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HeyNomad 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small but highly regarded liberal arts college. Degree: BA, Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.91 in major, 3.89 overall
Type of Grad: Large state school (highly ranked within the field). Degree: MA, Education
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 720Q/800V/5.0W
Math Courses: Embarrassingly little. Just one semester of calculus, stats (A in both)
Econ Courses: The usual macro & micro (the latter was very math intensive), urban political economy, international trade, history of economic though, Marxism, various seminars (all A's, with a B+ in intermediate micro))
Other Courses: Some math-intensive physics and environmental science courses
Letters of Recommendation: Very strong and personal recommendations from three profs who know me very well, including one who was a graduate of UMass and pretty well known, as far as heterodox people go
Research Experience: All in econ: independent study, grant-funded student/faculty collaborative research project, honors thesis (presented at an undergraduate conference/paper competition where it won 1st place in macroeconomics category)
Teaching Experience: TA and/or tutor for several intro/intermediate micro/macro courses, taught high school econ (for whatever that’s worth—probably not much)
Research Interests: History, philosophy, & methodology of economics, political economy, public economics, comparative economic systems
SOP: Emphasized my strengths while acknowledging my shortcomings; talked about how I’ve worked to overcome them (a great deal of self-directed study in math). Emphasized research and teaching experience, originality of thesis. Made a case for my research interests as unique and worthwhile, and successfully (I assume) presented myself as a potential asset for the department.
Other: College honors, department honors, Phi Beta Kappa, award in economics presented annually by the college
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UMKC ($$), Denver U (M.A.) ($), New School (meh), UUtah ($$), UMass Amherst ($$ + fellowship)
Application withdrawn: LSE philosophy and economics (I always knew LSE was both a long shot and impractical for other personal reasons; once I got an offer from UMass in mid-February, I decided to bail on LSE)
Waitlists: NA
Rejections: UC-Riverside
Attending: UMass Amherst
What would you have done differently? UMass was by far my top choice, not just within the set of departments I applied to. I received a TA/Instructorship, plus a University Fellowship for at least the first year, which grants a larger stipend and frees me from teaching obligations, so I’m pretty pleased overall. Nonetheless, I do wish I had taken more math as an undergrad (at the time, I didn’t expect to be going on in economics). I had been very sick for several days when I took the GRE, which is what I'm blaming my low quant score on. I guess I was risk-averse and chose not to retake. I’m still not sure that was a good decision, but it didn’t hurt me, so oh well. If I'd gotten my act together, I would have applied to more UK/Continental schools.

metalearn 2011:
Institution: The New School
Program: MA Economics
Decision: Admitted
Funding: -25% Tuition (I wasn't expecting any scholarship from New School)
Notification date: 3/14
Notified through: Mail
Posted on GC: No
Comments: Still need to hear from three other programs (2 MA, 1 PhD). I've heard The New School is supposedly stingy with scholarship and funding, so I am happy to receive any aid from them towards a master's degree.
Haven't heard from: NYU MA, CUNY PhD, Boston MA