Index of Schools AnalysisAbout the Site 2012 20112010 20092008 2007all years
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Most Recently Selected profile:

The data below comes from testmagic forums and shows accepted, waitlisted, and rejected applicants for 2010 for economics graduate school. Clicking on points in the graph above will make the most recent profile appear in the space below the graph.


Acceptances:

urray 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA, Major Economics, Minor Mathematics one of the top schools in Middle East
Undergrad GPA: 3.7/4
Type of Grad: MA Economics, same university
Grad GPA: 3.85 /4
GRE: 790Q, 600V, 4.5AW
TOEFL:116/120
Math Courses: UG Level: Calculus Sequence, Linear Algebra, Probability, Statistics, Discrete Mathematics
Grad Level: Real Analysis, Measure Theory, Stochastic Calculus, Abstract Algebra
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I-II (Taken at senior year in UG), Matching and Auction Theory (Taken at senior year in UG), Macro I-II, Metrics I-II, Advanced Topics in Macro Theory, Advanced Topics in Game Theory
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Way too many to list.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Minnesota PhD, 1 Rochester PhD, 1 BU PhD, all should be very good,
Research Experience: Co-authoring a paper with one of the letter of recommendation writers, which had incredibly good feedback from a few conferences, going to submit it pretty soon.
Teaching Experience: 8 semester of TA for a variety of classes, (intro to Micro, intro to Game Theory, etc.) Instructed the math camp for incoming graduate students at our university.
Research Interests: Game Theory
SOP: Pretty standard, I actually forgot to change the phrase "university X" to the name of the university in a few cases
Concerns: My GPA in the first two-years in undergrad where I took the majority of the ug level math courses was lowish (around 3.4) Got a C+ plus from linear algebra as I had to skip an exam due to a medical condition(did not mention the reason in my sop), 790Q in GRE
RESULTS:
Acceptances: NYU, Kellogg Mecs, Minnesota, Michigan, Caltech, CMU, Boston U, Rochester, JHU, WL from WUSTL
Rejections: Yale, Brown, Columbia GSB
COMMENTS:
I decided to do a PhD only around my junior year or so, I wasn't even actually planning to study economics when I entered university. I did pretty stupid things in my first two years, I think my overall attendance was around %10 or so of the classes, entered some exams after night-outs without sleeping etc. On the other hand I took quite a bit of grad courses in my last two years as an undergraduate, as a result I had a chance focus on research on my masters. I actually came up with my own idea for the current paper we are writing pretty early in my masters. Then again due to a death in the family I couldn't get it published before the admission season started, hence didn't bother to apply to top 5. In retrospect, I think I should have given it a shot. And if I had the opportunity I would slap my younger self for my behavior in my first two-years.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: NYU, Kellogg Mecs, Minnesota, Michigan, Caltech, CMU, Boston U, Rochester, JHU, WL from WUSTL
  • Institution: Caltech Social Sciences PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: $28k/year Notification date: Feb 10 Notified through: email Comments: No phone call, probably due to 10 hour difference (the e-mail came at 02.30 local time)
  • Institution: Kellogg MECS Decision: Accepted Funding: $$$$ Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Rochester Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: $$$ Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Minnesota Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Michigan Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: No first year funding 17k+ after 2nd year Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Carnegie Mellon Tepper Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: $$$$ Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: No offer since they think I will end up with other offers Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: NYU Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: $$$ Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
Rejects:
    Rejections: Yale, Brown, Columbia GSB COMMENTS: I decided to do a PhD only around my junior year or so, I wasn't even actually planning to study economics when I entered university. I did pretty stupid things in my first two years, I think my overall
  • Institution: Yale Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Columbia Business School Finance & Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:

tsimonoce 2011:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Joint (not double) Math / Econ major - Top 15 for Econ.
Undergrad GPA: 3.70 Cumulative, 3.96 in Econ, 3.63 in Math.
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800q / 610v / 4.5awa
Math Courses: LOWER DIV: Calc 1-3 and DiffEq taken in HS. Vector Calc (B), Linear Algebra (B). UPPER DIV: Probability (B), Stochastic Processes (B), Statistics (A-), Math Reasoning (A-), Analysis 1 (A+), Analysis 2 (A+), Applied Linear Algebra (A).
Econ Courses: Micro 1 (A+), Micro 2 (A), Micro 3 (A+), Macro 1 (A+), Macro 2 (A-), Metrics (A), Game Theory (A+), Micro Research Class (A), Grad Micro (IP), Senior Thesis (IP).
Letters of Recommendation: All three got PhDs from Stanford and I did research with. 2 really well-known and one assistant prof.
Research Experience: Small Micro class research, independent research project over summer (with a prof), and Senior Thesis.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Micro - especially Game Theory / Contract Theory
Concerns: Feeling pretty good
Other: All 3 letter of recommendation writers think I will crack top 5.
Applying to: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford GSB, Stanford Econ, Berkeley, Chicago, Northwestern, Yale, U Penn, NYU, Michigan, UCLA, UCSD, Wisconsin, NSF.
Accepts:
  • Institution: Caltech Social Sciences PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: $28k/year Notification date: Feb 10 Notified through: email Comments: Notified first through phone. It was a private/blocked call so I didn't answer! Got a voicemail and email. Ecstatic!!!
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics (PhD) Decision: Accepted Funding: not clear Notification date: 2/23/2011 Notified through: I checked the site after having seen the offer post here Posted on GF: no Comments: awesome!
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: on the "very high" waitlist Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comment: gmail put it in my spam filter! i got the offer a little over an hour ago.
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: fellowship Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: not quite understanding how much money the stipend is?
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Not yet specified Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Same as all above.
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economic Policy and Analysis Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: February 18 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Not fun.
  • Institution: Michigan Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Somewhat surprised but I'll live.
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Not surprised.
  • Institution: Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: awesome...on top of the implicit stanford rejection, i'm pretty upset.
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/08/11 Notified through: Postal Posted on GF: yes Comments: Really really wanted it. Cruel that they teased me and it took 3 days to go 30 miles in the mail. Ouch.
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/21/2011 Notified through: emailed Marj about status Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:

thesparky 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Econ with honours, top 4 Canadian
Undergrad GPA: ~3.9X/4.0 (converted)
Type of Grad: none
Grad GPA: -
GRE: 800Q 650V 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A-, A, A+), Honours Linear Algebra (A-), Proofs (A), ODE (A+), Probability (A+), Stochastic Processes (A+)
Econ Courses: Inter. Micro I-II (A, A+), Inter. Macro I-II (A-, A-), Stats-Metrics (A+, A+, A+), Development Econ (A+), Game Theory (A+, A+), Human Behaviour (grad; A+), Honours Thesis (A, A), Math Econ (A, A)
Other Courses: some commerce courses (As), some relevant non-econ courses (A, A+), several unofficial grad course audits
Letters of Recommendation: econ/psych prof; current boss (well known); econometrics prof
Research Experience: A couple of directed studies (A+s), thesis, some years RA for first letter of recommendation writer, currently full-time RA for second letter of recommendation writer.
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Behavioural econ
SOP: Its a statement of purpose alright.
Concerns: No real analysis. Oh well.
Other: Had a SSHRC (Canadian NSF) last year.
Applying to: Some top 5 (with B-schools) and a few others
Accepts:
  • Institution: Caltech Social Sciences PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: $28k/year Notification date: Feb 10 Notified through: email Comments: All accepts probably today. [edit]phone also[/edit]
  • Institution: Cornell Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Sage Fellowship Notification date: 03/11/11 Notified through: Email Comments: Glad to have it.
Rejects:
  • Institution: Chicago Booth MOB Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: Feb 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economic Analysis and Policy Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: February 18 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: Was never going to happen.
  • Institution: MIT Sloan Economic Sociology PhD Decision: rejected Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GF: No Comments: Email to check website = reject. No B-school for me :/
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: another one bites the dust.
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: Probably none Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: figures.
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: - Notification date: 3/4/11 (mailed) Notified through: Mail Posted on GF: Comments: Finally able to check what I knew was there.
  • Institution: Harvard University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/14 Notified through: mail Posted on GC: No Comments: there's the end of it. all official notifications received.
Waitlists:
  • Institution: UMich Economics Decision: waitlisted Funding: 1st year tuition waiver, TA/RA 2nd year onward (if admitted) Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: they ask us to keep them updated about our other offers.

liamc 2011:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics (Quant. Track), Top 30 liberal arts college, minors in Math & CogSci
Undergrad GPA: 3.77
GRE: 800Q 730V 4.0AWA
Math Courses: Honors Calc I-II (A+), Honors Calc III (A-), Honors Lin Alg (A), Probability (A), Real Analysis I (A), Real Analysis II (A-), Mathematical Neuroscience (A), Grad Analysis (B+), Statistics (IP)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Macro Theory I (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Inter. Micro Theory (A+), Quant. Inter Micro Theory (A-), Statistics (B), Quant. Econometrics (A-), Quant. Game Theory (A), Behavioral Economics Seminar (A), Senior Honors Thesis (IP)
Other Courses: Newton's Principia (A)
Letters of Recommendation: All (supposedly) strong from thesis advisor and econ professor, both somewhat famous, and well-known math professor
Research Experience: Worked in a psych lab 2+ years, presented posters at conferences. Did a theory paper independently and presented it at a conference this year.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Game Theory, Neuroeconomics
SOP: Bold statement of an ambitious research project, and general ode to the economics profession
Concerns: Not looking forward to moving
Other:
Applying to: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern U, Brown, CalTech, Cornell, Duke, Wash U St Louis, BU, BC
Accepts:
  • Institution: Wash U. St Louis Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition waiver + $20400 stipend Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: An acceptance at last!
  • Institution: BU Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: tuition + $19k stipend Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: Sweet!
  • Institution: Cornell Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: None Notification date: 3/22/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: That's cute.
  • Institution: CalTech Behavioral and Social Neuroscience Decision: Accepted Funding: no word, but they fund everybody Notification date: 04/14/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Totally psyched!
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: February 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: Didn't want to live in New Haven anyway.
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 2/25/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: no Comments:
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: BC Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: "Honestly, we feel that it is likely that you will receive offers from top schools, and for this reason, we decided not to make an offer to you at this time." That's nice to hear, but it would really have calmed my nerves to get an admiit.
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Damn.
  • Institution: Brown , Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 03/11 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: no Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton , Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 03/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: no Comments: Now, the day-dreaming ends and the planning begins.
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/12/2011 Notified through: snail mail Posted on GC : no Comments:
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: I was told earlier that I was on the waitlist with "slim" chances of admission, so not too surprising.
Waitlists:

Yifei 2011:
Institution: Caltech
Program: Social Sciences PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: $28k/year
Notification date: Feb 10
Notified through: email
Comments: That is my first offer! Ecstatic!!! There is a Grad Social Science Weekend on March 11-13.
Accepts:
  • Institution: Caltech Social Sciences PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: $28k/year Notification date: Feb 10 Notified through: email Comments: That is my first offer! Ecstatic!!! There is a Grad Social Science Weekend on March 11-13.
  • Institution: USC Econ Decision: Accepted Notification date: 03/02/2011 Notified through: email with an attachment discussing about fund Posted on GC: No Comments: "You have been selected to receive the USC College Merit Fellowship award at the university for the academic year 2011-2012." $23,000 stipend for 9 months with health insurance and tuition waiver up to 12 credit.
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: Eventually it comes!
  • Institution: Upenn Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: February 24, 2011 Notified through: via website Posted on GC: no Comments: Penn was a good choice.
  • Institution: University of Rochester Economics (PhD) Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: I cannot care less.
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Econ Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/02/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: None
  • Institution: U Michigan Economics Decision:Rejected Notification date: 3/3 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: None
  • Institution: UC Santa Barbara Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: no Comments: UCSB was a nice place.
Waitlists:


Rejections:

blinvisible 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BCom/BSc (Hons) Australian university. Honours in maths.
Undergrad GPA: 3.93 equiv - 89% average.
GRE: 800Q, 650V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses: subjects in calculus, linear algebra, real and complex analysis, topology, measure theory, functional analysis, abstract algebra, probability, statistics, stochastic calculus and processes, partial differential equations
Courses (PhD-level): probability, measure theory, functional analysis, statistics
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro to micro/macro, Inter macro/micro, metrics, topics in micro, game theory
Other Courses: operations research, finance, history and philosophy of science
Letters of Recommendation: Maths prof and thesis supervisor, Econ prof (BU), Statistics prof (UMN). All enthusiastic I presume.
Research Experience: Honours thesis in probability/statistics, summer RA work in statistics
Teaching Experience: Calculus and probability for 2 years
Research Interests: Decision theory, mechanism design, market design
SOP: There was one.
Concerns: My application was non-standard in enough dimensions that it was difficult to get comparisons. I had the minimal econ background, unusual LsOR and a few years since completing undergraduate study. I had no idea what to expect.
Other: 3 years working between finishing uni and application
RESULTS:
Attending: Duke-Fuqua (Decision Sciences)
Acceptances: Duke-Fuqua (Decision Sciences)
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Caltech, Wisconsin-Madison, U Penn, Stanford GSB (EA&P), Kellogg (MECS)
Waitlisted: Minnesota, Princeton
What would you have done differently? During the admissions process not much... This forum is a great resource and lurking here helped me avoid many mistakes I may otherwise have made.
A few years back I would have attempted to forge stronger relationships with professors. This would have helped me both figure out what I wanted to do earlier as well as potentially provided the elusive RA/letter of recommendation opportunity. As it was, I didn't realise that I liked real (as opposed to undergraduate) economics until my final semester and did not take the classes I could have.
Accepts:
    Attending: Duke-Fuqua (Decision Sciences) Acceptances: Duke-Fuqua (Decision Sciences)
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Caltech, Wisconsin-Madison, U Penn, Stanford GSB (EA&P), Kellogg (MECS)
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economic Policy and Analysis Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: February 18 Notified through: Checked the application home. Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Upenn Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: February 24, 2011 Notified through: eamila then via website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
Waitlists:
    Waitlisted: Minnesota, Princeton
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics (PhD) Decision: Wait List Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: no Comments: Better than a flat out rejection
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Waiting List Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/11/11 Notified through: Email Comments: I'm so confused.. I get rejected pretty much everywhere and put on a waitlist at Princeton of all places.

chisquared 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BBM Quantitative Finance and BSc Economics. Small university in SE Asia.
Undergrad GPA: 3.92/4.00
Type of Grad: MSc Applicable Mathematics, LSE
Grad GPA: In Progress
GRE: 800Q, 660V, 5.0AW
Math Courses: Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A-), Real Analysis (A-), Intermediate Mathematics for Economics (A+), Advanced Mathematics for Economics (A), Stochastic Calculus (A), Numerical Analysis (A), Probability Theory and Statistical Inference (A-), Continuous Time Optimization (Grad, IP), Probability and Measure (Grad, IP), Stochastic Analysis (Grad, IP)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Advanced Microeconomics (IP)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Microeconomics (A+), Intermediate Macroeconomics (A-), International Economics (A+), Economics of Financial Intermediation (A+), Applied Econometrics (A), Economic Development in Asia (A)
Other Courses: A lot of other business and finance courses. A few courses in psychology, sociology and political science.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Stanford PhD, 1 Berkeley PhD, 1 Harvard PhD, 2 UPenn PhDs distributed over different schools. All supposedly good letters.
Research Experience: Undergraduate thesis in political economy (A-), a few research assistantships
Teaching Experience: A few terms as a teaching assistant
Research Interests: micro theory, game theory, financial economics, political economy
SOP: Standard
Concerns: Unknown undergrad institution. Limited (read: almost none) placement history. Unknown letter of recommendation credibility.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: LSE ($$$, initially on a waiting list for funding), Michigan (off the waiting list, $$), BU ($$, initially on a waiting list for first-year funding)
Rejections: Tons. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern (Kellogg MEDS), UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, UCSD (actually, I never heard from them. Should probably send them an angry email.), Chicago Booth, Stanford GSB, Wharton, Minnesota
Withdrawn:
Attending: LSE
What would you have done differently?
It's hard to say, really. A few ideas, though:
(i) Work harder on my senior thesis. Winning the senior thesis prize may have helped me sneak on to a few more waiting lists.
(ii) Write a more interesting SOP. It probably wouldn't help much, but it just might matter on the margin, and it's hard to say where I was or wasn't a marginal candidate exactly (at least, for the schools ranked just above where I was admitted. I'm only kidding myself by trying to claim I could have been a marginal candidate at Harvard/MIT.).
(iii) Done more undergrad field courses in econ. This would help me write a more interesting SOP, I guess, since it would give me more research ideas. This would mean that I'd have to drop one of my majors, or not do a senior thesis, though. I'm not sure I would be willing to do the former ex-ante, nor the latter ex-post.
(iv) Tried to go on exchange at the one top 10 department my undergrad had an exchange program with. Someone from my undergrad did this, and it seemed to have helped her out a lot this admissions season. That being said, that entails the same kind of tradeoffs that I mentioned in (iii), so I'm not sure I'd do this if I could do everything over again.
(v) Worked really hard on my MSc, graduate with distinction, and apply for admission in fall 2012 instead. I may still consider this, in fact.
(vi) Considered schools that I was applying to more carefully. While I don't think I'd have applied to fewer schools, there are some programs (PSU, CEMFI, Toulouse) I wish I applied to after all the deadlines were over but before the admissions results were released. While I wouldn't have gone to any of those aforementioned programs over any of the options I had, this may have been a wiser decision ex-ante (even if I may be out a few hundred dollars ex-post).
Accepts:
    Acceptances: LSE ($$$, initially on a
  • Institution: London School of Economics MRes/PhD Track 1 Decision: Accepted Funding: No. "Unfortunately competition for funding is very strong and we are not able to offer you any financial support at this stage. However you are waitlisted for funding and we will inform you immediately if and when this becomes available. In the meantime we would be grateful if you could update us on the outcome of any funding applications you have made." Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: Relieved. Will probably need funding though.
  • Institution: BU Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: After first year, tuition + $19k stipend Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Michigan Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted from the waiting list Funding: Full Notification date: April 12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: None.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Tons. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern (Kellogg MEDS), UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, UCSD (actually, I
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Expected, but still depressing.
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economic Analysis and Policy Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: February 18 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 22 February 2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: UPenn Phd in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Website -- checked it after I saw the rejection on GC Posted on GC: No Comments: Ouch. A shut out is looking likelier every day. Ah, well.
  • Institution: Minnesota Phd in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Saw a rejection on GC, then checked the website. ...I should really stop doing this. Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Ouch.
  • Institution: Chicago Booth Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No. Comments: Not too surprising.
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Well, that was a long-shot.
  • Institution: Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Ugh.
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Sigh.
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Hm, I guess a shut-out wasn't all that unlikely. (Yes, I am aware at the pitfalls of considering probabilities ex post.)
  • Institution: Northwestern - Kellogg Ph.D. MECS Decision: Rejection Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/11/11 Notified through: Email Comments: I appreciate their promptness. Take note, NYU. <-- Ditto. I guess this marks the close of the admissions season for me.
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/11 Notified through: Snail Mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/17/11 Notified through: Unofficial e-mail after I asked about my status Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/21/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: That took a while.
Waitlists:
    waiting list for funding), Michigan (off the waiting list, $$), BU ($$, initially on a waiting list for first-year funding)
  • Institution: UMich Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: Yes, if accepted Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:

FromTheHip 2011:
Well, time to throw out my profile, which I suspect will make my results a source of hope for many with mediocre undergraduate GPAs.
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BS in a science field at a highly-ranked U.S. university
Undergrad GPA: 3.34/4
Type of Grad: Part time classes at a top-5 econ program
Grad GPA: 4.0/4
GRE: 800Q, 700V, 4.5AW
Math Courses: Linear Algebra (A), Multivariable Calculus (A), Vector Analysis (B), Differential Equations (A-), Real Analysis (B+)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Two semesters of core micro (A/A), both grades near the top of the class
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Micro (A-), Intro Macro (A-), Intermediate micro (A-), Intermediate Macro (A-), Two term theoretical econometrics course (B/B+)
Other Courses: A lot of very quantitative science courses.
Letters of Recommendation: All three were economists with tenure at a top-5 econ program and PhDs from top programs. One was a professor from my core micro who talked about my coursework, while another was my long-time boss (see below). The third worked as my advisor on an independent project.
Research Experience: Two years as an RA and an independent research project (still ongoing).
Research Interests: Resource/environmental, development, game theory, IO. Statement focused on resource, game theory, and development.
SOP: Fairly long. I’ve spent some time outside of undergrad and was not an econ major, so I spent a bit of time explaining how I’d come to be interested in economics and putting my non-economics accomplishments into context.
Other experience: Several years work experience before starting my economics career
Concerns: Non-economics background, low undergraduate grades
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Cornell (no $), Georgetown ($), Iowa State ($),LSE ($), Penn State ($), Rochester ($), UC-Davis ($), UC-San Diego ($), UC-Santa Barbara (no $), University of British Columbia ($), University of Colorado ($), UPenn (initially wl for $, then $), University of Wisconsin ($), Yale ($).
Rejections: Berkeley ARE, Brown, Caltech, Chicago, Chicago Booth, Duke, Harvard, Minnesota, NYU, Northwestern, Princeton, Stanford, University of Maryland, University of Michigan
Waitlists: BU (withdrew), Columbia (withdrew), MIT (eventually rejected)
Withdrawn: University of Wyoming
Attending: Yale
What would you have done differently? Gotten better undergraduate grades and started as an economist sooner.
Other Comments: Given where I was coming in, I’m pretty ecstatic about my results. There was a lot of variance in my admits, and I’m grateful to all the programs which were willing to take a chance on me.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Cornell (no $), Georgetown ($), Iowa State ($),LSE ($), Penn State ($), Rochester ($), UC-Davis ($), UC-San Diego ($), UC-Santa Barbara (no $), University of British Columbia ($), University of Colorado ($), UPenn (initially wl for $, then $), University of Wisconsin ($), Yale ($).
  • Institution: UC Davis Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Will be decided in March Notification date: Feb 11 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Extremely happy about my first acceptance.
  • Institution: UC Santa Barbara Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No mention of funding Notification date: Feb 14 Notified through: website (I checked after seeing an acceptance up at GC) Posted on GC: no Comments: I suspect decisions are generally available, even though an e-mail notification hasn't been sent yet.
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: To be announced (but they fund everyone, so it seems a safe bet) Notification date: Feb 15 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: Um, yeah, I'm pretty happy
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Very high on the waitlist for 1st year fellowship Notification date: 2/24/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Penn State Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification date: 2/24/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: LSE Economics MRes/PhD (track 1) Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Georgetown Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: yes; 3 years TA, 2 years Fellowship Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TA-ship Notification date: 03/01/2001 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: University of British Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Pending Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Sorry, slow to post this one. Excited though - looks like another option which will solves my two-body problem!
  • Institution: Rochester Economics PhD Decision: Accepted? Funding: No idea? Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Got an e-mail with an invitation to visiting day and a second congratulations on admission. I never got any sort of notification the first time around, so I'm just guessing.
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Will get a letter next week Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: University of Colorado - Boulder Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TA+Fellowship Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no
Rejects:
    Rejections: Berkeley ARE, Brown, Caltech, Chicago, Chicago Booth, Duke, Harvard, Minnesota, NYU, Northwestern, Princeton, Stanford, University of Maryland, University of Michigan
  • Institution: University of Minnesota PHD economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Duke PHD economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: University of Michigan Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Chicago - Booth School of Business Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Northwestern University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Guess I picked the wrong week to quit smoking... (Airplane reference for the humorless)
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 (letter dated 3/5) Notified through: post Posted on GC : no Comments: Guess I picked the wrong week to quit drinkin'... (Airplane reference part 2 for the humorless)
  • Institution: Maryland Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/9/2011 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: Princeton Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: Harvard University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/14 Notified through: mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Agricultural & Resource Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/14 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: BU (withdrew), Columbia (withdrew), MIT (eventually
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Please pardon the interruption -- when NYU/Stanford rejects come out, we will return to your regularly scheduled Airplane-based programming.
  • Institution: Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/9/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: BU Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no

aliceav23 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics, Latin American University
Undergrad GPA: 3.9 cumulative, 3.9 Econ, 4.0 Math
Type of Grad: M.A. Economics, same university as undergrad
Grad GPA: 3.7
GRE: 800Q, 560V, 4.0AW
Math Courses: CalcI (A+), CalcII(A+), Linear Algebra (A), Probability (A), Statistics (A+), Numerical Methods (A+)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Microeconomics I (A) Microeconomics II (A) Macroeconomics I (A) Macroeconomics II (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Microeconomics (A+,A,A) Macroeconomics (A,B+,A), Econometrics (B+, A), Finance (A+,A+)
Other Courses: Statistics packages (A+)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 UCLA PhD, 1 LSE PhD, 1 Minnesota PhD, 1 T&A M.A. (head of the economics department)
Research Experience: RA in research center, currently research analyst in governmental institution
Teaching Experience: TA of Microeconomics II (Undergrad) for 3 years, TA of Econometrics II, TA of Microeconomics I and II (graduate level), currently part-time teacher Mathematics for Economists
Research Interests: micro theory, applied micro, IO, game theory
SOP: Standard
Concerns: LORs and the fact that my university is not that known
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Duke, Maryland, BU, Toulouse M2
Waitlists: Brown
Rejections: NYU, Northwestern, Minnesota, UCSD, Carnegie Mellon, CalTech, Cornell, UPenn
Attending: Duke
Comments:
If i had known I wanted this from the start that I wanted a PhD, I would've taken many more math courses in a university close to mine. I actually enjoy math but my university didn't offer RA until last year when I was out. That said, I probably would've applied to a more well known masters, however the students that are coming out of my program now know that they can get into a top 20 US school so that makes me happy.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Duke, Maryland, BU, Toulouse M2
  • Institution: Duke Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TBD Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Happy. I was really scared when I saw the mail.
  • Institution: Maryland University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "We have reviewed your record carefully and believe that there is some probability that we will eventually be able to offer you financial aid" Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: need funding though =(
  • Institution: Toulouse I Second year M2 Economic Theory and Econometrics Decision: Accepted Funding: have to apply for external funding i guess Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: E-mail. Sent an e-mail to Aude to ask if I had been rejected since she told me decisions were going to be made by late February, she said the letter was on its way through snail mail. Posted on GC: No Comments: Need external funding to attend. Really like the department but I'm not really sure.
Rejects:
    Rejections: NYU, Northwestern, Minnesota, UCSD, Carnegie Mellon, CalTech, Cornell, UPenn
  • Institution: UPenn Phd in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Website, checked it after I saw the rejection on TM Posted on GC: No Comments: Sigh...
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Have been checking my status periodically and I finally saw that a decision had been made Posted on GC: Yes Comment: Sucks! I really thought i had a chance here
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: naaaaaaaaaaaaaah
  • Institution: Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2011 (website) 3/10/2011 (e-mail) Notified through: Randomly checked website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Kind of sad
  • Institution: Caltech Social Sciences PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GradCafe: yes Comments: expected...
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: March 22, 2011 Notified through: Official e-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: ='(
  • Institution: Cornell University Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/24/2011 Notified through: e-mail Comments: Finally...
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/02/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: finally!
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Brown
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Wait listed Funding: I think it's yes if admitted Notification date: 3/18/11 Notified through: Email to check Website Posted on GC: yes Comments: short wait list

huxleyms 2011:
Type of Undergrad: Economics + Applied Math, top15 econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.77/4.00
GRE: 800Q 620V 4.0AW
Math Courses: Calc(B+,A-,A+), Vector Calc (A+), Linear Algebra(A), Applied Linear Algebra(B), ODE(B+), PDE(B), Complex Analysis(B), Probability(B), Math Reasoning(A), Real Analysis(B+,A-), Numerical Analysis(A,A,A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Microeconomics(A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Environmental Economics(A, different uni), Intro Microeconomics (A+), Intro Macroeconomics(A), Intermediate Microeconomics (A,A-,B+), Intermediate Macroeconomics(A,A-), Enterprise Finance(A), Financial Markets(A), Econometrics(A,A), Economic Growth(A), Decisions Under Uncertainty(A+)
Other Courses: C/C++(A), Java(A-), honors sections(all A's)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 MIT PhD (took small classes, honors section), 1 Yale PhD (comp. econometrics project), 1 UCLA math PhD (ODE/LA tutor, took classes w/projects )
Research Experience: nothing formal, just independent work in honors sections
Teaching Experience: matlab tutor, mock trial captain?
Research Interests: everything
SOP: long
Concerns: Lots of B's in math, wondering how many an A in grad micro can outweigh, low AWA score. Lack of research experience.
Other: Expect high variance
Results:
Rejected: Chicago, Yale, UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, Brown, Cornell, Johns Hopkins
Accepted: UCSD, Carnegie Mellon, UTexas, UVA
Would do differently: I would have taken fewer math classes and tried to do more economic research. Also, I should have gotten better grades. Overall, I am very happy with my outcome.
Accepts:
    Accepted: UCSD, Carnegie Mellon, UTexas, UVA Would do differently: I would have taken fewer math classes and tried to do more economic research. Also, I should have gotten better grades. Overall, I am very happy with my outcome.
Rejects:
    Rejected: Chicago, Yale, UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, Brown, Cornell, Johns Hopkins
Waitlists:

LUDuckling 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 30 liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 4.0 Economics/Maths/International Relations
GRE: Q 800 V 730 AW 4.0
Math Courses: Calculus, Linear Algebra, ODE, Probability, Math Stat, Real Analysis
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro, Macro, Econometrics, IO, Economic Thought, Development, Money Banking
Letters of Recommendation:professor of grad micro class; econ prof; math thesis advisor - all mentioned my originality & ability to abstract from real world happenings. One talked about I am "one of the most impressive students during his 40+ years of teaching at Harvard & xx university."
Research Experience: RIPS student industrial math research@IPAM; RA; math thesis in game theory
Teaching Experience: TA math & econ for 2 years
Research Interests: micro, behavioral, not really set
Other Experience: Co-founded a company and initiated an int'l summer school; various volunteering experiences, mainly has to do with (re)building houses for poor people(write about in diversity statement)
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Yale, Columbia, NYU, UCB, Chicago, etc.
Waitlists: MIT, UCLA, CMU
Rejections: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Brown, Caltech, etc.
What would you have done differently?
Applying straight from a non-top liberal arts college and with no significant grad course work/ research job, I am very content with my result. I think I really put everything I could reach together. I have no regrets.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Yale, Columbia, NYU, UCB, Chicago, etc.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Brown, Caltech, etc.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: MIT, UCLA, CMU

thewhiterabbit 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: MIT, SB Economics, SB Political Science, LSE study abroad (General Course)
Undergrad GPA: 4.8/5.0 overall and across both majors (converts directly to 3.8/4.0). All 1st class marks on exams at LSE (4.0/4.0).
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 790Q 660V ?AWA
Math Courses: Statistics (AP), Single Variable Calculus (AP BC), Multivariable Calculus (P under P/no record - mandatory for first term), Principles of Econometrics (LSE advanced intro course, known in UK to be very hard, 1st/A), Differential Equations (credit by advanced standing, B), Linear Algebra (audited), Introduction to Analysis (pending, ~60hance A, 40hance B)
Econ Courses (grad-level): International Economics I (A), Politics and Economics (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro (grad Varian, A), Game Theory (A), Intermediate Macro (B), Econ Research (A), Public Economics (LSE: 1st/A), Development (A), Principles of Micro (B), Principles of Macro (A)
Other Courses: Political Science degree, French concentration
Letters of Recommendation: 3 very recognizable names in my field. They all mentor the very top students regularly (since I'm at MIT) so it is somewhat hard for me to gauge strength of two of them. (I feel a little like a medium sized fish in a big pond)
Research Experience: Oodles: part time RA all through undergrad, full time RA since 2007. ~2 years field work. Speak Indonesian fluently. No journal publications. AAA+ Stata programmer. Best thesis award for political science thesis.
Teaching Experience: After school teacher for middle schoolers, test prep.
Research Interests: Development, behavioral, health
SOP: Have a lot of material to work with, will condense three NSF essays
Concerns: The obvious, math preparation. That I haven't had the chance to coauthor (just hasn't been an option) but some other people in RA jobs do. That I've been out of school longer than most people similar to me.
Other: I've done some cool work in technology innovation that is somewhat relevant to economics and which I wrote about for NSF. I'm really happy with my NSF app (and have been told by profs who are historically very honest with me that it was good).
Applying to:
Funding: NSF
Econ: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, NYU, Chicago, LSE, Columbia, Brown, UCLA, Caltech, UCSD, Oxford, BU, UMD, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, UCL, Georgetown, BC
Other: Berkeley (ARE), Stanford (GSB), Chicago (GSB), Harvard (Public Policy), HSPH Economics
Accepts:
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "You have been nominated for a San Diego Fellowship and your file is currently under review at the UCSD Office of Graduate Studies." - came in later email. Notification date: Feb 11 Notified through: email Comments: First result, so I'm happy
  • Institution: London School of Economics MRes/PhD Track 1 Decision: Accepted Funding: "2+2 Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) studentship which provides full fee remission and maintenance support of 18,590 a year for four years subject to satisfactory progress in your studies." Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comment: A welcome bit of news.
  • Institution: Harvard School of Public Health Doctor of Science (SD) in Global Health and Population, Economics track Decision: Accepted Funding: Pending Notification date: 02/18/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Georgetown Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 5 years, $20,000 Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comment: No decision in the online web portal through ApplyYourself, it looks like, only an email.
  • Institution: Harvard Kennedy School of Government Public Policy Decision: Accepted Funding: Full funding with stipend (no dollar amount mentioned) Notification date: 02/28/2011 Notified through: Voicemail Posted on GC: Not yet
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No first year funding Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: tuition waiver, stipend after first year, can discuss stipend in first year if I want to come. Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Oxford MPhil Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Not decided; haven't even been put through college selection yet. Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: Same UK visa problem.
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: They think I will win NSF Notification date: 3/6/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Um. What?
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: $33,000 Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Now I'm really confused.
  • Institution: BU Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No first year funding at all, afterwards tuition + $19k stipend Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: Will decline immediately
  • Institution: University of Maryland Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Full Fellowship Notification date: 03/11/11 Notified through: Email Comments: I emailed for feedback on my file and reasons for rejection, not asking for it to be reconsidered. The response was a full fellowship offer and an apology for never having read my file. Eesh.
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 20.5k stipend +3.5k summer stipend + tuition waiver, health insurance, etc. Notification date: 3/18/11 Notified through: Email to check Website, letter posted Posted on GC: No Comments: Email came at 9:24am EST.
  • Institution: NSF GRFP Decision: Accepted Notification date: 4/5 Notified through: NSF website Posted on GC: no Comments: Really happy, since funding at MIT was still uncertain. For all future years, it seems like there is a pattern where they announce planned server maintenance on Fastlane from 11pm-5am on some day in early April, and upload the results then. The results become available around 2AM.
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/16/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economic Analysis and Policy Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/18/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comment: Was a terrible fit anyways. Also, I'm presuming I'm out at Caltech and Northwestern, but haven't heard officially.
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: As much as people say admissions are random, I am starting to see a distinctly bright line in the rankings of the places where I am admitted and rejected.
  • Institution: Chicago Booth Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No. Comments: Laughed out loud at "Our action is not intended to discourage your interest in further study nor is it a judgment of your overall ability."
  • Institution: Northwestern University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: University of Maryland, College Park Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - NA Notification date: 03/11/2011 Notified through: email
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/12/11 Notified through: Post Comments:Quelle Surprise!
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Caltech wins among my schools for greatest lag between notifying admits and notifying rejects.
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/17/11 Notified through: Unofficial e-mail after I asked about my status Posted on GC: no
Waitlists:

liamc 2011:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics (Quant. Track), Top 30 liberal arts college, minors in Math & CogSci
Undergrad GPA: 3.77
GRE: 800Q 730V 4.0AWA
Math Courses: Honors Calc I-II (A+), Honors Calc III (A-), Honors Lin Alg (A), Probability (A), Real Analysis I (A), Real Analysis II (A-), Mathematical Neuroscience (A), Grad Analysis (B+), Statistics (IP)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Macro Theory I (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Inter. Micro Theory (A+), Quant. Inter Micro Theory (A-), Statistics (B), Quant. Econometrics (A-), Quant. Game Theory (A), Behavioral Economics Seminar (A), Senior Honors Thesis (IP)
Other Courses: Newton's Principia (A)
Letters of Recommendation: All (supposedly) strong from thesis advisor and econ professor, both somewhat famous, and well-known math professor
Research Experience: Worked in a psych lab 2+ years, presented posters at conferences. Did a theory paper independently and presented it at a conference this year.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Game Theory, Neuroeconomics
SOP: Bold statement of an ambitious research project, and general ode to the economics profession
Concerns: Not looking forward to moving
Other:
Applying to: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern U, Brown, CalTech, Cornell, Duke, Wash U St Louis, BU, BC
Accepts:
  • Institution: Wash U. St Louis Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition waiver + $20400 stipend Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: An acceptance at last!
  • Institution: BU Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: tuition + $19k stipend Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: Sweet!
  • Institution: Cornell Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: None Notification date: 3/22/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: That's cute.
  • Institution: CalTech Behavioral and Social Neuroscience Decision: Accepted Funding: no word, but they fund everybody Notification date: 04/14/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Totally psyched!
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: February 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: Didn't want to live in New Haven anyway.
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 2/25/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: no Comments:
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: BC Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: "Honestly, we feel that it is likely that you will receive offers from top schools, and for this reason, we decided not to make an offer to you at this time." That's nice to hear, but it would really have calmed my nerves to get an admiit.
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Damn.
  • Institution: Brown , Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 03/11 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: no Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton , Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 03/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: no Comments: Now, the day-dreaming ends and the planning begins.
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/12/2011 Notified through: snail mail Posted on GC : no Comments:
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: I was told earlier that I was on the waitlist with "slim" chances of admission, so not too surprising.
Waitlists:

zorro12 2011:
Type of Undergrad: Group of 8 Australia
Double Major: Economics / Mathematics
Undergrad GPA: 3.79 (converted)
Exchange GPA: 3.33 (top 10 economics)
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 790Q 660V 4.0AW; 770Q 690V 4.0AW
Math Courses: calculus, linear algebra, optimisation theory, discrete mathematics, ODEs, PDEs, applied mathematics
Econ Courses: micro (up to 4th yr), macro (up to 4th yr), econometrics (up to 4th yr), game theory, law and economics, industrial org, international finance
Letters of Recommendation: I assume they will be positive
Research Experience: honours thesis
Teaching Experience: 1st year micro and macro
Research Interests: micro, game theory
Concerns: (1) If I'd seen the results forums from last year before I'd applied I would have applied to some lower ranked universities. (2) Exchange GPA. (3) 770 on the quant section of my 2nd attempt at the GRE.
Applying to: Berkeley, Brown, CalTech, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, MIT, Northwestern, NYU, Princeton, Stanford, UCSD, UIllinois, UPenn, WUSTL, Yale
Comments: Implicit rejection from CalTech
Accepts:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics (PhD) Decision: Accepted Funding: Waiting listed Notification date: 2/23/2011 (Chicago) Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Very excited. I hope some people decline their funded offers.
Rejects:
    rejection from CalTech
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments: 1st official rejection In: nowhere Out: Yale, CalTech (I assume) Waiting: 14 others
  • Institution: Upenn Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: February 24, 2011 Notified through: via website Posted on GC: yes In: Northwestern (none) Out: Penn, Yale, CalTech Waiting: 12 others
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes In: Northwestern (none) Out: Yale, Penn, Berkeley, and I assume also CalTech, Harvard and Johns Hopkins Waiting: 9 others
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : yes Comments: In: Northwestern (none) Out: CalTech, Yale, Penn, Berkeley, MIT and I assume also Harvard, Stanford, Maryland, Johns Hopkins, WUSTL, NYU Waiting: UCSD, Princeton, Brown, UIUC
Waitlists:


Waitlists:
Admit summary statistics:
As submitted and recoreded from Test Magic:
There were 5 accepted out of 14 applicants.Of those accepted, average GPA was 3.77, average GREQ was 797.5.
No link to department posted statistics has been added, please let me know if these exist and I will add them.

Links:
Test Magic Econ Forums
econphd.econwiki.com
Last Updated: 14:58:1, Fri May 11, 2012