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treblekicker 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ (Honors I think) and Math Double Major; U.S. Private University ranked 35th overall by US News (the one that isn't a top 20 Econ School)
Undergrad GPA: Overall: 3.65/4.0, Econ: 3.71/4.0, Math: 3.89/4.0 (at time of application)
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 790Q 590V 4.0AWA
Math Courses: Calculus I-III (B+/A/A), Linear Algebra (A), ODE (A), Probability (A), Math Stats (A), UG Analysis (A-), Complex Variables (A), Topology (took in the fall, B, did not submit the grade), PhD Analysis (W), Abstract Algebra (currently taking), Intro to Proof Writing (currently taking)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A-), Money and Banking (A-), Labor (B+), Antitrust and Regulation (A), International Trade (A-), Econ Stats I & II (B, A), Metrics (A), PhD Micro (took in the fall, A, did not submit)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 PSU, 1 Duke, 1 UNC; All three knew me very well, two I have had significant research experience with; I am sure all were strong.
Research Experience: Independent Study on Nonparametric Statistics; Senior Thesis on Monetary Policy; Research Assistant for Health Econ.
Teaching Experience: n/a
Research Interests: Metrics Theory
SOP: nothing special
RESULTS:
Attending: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (Fellowship)
Acceptances: UNC
Rejections: Stanford, Princeton, NWU, Yale, Penn, Columbia, UCSD, Duke, Berkeley
Waitlist: PSU (will withdraw)
What would you have done differently? I knew I wanted to do a PhD early enough that I could have transferred to a Top 15 department. However, I would never in a million years regret staying at my current school. I love my professors and have made some fantastic friends and memories.
I would not have taken the course load that I did in the past fall. I would have taken Financial Calculus and PDEs instead of Topology and PhD Analysis. That way, I would have better grades in the fall (and no W) and I could have gotten the chance to submit my PhD Micro A. That probably would have gotten me into at least one school that I got rejected from, but whatever.

FilleNouvelle 2009:
I'll post this now, since my decision is not going to be made especially soon, and it could eventually change.
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Economics MA (Hons), Scottish University (ranked overall #23 in the world)
Undergrad GPA: 1st Class (distinction), ranked 1 (tied with one other student) out of 98.
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800Q, 580V, 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Mathematical Methods (A), Applicable Mathematics (A), Linear Algebra (A), self-study of Real Analysis, private tutoring (Economics classes were very math-based as well)
Econ Courses: Everything there was to take, pretty much
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Oxford, 1 Cambridge, 1 LSE (2 with US teaching experience)
Research Experience: Econometrics research papers, senior thesis on convergence
Teaching Experience: TA for Econometrics
Research Interests: Development, Applied Econometrics, IO
SOP: standard
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UNC ($$), UVA ($?), UT-Austin (no $), BU (no $), Michigan (no $, off waitlist)
Rejections: Stanford, Princeton, NWU (initially waitlisted), Columbia, Berkeley, NYU, MIT, Harvard, Cornell (assumed), UChicago
Waitlist: UPenn, Georgetown
Withdrawn: LSE
What would you have done differently? Obviously, when choosing my undergraduate institution, I didn't know I wanted to do a PhD. If I had known, I probably would have chosen a different undergrad. Also, I think staying in the US may have made things a bit easier. My results show that it's very possible to get good results when your institution is international and perhaps not that well-known, but that sometimes schools do not know how to view you. I ended up with 4 waitlists this cycle and a few unfunded admits. Anyway, other than that, wouldn't have done anything differently.

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!

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.

securityblanket 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Economics, BA from Turkey
Undergrad GPA: 2.80/4.00
Type of Grad I: Economics, Msc
Grad GPA: 3.30
Type of Grad II: Financial Mathematics, Msc
Grad GPA: 3.85 (ranked second out of 30-40 people)
GRE: 780Q, 320V, 4.0AWA
Math Courses: (3.30 average) Calc I-II, Linear Algebra, Honour's Linear Algebra I-II, Ordinary Differential Equations, Introduction to Probability Theory, Real Analysis I-II, Game Theory (grad level course form math. department), Difference Equations, Lebesgue Integration and Measure Theory, Introdution to Functional Analysis, Functional Analysis (PhD level), Probability Theory (Grad level), Stochastic Calculus Applied to Finance (Grad level), Stochastic and Deterministic Optimal Control (PhD Level), Partial Differential Equations and these are all I guess.
Econ Courses: A lot since I am graduated and obtain my Msc fromm department of economics
Other Courses: A lot of statics and econometrics courses (even more than my math course including grad and undergrad courses).
Letters of Recommendation: 3 Econ profs plus one professional -- exceptional. 1 well known.
Research Experience: Working in a research department for 3.5 years and published one SSCI paper (D-Class but anyway) and one conference paper (ECOMOD)
Teaching Experience: TA for into to econometrics
Research Interests: Applied time series econometrics, international finance, monetary macroeconomics, macro-finance models and DSGE models
SOP: why my undergrad gpa is low, I want to be a policymaker etc (3 pages explains my professional activities etc.)
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
UNC Chapel Hill (no funding)
UC Santa Cruz (no funding)
UPF (no funding)
JHU (no funding)
Rejections: so many
Waitlists: UPENN and BU
Will be attending: JHU rocks!!!
What would you have done differently? My undergard GPA is a very big problem and even my math courses were not enough. may be this year was a disaster, who knows? but I have very close friend wişth a simlliar background that has done a lot better in two years ago. Anyway, still I am satisfied with JHU. I wish all TMers a good luck in the future. I hope you will be more lucky than me...

rvalchev 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small private school. First tier according to US News but dead last in that tier
Undergrad GPA: 4.0 - I have another 2 weeks till graduation but hopefully it'll stay this way
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800Q, 530V, 5.0 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Optimization, Real Analysis, Topology, Probability Theory, Computational Statistics, Differential Equations
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro and Macro, Econometrics and Forecasting, Game Theory, Money and Banking, Public Economics
Other Courses: Assortment of Business core classes.
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Letters from Econ Profs and 1 from a math prof. I think letters will be good to great, math professor has taught me for 2 years and I've conducted research for an year together with one of my econ profs.
Research Experience: Honors Thesis, RA for two summers but I wasted those summers so nothing really came out of it.
Research Interests: Metrics, applied metrics ... i am open to anything
SOP: It was weak, unfocused and not customized for schools
RESULTS:
Attending: Duke ($$$)
Acceptances, declined: Wisconsin ($$$), Cornell ($$$), Ohio State( $$$), UNC -Chapel Hill ($$$), Michigan State ($$$), Pitt ($$$), Tinbergen Institute ($$$), LSE EME (Research), Oxford MPhil, Michigan (no $), Texas(no $), USC ($$$),
Waitlists: Duke funding waitlist, BU funding waitlist, Princeton Waitlist, Texas Waitlist, Michigan waitlist
Rejections: MIT, Princeton (rejected from waitlist), Berkeley, Yale, Harvard, UPenn, Chicago, UCSD, Penn State, Boston College, Cambridge
What would you have done differently? First, read jeeve's thread about suggestions for people from less known undergrads (it was impossible since it was not written until a couple of days ago, but that's what future people should do). Second, apply to NYU, Columbia and Northwestern (but most probably I would have only taken Northwestern over Duke. But still, my portfolio of schools was a little unbalanced). Third, write a much, much better SOPs that would be much better tailored to different schools. You'll be surprised how much SOPs matter (heard it directly from admissions directors at TOP10 and TOP20 schools).Fourth, don't get RA positions that are in the network of your schools and professors because you are already part of this network, so it doesn't add much to your profile. Go out and work for somebody different.

brettm84 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: U.S. Large Public University, maybe top 150 econ. B.A. Philosophy and History (2007), B.S. Economics (2008)
Undergrad GPA: 3.96/4.00 (4.00 Econ and Math)
Type of Grad: 1 yr. masters at same university as undergrad.
Grad GPA: 3.70/4.00
GRE: 780Q, 630V, 5.0 AW
Math Courses: Undergrad: Calc. 1-3, Linear Algebra, ODE, Intro to statistical methods (I & II), finite math, discrete math.
Graduate: Probability theory (B), Intro to stochastic processes (in progress)
Econ Courses: The usual undergraduate classes.
Graduate Econ Courses: Math for Economics (A-), Micro theory I (A), Macro theory (A), Econometrics (A), Micro theory II (in progress), Econometrics seminar (in progress), Monetary Economics (in progress).
Other Courses: the first 75% of my transcript is largely irrelevant (mostly philosophy and history courses).
Letters of Recommendation: All 3 from econ professors. Only 1 is from someone who is active researching/publishing.
Research Experience: none
Teaching Experience: grader/TA for math department.
Research Interests: macro, development, financial
SOP: straightforward and informative. I am uncomfortable saying anything nice about myself, so it may have been too "humble".
Other: My undergraduate career got off to a rocky start, and includes being suspended for disciplinary reasons. I included an explanation of the "incident" in each application. Six years having elasped probably reduced the negative impact. UNC, however, did make me pay for a criminal background check.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UNC($), Duke (Tuition only), UVA (no $), Univ. Wash. (no $)
Waitlists: WUSTL
Rejections: UPenn, Yale, JHU
Pending:
Attending: University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
What would you have done differently? I have only been doing economics for a year and a half, and my pre-econ career included no math, so my record is limited. Obviously, if I had decided to pursue a PhD in Econ earlier, I could have done more to improve my application. I should have chosen my reach schools from a little further down the rankings, since it probably took Upenn and Yale all of 2 min to toss my application in the trash. When I submitted the applications I gave myself a 1hance to get into Upenn and Yale, a 10hance for JHU and Duke, and 50 0.000000or the rest, so E[# of acceptances]=2.22. I exceed my expectations so I am very happy, and I'm sure I'll love UNC.

rafos 2009:
Institution: UNC-CH
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Decisions by mid-march
Notification date: 3/6
Notified through: Letter by E-mail
Comments: Dont know what to do... Need to answer to the SSE offer by next Tuesday...

JasonEcon 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Industrial Engineering with honors; U.S. top 5 engineering program
Undergrad GPA: Overall: 3.2/4.0, Econ: almost none, Math: 3.1/4.0
Type of Grad/Post-Bac: M.S. Economics at large state non-Ph D granting university
Grad/Post-Bac GPA: 3.9/4.0
GRE: 800Q 630V 5.0AWA
Undergrad Courses: Calculus II-III (A/B), Linear Algebra (B)
Grad & Post-Bac Courses: Grad Micro (A), Grad Macro (A), Grad Metrics (A), 3 grad field courses (As); Diff Eq (A), Adv Calc (A), Grad Analysis (B)
Letters of Recommendation: 3 Econ, 1 Math, good professors but not well known.
Research Experience: Only a directed study on growth at the time of application.
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: International/Development
SOP: discussed my very late interest in Economics and thus my five year hiatus between undergrad and returning to school, other than that boilerplate.
RESULTS:
Attending: Vanderbilt (Fellowship year 1, TA years 2 - 5)
Acceptances: Vanderbilt ($), NC St ($), Virginia
Rejections: Duke, Maryland, UNC-CH, Arizona St, Georgetown (never heard)
What would you have done differently? I would of done more research with professors as part of my grad program. I think my professors were able to write solid but not exceptional recommendations because they just did not know me well enough to elaborate extensively. That said, Vanderbilt is the best fit for me in terms of fields and as a personal fit, so I am thrilled with going there!

EcoBd 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad/Grad: BSS and MSS in Economics in a South Asian University.
Undergrad/Grad GPA: 3.7/4.0 in Undergrad and 4.0/4.0 in Grad
GRE: 790Q, 380V, 3.5AWA
TOEFL: 106 (29R, 29L, 23S, 25W)
Courses: Lots of econ courses. PhD level micro and econometrics. Calculus, probability theory, linear algebra, real analysis etc.
Letters of Recommendation: 3 economics professor from my University. 1 got his PhD from Harvard and taught me Microeconomics. Another did her PhD from MIT and taught me Econometrics. The last one got his PhD from Manchester and taught me International Economics. I am sure that they all gave me excellent recommendations.
Research Experience: Currently working in a research institute in my home country. I also have 2 RA positions in two different organizations previously.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Econometrics
SOP: Traditional. Emphasized my interests in economics.
RESULTS:
Attending: Texas A & M University
Acceptances: TAMU ($$), FSU (no $), OSU AEDE: (no$: informally)
Rejections: UCSD, UIUC, UNC, UF, Vanderbilt, IUB,
No word: USC
What would you have done differently? I think I should really do well on GRE verbal and AWA. And I should be more focused on my SOP.

PotentialEconGrad 2009:
Rejected from Pittsburgh, JHU, UVA, Vandy......my life sucks..

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.

3ohto4oh 2009:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics, large top 25 U.S. Public research university
Undergrad GPA: 3.0 (rounding up LOL)
Type of Grad: M.A. Economics, terminal degree within department
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 790Q, 570V, 5.0AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-II (AP credits), Math Stats (A), Discrete Math (A), Math for econ (undergrad and grad, A, A)
Econ Courses: Tons. Sloppy undergrad grades, All A's in MA.
Other Courses: Random stuff like Japanese
Letters of Recommendation: 3 professors of econ
Research Experience: MA thesis, submitted for publication (fingers crossed!)
Teaching Experience: Tutoring
Research Interests: Macro, applied macro, forecasting.
SOP: Suggested a couple of potential research topics.
Concerns: No serious math courses hurt me in applications, could make things more difficult in my studies.
RESULTS:
Attending: City University of New York, Graduate Center. $18k "Enhanced Chancellor's Fellowship," guaranteed for 5 years.
Admitted, Declined: American U ($-WL), Northeastern U ($$), Suffolk U ($), and the New School ()
Waitlists: Boston C, U Washington, U North Carolina, Georgetown U
Rejections: Johns Hopkins U, U Maryland, Boston U, George Washington U, Michigan U
What would you have done differently?
Very happy with this outcome. I spread my applications far and wide, so I am sure that I got into the best program that I could have - and then I fell in love with CUNY on a campus visit. As for advice to others, I have a huge hole in my transcript where there should have been upper-level math courses, and I should have corrected that.

eggman 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top Public University (William & Mary)
Undergrad GPA: 3.87 Overall, 4.0 Econ, 3.9 Math
GRE: 760 Q, 550 V, 4.5 A
Math Courses: MultiVar. Calc (A), Linear Algebra (A), Intro Proofs Class (A), Real Analysis (B+), Ordinary Differential Equation (A), Probability (A), Mathematical Statistics (in progress)
Econ Courses: Econ of Information (A), World Trade Theory (A), Econometrics (A), Time-Series Econometrics (A), Cross Section Econometrics (A) (advanced econometric courses are part of my schools MPP program, but are cross-listed in Econ)
Letters of Recommendation:
-Assistant Professor I was a TA for
-Professor that is my Honors Thesis Advisor
-Professor I worked for on a theoretical paper, well known in his subfield.
Research Experience:
-RA for one summer doing grunt work data collection
-Empirical Honors Thesis on a topic in pubic economics (decentralization)
-Worked on a Theoretical Paper in social choice theory, attempted to prove a theorem the professor could not solve. Even though I couldnt finish the paper for him, I was able to make enough progress that he could see that I had some talent, greatly improving my letter of recommendation.
Teaching Experience:
TA for an Econ 101 class, graded assignments and held review sessions.
Research Interests: Public, Labor, Applied Micro
SOP: I think it was fine, matched up my interests with some professors, nothing noteworthy to say about it
RESULTS:
Will be Attending: UVA
Acceptances: UVA($$), Indiana ($$)
Waitlists: UNC
Rejections: Princeton, Yale, UPenn, Rochester, Penn State, Maryland, JHU, Duke, Michigan, Minnesota, UCLA
What would you have done differently?
I wish I would have started math earlier and had been a Econ/Math double major instead of just a math minor. I believe I had enough Math to make me competitive, but a little bit more could have been nice. I also wish I had done better on the GRE, but I studied a lot and only got a 760Q, so I dont think taking it again would have improved my score, thus I dont regret not retaking the GRE.
Comments: Im surprised I got so many rejections, but ultimately I am very happy with the final outcome. I really like UVAs Program and they gave me good funding.