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daniel.k 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top Brazilian BA Econ
Undergrad GPA: 8.4/10 (2nd in my cohort so far - graduating in June)
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: 800Q, 460V, 3.5AWA (Toefl 113)
Math Courses: Calculus I & II, Mathematical Econ I & II, currently auditing Linear Algebra, Stat I & II, Econometrics I, II & III (A's or A+)
Econ Courses: many, Micro I & II, Game theory, Info & Corporate Governance, Macro I & II, Monetary Econ, Economic history, Brazilian Econ history I & II, Financial Math, International econ, Institutional Econ, Development
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: Very good, I guess. One got his PhD at UCLA (my thesis supervisor) and the other did his Post Doc at LSE (did pretty well in his class and kept in touch since then)
Research Experience: Currently writing undergrad thesis
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests: Development, Info, IO, Financial Econ (Corporate Governance)
SOP: Standard, I suppose.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: LSE MSc Econ, Tilburg MSc Econ, Barcelona GSE MSc Econ (half TAship), Toulouse M2 Eco-Math, CEMFI Masters ($$)
Waitlists: None
Rejections: None
Pending: None
What would you have done differently? At the beginning I care nothing about grades. The first year is supposed to be the easiest at my uni and I didn't take advantage of that. Had no idea I'd be willing to get a masters or PhD. It's particularly easy/simple to take more math because math courses are offered by another department and I wouldn't get fully accredited for that. Anyway, should have taken more. At least Linear Algebra and maybe Analysis. Other than that, I think it's almost impossible to go straight from undergrad to top PhD's coming from a Uni which is outside the Europe-US axis. Most of the people from Brazil that go to top PhD's did their masters at a top school at home.

Cartman84 2010:
I made some slight changes in my profile (that is I tried to convert my grades to GPA used by the US universities and explained in further detail my Maths - I was kind of freshman-to-the-forum when posting my profile)
Type of Undergrad: MA (top grade/summa cum laude) in Econometrics from the top Polish business schol, BA (expected June 2010) in Maths, Warsaw University
Undergrad GPA: 4.7/5.5 (this is extremely hard to get on Econometrics, like 3,9 - 3,95/4 GPA) at my MA program, excellent grade on my thesis, rather poor grades at Maths (I study and work part-time as a freelancer so it's hard to be the top student now, GPA like 3,0/4 but I got very good grades on courses that are most closely related to economics)
Grad GPA: I did a 5 year program, consider it equivalent to Undergrad and some Grad courses too
GRE: V-530, Q-790, A-4.0(I think I was too nervous and solved some problems too fast, better use time they give you in 100%)
TOEFL: 112
Math Courses: Linear algebra, Calculus I-IV, Topology, ODE, Probability Theory I-II, Abstract Algebra, Control Theory, Time Series, Measure Theory, Functional Analysis, Computational Maths I-II, Complex Analysis, Statistics I-II, - mostly C and B but I consider the program very demanding as for a BA level, due to the reform of Polish university education system some of them is on the grad level
Econ Courses: Macro (4 semesters), Micro (3 semesters), Econometrics (lots of small lectures, let's say Theory and Applied with good understanding), Growth Theory, Game Theory I-II, Public Finance Theory, Monetary Policy, Mechanism Design
Other Courses: C++,
Letters of Recommendation: One from Economics Professor affiliated at one of the top10 US universities (get to know him during his lectures in Poland), one from my MA thesis supervisor (that's a really great letter, he recommended succesfuly some students to the top US and Europe programs), one from Maths Professor (PhD NYU, currently at Warsaw University, published in top Maths journals)
Research Experience: worked 2 years as a research economist, did some policy analyses for various Polish government agencies, also one paper for OECD/World Bank on pension funds performance; now working for a financial risk consultancy - mostly forecasting and programming
Teaching Experience: 4 years of TA - macro and micro for undergrads (started during my MA program)
Research Interests: Macroeconomics, focus on pension systems, DSGE models, exchange rates
statement of purpose: I aimed at presenting how professional and educational experience made me prepared well for the program, focus on strong mathematical background and teaching experience
Other: 26yr old male, Polish nationality
Concerns: late application to UMN, late reference letters
Applying to: UMN, Tinbergen, Tilburg, Stockholm Uni, Stockholm Sch. of Econ., Goethe, Universidad Carlos 3 Madrid, EUI Florence
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UMN, TI, Tilburg, SU, SSE, Goethe, EUI
Waitlists:
Rejections: UC3M (withdrawn application after being admitted to UMN, never really wanted to go there)
What would you have done differently? Nothing, I guess. Maybe if I had different preferences I would have speeded up my TOEFL/GRE and applied to some more US programs

hunecon 2010:
PROFILE: Economics, small European country
Type of Undergrad: 5-year degree (actually BA+MA with IO major)
Undergrad GPA: about 4.3 on a 1-5 scale (no official GPA system)
GRE: Q800/V380/A3
TOEFL:100
Math Courses: Real Analysis I-II, Linear Algebra I-II, Probability Theory, Differential Equations, Operational Research, Statistics I-III.
Econ Courses: A lot.
Other Courses: A lot, mostly in other social sciences and informatics.
Letters of Recommendation: Not well-known, bot strong letters from professors of my program.
Research Experience: Several student paper, two of them won first prize.
Teaching Experience: One year (game theory, quantitative methods) for graduate students.
Research Interests: Game theory, IO.
SOP: Standard, but strong.
Acceptences: Tilburg ($), TSE, UAB
Reject: Tinbergen
Withdrawn: UC3, UAB, Alicante, CEU
What would you have done differently? Well, I am satisfied with my result, my only concern is the low funding. Maybe I should have got better grades. The bologna system was introduced after I started my studies, I was stucked there for five years. Actually, in most of the last three years I hardly got strong economics courses, transferring for a much stronger university may have been better after the first three years. But I enjoyed these years and I will never regret to spend them with my friends. I will have enough things to do later during PhD, after all

kammulm 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.Sc. at top German econ department
Undergrad GPA: 1.5 (1.0 is best, 4.0 is worst passing grade)
Type of Grad: some masters courses at Copenhagen University
Grad GPA: 12/12
GRE: Q: 800, V:500, AWA:3.5
Math Courses: Analysis (1.3), Linear Algebra (1.3),Mathematics for Economists (Dynamic Programing, optimal control theory and comparative statics) (1.7), Topology and differential equations (1.0), Statistics (1.3) and Econometrics (1.7)
Econ Courses: M.Sc. Game theory (1.0), B.Sc. Contract Theory (1.7), M.Sc.Contract Theory (1.0), M.Sc. Behavioral Economics )1.0), Economic Policy (1.3), Public Finance (1.3), Macro I+II (1.3), Micro I+II (1.3), Trade Theory(1.7)
Letters of Recommendation: one stellar from a prof I RAed with, the rest solid but not outstanding
Research Experience: Research Assistant in Economic Policy for 4 months with focus on fiscal multipliers
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Institutional economics and behavioral Economics in combination with economic policy
SOP: nothing special
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Tilburg (MRes), Tinbergen (Mphil)
Waitlists:
Rejections:
Pending:
What would you have done differently? I would have submitted my applications earlier to be eligible for scholarships.

sappy 2010: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BSc (hons) Theoretical Physics from a top 10 university in the U.K (all Physics modules and some masters courses as well)
Undergrad GPA: high 2:2 (According to my uni it converts to a B in GPA terms) Type of Grad: MSc Economics from same university as undergrad
Grad GPA: Merit (According to my uni it converts to a A- in GPA terms)
GRE: V-440, Q-790, A-5.0
Math Courses: Advanced intergration and differention, real analysis , Matrix Algrebra, Tensors and Econometrics (done during MSc)
Econ Courses:Graduate: Macro, Micro, Econometrics, Game Theory and Industrial Organisation, Growth and Development, Experimental Economics
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: One from Theoretical Physicist that will be postive, two from Economics Professors (one graduated from Oxford and the other from Bonn), the Oxford one should be very positive because he wanted me to stay at the uni i did my masters in to do my phd and the other was my dissertation supervisor and i got a good mark for it.
Research Experience: Dissertations for both degrees, their combined marks would give me a 1st (GPA Phys: 4, GPA Econ:3.9)
Teaching Experience: Private tutoring for Physics and Maths at College level
Research Interests:Game Theory and Experimental Economics
statement of purpose: Just about how i enjoy applying maths to problems, a little on some economic experiments i ran during the year and how i want to get a bigger exposure to Economics
Other: 23yr old male who is also British
Concerns: I applied to a lot of high places last year with limited success (waitlisted at UBC, Boston U and Cornell. But eventually didn't get in). So now i'm concerned because it's been a year out with no more experience bar private tutoring.
Applying to: Tilburg, Tinbergen, SSE, PSE, TSE, BSE (Berlin), Bonn, Mannheim, Autonoma Barcelona, PSU, OSU, Maryland, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, UCSB, Indiana, Purdue, Virginia

sergyu 2010: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: 5-year degree East European Public University
Undergrad GPA: approximetaly 4.3 on a 1-5 scale (actually no idea)
Type of Grad: My degree is a BA+MA, no separate grad. school
GRE: 800Q, 380V, 3.0AWA
TOEFL: 100
Math Courses: Real Analysis I-II, Linear Algebra Math I-II, Probability Theory, Optimization Theory, Differential equations, Graph theory
Econ Courses: A lot.
Other Courses: Mostly in other social sciences (incl. pol. science).
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ professors (game theory, not so well known)
Research Experience: Student papers, 2 of them won first prize.
Teaching Experience: Game theory, Quantitative methods (graduate level)
Research Interests: Game theory, IO
statement of purpose: Standard format, two pages
Concerns: Not the best grades, relatively unkown university.
Other: Waiting sucks.
Applying to: Toulouse, Tilburg, UAB, UC3, Alicante, Tinbergen, CEU
Accepted: Toulouse (M1, funding March 22), Tilburg (MR1, funding mid Feb.)
Waiting for: the others

verio16 2010:
Institution: Tinbergen Institute
Program: M.Phil Economics
Decision:Accepted
Funding: Full Funding (Tuition + Living expenses + health insurance)
Notification date: 5/03/2010
Notified through:Personal e-mail
Institution: Tilburg University (CentER)
Program: RM1 Economics
Decision:Accepted
Funding: Wait-listed for funding
Notification date: 5/03/2010
Notified through:Personal e-mail

artuj 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: 4-year B.A. Economics from Best Lithuanian University
Undergrad GPA: 8,9/10 (10 excellent, 9 very good, 8 good, 7 satisfactory) (my results gradually improved since my first year in university)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q, 340V, 3.0AWA (TOEFL iBT 113)
Math Courses: Advanced Mathematics (7) (linear algebra, matrix, vector spaces, differential calculus, integrals, differential equations), Optimization Methods (8), Operation Research (10), Quantitative Analysis of Economics (9), Business Mathematics (1.0 German)
Econ Courses (Undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro I-II (9,8), Intermediate Macro I-II (8,9), Public Economics (8), Economics of Social Security (8), Money and Credit (9), Higher Microeconomics (9), International Economics (9), Macroeconomic Models (10, State Economic Policy (10), Industrial Organization (9), Theory of Economic Growth (10), Game Theory (spring), Comparative Economics (10)
Statistics Courses: Statistics (8), Economic Statistics (excellent), Econometrics I-II (10,10)
Other Non credit courses (all spring semester): Higher Macroeconomics, Mathematical Analysis, Probability Theory, Time Series Econometrics with R, Mathematics for Economics Analysis, Asymptotic Statistics(PhD level)
Letters of Recommendation: None of them known outside the country
Research Experience:
Nothing special except of econometric research related with stock markets
Teaching Experience: TA during seminars of Econometrics for undergraduates ( Eviews software, GLS, Time Series)
Research Interests: Economic of Education, Health, Social Security, Public Economics, Labour Economics
Statement of purpose: concentrated over my interests and explained my skills in econ and math courses
Concerns: Quality of my school, my low GRE verbal/writing scores. Not excellent results within some modules. Exchange semester in University of Applied Sciences in Germany (I got excellent-very good results there). Many business related modules (most of them from first and second year)
Applying to: Mphil Tinbergen, Mphil Tilburg
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Tinbergen Institute ($$$)
Rejections: Tilburg RM1
What would you have done differently? Nothing
Attending:
Tinbergen Institute

zurich_econ 2010:
PROFILE:
Degrees Licentiate (=MA+BA) in economics, summa cum laude, GPA 5.8/6; B.Sc. math, GPA 5.7/6 both from large Swiss university
GRE: First go: 770Q 510V 5.5 AWA, Second go: 800Q 610V 4.5AWA
TOEFL 119
Math Courses: Analysis I-III (equivalent to real analysis, plus measure theory, integration on manifolds etc.) linear algebra I-II, abstract algebra, probability theory, measure theoretic probability theory, differential geometry (fall), topology (fall), functional analysis (fall)
Econ Courses: Micro I-IV (III and IV used Jehle/Reny and MWG), Macro I-IV (III used Obstfeld/Rogoff, IV used Romer), Growth and distribution theory, public economics, money and credit, monetary economics, behavioral economics, behavioral macroeconomics, behavioral finance (used Shleifer), experimental economics, statistics, econometrics (used Wooldridge), analysis of microdata, mathematical statistics and time series analysis, environmental economics, microeconomic theory of the firm, topics in international finance, finance and the macroeconomy, business economics.
Other Courses: Motivational psychology, psychology of perception, social psychology I-II, social neuroscience
Letters of Recommendation: 1 famous econ, 1 well known econ, 1 less well known econ, one math
Research Experience: RAing for 2 years, two theses (developped a game theoretic model in each of them)
Teaching Experience: Teaching exercise classes in undergrad micro, undergrad macro, public economics
Research Interests: Micro, behavioral, game theory, experimental, public econ
Other Fulbright
Concerns Adcoms not knowing how to interpret Swiss grades, relatively unknown university (though we got a handful of visiting profs from the top 5 every year here), the IIE handling some of my applications (but I'll be happy if they assessed my chances correctly!), ...and of course the insane competition
Applying to Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Chicago, NYU, NWU, Caltech, Cornell, CMU SDS, LSE, Oxford, UCL, Zurich (so much for the hypothesis that we international applicants choose our safeties at home)
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Yale, Stanford, NYU, Berkeley, Chicago, Caltech, Northwestern, Oxford (PhD, PRS), UCL (PhD), all with good or great funding
Waitlists: None (great!)
Rejections: Cornell, Tilburg, Harvard
Pending: LSE, Carnegie Mellon SDS
What would you have done differently? Not much, really. Maybe I should have applied to Princeton, but I certainly can't complain! I think two things boosted my application: 1. The fact that I showed commitment by getting a BS in maths after finishing my MA in econ to do econ theory, and 2. the fact that I did independent research for my MA-thesis and spent sufficient time and energy on it to impress my advisor