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good_tea 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA, Joint Econ/Math at Top 30 Econ department (I am an international student, though)
Undergrad GPA: 3.83/4.00
GRE: 760Q/670V/4.5A
Math Courses: Calculus (B, B, A), Linear Algebra (B+), Differential Equations (A), Analysis (A,A), Operations Research (A), MA Statistics in economics department (A).
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (B), Econometrics (A), Economics of Information (B+), MA Micro (A), MA Macro (A), and many electives (As).
Letters of Recommendation: One famous economics prof., wrote term paper (not sure about strength of the letter but not bad), one somewhat famous economics prof., senior thesis advisor (should have been quite solid), one analysis professor (should have been very good).
Research Experience: Senior thesis.
Teaching Experience: None.
Research Interests: Development, trade.
SOP: Nothing special.
Other: Had been working for an international organisation for a few months during the time of application.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Cornell AEM MS (no $), UVA (wl-$), UMD AREC ($$), Michigan (no $), BU (wl-$).
Rejections: Yale, Harvard KSG, UCB ARE, Princeton, PSU, UMD, Brown, NYU, UCSD.
What would you have done differently?
I am very happy with my outcome but realise that with a bit of bad luck, it could have been a lot worse. I am answering this question not so much in retrospect but in terms of how my a priori thinking/information could have been better (e.g. in retrospect it wouldn't make sense to apply to Princeton but a priori it was reasonable to do so just in case my recommendation letters were extremely strong).
1. I would not have applied to Maryland Economics b/c it really didn't match my interests very well. I would not have applied to Cornell AEM b/c it turns out it is very difficult to get admitted directly into the PhD program and I didn't want to do a MA/MS. I might have applied to Cornell's economics instead, though. I would have applied to at least one more place outside the top-20, maybe University of Washington.
2. A higher GRE score would have been good but I tried and didn't manage (canceled my score after taking it the second time), so it is not something I regret. I am not so good at that kind of test.
3. In terms of the longer run, I should have considered how I could do better in math classes earlier on. I am naturally quite good at math but had been doing only ok since late high school and never really thought about how I could improve. I learned (while studying for my Linear Algebra final exam, which took my grade for that class from a B- to a B+), that it is very useful to study by writing/typing out explanations to make sure one understands everything properly. Studying in this way, I did very well in all my subsequent math classes.

takethemoneyandrun 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Mid-ranked liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.7/4.0
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 770Q/700V/5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A/B/A-), Linear Algebra (A-), Probability Theory (B+), Mathematical Statistics (B+), ODEs (A-), PDEs (A), Advanced Calculus (A), Real Analysis (A), Topology (IP), Complex Analysis (IP)
Econ Courses : Intermediate Micro (B+), Intermediate Macro (A-), Intro to Econometrics (B), Labor Economics (A), Senior honors thesis (A)
Other courses: Nothing of value
Letters of Recommendation: Three econ professors (PhDs from top 30 programs) who advised me on research papers that turned out pretty well and one statistics professor with whom I did summer research. They are all very nice, helpful people and I get along well with them.
Research Experience: Two econ term papers and a senior honors thesis that I am proud of; one co-authored statistics publication based on summer research.
Teaching Experience: TA for 2 sections of introductory statistics and 2 sections of introductory economics.
Research Interests: Economics of labor, health, aging, and education.
Statement of purpose: I made it clear that I want to become an academic economist, discussing my math preparation and research interests.
Concerns: Low GRE Q and limited undergrad econ background with very shaky grades.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Virginia(wl-$), Texas(wl-$), Washington-Seattle($$), Indiana($$), UC-Davis($$), UC-Irvine($$), Rice($$), Colorado($0), Maryland AREC($$), Cornell AEM($0), Oregon($$)
Rejections: Brown, Johns Hopkins, Michigan, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, WUSTL
What would you have done differently? I would have applied to more schools in the 15-30 range. I didn't expect to be accepted to at least half of the programs that admitted me and was biased towards lower-ranked schools. I have heard this over and over, but it's worth repeating: The MC of sending out an additional application is extremely low; apply to any and every school that you think matches your research interests!

z109620 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics with Minor in Math and Philosophy from a mediocre state school in Illinois
Undergrad GPA: 3.76/4.00 (Econ: 3.93/4.00 Math: 4.0/4.0)
Type of Grad: M.S. Top Ag. Program (Davis)
Grad GPA: 3.8
GRE: 750Q, 470V, 4.0AW (Oct 2009)
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Diff Eqs, Undergrad Analysis I, and Prob. & Stats (also Undergrad Analysis II (W))
Econ Courses: Typical stuff, also Straight As in PhD econometrics sequence as well as in Masters Micro sequence at master institution.
Other Courses: A couple proof based logic courses (B,A)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 really good letters and one ok one from good professors.
Research Experience: Senior Paper
Teaching Experience: Grader
Research Interests: My main focus is Applied Micro Development, however, within the above field I am interested in Risk and Insurance in rural areas, Technology Adoption, Behavioral stuff and Non-Renewable Resources.
SOP: I think it is ok, talked about my Senior Paper, my passion for research and my goals for the future.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UC Davis ARE ($$$), Wisconsin AAE (no funding)
Rejections: Cornell AEM and MSU Ag econ.
What would you have done differently?
Well I wish I would have known that I wanted to do Econ earlier, as well as gone to a more prestigious undergrad. However, that being said I am really happy with Davis.
Attending:
UC Davis ARE PhD

simulacra 2010: Type of Undergrad: Engineering from a good university (international)
Undergrad GPA: 76% (ranked 3rd at the university)
Type of Grad: Math (minor in Econ) from a big public university in US
Grad GPA: in progress.
GRE: 770Q, 540V, 5.0 AWA
Math Courses: Lin Alg, Calculus, multivariate, stochastic, statistics, set theory, topology, combinatorics, Mathematical analysis and many more
Econ Courses: Microecon, Optimization, Resource Economics, Macro econ (undergrad)
Letters of Recommendation: From an Econ professor (dont know if she is well known), Another from a prof in the Math dept (my advisor). My summer RA professor who is from the Business school, and my current RA Professor, who can evaluate me on my research skills and mathematical analysis skills.
Research Experience: Currently RA for a very well known professor, but not in economics. I have to do the Data analysis and code in MATLAB
Summer RA for a Business school professor
Publications: Co-authored a paper with a very famous professor in deveopmental econometrics
Research Interests: Econometrics, Trade and development
statement of purpose: Not written yet.
Concerns: Low GRE score, not a solid econ background, diverse recommenders, unconventional background
Applying to: Caltech, UC Davis, Michigan, UMD, CMU, Minnesota, and others

BeautifulLife 2010:
Institution: LSE
Program: MSc Econ
Decision: AD
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 1/06/2010
Notified through: web
Comments:
Institution: Vanderbilt
Program: GPED
Decision: AD
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 09/2/2010
Notified through: web
Comments:
Institution: Cornell
Program: AEM master
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 2/11/2010
Notified through: e-mail
Comments:
Institution: Yale
Program: IDE
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 11 Mar, 2010
Notified through: web
comments: so sad!!!!!