an Unknown State School) I did better than I expected
Nothing too drastic. I'm so happy!

Visible Hand 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Applicant: International, big continental european country.
Type of Undergrad: Good public university but with a very bad school of Economics. Student of the university honor college (more selective than Ivy) which offers courses on its own, including in heterodox Economics.
Undergrad GPA: Overall: ~3.9/4.0; Economics: 4.0(+)/4.0; Math/Stat: 4.0(++)/4.0.
(+), (++) and ~ are due to different conversion methods that can be applied.
Type of Grad: Two-years Master in Economics (attending 2nd year), best public university of the country, 2nd department of Economics in the country, best in my fields. Enrolled in the first year of run of the program: it was brand new! Also student of the university honor college (less selective and prestigious than undergraduate's).
Grad GPA: 4.0-ε/4.0 or 4.0(+)/4.0 according to different conversion methods.
GRE: 790Q 530V 5.0AWA - TOEFL: 110
Math Courses: Several courses in Math and Stat covering all the basic Calculus/Analysis/Linear Algebra/ODE/Optimization/Measure stuff up to Simon-Blume (Vol. 2) and De La Fuente level, as well as Probability/Inference/Multivariate Stats up to Casella-Berger.
All full grades with mention.
Econ Courses: All the basic undergraduate Micro/Macro/Metrics stuff plus some applied/heterodox/history/quantitative courses. At Master Level, Micro I/Macro I/Metrics I (taking II for each in the fall) plus: Topics in Economic Theory, Economics of Innovation, Competition Policy.
All full grades, often with mention, apart from graduate Macro I (~A).
Other Courses: Undergraduate courses in Accounting, Management and Law; graduate Corporate Finance. I have lower grades on these on average.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 MIT, 1 Toulouse, 1 Louvain (from the Master program), 1 Sussex (from my undergraduate honor college). I know ex-post, they were good but not too informative (apart from the Toulouse one maybe); the Sussex one was maybe not very good in the "fill the form" part. They were not always all of them four on every place I applied to.
Research Experience: Started to work on Master Thesis in theoretical I.O.; some short dissertations and empirical projects in the past (none of them valuable).
Teaching Experience: In line of principle, not possible in my country before Master graduation. Starting this march, however, I have assisted my MIT Ph.D. recommender in the graduate course in Econometrics taught by him.
Research Interests: Industrial Organization, Behavioral Economics, Microeconometrics.
Statement of Purpose: A synthetic overview of my academic life and interests.
Other: I obtained full scholarships from both honor colleges I have been student of. Moreover, I have been awarded 2-years full funding (tuition+stipend) to attend a top PhD in Economics, by a board of economists from a prestigious private foundation in my country; most schools I applied to knew this. So basically I would have had ($$$$) in every school had admitted me, at least for the start.
RESULTS:
Attending: Berkeley
Acceptances, declined: Northwestern, Chicago, Stern, UWM, LSE, TSE
Waitlists, eventually rejected: MIT
Rejections: Princeton, Stanford, Yale, UCSD, NYU, CMU, HBS, Wharton (Mgmt), Caltech, EUI
General Comments: If you are an international applicant and the institutions you come from are not so well known, luck and connections really matter alot, even if you have good LoRs from famous economists and a brilliant CV. I know that MIT, for instance, preferred two other students with external funding from my country over me, and they both just came from the two institutions with more reputation in sending students to top Ph.D. programs (but one of them I know, she is really a genius, 780Q). External funding might help, but it depends on the school: for some it really does (MIT, Chicago) but for others it does not (Stanford, Yale). It's not easy to decline Northwestern offer! But, in the end, I am happy with Berkeley.
What would you have done differently? Definitely, attended another undergraduate institution, the best in my country, which is very well established in sending students to top Ph.D. programs. I would have not been funded as I was, at least for the first years, but ex-post I would have had definitely very good shots for Cambridge, MA. My parents had the money, I had been admitted, so I really regret it. I should have also tried to do more research with my recommenders in the first Master year: it hurted me, they did not know me enough well (they also more or less directly told it to me). Perhaps I should have worked more in the final undergraduate years to produce a good analytical working paper to be sent as a writing sample: it may help in some schools, I think; but there was not much I could do as my undergraduate institution was a mostly empirical/heterodox place (not fitting too bad with Berkeley!).

calgrad08 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: UC Berkeley, double major in Economics and Applied Math (with high honors)
Undergrad GPA: 3.9
GRE: 800Q, 710V, 5.5A
Math Courses (Undergrad level): multivariable calc, linear algebra (2 semesters), abstract algebra, numerical analysis, real analysis, complex analysis
Econ Courses (Undergrad level): micro, advanced micro, macro, metrics, applied metrics, game theory, development, psych & econ
Econ Courses (PhD level): metrics (2 semesters)
Other Courses: probability theory; operations research courses for applied math concentration
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from prof for whom I’d worked for years as an RA, 1 from advanced micro prof, and 1 from grad metrics prof
Research Experience: 3 years (including summers) working for Berkeley profs; 1 summer at Treasury Dept; 1 year at Federal Reserve Bank
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: metrics, applied micro
SOP: nothing special, and I didn't customize it at all for the different schools
Other: submitted NSF app but didn’t win
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Berkeley, Chicago, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, UCSD, Wisconsin
Waitlists: Brown
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Yale
Pending: none
Attending: Princeton
What would you have done differently?
--Senior honors thesis, both for the sake of submitting it along with my apps and being able to say that I'd done one, and for the good practice it would have been to have done my own research. I also would have tried to coauthor something with my profs, or at least get more involved in the analysis/writing of their papers rather than the (mostly) data-prep work I did for them as an RA.
--Attend office hours. I got quite good letters from my recommenders, but I can't help but think it would have been good to get to know them (and other professors) better.
--Grad-level micro. Metrics was great and I would certainly take it again if I was doing things over, but it would have been nice to have had micro under my belt as well.
But honestly I've had great luck in the admissions process and I'm thrilled to be heading to Princeton this fall. These "things I would have done differently" are really minor in the grand scheme of things, and with so much noise in the process anyway, would hardly have made much of a difference. The admissions game is as much a mystery to me now as it was before I applied!

DreamFactory 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BBA (minor Econ), International applicant, not top but one of the best schools in my country.
Undergrad GPA: 3.83/4.00 after rescale, summa cum laude (within 2% of the graduates, but the transcripts doesn't offer the rank anymore)
Type of Grad: Same school, MA econ - major:Economic theory (expected aug. 2009)
Grad GPA: 4.0/4.0 after rescale
GRE: 800Q, 670V, 4.0AWA
Math/Stat Courses:
Calculus I (B+),II (A), Intro to Probability (A+), Differential Equations I (B+), Linear Algebra I (Aced all exams, A+), II (A+), Analysis I (A+), II(A+), Topology I (A+), Stochastic Processes (A+), grad Real Analysis I (A)
Econ Courses: undergraduate - Principles I (A+),II (A), Biz Econ (A), Monetary (A), Financial (B+), Micro (A+), Macro (A), Metrics (B+)/ graduate - Micro I (A+) II (A), Macro I (A), II (A+), Metrics I (A+), Financial Economics (A), Micro Seminar (A+), Public Sector Economics II (A+)
Other Courses: Bunch in biz. especially in finance (mostly A's or A+'s in finance)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ (both micro), 2 biz (both finance), 1 math (analysis 1,2, topology 1), all very strong but not so famous
Research Experience: RA for 2 semesters (participated in a project), 1 working paper, conference participation etc.
Teaching Experience: grad Micro I (MWG) - 2 semesters
Research Interests: Behavioral Finance/Economics/Experimental, Market Microstructure, various topics in Micro Theory......actually almost everything in Finance and Economics since most of them are interesting (I'll choose them after I get to know more)
SOP: no idea how it look like to the adcoms.
Other: External fellowship.(5 years of tuition+health+18k)
RESULTS:
Acceptances/Attending: U of Chicago (Econ, very late admission!)
Waitlists: none
Rejections: 4 econ (actually I was rejected from Chicago econ in March) - Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia
17 finance - Booth, Kellogg, Wharton, Stanford GSB, Sloan, Stern, Haas, Fuqua, Tepper, Simon, Anderson, UIUC, OSU, UMinn-TC, Eli Broad, Wisc-Madison, Johnson
Pending: LSE MSc Finance and Economics (Applied after all those dings)
What would you have done differently?
I would've concentrated more on my SOPs. Should've had different major in my undergrad (changing major is not allowed in my alma mater, and Biz major had toooooooo many required courses back then). Also, I should have gone for exchange student in the U.S. when young...get some LORs from famous faculties there...BUT I DON'T CARE ex-post, I got into one of my favorite school!

dancerdf 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ from top-ranked university in the Netherlands
Undergrad GPA: 3.9, Summa Cum Laude
Type of Grad: M.S. Econ, LSE
Grad GPA: -
GRE: 790Q, 550V, 5AWA
Math Courses: Standard, although no separate courses, everything included into quantitative methods 1-3
Econ Courses (Master-level): Micro, Macro, Metrics, Development
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Public, International Economics, Micro, Macro, Competition Policy, Growth Theory, Financial Economics, Development Economics, History of Economic Thought, Auction Theory
Other Courses: Finance, Strategy, Marketing, Sociology
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ professors (2 from Maastricht, 1 from LSE)
Teaching Experience: Tutor for microeconomics at student association in cooperation with the university
Research Interests: Development
SOP: Standard
Concerns: 790Q GRE, no course in real-analysis
Applying to: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Northwestern, Chicago, UPenn, Stanford, Berkeley, NYU, Columbia, Brown
Can't wait for the results!!!

knickerbocker 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics, Math, Applied Math, Top 7 econ program, Minor Japanese Language and Culture
Undergrad GPA: 3.94/4.0 PBK, Econ 4.0/4.0, Math 4.0/4.0
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q 790; V 620; AW 5.5
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Math Stats, Real Analysis I,II, Higher Level Math
Econ Courses: A lot
Other Courses: Mostly Japanese
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ full professors, no nobel prize winners, but know my work well
Research Experience: NONE
Teaching Experience: None.
Research Interests: Economic History, Macro
SOP: Sub par, I fear
Other: Good summer jobs the past three summers
Applying to: Columbia, Yale, Harvard, MIT, Penn, Berkeley, Stanford, Princeton, Chicago
Worried I didn't apply to any safeties. Low GRE. Reassurances greatly appreciated.

softsquirrel 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: France's top Grandes Ecoles(2 years in a top "Classe Princeton Reviewépa" if anyone knows it)
Undergrad GPA: 4.35/4.4, 1st out of 500 (Our school thinks its students merit a 10% bonus on GPA and that's why they add that, which made me some trouble as I always have to explain that)
Type of Grad: Same school(The system is weird in France, basically it's 2+3 years after high school and they deliver a somewhat Master-equivalent degree at the end)
Grad GPA: FALL
GRE: 800Q, 720V, 4.5AWA
TOEFL IBT: 115(27Speaking and 28Writing)
Math Courses: basically everything, almost like a math majoring student
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): baby micro+macro+corporate finance
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro, Macro, Econometrics, Development , Growth, Game Theory, Financial Economics etc.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from a well-known French prof teaching economics in US top universities, 1 Oxford Phd (eco), 1 School prof(eco), another 1 schoolprof(math)
Research Experience: only one team-based research on auction theory
Teaching Experience: 2 years TA on maths for 2nd-year math students (the so-called "colle" in our argot)
Research Interests: macro+international
SOP: quitewell-written, I think
Applying to: Princeton, Yale, Harvard, MIT, Chicago, Stanford, NYU, UPenn, Columbia
Commnet: little research experience, but it's the problem for all candidates from French Grandes Ecoles

phd09 2009:
Institution: OSU
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Have no idea
Notification date: 2/18/09
Notified through: Website(status changed today)
Comments:

Econ_TCC 2009:
Institution: Northwestern
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Waitlisted
Notification date: 2/26
Notified through: E-mail from Mercedes
Comments: Really hope to get funding!
Institution: U Penn
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: High on waitlist
Notification date: 3/4
Notified through: E-mail
Comments: -
Institution: WUSTL
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: 18,000, possibly 30,000
Notification date: 3/5
Notified through: E-mail
Comments: -
Institution: NYU
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Waitlisted
Funding: ?
Notification date: 3/5
Notified through: E-mail
Comments:-
Institution: Columbia, UCLA, Princeton, Yale, Berkeley
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Rejected
Funding: yeah, right!
Notification date:
Notified through: E-mail
Comments:

ImProcrastinating 2009:
Profile:
Type of Undergrad: Top 25 with a top 40ish econ program. BA in econ.
Undergrad GPA: Overall: 3.74, Econ: 3.8ish, Math: bad.
Type of Grad: Not highly ranked, top 100ish. MS in applied math.
Grad GPA (at application time...): 3.9
GRE: 790Q / 740V / 5.0 AWA.
Math Courses:
Undergrad: Calc III (B+), ODE (C- (Ouch...)), Real Analysis (A-), Linear Algebra (A).
Grad: Analysis (A-) (taken at the summer school of a top 10), Measure Theory (A-), Math Stats (A), ODE (A), Functional Analysis (A), General Topology (In progress at application time...)
Econ Courses:
Undergrad: Intro. Micro (A), Intro. Macro (A), Money and Banking (A), Economy of China (A-), Intro to Econ Stats (B+), Mathematical Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (B+), Econometrics (A), International Trade (A), Distinguished Majors Seminar (A), Independent Study (A)
Grad: PhD Micro I (A-), PhD Micro II (A), PhD Micro III (IP)
Letters of Recommendation:
1 from an undergraduate econ professor, not well known.
1 from a graduate math prof, very well known among mathematicians but I don't know if that counts...
1 from a graduate econ prof, very well known.
Research Experience: Summer at the Fed, senior thesis, 1 year + 1 summer as an RA for a professor, RAing at the IMF while applying.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Micro Theory, I/O, International Finance
Results:
Acceptances: NYU ($$$)
Waitlists: None
Rejections: A lot, Harvard, MIT, Chicago, Yale, Berkeley, Stanford, Columbia, and UPenn.
Pending: None.
What would you have done differently? If I could do it ALL over again, I'd probably go to an undergrad that was stronger in econ, take more math courses earlier on, and work as hard my first couple years in college as I did my last couple. But I was expecting to get rejected everywhere I applied this time around, so I'm ecstatic to be going to a dream school like NYU.

MorgieLilly 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A in Econ-Phil and Math. Ivy League, top 10ish in economics Uni.
Undergrad GPA: 3.85, summa cum laude.
GRE: 780Q, 510V, 3.0W
Math Courses (undergrad):
Cal I, Calc III, Linear Algebra, Real Analysis, Analysis and Optimization, Probability and Induction (P/F), Probability and Statistics, Advanced Logic, Independent Reading Course, (all As)
Econ Courses (PhD-level): Micro-econometrics (A-)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro/Macro(A-,B+), Advanced Econometrics (B+), Advanced Macro (A), Economic History (A-), International (C, took abroad in Ghana.)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ, both well known. 1 math, well known in math. 1 philosophy, well known in the philosophy of science.
Research Experience: REU Intern in geophysics at Lamont Earth Observatory, summer 2007 (My paper was accepted to the 2008 ASLO Conference). Full-time economics RA this year.
Research Interests: Development, Economic History, Alternative Theories in Economics, Econometrics.
SOP: Talked about why I chose interdisciplinary study, my work abroad in Ghana and my experience this year as a research assistant. I stated that I expected to change my mind about my specialization anyway, so I didn't want to state a particular one.
Applied to: LSE, MIT, NYU, Harvard, UCSD, UC Berkeley, Chicago, Stanford, Columbia, UMich, Princeton, Yale
Rejected: Everywhere
Waitlisted/Accepted: Nada
What would you have done differently? I dunno. Feedback from my home institutions admissions committee (where I was also rejected) says that I should have taken more econ (at the expense of my philosophy and science courses) but I would not give that knowledge and my resulting world outlook up for an admit to this discipline, because I feel that this will inform my research abilities more so than having taken much more economics. I have to do a lot of thinking now about whether I belong in this discipline, seeing as the adcoms don't seem to think so. Today is sad.

fhk 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A Economics, Yale
Undergrad GPA: 3.20
Type of Grad: Masters of Economics, ANU
Grad GPA: 73/100 (Upper Second Class or 2.1 as they call it in UK)
GRE: 800Q/660V/6A
Math Courses: Multi Variable Calc, Linear Algebra, Probablity and statistics, Optimisation, Math for Economists 1 and 2 (Masters)
Econ Courses: Masters Micro, Macro, Applied Econometrics, Econometric Techniques, Quantitative International Economics, Development Economics (all masters) plus a bunch of courses in undergrad.
Other Courses: Nothing relevant
Letters of Recommendation: One Professor (really famous), one lecturer, and an Associate Professor.
Research Experience: Masters Thesis
Teaching Experience: Teaching introductory economics at a Management Sciences Department in Pakistan
Research Interests: Trade and Development
SOP: Ok. Tried to explain my terrible undergraduate record and point out the improvement since. Didn't really work
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: ANU (already attending)
Waitlists:
Rejections: U Chicago, Tepper School of Business, Pen State, Oxford, Brown, UCSD
Pending: Boston, UBC
What would you have done differantly? Performed much better in my undergrad obviously. And applied to much lower ranked schools. Also should have been more careful about whom to ask for LORs.

Canuckonomist 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A (Hons.) Economics, Math Minor with Distinction, Queen's University
Undergrad GPA: Overall: 3.75/4.0, Econ: 4.0/4.0, Math: 3.65/4.0
Type of Grad: M.A Economics, Queen's University
Grad GPA: 3.9/4.0
GRE: 790Q 530V 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calculus I-III (A+/A+/B), Linear Algebra (B), Differential Equations (B), Probability (C), Abstract Algebra (B), Statistics (A+), Analysis I & II (B+/B), Stochastic Models in Operations Research (A+)
Econ Courses (MA/PhD-level): Micro (A-), Metrics (A), Money and the Macroeconomy (A), Mathematical Economics (A+), Finance Theory (A+) Continuous-Time Finance (A+), Risk Management (Audit), Cost-Benefit Analysis (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro (A), Macro (A+), Metrics I & II (A/B+), Finance (A+), History (B+), Corporate Finance (A),
Letters of Recommendation: 1 ANU, 1 JHU, 1 Harvard, 1 BU
Research Experience: R.A for three semesters. Co-authoured paper published in REE, 2008. Working paper with same author
Teaching Experience: UG Finance (fall), Tutor for department in mathematics for economists, Micro and stats.
Research Interests: Financial Economics, Micro, Credit
SOP: Working on it all summer
RESULTS:
Attending: University of Toronto ($$$)
Acceptances: Queen's University ($$), BU (no $)
Rejections: Chicago, NWU, Yale, Columbia, NYU, Rochester, Michigan, Minnesota
Pending: Cornell (will withdraw)
What would you have done differently? The only things I could have done differently would have been to start liking math before second year, and to know economics was the thing for me before second year. So really, outside of changing the fabric of my very being earlier in life, all the decisions on the equilibrium path were correct. Very happy to be attending UToronto. Would I be a true Canuckonomist if I didn't do a Ph.D in Canada? I like to think not.

veryshuai 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Nicely ranked midwest LA
Undergrad GPA: 3.62
Type of Grad:Econ
Grad GPA: ~85/100
GRE: 800/700/4.5
Math Courses: Calc 1-3 (A,A,A-), Stats (A), Real Analysis (A)
Econ Courses: Grad series Macro, Micro, and Econometrics and some other stuff...A's except Micro 1 (B) and Time Series (B) (no pluses or minuses in our program)
Other Courses: Nothing that should matter
Letters of Recommendation: UCLA (thesis advisor), Brown, U Mich
Research Experience: RA for a semester, Master's Thesis
Teaching Experience: Nope
Research Interests: Development, Applied Macro Theory, not sure...goal to work in the research dept. of international organization
SOP: Spent a lot of time on it, but who knows...
Other: Fulbright fellowship and some other money awards...
RESULTS:
Acceptances:Penn State ($$),BU (no$), UW Madison(no$)
Waitlists: none
Rejections:Michigan, Minnesota, Brown, Harvard, U Chicago, NYU, Columbia, UPenn, Berkeley, UCLA,
Pending:Georgetown
What would you have done differently? Applied to a few more mid-ranked schools...it would be nice to have another funded option or two. Having said that, I am glad that I got firm rejections from all the top 20's, so that I don't have to wonder "What if?"

wind up bird 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large Public University, Top 50 Econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.82
Type of Grad: Masters in Statistics at same school
Grad GPA: 3.75
GRE: 800Q, 700V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc Sequence, Linear Algebra, Intro to Abstract Math (Baby proofs), Cryptology (Baby Number Theory), Real Analysis I & II, Algebra I, Lots of probability and stats.
Econ Courses: Intro, Intermediate sequences, Econometrics, Public econ, Game Theory, Asymmetric Info, Economic Anthropology, Economic History (graduate), Empirical Methods (graduate), Math camp
Other Courses: Sociology of Sexuality
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Berkeley, 1 UCSD, 1 Stanford. All apparently pretty strong.
Research Experience: 2+ Years of RAing, summer research internship at Fed, crappy honors thesis and undergrad presentations
Teaching Experience: Tutoring for intermdiate micror, TA-ing for stats (only made it to my Cornell application)
Research Interests: Micro theory, decision theory, game theory, mech. design, experimental, economic history, social choice, public economics, etc etc. Short answer is "not macro"
SOP: It was kind of bad, I'm not going to lie. Mostly I tried to demonstrate how I have been gearing myself up for research. Then the last paragraph was tailored for each school; I dropped names at all of them.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Caltech($$$), Northwestern(WL$), UCSD(No$), BU($$$), University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign($$), UNC-Chapel Hill (?$), Boston College($$), UW-Seatte(WL$)
Waitlists: None! Awesome.
Rejections: Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Chicago, UCLA, Cornell
What would you have done differently? Besides working harder in school? Probably nothing. I have an acceptance with funding at my dream school and have some other ego-boosting admits as well.
Comments: Italos is right, letter of recommendation is everything
Might as well document some of my weird admissions cycle happenings as well:
- Boston College sends me an email saying I am not being offered admission because I will get into "superior" schools.
- UW-Seattle pulls the same thing
- Northwestern rejects me, then admits me a week and a half later. Looks like my one top 10 admit really did involve a clerical error.
Attending: Caltech!

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
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.

mermel 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Math, B.S. Econ honors from top 40 public school, Math semester abroad at strong Russian math program
Undergrad GPA: 3.94, Econ 4.0, Math 3.93
GRE: 800Q, 600V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Multivar Calc, DiffEq, Number Theory, Matrices (Linear Algebra), Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Probability, Topology, Complex Analysis, Computability and Complexity (all A's), Combinatorics (B), Integer Partitions (B+)
Econ Courses: All those required for undergrad econ, was in Honors Economics program my senior year
Letters of Recommendation: 3 from econ professors, one from Econ PhD partner at the firm where I work, PhD's from Chicago, Princeton, Harvard, and Berkeley, 2 I am sure are very strong, and others are probably strong as well
Research Experience: Not any good research experience undergrad. Have been working in econ consulting since, so that sort of counts.
Teaching Experience: just tutoring
Research Interests: Micro theory, game theory, decision theory
SOP: I'm not really sure how to judge my SOP, I think it told a good story of why I want to get econ PhD.
Concerns: Lack of research experience, I had a withdrawal passing from graduate level analysis when I decided to do a second major in econ rather than doing a masters in math. I stated this in many of my essays, so hopefully that's ok.
Other: Working for past 2.5 years in economics litigation consulting
RESULTS:
Attending: Northwestern
Admitted, Declined: UPenn
Waitlists: Princeton(eventually rejected), Chicago(Admitted without funding for first 2 years)
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, NYU, Berkeley, Stanford, NSF
What would you have done differently?
I think some RA'ing as an undergraduate would have helped, but I am very happy with Northwestern and don't really have any regrets.

bigleaguechew 2009:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ / B.S. Math from a top 100 econphd.net public school
Undergrad GPA: 3.5 Overall, 4.0 Econ, 4.0 Math
GRE: 790Q, 610V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: One year of real analysis (A+'s); two quarters each of theoretical linear algebra (A+'s), numerical analysis (A+'s), math prob stat, nonlinear dynamics and chaos; one quarter each of PDE's, abstract algebra and complex analysis
Econ Courses: applied metrics (A+'s), public finance (A+'s), labor, game theory (A+), and a few others in addition to intermediate micro/macro
Letters of Recommendation: It seems as though I had one very respected letter writer, and other letters were more or less ignored at many schools (just what I gathered from my conversations with grad directors where I was accepted)
Research Experience: Virtually none. Started an undergrad research project that was never finished
Work Experience: 2 years in consulting (business, but not econ)
Research Interests: Applied micro, IO
SOP: Talked about how my experiences and coursework have influenced my research interests. Tailored last paragraph to each school I applied to. I cannot say this with enough emphasis... THE STATEMENT OF PURPOSE DEFINITELY MATTERS AT SCHOOLS OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 10. IF YOU DO NOT COME FROM AN IVY AND YOU DON'T HAVE A SPOTLESS MATH/ECON RECORD WITH SOLID RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO SPEND SOME TIME ON YOUR SOP AND START WORKING ON IT EARLY!
Concerns: I had about a year straight of abysmal grades (yes, we're talking about F's and W's here people) in my sophomore year of college due to some family issues. I think it was important that this occurred when I was an english major, and I made up for it by excelling in all of my econ and math courses. So, if you have screwed up and permanently marred your transcript like I did, HOPE IS NOT LOST! It just means that you have to work extra hard to outperform your classmates from here on out.
RESULTS:
Attending: UCSD ($)
Admitted, Declined: Stanford GSB Marketing ($$$$$$$$), Penn State ($$), WUSTL ($), UNC ($/2), UVA ($), Texas ($$), ASU ($$), Arizona ($$), Pittsburgh ($), Ohio State ($), U of Washinton ($), Maryland (stiffed me)
Waitlists: Minnesota, BU
Rejections: Top 10, NYU, Columbia, UCLA, Michigan, JHU, Wharton (but it doesn't count in my mind cuz I hardly showed up for the interview)
Never heard back from: USC (not that I care anymore, but seriously WTF?)
What would you have done differently?
Nothing really. I had a huge black spot on my record with that one atrocious year, and nobody knew how that would affect me. My letter writers were extremely supportive in helping me apply to as many places as I could afford, and cover a broad spectrum of programs. I thought UCSD was a long shot heading into this process, and I am thrilled to be going there. I can honestly say that I would have been happy at just about any of the programs that I was accepted to, and it was incredibly difficult for me to turn down so many attractive offers. Obviously, this is a problem that I am happy to have, but you'd be surprised how gut wrenching it is to turn down a fellowship offer from a school that you had been day-dreaming about attending just a few weeks earlier. Still, I would advise everyone who isn't a superstar with stellar letter of recommendation's to adopt a similar strategy and apply to as many places as you can afford.

Cricketer 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics - Top British Uni
Undergrad GPA: First Class
Type of Grad: MA Economics - Top Brit. Uni
Grad GPA: (Exp. Distinction)
GRE: 780Q, 600V, 5.5AWA
Econ Courses: Lots of courses + Grad Micro, Macro, Metrics, Networks.
Letters of Recommendation: 3 economic professors. All know me pretty well
Research Experience: Not much - only undergrad dissertation
Teaching Experience:None
Research Interests: Micro Theory, Development
SOP: Wrote what I am interested in and who I would like to work with. Why that uni
Other: Cricket.
RESULTS:
Attending: MIT
Accepted: MIT($$) - after waitlist, LSE ($$$), Cambridge ($$$)
Rejections: Stanford, Chicago, Harvard
Comments: Was apparently very close at Stanford.
What would you have done differently? Nothing much, except apply to a few more places perhaps. Twas a tad risky only applying to four US places I guess

Nebuchadrezzar 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: european, gpa scale
Undergrad GPA: 3.8/4.0
Type of Grad: european masters
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800 q, 440 verbal, 4.0 awa
Math Courses: calculus 1, 2, 3, diff eq, real analysis 1 2, topology, lin alg
Econ Courses: int mic, int mac, labor, game theory, io, phd micro 1 2, phd macro 1,2 , phd metrics 1, 2, optimization
Other Courses: -
Letters of Recommendation: 3 from home inst, at least 2 of them should be good
Research Experience: term paper, honors thesis
Teaching Experience: ta in several courses
Research Interests: micro-macro theory, game theory
SOP: standard sop summarizing my profle
Other: -
RESULTS:
Acceptances: rochester($), wisconsin(no $), michigan($)
Waitlists: wustl
Rejections: harvard, mit, chicago, nw, upenn, nyu, columbia, stanford, berkeley, caltech, cornell, yale, princeton...!!
Pending: -
going to: university of michigan
What would you have done differently?
i could study more in masters and send my transcript and get a letter of recommendation from there maybe. i don't know if that would help with the top 10. but i am happy to go to michigan!

Mankins 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Very large US public university
Undergrad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 800Q, 600V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Mathematical Structures, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Probability, Advanced Calculus I, and Intermediate Real Analysis I (all A or A+). Topology and Mathematical Statistics (Spring 2009).
Econ Courses: The usual, plus Econometrics , Advanced Honors Micro (uncertainty), Advanced Honors Macro (taught by Nobel Laureate). All A or A+, except Econometrics where I got an A-. Game Theory (Spring 2009).
Letters of Recommendation: One from a Nobel Laureate (not sure how solid it was). One from a well-known economist in micro theory and information (probably knows me better than any of my other professors). One from my Advanced Calc professor.
Teaching Experience: N/A
Research Experience: Some preliminary work on an undergraduate thesis (never finished), Econometrics paper co-authored with two other students
Research Interests: micro theory, advertising, economics of information, behavioral/neuro/experimental, IO, development
SOP: Standard
Concerns: Very little research experience, no graduate courses
Applying to: Yale, Duke, Stanford, MIT, Northwestern, Chicago, Illinois Urbana, Berkeley, Texas, Minnesota, Arizona State, Carnegie Mellon, and Duke Decision Sciences
RESULTS:
Attending: Minnesota ($$)
Acceptances, declined: Carnegie Mellon ($$$), U Texas at Austin ($), U Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ($$), Arizona State ($$)
Rejections: MIT, Berkeley, Yale, Stanford, U Penn, U Chicago, Northwestern (on the waiting list, briefly), Duke Economics, Duke Decision Sciences
What would you have done differently? There's not much more I could have realistically done. Maybe I could have gone to more office hours and talked to professors more outside of class. I think I may have had better results if I had taken PhD Micro, but I don't know where I would have fit that into my schedule. I transferred schools and switched majors halfway through my junior year, and it took 5 years to finish my Bachelor's degree because of it. I hadn't finished Calc I until the summer of 2007, so I had to catch up quickly on the math required for graduate economics. Considering what a tough year it was, things could have turned out much worse.

DreamFactory 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BBA (minor Econ), International applicant, not top but one of the best schools in my country.
Undergrad GPA: 3.83/4.00 after rescale, summa cum laude (within 2% of the graduates, but the transcripts doesn't offer the rank anymore)
Type of Grad: Same school, MA econ - major:Economic theory (expected aug. 2009)
Grad GPA: 4.0/4.0 after rescale
GRE: 800Q, 670V, 4.0AWA
Math/Stat Courses:
Calculus I (B+),II (A), Intro to Probability (A+), Differential Equations I (B+), Linear Algebra I (Aced all exams, A+), II (A+), Analysis I (A+), II(A+), Topology I (A+), Stochastic Processes (A+), grad Real Analysis I (A)
Econ Courses: undergraduate - Principles I (A+),II (A), Biz Econ (A), Monetary (A), Financial (B+), Micro (A+), Macro (A), Metrics (B+)/ graduate - Micro I (A+) II (A), Macro I (A), II (A+), Metrics I (A+), Financial Economics (A), Micro Seminar (A+), Public Sector Economics II (A+)
Other Courses: Bunch in biz. especially in finance (mostly A's or A+'s in finance)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ (both micro), 2 biz (both finance), 1 math (analysis 1,2, topology 1), all very strong but not so famous
Research Experience: RA for 2 semesters (participated in a project), 1 working paper, conference participation etc.
Teaching Experience: grad Micro I (MWG) - 2 semesters
Research Interests: Behavioral Finance/Economics/Experimental, Market Microstructure, various topics in Micro Theory......actually almost everything in Finance and Economics since most of them are interesting (I'll choose them after I get to know more)
SOP: no idea how it look like to the adcoms.
Other: External fellowship.(5 years of tuition+health+18k)
RESULTS:
Acceptances/Attending: U of Chicago (Econ, very late admission!)
Waitlists: none
Rejections: 4 econ (actually I was rejected from Chicago econ in March) - Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia
17 finance - Booth, Kellogg, Wharton, Stanford GSB, Sloan, Stern, Haas, Fuqua, Tepper, Simon, Anderson, UIUC, OSU, UMinn-TC, Eli Broad, Wisc-Madison, Johnson
Pending: LSE MSc Finance and Economics (Applied after all those dings)
What would you have done differently?
I would've concentrated more on my SOPs. Should've had different major in my undergrad (changing major is not allowed in my alma mater, and Biz major had toooooooo many required courses back then). Also, I should have gone for exchange student in the U.S. when young...get some LORs from famous faculties there...BUT I DON'T CARE ex-post, I got into one of my favorite school!

Mobius Strip 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Mathematics and Economics from a top 10-15 liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.87/4.0
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 800Q, 570V, 5.0AW
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Alg, Modern Alg, Adv Modern Alg, Real Analysis, Game Theory (in Math Dept), Topology, Chaos Theory. Received department honors in Math.
Econ Courses: Basically all of them, 4.0 GPA, Thesis (A), Department Honors, Brownell Prize for Distinction in the Study of Political Economy
Other Courses: NA
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from Federal Reserve, 1 Math from Undergrad
Research Experience: RA for 3 years at FRB in DC. Co-authored published paper on racial discrimination in credit markets.
Teaching Experience: NA
Research Interests: Labor (Education), Real Estate, Financial Markets
SOP: Talked about my volunteer activities in tough, urban schools and how it shaped my interests in research in education. Transition to work at the Fed regarding discrimination in the credit markets. Final, throw-away paragraph naming some profs at schools who I'd be interested in working with.
Other: Crushed by NSF
RESULTS:
Acceptances: U Michigan (off waitlist, after 0-14 start)
Waitlists: NA
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, Princeton, Chicago, Chicago Booth, Northwestern, Wharton, U Penn, NYU, Columbia, Duke
Pending: NA
Outside Fellowship: Received a $20k fellowship from undergrad college to supplement lack of funding from UM
What would you have done differently?
After receiving NSF results and reading Jeeves's posts, spelling out the broader impacts to make it easier to checklist. I scored fairly well on intellectual merit, but only average on the broader impacts.
Other than that, it's hard to say. I had nearly a 3.9 GPA with a Math and Econ double major, 3 years at the Federal Reserve, a published paper, and a presented working paper. I did spend 3 years in the private sector at a major bank, which probably hurt my admissions results, but gave me a broader personal, real-world experience that I do not regret taking.
Attending: U Michigan - Ann Arbor

canecon 2009:
U-grad: UBC, Econ (Hons)
Grad: Queen's, Econ
Ugrad GPA: 3.5 (3.98 upper-econ, 3.98 math (excluding failed calc 1))
Grad GPA: 4.0? (Not sure how it works here)
GRE: 800q 480v 5.0 AWA (despite the awful verbal I am native English speaker / English background)
Courses:
Grad:
PhD Micro I (A), Econometrics MA (A), Public MA (A)
Ugrad:
Econ:
Hon micro/macro I (A+'s) Game Theory (Hon) A, Hon Macro II A+, + intro metrics I/II (A+) + lots electives (mostly A+)
Honours Thesis, Advanced Macro, Econometrics - A+'s
Math:
Calc 1 (F first time then A), Calc 2, linear, multivariable, ODE's, probability(calc based), intro proof A+'s, real analysis A
Research:
Thesis, which is being developed into a paper with Advisor (not in a publishable state yet though)
Was RA for one summer.
letter of recommendation:
2 Assistant Profs, Should be good since one is advisor/co-author, the other I took multiple classes with and was RA for.
1 Professor for PhD Micro class - 1/2 the letters will be mediocre, other half should be decent (final grades were available).
SOP: Decent?
Interests:
Political Economy, Development (Micro)
Applying To:
MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Pennsylvania, Berkeley, UCLA, Columbia, NYU, Chicago, Northwestern, LSE, Oxford
My Concerns:
My first 2 years of undergrad are poor, failed calc 1.

italos 2009:
In this thread please post only your results.For further comments please refer to other threads in the forum
Institution:
Program:
Decision:
Funding:
Notification date:
Notified through:
Comments:

jnaecker 2009:
Institution: Caltech
Program: Social Science Ph.D.
Decision: Accepted
Funding: 28k plus tuition and fees
Notification date: Feb 5, 4 pm PST
Notified through: Email
Comments:
Institution: UCLA
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Tuition and fees totaling 10,000 in year 1, plus eligible for department supplementary fellowship. Tuition, fees, and living expenses in years 2-4.
Notification date: 2/10/09, 1 pm PST
Notified through: email
Notes: 2 for 2!

sappy 2009:
Institution: Yale University
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 2/20/09
Notified through: Website
Comments: first rejection...

Jaktu 2009:
Institution: Caltech
Program: Social Science, Ph.D
Decision: Rejected
Funding:
Notification date: 02/27
Notified through: Email
Institution: Penn State
Program: Economics, Ph.D
Decision: Rejected
Funding:
Notification date: 02/25
Notified through: Email
Institution: Minnesota
Program: Economics, Ph.D
Decision: Rejected
Funding:
Notification date: 02/25
Notified through: Email
I miss the days when I was applying to engineering schools. I felt like a king with all the funded offers and flyouts.

mermel 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Math, B.S. Econ honors from top 40 public school, Math semester abroad at strong Russian math program
Undergrad GPA: 3.94, Econ 4.0, Math 3.93
GRE: 800Q, 600V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Multivar Calc, DiffEq, Number Theory, Matrices (Linear Algebra), Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Probability, Topology, Complex Analysis, Computability and Complexity (all A's), Combinatorics (B), Integer Partitions (B+)
Econ Courses: All those required for undergrad econ, was in Honors Economics program my senior year
Letters of Recommendation: 3 from econ professors, one from Econ PhD partner at the firm where I work, PhD's from Chicago, Princeton, Harvard, and Berkeley, 2 I am sure are very strong, and others are probably strong as well
Research Experience: Not any good research experience undergrad. Have been working in econ consulting since, so that sort of counts.
Teaching Experience: just tutoring
Research Interests: Micro theory, game theory, decision theory
SOP: I'm not really sure how to judge my SOP, I think it told a good story of why I want to get econ PhD.
Concerns: Lack of research experience, I had a withdrawal passing from graduate level analysis when I decided to do a second major in econ rather than doing a masters in math. I stated this in many of my essays, so hopefully that's ok.
Other: Working for past 2.5 years in economics litigation consulting
RESULTS:
Attending: Northwestern
Admitted, Declined: UPenn
Waitlists: Princeton(eventually rejected), Chicago(Admitted without funding for first 2 years)
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, NYU, Berkeley, Stanford, NSF
What would you have done differently?
I think some RA'ing as an undergraduate would have helped, but I am very happy with Northwestern and don't really have any regrets.

dancerdf 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ from top-ranked university in the Netherlands
Undergrad GPA: 3.9, Summa Cum Laude
Type of Grad: M.S. Econ, LSE
Grad GPA: -
GRE: 790Q, 550V, 5AWA
Math Courses: Standard, although no separate courses, everything included into quantitative methods 1-3
Econ Courses (Master-level): Micro, Macro, Metrics, Development
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Public, International Economics, Micro, Macro, Competition Policy, Growth Theory, Financial Economics, Development Economics, History of Economic Thought, Auction Theory
Other Courses: Finance, Strategy, Marketing, Sociology
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ professors (2 from Maastricht, 1 from LSE)
Teaching Experience: Tutor for microeconomics at student association in cooperation with the university
Research Interests: Development
SOP: Standard
Concerns: 790Q GRE, no course in real-analysis
Applying to: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Northwestern, Chicago, UPenn, Stanford, Berkeley, NYU, Columbia, Brown
Can't wait for the results!!!

canadaaplly 2009:
Institution: Duke
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Rejected
Funding:
Notification date: Feb 18
Notified through: Email
Comments: Who do they think they are?