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:

Aha 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: University in Australia; B Ec/LLB
Undergrad GPA: N/A; first class honours
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: 790 Q; 610 V; 5.0
Math Courses: Linear algebra, vector calculus, real analysis
Econ Courses: Grad equivalent courses, particularly micro theory and econometrics
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: probably strong
Research Experience: undergraduate honours thesis, published paper in a low ranked journal; various small research projects from work
Teaching Experience: Taught intro micro, macro; various econometrics courses
Research Interests: various
SOP: nothing special
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, NYU, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Cambridge, Oxford, Toulouse, UBC, Penn
Attending: Harvard
What would you have done differently? Nothing really...
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, NYU, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Cambridge, Oxford, Toulouse, UBC, Penn Attending: Harvard
  • Institution: Wisconsin Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Yep Notification date: 2/25/12 Notified through: Phone Posted on GC: No Comments: ohh
Rejects:
Waitlists:

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:

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:

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:

microtheory1227 2012:
Type of Undergrad: Dual-degree BS/BA in Accounting and Economics from flagship state school. Top 30 econ.
Undergrad GPA: 4.000/4.000
Type of Grad: Economics PhD program at a non-top-50 state school; will leave with MA
Grad GPA: 3.96/4.00
GRE: Q 800 V 630 AWA 5.0
Math Courses: Calculus I+II, Applied Prob+Stat I, Math for Economists I+II (Graduate)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Full micro and macro sequences; passed both PhD theory comps, including micro with honors; Econometrics I+II; 6 credits independent study
Econ Courses (undergrad): Intermediate Micro+Macro, Game Theory, IO, Development, Banking, Econometrics I+II
Other Courses: Lots of business courses
Letters of Recommendation: PhD Rochester (Micro Theory); PhD UToronto (Macro, Labor, Search); PhD CMU (Applied Micro, IO) - all graduate professors
Research Experience: Nothing formal beyond my own work
Teaching Experience: TA in accounting and game theory while undergrad
Research Interests: Behavioral Theory
SOP: Honest expression of my previous experience and research interests
Concerns: Got rejections all around from top schools in 2010, presumably because of inadequate mathematical background and ill-defined research interests.
Other: Had to "serve time" for two years in a relatively crappy program, but my concerns from two years ago are largely remedied. Got tremendous letters because I was a big fish in a lousy program. Also decided to put in applications very late and missed out on schools with December 15 deadline.
Applying to: Kellogg MECS, Cornell, Brown, Rochester, Wash U, Purdue
Results:
Accepted:Kellogg MECS ($$$), Rochester ($$)
Rejected:Brown, Cornell, Wash U (implicit - never heard back)
Other: Purdue (declined interview)
Attending:Kellogg MECS
What would you have done differently?
Not much I could do differently for this cycle, but I'm very pleased with my result. The program I am attending is arguably my best research fit of any program in the country. It would have been nice not to have missed the 12/15 deadline so I could have applied to places like CMU SDS, but I have no regrets ex post. As many other people have said, I suspect my LORs played a very significant role. In particular, I had a respected mathematical economist vouch for my quantitative abilities, which helped cover up my dearth of formal mathematics courses. Back in the 2010 cycle, I should have done pretty much everything differently. If I had known what I was doing, I would have double majored (or at least minored) in math and written an honors thesis. If I had done that, I suspect I could have gotten into a top 20 program back then. All's well that ends well, though.
Accepts:
    Accepted:Kellogg MECS ($$$), Rochester ($$)
  • Institution: Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University MECS Ph.D. Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition+$32k Notification Date: 2/15/12 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: My top choice; probably my best research fit of any program in the country
  • Institution: Rochester Economics Ph.D. Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition+$24k Notification Date: 3/1/12 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
Rejects:
    Rejected:Brown, Cornell, Wash U (implicit -
  • Institution: Brown University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Wasn't planning to attend.
  • Institution: Cornell Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 4/4/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Took long enough. Already accepted an offer elsewhere.
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:

emanuele 2012:
Institution: California Institute of Technology
Program: Social Sciences PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Tuition waiver + 28k Stipend
Notification date: 1/28/2012
Notified through: Phone
Posted on GC: No
Comments: ​​
Accepts:
  • Institution: California Institute of Technology Social Sciences PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition waiver + 28k Stipend Notification date: 1/28/2012 Notified through: Phone Posted on GC: No Comments: ​​
  • Institution: University of Chicago Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 26k Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: University of Minnesota Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 22k Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • 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: LSE Economics (Track 1) Decision: Accepted Funding: 18590 Notification date: 5 March 2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 21k (but more if I decide to go) Notification date: 3 March 2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 24k + summer fellowship Notification date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: no TA/RA duties for five years
  • Institution: UC San Diego Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: later by email Notified: 13 March Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford GSB EAP PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: checked website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 24 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Penn Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 24 Notified Through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Chicago Booth Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 28 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: NYU Stern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notified: 12 March Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notified: 8 March Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments:
Waitlists:

bperry12 2012:
Institution: Yale
Program: Econ PhD
Decision: Rejected
Funding: -
Notification date: 02/22
Notified through: Email to check website
Posted on GC: No
Accepts:
  • Institution: Chicago Econ PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: Tuition/Health + $23k Notification Date: 2/28 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: ​First Acceptance
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Yes Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Nice to have options.
  • Institution: Northwestern Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: ? Notification Date: 3/2 Notified Through: Randomly checked website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Full Fellowship Notification Date: 3/2 Notified Through: Checked website after seeing chatter here Posted on GC: No Comments: Great to have good options
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: MIT Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 2/28 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
Waitlists:

ivanspartakfan 2012:
Institution: Yale
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Wait-listed
Funding: $34K per year if admitted
Notification date: February, 23
Notified through: E-mail to check website
Posted on GC: No
Comments:
Institution: Stanford GSB
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding:
Notification date: February, 23
Notified through: E-mail to check website
Posted on GC: No
Comments:
Institution: Berkeley
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: ~$25K per year, maybe more
Notification date: February, 27
Notified through: Phone call from Yuriy Gorodnichenko
Posted on GC: No
Comments:
Institution: MIT
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding:
Notification date: March, 1
Notified through: E-mail to check website
Posted on GC: No
Comments:
Institution: Northwestern
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: ?
Notification date: March, 2
Notified through: No e-mail, checked the website
Posted on GC: No
Comments:
Institution: Stanford
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: $34K per year
Notification date: March, 2
Notified through: No e-mail, checked the website
Posted on GC: No
Comments:
Accepts:
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ~$25K per year, maybe more Notification date: February, 27 Notified through: Phone call from Yuriy Gorodnichenko Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ? Notification date: March, 2 Notified through: No e-mail, checked the website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: $34K per year Notification date: March, 2 Notified through: No e-mail, checked the website Posted on GC: No Comments:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: February, 23 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: March, 1 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Wait-listed Funding: $34K per year if admitted Notification date: February, 23 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:


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

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)

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:

unfallible 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 50 State School (flagship), BS Econ, BA Philosophy
Undergrad GPA: 3.9
Type of Grad:N/A
Grad GPA:N/A
GRE: 800Q, 760V, 5.5AW
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Intro Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Intro to Proofs, Linear Algebra, Intro Real Analysis (All As, except for A- in Linear Algebra)
Econ Courses: Intro/Intermediate Micro/Macro, Econometrics, Industrial Organization, Game Theory, Labor (All As); Grad Level: Math for Economists (B+)
Other Courses: Intro Probability
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Economics Professors I had in class + one administrator that I did something significant with (vague to protect anonymity)
Research Experience: Senior Thesis
Teaching Experience: 2 semesters TA (Intermediate Micro and Labor)
Research Interests: Labor, IO
SOP: brief, with a 'cutesy' anecdote about incentives
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UT Austin ($$), Ohio State ($$), UC Davis ($), UC Irvine ($), UArizona($), UNC Chapel Hill (?)
Waitlists: Berkeley(rejected), Georgetown (declined)
Rejections: MIT, Stanford, Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin, UCLA,UCSD,Cornell,CMU,Maryland,Penn State
Pending: UIUC(Never responded. Maybe my application didn't fully go through?)
Attending: UTAustin
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UT Austin ($$), Ohio State ($$), UC Davis ($), UC Irvine ($), UArizona($), UNC Chapel Hill (?)
  • Institution: Ohio State Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ? Notification Date:2/10/2012 Notified through: Online status change Posted on GC: no Comments: Anyone know if they have posted financial packages?
  • Institution: UC Irvine Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Out of State Tuition Remission + 17k TA stipend Notification date: 2/18 Notified through: online status change. Followed by email the following day. Posted on GC: no Comments: Was not expecting this one! Just decided to check status randomly.
  • Institution: UT Austin Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: ?? Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: website, checked after saw reddavies post Posted on GC: No Comments: I'm getting more admits than I expected for it being so early!
  • Institution: University of Arizona Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ~7k (I think this is per semester. Otherwise this is a joke...) Notification date: March 26 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
Rejects:
    rejected), Georgetown (declined) Rejections: MIT, Stanford, Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin, UCLA,UCSD,Cornell,CMU,Maryland,Penn State
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified Through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: na Notification date: 3/1/12 Notified through: application Posted on GC: no Comments: ^econphdhopeful2 says it all
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: rejected Funding: n/a Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: Notification Date: 3/2/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Thought I had this one...
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: University of Maryland Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified through: Website Status Posted on GC: No Comments: Surprised by this. Thought I had a good shot here
  • Institution: Penn State Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: March 9 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Carnegie Mellon Economics. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification date: March 23. Notified through: email. Posted on GC: No. Comments: I had hoped to get in here...
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Berkeley(
  • Institution: Berkeley Ph.D Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: NA Notification Date: 2/27/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Best I could have hoped for...
  • Institution: Georgetown Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: NA Notification date: March 9 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No

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...

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

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

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

mar412 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 15 US ( Top 10 Econ)
Undergrad GPA: 3.9
Type of Grad: MA from Top 20 Econ
Grad GPA: 3.9
GRE: 790 Q, 800 V, 4.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calc 3 (A), Linear Algebra and Differential Equations (A), Probability (A), Analysis (A)
Econ Courses: Lots of Undergrad Econ with A/A-s, MA Level: Micro (A-), Macro (B+), Econometrics (A), Advanced Micro (A), Computer Modeling for Policy Analysis (A); Phd Level: Real Analysis for Econ (A), Micro I (A), Econometrics I (B+)
Other Courses:Phd Stats Intro Course (A)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from unknown undergrad prof who knew me really well, 1 from unknown MA prof who knew me really well, 1 "institutional letter" from phd profs.
Research Experience: Worked about 2 years as RA estimating tax revenues for a state agency...if that counts
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Wasn't sure..., claimed labor topics in micro and macro
SOP: Pretty standard, I'm sure. I didn't have much time to work on it due to an illness in the family.
Other: Didn't know what I wanted to do as an undergrad and after getting some work experience, I decided to pursue my Phd. Most of my math and Phd courses were taken in my MA program
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Minnesota ($), UCSD ($), Penn (w/l but got $), UNC(?)
Waitlists:UVA, Michigan
Rejections:Princeton, MIT, Yale, Vanderbilt, UCLA, Duke, Northwestern
Pending:None
What would you have done differently?
I think in terms of my research experience and grades I did as well as I could given my circumstances. To me, being there for my family during a time of stress was the most important thing, and I still feel proud of the choices I made. In an ideal world, I would've realized that I wanted to get my Phd as an undergrad and taken as many math classes as possible then. But, it didn't happen that way. Overall I am happy with what I achieved and am excited to start my studies next fall.
Attending: Penn
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Minnesota ($), UCSD ($), Penn (w/l but got $), UNC(?)
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Phd Decision: Accepted Funding: Not mentioned Notification date: 03.14.2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Automated email from the graduate admissions office. No word from the department yet.
Rejects:
    Rejections:Princeton, MIT, Yale, Vanderbilt, UCLA, Duke, Northwestern
Waitlists:
    Waitlists:UVA, Michigan

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:

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 (

marlow 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BCS Computer Science, Econ Minor
Undergrad GPA: 3.75
Type of Grad: MA Economics
Grad GPA: 3.41
GRE: Q:800 V:620 AWA:4.0
Math Courses: Calculus, Linear Algebra, Probability, Statistics, Combinatorics.
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro (Phd), Macro (MA), Development, Monetary, Econometrics.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro, Macro, Econometrics, Public, International.
Letters of Recommendation: Two very strong (profs I RAd for). One good.
Research Experience: RA for two econ profs, Research Analyst at non-profit, RA for political science prof.
Teaching Experience: TA stats for econ.
Research Interests: Development, Political Economy, Public.
SOP: Interests, background, one custom paragraph for each school.
Concerns: Low Grad GPA, low Analytical GRE, out of school for three years.
RESULTS:
Accepted: UofToronto ($$), UCSC($)
Waitlists: Georgetown (withdrew), Bocconi
Rejected: Duke, Brown, Michigan, Northwestern, UBC, UCL, McGill
Attending: Toronto
What would you have done differently?
Worked harder during my MA. Taken Real Analysis. Maybe applied to a few more schools. -- Happy with Toronto though.
Accepts:
    Accepted: UofToronto ($$), UCSC($)
  • Institution: UC Santa Cruz Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Yes Notification date: 2/24/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: My first result, good
Rejects:
    Rejected: Duke, Brown, Michigan, Northwestern, UBC, UCL, McGill
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Georgetown (withdrew), Bocconi
  • Institution: Georgetown Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Yes if admitted Notification date: March 9 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Good! Please let them know if you don't plan on attending.

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)

vcb 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.Sc. in Economics in one of the best universities in a small EU country
Undergrad GPA: 3.7
Type of Grad: research masters in economics in the same university
Grad GPA: 3.7
GRE: Q: 170, V: 159, AW: 4.5
Math Courses: Calculus I and II, Linear Algebra, Mathematics I and II, Advanced Mathematics, Probabilities, Statistics
Econ Courses (grad-level): - Microeconomics, Microeconomic Theory I and II, Game Theory I and II, Macroeconomics, Macroeconomic Theory, Macro Theory I and II, Development Economics, Tools for Applied Policy Analysis.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I-III, Macro I-III, Global Economy, Information and Games, European Economic Policy, Comparative Political Economics
Other Courses: -
Letters of Recommendation: Should be strong.
Research Experience: R.A. for 3 professors.
Teaching Experience: 3 years as T.A.
Research Interests: "Applied" Macroeconomics, Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Debt Management and Internacional Finance (pretty much open to everything).
SOP: Standard.
Other: -
Results:
Accepted: Duke ($), Rochester($$), LSE (EME Program, no funding)
Waitlisted: JHU (declined)
Rejected: Harvard, MIT, NYU, Chicago, Northwestern, Yale, Michigan
Attending: Duke!
What I would have done differently?
I would have taken a B.Sc. in Mathematics and I would have gone for a masters in economics (research track) in a major european program such as the Barcelona GSE or LSE.
Accepts:
    Accepted: Duke ($), Rochester($$), LSE (EME Program, no funding)
Rejects:
    Rejected: Harvard, MIT, NYU, Chicago, Northwestern, Yale, Michigan
Waitlists:
    Waitlisted: JHU (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

toffeenutlatte 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad:Econ-math double major, one of the best econ and math programs in my country
Undergrad GPA: 3.7
Type of Grad: -
Grad GPA: -
GRE: 154V, 167Q. 5.0 AW
Math Courses: Finite mathematics (A), Calculus for engineers (A), Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra (A), Statistics (A-), Introduction to Abstract Mathematics (C), Advanced Calculus (B+), Numerical Methods (A), Real Analysis 1 (B), Real Analysis2 (B+), Abstract Algebra1 (B), Abstract Algebra2( B),Diiferential Equations (C+)
Econ Courses (grad-level):Micro, Macro (currently Taking)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level):Intermediate Micro(A), Intermadiate Macro(A), History of Economic Thought(A), Turkish Economics(A), Econometrics 1(B+), Econometrics 2 (A), Advanced Macroeconomics (A), Financial Globalization and Emerging Markets (A), Game Theory, Economics of Institutions
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation:
- a math prof who knows me very well (4 courses, all A"s, one semester of TA)
- very famous development economist (took one course from him(A), 2 years of RA job,1 semester of TA)
- a very famous macro economist, all of them should be encouraging
Research Experience:2 years of RA
Teaching Experience:TA in Turkish Economics, Global Political Economy and Calculus
Research Interests:Development, Political Economics, Economic history
SOP: -
Concerns: Math grades - getting A's from math classes in my school is impossible. I was the first ranking student in the department of mathematics for the past 3 years with the grades above.
Applying to:
Phd: Chicago,Northwestern, NYU, Maryland, Cornell, Brown, UCLA, UCSD, UC Berkeley, Duke, Minnesota,Johns Hopkins, Columbia,
Masters: Toulouse, LSE, Oxford, Barcelona GSE
Accepts:
  • Institution: Toulouse School of Economics M2 - Econometric Theory and Econometrics Decision: Accepted! Funding: recommended for the Eiffel scholarship Notification date: 12.16.2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: It is so nice to have a back up option =) i'm so glad i have this opportunity so early!
  • Institution: LSE MSc in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/17/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment: Expected, but still happy to have back up options!
  • Institution: Duke Economics Phd Decision:Admitted Funding: 18 K Notification date: 2/28/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: I am happy beyond the words. Its one of my top choices!
Rejects:
  • Institution: LSE EME Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 01.16.2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: oh well...
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: No Comments:
Waitlists:
  • Institution: JHU Econ PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Notification Date: 3/1/12 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: i dont plan to go to JHU anyways

AusEconGuy 2012:
Another data point (for Australians)
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad:Econ with first class honours from Go8 Australian Uni
Undergrad GPA: 3.8 for standard Bachelor, 4.0 in Honours (Converted to US scale)
Type of Grad: M Phil in Economics
Grad GPA: Coursework: 4.0 (US converted)
GRE: 159V, 168Q. 5.0 AW
Math Courses: Math for Economists (B, undergrad), econ students dont do pure math courses in my institution
Econ Courses (grad-level): Macro (A+), Micro (A), Metrics (A+)
Econ Courses (honours-level): Macro (A+), Metrics (A+), Advanced Math Econ (A+); Behavioural Game Theory (A+); Micro (B; whoops!)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I/II (B+; A+); Macro I/II (A+, A+); Metrics I/II/II (A+;A+;B); Econ Theory (B); Trade II/II (A+;A+); Econ History (A); Development (A); Money & Banking (A); Public Econ (A);
Other Courses: Finance I/II (A+;A) and some politics stuff
Letters of Recommendation:
- thesis supervisor for Hons and MPhil thesis, also taught me
- Prof I RA'd for over 2 years
- Assist Prof whom i tutored with for three years
- Head of School .... All should be positive
Research Experience: 6 years as RA for various profs (since 2nd year undergad); 3 conference presentations in 2011 for MPhil thesis; 2 thesis in experimental econ
Teaching Experience: TA for 4 years in range of courses from first year through third year
Research Interests: Behavioural Econ and Experiments, Political Econ, Information Econ
SOP: These are hard work! But its over
Concerns: Lack of obvious maths training (hons and Mphil courses are all at graduate level... LORS hopefully mention this), occasional B's in theory classes - These aren't horrible grades, I was still in top few students in these courses but no scaling
Applying to:
Phd: Northwestern, NYU (Econ and Stern), Cornell, Brown, UCSD, UC Berkeley, Princeton, Stanford ,Caltech, U Penn
Masters: Oxford; U College London; Autonoma, UC3M; Barcelona GSE; LSE; Toronto
Accepts:
  • Institution: LSE EME Decision: Accepted conditional on a distinction average in my current MPhil Funding: Can apply for needs based funding Notification date: 21/01/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: NO Comments: nice indeed, though an expensive program
  • Institution: Barcelona GSE MSc Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: 6000 euro tuition waiver Notification date: 13/12/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: NO Comments: first admit, was happy at the time. dont like the short expiry date of the offer!
  • Institution: UC3M Master+PHD Decision: Accepted Funding: fees, first year health insurance and 1150 euro per month Notification date: 2/18 (17th on other side of the date line) Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: First admit that doesnt ask for tuition fees, nice indeed. exploding offer with 30 day deadline
  • Institution: Oxford MPhil Decision: acceptted Funding: TBA after college selection Notification date: 03/15/12 Notified through: E-mail Comments: pumped -- probably going to go here
  • Institution: UAB IDEA (autonoma barcelona) master in economic analysis + phd Decision: accepted Funding: tution waiver + 1000 euro per month Notification date: 03/21/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: seems europe is the place to be for me this year
  • Institution: UCL (London) MSc Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: seems like nothing Notification date: 4/3/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: Interesting option
Rejects:
  • Institution: caltech social science phd Decision: rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 24/2/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: a very polite email, disappointed coz was a top choice for me
  • Institution: UC Berkeley phd in Econ Decision: rejected, twice to be sure I understood! Funding: n/a Notification date: 24/2/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: u penn phd Econ Decision: rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 24/2/2012 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: nope Comments: What a tough three hours!
  • Institution: northwestern Econ phd Decision: rejected Funding:n/a Notification date: 29/2/2012 Notified through: website after seeing decisions here Posted on GC: nope Comments: looks like I'm going to europe! The USA doesn't like my 'no name' institution.
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: rejected Funding: n/a Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments: 'I can only assure you that all files were read at least twice and decisions were made with care' maybe they should have read it a third time!?.... so back to europe and my EME offer
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: rejected Funding: na Notification date: March 8 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: NO Comment: Learned to expect this.... im going for zero north american admits, only cornell and UoT to hear back from
  • Institution: NYU Stern Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: --- Notified: 3/12 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: totally expected
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/15/12 Notified through: E-mail Comments: OK - so i've given up on the usa now... obviously my app is a lil random for them
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 03/21/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision:Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 04/12/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: i'm out of the USA... hopefully Toronto can give me my one north american admit
Waitlists:

mdecon 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BS Basic Medical Sciences (in the top medical school in our country [SE Asia])
Undergrad GPA: I'm not sure how to convert it but I graduated cum laude and the 2nd in our batch
Type of Postgrad: Doctor of Medicine (yes I'm a doctor)
Grad GPA: Again, not sure how to convert it but I'm in the top 250f my class
Type of Grad: MA Economics (top Econ department in our country, not strongly ranked in Asia though)
Grad GPA: Unsure how to convert it (maybe B+/A- level)
GRE: 160 V (around 600 in the old scheme based on a comparison of the percentiles), 164 Q (around 790 in the old scheme based on a comparison of the percentiles), 5.5 AW
TOEFL: 118/120
Math Courses: Calculus/Elementary Analysis I-III, Linear Algebra, Elementary Differential Equations, Elementary Statistics, Intro to Proving (all taken alongside by grad econ courses)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Microeconomic Analysis I-III, Macroeconomic Analysis I-III, Math Econ I-II, Econ Statistics, Econometrics I-II, Health, Labor, International I-II, Monetary, Environmental
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Elementary Macro, Math Econ, Introductory Econometrics
Other Courses: Lots of sciences (bio, chem, physics), medicine
Letters of Recommendation: PhD from Yale, PhD from Northwestern, PhD from Columbia and PhD from my university
Research Experience: Did some scientific research (unpublished) in physiology, pharmacology and biochemistry during med school, RA in the Asian Development Bank's Economics and Research Department
Teaching Experience: 2 sems TA (Intro to Econ, Intro to Micro), 2 1/2 years in the Health Sciences Program of the country's second-ranked university
Research Interests: Health, Health and Development, Behavioral, Experimental, Neuroeconomics
SOP: Addressed my not so stellar math grades, highlighted my unique background, discussed my potential strength in health, experimental and neuroeconomics research because of my MD
Concerns: Not so stellar math grades (only around ~B+), lack of economic research papers, admissions committees might see me as better off in a public health PhD or a health policy/health econ PhD rather than an econ PhD program
Other: Got awarded as an outstanding student in my country in 2008
Applying to: Many of the top 25 schools (especially those with Neuroeconomics labs like NYU, Duke, Berkeley, Stanford), some in the 30-60 like UCSB, UCR, USC, Georgetown, WUSTL, Claremont (because of their neuroecon program), some MPP programs in public policy schools (Princeton, Chicago), Harvard PhD Health Policy
Accepts:
  • Institution nstitution: Washington University in St. Louis Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Full Tuition Scholarship with Fellowship (24K stipend) Notification Date: 2/15/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: First funded admission/acceptance. Didn't expect this. Very excited!
  • Institution: University of Southern California Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: $23K stipend + health/dental insurance + health center fee Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: 2nd funded admit and happy over it although I'm worried as it seems that I'm not going to crack into any of the top 20 programs. At least I ended the week with an admit.
  • Institution: University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 18K stipend + health/dental insurance Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Absolutely floored and ecstatic! Didn't expect this admit especially after 10 straight rejections from almost everywhere, even Georgetown. Very happy!
Rejects:
  • Institution: UCSB Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/08/2012 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments:
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 2/24/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 2/24/12 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: University of Chicago Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Expected. No harm in trying
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: March 1 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Was hoping to get in here.
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: March 1 Notified Through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Also expected. And again, no harm in trying.
  • Institution: Penn Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 24 Notified Through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
Waitlists:

superman0916 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Major in Math and Econ at a Large State University. Top 40 Econ. Program
Undergrad GPA: 3.94, 4 for math
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q800/V650/AW3.0
Math Courses: Cal I,II,III; LA(I,II); ODE; Real Analysis(I,II); Statistic(I, II); Discrete math; Abstract Algebra; All 4.0 for these courses
Econ Courses: Advanced Micro(4.0), Macro(4.0) two Econometric courses(4.0) some other basic undergrad econ classes
Other Courses: Math for Econ. PhD (Right now); PhD Micro(Right now) Phd Econometrics(Right now)
Letters of Recommendation:
One from a famous Economist(I'm doing a research with him), strong be stroong;
Professor for PhD econometrics class, very famous, I did well on the first midterm, talked about my current research with him couple times, not sure how strong it is;
Professor for the PhD micro class
Math Professor I'm TAing for. I also took one class with her two years ago, and I think I was the top student...
Research Experience: RA this summer.(with funding) We are writing a program for STATA. Still doing it now, but it seems like noting will be published before the end of the year.
Teaching Experience: TA for the Math department for almost two years. TAing Linear Algebra now.
Research Interests: Econometrics, Time series analysis
SOP: I would say its just ok...
Applying: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, U of Chicago, Berkely, Yale, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, UCLA, UCSD, Wisconsin, Cornell, Brown, Duke, BU, OSU, U of Maryland.
Good luck for everyone!
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: Nice! Still waiting for 16 schools...
  • Institution: UCLA Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No first year funding Notification date: 03/02/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: Hope they give me funding for first year
  • Institution: University of Maryland - College Park Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Full Funding 19K Notification date: 03/0602/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: Not bad
  • Institution: BU Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No first year funding Notification date: 03/12/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Full Funding Notification date: 03/14/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: My Favorite school! Great place to do Econometrics
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: upset...
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NO~~~ Notification Date: 02/29/12 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Chicago Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NO~~~ Notification Date: 02/29/12 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NO~~~ Notification Date: 02/29/12 Notified Through: E-mail to Check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
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.

Hubble 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in economics and BS in mathematics from top undergraduate institution in my country (Double degree)
Undergrad GPA: 3.98/4.0 (ranked first in my class)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: 4.0/4.0 (just took a few classes)
GRE: 690V, 800Q, 4.0AW
Math Courses(undergrad-level): Cal, Vector Cal(A+,A), Linear Algebra 1,2(A+,A+), Abstract Algebra 1,2(A+,A+), Applied Algebra(A+), Real Analysis 1,2,3(A,A+,A), Topology(A+), Intro/Diff eq,Ordinary Diff eq1,2, Partial Diff eq1(A+,A+,A+,A), Probability theory(A+), Stochastic Processes(A), Set theory(A+), Mathematical Reasoning(A+), Scientific Computing(A+)
Math Courses(grad-level): Stochastic Processes(A), Mathematical Statistics(A+)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Macro1(A+), Topics in Macro(A+)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): a whole bunch
Other Courses: a few programming classes with all A+
Letters of Recommendation: 4 econ professors
Research Experience: summer research internship at top 15 Econ program in the U.S., 2 working papers
Teaching Experience: TA for an undergraduate math class
Research Interests: applied macro, time-series analysis
SOP: standard. I talked about how my previous research experience led me to have current research interest.
Concerns: didn't take graduate micro classes
Other:
Applying to: MIT, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, Chicago, Northwestern, Upenn, NYU, UCLA, UCSD, Wisconsin-Madison, Brown
Accepts:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 34k Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: can't believe it... my dream school !! XD
  • Institution: Upenn Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: 23k Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: two admissions in a row! wow!
  • Institution: Wisconsin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification: 2/26/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: I sent an e-mail to decline my application to UW-Madison today and a few hours later they sent me an offer.... -_-;
  • Institution: Berkeley Decision: Accepted Funding: no funding for 1st year, full funding afterwards Notification date: 2/27/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 02/29/12 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Chicago Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 02/29/12 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: bye bye windy city~~
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 02/29/12 Notified Through: E-mail to Check website Posted on GC: No Comments: good bye Boston..!!
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
Waitlists:

nickilla 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BSc. in Economics at Top 3 German University, 2 semesters exchange at Top 2 Canadian University.
Undergrad GPA: 1.2 ~ 3.9 (if counted by ECTS grades); 94% avg in Canada.
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 170Q 162V 4.5A
Math Courses: Probability and Statistics I and II (A, A), Linear Algebra I (A), Analysis I (B), Differential Eqs. (A), Maths for Economists (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro (A), Advanced Micro (A) Intermediate Macro (A), Advanced Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Advanced Econometrics (B), Trade Theory (A), Labor Economics (A), Game Theory (A), Development Economics (A), Capital Market Theory (A), History of Economic Thought (A), Optimization and Economics Theory (A), Public Finance (A), Taxation (B), Political Economics (A).
Econ Courses (grad-level): Advanced Game Theory (A), Experimental and Behavioral Econ (A), Advanced Maths for Economists (A)
Other Courses (undergrad): Bunch of Commerce classes (compulsory for my degree - mostly As, one B), some soft skills stuff (also compulsory, A and C).
Letters of Recommendation:
1 - Advanced GT Prof. Worked for him for almost 2 years, also had im in undergrad advanced micro. Well known in his field, some top 5 pubs.
2 - Behavioral Econ Prof. Started working for him this fall. (Well) known in his field, some top 5 pubs.
3 - Theory of Capital Markets Prof. Relatively unknown, was post-doc at #1's chair.
Research Experience: Two years with letter of recommendation writer 1, 6 mths with letter of recommendation writer 2. I work however almost exclusively with their PhD students. Wrote a long seminar thesis and recently a honors thesis.
Teaching Experience: Two semesters Intermediate Macro.
Research Interests: Information Economics, Game Theory, Networks, Labour, Experimental.
SOP: Solid, slightly adjusted for different schools (whom I would like to work with, which courses interest me).
Concerns: Coming from Europe w/o MA, B in Analysis I (first semester at uni) and Advanced Econometrics; don't know how well letter of recommendation writers are connected at US universities.
Other: Grad courses don't show on transcript (university policy), however hope that the letter of recommendation writers whom I took the courses with mentioned my relative performance.
Applying to: Harvard, MIT, Yale, UCBerkeley, UCLA, Stanford, Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin, NYU, NYU Stern, Columbia, UPenn, Chicago, Princeton, Caltech, U Toronto [MA], UPF (BGSE) [MA], BonnGSE
Accepts:
  • Institution: Wisconsin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: None for first; TA/RA afterwards Notification date: 3/7/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Seriously thinking about it...
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification 2/22/12 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: MIT. Economics. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification Date: February 29. Notified Through: E-mail to check website. Posted on GC: No. Comments: Oh, well...
  • Institution: University of Chicago Economics. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification Date: February 29. Notified Through: E-mail. Posted on GC: No. Comments: They seem to be running out of funds?
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: NA Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: NA Notification Date: 03/03/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/8/2012 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Hm, a lot easier to take this after UW admit...
Waitlists:

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:

EconNerd 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BS in Business with concentration in Finance and Economics, Minor in Theology from a Midwestern Catholic private institution
Undergrad GPA: 3.97
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q/560V/4.0A
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A), Linear Algebra (A), Discrete Math (A), Applied Probability Models (A), Differential Equations (A), Real Analysis (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): N/A
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Inter. Micro (A), Inter. Macro (A), International Trade (A), Development Economics (A), Latin American Economics (A), Economics of Immigration (A), Econometrics (A)
Other Courses: Various Finance and Theology courses that have no bearing
Letters of Recommendation: Econ Professor, Finance Professor, Linear Algebra Professor
Research Experience: N/A
Teaching Experience: N/A
Research Interests: Latin American Development, Immigration, Microcredit and Savings, possibly Public Finance or Labor
SOP: Have interesting background after graduation, math courses were taken at various institutions
Concerns: Little-none Research Experience and lower Verbal score
Other:
Applying to: Wisconsin, Northwestern, Michigan State, Cornell, Yale, BC, Duke, Pittsburgh, Texas, UCSD, Berkeley, Colorado, WUSTL
Accepts:
  • Institution: Pittsburgh Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: To come Notification date: 2/29/12 Notified through: Email Comments: Have family there... pretty exciting
  • Institution: Michigan State Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification date: 3/2/12 Notified through: Email Comments: Pretty excited!! First funded offer
  • Institution: University of Colorado at Boulder Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TA + fellowship, tuition, and health insurance Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Fiance is happy about location and I just got skis for Christmas!
Rejects:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 2/29/12 Notified through: website Comments: This was my top choice... such is life
  • 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: expected
  • 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 Comments: such is life... San Diego was too expensive to live in anyways
  • Institution: UT - Austin Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/22/2012 Notified through: Checked Web site and later got an email Posted on GC: No Comments: None
  • Institution: Cornell Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 4/4/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Agreed to above, took long enough but still trying to choose where to go
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Boston College Economics Decision: Wait List Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/29/12 Notified through: Email Comments: We'll see...
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Wait List Funding: Let's get accepted first Notification date: 2/28/12 Notified through: Email Comments: Awesome!! didn't have an interview

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:

lessgiraffe 2012:
Institution: Vanderbilt
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N.A.
Notification Date: 2/10/2012
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Comments: -
Accepts:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Vanderbilt Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/10/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of Virginia Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/17/2012 Notified through: E-mail to check application status Posted on GC: No Comments: E-mail sent at 12:44 a.m. U.S. central
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/24/2012 Notified through: E-mail to check Web site Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: California Institute of Technology Ph.D. Social Science Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/24/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of Chicago Booth School of Business Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/28/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of Chicago Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Northwestern University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified through: Application Web site Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Duke University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified through: E-mail to check Web site Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of California, Los Angeles Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of Minnesota Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: Checked Web site Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/7/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/7/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of Texas at Austin Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified through: E-mail to check Web site Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • 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 Comments: -
  • Institution: Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/12/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Boston University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Harvard University Ph.D. Business Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified through: Post mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Letter dated 3/9/2012
  • Institution: The Ohio State University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/20/2012 Notified through: Checked Web site Posted on GC: No Comments: -
Waitlists:

econphdhopeful2 2012:
Institution: Vanderbilt
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: na
Notification date: 2/10/2012
Notified through: email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Expected but still a bummer, plenty more to go I suppose
Accepts:
  • Institution: Notre Dame Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: tuition + 18,000 Notification date: 2/16 Notified through: email Posted on GC:no Comments: So excited!
  • Institution: UC Davis Economics Decision: recommended for admission Funding: ? Notification date: 2/17 Notified through: email from department official acceptance to follow Posted on GC: no Comments: Very excited!!
  • Institution: UC Santa Cruz Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 20k (that number includes tuition remission) Notification date: 2/24 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: I'm excited, great school in a great location, but in-state tuition is barely covered and I'd still have to pay out of state
Rejects:
  • Institution: Vanderbilt Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: na Notification date: 2/10/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Expected but still a bummer, plenty more to go I suppose
  • Institution: Washington University in St. Louis Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n.a. Notification date: 4/15 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Not too surprised
  • Institution: UC Santa Barbara Phd Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: na Notification date: 2/23 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: would have been nice but not too disappointed
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: na Notification date: 3/1/12 Notified through: application Posted on GC: no Comments: so much for hoping that not getting it yesterday was a good sign
  • Institution: UVA phd economics Decision: rejection Funding: na Notification date: 3/2 Notified through: email to check site Posted on GC: no Comments: meh
  • Institution: UW - Madison phd economics Decision: rejected Funding: na Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: kind of glad I don't think it was a good fit for me, but would have been hard to turn down
  • Institution: UC San Diego phd economics Decision: rejected Funding: na Notification date: 3/9 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: sad but expected
Waitlists:

jzir11 2012:
Institution: Washington University in St. Louis
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding:
Notification Date:2/15/2012
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Let the rejections begin!
Accepts:
  • Institution: UC Davis Economics Decision: recommended for admission Funding: Find out in March Notification date: 2/17 Notified through: email from department official acceptance to follow Posted on GC: no Comments: A VERY pleasant surprise!
  • Institution: UC Irvine Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Out of State Tuition Remission + 17k TA stipend Notification date: 2/18 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: UC Santa Cruz Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition Reimbursement + 16K Notification: 2/24/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Washington University in St. Louis Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date:2/15/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Let the rejections begin!
  • Institution: Stanford GSB EAP PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: checked website 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: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: rejected Funding: n/a Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: This was the one school where I really hoped to say "Holy s t, they actually let me in!" Such is life.
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: Notification Date: 3/2/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: no Comments: expected
  • 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: That's all she wrote. Funny, my first three notifications were acceptances, all the rest rejections...
Waitlists:

gobigorgohome 2012:
Institution: Yale
Program: Econ PhD
Decision: Rejected
Funding: -
Notification date: 02/22
Notified through: Email to check website
Posted on GC: No
Accepts:
  • Institution: BU Economics Phd Decision: Accepted Funding: Years 2-5 Notification date: 03.14.2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: 10am this morning
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "5 Year Aid Package" Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Nice!
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Northwestern Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Checked website Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Chicago Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Like the guy in the ING $6300 SUIT IS GONNA GET REJECTED EVERYWHERE! COMEON!
Waitlists:
  • 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: Happy to be on the waitlist, not happy I was not accepted

wbuelow 2012:
Institution: Yale
Program: Econ PhD
Decision: Rejected
Funding: -
Notification date: 02/22
Notified through: Email to check website
Posted on GC: No
Comments: First decision. 12 more to go. Too bad, I wanted to do metrics.
Accepts:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: First decision. 12 more to go. Too bad, I wanted to do metrics.
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Checked website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: ugh
  • Institution: Chicago Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: One acceptance would be nice...
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: One admit would be nice
  • Institution: University of Minnesota Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: March 2 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: FML
Waitlists:

ohwhy 2012:
Institution: Yale
Program: Econ PhD
Decision: Rejected
Funding: -
Notification date: 02/22
Notified through: Email to check website
Posted on GC: No
Comments:
Accepts:
  • Institution: University of Michigan Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship 5 yrs Notification date: 3/8/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: YES!! Better stock up on North Face gear, Michigan here I come.
  • Institution: UVA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 20k ta Notification date: 3/7/2012 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:
  • Institution: Northwestern University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified through: Application Web site Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Chicago Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Penn Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/27/2012 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: - to2012...you are not alone my friend. 3 years of being an RA, 6 math classes, and a publication in a top 50 journal..thus far, all rejections.
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/08/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: womp womp although probably wasn't the best fit.
Waitlists:
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Notification Date: 3/2/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: waitlisted Funding: tbd Notification date: 3/2/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:

redbird 2012:
Institution: Stanford GSB
Program: EAP PhD
Decision: Rejected
Funding: NA
Notification date: 02/23
Notified through: checked website
Posted on GC:
Comments:
Accepts:
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: None for 1st year, TA/RA from 2nd year Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Stanford GSB EAP PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: checked website Posted on GC: Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: Comments:
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: waitlisted Funding: Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No

econtp 2012:
Institution: Vanderbilt
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: $21,200
Notification date: 02/10
Notified through: Email
Comment: My first admit with quite generous funding!
Institution: WUSTL
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Waitlisted
Funding: Waitlisted
Notification date: 02/16
Notified through: Email
Institution: UCSB
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Rejected
Funding:
Notification date: 02/23
Notified through: Email to check website
Comment: Quite surprised..
Institution: Stanford GSB
Program: EAP PhD
Decision: Rejected
Funding:
Notification date: 02/23
Notified through: Email to check website
Institution: UT Austin
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: If I want, I have to contact them ASAP.
Notification date: 02/23
Notified through: Email
Comment: Hm.. I prefer Vandy to UT since my interest is Macro
Accepts:
  • Institution: Vanderbilt Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: $21,200 Notification date: 02/10 Notified through: Email Comment: My first admit with quite generous funding!
  • Institution: UT Austin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: If I want, I have to contact them ASAP. Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: Email Comment: Hm.. I prefer Vandy to UT since my interest is Macro
  • Institution: UC Santa Cruz Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "I am unable to guarantee you financial support at this time. Should you have questions about future financial support, please contact your department." Notification: 2/24/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: It is a good place for Monetary Econ..
  • Institution: USC Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 23k stipend + health/dental insurance + health center Notification date: 2/28/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: I like the offer especially the health center part. Is 23k enough for living in LA with a wife and a baby?
  • Institution : Georgetown Econ PhD Decision : Accepted Funding : 22k Fellowship Notification Date: 2/29 Notified Through : E-mail Posted on GC : No Comments: Good!
  • Institution: Indiana University Bloomington Economics Decision : Accepted Funding : 1st yr 20,000 fellowship, 2-5 16000 TAship Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through : E-mail Posted on GC : No Comments: Good option for macro, metrics!
Rejects:
  • Institution: UCSB Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: Email to check website Comment: Quite surprised..
  • Institution: Stanford GSB EAP PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: Email to check website
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: No Comments: very very sad...
Waitlists:
  • Institution: WUSTL Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Waitlisted Notification date: 02/16 Notified through: Email

contagion 2012:
Institution: Yale
Program: economics phd
Decision: rejected
Funding: n/a
Notification date: 22/2/2012
Notified through: email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: life goes on...
Institution: UC Berkeley
Program: phd in Econ
Decision: rejected
Funding: n/a
Notification date: 24/2/2012
Notified through: email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: nothing to do...
Accepts:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale economics phd Decision: rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 22/2/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: life goes on...
  • Institution: UC Berkeley phd in Econ Decision: rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 24/2/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: nothing to do...
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: No Comments: F ck, I thought that this was the one... =(
Waitlists:

bholly 2012:
Institution: Berkeley
Program: Ph.D. in Economics
Decision: Waitlist
Funding: N/A
Notification Date: 2/27/2012
Notified through:Email
Posted on GC: Yes
Comments: Doing nothing for my nerves
Accepts:
  • Institution: UBC Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Not determined Notification date: March 1 Notified through: Informal email - official notification 'may be a few weeks' Posted on GC: No Comments: Cool. First admit. Go...uhh...Canucks?
Rejects:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Thanks for the heads up
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Berkeley Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/27/2012 Notified through:Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Doing nothing for my nerves


Waitlists:

MarineEconGuy 2012:
Institution: UC-Denver, UIUC, American University
Program: Masters in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: TAship
Notification: 2/6/12 (first 2), 2/22/12 (last one)
Notified through: E-mail from a professor
Posted on GC: NO
Comments: Definitely a sigh of relief knowing I have some choices after I get out of the Marine Corps.
Still waiting on Masters results from: UIC, Duke and Tufts (both a stretch, I have a weak profile, you can see in link below), Ohio University, George Washington, SDSU
Still waiting on PhD results from: Northwestern (dream school but totally unrealistic), UVA, Indiana, Notre Dame, Georgetown
Profile: (read first post) http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo...economics.html (Marine transitioning to Masters Program to pursue a Phd in Economics)
Accepts:
  • Institution: UC-Denver, UIUC, American University Masters in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification: 2/6/12 (first 2), 2/22/12 (last one) Notified through: E-mail from a professor Posted on GC: NO Comments: Definitely a sigh of relief knowing I have some choices after I get out of the Marine Corps. Still waiting on Masters results from: UIC, Duke and Tufts (both a stretch, I have a weak profile, you can see in link below), Ohio University, George Washington, SDSU Still waiting on PhD results from: Northwestern (dream school but totally unrealistic), UVA, Indiana, Notre Dame, Georgetown Profile: (read first post) http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo...economics.html (Marine transitioning to Masters Program to pursue a Phd in Economics)
Rejects:
Waitlists:
    waiting on PhD results from: Northwestern (dream school but totally unrealistic), UVA, Indiana, Notre Dame, Georgetown Profile: (read first post) http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo...economics.html (Marine transitioning to Masters Program to pursue a Phd in Economics)
Admit summary statistics:
As submitted and recoreded from Test Magic:
There were 10 accepted out of 52 applicants.Of those accepted, average GPA was 3.86, average GREQ was 798.0.
From the Department webpage in 2010 (please send me a link if this is wrong!)
Most successful applicants to our program have math and analytic GRE scores above the 90th percentile. Applicants receiving financial aid generally have math and analytic GRE scores above the 95th percentile. The Graduate School indicates that scores on the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE should typically be well above 600, and the analytical writing section score should be above 5 on the 6-point scale. These scores do not represent rigid requirements, and many applicants with lower scores have been accepted and given financial aid because of other outstanding characteristics, such as superb reference letters or excellent performance as undergraduates...The program receives approximately 600 applications each year. Each year, the department's entering class is about 18 to 25 students.
(Source)

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