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:

revilo 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top Australasian University, BA/BE(Hons) in Economics and Engineering Science (Operations Research)
Undergrad GPA: 7.8/9 on my university’s scale (about 3.8 on US scale)
Type of Grad: Same university, BA(Hons) in Economics, MA in Economics
Grad GPA: 8.25/9 on my university’s scale (about 3.88 on US scale)
GRE: V 164, Q 167, AWA 5 (on third attempt...)
Math Courses: Engineering Maths 1-3, Real Analysis 1-2, Measure Theory, Functional Analysis
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro Theory 1-2, Macro, Econometrics, Energy Economics
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro, Macro, Econometrics, Trade, Game theory, Environmental, Financial Economics
Other Courses: 4 Grad operations research courses, 3 grad statistics course (inc time series and probability theory), Some other engineering stuff
Letters of Recommendation: Emeritus Professor at Northwestern, Head of Department, Thesis Supervisor
Research Experience: 1.5 years of RA work on electricity markets for two different professors includes co-authoring two papers. One summer of RA work on nutrient trading schemes. Honours Dissertation on climate change IAM modelling.
Teaching Experience: Two semesters introductory micro, Three semesters introductory macro, One semester introductory programming for engineers
Research Interests: Applied Micro, IO
SOP: full of typos!
Concerns: a smattering of crappy grades
Other: Semester on exchange to Hong Kong
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UChicago (attending), Columbia, UC Berkeley ARE, U British Columbia, U Toronto
Rejections: Stanford, Yale, Northwestern, NYU, Penn, Michigan, Duke, Maryland
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UChicago (attending), Columbia, UC Berkeley ARE, U British Columbia, U Toronto
  • Institution: UChicago Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 23k Fellowship Notification Date: 2/29 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: yea, Chicago!
  • Institution: UBC Economics Decision: Accepted. Funding: ? Notification Date: March 1 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Yay for Canada!
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Accepted! Funding: Full Funding Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: NEW YORK,NEW YORK- FRANK SINATRA - YouTube
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Agricultural and Resource Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ??? Notified: 14/3 Notified through: Unoffical Email Posted on GC: No
Rejects:
    Rejections: Stanford, Yale, Northwestern, NYU, Penn, Michigan, Duke, Maryland
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 23 Feb Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 29 Feb Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Duke University Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/5/2012 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: University of Maryland Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/7/2012 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:

DGSE 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Public, unranked PhD program
Undergrad GPA: 3.9
Grad: same
GRE: 650V, 800Q, 6.0
Math Courses(undergrad-level): CalcII,III, IV (B+, A+, A), Intro to Proofs (A), Linear Algebra(A+), ODE(A), Probability (B+), Intro to RA (A), Stats (A), Prob. II (A), Stat II (A), RA I (A)
Econ Courses(undergrad-level): Intro Micro,Macro(A,A), Intermediate Micro,Macro(A+,A), intro stats (A+), enviro econ (A+), Labor (A), Math econ (A), Trade I (A+), Trade II (A+), Directed Research (A, A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro TheoryI,II (A-,A), Math Econ (A-), Metrics(A), Metrics II (A)
Letters of Recommendation: One was my advisor for my thesis, another was my Micro I prof, and the last I RAed with and took graduate classes from
Research Experience: RAed a summer and a semester with one professor. Did a thesis. Not sure if it helped, but I interned under a govt. economist
Research Interests: Development, risk, political economy, labor (my main interest is in development)
SOP: nothing special just communicated my research interests
Results:
Accepted: UPenn (very high waitlist for funding--declined), Berkeley ARE ($, off waitlist), Cornell ($$$), Vanderbilt ($$$$), Maryland ARE ($$$$), Georgetown ($$), USC ($$)
Waitlisted: UVA (declined)
Rejected: MIT, Princeton, JHU, PSU, Maryland Econ, Michigan, Wisconsin
Attending: UC Berkeley ARE
What I would have done differently?
I had way too many safeties (USC, Georgetown, Maryland ARE). I kind of wish I'd applied to Duke, Columbia and NYU. I have the usual, "I wish I knew when I was a freshman", but my results are nothing to complain about, and if I'd really wanted to shoot for the top 10 I could've been more patient and done a European/Canadian masters.
Comments:
My interests also changed even during the short time while I was applying (I lost interest in growth and grew interested in political economy). I was surprised I got into UPenn, but not even a waitlist from places like PSU or Wisconsin, which should be easier than its ranking indicates since it has such a large class size. UPenn apparently with its large class size and tough comps doesn't mind taking chances on people from nowhere like me.
Accepts:
    Accepted: UPenn (very high
  • Institution: UC Berkeley ARE PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: ? Notification Date: 2/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: not yet (maybe never) Comments: Whaaahuuu!!!! My first offer and I feel like dancing.
Rejects:
    Rejected: MIT, Princeton, JHU, PSU, Maryland Econ, Michigan, Wisconsin
Waitlists:
    waitlist for funding--declined), Berkeley ARE ($, off waitlist), Cornell ($$$), Vanderbilt ($$$$), Maryland ARE ($$$$), Georgetown ($$), USC ($$) Waitlisted: UVA (declined)

devmicro 2012:
Long time lurker, first time poster...
Institution: Wisconsin AAE
Program: PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: University fellowship - full funding for 1st and final year + 18.8k; RA opportunities for middle years
Notification Date: Feb. 20
Notified Through: Phone
Posted on GC: Yes
Comments: Probably not where I'll end up going, but super excited - it's the first place I've heard from!
Accepts:
  • Institution: Wisconsin AAE Decision: Accepted Funding: University fellowship - full funding for 1st and final year + 18.8k; RA opportunities for middle years Notification Date: Feb. 20 Notified Through: Phone Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Probably not where I'll end up going, but super excited - it's the first place I've heard from!
  • Institution: UBC Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TBD Notification Date: March 1 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Official notification + funding info to follow. Nice to get an admit after a slew of rejections!
  • Institution: Cornell Decision: Admitted Funding: Sage fellowship/guaranteed RA/TA positions for 5 years (can be replaced with NSF funding) Notification date: 3/30/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: Said they were going to reject me, and then saw the NSF results. Excited! This dominates my other offers.
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: NSF + 25k for final 2(3) years Notification date: Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: UMD Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: NSF + ? for final years Notification date: Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Berkeley Agricultural & Resource Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: NSF + fellowship for final 2 years Notification date: Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Attending! Super excited.
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Bummed. I was excited about this one.
  • Institution: Stanford GSB PE PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: Checked website (no e-mail) Posted on GC: No Comments: Not surprised.
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Dream school.
  • Institution nstitution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:

Marshall 2012:
Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Program: Ph.D. Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N.A.
Notification Date: 3/7/2012
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Comments: It's a strange world we live in when this rejection actually comforts me. I didn't really want to go there since I'd heard about their attrition, and after getting in with funding elsewhere this only helps set my mind at ease that I didn't apply to too few high ranking schools.
Accepts:
  • Institution: UC Berkeley ARE Decision: Accepted Funding: ???? Notification by: email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "Five-year financial aid package" Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Muahahaha.
  • Institution: Cornell Econ Decision: Admitted Funding: ~27.5k 1st year fellowship & 23k year 2-5 + guarantee of RAship in 2nd or 3rd year Notified: 3/19 Notified through: email Comments: Made turning down schools yesterday very easy . P.S. it seems they did read my SOP, and actually commented back on it in the letter.
Rejects:
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/7/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: It's a strange world we live in when this rejection actually comforts me. I didn't really want to go there since I'd heard about their attrition, and after getting in with funding elsewhere this only helps set my mind at ease that I didn't apply to too few high ranking schools.
  • Institution: John Hopkins University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 5 minutes ago Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Who do you think I am? Of course not. TM all the way. Comments: They said they only admitted 5%. Wow. Well I already have an offer but I am curious why they rejected me.
  • Institution: Princeton Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: No surprise here.
  • Institution: Maryland Econ Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notified: 3/9 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Bummed
  • Institution: PSU Econ Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notified: 3/8 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Surprised. I thought after I got into UPenn I'd for sure get into PSU. Weird...
  • Institution: UMichigan Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification: 3/15 By: email Posted on GC: no comments: not surprised, and now there's just one more left
Waitlists:
  • Institution: University of Virginia Econ Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notified: 3/7 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Since I've already got an admit I'm happy with I really want to reject their decision. Maybe I will send them a letter "I must regretfully inform you that your decision to waitlist me has been rejected. Better luck next year"

ydxydx 2012:
Institution: Michigan
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Waitlisted
Funding: N/A
Notified: 3/13/12
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Hope it will work out in the second round!
Accepts:
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Agricultural and Resource Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ? Notified: 14/3 Notified through: Unoffical Email Posted on GC: No
Rejects:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: -- Notified: 14/3 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Michigan Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notified: 3/13/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: Hope it will work out in the second round!


Rejections:

resource 2012:
Type of Undergrad: BA, Economics, English -- liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.6
Type of Grad: MS, Economics -- Top 50 Econ
Grad GPA: 3.1
GRE: 166Q / 165V / 5.5A
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Discrete Math, Linear Algebra, Intro Stat, Math Stat I-II.
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I-II (PhD), Macro I-II (PhD), Econometric Theory I (PhD), Applied Microeconometrics (PhD), Env. & Resource Econ (PhD), Agri. Prod & Supply (PhD)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): All of them.
Letters of Recommendation:
(1) Exceptional, MS thesis co-adviser, very well-published in Env Econ.
(2) Exceptional, MS thesis co-adviser, among top students in his Env Econ course, very well-published in Env Econ.
(3) Exceptional, UG adviser, served as his TA, took 3 courses with him, not well-known.
Research Experience: 3 working papers, 1 paper published in conference proceedings, MS Thesis (will be submitted to field journal co-authored with letter of recommendation writers 1&2), Summer RAship with well-known environmental economist at mediocre econ department, UG honors thesis. Several presentations (1 of them at a good field conference). Co-investigator on $40k grant for applied work in my field.
Teaching Experience: TA in UG for Principles of Micro, Environmental Econ, and Market Experiments.
Research Interests: Environmental and Resource Economics, Applied Econometrics.
SOP: Discussed research and faculty with whom I'd like to work.
Concerns: C+ in Ph.D. Macro. Failed macro prelim.
Other: Fellowship at graduate institution. MS Thesis won interdisciplinary award.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Maryland AREC ($$ -- originally waitlisted for funding), Wisconsin AAE ($$), Georgia State ($$)
Rejections: Duke, Duke UPEP, Berkeley ARE, Davis ARE, Cornell AEM, Yale FES, Oregon
Attending: Maryland AREC
What would you have done differently? Nuthin' -- I had fun.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Maryland AREC ($$ -- originally waitlisted for funding), Wisconsin AAE ($$), Georgia State ($$)
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison Ph.D. Agricultural and Applied Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TBD in next stage Notification Date: 2/17/12 Notified through: Informal email from grad secretary (I had had contact with her about my application prior) Posted on GC: No Comments: Official notification to come next week. Very excited.
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison Ph.D. Agricultural and Applied Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: $20.4k RA -- guaranteed for 5 years Notification Date: 2/17/12 (unofficial); 2/27/12 (official) Notified through: Email from faculty with whom I'd be working. Posted on GC: No Comments: Gee willikers, Batman!
  • Institution: University of Maryland - College Park Agricultural and Resource Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Waitlisted for assistantship Notification date: Pi day Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no, [edit: yes] Comments: Zoinks, scooby! Just when I thought my decision was being made for me...
  • Institution: Georgia State University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: RA 18k/year Notification date: 03/15/12 Notified through: Checked website status after seeing decisions posted on here; received official email with funding info later on Posted on GC: Sure Comments: Good environmental and experimental faculty. Nice to have a pure econ admit, but I don't think I'll end up here (but significant funding could change that...).
Rejects:
    Rejections: Duke, Duke UPEP, Berkeley ARE, Davis ARE, Cornell AEM, Yale FES, Oregon
  • Institution: Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/8/2012 Notified through: email to check web Posted on GC: No Comments: Expected.
  • Institution: Duke University Environmental Policy (UPEP) Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/1 Notified Through: E-mail to check web. Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: University of Oregon Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Well, this is humbling.
  • Institution: Duke University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: As if!
  • Institution: Cornell Applied Econ and Management Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notified: 3/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: Wisconsin gets sunnier every day
  • Institution: University of California at Berkeley Agricultural and Resource Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/20/2012 Notified Through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: No Comments: Exact same rejection letter as I got in 2009, word for word.
  • Institution: UC Davis Ag and Resource Economics Decision: Rejected from "waitlist" Funding: n/a Notification date: 4/4/12 Notified through: I emailed for a status update, DGS responded with the notification Posted on GC: No Comments:
Waitlists:
  • Institution: UC Davis Agricultural and Resource Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist (the unofficial, unclear, uninformative waitlist, that is) Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/16/2012 Notified Through: I called the grad coordinator Posted on GC: No Comments: Was told: "The reason you haven't been rejected yet is that your application received very high marks." yada, yada, yada, we'll be in contact if an offer opens up. "Oh, and BTW, the grad director will be in South America for the next two weeks, so don't expect a decision anytime soon." Had to post for some closure on TM. Will be waiting to hear about UMD funding and UCD admission. All in all, a successful year in my book.

greenrebelette 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in International Studies and Chinese, Minor in Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.95
Type of Grad: MA in Economics at top 20 Econ Department, PhD-Track
Grad GPA: 3.49
GRE: Q800, V720, AW5.5
Math Courses: Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Advanced Calculus, Probability
Econ Courses: Econometrics I & II at PhD level, lots
Other Courses: first course in Stat PhD sequence
Letters of Recommendation: 1 excellent (well-known economist), 1 great (unknown instructor), 1 excellent (from political scientist), 1 of unknown (and suspect) quality.
Research Experience: 1 paper, presented at a conference & published on conference website
Teaching Experience: TA for Master’s level class, TA for introductory Chinese course
Research Interests: Environmental Economics, International Economics (Trade)
SOP: Told it was excellent by several profs
Other: none
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Michigan Econ, UMD AREC, UC Davis ARE, MSU AFRE, Ohio State AEDE, Duke UPEP, Iowa State Econ, Wisconsin AAE
Waitlists: Michigan Econ (originally)
Rejections: UC San Diego Econ, Harvard PEG, Brown Econ, Cornell AEM, Berkeley AREC, Georgetown Econ
Attending: Michigan Econ
What would you have done differently? Figured out what kind of career I wanted (in an econ dept or ARE dept) BEFORE I applied!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Michigan Econ, UMD AREC, UC Davis ARE, MSU AFRE, Ohio State AEDE, Duke UPEP, Iowa State Econ, Wisconsin AAE
Rejects:
    Rejections: UC San Diego Econ, Harvard PEG, Brown Econ, Cornell AEM, Berkeley AREC, Georgetown Econ
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Michigan Econ (originally)

Pburg 2012:
Type of Undergrad: US, top 30
Undergrad GPA: 3.8 (3.9 econ, 3.6 math)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q 167 V 161 AWA 5.5
Math Courses: Calc II and III (A-, B+), Lin Alg (B+), Intro to Proofs (B), Math Stats (A-), Applied Stats (A), Bayesian Stats (B+), Diff Eq (A-), Nonlinear ODE (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Analysis (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Principles of Micro, Macro (A-, A), Hon Intermediate Micro, Macro (A, A-), History (A), Intro & Intermediate Econometrics (A-, A), IO (A), Math for Econ (A), Information (A), Regulation/Antitrust (A)
Letters of Recommendation: good to great, from Stanford, Michigan, and UCLA econ PhDs
Research Experience: summer RA, kind of light
Teaching Experience: TA 4 semesters
Research Interests: applied micro
SOP: average
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Wisconsin ($), Vanderbilt ($$)
Waitlists: UVA (withdrawn)
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Yale, Northwestern, UCSD, Cornell, Duke, Penn State, UC Berkeley ARE
Attending: Wisconsin
What would you have done differently? Better math grades. If I had developed an interest in econ sooner, I might have avoided some mediocre grades and snagged a couple more research opportunities.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Wisconsin ($), Vanderbilt ($$)
  • Institution: Vanderbilt econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: First year fellowship + TAship Notification date: 2/9/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: how nice
  • Institution: U. Wisconsin-Madison Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification date: 2/26/2012 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
Rejects:
    Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Yale, Northwestern, UCSD, Cornell, Duke, Penn State, UC Berkeley ARE
  • Institution: Duke Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: randomly checked website, no email Posted on GC: no Comments: no interview
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: UVA (withdrawn)

michicon 2012:
Have benefitted a lot from this forum, finally time to contribute
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top-10 Liberal Arts College, BA in Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.4/4.0, Major GPA 3.5/4.0
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 166Q, 151V, 4.5 AW
Math Courses: Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, Math Models
Econ Courses: Micro Theory, Macro Theory, Econ Stats, Regression, Applied Econometrics, Econ Development, Public Finance
Other Courses: Some Sociology courses
Letters of Recommendation: Should have been pretty strong, fairly well known economists in their fields. Have publications in the pipeline with all of them
Research Experience: Honors in undergraduate thesis, three papers in the works, (almost) three years of full time RA experience in development economics, one summer of research internship.
Teaching Experience: TA/grader for undergraduate regression class
Research Interests: Development (Health, Education, Migration), Labor, Public Finance
SOP: Fairly standard. Talked about field experience from a developing country
Other: A fair bit of volunteer experience
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Michigan ($, attending), BU ($ 2nd year onwards, declined)
Waitlists: Maryland (rejected)
Rejections: Chicago, Northwestern, Harvard, Princeton, NYU, Columbia, Berkeley ARE, LSE, Brown, Duke
Pending: None
What would you have done differently?
I wished I realized earlier in my undergrad that I wanted to do a PhD. Until junior year, I thought I wanted to be a development practitioner and not a researcher. Would have worked much harder and taken more Math courses. Given my credentials, I aimed a bit too high, but then I was betting on a strong set of LoRs. Fortunately, it paid off.
Advice for future applicants with similar profile(s): Get an RA job for a few years, work hard and get some solid recommendations out of it
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Michigan ($, attending), BU ($ 2nd year onwards, declined)
Rejects:
    rejected) Rejections: Chicago, Northwestern, Harvard, Princeton, NYU, Columbia, Berkeley ARE, LSE, Brown, Duke
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Maryland (

smartcookie 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in Quantitative Economics (summa cum laude) with minors in Mathematics and Political Science from a large state university (top 100 university)
Undergrad GPA: 3.7 (overall), 3.9 (econ), 3.5 (math)
Type of Grad: PhD- and MA-level non-degree-seeking coursework
Grad GPA: 3.7
GRE: Q800/V570/A5.5
Math Courses: Calc I, II, and III, Linear Algebra, Probability Theory, Statistics, Abstract Math, Real Analysis; 1 semester of MA-level Statistics (Casella and Berger) for credit (A-)
Econ Courses (grad-level): PhD-level Microeconomic Theory (MasColell, Whinston and Green) for credit (A-)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Micro and Macro, Intermediate Micro and Macro, International Finance, International Trade, Development Economics, Mathematics for Economists, Econometrics (I & II), Honors Thesis Seminar (I & II)
Other Courses: lots of Political Science (honors) and Spanish
Letters of Recommendation:
1. Department chair and honors thesis advisor;
2. PhD-level Microeconomic Theory professor;
3. Current employer (prominent health economist).
Research Experience: Senior honors thesis (summa cum laude), 6 m as an undergraduate RA for NBER project, 3 yr as Senior Research Assistant for the federal government, and 1.5 yr as Research Associate for health economics think tank
Teaching Experience: undergraduate tutor in Economics and Mathematics
Research Interests: Applied micro with an emphasis on behavioral economics, health & nutrition, and agricultural economics
SOP: need to write my SOP
Concerns: I graduated from university 4 years ago and will be somewhat older (27) than most applicants; relatively low GRE Verbal score; could have taken a few more math courses (Topology, Differential Equations, Number Theory, etc.)
Other: Economics publications (including some under review at peer-reviewed journals)
Applying to: Yale, Stanford, Berkeley & Berkeley ARE, Harvard, Cornell, Maryland, Michigan, Johns Hopkins, Chicago, and others (likely 15-18 programs)
Accepts:
  • Institution: University of Colorado at Boulder Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TA + fellowship, tuition, and health insurance Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Home sweet home!
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "Five-year financial aid package" Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: YIPPEEE!!!
Rejects:
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified Through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified Through: Webpage Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Duke Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified Through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: Comments: I expected this after not being invited for an interview, but it hurts nonetheless.
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/7/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Expected
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Harvard Health Policy, Economics Phd Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: University of Maryland Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified Through: Website (testudo.umd.edu) Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Noticiation Date: 3/15/2012 Notified Through: email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/16/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted to GC: No
  • Institution: Boston University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: University of California at Berkeley Agricultural and Resource Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/20/2012 Notified Through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health Health Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: n/a Notification Date: Posted to application portal 2/10/2012 Notified through: Application portal Posted on GC: No Comments: I am disappointed, but I know that the department has funding for only two PhD students.
  • Institution: University of Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: NA Notification date: 2/29/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: "In a normal year, I would be offering you admission and financial aid at this time. Due to the economic realities of the current year, however, we must place you on a short wait list." Thank goodness for some good news!


Waitlists:

DGSE 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Public, unranked PhD program
Undergrad GPA: 3.9
Grad: same
GRE: 650V, 800Q, 6.0
Math Courses(undergrad-level): CalcII,III, IV (B+, A+, A), Intro to Proofs (A), Linear Algebra(A+), ODE(A), Probability (B+), Intro to RA (A), Stats (A), Prob. II (A), Stat II (A), RA I (A)
Econ Courses(undergrad-level): Intro Micro,Macro(A,A), Intermediate Micro,Macro(A+,A), intro stats (A+), enviro econ (A+), Labor (A), Math econ (A), Trade I (A+), Trade II (A+), Directed Research (A, A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro TheoryI,II (A-,A), Math Econ (A-), Metrics(A), Metrics II (A)
Letters of Recommendation: One was my advisor for my thesis, another was my Micro I prof, and the last I RAed with and took graduate classes from
Research Experience: RAed a summer and a semester with one professor. Did a thesis. Not sure if it helped, but I interned under a govt. economist
Research Interests: Development, risk, political economy, labor (my main interest is in development)
SOP: nothing special just communicated my research interests
Results:
Accepted: UPenn (very high waitlist for funding--declined), Berkeley ARE ($, off waitlist), Cornell ($$$), Vanderbilt ($$$$), Maryland ARE ($$$$), Georgetown ($$), USC ($$)
Waitlisted: UVA (declined)
Rejected: MIT, Princeton, JHU, PSU, Maryland Econ, Michigan, Wisconsin
Attending: UC Berkeley ARE
What I would have done differently?
I had way too many safeties (USC, Georgetown, Maryland ARE). I kind of wish I'd applied to Duke, Columbia and NYU. I have the usual, "I wish I knew when I was a freshman", but my results are nothing to complain about, and if I'd really wanted to shoot for the top 10 I could've been more patient and done a European/Canadian masters.
Comments:
My interests also changed even during the short time while I was applying (I lost interest in growth and grew interested in political economy). I was surprised I got into UPenn, but not even a waitlist from places like PSU or Wisconsin, which should be easier than its ranking indicates since it has such a large class size. UPenn apparently with its large class size and tough comps doesn't mind taking chances on people from nowhere like me.
Accepts:
    Accepted: UPenn (very high
  • Institution: UC Berkeley ARE PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: ? Notification Date: 2/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: not yet (maybe never) Comments: Whaaahuuu!!!! My first offer and I feel like dancing.
Rejects:
    Rejected: MIT, Princeton, JHU, PSU, Maryland Econ, Michigan, Wisconsin
Waitlists:
    waitlist for funding--declined), Berkeley ARE ($, off waitlist), Cornell ($$$), Vanderbilt ($$$$), Maryland ARE ($$$$), Georgetown ($$), USC ($$) Waitlisted: UVA (declined)
Admit summary statistics:
As submitted and recoreded from Test Magic:
There were 5 accepted out of 11 applicants.Of those accepted, average GPA was 3.90, average GREQ was 800.0.
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: 14:58:10, Fri May 11, 2012