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snigai 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: International Student, top 10 University in the country, exhange student in the US.
Undergrad GPA: 85%
Type of Grad: MA in Economics, Top 3 University in the Region
Grad GPA: 4,10 out of 4,33
GRE: 770/420/5.0, TOEFL: 115/120
Math Courses: Mathematics for Economists, Mathematical Programming
Econ Courses: relevant Micro I, II; Macro I, II; Econometrics I,II all grad
Other Courses: Statistics, Probability
Letters of Recommendation: all grom grad economics professors
Research Experience: GRA for 1 semester for visiting professor
Teaching Experience: GTA for 2 semesters
Research Interests: Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics
SOP: It was allright I suppose )))
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UVA, Penn State, UC Riverside, American U (probably)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Harvard, Berkeley ,Cornell, Georgetown
What would you have done differently?Nothing. I did the best I could.

3ohto4oh 2009:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics, large top 25 U.S. Public research university
Undergrad GPA: 3.0 (rounding up LOL)
Type of Grad: M.A. Economics, terminal degree within department
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 790Q, 570V, 5.0AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-II (AP credits), Math Stats (A), Discrete Math (A), Math for econ (undergrad and grad, A, A)
Econ Courses: Tons. Sloppy undergrad grades, All A's in MA.
Other Courses: Random stuff like Japanese
Letters of Recommendation: 3 professors of econ
Research Experience: MA thesis, submitted for publication (fingers crossed!)
Teaching Experience: Tutoring
Research Interests: Macro, applied macro, forecasting.
SOP: Suggested a couple of potential research topics.
Concerns: No serious math courses hurt me in applications, could make things more difficult in my studies.
RESULTS:
Attending: City University of New York, Graduate Center. $18k "Enhanced Chancellor's Fellowship," guaranteed for 5 years.
Admitted, Declined: American U ($-WL), Northeastern U ($$), Suffolk U ($), and the New School ()
Waitlists: Boston C, U Washington, U North Carolina, Georgetown U
Rejections: Johns Hopkins U, U Maryland, Boston U, George Washington U, Michigan U
What would you have done differently?
Very happy with this outcome. I spread my applications far and wide, so I am sure that I got into the best program that I could have - and then I fell in love with CUNY on a campus visit. As for advice to others, I have a huge hole in my transcript where there should have been upper-level math courses, and I should have corrected that.

Galib 2009:
Institution: American University.
Program: Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: not until mid-March
Notification date: 2/09
Notified through: Mail
Comments: ..I am excited to get accepted, but if there is no funding, I guess I will look in a different direction
Accepted: Claremont, American
Waiting: Iowa State, Yale, Uni of Utah, McGill

amber4e86 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Unranked small university in NY, but I am an Honors College student
Undergrad GPA: 3.8, 4.0 in Econ and Math
Type of Grad: BA, majors in Economics and International Studies. Minors in Spanish and Political Science
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 590/800/5.5
Math Courses: Calculus I and II, Linear Algebra, Intro to Statistics, Math Methods for Economists (Had not taken Linear and Calc II at the time of application)
Econ Courses: Micro I and II, Macro I and II, Environmental, Development, Systems of Political Economy, International Political Economy, Industrial Organization, Money and Banking
Other Courses: a lot of International Relations and Poli Sci, a lot of Spanish, Honors College liberal arts and social science seminars
Letters of Recommendation: three econ professors who teach at my school. Two of them know me very well so Im sure they wrote amazing recommendations. They are not well known and are all heterodox, so I got mostly into the schools that they graduated from + schools where people from my school and similar background got accepted last year
Research Experience: summer internship with an environmental research agency in Australia last summer
Teaching Experience: tutor in Econ for the past 3 years at my school, GRE math tutor, writing center tutor
Research Interests: development, international political economy, environmental
SOP: I wrote about development and why I think it is important to relate human rights to the eradication of poverty
Other: Im involved in my school's student government and Ive held exec board positions in 2 organizations, attending Model UN conferences in Mexico and in the US. I like to be very active and do things, rather than sit by myself and contemplate. I guess schools recognized that and sensed that I will be reluctant to do hardcore research because I am more interested in executive positions in government, rather than in a research university once I graduate.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: American ($$), UMass ($), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ($$), Fordham (2nd on waitlist for $$), George Washington (no $), Rutgers (no $)
Waitlists: none
Rejections: too many! NYU, BU, UCLA, UCSD, Cornell, CMU, UPenn, MIT and Columbia (for different programs, not econ)
Pending: Georgetown (that's a no, but I havent gotten the letter yet), CUNY (also probably a no or an unfunded offer)
Attending: I haven't been able to decide yet.
What would you have done differently?
If I had known earlier that I wanted to study Econ, I would have taken more math. I am taking the classes I should have had now and I know that I am really good at them, but there was no way for the adcoms to know that if they only saw my grade from Calc I. I also should have applied to International Political Economy PhD programs, rather than Economics PhDs, because I am much better prepared for those with numerous internships and publications at government organizations and NGOs. A reality check was very necessary, but unfortunately, I had nobody to turn to and had to figure it all out on my own. On the other hand, I got accepted to all of my safeties and to schools that match my research interests. If I didn't care about location and I had external funding, I would have been super-happy.

Mpianatra 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 20 econ program
Undergrad GPA: 3.56/4
Type of Grad: MS in same major/university
Grad GPA: none at time of application
GRE: 780/580/5.5
Math Courses: Calc I/II (A-), Real Analysis (in progress during app), Calc III (A+), Linear Algebra (A), Ord. Diff. Eq. (A) [last three courses taken as non-degree student at state school w/o econ phd]
Econ Courses: Intro Micro/Macro (A), Inter Micro (B+), Inter Macro (A), Labor Economics (B), Income Distribution (A), Developing Country Labor Markets (A-), Applied Econometrics (A-), Econ Dev't (A-), Public Finance (A-), Economic Data (B), Grad Micro Theory I (in progress), Grad Econ of Education (in progress)
Other Courses: Intro Stats (A-)
Letters of Recommendation: Thesis Adviser- known for a long time (pretty strong), Second Thesis Adviser-mostly knew from a course (positive but probably pretty generic), RA prof (also probably pretty generic)
Research Experience: Master's thesis but hadn't done much for it at time of application
Teaching Experience: Just short of teaching credential
Research Interests: Development, Political Economy, Labor
SOP: Nothing special. Run of the mill about why I like econ, why I was qualified, and why I liked the school.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: American ($?), BU (no $), CUNY (Fellowship), Fordham ($?), Colorado ($$$), UI-Chicago ($?), Washington (no $), Wisconsin ($$)
Waitlists: BC
Rejections: Columbia, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, George Washington, Minnesota, Michigan, NYU, Northwestern, UCLA, Maryland, UNC, Notre Dame, USC, Texas,
Attending: Wisconsin
What would you have done differently?
What I wouldn't have done differently was apply to so many schools. I had a lot of reach schools on my list and all it takes is one of them to accept you. Some rejections from very lowly-ranked schools with some acceptances from relatively high-ranked so it can be hard to predict. Obviously getting better grades would always help but I'm very satisfied with the overall results.

wajihc 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 20 National University
Undergrad GPA: Below 3.0 with double majors in ECON & PSCI
Type of Grad: Northeastern University
Grad GPA: 3.5
GRE: 770 Q, 520 V
Math Courses: Calc I, II (B+), III (B+); Math & Stats for Economists (A-), Differential Equations (audited)
Grad Econ Courses: Micro (B), Macro (A), IO (B-), Ph.D. level Econometrics (A-), US Economic History (A)
Ugrad Econ Courses: Intermediate Microeconomics (F then B), Intermediate Macroeconomics (B-), Intro to Stats (A), US Economic History Seminar (B), International Trade (C+)
Other Courses:
Letters: Ugrad Professor with Ph.D. from Iowa, Associate Professor in Ph.D.
econometrics with Ph.D. from Indiana, Grad Professor in econometrics with Ph.D.
from UC Berkeley
Research: Ph.D. econometrics course paper on sources of multifactor productivity
Teaching: None
Research Interests: Economic growth and development
SOP: Discussed my journey to get to economics, what I'm doing to augment
my math skills, and personal motivation from ethnic background
RESULTS:
Acceptances: NC State (no $), GWU (no $), American (no $), CUNY (no $)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Indiana, Iowa State, CO-Boulder, Syracuse, Notre Dame, FL Int'l, Brandeis
Pending:
What would you have done differently?
If I were to do ugrad all over, I would have minored in math and accounting, and gotten better grades in undergrad. Assuming my ugrad mistakes, in grad school, I would have taken Real Analysis.
Final call: I deferred NC State, GWU, American, and CUNY. I got tired of being a broker in NYC, and will start at American this coming January.

sjmm 2010: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA math and econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.9/4
Type of Grad: ND, gpa 3.9/4
GRE: 780Q, 610V, 5.0AWA
Math Courses: calc 1+2, linear, vector, diffeq, pde, topology, real analysis 1+2, algebra 1+2, game theory
Econ Courses: micro, macro, international, development, econometrics, math econ
Other Courses: politics
Letters of Recommendation: 1 econ, 1 politics, 1 math
Research Experience: REU
Teaching Experience: TA throughout undergrad
Statement of Purpose: Standard
Concerns: total lack of research
Applying to: CSU, NCSU, Duke, Cornell, Columbia, JHU, Brown, Georgetown, Drexel, AU, UMD

arcadia 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in Business from top state school
Undergrad GPA: 3.75
Type of Grad: MA Economics from top 50ish PhD granting school in US
Grad GPA: 3.5
GRE: 770 Q, 530 V, 4.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calc 1-2, Matrix and Linear Algebra, Math Stats (undergrad and graduate level... some PhD level too)
Econ Courses (grad-level): all the core courses at my university, plus some field courses, tons of econometrics
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): intermediate micro & macro, econometrics
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: two pretty good from professors from top schools, one from the professor I TA'ed for.
Research Experience: not a lot outside of some research papers during my masters
Teaching Experience: tons. I TA'ed during my masters and taught before that as well. taught my own courses.
Research Interests: growth and development, international trade, econometrics... have some narrowing down to do
SOP: i think its good...
Concerns: lack of formal math... but my performance in core courses should show I have self-studied plenty and know what I'm doing. Oh, and my low Quant.
Other:
Applying to: BC, Georgetown, American, GWU, Houston, UW-Seattle, UCSB, Claremont, UMass?

ssoRBttaM 2011:
Type of Undergrad: Large Public University (Not Flagship).
Undergrad GPA: 3.2 (3.4 for Econ)
Undergrad Major/Minor: Economics Major
Type of Graduate: Regional Economic Development
Graduate GPA: 4.0 (Expected Near 4.0)
GRE:730 Q 590 V 5 AW
Math Courses:
UnderGrad: Calculus I, II, Stats I,II, and Linear Algebra
Graduate: Econometrics, Quantitative Research Methods
Econ Courses: Letters of Recommendation: Rec. from two well known/ highly published heterodox graduate professor, Rec. from the director of the research center I am employed in.
Teaching Experience: T/A one course.
Research Interests: Political Economy, Labor Economics, Regional Development.
Research: 1 report published, 1 article under review w/ peer edited journal, and 1 in process.
Other Resume Stuff: Lots of volunteer work and multiple conferences presentations
Applied: University of Utah, American University, CSU, UMass, UKCM, University of Manitoba, UNH, and UCONN.

oyvey 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 20 Nat'l University, Math/Econ joint major (BA 2010)
Undergrad GPA: 3.52
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q 570V 4.0AW
Math Courses: Calc III, Diff Eq, Linear Intro to Proof, Real Analysis I, Comp Sci
Econ Courses (grad-level): Price Theory (Audit)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): The whole shebang
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation:
Research Experience: Summer RA, Honors Thesis
Teaching Experience: 1 Semester Micro TA
Research Interests: Behavioral, Experimental
SOP: Pretty Standard, talked about improvements made since last year
Concerns: low-ish GPA bad metrics grade
Other:
Applying to: see signature

latinoamericano 2011:
Type of Undergrad: Latinoamerican public university (not well known internationally).
Undergrad GPA: 10/12. First 10f class.
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 780 Q / 490 V / 3.0 W
Math Courses: Calc I, II & III (all A's), Linear Algebra (A), Math for Econ (A), Probability, Statistics (A).
Econ Courses (grad-level): n/a
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro & Macro. Political Econ. Development Economics. International Econ. Public. Labor. Econometrics I & II.
Other Courses: Sociology. Political Science. Law.
Letters of Recommendation: three from professors I have worked with as an RA at Univesity. I hope very good letters but profs are not internationally well known.
Research Experience: Three years as RA at University in Applied Labor & Development group. Some working papers and many presentations in national & regional conferences.
Teaching Experience: TA'ed lots of undergrad intro micro and macro for five years.
Research Interests: development, political economy, public economics, heterodox economics.
SOP: It was my first time writing SOP as it is not common in my country. Hightlighted research assitant and undergraduate thesis experience.
Concerns: letter of recommendation's writers not very well known/don't have PhD from top 50 Universities. No graduate level education.
Other: Fulbright scholarship.
Applying to: Berkeley, MIT, Yale (rejected), University of Maryland, University of Wisconsin, Brown U, American U (accepted), UMass Amherst (accepted).

baffourakoto 2011:
Additional information from asquare: by tradition and for ease of reference, we keep this thread as a "reference thread." The only information that should be posted here are results, using the format below. All discussion should be saved for other threads. Feel free to start new threads or use the "comments" thread (Comments on Admissions and Rejections for Fall 2011) that has already been started. Thanks!
alright here is the traditional admissions and rejections list for fall 2011. decisions have started trickling in so please feel free to post your successes or otherwise. gives the rest of us hope
Here is the format
Institution:
Program:
Decision:
Funding:
Notification date:
Notified through:
Posted on GF:
Comments:

3yellowroses 2011:
I'm an international applicant that has been lurking around. Time to disclose my results:
Accepted:
Institution: American University
Program: Phd Economics
Decision: Rejection
Funding: will be notified mid march.
Notification date: 9 March 2011
Notified through: e-mail
Posted on GF: No
Comments:
Waitlisted:
Institution: Tilburg University
Program: Research Master, Economics
Decision: Waitlisted. will hear from them in mid april
Funding: there's a chance to get a TA if admitted
Notification date: 14 March 2011
Notified through: e-mail
Posted on GF: No
Comments:
Institution: Cambridge University
Program: DPhil Economics
Decision: Waitlisted. will hear from them in mid april
Funding: haven't heard a word
Notification date: 10 Feb 2011
Notified through: e-mail
Posted on GF: No
Comments:
Rejections: NYU, Columbia, Berkeley, MIT, Brown, Maryland, Tinbergen, Oxford.
Haven't heard of: Umass, Cornell, WUSTL, Michigan State, Paris School of Economics, Bonn GSE, LSE (Econ & Phil Msc)

heconomics 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics, from a little known university in South Asia
Undergrad GPA: Couldn't convert it into GPA. Overall score was 73 per cent
Type of Grad: MA Development Studies from a premier social sciences institute of my country
Grad GPA: Couldn't convert it into GPA. Overall score was 70 per cent
GRE: 157 Q (Yes, I know), 161 V, 4.0 AW
Math Courses: Mathematical Economics, Quantitative Techniques (These courses had very heavy loads and covered most of the relevant topics)
Econ Courses (grad-level): N/A
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate/Advanced Micro, Intermediate/Advanced Macro, Development Economics, Monetary Economics, International Economics, History of Economic Thought, Econometrics
Other Courses: Advanced Quantitative Research
Letters of Recommendation: All of them should be decent. One from Harvard PhD, well known, especially in heterodox circles. Another one from my MA thesis advisor. Final one from well known economist from my country.
Research Experience: 1 year RA work - climate change economics
Teaching Experience: N/A
Research Interests: Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Philosophy of Economics, Heterodox (Left-wing) Economics
SOP: Wrote about my exposure to a various schools of economic thought, discussed the research skills I gained while doing RA work, mentioned my self-study of advanced mathematics
Concerns: Abysmally low GRE quant score. It was a bad day. But too late for a retake. Limited formal training in mathematics. Virtually unknown undergrad institute
Applying to: UMass and UMass (Resource Economics), University of Utah, American Univ, New School of Social Research, University of Wyoming, Simon Fraser Univ (MA), University of Oxford (MSc Economics for Development)

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)

wajihc 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 20 nat'l univ; ECON & PSCI dbl major.
Undergrad GPA: 3.0
GRE: 770 Q, 520 V, 4.0 W
Math Courses: Calc I & II (B+), Econ Stats (A), and Social Sci Stats (A-).
Econ Courses: Intermed micro (B) and macro (C+), Int'l Trade (C+), Open Economy Macroecon (B-), US Econ History (B), Financial Instrmts and Mkts (B-), and Money and Banking (C).
Other courses: Financial Acctg (A), Int'l Political Econ (B), and Capitalism and Democracy (A-).
Letters of Recommendation: One from visiting professor who is well known in economic history, and another from new political science professor.
Research Experience: None
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Economic development and int'l trade.
SOP: Spoke about first-generation background, and briefly about interests.
Other: Male, 21.
RESULTS:
Acceptances (MA): Northeastern, UDelaware, Tulane, N Texas ($8000).
Rejections (MA): American and Miami of Ohio.
What would you have done differently?
Taken more math classes, and been more serious.

wajihc 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 20 nat'l univ; ECON & PSCI dbl major.
Undergrad GPA: 3.0
Type of Grad: One semester at private university in Boston.
Grad GPA: 3.3
GRE: 770 Q, 520 V, 4.0 W
Undergrad Math Courses: Calc I & II (B+), Econ Stats (A), and Social Sci Stats (A-).
Grad Math Courses: Math and Stats for Econ (A-).
Undergrad Econ Courses: Intermed micro (B) and macro (C+), Int'l Trade (C+), Open Economy Macroecon (B-), US Econ History (B), Financial Instrmts and Mkts (B-), and Money and Banking (C).
Grad Econ Courses: Micro (B).
Other courses: Financial Acctg (A), Int'l Political Econ (B), and Capitalism and Democracy (A-).
Letters of Recommendation: One from visiting professor who is well known in economic history and is professor emeritus at an institution in Ohio, and another from new political science professor.
Research Experience: None
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Economic development and int'l trade.
SOP: Spoke about first-generation background, and briefly about interests.
Other: Male, 22.
RESULTS:
Acceptances (MA): UDelaware, FL Int'l, N Texas ($4000), and Miami OH.
Rejections (MA): American.
What would you have done differently?
Taken more math classes, and been more serious.

SASsy 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small Public U (~12K UG & G) comparable to liberal arts college; top 5 party school
Undergrad GPA: 3.38 overall, 3.81 econ, 3.76 Spanish, 3.35 intl studies
Type of Grad: same as UG
Grad GPA: 3.50
GRE: 800Q/760V/4.5W (12/2010)...but 700Q/700V/3.5W (11/2010 - obviously I had to study harder)
Math Courses: Cal I (B), Cal II-IV (As), Foundations (B), Linear Algebra I (B), Intro to Stat Methods (B), Differential Equations I (A), Intro to Math Stats (A), Advanced Cal I-II (As)
Econ Courses: Honors Principles Micro (A), Honors Principles Macro (A), Int Micro (A), Int Macro (B), Honors Global Econ (A), International Trade (A), Game Theory (A), Managerial (A), Econ for Engineers (B), Econ Stats II (A)
Grad Econ Courses: all taken with PhD students, Micro I (A), Macro I (B), Econometrics I (A), Price Theory (A), Managerial (A), IO (A), Math Econ (A), Econ History (A), Math Methods for Econ (B), Stat Methods for Econ and Business (B), three Econ seminars, and a course that I failed 5 years ago due to very odd circumstances...hence the low grad GPA.
Other Courses: 6 senior history courses, 2 senior sociology courses, 1 law school course, several heterodox courses (polisci/history/sociology/philosophy/law) for intl studies; lots of language courses, including graduate level spanish (but other languages as well)
Letters of Recommendation: I used a mix of 5 professors, to reduce the burden on them. 1 prof recommended me to all schools with what I assume was a very strong letter of recommendation. I asked all of my grad-level theory professors (micro, macro, metrics) plus the two professors I had written research papers for (and who had taught many electives to me). None were extraordinarily well-known (to my knowledge) but knew me very well and knew my understanding of applications of econ.
Research Experience: My Formal experience was very limited; At time of application I had just accepted RA job at a university, in an unfamiliar field. Otherwise, had collected my own data for papers and had done all research independently.
Teaching Experience: TA for campus-wide service during MA, more like a math tutor; tutored for 8 years
Research Interests: micro/labor/health, IO, public finance, behavioral, development...isn't it all related on some level?
SOP: It was ever-evolving. The "best" SOP (the one that yielded my Chicago acceptance) was very professional, very direct, and discussed all research papers I had written previously. The others talked more about my one big idea. I also took a more "persuasive" tone in them. All mentioned that I want to teach.
Other: I have won several scholarships and fellowships in the past, for which I think I provided a pretty good ROR on the investment. I also worked 40 hours/week for the last 3 years while bringing my grades up significantly. During this time I made sure to be one of the top, if not the top, students in each class. (Except macro. Damn.) Also my Chicago writing sample was a paper in which I disproved my undergraduate thesis.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Chicago with level one fellowship
Waitlists: Rice
Rejections: Harvard, NYU, Princeton, Northwestern, UT-Austin, Rochester, Georgetown, Duke, Maryland, Cornell, Brown, UVA and LSE
Incomplete: Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Melon, American, George Mason
What would you have done differently?
This is a difficult topic. Obviously I did something right. I also did many things wrong. Points (1) and (2) are changes that would've made me an entirely different person. These are more like life lessons, that required trial and error with my own life to discover. On the other hand, I like to think that if I had only enacted (3) and (4) from below, I would have had a much better application season in spite of my past.
(1) I would have taken my academic destiny into my own hands years ago. I let my course load and academic interests be chosen by well-meaning advisers instead of determining what I actually wanted to learn. Thus I was disinterested in many of my courses, and I underperformed. I also let exogenous factors affect my grades too much. I would have been more mature about accepting life's hardships rather than taking a few semesters to mope about it. I would not have partied so much.
(2) I would have been proactive about research with professors. This problem started with my undergrad thesis. I continually chose "interesting" rather than "executable" topics. My adviser at the time encouraged me to be intellectually curious. I should have asked to continue research under his specialty so the paper would have been easier. Instead, I spent the past 6 years chasing down data about a seemingly irrelevant topic. It makes me unique to have this expertise, but it also makes me OLD.
(3) I would not have experimented with my SOP. Really, what the hell was I thinking? I could've been shut out entirely this year. Clearly I am a strong candidate, but I really shot myself in the foot with the changes I made to my SOP at the end of December. While the SOP may not help an applicant, it surely can hurt him/her; I am a good example. I should've been professional, straightforward, and commanding in all of the SOPs.
(4) I would have planned to rock the GRE by mid fall. I cut it really close by taking the GRE in November and then again in mid December. If I had given myself a little more study time between the two exams, I think I could've aced the verbal and significantly improved my AWA. I took the exam late because I didn't expect to do so well, preventing myself from the possibility of applying to many excellent schools. I applied to Harvard at the last minute, and it was the only Dec. 15 deadline I met. I like to think that if I had taken more time to prepare that application, I'd be going to Cambridge in the fall.
Note: I would not have changed my initial course of study or UG institution. I believe that my background gives me a true appreciation for economics, and without it, I'd be a physicist (true story). I tried out the other social sciences first, as I chased down my interests in foreign cultures and varying governance systems. Writing research papers for other social science courses left me utterly frustrated because I could never prove what I said. My senior thesis left me utterly dissatisfied. Enter economics. It was a natural fit for my data and research. I am proud to say that I am passionate about economics.

3yellowroses 2011:
I'm an international applicant that has been lurking around. Time to disclose my results:
Accepted:
Institution: American University
Program: Phd Economics
Decision: Rejection
Funding: will be notified mid march.
Notification date: 9 March 2011
Notified through: e-mail
Posted on GF: No
Comments:
Waitlisted:
Institution: Tilburg University
Program: Research Master, Economics
Decision: Waitlisted. will hear from them in mid april
Funding: there's a chance to get a TA if admitted
Notification date: 14 March 2011
Notified through: e-mail
Posted on GF: No
Comments:
Institution: Cambridge University
Program: DPhil Economics
Decision: Waitlisted. will hear from them in mid april
Funding: haven't heard a word
Notification date: 10 Feb 2011
Notified through: e-mail
Posted on GF: No
Comments:
Rejections: NYU, Columbia, Berkeley, MIT, Brown, Maryland, Tinbergen, Oxford.
Haven't heard of: Umass, Cornell, WUSTL, Michigan State, Paris School of Economics, Bonn GSE, LSE (Econ & Phil Msc)

Vishnu Sethus 2012:
Institution: University of New Hampshire
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: TBD
Notification Date: 02/17/2012
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Comment: Hope I will get funding