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:

OutOfGame 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.96
Type of Grad: Part-time student at a top 5
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: Q800/ V580/ AWA 5.5
Math Courses: Calc, Modeling, Linear Algebra, Intro to Proofs, Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, Measure Theory, Functional Analysis, Topology, Abstract Algebra, Combinatorics, Number Theory, Probability, Stats, Stochastic Processes, Math Problem Solving
Econ Courses: Principles, Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, Finance, Game Theory, Accounting, Econometrics, PhD Econometrics
Other Courses: Intro to CS, Data Structure, Algorithms, Data Mining
Letters of Recommendation: 3 research supervisor (top young professors in econ / finance), 1 PhD Metrics professor (department chair at top 5), 1 undergrad professor (took 3 classes with, and TAed for).
Research Experience: ~2 years full time RA at top 5
Teaching Experience: TA for intermediate macro
Research Interests: using empirical methods to answer macro / finance questions; IO
SOP: professors say it's very good
Other: rejected by all top 10 schools two years ago
RESULTS:
Attending: MIT
Acceptances: MIT, Harvard, Stanford GSB, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Berkeley, Chicago, NWU, Columbia, NYU, Booth (finance / joint), Sloan (finance)
Waitlists: Penn, Wharton (finance), Michigan
Rejections: None
Never heard back after interview: Stern (finance)
Accepts:
    Attending: MIT Acceptances: MIT, Harvard, Stanford GSB, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Berkeley, Chicago, NWU, Columbia, NYU, Booth (finance / joint), Sloan (finance)
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economic Analysis and Policy Decision: Accepted Funding: Standard package Notification Date: 2/17/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Yale Decision: Accepted Funding: Will come in by mail Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check online status change Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Booth Finance PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 35K Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: coming by mail Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: phone Comments: Happy
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: ?? Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: phone call Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: MIT Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification date: 2/27/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 34k Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Will come by email soon Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition + stipend + summer funding etc Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email
  • Institution: Sloan Finance Decision: Accepted Funding: 32k Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email
  • Institution: Princeton Econ Decision: Admit Funding: ~30k Notified: 3/7 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no
Rejects:
    Rejections: None
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Penn, Wharton (finance), Michigan
  • Institution: Penn Economics Decision: Waitlisted Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • 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."
  • Institution: Wharton Ph.D. Finance Decision: Wait listed Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Michigan Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notified: 3/13/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments:

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:

econsd 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BSc in Economics with a Business Minor
Undergrad GPA: 3.731
Type of Grad: MSc in Economics from same school
Grad GPA: 4.00
GRE: First try: 740Q,410V,4.5AWA Second try: 158Q,152V,4.0AWA
Math Courses: Intro to Prob and Stats (Calc Based) (A), Cal 1-3 (B,B,A), Differential Equations (B), Elementary Logic and Sets (Intro to Proofs) (A), Matrix Algebra (A), Linear Algebra (B), Real Analysis (A), Statistics 2 (A)
Grad Econ Courses: Marketing Research (A), International Econ (A), Industrial Organization (A), History of Econ Thought (A), Labor Econ (A), Advanced Micro (A), Research Methods (A), Time Series Econometrics(A), Advanced Macro (A), Econometrics (A)
Econ Courses: Principles of Micro (A), Principles of Macro (A), Marketing (A), Money and Banking (B), Inter Micro (A), Inter Macro (A), Public Finance (A), Math Econ (A), Stats II (Econ Department) (B)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: Grad advisor and 2 from Grad professors. All are from top 50 schools or very close but are not well known in researching or publications. I believe all were very strong.
Research Experience: Graduate Thesis, Co-Author with a professor ( Published ), class: Research Methodology in Applied Econ, Conference Presentation w/ thesis advisor
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests: Health Economics/Applied Micro
SOP: I spent a lot of time on this because of setbacks in my profile and modified it for each school
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UK($), UGA($), FL St. ($), CO(-), NCSU(?), OR(?), Kansas($), WA St($), IUPUI($), OR St.(?), MO(-)
Waitlists:
Rejections: WI-Madison, Duke, VA, Vandy, MSU, AZ, UNC Chapel Hill, Purdue
Pending: 1
Attending: Emory ($)
What would you have done differently? The weaknesses, in my opinion, in my application were my GRE score and my undergraduate/MSc university. I wouldn't have transferred based on friends, relationships, and a co-authorship. The only thing I would have done differently is study more for the GRE instead of taking its impact so lightly. If you would have told me I had a choice between 12 acceptances at the beginning of the cycle I wouldn't have believed it. I'm thrilled with my results and very excited to attend Emory. Thanks for everyone who was there to talk it out in tiny chat for the past few months and good luck with your programs.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UK($), UGA($), FL St. ($), CO(-), NCSU(?), OR(?), Kansas($), WA St($), IUPUI($), OR St.(?), MO(-)
  • Institution:North Carolina State University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: ? Notification date: 2/9/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Comments: This is a good start and helps calm the nerves.
  • Institution: Washington State Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Assistantship Notification Date: 2/10/2012 Notified through: Admission: Mail, Funding:E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: University of Kentucky Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TA + Fellowship Notification Date: 2/14/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Comment: Happy Valentines Day
  • Institution: University of Missouri - Columbia Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: None available at the moment, will notify after April 15th if funding becomes available. Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Down to 16 pending..
  • Institution:Emory Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Assistantship Notification date: 2/27/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: I had a blast at the fly-out and I'm very excited I have this as an option.
  • Institution: IUPUI Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Assistantship Notification date: 2/28/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: This program began in fall 2010. It matches my health research interests perfectly. However, it is new so I can not research placement/ranking/etc.. If anyone has opinions or comments about this program please message me.
  • Institution: Oregon State Applied Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Will notify me if funding becomes available Notification date: 3/6/12 Notified through: Email Comments:
  • Institution: University of Oregon Economics Ph.D. Decision: Accepted Funding: Still reviewing for funding decisions Notification date: 3/6/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Looking forward to hearing about funding.
  • Institution: University of Colorado at Boulder Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No first year funding, 2nd year+ funding if proper grades Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Would have been another good option if there was first year funding
  • Institution: University of Kansas Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: First year fellowship, the following four years either TA/RA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: University of Georgia Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: $16,667 Assistantship + 3k scholarship (but $1,095 in fees each semester and no health insurance) Notification Date: 3/16/2012 Notified Through: E-mail Posted to GC: No Comments: I'm glad to have this as an option but the fees and health insurance issue brings this offer less then most of my other offers.
  • Institution: Florida State University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 19k per year (4 years) + 3k scholarship first year. Notification Date: 3/18/2012 Notified Through: email Posted to GC: No Comments: Time to start making some big decisions
Rejects:
    Rejections: WI-Madison, Duke, VA, Vandy, MSU, AZ, UNC Chapel Hill, Purdue
  • Institution: Vanderbilt Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 2/10/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Comments:
  • Institution: University of Virginia Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/12 Notified through: Checked Website (no email) Posted on GC: No Comments: I figured but I had to try
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Wisconsin Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/7/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Michigan State University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: March 26 Notified through: I emailed them asking about my status. The official letters will come out in 2-4 weeks. Posted on GC: No Comments: 4 schools left...
  • Institution: University of Arizona Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: March 26 Notified through: I emailed them asking about my status. The official letters will come out in 2 weeks. Posted on GC: No Comments: 3 schools left...
  • Institution: Purdue University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 4/18/12 Notified through: email Comments:
  • Institution: UNC - Chapel Hill Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 4/15/12 at 11:30 pm Notified through: email Comments:
  • Institution: Michigan State Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 4/26/12 Notified through: email Comments: well... the only use for this post is +1 in post count
Waitlists:
    Waitlists:

george 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Double major: Math/Econ from a top 50 us.
Undergrad GPA: 3.95 (4.0 Math/Econ)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q: 170 V: 166 AWA: 4.5
Math Courses: Calc I-III high school, Real Analysis 1-2 (A), Linear Algebra 1-2 (A), Abstract Algebra 1-2 (A), (A), Combinatorics (A), Number Theory (A), Topology (A), Graph Theory (A), Algebraic Topology grad (A), Combinatorics grad (A), Functional Analysis grad (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): MicroTheory 1-3 (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro(A), Macro (A), Principles Micro (A), Principles Macro (A), Labor Economics (A), Crime Economics (A), Game Theory (A), International Econ (A), Research seminar (A), Econometrics (A).
Other Courses: Symbolic Logic (A).
Letters of Recommendation: 2 that are very well known, and 1 that is brilliant, all very strong.
Research Experience: Did research in both math and econ
Teaching Experience: TA for a math course
Research Interests: Micro, applied micro, risk
SOP: awesome.
Concerns: Strength of undergrad institution
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Brown, Penn off wl, Chicago off wl, UCSD, Columbia.
WL: Chicago, Duke, Penn
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, Berkeley, Princeton
What would you have done differently?
I got brought in and told the reasons for my poor results at one of the schools, and he said it was all institution. All you have to do though is take a couple years off and ra with someone famous, if youre in this position but I want to head straight to grad school plus new york is pretty swanky.
Attending: Columbia
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Brown, Penn off wl, Chicago off wl, UCSD, Columbia. WL: Chicago, Duke, Penn
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: no 1st year Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: yea
  • Institution: Brown Ph.D. Economics Decision: admitted Funding: that weird first year thing Notification Date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: I think its weird that Ive been an on the cusp applicant at such a range of schools I think what that means is Im risky or something.
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Phd Decision: Accepted Funding: No mention Notification date: 03.14.2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: 3 am like the rest
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, Berkeley, Princeton
Waitlists:

roadvirusss 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 5 Liberal Arts College
Majors: BA Math, BA Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.94/4
GRE: 800Q, 610 V, 6.0 AW
Math Courses: Linear Algebra (A-), Vector Calculus (A), Cryptography (A-), Combinatorics (A), Intro to Analysis (A), Differential Equations (A), Real Analysis I (A-), Real Analysis II (A), Probability Theory (A), Statistical Theory (A), Complex Analysis (A), Abstract Algebra I (A), Operations Research (A), Topology (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Macro (A-), Intro Micro (A), Empirical Methods (A), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), International (A), Energy Economics (A), Econometrics (A), Game Theory (A), Advanced Micro (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Econometrics I (A-)
Research Experience: Departmental honors for theses in both majors; Math thesis will be published. Did econ and math research during undergrad summers.
Research Interests: Applied Micro, IO
SOP: Spent no time on fluff; focused on a particular project.
Letters of recommendation: Four active Harvard PhD economists.
Concerns: Did poorly when I applied two years ago (Profiles and Results 2010).
Work Experience: Two years working as an RA at a top 5.
Results:
Accepted: Princeton, Northwestern, Chicago Booth, Columbia, UCLA, UCSD, Wisconsin, Duke
Waitlists (all declined): Penn (vh), NYU, Michigan
Rejected: Wharton (Interviewed), Yale, Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, GSB, Chicago, Stern, HBS, Cornell
Never Heard from: UW
Attending: Princeton
What would you have done differently?
Nothing. I was very well informed about the process this time around. I'm definitely happy with my results, and in the end the decision between Princeton and Northwestern was a tough one. It was odd that the only Top 7 I got into was the one worst in IO even though my SOP was spent entirely on an IO topic. My decision to take two years off was in the end vindicated, even though I largely slacked off during this time and at one point almost gave up on the PhD route. I can't help but be an advocate of the liberal arts college -> RA -> PhD route, as the improvement in rec letters alone earned me a jump from the top 25 to the top 5.
Accepts:
    Accepted: Princeton, Northwestern, Chicago Booth, Columbia, UCLA, UCSD, Wisconsin, Duke
  • Institution: Booth Econ Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 35k Notification Date: 2/23/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Shocked!
  • Institution: Duke Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 19k Notification Date: 2/28/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 26.5k Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: UCLA Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: I need to ask for it? Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Withdrawn
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 22k Notification Date: 3/5/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Wow!
  • Institution: Princeton Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 30k Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Absolutely stunned.
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 19k Notification Date: 3/14/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Declined
Rejects:
    Rejected: Wharton (Interviewed), Yale, Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, GSB, Chicago, Stern, HBS, Cornell
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/17/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/23/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Disappointed...
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/5/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution:NYU Stern - Econ Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notified: 3/12 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics PhD Decision: Rejected (Interviewed) Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/16/2012 Notified Through: E-mail to check website. Posted to GC: No Comments: Didn't take it as a good sign that my interviewer never got back to me with the follow-up emails he promised. My results have had a pretty high variance so far.
  • Institution: Cornell Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 4/4/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: NSF waiting list?
Waitlists:
    Waitlists (all declined): Penn (vh), NYU, Michigan
  • Institution: Penn Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/24/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/6/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Waitlist size is "in the tens."
  • Institution: Michigan Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notified: 3/13/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments:

EconBeach 2012:
Profile.
Accepts:
  • Institution: North Carolina State University Economics-PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Don’t know yet, but feeling confident. Notification date: 2/2/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Not sure. Comments: First notification of the season! Excited.
  • Institution: University of Missouri, Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No funding at this time. Decisions regarding funding will be made after Apr 15th. Notification date: 2/27 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Dont know Comments: Would be nice if offered funding.
  • Institution: SUNY Buffalo Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TBD Notification Date: 3/7/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Not sure Comments: Did anyone say wings?
Rejects:
  • Institution: UCSB Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Nope Notification Date: 2/6/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Don’t know Comments: Sucks! Oh well…
  • Institution: Rutgers Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 2/23 Notified through: Checked website Posted on GC: Don’t know Comments: Whatever…On to the next.
  • Institution: Penn State Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/7/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Not sure Comments: Bummer!
  • Institution: UT Austin Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Not sure Comments: Long shot. Disappointing but expected! Would've loved living in Austin.
Waitlists:
  • Institution: WUSTL -Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: NA Notification date: 2/15 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Not sure Comments: Fingers Crossed!
  • Institution: UC Irvine Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: NA Notification Date: Feb 22 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: ?? Comments: Invited to their meet and greet day!

molamiu 2012:
Type of Undergrad:Double major (Econ & Stats) - Top 20ish US univ
Undergrad GPA: 4.0
Type of Grad: Msc in Stats
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 800Q, 800V, 4.0
Math Courses: A couple of Calculus courses, DiffEq, Matrix Algebra, lots of Prob & Stats courses (undergrad & grad level),
Letters of Recommendation: 1 very well-known Econ Prof (Senior Honors Thesis advisor), 1 Stats Prof (Master advisor), 1 supervisor from work - should all be strong
Teaching Experience: 3.5 years of TAship
Research Interests: macroeconomics, monetary
SOP: Should be strong - spent quite sometime
Concerns: No real analysis, 5 year-gap between college and Phd
Applying to: Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Columbia, NYU, CMU, Brown, INSEAD
Accepts:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition + stipend + summer funding etc Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: i am sooooo happy
Rejects:
Waitlists:

LUDuckling 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Well-respected liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.99 Economics/Maths
GRE: 730/800/4.0
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
Research Experience:REU; RA; math thesis
Teaching Experience: TA math & econ for 2 years
Research Interests: micro, behavioral, not really set
Applying to: H, HBS, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Stanford GSB, MIT, Columbia, NYU, JHU, UMD, Brown, UCLA, CIT, Cornell, CMU, Berkeley, NW, Chicago
Accepts:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Letter to follow Notification date: 2/22/2012 11:38am Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: NO Comments: Oh my god! So happy and so relieved!
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition + stipend + summer funding etc Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email (Advance notice) Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: University of Maryland, College Park Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 20k TAship Notification date: 03/05/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Sage fellowship, detail below Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: Although the decision is given out late and I probably will decline anyway. I am impressed by Cornell's super personalized decision letter and the nice presentation of stipend information. I also hope this information will help future generation of applicants to Cornell: consider tailor your interest to specific faculty in the department. Cornell was my last decision. My first one from Yale was also a positive note. So technically, I have been awarded offer from the beginning to the end. Thanks go to TM for first letting me know how inadequate I was (second half of my Junior year I think), giving me a clear vision and defined direction, ah! as well as ample community support. As an graduating int'l student from a "good but not great school" (20+ ranking liberal arts college, "note from the demand side") without formal RA experiences, I would have been shut out if not for learning from TM. Deepest and earnest thanks again! and best luck to everybody! Screen shot 1: about RA Screen shot 2: About stipend
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 24k without teaching obligation; 4k first 2 summers Notification Date: 3/3/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: repost for update in funding.
Rejects:
  • Institution: Stanford GSB EA&P PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: Checked website the posts at TM Posted on GC: No Comments: The program turned out to be smaller than I expected.
Waitlists:
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: Notification Date: 2/28 Notified Through: Email (with pdf attachment) Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No

sba 2012:
Institution: Caltech
Program: Social Sciences PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: fee waiver +28k $ stipend
Notification date: 1/29/2012
Notified through: email, then phone
Posted on GC: no
Comments:
Accepts:
  • Institution: Caltech Social Sciences PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: fee waiver +28k $ stipend Notification date: 1/29/2012 Notified through: email, then phone Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Stockholm School of Economics Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: 14 000 SEK per month, +TA stipend from 2nd year Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Upenn Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: waitlisted for first year, guaranteed from second year Notification: 2/24/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: University of Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: none for first year, 23k+3k summer from second year Notification: 2/29/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: I have external funding, so I am very happy
  • Institution: Stockholm School of Economics Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: 1300SKE/month, plus RA compensation from 2nd year Notification: 2/24/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: I declined the offer
  • Institution: University of British Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: info coming with official letter Notification: 2/29/12 Notified through: Unofficial E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Admitted (off of waitlist) Funding: 25,300 + 4,000 summer stipend Notification date: 03/21/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Stanford GSB PE PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: checked website Posted on GC: Comments:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification: 2/24/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
Waitlists:

ededo 2012:
Institution: Ohio State
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: ??? needs to find out
Notification date: 02/08/2012
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: No
Comments: I need to send GAO some financial forms follow on. This makes the following weeks much easier ^_^.
Accepts:
  • Institution: Ohio State Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ??? needs to find out Notification date: 02/08/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: I need to send GAO some financial forms follow on. This makes the following weeks much easier ^_^.
  • Institution: Tinbergen Institute MPhil in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: no funding for the first year Notification date: 2/24/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: Glad to get in my safety!
  • Institution: UPenn Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Yes! This is just great!!!
  • Institution: Wisconsin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification: 2/26/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: NO Comments: Glad to know the result on weekend!
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: full tuition, health insurance, stipend Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: email
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: no 1st year funding Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: email
  • Institution: Michigan State Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: email
  • Institution: LSE MRes\PhD Econ Track 1 Decision: Accepted Funding: 18k Notification date: 3/5/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: NO Comments: Unexpected! Glad get in
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Guess miracle doesn't exist. Still it hurts a bit. Congrats to all those got accepted!!!
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: No Comments: hate myself by checking the website. should just wait a few days more and keep myself happy...
  • Institution: UChicago. Econ PhD. Decision: Rejected. Funding: - Notification Date: February 29. Notified Through: E-mail. Posted on GC: No. Comments: A whole new day begins with a rejection...
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: rejected Funding: - Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: email to check website
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Not a surprise. Long shot anyway. Congrats to all got admitted!
Waitlists:

chengchengjia 2012:
Institution: University of Wisconsin - Madison
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Waiting for first year funding, TA or RA in 2-4 years
Notification date: 2/22/2012
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Comments: This one makes me feel better after Yale's rejection...
Accepts:
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin - Madison Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Waiting for first year funding, TA or RA in 2-4 years Notification date: 2/22/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: This one makes me feel better after Yale's rejection...
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Accepted! Funding: None for first year, full funding for 2-5 years Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: I cried for 10 mins...SO HAPPY!!!
Rejects:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Really doesn't matter since I dont like west coast and I've got Columbia!!!
Waitlists:

7ien 2012:
Institution: Queen's
Program: MA Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: n/a
Notification date: 4/2/12
Notified through: email
Posted on GC: No
Comments: Same thing with waitlist.
Accepts:
  • Institution: Boston University MA in Global Development Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: None Notification date: 4/2/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: not attending... really love the city and the program though!
  • Institution: Vanderbilt University MA in Economic Development Decision: Accepted Funding: 75% tuition scholarship (notified on 3/23) Notification date: 2/29/12 (the admission letter was dated 2/29, but I didn't get an email until 3/7) Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: didn't expect to get any funding from them
  • Institution: Simon Fraser University MA in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ~16k of TAship Notification date: 3/17/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: University of British Columbia MA in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: partial tuition waiver Notification date: 3/20/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Queen's MA Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 4/2/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: Same thing with waitlist.
Waitlists:


Rejections:

MathEcon12 2012:
Since it seems like the season is coming to an end for some TMers, and because last year's thread was also started on the second Saturday of March, I think it's a good time to get the annual Profile and Results Thread started.
I'll take a page out of Italos' playbook and quote asquare's post from the 2009 thread:
"This thread is meant to be a reference thread only. Please fill out the information below, but post any comments or questions in a separate thread. Other comments will be deleted from this thread. Note that you can only edit your posts for about one hour after you make them. This means that if you are still waiting on admissions decisions, you should wait to post your profile on this thread. Otherwise, your profile will be incomplete."
Without further ado,
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad:
Undergrad GPA:
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE:
Math Courses:
Econ Courses:
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation:
Research Experience:
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests:
SOP:
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Waitlists:
Rejections:
Pending:
What would you have done differently?
Accepts:
    admissions decisions, you should
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Accepted? Funding: No first-year tuition waiver; no stipend. TA/RA yrs 2-4. Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Whoooooaaaaaaa! (But I fear I have now lost the "Chron Award")
  • Institution: Boston University Econ Decision: Admitted Funding: Only years 2-5. Notification date: March 12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: Official decision to come in the mail.
Rejects:
    Rejections:
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/22/2012 Notified through: Email to check website. Posted on GC: No Comments: On to the next one...
  • Institution: Stanford GSB EAP PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: Checked website (no e-mail) Posted on GC: No Comments: Expected after all the admits were notified last Friday.
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: I don't like Philadelphia anyways.
  • Institution: UC-Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: 0 for 4 - starting to freak out.
  • Institution: Chicago-Booth Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/28 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Sad face emoticon.
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29 Notified Through: Checked website at 1:30 a.m. EST Posted on GC: No Comments: Sincerely, thanks for the heads up gemmy.
  • Institution: UChicago Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: February 29 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: 0 for 7...
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: February 29 Notified through: Email to check website. Posted on GC: No Comments: ...0 for 8.
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Used to it by now...
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Coach Krysheckweiskschki was one of my letter writers, wtf?
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Darn it! I loved the first Mighty Ducks movies and wanted to reshoot it with my fellow Twin City dwellers.
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notified: 3/13 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: Absolutely not.
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/16/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted to GC: No Comments: Had plenty of time to prepare for the inevitable.
  • Institution: Harvard Business School Business Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/16/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted to GC: No Comments: Letter dated March 9, 2012
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Glad this is my last post in the Admissions and Rejections thread.
Waitlists:
    waiting on
  • Institution: University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: 18K stipend + health/dental insurance if admitted Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Want this soo bad!

delimitless 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 60 Economics UG
Undergrad GPA: 3.75 (3.85 math & econ)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 790Q/640V/5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc series; Linear Algebra; UG Analysis; Grad Analysis I; Grad Topology I-II; Dynamical Systems
Econ Courses: Grad Macro; Grad Micro; Grad Metrics; standard UG classes
Other Courses: Philosophy minor
Letters of Recommendation: Grad Macro Professor; two economists at regional fed where I worked
Research Experience: 2 Years at Regional Fed. Couple co-authored papers in the works. Felt this was instrumental to my intent/results
Teaching Experience: Tutoring and Grading at UG
Research Interests: Macro, Labor, Computational
SOP: Customized for a little while then just got lazy and sent the same one
Other: good to be moving on
RESULTS:
Acceptances: NSF; UPenn(after NSF); UCLA($); Ohio State($$)
Waitlists: Maryland (Accepted after NSF); WUSTL
Rejections: Yale; Northwestern; NYU; Chicago; Stanford; Minnesota; Columbia; Duke
Pending:
Attending: U Penn
What would you have done differently? Probably would have customized my SOP a bit more. It just got so dull. Second-guessing the past is easy...I guess work harder in UG is the easy answer; but I wasn't so sure that I wanted a PhD at that time.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: NSF; UPenn(after NSF); UCLA($); Ohio State($$)
  • Institution: Ohio State Univ. Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Not decided yet Notification date: 2/3/2012 Notified through: Website status Posted on GC: No Comments: Nice to know it won't be a shutout. Thx to Smmoo's post for letting me know I should look.
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 4 year fellowship Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Agree with Peot, vague language for the funding. Word fellowship is mentioned, but unclear whether it's in addition to tuition and health insurance.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Yale; Northwestern; NYU; Chicago; Stanford; Minnesota; Columbia; Duke
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Maryland (
  • Institution: Maryland Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: "some probability" Notification date: 03/08/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: the term "some probability" makes me laugh

Econfan 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics from a top 10 liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.53 (3.1 freshman year, 3.8 sophomore-senior years)
Type of Grad: Non-degree math coursework at a top 10 math department
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 790 Q, 670 V, 4.5 AW (New Scoring: 164 Q, 164 V)
Math Courses: Undergrad: Calc II electives (C+/B), Linear Algebra (B), Calc III (A), Diff Eq (A), Analysis (B), Bridge to Advanced Math (A-), Probability (B+) Grad: Probability (A-), Linear Algebra (B)
Econ Courses: Econ Principals (A-), Intro Macro (A), Intermediate Macro (A-), Econ Stats (A-), Intermediate Micro (A), Intro Econometrics (A), International Econ (A), Advanced Macro (A), Thesis (A-/A), Advanced Econometrics (A), Advanced Micro (W)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 economics professors from undergrad, one of whom I was very close with (RAed, TAed, thesis adviser); economics professor at a top 50 econ department who's active in research (top 50r something on IDEAS)
Research Experience: RA for two summers for a professor in college doing labor research; senior thesis; worked for 3 years at a top econ consulting firm after graduation
Teaching Experience: TAed for Intro Macro and Intro Econometrics during undergrad
Research Interests: IO, ???
SOP: Pretty standard; I didn't personalize it by department.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Wisconsin ($), UT-Austin ($)
Waitlists: UVA (withdrew)
Rejections: Penn, Northwestern, Duke, NYU, Columbia, Maryland, Brown, Michigan, Wharton (after interview), Cornell
Attending: Wisconsin!!
There were plenty of things I would have done differently (not withdrawing from advanced micro, not taking analysis while taking 5 classes, working 2 jobs, and interviewing for jobs senior year), but there is one thing I definitely wouldn't have done differently. I made the decision to take a consulting job over a job at the Fed after college, knowing that it wouldn't be as good for my application, because it felt like a better fit. It turned out to in fact be a great fit for me, and I've grown from the experience in a lot of ways that have made me better prepared for grad school. My advice from this is that you should definitely make sure you have everything you need to get into grad school (math, research, etc.), but you shouldn't base all of your decisions on getting into grad school, because it may be the thing you do that doesn't help your resume that may indirectly make you better a better student in grad school or a better researcher later in life.
Despite the painfulness of the process, I'm very happy with the end result. I can't say there weren't times when I wished I'd never heard of this forum (for example, when I was neurotically checking posts at 2 am), but I'm glad this great group of people was hear to take away some of the pain from the horror that is economics phd applications.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Wisconsin ($), UT-Austin ($)
  • Institution: UT Austin Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: website, checked after saw reddavies post Posted on GC: Yes Comments: MY FIRST ADMISSION!!! THIS BETTER BE REAL
  • Institution: Wisconsin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification: 2/26/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Extremely excited and surprised. I didn't even apply by the funding deadline!
Rejects:
    Rejections: Penn, Northwestern, Duke, NYU, Columbia, Maryland, Brown, Michigan, Wharton (after interview), Cornell
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments: At least it's finally official, still 12 more to come...
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: FINALLY!! Oh well, I'm not too disappointed, I wouldn't have gone there anyway.
  • Institution: Cornell Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 4/4/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: In the words of microtheory1227: Took long enough. Already accepted an offer elsewhere.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: UVA (withdrew)
  • Institution: University of Virginia Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: 20k TAship if admitted Notification date: 03/06/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Sounds like I'm in if I want to go

laca 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Econ from top 10 US, top 5 econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.77/4.00
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: 800Q 690V 4.0AWA
Math Courses: Honors Calculus I-III (A,B-,A), Real Analysis I-III (A-,B+A-), Math Probability (A-), Stat Methods/Theory (A-)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Price Theory I (B), Social Interactions and Inequality (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate micro (A-,A), intermediate macro (A,A-), game theory (A-), IO (A), honors metrics I-II (B+, A), macro modeling (B+), reading/research (A,A)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 1 econ, 1 finance, 1 accounting prof, all highly regarded in their field. I have RAd for at least a year for each, two of them have seen me in a classroom setting as well. Coauthored an unpublished working paper with two of them. They all reassured me that the letters would be strong.
Research Experience: 1 year undergrad RA, 1.5 year as full time researcher at highly ranked business school.
Teaching Experience: for a short while I tutored math to freshmen in college
Research Interests: applied micro
SOP: Nothing too exciting.
Concerns: Math grades could be stronger; GRE AWA could be better. Hoping that research experience and strong LORs will compensate for it.
Other: Some poli sci electives and required college core courses
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Chicago Booth finance ($$), Chicago ($), Stanford GSB political econ ($$), NYU Stern finance ($$), UCLA ($)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Berkeley, Brown, Columbia GSB finance and econ, Cornell, Harvard, Kellogg finance, MIT, NYU, Princeton, Stanford, Yale
Attending: Chicago Booth finance
What would you have done differently?
Overall, I am very happy with my results, although I was really not expecting the composition of the acceptances to be so tilted towards finance instead of econ - I originally applied with the expectation that I would end up at an econ program. I think that the take home point is that recommendations matter; having two biz school recs provided me with excellent results at other business schools, but possibly doomed my applications at econ departments. So in hindsight I should have added an additional econ recommender. I also wonder a bit if I somehow messed up my econ sop, despite the fact that I have much less familiarity with finance research topics.
However, I am quite excited to take a step outside of my comfort zone, and learn about a whole new field!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Chicago Booth finance ($$), Chicago ($), Stanford GSB political econ ($$), NYU Stern finance ($$), UCLA ($)
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Political Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Standard package Notification Date: 2/17/12 Notified through: phone Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Amazing.
  • Institution: Booth Finance PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 35K Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: NYU Stern Finance PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Don't know yet, but assume full funding Notification Date: 2/28 Notified Through: Unofficial email from professor Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: UChicago. Econ PhD. Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship (23k + 3k summer) Notification Date: 2/29 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: I finally have a pure econ acceptance!
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
Rejects:
    Rejections: Berkeley, Brown, Columbia GSB finance and econ, Cornell, Harvard, Kellogg finance, MIT, NYU, Princeton, Stanford, Yale
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 12.22.2012 Notified through: Checked website after posts here. Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: February 22 Notified through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: No Comments: Although I always thought it was a long shot, it's still disappointing; was my top choice without question.
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Like Peot, this just about wraps up the season for me. I am a tad ambivalent about the results - I was hoping for more econ and received (apart from Chicago) a bunch of finance and PE instead. Suppose a little career shift might not be so bad. Conclusion: unless your coursework clearly conveys you're a genius, who writes your recs will make it or break it.
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/15/12 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/20/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted to GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/21/2012 Notified Through: E-mail Posted to GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia Business School Finance and Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 03/21/12 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Cornell Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 4/4/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Whatever.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists:

Blerg 2012:
Thanks, TM community for being such a valuable resource. I was a lurker, but I'll submit my results for posterity and such. All of the results below are what was put on my applications, i.e. the first 6 semesters of college.
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Flagship Public (Top 5 math, Top 10 econ)
Undergrad GPA: 3.63
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q/680V/5AWA
Math Courses: Intro Bus. Stats (A-)/Calc III (B+)/Linear Algebra (B)/Discrete Math (A-)/Numerical Analysis (B)/Probability (A)/Intro to Analysis (B)/Linear Algebra (B+)/Stochastic Processes (A)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A-)/Intermediate Macro (A)/Transition Economics (B-)/Mathematical Economics (A-)/Econometrics (A)/International Trade (A-)/Advanced Microeconomics (A)/Development (In Progress as of Fall)/International Monetary Econ (IP as of Fall)/Thesis (IP as of fall)
Other Courses: N/A
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from the guy who taught me mathematical economics/1 from a guy I was a RA for/ 1 from the guy who taught advanced micro, with whom I also wrote my thesis. All are well respected Microeconomists who are still publishing
Research Experience: Several semesters as RA for various profs, Was writing my thesis while applying
Teaching Experience: N/A
Research Interests: Development, Micro
SOP: Cookie cutter, nothing special at all
Other: I had been worried about that 1 really bad grade on an econ class, as well as my rather average grades in math classes
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UCSD (ATTENDING!) (full tuition, 25% TAship first year, 50% after), BU (Nothing first year, full tuition and ~18k TAship years 2-5)
Waitlists: UCLA (I asked to be removed)
Rejections: NYU, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Michigan, Penn, NW, Chicago, UCB, Columbia, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Cornell, Brown
Pending: N/A
What would you have done differently?
Let me count the ways...The main point would have just been doing better in classes. I don't know that I could have gotten A's in all of those classes, as the math department is very competitive and very bright, but I'm sure I could have bumped Bs up to B+s, etc. Writing a thesis was key, as I think it got my by far my best letter of rec. I also would have lowered my expectations, and applied to some lower ranked schools.
Regardless, I am ecstatic with my outcome. La Jolla is going to be glorious.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UCSD (ATTENDING!) (full tuition, 25% TAship first year, 50% after), BU (Nothing first year, full tuition and ~18k TAship years 2-5)
Rejects:
    Rejections: NYU, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Michigan, Penn, NW, Chicago, UCB, Columbia, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Cornell, Brown
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: UCLA (I asked to be removed)

backtowork 2012:
Type of undergrad: BA in Econ and Math from non-HYP Ivy
Undergrad GPA: 3.94/4.00
GRE: 800Q/710V/5.0W
Math courses: honors calc (B), honors linear (A), honors ODE I and II (A, A), operations research (A), statistical inference (B), information theory (A), real analysis (A+), grad stochastic processes (A-)
Econ courses (all undergrad): intro (A), micro (A), macro (A), health (A), int'l (A), financial institutions (A), corp finance (A), honors econometrics (A), economic growth (A), theory of general equilibrium (A), public econ (A), Labor (1st-taken at an oxbridge), Political Econ (1st-taken at an oxbridge)
Other courses: mostly random poli-sci
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from my thesis adviser (not well known). 1 from my former boss as an intern at the Fed Board (pretty well known, but I only worked there for a couple months and he didn't know me all that well). 1 from my current boss at regional fed who is somewhat well known and knows me quite well.
Research Experience: thesis, a little RA work in UG, internship at the Fed BoG, currently an RA at a Fed Bank. No publications.
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interest: Macro, labor, IO, pretty much open to anything
SOP: eh
Other: elected phi beta kappa junior year, magna cum laude, honors;
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Penn (wl for funding, asked to be removed), UCLA ($$$), Princeton($$$)
Waitlists: Minnesota (asked to be removed)
Rejections: NYU, Harvard, HBS, MIT, Stanford, Stanford GSB, UC Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern, Chicago, Columbia,
Attending: Princeton!
What would you have done differently?
I would have decided during college that this is what I wanted to do and made an effort to work with some of the big name professors at my UG institution. I was very fortunate to get such favorable results without having done so. After going through the whole admissions process, it has become abundantly clear that it's all about the letters; not just what's in them, but also who writes them. Not that your letter writers have to be famous or anything, but they need to be well-connected. Looking at my admissions results, the process looks almost random (rejected from Columbia, accepted at Princeton?), but in fact my results were quite predictable; if one of my letter writers personally knew someone on the admissions committee, I was accepted. If they did not, I wasn't. Simple as that. So my advice to the next generation of applicants is the same that has been given all over this board: LETTERS ARE EVERYTHING! If I had followed that advice a little earlier, I might have cracked the Harvard/MIT barrier, but Im certainly not complaining!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Penn (wl for funding, asked to be removed), UCLA ($$$), Princeton($$$)
Rejects:
    Rejections: NYU, Harvard, HBS, MIT, Stanford, Stanford GSB, UC Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern, Chicago, Columbia,
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Minnesota (asked to be removed)

chatlunatique 2012:
Type of undergrad: BA in Econ, minor in Math, from large public school in the midwest (top 60 econ)
Undergrad GPA: 3.85/4.00
GRE: 170 Q /160 V /6.0 AWA
Math courses: Multivariate calc (A), Vector calc (A), Diff EQ (A), Linear Algebra (A), Real Analysis (A+; taken at Ivy)
Econ courses: Econometrics I-II (A,A), Honors thesis (A), Financial econ (A), Trade (A), Development (A), Seminar in Monetary econ (A), Seminar in trade/devo (A), Statistical analysis (A), Intermediate Macro/Micro (A,C+), Intro Macro/Micro (A,A+)
Other courses: Some African studies, some French, others from across the humanities/social science spectrum
Letters of recommendation: 2 from professors who I have managed field research projects for in the past 2 years (I am co-authoring a paper with one; both are junior but fairly well known in their sub-fields and earned their PhDs from top programs). 1 from undergrad professor who I took two classes with and excelled.
Research experience: UG thesis; 6 months RA at a regional Fed; 2 years RA managing research projects in an African country; co-authoring paper with one of my current bosses.
Teaching experience: 2 semesters TA for Intro to Micro
Research interest: Development, IO, Personnel, Micro
SOP: Talked about my research interests and how they developed, and explained my grade trajectory.
Other: Phi Beta Kappa, Summa cum laude, econ departmental honors
RESULTS:
Acceptances: NSF ($$$$), HBS Bus-Ec ($$$$), Stanford ($$$$), LSE ($$$), Northwestern ($$$), UCSD ($$$), UCLA ($$$), Duke ($$), Michigan ($$), Maryland ($$)
Rejections: Harvard econ, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Stanford GSB, Chicago, Chicago GSB, Columbia, Columbia GSB, NYU, NYU Stern, Penn, Penn Wharton, UCL, Berkeley, Brown
Attending: HBS!
What would you have done differently?
Nothing? I’m thrilled with my acceptances, and managed to get into my top 2 choices, even with such high variance in outcomes. Above all else my results show that even with a shaky and unfocused first couple years of undergrad, it is possible to get into good programs. I did not take any math or serious econ courses until my fourth year of university, and ended up overcoming some poor early grades (including a C+ in intermediate micro) to finish strong in my last two years, and then go on to earn RA positions where I was able to work with top economists on research that fascinated me. Should be a fun few years ahead!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: NSF ($$$$), HBS Bus-Ec ($$$$), Stanford ($$$$), LSE ($$$), Northwestern ($$$), UCSD ($$$), UCLA ($$$), Duke ($$), Michigan ($$), Maryland ($$)
  • Institution: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Decision: Accepted Funding: Standard NSF package Notification date: 3/30 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Pretty awesome.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard econ, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Stanford GSB, Chicago, Chicago GSB, Columbia, Columbia GSB, NYU, NYU Stern, Penn, Penn Wharton, UCL, Berkeley, Brown
Waitlists:

reddavies 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA/BS International Affairs and Economics, Math minor at top 50 U.S.
Undergrad GPA: 3.92
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 168Q, 164V, 5.0AWA
Math Courses: Calc III (A), Linear Algebra (A), Intro to Proofs (A), Computing in Math (A), Math Finance (A), Real Analysis (A-), Math Stat I-II (A,A)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A), Game Theory (A), Economics of Crime (A), Money and Banking (A); Taken Abroad: Public (1st), Econometrics (1st), Dynamic Optimization (1st), International (1st), Advanced Macro (1st)
Other Courses: C/C++ (A), plus a bunch for my international affairs major that probably aren't relevant
Letters of Recommendation: two economics professors, one stat professors. Think they were okay.
Research Experience: one semester RA, the work wasn't very technical though
Teaching Experience: N/A
Research Interests: Applied Micro (education, crime, etc.)
SOP: okay, definitely could have been better
Other: Studied abroad for a year in the UK
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Duke ($$), Cornell ($$), UT Austin ($), Brown (no $)
Waitlists: Penn (eventually rejected off the list)
Rejections: NYU, Yale, Caltech, UCLA, Michigan, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, Berkeley, UCSD, Northwestern
Attending: Duke!
What would you have done differently?
Hard to say. I'm really happy with my results. Personally, I wish I had dropped my international affairs major and done just econ and math, but I'm not sure that would have necessarily helped my profile. I went into the process thinking it was almost all about the math background you had, but I think more and more that your letters and research background count for a lot more. I think schools look at fit as well. The schools I got into seemed to fit me really well and a few that I thought I'd get into but didn't, turned out not to fit me all that well. Also, I wish I had been more active in finding research opportunities. My results might have been better if I took a year or two offer to work as an RA, but honestly I really want to move straight into the PhD and Duke is an amazing place with great placements so I'm really happy with how things turned out.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Duke ($$), Cornell ($$), UT Austin ($), Brown (no $)
  • Institution: UT Austin Economics Decision: admitted Funding: no idea? Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: website, decided to check to see and saw the admission Posted on GC: No Comments: No word on funding and never got an email, but it's great to finally have an admission!!!
  • Institution: Duke Economics Phd Decision: Admitted Funding: $18K + other stuff Notification date: 2/28/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Yay!!!!!!
  • Institution: Brown Economics (technically an MA for the first-year. If I pass, then I enter into the second-year of the PhD.) Decision: Accepted Funding: No first-year funding, TA-ship next years Notification date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: A little confused on the offer, but really excited to get another admit!
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 5 Year Funding Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: E-mail Posted to GC: No Good to finally be done!
Rejects:
    rejected off the list) Rejections: NYU, Yale, Caltech, UCLA, Michigan, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, Berkeley, UCSD, Northwestern
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Things are looking bleaker...
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 29 Feb Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: No Comments: bummer...
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Shouldn't have been surprised I guess, but still...
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Thought I had a chance
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Kind of expected it :-(
  • Institution: University of California, San Diego Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notified: 3/13 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: UMich Economics PhD Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/15/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comment: Looks like it's going to be Duke!
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/21/2012 Notified Through: E-mail Posted to GC: No
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Penn (eventually
  • Institution: Penn Economics Decision: Waitlisted Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: I hope, I hope, I hope...

fina 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top Canadian School
Undergrad GPA: 4.25/4.33
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q800/V770/AW5.0
Math Courses:Calculus I (A level), Calculus II (A+), Advanced Calculus I(aka honours vector calculus, A), Vector Calculus II(A), Matrix Algebra (A+), ODE (A+), RA I (A), Number Theory (A)
Econ Courses: Intro Micro&Macro (A level), Honours Intermediate Micro I&II (both A+), Honours Inter Macro I&II (A, A+), Maths for Econ (A+), Intro Econometrics (A), International Finance (A+), Environ Econ (A), Econ Transition (A-), Grad Econometrics (A+), Game Theory (A+), International Macro (A-), Trade Theory (A-), Market Structure [aka IO] (A+), Tax (A+)Other Courses: languages, literature classes, all A+
Letters of Recommendation: One from a young professor, one from well-known labour economist, one from well-know micro theorist, all know me well personally
Research Experience: Honours Thesis, senior research
Teaching Experience: tutor for intro and intermediate econ contracted by department; grader for maths
Research Interests: micro theory/IO/Policy
SOP: Standard
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Wisconsin($), UT Austin($), UCSD($), Minnesota($), Cornell($), Brown
Waitlists: Michigan, UPenn, CMU, NYU
Rejections: Yale, Princeton, Northwestern, Columbia
Pending: Toronto (what the hell....)
Attending: Wisconsin!!!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Wisconsin($), UT Austin($), UCSD($), Minnesota($), Cornell($), Brown
  • Institution: Wisconsin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification: 2/26/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Nice to have somewhere to go~~~~~
Rejects:
    Rejections: Yale, Princeton, Northwestern, Columbia
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Michigan, UPenn, CMU, NYU

dbeef 2012:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 US University, econ + math double major.
Undergrad GPA: 3.82 (3.83 econ, 3.58 math)
Type of Grad: 3 math field courses, and a masters/advanced undergrad micro theory course; additional econ field course at a top 10 program while working.
Grad GPA: 3.62
GRE: 163Q, 163V, 5.5AW
Math Courses: Random undergrad (calc, odes, etc... mostly As), Analysis (B), Algebra (B-), Probability theory (B+), Grad complex w/ some functional (A-), Other grad math (A,A-)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Labor (A), Micro(B-), Asset pricing (A-)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate micro and macro (A+,A+,A), metrics (A-), some other honors courses (As)
Other Courses: Some chem and physics + some businessy CS courses (As)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from a well known econ professor I took a grad course with (top 1 0EAS ranking), 2 additional strong (hopefully?), detailed letters from fairly well known economists who observed me in a research setting (one regional fed economist and one thesis advisor), a 4th letter from a math professor I took grad courses from.
Research Experience: A ton. In econ: a few undergrad RAships (over 3.5 years), a solid undergrad honors paper, and 1.5 years as an RA at a regional Fed... a couple of published papers as a coauthor in decent field journals plus a few coauthored working papers, some policy papers, and a couple self-authored (under the guidance of my letter writers) working papers. Other: was part of a math/theoretical physics research team for a while and also did some material chemistry research as an undergrad.
Research Interests: Lots, but mainly labor, health, and theory.
SOP: Standard-ish with some sections individualized for each school.
Concerns: bad math grades and a marginal GRE score
Applying to: Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, Penn, Wisconsin, Michigan, Carnegie Mellon, NSF
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Northwestern (wl $), Wisconsin ($$$$), Michigan ($$$$), NSF($$$$$), Penn (off wl post NSF)
Waitlists: Penn
Rejections: Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, Carnegie Mellon
Attending: Northwestern
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Northwestern (wl $), Wisconsin ($$$$), Michigan ($$$$), NSF($$$$$), Penn (off wl post NSF)
  • Institution: Wisconsin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: University Fellowship Notification date: 2/14/2012 & 2/22/2012 Notified through: Email from department Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: wait list Notification Date: March 7th Notified Through: email Posted on GC: nope Comments: very very very happy
  • Institution: Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "Rackham Merit Fellowship" Notification Date: March 8th Notified Through: email Posted on GC: nope Comments:
Rejects:
    Rejections: Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, Carnegie Mellon
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/22/2012 Notified through: Email to check website. Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: UC-Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: 2 emails Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified Through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UChicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: This day is a pile of turds.
  • Institution: Princeton Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: March 8th Notified Through: email Posted on GC: nope Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: March 2nd Notified Through: email to check website Posted on GC: nope Comments:
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Penn
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Decision: Waitlist Funding: Notification date: 2/27/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: nope Comments:

ecoetz 2012:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics with Mathematical Economics Concentration (Minor?) from Private Latin American University (Five year degree) (Not well known internationally, known locally).
Undergrad GPA: 4.8/5.0 (Graded on a 5.0 scale, but graded on a percentage basis) (~4.8/5.0 last two years) (~4.8/5.0 maths) (Ranked first in my class).
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q164 (790, 91%) / V161 (620, 89%) / AWA 5.5 (96%).
Math Courses: Differential Calculus (5.0), Integral Calculus (4.5), Multivariable Calculus (5.0), Linear Algebra (4.7), Statistics I,II (4.7, 5.0), Advanced Math for Econ (Covers Intro to Proofs, Elementary Topology and RA) (5.0), Dynamic Optimization (4.9), Stochastic Processes (4.5).
Econ Courses (grad-level): Topics in Modeling (Grad Econometrics) (4.5).
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I,II,III (4.8, 4.8, 4.7), Macro I,II,III (4.5, 4.2, 4.3), Econ History and Thought (4.3, 4.7, 4.4), International Econ (4.9, 4.9), Game Theory (4.9), Public Sector Econ (4.8), Monetary Theory and Policy (4.8), Dynamic Macroeconomics (4.7), Business Cycles and the Firm (IO) (5.0), Econometrics I,II (5.0, 4.7), Time Series Econometrics (4.7), Advanced Econometrics (Multiple Time Series Econometrics) (4.7), Applied Econ and Math Seminar (Microeconometrics) (5.0). There is some grad content in the more advanced courses, but they are still UG-level.
Other Courses: Economic Theory (Epistemology) (5.0), Financial Mathematics (4.9), Financial Analysis (4.8), Five course Politics Sequence, and some other not-as-relevant courses.
Letters of Recommendation: Harvard Prof (PhD Yale, well known), Local Econometrics Prof (PhD UCSD, Co-author, was his TA for grad macro course, former supervisor at work), Local Macro Prof (Former head of Econ Department at my UG school, was his TA for five semesters), and, where a fourth letter could be sent in, Local Summer School Prof (Recent PhD MIT, RAing for him now, TAing for his Fiscal Policy course). All should be strong (hopefully!).
Research Experience: Co-authored paper in top local Journal. RA for over a year at my UG school, with co-authored working paper. Currently RA at top local University in Econ Department. Worked as regional macro research analyst for Citibank for a year after a six-month internship (don't know if this counts towards research experience, since it is not academic. Lots of writing though!).
Teaching Experience: Intermediate Macro TA for five semesters. Advanced Macro (Grad) TA, Fiscal Theory and Policy TA (at top local University).
Research Interests: Political Economy, Comparative Development, Macro Policy.
SOP: Talked about my research interests and how a PhD would be appropriate right now. Run-of-the-mill IMHO.
Concerns: UG school is not very well known, though hopefully LORs will make up for it, since 3 of the 4 recommenders are not from my UG school, but do know it well. Very few grad courses for an international applicant (as mentioned above, while many courses do have grad content, the grad program at my UG school is not as big and, since the UG program is long, grad content is taught at UG level, which is hard to signal to adcoms).
Other: \end{anxiety}
RESULTS
Acceptances: UPenn
Waitlists: None
Rejections: Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern, Stanford, Princeton, MIT, Columbia, Harvard, NYU.
Attending: UPenn
What would you have done differently? Well, the plan was to apply to the top 10 (didn't apply to Chicago though) and see what happened. If I got shut out, I would have gotten an MA in my home country at a good school with good placements and tried again. As fellow TMers have said before, I just needed the one, and I got it. So, in that regard, I played my cards right. However, I went to a very unknown UG school, so in retrospect I probably should have gone to a more known school. I won't say a better school because I believe my undergrad education was very good. I had excellent classmates and I'm sure the more advanced undergrad content was at least, in part, at the MA level, so I don't regret doing my UG there. However, a better known school would have meant better LORs, although I got a very good one from a very good professor I hope to keep working with. For sure more math. I'm still dreading that one going into a PhD program like Penn's. I hope to get caught up in their long math camp though! All in all, I'm thrilled!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UPenn
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Waitlist for fellowship Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: First Admit! Going to grad school!
Rejects:
    Rejections: Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern, Stanford, Princeton, MIT, Columbia, Harvard, NYU.
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 12.22.2012 Notified through: Checked website after posts here. Posted on GC: no Comments: One down. Others will be better!
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email to check 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: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notified: 3/13 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: ---- Notification date: 3/13/2012 Notified through: Postal Service Posted on GC: No Comments: Letter is dated March 1st
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 03/21/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Done with the cycle. Decision time!
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: None

wantchi 2012:
Type of Undergrad: Top 5, Top 5 Econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.58
Type of Grad: A few courses at a top 5 program while working
Grad GPA: 3.33
GRE: 800Q, 700V, 4.0W
Math Courses: Real Analysis (B+,A,A-), Abstract Algebra (A,B), Complex Analysis (B+)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Econometrics (B,B) Microeconometrics (A), Game Theory (B-)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro (B,A-), Intermediate Macro (B,B+), Game Theory (A)
Other Courses: Stat Methods and Applications (A), Stat Theory and Methods (A-, A-), Mathematical Probability (A-), Applied Linear Statistical Methods (Grad Course, B+), Categorical Data (A), Probability Models (Grad Course, A)
Letters of Recommendation: Best from Professor in Top 20f IDEAS rankings, 2 very strong letters from well published economists at a regional Fed (each program received only one of these), 1 decent letter ("He got an A in my class which was a tough class") from a Very Famous economist ("just" top 50n IDEAS but a big name)
Research Experience: Lots. Undergrad Honors Thesis Paper, 2 Years as an undergrad, 2+ years at a regional Fed. Coauthored paper accepted at a good journal and several other coauthored projects in the works.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Inequality, Labor, Econometrics, Public
SOP: Individualized to each school. Mentioned a few professors whose research I'm interested in.
Concerns: Grades (obviously!).
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: NWU (Fellowship starting 2nd year), Wisconsin ($$), Harris School of Public Policy ($$), UCL MSc
Waitlists: Penn (Rejected), UCLA (Withdrew), Maryland (Withdrew), Washington (Withdrew)
Rejections: Chicago, Booth, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, NYU, Berkeley, Michigan, UCSD
Attending: Harris School of Public Policy
What would you have done differently?
I'm actually quite happy with how things worked out. The Harris School is a perfect fit for my research interests. I am really excited about every aspect of the program. It is more flexible than most econ programs, so they are letting me take whichever Econ department courses I want, but I can skip the one's I'm not interested in (i.e. Macro). Now, I just need to prove that you can get a job coming out of a policy school!
I probably would have done better for myself by taking 2nd year courses while working instead of the core econometrics courses. The grading would have been less brutal (decently high above median = B) and I would have been able to talk to the professors more and maybe gotten a better letter.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: NWU (Fellowship starting 2nd year), Wisconsin ($$), Harris School of Public Policy ($$), UCL MSc
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship first two years + guaranteed funding for 2 more Notification Date: 2/14/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes (Grad School Admissions Results, Discussions, Tips, Forums, Help • thegradcafe.com for people who don't know) Comment: First admit! Super excited! I was freaking out about Yale today and definitely wasn't expecting to hear from Wisconsin!
  • Institution: Harris School of Public Policy at Chicago Public Policy PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: around 19k Notification Date: 3/2/12 Notified Through: Unofficial e-mail from professor Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Not an econ phd, but the faculty includes economists so I'll post it.
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Waitlist Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: e-mail Posted to GC: yes Comments: Soooo happy!
  • Institution: University College of London Economics MSc Decision: Accepted Funding: -17500 pounds Notification date: 04/13/2012 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: So much for letting me know 6 weeks after I submitted the application. Declined already.
Rejects:
    Rejected), UCLA (Withdrew), Maryland (Withdrew), Washington (Withdrew) Rejections: Chicago, Booth, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, NYU, Berkeley, Michigan, UCSD
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/22/2012 (11:51 am Eastern Time) Notified through: Email to check website. Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments:
  • Institution: Booth Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/28 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yep Comments: Depressing.
  • Institution: UChicago Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Really, really sad about this one.
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: Yep. Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: UC San Diego Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notified: 3/13 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments:
  • Institution: Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/16/12 Notified through: E-mail Comments: I wish they'd just send out a batch e-mail.
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/21/2012 Notified Through: E-mail Posted to GC: Yes Comments: Wanted to be in Chicago anyway!
  • Institution: Penn Economics PhD Decision: Rejected off waitlist Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/10/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Penn (
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Decision: Waitlist Funding: Notification date: 2/27/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: A weekly kick in the face after my 1st year Notification Date: 3/2/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: I responded to the e-mail and asked to be removed from the waitlist.
  • Institution: University of Maryland Ph.D. Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:

Pho 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A in Economics (major), Maths & East Asian Studies (minors) from top 20 LA college
Undergrad GPA: 3.8/4.0
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 790Q (91%), 580V (79%), 4.0 AWA (wanted to retake the GRE but did not have time to study)
Math Courses: Calc II-III (A,A), Linear Algebra (A), Intro. to Prob. and Stats. (A-), Real Analysis (A-), ODE (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): N/A
Math Courses (grad-level): Mathematical Statistics
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): The usual, mostly A, a few A-
Other Courses: Many
Letters of Recommendation: PhD OSU (very strong), PhD Michigan (strong), 2 Math Professors (strong, strong), 1 PhD MIT (work supervisor)
Research Experience: Senior research project
Teaching Experience: TA/tutor for Intro to Stats & Probability, Metrics, and Intermediate Macro
Research Interests: Monetary as of now, might change later
SOP: Decent, I think. I tried to tailor for each school (specific research topics of the faculty that I am interested in working with, but not mentioning names, research centers...)
Other: I studied abroad for a year in London. Have been working for 2 years at an economic consulting firm. As an undergrad, I never thought I would want to pursue a PhD, so I filled my summers and work study assignments with banking and consulting gigs in the private sector.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: MA: Duke ($$), Oxford MPhil (???) PhD: WUSTL ($$$), JHU (off the waitlist - tuition waiver, but no 1st year stipend)
Waitlists: PhD: JHU (later off the waitlist), MA: Columbia Statistics
Rejections: Chicago, Princeton, Stanford, NYU, Columbia, Northwestern, Georgetown, Maryland, OSU
Pending:
Attending: Duke for Masters
What would you have done differently?
- Once I realized that I wanted to do a PhD, I should have actively sought out for RA positions, instead of staying in the private sector (even though the visa issue might complicate this).
- Took more Math classes in undergrad. Maths never hurts, regardless of what direction/sector I would go later. Also, majoring in Maths would give me extra OPT months, hence solving the visa issue.
- Took Econ classes with more professors (I took more than half of my classes with the PhD OSU professors), so that I didn't have such a hard time asking for recs.
Anyway, happy that I got such choices and I am excited to head to Duke!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: MA: Duke ($$), Oxford MPhil (???) PhD: WUSTL ($$$), JHU (off the
  • Institution: Washington University in St. Louis Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship (Tuition Waiver + Fellowship-24K for first year) Notification Date:2/15/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: In cloud 9 - thank you TMers =).
Rejects:
    Rejections: Chicago, Princeton, Stanford, NYU, Columbia, Northwestern, Georgetown, Maryland, OSU
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: No Comments: NU was one of my favorites. Did not want to wake up (early) for this .
  • Institution: UChicago Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Illinois, y u no love me?
  • Institution: London School of Economics MSc. EME Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: March 1 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: WTF man
Waitlists:
    waitlist - tuition waiver, but no 1st year stipend) Waitlists: PhD: JHU (later off the waitlist), MA: Columbia Statistics
  • Institution: JHU Econ PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Notification Date: 3/1/12 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Good luck to everyone!

The Blueprint 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: U.S. Public University Top 50 Econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.94 (4.0 Math, 4.0 Econ)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 790Q 800V 6.0 (first time) / 170Q 170V 6.0 (retake)
Math Courses: Calc I-II (exam), Intro. Computer Science (A), Linear Algebra (A), Calc III (A-), ODE (A+), UG Real Analysis (A+), Prob. and Stats (A), Grad Analysis I (A), Numerical Analysis (A), Math. Stats I (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I (A+)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro. Micro (A+) & Macro, Intermediate Micro & Macro, Public Sector Economics, Game Theory, Industrial Organization (A+), Intro. Econometrics, Labor Economics (A+)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 2 well known senior faculty who advised me on research, 1 AP who taught the grad micro course
Research Experience: One year as RA, senior thesis
Teaching Experience: Math tutor
Research Interests: Theory or applied micro
SOP: Standard, but well-written
Other:
Concerns: Reputation of institution, strength of rec. letters (explained below)
Applying to: All Top 10, Some Top 20
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Penn ($$), Minnesota ($$), Duke ($), Princeton ($$$, from WL)
WL: Princeton
Rejections: Stanford, Northwestern, S. GSB, Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Yale, Berkeley, NYU, Columbia, Wisconsin, Michigan
Attending: Princeton
THOUGHTS:
First of all, I am over the moon to be attending Princeton given my background. I think that for students who come from lesser-known U.S. schools, it's incredibly important to apply to a broad range of programs; I could not have predicted, when the process began, that Michigan and Wisconsin would reject me. I was unsure that my rec. letters would be strong enough to crack the Top 10not because the content was weak, but because my recommenders (who are wonderful) might not have as much influence or credibility as "famous" people from top institutions who write many letters. However, if your recommenders are willing to go to bat for you, I think that you will have a shot at most programs.
If I had realized my ambitions in economics earlier, I would have made sure to serve as an RA for a famous professor at a top department (during a summer or academic term). I had no desire to spend time after my bachelor's researching for a top professor or for a Fed in order to dress up my resume for future application cycleswhich I am sure would have helpedbut that is personal preference.
Finally, a thought about the Princeton waitlist. I kept in good touch with the department and sent them notes intended to demonstrate (1) that the program was an excellent fit for me, and (2) my writing style, which, while trivial compared to "real" qualifications for the PhD in economics, should at least set me apart from the field of candidates. While I am sure that many waitlisted candidates send notes explaining point (1), I would encourage them also to pick out some aspect about their candidacy which is unique or different, and express that as well. It just might make a small but material difference.
Also, I should have applied for the NSF. What was I thinking?
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Penn ($$), Minnesota ($$), Duke ($), Princeton ($$$, from WL) WL: Princeton
  • Institution: U. Minnesota Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship & TAship Notification date: 2/17 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: 1st offer :-)
  • Institution: UPenn Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship 24k Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: great way to start my Friday!
Rejects:
    Rejections: Stanford, Northwestern, S. GSB, Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Yale, Berkeley, NYU, Columbia, Wisconsin, Michigan
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: It is what it is. Congrats to those who were admitted
  • Institution: U. Chicago Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Checked website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email to check website; letter still has not been uploaded. I emailed Mandy, who sent me my letter. For anyone who cannot view their letter online--just contact Mandy. She was able to resolve this problem quickly. Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: U. Wisconsin-Madison Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
Waitlists:
    waitlist. I kept in good touch with the department and sent them notes intended to demonstrate (1) that the program was an excellent fit for me, and (2) my writing style, which, while trivial compared to "real" qualifications for the PhD in economics, should at least set me apart from the field of candidates. While I am sure that many waitlisted candidates send notes explaining point (1), I would encourage them also to pick out some aspect about their candidacy which is unique or different, and express that as well. It just might make a small but material difference. Also, I should have applied for the NSF. What was I thinking?
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Excited to make the waitlist! Does anyone care to decline their Princeton offer? :-)

ptf 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics (Minor: Mathematics) from an unknown SE Asian university (Top 2 in my unknown country)
Undergrad GPA: 3.83 (Econ: 3.76, Math: 3.81)
Type of Grad: MSc Economics from a Top 3 UK university
Grad GPA: Pass (Average: 58.5%)
GRE: 800Q/320V/3.5AW, 800Q/500V/3.0AW
Math Courses (Undergrad): Calculus 1-3 (A, B+, A), Logic and Set Theory (A), Abstract Algebra (B+), Linear Algebra (A), Ordinary Differential Equation (A), Partial Differential Equation (A), Mathematical Analysis (B+), Vector Analysis (A), Statistics 1-2 (A, B+)
Econ Courses (Undergrad): Principles of Microeconomics (A), Principles of Macroeconomics (A), Microeconomic Theory (A), Macroeconomic Theory (B+), Mathematical Economics 1-2 (B, A), Econometrics 1-2 (B, B+), Public Economics 1-2 (A, B+), Seminar in Public Economics (A), International Economics 1-2 (B+, A), Seminar in International Economics (A), Monetary Economics 1-2 (A, A), Industrial Organization (A), Agricultural Marketing (B+)
Econ Courses (Grad): Microeconomics (Merit), Macroeconomics (Merit), Econometrics (Pass), Public Economics (Pass)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from senior lecturer at my grad program (PhD Harvard) + 1 from assistant professor at my undergrad program (PhD ANU) + 1 from lecturer at my undergrad program (PhD Indiana)
Research Experience: 2 years of part-time RA in public economics and international economics during my undergrad
Teaching Experience: 2 semesters of TA in microeconomics during my undergrad
Research Interests: public finance, education, inequality, macroeconomics
SOP: Standard statement talking about my preparations, explaining bad grades in my master's degree, and describing my research interests with some (minor) modifications for each school (Not so specific in terms of research topics and hardly mentioned any particular names)
Other: (1) Participated in a summer internship at the central bank (2) Got funding for my graduate studies from the government scholarship (3) Had a second bachelors in political science and is currently doing a second masters in political theory
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Chicago
Waitlists: Pennsylvania, UC-Davis, Washington
Rejections: UC-Berkeley, Northwestern, Columbia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, UCLA, UCSD, Duke, CMU, Marryland, Rochester, UT-Austin, Oxford, UCL
Pending: UIUC
Attending: Chicago
What would you have done differently?
Well, I've always thought that my life would be much easier if I did my undergrad in the US. Anyway, I'm more than happy -- and very surprised -- with this bizarre result.
Some advices from my experience!
If you're from an unknown country, a master's degree from a well-known program does help a lot! Coming from a university outside the US, you'll get more chance if there've been some students from that university in a program to which you are apllying. Also, things get easier if you've got external funding. Another important thing is to note that all this process is extremely subjective; therefore, you should apply to quite a wide range of schools. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, pray hard... I think it helps!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Chicago
Rejects:
    Rejections: UC-Berkeley, Northwestern, Columbia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, UCLA, UCSD, Duke, CMU, Marryland, Rochester, UT-Austin, Oxford, UCL
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Pennsylvania, UC-Davis, Washington

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 (

TA89 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Dual Major in Economics/Mathematics from Top 10 liberal arts college. Transfer from a top public after one year, Summer Coursework at an ivy, top 15 national university, and another top public.
Undergrad GPA: 3.85 (Math: 3.90, Economics: 3.85)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q:780 V:570 AWA:6.0 (second attempt)
Math Courses: Calculus I (A+), Calculus II (B+), Calculus III (A), Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A-), Introduction to Analysis (A), Analysis & Optimization (A), Probability (Fall 2011), Principles of Real Analysis I (Fall 2011)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Advanced Microeconomics I (A), Advanced Microeconomics II (A): The first semester course used MWG and covered consumer theory/producer theory/GE topics. The second semester course used half the class to cover Gibbons' Game Theory, and the second half covered Contract Theory using Bolton and Dewatripont, as well as Berkeley lecture notes. Both were Ph.D. level courses.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Principles of Microeconomics (A), Principles of Macroeconomics (A), Experimental Economics (B+), Intermediate Microeconomics (A-), Intermediate Macroeconomics (A-), Economics Statistics (A), Econometrics (A-), International Trade (A),
Other Courses: Not sure what to say here, but I took a year of Chinese (A/A), and a Philosophy Seminar/Tutorial double course (A-/A-)
Letters of Recommendation:
1. Adviser. TA'd his UG Advanced Microeconomics class. I will be doing my thesis under him and have spent this summer working on a research project for him.
2. Advanced Microeconomics I-II Professor. Took both my Ph.D. Micro classes and have discussed my graduate school plans with him.
3. Analysis Professor: I took intro Analysis and Principles of Real Analysis I with him.
All should have been very good.
Research Experience: Summer research project in Health Economics for adviser. Will continue this project as my senior thesis. The plan is to submit as a co-author.
Teaching Experience: TA'd undergraduate Advanced Microeconomics.
Research Interests: Micro Theory, International Trade, Applied Micro (very open)
SOP: I haven't written in yet, but will be good.
Concerns: Typical concerns of a liberal arts applicant. Not really sure what to think or expect.
Other: Again, not really sure what to put here. Unlikely it's relevant, but President of Model UN for two years, and lots of Model UN awards.
RESULTS:
Accepted: Duke Fuqua School of Business: Decision Sciences ($$$), Wisconsin ($$), Cornell ($$$), WUSTL ($$$), UT-Austin (?), LSE MsC Econ (-)
Waitlists: Michigan (high on WL, but withdrew), UCLA (rejected), Penn (rejected), UVA (withdrew)
Rejected: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Stanford GSB, Chicago, Yale, Northwestern MEDS, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, UCSD, Duke Econ, Brown, LSE MsC EME
Attending: Duke Fuqua School of Business: Decision Sciences
What would you have done differently?
Nothing. I could not be happier with the way the process turned out. I am so fortunate to have been presented with so many great offers. Thanks TM for all the guidance along the way.
Accepts:
    Accepted: Duke Fuqua School of Business: Decision Sciences ($$$), Wisconsin ($$), Cornell ($$$), WUSTL ($$$), UT-Austin (?), LSE MsC Econ (-)
  • Institution: LSE MSc Economics Decision: Accepted (Conditional) Funding: - Notification date: 2/10/2012 Notified through: Email/Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Good to know I'll be going to Grad school!
  • Institution: Washington University in St. Louis Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship: (Tuition Waiver/Fellowship (24K for first year)) Notification Date:2/15/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Absolutely ecstatic...I love WUSTL!
  • Institution: Duke, Fuqua School of Business Decision Sciences PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Standard Fuqua Package (to be decided) Notification Date: Feb. 21 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Incredible program, and one of my top choices. I feel like I'm dreaming.
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship (20K 1st year, TA/RA years 2-4) Notification date: 2/22/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: This is very unexpected as I didn't have my application in by the funding deadline. I would have been happy with one funded offer, and I am extremely fortunate to have what I have so early.
  • Institution: UT-Austin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Not as of now, since they think I'll get a better offer. Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Austin is an awesome city!
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 5 Years (Amount TBA) Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: A great option to have! First ivy league acceptance!
Rejects:
    rejected), Penn (rejected), UVA (withdrew) Rejected: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Stanford GSB, Chicago, Yale, Northwestern MEDS, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, UCSD, Duke Econ, Brown, LSE MsC EME
  • Institution: LSE MSc EME Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 1/16/2012 Notified through: E-mail/Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Was counting on this as a "safety" of sorts, so I feel this doesn't bode well for my chances for the rest of my applications.
  • Institution: Northwestern MEDS Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Online status change without an e-mail warning. Posted on GC: no Comments: No big deal, Fuqua made me happy yesterday!
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Oh well, moving on.
  • Institution: Stanford GSB EAP PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: checked website Posted on GC: Comments:
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: I really liked Caltech but life goes on.
  • Institution: UChicago Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Berkeley Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/1/12 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Would've been nice if they had rejected me with everyone else last week instead of making me wait it out.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Michigan (high on WL, but withdrew), UCLA (
  • Institution: Penn Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: - Notification date: 2/28/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Bummer
  • Institution: University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: 18K stipend + health/dental insurance Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Read it as an accept at first...-_- But "short list" it seems.

TutorDude 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 US University, Double Major Math and Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.75
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: None
GRE: 163 Q, 161 V, 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I - III (A), Linear Algebra (A-), Diff Eq (A), Real Analysis (B), PDE (A-), Algebra (A-), Math Modeling (A), Chaos Theory (B), Complex Adaptive Systems (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): None
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro, Macro, Econometrics (A, A, A-), Adv Micro, Macro, Econometrics (A, A-, A-), IO (A), Game Theory (B), Finance (A-)
Letters of Recommendation: Adv Micro Prof (MIT PhD) [hopefully very strong], Adv Metrics Prof (MIT PhD) [strong], Current Boss at Econ Consultancy (MIT PhD) [very strong], Math Thesis Advisor (Harvard PhD) [very strong]
Research Experience: Two term RA as undergrad, handful of advanced seminars (math and economics) with significant research components, math thesis (awarded high honors), two plus years at an economic consulting company.
Teaching Experience: Tutored and lead study groups in various math and economics courses; co-own a tutoring company focused on quantitative subjects.
Research Interests: Varied - IO, applied micro and econometrics, development, urban economics
SOP: Nothing extraordinary, tailored to research interests relevant for each program.
Concerns: Real analysis grade and some A-s, borderline GRE score.
Applying to: MIT, Princeton, UC-Berkeley, NW, UVA, NYU, Stern, Columbia, Michigan, UCLA, Brown, Duke, Yale
RESULTS:
Accepted: UCLA (off of wl, no 1st year stipend), UVA($$)
Waitlists: UCLA (admitted), Michigan ($$ if admitted - was not admitted)
Rejected: Yale, MIT, Berkeley, Northwestern, Duke, NYU, Columbia, Brown, Princeton, Stern (Econ)
Attending: UCLA
What would you have done differently?
I think I would have put forth a stronger effort towards As in some math classes along the way, and perhaps tried to take grad level courses. I also wrote an applied math thesis, and I am fairly confident that having written an economics thesis with one of my economics letter writers, or simply with an economist, would have helped substantially. Evidence suggests that the connections of your letter writers are extremely important, and I am not sure the math and economics networks overlap enough to make a letter from a mathematician count as much unless they are remarkably well-known. Either way, happy with UCLA, hopefully can find a way to earn some additional money the first year.
Accepts:
    Accepted: UCLA (off of wl, no 1st year sti
Rejects:
    Rejected: Yale, MIT, Berkeley, Northwestern, Duke, NYU, Columbia, Brown, Princeton, Stern (Econ)
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22/2012 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: oh well
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Tough one.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: UCLA (

econcr 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics at a large LA University
Undergrad GPA: 3.8 (First in my class)
Type of Grad: -
Grad GPA: -
GRE: Q: 800, V: 450, AW: 3.0
Math Courses: Math for economics I-IV (A). Calc. I-III (A+,A,A+), Algebra (A-), Probabilities (A+).
Econ Courses (grad-level): -.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I-IV (A, A+, A+, A). Macro I-IV (A, A, A+, A). International economics I-II (A+, A). Development Economics (A+). Monetary Theory (A-)
Other Courses: -
Letters of Recommendation: VERY strong. Two well-known (in the USA) economists (Berkeley and UPenn).One well-known (but only in my country) economist (UCLA).
Research Experience: 2 years as a R.A.
Teaching Experience: 3 years as T.A.
Research Interests: International economics, Macroeconomics.
SOP: Decent.
Other: 3 published co-authored paper. One of them published for the Center for Latin American Monetary Studies.
Results:
Accepted: UPenn, Maryland ($$$), Oxford, CEMFI ($$$)
Waitlisted: Penn State (declined)
Rejected: Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern, Columbia, UCLA, Michigan, Toronto
Attending: CEMFI
What I would have done differently?
I think that never had taken grad level courses in my live is what hurt me the most. From UMDs flyout I learned that nowadays more and more people are doing a masters degree before their PhDs. Besides that I think the poor reputation of my school hurts me too. So, I consider that if do a masters I would have more chances at the Top10. Because of that, I accepted CEMFIs offer.
Accepts:
    Accepted: UPenn, Maryland ($$$), Oxford, CEMFI ($$$)
  • Institution: CEMFI Master in Economics and Finance Decision: Accepted Funding: 10 K euros per academic year + full waiver of the tuition fees + health insurance Notification date: 2/24/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: Nice!!
  • Institution: University of Maryland, College Park Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: TA/RA 19.5K-4 years. Waitlist for first year fellowship Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Oxford Economics MPhil Decision: Accepted Funding: Nope Notification date: 03.14.2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: No money, no deal :S
  • Institution: UPenn Economics PhD Decision: Admitted off the waitlist Funding: First year unfunded Notification date: 4/02/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: Mmm....
Rejects:
    Rejected: Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern, Columbia, UCLA, Michigan, Toronto
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments: Sad but expected
  • Institution: UC-Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: 2 emails!!!! -.- Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Northwestern Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Checked website Posted on GC: No Comments: Running out of patience :S
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: NA Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Bye, bye California
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notified: 3/13 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Expected
  • Institution: Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/16/12 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Seems I'll probably be accepting UMD's offer.
  • Institution: Harvard. Economics. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification date: March 23. Notified through: Mail. Posted on GC: No. Comments: Letter dated March 9.
  • Institution: Toronto MA Doctoral Stream Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 3/28/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:
    Waitlisted: Penn State (declined)

BScMAPhD 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Bachelor of Science in Math(With Honors)
Undergrad GPA: 3.78 (ranked 1)
Type of Grad: MA Economics
Grad GPA: 3.9 (ranked 1)
GRE: 170Q, 146V, 3.5
Math Courses: Calculus(Mathematical Analyses) I- III (A), Linear Algebra I&II (A), Probability Theory I & II (A), Diff. Equations I & II (A), Numerical Analysis I & II (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Macro, Micro, Econometrics, Econ Growth, Time Series I & II, Advanced Micro, Advanced Econometrics (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): none
Other Courses: None relevant.
Letters of Recommendation: 1) Well-known Mathematician (I served as TA),
2) Professor, my MA Thesis Advisor ( well-known person in Academia)
3) Professor of Econometrics (should be very strong letter)
Research Experience: Published math paper
Teaching Experience: TA for Macro, Math, Econometrics.
Research Interests: Macro, Econ Growth.
SOP: Standard
Concerns: Low GRE verbal, TOEFL 94.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: NYU, Chicago, Cornell, Ohio ( all with $$)
Waitlists: None
Rejections:Princeton, Columbia, Yale, U of Michigan, UC Berkley, UCLA, Brown, Boston U, Northwestern U, Carnegie Mellon (Tepper), U of Wisconsin Madison, Duke.
Pending: None
Attending: NYU!!! !!! !
Accepts:
    Acceptances: NYU, Chicago, Cornell, Ohio ( all with $$)
  • Institution: University of Chicago Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 23K + helath (no funding for first 2 years ) Notification Date: 02/29 Notified Through: E-mail with pdf Posted on GC: No Comments:What should I do first 2 years?
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 24k+summer+health Notification Date: 02/02/12 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: HAPPY
Rejects:
    Rejections:Princeton, Columbia, Yale, U of Michigan, UC Berkley, UCLA, Brown, Boston U, Northwestern U, Carnegie Mellon (Tepper), U of Wisconsin Madison, Duke.
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: I really wanted this one. Very very disappointed.
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: - Comments: Sad
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 02/02/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 02/02/12 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: None

whatdoido 2012:
I think its time to start the Roll Call for 2012. After reading last year's roll call introduction, it seems as though it is easiest for untitled to scrape the profiles for analysis if all three sections of the GRE are reported here, and the GPA is reported as first on a 4-point scale, and then in your native scale. So, let's get it going, here's the template.
EDIT: Also, let's do our best to keep this thread clean of everything except profiles.
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad:
Undergrad GPA:
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE:
Math Courses:
Econ Courses (grad-level):
Econ Courses (undergrad-level):
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation:
Research Experience:
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests:
SOP:
Concerns:
Other:
Applying to:
Accepts:
  • Institution: BU Economics Phd Decision: Accepted Funding: Years 2-5 Notification date: 03.14.2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UBC MA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ~11K + partial tuition waiver Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Comments:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: $36K, They're paying me NOT to go, Notification date: 2.22.2012 Notified through: Checked website after posts here. Posted on GC: no Comments: Hey, it sucks, but what can you do! On to the next one!
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: NA Notification date: 2-24-2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Sad, I thought I had a good shot here.
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notified: 3/13 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/15/12 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: UMich Economics PhD Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/15/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/15/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted to GC: No
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/21/2012 Notified Through: E-mail Posted to GC: nope Comments:
  • Institution: Queen's MA Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 4/2/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: Apparently I was on an unofficial waitlist.
  • Institution: University of Toronto Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 5/4/12 Notified through: email Comments:
Waitlists:
  • Institution: University Of Minnesota Econ PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/1/12 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: At least its not a rejection.
  • Institution: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Decision: Honorable Mention Funding: No Notification date: 3/30 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments:

UWGrad09 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BMATH from Top Math University in Canada, Minor in Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.6 (Roughly since they grade on a percentage basis)
Type of Grad: Masters at Top 5 Canadian School
Grad GPA: A
GRE: 800Q, 540V, 4.0 AW
Math Courses: Calculus I,II,III,IV; Algebra; Linear Alebra I,II; Probability; Statistics; Differential Equations; Introduction to Combinatorics; Applied Real Analysis; Applied Complex Analysis; Introduction to Computational Mathematics; Linear Optimization; Mathematics of Finance; Corporate Finance; Introduction to Actuarial Mathematics; Introduction to Casualty Insurance
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I,II (PhD Level) Macro I,II (PhD Level) Econometrics I,II; Health Economics; Topics in Public Economics
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I,II,III,IV; Macro I,II,II; Public Economics:Expenditure; International Economics; Econometrics I
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation:
1) PhD Princeton - VERY Strong - Taught Public Course in Grad School and am currently working for as an RA for the year between my Masters and my PhD
2) PhD Toronto - Strong - Taught first grad level Micro and he requested me to TA a class for him the following Spring
3) PhD U British Columbia - Strong - Took Micro IV with him in undergrad and got a 99%, and I know him very well
Research Experience: One semester as an RA for Chair of the Department as well as currently doing a 1-year RA/Data Technician job at the University
Teaching Experience: Taught a tutorial during Masters but none other than that
Research Interests: Public, Micro Theory
SOP: Standard
Concerns: Was super lazy in years 2&3 of undergrad, so some of my courses have low 70's grades
Other: I'm planning on staying in Canada, unless there's an offer from one of the top US schools (hence my bizarre looking list of applying to)
Applying to: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, U Toronto, U British Columbia, McMaster
Accepts:
Rejects:
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments: Not a surprise
  • Institution: Princeton Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 03/21/12 Notified through: Mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: University of British Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 4/17/12 Notified through: email Comments:
  • Institution: University of Toronto Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 5/4/12 Notified through: email Comments: Took them long enough
Waitlists:

gemmy 2012:

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 50 undergrad, top 40 in Econ, top 30 in Math
Undergrad GPA: 3.84 (Econ 3.85, Math 3.85)
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: 670 V, 800 Q, 4.0 W
Math Courses: Cal I-III (A, A, A-), Differential Equations (B+), Linear Algebra (A-), Linear Analysis (A), Math Reasoning (Intro to Proof) (A-), Multivar Cal I-II (A, A), Real Analysis I (A), Discrete Modeling (A), Statistics (A), Prob Theory I-II (A, A), Stochastic Cal (A-)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I (A-), Macro I (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): a lot
Other Courses: Computer Programming (Java)
Letters of Recommendation:
1. Grad Macro Prof: Ph.D from Harvard, very very well-known. I did well in the class, and he knows me well. The letter should be strong.
2. Econ Prof: Ph.D from Chicago, very well-known. I did well in his undergrad class and talked to him a lot about this whole process. Hi is really enthusiastic and supportive. The letter should be very strong.
3. Research Advisor: Assistant Prof, Ph.D from Harvard. I have been working with her for more than a year. She knows me very well. The letter should be strong.
4. Econ Prof: Ph.D from Columbia, well-known. I did well in his undergrad class, but he doesn't know me that well as compared to the other Profs.
Research Experience: RA'd for more than a year.
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests: International Macro (Trade and Finance), Macro
SOP: Standard, about two pages long.
Concerns: I'm not sure how strong the letter from recommender 4 will be. No grad-level Math classes.
Other:
Applying to: Harvard, Chicago, Berkeley, Northwestern, UPenn, Columbia, Minnesota, NYU, Michigan, UCLA, UCSD, Wisconsin, Cornell, Brown, Duke, Maryland, BU, JHU, Penn State.
Accepts:
  • Institution: University of Virginia Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship, 20k Notification date: 03/05/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Finally, I'm out of Chron Award!!!!! Thanks a million to everyone who wished me the best of luck! :-)
Rejects:
  • Institution: Washington University in St. Louis Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 02/15/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Well... 19 more to go...
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Well...
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: Three down.... quite depressing;;;
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Four down.... even more depressing;;;
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: No Comments: Where would I go???? T.T
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Where would I go seriously...
  • Institution: Penn State Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/08/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Well well well... more rejections.... -.-
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin - Madison Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/08/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: 5 minutes after the Penn State rejection.... T.T
  • Institution: UC San Diego Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/09/2012 Notified through: Email (After the email, I went online to check the application. The status has been updated) Posted on GC: No Comments: Am I gonna end up going to UVA...?
  • Institution: University of Maryland Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/09/2012 Notified through: Website(testudo) Posted on GC: No Comments: higher chance that I'm going to UVA
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notified: 03/13/12 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: I'm counting on NYU now...
  • Institution: Brown Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/15/2012 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comment: Expected... UVA looks shinier and shinier..... It's good, isn't it? it is........... good.....!
Waitlists:
  • Institution: University Of Minnesota Econ PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/01/12 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: My first 'semi-positive' result!!! Half happy half sad;;;
  • Institution: UC-Davis Economics. Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Definitely nothing Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Another waitlist... I guess I would not take this offer even if I get admitted later since the funding seems really difficult even after year 2.

huneba 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: International bachelor (me and the degree)
Undergrad GPA: ~3.7
Type of Grad: Masters
Grad GPA: ~3.9
GRE: 166Q, 156V, 4.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calculus II (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): ​Microeconomics I (A), II (B), Macroeconomics I (A), II (A), Econometrics I (A-), II (A), Thesis (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Microeconomics (A), Macroeconomics (A-), Econometrics (B-), Advanced Microeconomics (B), Advanced Macroeconomics (B), Advanced Econometrics (A-), Time Series (A), Microeconometrics (A), Maths Econ (A)
Other Courses: N/A
Letters of Recommendation: Thesis advisor and a couple of other professors that taught me (reasonably well-known)
Research Experience: Research assistant
Teaching Experience: N/A
Research Interests: Microeconomics, industrial organization, econometrics
SOP: 2 pages -- mainly discussed my research experience and interests
Concerns: Isn't it obvious? The only maths on my transcript is calc 2!
Applying to: Chicago, Northwestern, Yale, Penn, NYU, Columbia, UCSD, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Duke, Maryland, Boston, Cornell, Brown, Penn State
Accepts:
  • Institution: UT Austin Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: ?? Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: website, checked after saw reddavies post Posted on GC: No Comments: First admit!
  • Institution: University of Maryland, College Park Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 19.5k TAship Notification date: 03/06/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Waitlisted for first-year fellowship.
  • Institution: Queen's University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship + other awards Notification date: 3/7/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin - Madison Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No first year funding - TA/RAship afterwards. Notification Date: 3/14/2012 Notified through: E-mail (informal) Posted on GC: No Comments: Notified 20 mins ago.
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/22/2012 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: First response... at least I've finally heard something!
  • Institution nstitution: UPenn Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: I thought I had a decent chance here
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Rochester Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/28 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/05/2012 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/05/2012 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: I really don't understand why some places don't send us emails.
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notified: 03/13/12 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/15/12 Notified through: E-mail to check website
  • Institution: Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/15/12 Notified through: E-mail
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Expected
  • Institution: Boston University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Not expected
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/05/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Anyone care to explain this?
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/04/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: See below.

econobot 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics at a top LA University
Undergrad GPA: 3.7
Type of Grad: M.A. in Economics, same institution
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: Q: 800, V: 480, AW: 3.5
Math Courses: Calc. I-III, Algebra, Probabilities, Statistics, ODE, Introductory Real Analysis.
Econ Courses (grad-level): Microeconomic Theory I, Macroeconomic Theory I, Econometric Theory I-II, Asset Pricing, Financial Economics, Financial Econometrics, Applied Macroeconomics.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro. Micro., Micro. I-II, IO, Intro. Macro, Macro. I-II, International Economics.
Other Courses: Finance I-II, Seminar of Finance.
Letters of Recommendation: Should be very strong. Several Professors from Chicago, MIT, UCLA, Cornell.
Research Experience: 1 year as R.A. in different projects + 1.5 year doing applied research in the public sector.
Teaching Experience: Several years as T.A. (grad and undergrad. courses), two semesters teaching Introductory Microeconomics.
Research Interests: Behavioral Finance, Financial Economics, Asset Pricing.
SOP: Partially tailored for each school.
Concerns: GRE: low Verbal and AW scores (although a pretty decent TOEFL), solid but not stellar grades.
Other: Unpublished co-authored paper.
Applying to: Ph.D. Econ: Top 10 + BU, UCLA, Cornell, Duke, Brown, JHU. Master Econ: Toulouse, LSE, Toulouse, PSE
Accepts:
  • Institution: TSE M2 Decision: Accepted Funding: Not mentioned Notification date: 02-17 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: TSE M2 Decision: Accepted Funding: Doesn't mentioned Notification date: 02-17 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Duke Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 18k Notification date: 2/28/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: awesome
  • Institution: University of Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 23k Notification date: 2/29/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: completely happy right now!!!!!!!!!
  • Institution: Boston College Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 17k Notification Date: March 1 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: will decline the offert soon.
Rejects:
  • Institution: LSE EME Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 01/17/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: NO Comments: one of my safeties just got burned :S
  • Institution: Berkeley Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 02-24 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: very sad
  • Institution: Berkeley Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 02-24 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: MIT Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: very sad...
  • Institution: Princeton Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification Date: 03/08 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: yes Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification Date: 03/02 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: yes Comments:
  • Institution: NYU Stern Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: --- Notified: 3/12 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notified: 3/13 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: very sad
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: expected, but still very sad.
  • Institution: Cornell Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 4/4/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: So, annoyed because I hadn't heard about Cornell's decision, yesterday I decided to write to the graduate office asking for my status. Two hour ago, I received an email saying I was rejected. Then, people started to post Conrnell's rejections here. It seems to me they had forgotten about us, and my email made them recall they had some rejections left to send.
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Notification date: 02-23 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: --- Notification date: 02-23 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: UPenn Econ PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: --- Notification date: 02-27 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments:

umeconapplicant 2012:
PROFILE: umeconapplicant
Type of Undergrad: Top 20 US, in the Big Ten
Undergrad GPA: 3.83
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800 Q, 650 V, 5.0 A
Math Courses: Calc I, II, III (A's), Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (B+), Probability (A), Advanced Theoretical Statistics (A), Abstract Algebra (B+), Real Analysis (A-), Grad-level General and Differential Topology (W for Early Withdraw)
Econ Courses (grad-level): none
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Standard major requirements (all A's), Econometrics (B+), Honors Seminar in Microeconomic Modeling (A), Honors Thesis Research (A)
Other Courses: Minor/Fluency in German
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Very Strong from UPenn Prof, very well known, 1 Average from thesis advisor from Stanford (younger professor), 1 Average from Real Analysis professor who probably wrote a very enthusiastic letter
Research Experience: 1 year of writing undergraduate honors thesis; very well-liked by my econ letter writers
Teaching Experience: n/a
Research Interests: Microeconomics, Industrial Organization, Energy/Natural Resource Economics
SOP: Not sure about... my thesis advisor told me it was fine
Concerns: W in Topology, B+ in Econometrics, letter of recommendation from a math professor, limited research experience
Other:
Applying to: U Chicago, MIT, Princeton, Northwestern, U Penn, Columbia, NYU, U Wisconsin, Carnegie Mellon, U Maryland, Johns Hopkins
Accepts:
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins University Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship ($20k) Notification Date: 3/1/12 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: First acceptance!!!!!!!! And with money too!!!
Rejects:
  • Institution: U Penn Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 2/24/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Comments: First response
  • Institution: Northwestern Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: Comments: And this was my top choice that I thought I had a decent chance of getting into.
  • Institution: UChicago Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Comments: 3 rejections, no acceptances...
  • Institution: MIT Econ Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Expected
  • Institution: University of Maryland Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified Through: Website (testudo.umd.edu) Posted on GC: Comments: I thought I would get in, but I don't really mind getting rejected, since I would rather go to JHU anyway.
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notified: 3/13 Notified through: email Posted on GC: Comments:
  • Institution: Carnegie Mellon University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/18/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted to GC: Comments: Had hoped to get this one.
Waitlists:

simonsou 2012:
Institution: Lund University
Program: Ph.D. in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: No
Notification Date: 2/27/2012
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: Yes
Comments: Sad
Accepts:
  • Institution: GSEFM (Goethe University Frankfurt) Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Notified: 3/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: After 6 rejections, I finally can post an admission here. Although no funding, still happy. Hope it is a good start and offers are on the way!
  • Institution: University of Alberta Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted to GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: University of Mannheim Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: EUR 1200 / month Notification date: 5/10/12 Notified through: email Comments: YES!!!!!!!!!!
Rejects:
  • Institution: Lund University Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: No Notification Date: 2/27/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Sad
  • Institution: McGill Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/28 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: 2 rejections in 3 days, sick.
  • Institution: Stockholm School of Economics Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: March 1 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: I'm starting to think that I would go to nowhere...
  • Institution: University of Zurich Economics PhD Decision:Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 04/13/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: My dream school. Expected but still sad.
  • Institution: Purdue University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 4/17/12 Notified through: email Comments:
  • Institution: University of British Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 4/17/12 Notified through: email Comments:
  • Institution: Stockholm University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 4/27/12 Notified through: email Comments: Goodbye, Sweden.
  • Institution: University of Toronto Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 5/4/12 Notified through: email Comments: Finally.
Waitlists:

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!

TICC 2012:
Institution: University of Toronto
Program: PhD in Economics.
Decision: Accepted
Funding: 32k
Notification date: March 21.
Notified through: email.
Posted on GC: No.
Comments: Stoked.
Institution: University of British Columbia
Program: PhD in Economics.
Decision: Rejected.
Funding: N/A
Notification date: March 23.
Notified through: email.
Posted on GC: No.
Comments: meh. Prefer UofT.
Institution: Queen's University
Program: PhD in Economics.
Decision: Accepted.
Funding: 25k
Notification date: February 27.
Notified through: email.
Posted on GC: No.
Comments: Was happy with the offer, especially since I was dismissed from the first university I attended 6 years ago, and had to work my way through a couple lesser universities to get here. UofT blew me away, however, and I'll be turning this one down.
Accepts:
  • Institution: University of Toronto Economics. Decision: Accepted Funding: 32k Notification date: March 21. Notified through: email. Posted on GC: No. Comments: Stoked.
  • Institution: Queen's University Economics. Decision: Accepted. Funding: 25k Notification date: February 27. Notified through: email. Posted on GC: No. Comments: Was happy with the offer, especially since I was dismissed from the first university I attended 6 years ago, and had to work my way through a couple lesser universities to get here. UofT blew me away, however, and I'll be turning this one down.
Rejects:
  • Institution: University of British Columbia Economics. Decision: Rejected. Funding: N/A Notification date: March 23. Notified through: email. Posted on GC: No. Comments: meh. Prefer UofT.
Waitlists:

simonsou 2012: simonsou<
Accepts:
  • Institution: GSEFM (Goethe University Frankfurt) Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Notified: 3/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: After 6 rejections, I finally can post an admission here. Although no funding, still happy. Hope it is a good start and offers are on the way!
  • Institution: University of Alberta Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted to GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: University of Mannheim Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: EUR 1200 / month Notification date: 5/10/12 Notified through: email Comments: YES!!!!!!!!!!
Rejects:
  • Institution: Lund University Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: No Notification Date: 2/27/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Sad
  • Institution: McGill Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/28 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: 2 rejections in 3 days, sick.
  • Institution: Stockholm School of Economics Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: March 1 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: I'm starting to think that I would go to nowhere...
  • Institution: University of Zurich Economics PhD Decision:Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 04/13/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: My dream school. Expected but still sad.
  • Institution: Purdue University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 4/17/12 Notified through: email Comments:
  • Institution: University of British Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 4/17/12 Notified through: email Comments:
  • Institution: Stockholm University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 4/27/12 Notified through: email Comments: Goodbye, Sweden.
  • Institution: University of Toronto Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 5/4/12 Notified through: email Comments: Finally.
Waitlists:


Waitlists:

Pho 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A in Economics (major), Maths & East Asian Studies (minors) from top 20 LA college
Undergrad GPA: 3.8/4.0
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 790Q (91%), 580V (79%), 4.0 AWA (wanted to retake the GRE but did not have time to study)
Math Courses: Calc II-III (A,A), Linear Algebra (A), Intro. to Prob. and Stats. (A-), Real Analysis (A-), ODE (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): N/A
Math Courses (grad-level): Mathematical Statistics
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): The usual, mostly A, a few A-
Other Courses: Many
Letters of Recommendation: PhD OSU (very strong), PhD Michigan (strong), 2 Math Professors (strong, strong), 1 PhD MIT (work supervisor)
Research Experience: Senior research project
Teaching Experience: TA/tutor for Intro to Stats & Probability, Metrics, and Intermediate Macro
Research Interests: Monetary as of now, might change later
SOP: Decent, I think. I tried to tailor for each school (specific research topics of the faculty that I am interested in working with, but not mentioning names, research centers...)
Other: I studied abroad for a year in London. Have been working for 2 years at an economic consulting firm. As an undergrad, I never thought I would want to pursue a PhD, so I filled my summers and work study assignments with banking and consulting gigs in the private sector.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: MA: Duke ($$), Oxford MPhil (???) PhD: WUSTL ($$$), JHU (off the waitlist - tuition waiver, but no 1st year stipend)
Waitlists: PhD: JHU (later off the waitlist), MA: Columbia Statistics
Rejections: Chicago, Princeton, Stanford, NYU, Columbia, Northwestern, Georgetown, Maryland, OSU
Pending:
Attending: Duke for Masters
What would you have done differently?
- Once I realized that I wanted to do a PhD, I should have actively sought out for RA positions, instead of staying in the private sector (even though the visa issue might complicate this).
- Took more Math classes in undergrad. Maths never hurts, regardless of what direction/sector I would go later. Also, majoring in Maths would give me extra OPT months, hence solving the visa issue.
- Took Econ classes with more professors (I took more than half of my classes with the PhD OSU professors), so that I didn't have such a hard time asking for recs.
Anyway, happy that I got such choices and I am excited to head to Duke!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: MA: Duke ($$), Oxford MPhil (???) PhD: WUSTL ($$$), JHU (off the
  • Institution: Washington University in St. Louis Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship (Tuition Waiver + Fellowship-24K for first year) Notification Date:2/15/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: In cloud 9 - thank you TMers =).
Rejects:
    Rejections: Chicago, Princeton, Stanford, NYU, Columbia, Northwestern, Georgetown, Maryland, OSU
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: No Comments: NU was one of my favorites. Did not want to wake up (early) for this .
  • Institution: UChicago Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Illinois, y u no love me?
  • Institution: London School of Economics MSc. EME Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: March 1 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: WTF man
Waitlists:
    waitlist - tuition waiver, but no 1st year stipend) Waitlists: PhD: JHU (later off the waitlist), MA: Columbia Statistics
  • Institution: JHU Econ PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Notification Date: 3/1/12 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Good luck to everyone!

SpiderPig 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Math, Econ Double major, Top 10 University
Undergrad GPA: 3.9 (3.8+ Math, 3.9+ Econ)
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: Q 800 V 800 AWA 5
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A+,A+,A), Linear Algebra (A+), ODE (A), PDE(A+) Probability (A-), Grad Computing I-II (A,A), Grad Algebra I (B+), Grad Analysis I-II (B+,B+)
Econ Courses (grad-level): PhD Econometrics I (Fall 2011), PhD Micro I (Fall 2011)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro (A), Micro I-II (A,A), Econometrics (A), Finance (A-)
Other Courses: nothing special
Letters of Recommendation:
1. Research advisor who I did (for entire summer) and will be doing IO stuff with, took undergrad metrics with
2. Research advisor who I did (summer) and will be doing applied micro stuff with
3. plan to get one from one of the PhD econ prof next semester
Research Experience: several projects in math, econ, pubpol, thesis
Teaching Experience: math TA for 2yrs
Research Interests: IO, applied micro, metrics, finance (not sure, but really I'm open to everything right now)
SOP: Almost done, fairly standard
Concerns: low grades in RA
Other:
Applying to: All top 10 Econ+some 10-20, most top 10 finance, a couple MA in econ/stats
Accepts:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics Phd Decision: Accepted Funding: 26K Fellowship Notification date: 03/14/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 25%TA+$9000+50%tuition waiver-tuition = $1000 stipend???!!!! Notification date: 03/14/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: too late...
Rejects:
  • Institution: Carnegie Mellon Economics. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification date: March 23. Notified through: email. Posted on GC: No. Comments: Oh well.
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Michigan Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notified: 3/13/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: I feel honored to be waitlisted at the same time with the two fellas above
  • Institution: Columbia Business School Finance and Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: NA Notification date: 03/21/12 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:Thanks laca for posting!

treddi 2012:
Institution: Harvard Kennedy School
Program: PhD in Political Economy and Government
Decision: Accepted
Funding: coming in mail
Notification date: 2/16
Notified through: email
Posted on GC:no
Comments: feels good
Accepts:
  • Institution: Harvard Kennedy School Political Economy and Government Decision: Accepted Funding: coming in mail Notification date: 2/16 Notified through: email Posted on GC:no Comments: feels good
  • Institution: Harvard University Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: don't know Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: phone call Posted on GC: no Comments: you, Yale
  • Institution: LSE Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Notification date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: very excited!!
  • Institution: Princeton Econ Decision: Admit Funding: 30k Notified: 3/7 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Michigan Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: --- Notified: 3/08 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: well damn.
  • Institution: MIT Econ Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: checked website Posted on GC: Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: rejected Funding: Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: website
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: email
Admit summary statistics:
As submitted and recoreded from Test Magic:
There were 12 accepted out of 45 applicants.Of those accepted, average GPA was 3.93, average GREQ was 800.0.
From the Department webpage in 2010 (please send me a link if this is wrong!)
Most successful applicants to our program have analytic GRE scores above the 90th percentile. Students are advised they should have completed undergraduate linear algebra, probability and statistics, advanced calculus and real analysis to be prepared for classes in the Economics PhD program. Superb reference letters or excellent performance as an undergraduate are considered in the admission process as well...The program receives approximately 700 applications each year. Each year, the department admits about 20 to 25 applicants.
(Source)

Links:
Test Magic Econ Forums
econphd.econwiki.com
Last Updated: 14:58:10, Fri May 11, 2012