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:

Prometheus_Econ 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 50 public university
Undergrad GPA: 4.0 GRE: 800Q, 610V, 5.0AWA
Math Courses (all As):
Undergrad Math: 3 semesters Calculus, two semesters proof-based Linear Algebra, Intro to Statistics, Probability Theory, Differential Equations, Intro to Topology, Analysis 1, Game Theory and Math. Programming, Proof Writing, Stochastic Processes (IP), Analysis 2 (IP)
Econ Courses (all As):
Undergrad Econ: Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, Intro Econometrics, Game Theory, Experimental Economics
Grad Econ: Quantitative Methods, Micro 1, 2nd year seminar in behavioral economics
Letters of Recommendation: 1 math professor, 2 econ professors, from 3 different universities, all advised me on research, only one I took classes with
Research Experience: Summer REU program, independent research in mathematical finance, honors thesis, gave 2 seminar presentations and 1 poster presentation
Teaching Experience: Calculus 1 (undergraduate TA), lots of tutoring
Research Interests: Microeconomic Theory, Financial Economics
SOP: emphasized research experience, and explained how I became interested in economics, customized last paragraph
Other: Applied for NSF (got honorable mention), got several departmental scholarships and awards in mathematics
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
(with fellowship)
NYU
Caltech
UPenn (after being waitlisted for funding about 2 weeks)
Carnegie Mellon Tepper
Johns Hopkins
University of Michigan (external funding)
Boston University
(with TAship)
Penn State
UT Austin
(without funding first year)
Wisconsin
UCSD
Rejections:
Princeton
Stanford GSB
Harvard
Harvard Business School
Northwestern
Berkeley
Waitlisted:
MIT
Stanford
What would you have done differently?
I would have applied to Yale as well, and perhaps applied to less safety schools.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: (with fellowship) NYU Caltech UPenn (after being waitlisted for funding about 2 weeks) Carnegie Mellon Tepper Johns Hopkins University of Michigan (external funding) Boston University (with TAship) Penn State UT Austin (without funding first year) Wisconsin UCSD
Rejects:
    Rejections: Princeton Stanford GSB Harvard Harvard Business School Northwestern Berkeley
Waitlists:
    Waitlisted: MIT Stanford

peterB 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top public univeristy, excellent econ dept.
Undergrad GPA: 3.1; 3.95 continuing ed. program
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: math 780 verbal 780
Math Courses: stat and probability, real analysis, calc II and III, linear algebra
Econ Courses: inter'l trade, monetary econ., 20th century econ. history, development economics, history of development economics, econometrics
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ people and one poli sci prof, no big names. Two of them knew me very well, and this must have helped a lot.
Research Experience: summer RA
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests: development, IO, applied micro
SOP: explained the circumstances for my low GPA, other than that pretty standard
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UT, BU, Davis, UCLA, Riverside, Penn State
Waitlists:
Rejections: lots, NYU, Columbia, Stanford, Berkeley ARE, UCSD, U Mich, Cornell
What would you have done differently? If I had more time and money, I would have taken a grad-level micro course. Overall I feel really lucky to be in at UCLA; anyone else headed there?
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UT, BU, Davis, UCLA, Riverside, Penn State
Rejects:
    Rejections: lots, NYU, Columbia, Stanford, Berkeley ARE, UCSD, U Mich, Cornell
Waitlists:
    Waitlists:

rdblots 2007:
Profile:
Gre: 800 Q, 570 V, 6.0 A
GPA: Overall: 3.86. Math: 3.96, Econ: 3.94 (Econ major with math minor)
Classes:
Math: Calc II, Multivariable, Intro Lin Alg, Diff Eq, Math Stat, Intro Proofs, Linear Algebra (A's), Advanced Calc (A-)
Econ: all the usual undergrad courses (A's). PhD Math Econ (A), PhD Micro (B+).
Type of Undergrad: Virginia Tech
Research Experience: this past summer and fall I RA'd for a professor at my school, I only did minor tasks, but it was still a pretty good experience
Teaching Experience: 3 semesters of tutoring economics (principles and intermediate micro)
LORs: All of my letter writers were encouraging and thought my choice of schools fit me well, so I am taking that to mean the letters should be decent. 1) Assoc. Prof/Head of Undergrad (PhD Stanford) who I tutored for and with whom I took a class, 2) Assist. Dean/Assoc. Prof who I worked with on my RA project (PhD Northwestern), 3) Prof., tutored his intermediate micro course, took intermediate micro and PhD Math Econ with him. (PhD Minnesota)
SoP & Interests: I talked about being interested in applied micro research. I named some professors from each school who had research that I found interesting.
Other: male/white/american. Boring.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Funding- Duke (attending), Cornell, Boston College, UNC, UVA, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Georgetown
No funding- Maryland, Boston U.
Rejections: Brown
What would you have done differently? I would have only applied to Duke.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Funding- Duke (attending), Cornell, Boston College, UNC, UVA, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Georgetown No funding- Maryland, Boston U.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Brown
Waitlists:

grahamcoxon 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics from top university in my country (who has always placed students in top US PhDs)
Undergrad GPA: Econ 28.73 / 30 (= 3.83 / 4.0 ); Overall 28.27 / 30 ( = 3.77 / 4.0 )
Type of Grad: 2 years long MSc in Economics from the same university
Grad GPA: Econ 28.73 / 30 (= 3.83 / 4.0 ); Overall 28.73 / 30 (= 3.83 / 4.0 )
GRE: 790 Q, 520 V, 4.0 A
Math Courses:
Undergraduate: Mathematics (29/30; one year long course), Statistics and Probability (30/30), Econometrics (30/30)
Graduate: Multivariate Analysis (30/30), Microeconometrics (28/30)
Econ Courses:
Undergraduate: Industrial History (30/30); Microeconomics (27/30); Industrial Organization (30/30); Macroeconomics (29/30); Organization Theory (28/30); International Trade (29/30); Innovation and Industrial Dynamics (27/30); Economic Policy (28/30); Technology and Economic Development (28/30); International Monetary Economics (30 cum laude / 30)
Graduate:International Trade (30/30); Industiral Organization (29/30); Theory of the Firm and Corporate Governance (27/30); Business History (30/30); Economics of Innovation (29/30); Labour Economics (27/30); Public Economics (29/30).
Other Courses: Undergraduate: German Language, International Financial Markets, Innovation Management, … ; Graduate: Knowledge and Innovation Management, Comparative Politics, Spanish Language, …
Letters of Recommendation: associate econ professor and MSc thesis advisor (PhD UCLA); full econ professor and teacher of graduate labour econ (PhD NYU); associate econ professor and RA supervisor (PhD Northwestern); at least two of them are very very strong letters from people who know me well; two letter-writers are well-known economists and all publish on top economics journals.
Research Experience: Honors MSc thesis; started to work on co-authored paper with my MSc thesis advisor (I don’t mention it in my application but he probably talked about it in his letter of recommendation); 3 months RA at Dept of Quantitative Methods of my undergrad/grad university; 1 year RA at CHILD (Center for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics);
Teaching Experience: 1 semester of Multivariate Analysis (graduate)
Research Interests: Political Economy, Behavioral Economics, Microeconomic Theory
SOP: nothing special, talked about reasons to pursue graduate studies in economics, research experience, research interests and future plans; used almost the same text for all universities; 2 pages research proposal outline added for European programs who asked for it (LSE, UCL, Oxford, UPF)
Other: international applicant; TOEFL: 107/120; no application for external funding; honor roll student in both years of MSc; submitted everywhere MSc thesis as writing sample; at least other 10 (very very strong) students applied this same year for almost the same US top programs from my university (in this sense, this was a strong year for applicants from my country/university)
RESULTS:
Admitted : Caltech (w/ funding), BU (w/out funding), LSE MSc (w/out funding), Oxford MPhil (w/out funding)
Waitlisted: Yale (not admitted in the end)
Rejected: UCSD, Columbia, Berkeley, MIT, Princeton, Northwestern, Stanford, NYU, Chicago, Harvard, LSE MRes/PhD, UPenn, Oxford Dphil, Stokcholm School of Economics, Stockholm U
Never got an answer : UPF, UCL
What would you have done differently? I would say the standard “taken more math classes” or try the alternative version “taken more graduate econ theory classes”, but since I decided to try the path of an Econ PhD less than 12 months ago (when I had already taken all classes needed to graduate) this wasn’t an option. Maybe I should have applied to a more diverse set of schools (no European at all; some Business School or some lower-ranked school with programs/faculty in line with my interests like Stanford GSB, Northwestern MEDS, Rochester or Carnegie Mellon), because I acted clearly as a risk-loving individual (I didn’t overestimated my profile, though…I know my chances at top15 schools were thin, but just wanted to come all the way to the U.S. only if it was really worth). Anyway, in this case, it worked.
Accepts:
    Admitted : Caltech (w/ funding), BU (w/out funding), LSE MSc (w/out funding), Oxford MPhil (w/out funding)
Rejects:
    Rejected: UCSD, Columbia, Berkeley, MIT, Princeton, Northwestern, Stanford, NYU, Chicago, Harvard, LSE MRes/PhD, UPenn, Oxford Dphil, Stokcholm School of Economics, Stockholm U Never got an answer : UPF, UCL
Waitlists:
    Waitlisted: Yale (not

phdphd 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Business Administration
Undergrad GPA: 7.5/10
Type of Grad: MSc Business Administration
Grad GPA: -
GRE: 790Q / 580V / 3.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III / Operations Research I-II / Stats I-II / Linear Algebra / Advanced Probability (Grad)
Econ Courses: Econometrics I, II, IV (Grad), Stochastic Economics I-II (Grad) (kind of asset pricing courses, devoted specially to derivative pricing).
Other Courses: Micro I, Macro I, Mathematical Analysis - First year PhD courses, I didn't have the grades at the time of the application
Letters of Recommendation: One supposed to be strong, finance PhD from Stanford GSB; the other two good ones I think (PhD North Carolina, local)
Research Experience: Two papers presented at a National Conference in Finance, MSc dissertation thesis.
Teaching Experience: TA for the MBA courses in my university.
Research Interests: Finance, applied micro, political economy.
SOP: I did the following: first I explained my interest in finance, second why pursuing a PhD in economics and not in business, third I mentioned three professors that I would like to work with at the university that I was applying.
Other: Male, 26, Latin America.
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
University of Southern California ($)
UNC ($)
Minnesota (no $)
Penn State (no $)
Boston University (no $)
UC Davis (no $)
Waitlists:
Cornell (I suppose) - rejected in the end
Rejections:
MIT
Princeton
Stanford
Chicago
Columbia
Northwestern
UCLA - Anderson
Rochester
Maryland
Wisconsin
Caltech
Going to: University of Southern California
What would you have done differently?
First of all, a good MSc in economics, not only because it would increase my chances of being admitted at better places but to feel more comfortable with the courses in the first year; second, I should have participated more in this forum, I remember that I asked for the evaluation of profile stuff but only this. I should have gathered more information about the places that I would fit better with the TM's; I'm happy with the school that I'm going to but a little bit frustrated being rejected in all the top 15 schools. What I mean is that the idea of applying to a lot schools can hurt a lot. Now I have kind of mixed feelings about all of this: should I wait one more year, finish the PhD core couses sequence in my program right now and apply again? Or this is just a dream? I don't know...
Accepts:
    Acceptances: University of Southern California ($) UNC ($) Minnesota (no $) Penn State (no $) Boston University (no $) UC Davis (no $)
Rejects:
    rejected in the end Rejections: MIT Princeton Stanford Chicago Columbia Northwestern UCLA - Anderson Rochester Maryland Wisconsin Caltech
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Cornell (I suppose) -

whitewinghk 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: A School in HK, statistics major, no analysis
Undergrad GPA: 3.66, first class honors
Type of Grad: A school in HK, MA (Econ)
Grad GPA: Grade A average
GRE: Q800, V570, A5.5
Math Courses: no rigorous math courses, but some hard statistics courses, e.g. Statistical Inference A+, Stochastic Inference A+, Nonparametric testing (A+), linear model and forecasting (A-), Stochastic calculus (A-), Risk theory (A)
Econ Courses: Intermediate macro (A+), Micro theory I, II (A+), Macro analysis (A+), Econometircs (A), International trade (B+)
Letters of Recommendation: all strong, two from econ and one from statistics
Research Experience: 2 year RA experience, working on trade and economic development of Mainland China
Research Interests: Development and micro theory
SOP: very general indicated my research interest and RA experience at university and United Nations
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Wisconsin ($), Boston University ($), MSU (no $), PSU (no $), UC Davis (no $)
Waitlists: ever waiting, Uni. of Toronto and UBC
Rejections: A long list, Minnesota, UCLA, NYU, Columbia, Maryland, Brown, OSU, Cornell
What would you have done differently?
I think I have tried my best or may be I should have applied to some applied econ programs as I have strong interest in development. Yet, I am happy with the results.
Advice: Apart from Math, RA exp really helps a lot, it may make up weak math background. There would be lots of RA opp at any university. The job may be very simple like formulting Excel sheets, collecting data or plotting charts, yet it shines in your application.
For international students, the process can be quite random especially for some are from unknown schools like me. Try to apply as many as possible, certainly you need to take into account money and how willing your referees are to write so many letters for you. Yet, if you can, try to apply as many as possible and do have a super safe one as a back up. I have seen a lot of Chinese students transfer to another school in one to two years.
All the best and good luck
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Wisconsin ($), Boston University ($), MSU (no $), PSU (no $), UC Davis (no $)
Rejects:
    Rejections: A long list, Minnesota, UCLA, NYU, Columbia, Maryland, Brown, OSU, Cornell
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: ever waiting, Uni. of Toronto and UBC

chappl 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: small university in Switzerland, 215th on econphd.net
Undergrad GPA: not easy to compute
Type of Grad: same as undergrad
Grad GPA: 5.73/6
GRE: 800Q, 610V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III, LinAlgebra, Mathematical econ (undergrad), Mathematical methods in finance (undergrad), Math and Statistics (MA-level), Stochastic Processes (MA-level)
Econ Courses (MA-level): Adv. Macro I-II, Adv. Micro, Game theory, Public econ, Empirical Macro, Experimental econ, Econometrics (general), Time Series econometrics, Microeconometrics, Applied Econometrics, Theory of Finance I-II
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Macro I-IV, Micro I-IV, 3 Development econ courses, Labor, Trade, Monetary, Public, 2 metrics courses
Other Courses: lots of undergrad management and law courses (compulsory in my school)
Letters of Recommendation: 3 professors (1 Princeton PhD, 1 Swiss PhD, 1 German PhD), 1 head of research dept at central bank; all probably very positive
Research Experience: 1 year RA at central bank
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: modern macro, international finance
SOP: stated my background and research interests
Other: I have no BA, only an MA, as a consequence of the transition of my school to the Bologna system. My MA transcript only contains grades for MA courses, translation of undergrad level transcripts all sent as individual sheets of paper. This might have confused some adcoms.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Michigan (no $), Wisconsin (no $), Maryland ($), Rochester ($), JHU ($), BU ($), Virginia ($), UBC ($)
Waitlists: NYU, ultimately rejected
Rejections: Princeton, Yale, Penn, Northwestern, Columbia, Duke, Toronto
What would you have done differently? I would have taken advanced math classes, like real analysis, topology, etc. As my school had no math dept, I would have had to take these at another school. I shouldn't have applied to my supposedly safety school (MA & PhD): Toronto; and should have applied to 2 more top 10 schools instead
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Michigan (no $), Wisconsin (no $), Maryland ($), Rochester ($), JHU ($), BU ($), Virginia ($), UBC ($)
Rejects:
    rejected Rejections: Princeton, Yale, Penn, Northwestern, Columbia, Duke, Toronto
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: NYU, ultimately

ephyou 2008:
Type of Undergrad: top 10 liberal arts
Undergrad GPA: 3.5
Type of Grad: none
GRE: 790/630/6.0
Math Courses: multi, linear alg, real & complex analysis, diff-e-q, stat+prob
Econ Courses: metrics, math-econ, history of thought
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ profs, 1 math prof from top 10 uni's
Research Experience: RA at university, govt agency, private sector
Teaching Experience: TA, math/stats/econ/stata&sas tutor
Research Interests: "inequality," metrics
SOP: spent 5 min on it
RESULTS:
Acceptances: osu, virginia, jhu, ucsd (attending), boston uni, brown
Rejections: chicago, berkeley, mich, columbia
What would you have done differently? i graduated in '07 and took a year off. would have tried to do one of those full-time academic research assistanships
Accepts:
    Acceptances: osu, virginia, jhu, ucsd (attending), boston uni, brown
Rejects:
    Rejections: chicago, berkeley, mich, columbia
Waitlists:

friendlyskies 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small, mid-ranked liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.99 Business admin major, Econ minor
Grad GPA: 4.0 as non-degree math grad student
GRE: 780q, 620v, 5.0w
Math Courses: multivariable calculus, linear algebra, diff eq, real analysis (2 sem.), math stats (2 sem. w/ Casella&Berger)
Econ Courses: intro micro/macro, intermediate micro/macro, IO, statistical analysis for econ
Letters of Recommendation: 2 fed economists, 1 undergrad finance prof.
Research Experience: 3 yrs as a Fed RA, a couple undergrad publications in weak journals
Teaching Experience: TA for a couple semesters in UG
Research Interests: macro, int'l trade and finance
SOP: pretty standard...try to explain away the weaknesses and accentuate the positive. emphasized my fed research experience, recent math classes, programming abilities, teaching experience.
RESULTS:
Attending: Arizona State University
Acceptances: UVA ($$), Boston College ($$), Boston University ($$$), UNC ($$), Arizona State ($$$), Vanderbilt ($$$), Tufts MA ($)
Waitlists: UT Austin
Rejections: Maryland, Duke, Brown, Georgetown
Pending: Never heard from WUSTL
What would you have done differently? I don't think I would have done much, if anything, differently. I think I targeted the range of schools pretty well given the outcome, and I'm happy with the results. ASU is a small but growing program, and I'm stoked about the opportunity to work closely with guys like Prescott and Rogerson. I am really glad that I took a few years after undergrad to build up my resume before applying though...getting good research experience, working with well-known economists, and taking higher math classes made all the difference in the quality of programs for which I was a competitive applicant.
Accepts:
    Attending: Arizona State University Acceptances: UVA ($$), Boston College ($$), Boston University ($$$), UNC ($$), Arizona State ($$$), Vanderbilt ($$$), Tufts MA ($)
Rejects:
    Rejections: Maryland, Duke, Brown, Georgetown
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: UT Austin

jazzcon 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Econ major at a US state university with top 200 Econ grad program (ie not very strong).
Undergrad GPA: overall GPA: 3.6; econ: 3.9 ; math:3.7.
GRE: 800Q, 520V,AWA 5.5
Math Courses: Calc sequence (A), Differential equations (B+), Linear Algebra (B+), Probability Theory (B), MathEcon w/ S&B (A)
Econ Courses: The basic sequence of things.
Grad classes: MathStats w/ Casella (A), Econometrics sequence (A)
Letters of Recommendation: thesis advisor, econ prof I graded for, 2 Economists from work.
Research Experience: Undergraduate thesis, 2 years RA at the Fed.
Teaching Experience: Grader
Research Interests: IO, public, applied micro.
SOP: didnt really spend much time on it.
Concerns: Not stellar pedigree. Not great grades. No Analysis.
RESULTS:
Attending: Virginia($$)
Acceptances: Virginia($$), Boston U.(no $$)
Rejects: Berkeley, Yale, Chicago, NWU, UMD, UMich, Brown, Duke
What would you have done differently? Went to a better undergrad? Taken more math. Better grades in Math. I am very happy with my Virginia($$) admit though.
Accepts:
    Attending: Virginia($$) Acceptances: Virginia($$), Boston U.(no $$)
Rejects:
    Rejects: Berkeley, Yale, Chicago, NWU, UMD, UMich, Brown, Duke
Waitlists:

LagrangeJames 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. econ, B.A. math, large state university, EconPhD top 60
Undergrad GPA: 3.9/4.0
GRE: 800Q, 650V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc III (A+), Linear algebra (A+), Differential equations I, II (A-, A), Introductory probability theory (A, fall), Math modeling (A, fall)
Econ Courses (PhD-level): Optimization theory (A-, fall), Econometrics II (spring)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): All of them, including two econometrics courses and game theory; A- in intermediate microeconomics, A's otherwise
Other Courses: Spanish minor
Letters of Recommendation: Four economics professors -- nobody famous, but I had collaborated on research projects (that I had initiated) with three of them
Research Experience: Two working papers co-authored with faculty
Teaching Experience: Teaching assistant for introductory microeconomics, spring
Research Interests: Growth and development, specifically microeconomic development
SOP: Used a standard template for all statements but tailored last couple paragraphs to specific program, mentioning examples of faculty research I was interested in (but did not mention any faculty by name)
Concerns: No real analysis, but optimization theory provided a good crash course
Applying to: Maryland, Brown, MIT, Harvard, Yale, UCSD, Berkeley, Minnesota, Michigan, NYU, Boston, Columbia, LSE (M.Sc.)
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Yale (with funding), Michigan (no first-year funding), Boston (with funding), UCSD (with funding)
Waitlists: Minnesota
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Columbia, Maryland, Brown, NYU
Withdrawn: LSE
What would you have done differently?
If I had discovered this forum sooner, I probably would have taken more proof-based math courses, which most likely would have boosted my chances at top top schools. However, I think research experience, letters of recommendation from faculty involved in that research and a good "fit" (in terms of my research interests) -- factors that are often overlooked, including by myself -- helped my chances at several schools. Good luck, everyone.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Yale (with funding), Michigan (no first-year funding), Boston (with funding), UCSD (with funding)
  • Institution: Yale Economics Ph.D. Decision: Accepted Funding: Full Notification date: 2/19 Notified through: E-mail, with Word document attached, detailing funding
  • Institution: UC-San Diego Economics Ph.D. Decision: Admitted (Provisionally) Funding: Not mentioned Notification date: 3/12 Notified through: E-mail Comments: E-mail says I have been admitted provisionally but must submit official transcript confirming receipt of undergraduate degree before I can be officially admitted. Good luck, everyone
  • Institution: University of Michigan Economics Ph.D. Decision: Admitted Notification date: 3/18 Notified through: Website (U-M Friend) Comments: "We are happy to report that the Admissions Committee of the Department of Economics has enthusiastically recommended to Rackham Graduate School that you be admitted to our PhD program. A letter outlining the specific details of this offer is being sent to you shortly."
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Ph.D. Decision: Admitted Notification date: 3/17 Notified through: E-mail Funding: $18,700 + $5000 summer stipend Comments: Good luck, everyone
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Columbia, Maryland, Brown, NYU Withdrawn: LSE
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Ph.D Decision: Rejected Funding: N/a Notification date: 3/2 Notified through: E-mail Comments:Good luck, everyone
  • Institution: MIT Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/3 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Good luck, everyone
  • Institution: Harvard University Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/18 Notified through: U.S. Postal Service Comments: Good luck, everyone
  • Institution: Brown University Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/20 Notified through: E-mail Comments: If it's brown, flush it down. Good luck, everyone.
  • Institution: NYU Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/24 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Good luck, everyone.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Minnesota
  • Institution: Minnesota Ph.D. Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/24/09, 11:58 Indiana time Notified through: E-mail Comments: Good luck, everyone

julia09 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: University of Minnesota - TC
Undergrad GPA: 3.7ish
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q, 670V, 4.5 writing
Math Courses: multivariable calc, linear algebra, dif eq, advanced calc, sequences, series, and foundations, stats (grad level)
Econ Courses: game theory, mathecon, micro theory (grad level), econometrics, and a bunch of other undergrad econ courses
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 3 profs from U of M (from math, econ, and apec)
Research Experience: term papers and senior thesis
Teaching Experience: tutoring
Research Interests: as of now, game theory, behavioral econ, development, and possibly IO
SOP: ok - i suppose
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: BU, PSU, UArizona, UC Irvine, U of M (apec)
Waitlists: U of M (econ)
Rejections: MANY...
Pending: Cornell, Queens, UToronto, and Caltech
What would you have done differently? Nothing - except for maybe get more research experience as an undergrad
Accepts:
    Acceptances: BU, PSU, UArizona, UC Irvine, U of M (apec)
Rejects:
    Rejections: MANY...
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: U of M (econ)

Canuckonomist 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A (Hons.) Economics, Math Minor with Distinction, Queen's University
Undergrad GPA: Overall: 3.75/4.0, Econ: 4.0/4.0, Math: 3.65/4.0
Type of Grad: M.A Economics, Queen's University
Grad GPA: 3.9/4.0
GRE: 790Q 530V 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calculus I-III (A+/A+/B), Linear Algebra (B), Differential Equations (B), Probability (C), Abstract Algebra (B), Statistics (A+), Analysis I & II (B+/B), Stochastic Models in Operations Research (A+)
Econ Courses (MA/PhD-level): Micro (A-), Metrics (A), Money and the Macroeconomy (A), Mathematical Economics (A+), Finance Theory (A+) Continuous-Time Finance (A+), Risk Management (Audit), Cost-Benefit Analysis (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro (A), Macro (A+), Metrics I & II (A/B+), Finance (A+), History (B+), Corporate Finance (A),
Letters of Recommendation: 1 ANU, 1 JHU, 1 Harvard, 1 BU
Research Experience: R.A for three semesters. Co-authoured paper published in REE, 2008. Working paper with same author
Teaching Experience: UG Finance (fall), Tutor for department in mathematics for economists, Micro and stats.
Research Interests: Financial Economics, Micro, Credit
SOP: Working on it all summer
RESULTS:
Attending: University of Toronto ($$$)
Acceptances: Queen's University ($$), BU (no $)
Rejections: Chicago, NWU, Yale, Columbia, NYU, Rochester, Michigan, Minnesota
Pending: Cornell (will withdraw)
What would you have done differently? The only things I could have done differently would have been to start liking math before second year, and to know economics was the thing for me before second year. So really, outside of changing the fabric of my very being earlier in life, all the decisions on the equilibrium path were correct. Very happy to be attending UToronto. Would I be a true Canuckonomist if I didn't do a Ph.D in Canada? I like to think not.
Accepts:
    Attending: University of Toronto ($$$) Acceptances: Queen's University ($$), BU (no $)
  • Institution: Queen's University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: $25K first year, minimum $20K every year after. Notification date: Feb 18 9:24 AM EST Notified through: Email Comments: First offer. It's nice to have some kind of future. NB: One of the early offers. I imagine they will likely make more.
  • Institution: University of Toronto Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: $27K first year, $23K years 2-4 pending satisfactory progress. Notification date: 3/4 Notified through: Email with an attached letter Comments: Now that's an offer. Bickety-Bam.
  • Institution: Boston University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/18 Notified through: E-mail Funding: None Comments: It's kind of nice to be in somewhere in the US. The no funding offer makes this one kind of a no-brainer-declining.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Chicago, NWU, Yale, Columbia, NYU, Rochester, Michigan, Minnesota
  • Institution: Yale University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/20/09 Notified through: Website Comments: Onwards, upwards.
  • Institution: Minnesota Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/a Notification date: 2/25/09 Notified through: E-mail Comments: 9 Left, not looking good for NWU.
  • Institution: Northwestern Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: -100 Notification date: 2/25/09 Notified through: Website Comments: Still needing that one.
  • Institution: Rochester Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: E-mail Comments: This does not seem like my year at all.
  • Institution: Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: E-mail directing me to website. Comments: Same letter. Count 'em up.
  • Institution: U Chicago Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: If admitted, funding. Notification date: 3/12 Notified through: Post Comments: No worries.
  • Institution: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Website Comment: This is becoming habitual.
  • Institution: NYU Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/23 Notified through: e-mail Comments: was just waitin' on that one, really.
  • Institution: Cornell University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 4/6/2009 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Ditto, Wind up.
Waitlists:
    Pending: Cornell (will withdraw)

veryshuai 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Nicely ranked midwest LA
Undergrad GPA: 3.62
Type of Grad:Econ
Grad GPA: ~85/100
GRE: 800/700/4.5
Math Courses: Calc 1-3 (A,A,A-), Stats (A), Real Analysis (A)
Econ Courses: Grad series Macro, Micro, and Econometrics and some other stuff...A's except Micro 1 (B) and Time Series (B) (no pluses or minuses in our program)
Other Courses: Nothing that should matter
Letters of Recommendation: UCLA (thesis advisor), Brown, U Mich
Research Experience: RA for a semester, Master's Thesis
Teaching Experience: Nope
Research Interests: Development, Applied Macro Theory, not sure...goal to work in the research dept. of international organization
SOP: Spent a lot of time on it, but who knows...
Other: Fulbright fellowship and some other money awards...
RESULTS:
Acceptances:Penn State ($$),BU (no$), UW Madison(no$)
Waitlists: none
Rejections:Michigan, Minnesota, Brown, Harvard, U Chicago, NYU, Columbia, UPenn, Berkeley, UCLA,
Pending:Georgetown
What would you have done differently? Applied to a few more mid-ranked schools...it would be nice to have another funded option or two. Having said that, I am glad that I got firm rejections from all the top 20's, so that I don't have to wonder "What if?"
Accepts:
    Acceptances:Penn State ($$),BU (no$), UW Madison(no$)
Rejects:
    Rejections:Michigan, Minnesota, Brown, Harvard, U Chicago, NYU, Columbia, UPenn, Berkeley, UCLA,
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: none

FilleNouvelle 2009:
I'll post this now, since my decision is not going to be made especially soon, and it could eventually change.
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Economics MA (Hons), Scottish University (ranked overall #23 in the world)
Undergrad GPA: 1st Class (distinction), ranked 1 (tied with one other student) out of 98.
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800Q, 580V, 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Mathematical Methods (A), Applicable Mathematics (A), Linear Algebra (A), self-study of Real Analysis, private tutoring (Economics classes were very math-based as well)
Econ Courses: Everything there was to take, pretty much
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Oxford, 1 Cambridge, 1 LSE (2 with US teaching experience)
Research Experience: Econometrics research papers, senior thesis on convergence
Teaching Experience: TA for Econometrics
Research Interests: Development, Applied Econometrics, IO
SOP: standard
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UNC ($$), UVA ($?), UT-Austin (no $), BU (no $), Michigan (no $, off waitlist)
Rejections: Stanford, Princeton, NWU (initially waitlisted), Columbia, Berkeley, NYU, MIT, Harvard, Cornell (assumed), UChicago
Waitlist: UPenn, Georgetown
Withdrawn: LSE
What would you have done differently? Obviously, when choosing my undergraduate institution, I didn't know I wanted to do a PhD. If I had known, I probably would have chosen a different undergrad. Also, I think staying in the US may have made things a bit easier. My results show that it's very possible to get good results when your institution is international and perhaps not that well-known, but that sometimes schools do not know how to view you. I ended up with 4 waitlists this cycle and a few unfunded admits. Anyway, other than that, wouldn't have done anything differently.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UNC ($$), UVA ($?), UT-Austin (no $), BU (no $), Michigan (no $, off
  • Institution: UNC-Chapel Hill Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TBD Notification date: 02/03/09 Notified through: E-mail Comments:
  • Institution: University of Virginia Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/6/09 Notified through: E-mail
  • Institution: UT Austin Decision: Accepted Funding: Not at this time Notification date: 3/10 Notified through: Email Comment: Fiddlesticks...I love UT, but I need $$!
  • Institution: Boston University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/18 Notified through: E-mail Funding: None Comments: Really needed money...doesn't sound like there's any chance of funding
  • Institution: University of Michigan Programme: Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Notification Date: 31/03/2009 Funding: None Comments: They said their budget makes it 'impossible' to offer me even a tuition waiver. I don't know what to do here.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Stanford, Princeton, NWU (initially
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/02 Notified through: e-mail Comments: Couldn't care any less...Berkeley was probably my top choice, but I was drunkenly celebrating handing in my dissertation, so nothing could've knocked me down, lol.
  • Institution: MIT Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/3 Notified through: e-mail Comments: Good to know
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/12 Notified through: check the website Comments: Soooo disappointed
Waitlists:
    waitlist)
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Notification date: 3/4 Notified through: Email First waitlist...dunno how I feel about that!
  • Institution: Georgetown Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted for admission Notification date: 3/6 Funding: Full funding if accepted Notified through: email Comments: Gah...admissions make no sense to me!
  • Institution: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Economics, PhD Decision: Waitlisted Notification date: 3/17 Notified through: Phone Comments: That makes 4 waitlists I've received this cycle...

wind up bird 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large Public University, Top 50 Econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.82
Type of Grad: Masters in Statistics at same school
Grad GPA: 3.75
GRE: 800Q, 700V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc Sequence, Linear Algebra, Intro to Abstract Math (Baby proofs), Cryptology (Baby Number Theory), Real Analysis I & II, Algebra I, Lots of probability and stats.
Econ Courses: Intro, Intermediate sequences, Econometrics, Public econ, Game Theory, Asymmetric Info, Economic Anthropology, Economic History (graduate), Empirical Methods (graduate), Math camp
Other Courses: Sociology of Sexuality
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Berkeley, 1 UCSD, 1 Stanford. All apparently pretty strong.
Research Experience: 2+ Years of RAing, summer research internship at Fed, crappy honors thesis and undergrad presentations
Teaching Experience: Tutoring for intermdiate micror, TA-ing for stats (only made it to my Cornell application)
Research Interests: Micro theory, decision theory, game theory, mech. design, experimental, economic history, social choice, public economics, etc etc. Short answer is "not macro"
SOP: It was kind of bad, I'm not going to lie. Mostly I tried to demonstrate how I have been gearing myself up for research. Then the last paragraph was tailored for each school; I dropped names at all of them.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Caltech($$$), Northwestern(WL$), UCSD(No$), BU($$$), University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign($$), UNC-Chapel Hill (?$), Boston College($$), UW-Seatte(WL$)
Waitlists: None! Awesome.
Rejections: Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Chicago, UCLA, Cornell
What would you have done differently? Besides working harder in school? Probably nothing. I have an acceptance with funding at my dream school and have some other ego-boosting admits as well.
Comments: Italos is right, letter of recommendation is everything
Might as well document some of my weird admissions cycle happenings as well:
- Boston College sends me an email saying I am not being offered admission because I will get into "superior" schools.
- UW-Seattle pulls the same thing
- Northwestern rejects me, then admits me a week and a half later. Looks like my one top 10 admit really did involve a clerical error.
Attending: Caltech!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Caltech($$$), Northwestern(WL$), UCSD(No$), BU($$$), University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign($$), UNC-Chapel Hill (?$), Boston College($$), UW-Seatte(WL$)
  • Institution: Caltech Social Sciences PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 28k fellowship first year, TA/RA next four years Notification date: Feb 5 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Still stunned and ecstatic.
  • Institution: UNC Chapel Hill Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Will be decided in March, apparently. Notification date: 2/26/09 11:14 am Notified through: E-mail Comments: Surprised again. It'll take the edge off Athey not calling me too
  • Institution: University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition waiver + fellowship Notification date: 3/09/2009 Notified through: Post
  • Institution: UC San Diego Economics Ph.D. Decision: Admitted (Provisionally) Funding: Not mentioned Notification date: 3/12 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Yay!
  • Institution: BU Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/17 Notified through: e-mail Funding:$18700+tution waiver+summer stipend($5000)
Rejects:
    Rejections: Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Chicago, UCLA, Cornell
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/a Notification date: 2/25/09 Notified through: website Comments: Not surprising, hehe
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/02 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Well at least they were snappy about it.
  • Institution: MIT Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/3 Notified through: email
  • Institution: UCLA Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Heh. Notification date: Today (5 minutes ago) Notified through: E-mail Comments: Man, UCLA really hates me. Second time I've been rejected. Luckily I MUCH prefer Caltech.
  • Institution: Chicago Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/9/09 Notified through: Mail
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Postal Service Comments: Letter dated March 13
  • Institution: Cornell University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 4/6/2009 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Wasn't gonna go here anyway!
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: None! Awesome.

funkychinamen 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 Econ program, transfer from top 40 Econ program, Econ major
Undergrad GPA: 3.892 /4.000
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 780Q 480V 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I, Calc II, Calc III, Vector Calc, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Probability Theory, Linear Algebra - proof-based, Intro to Proofs, Real Analysis, Math Stats (Spring)
Econ Courses: Intermed Micro, Intermed Macro, Topics in Macro, Analysis of Econ Data, I.O., International Micro, International Macro, Labor, Intro to Mathematical Econ, Game Theory, Econometrics, Grad Micro I, Applied Econometrics (Spring)
Letters of Recommendation: One from an associate professor in the Ag Econ department who I researched with, one from an assistant professor at Business School who I researched with, one from professor who taught grad course
Research Experience: One year with an associate professor in the Ag Econ department, One semester with assistant professor in Business school, senior thesis in progress
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: I.O., Micro Theory, Labor
SOP: Looked back at it the other day. I HOPE they didn’t read it.
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
USC Marshall ($), Duke ($), Northwestern ($), UCSD (No $), Texas (No $), Boston U (No $)
Waitlists:
UPenn (rejected), Caltech (rejected)
Rejections:
Yale, Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, Minnesota, Maryland, UCLA Anderson, Harvard, Michigan, NYU, Cornell, Brown
What would you have done differently?
I would have studied harder for the GRE, finished a major in applied math, and applied to UCLA econ.
(Not-so) Fun Facts:
-Not accepted to any Ivy League school (UPenn waitlist)
-Not accepted to any school that used the Embark system (Caltech waitlist)
Attending: Northwestern!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: USC Marshall ($), Duke ($), Northwestern ($), UCSD (No $), Texas (No $), Boston U (No $)
  • Institution: Duke University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: In the mail Notification date: 2/25/09 Notified through: email to website Comments: Hoo- and -ray!
  • Institution: Northwestern University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Doesn't say Notification date: 2/26/09 9:00PM PST Notified through: Checked applyyourself Comments: Take that, Minnesota!
  • Institution: UC San Diego Economics Ph.D. Decision: Admitted (Provisionally) Funding: Not mentioned Notification date: 3/12 Notified through: E-mail Comments: YAY! One of my top choices! Feels good after a whole week of Top 10 rejections
  • Institution: UT Austin Economics, PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Dunno... still confused. Notification date: 3/12 Notified through: Website Comments: No e-mail...just checked the website. It says: "We're pleased to inform you that you've been accepted to The University of Texas at Austin. We recommend that you contact your graduate adviser as soon as possible. It's a pleasure to welcome you as a graduate student." Although, I did receive an e-mail from Eugenio J. Miravete making a correction to an e-mail he sent earlier regarding the date of the flyout...I never received the first e-mail...
  • Institution: Boston University Economics, PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "Financial Aid Alternate" Notification date: 3/17 Notified through: E-mail Comments: I think getting accepted without aid to schools that are lower on your list than ones you've already been accepted to is absolutely great. You don't feel bad about being rejected, but it doesn't really change the set of schools you have to make a decision on. Will probably decline soon.
Rejects:
    rejected), Caltech (rejected) Rejections: Yale, Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, Minnesota, Maryland, UCLA Anderson, Harvard, Michigan, NYU, Cornell, Brown
  • Institution: Stanford University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/6/09 Notified through: E-mail AND Postal Comments: What a better way to end a week of 5 rejections and 1 wait-list (not to mention 2 problem sets, and a Stat lab report), except with, not only another rejection from my dream school, but the official rejection letter in my mailbox when I come home? YAY!
  • Institution: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Website Comments: Kind of feeling like Northwestern was a fluke...granted, the most AMAZING fluke of my life.
  • Institution: Cornell University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 4/6/2009 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Not an Ivy-Leaguer
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: UPenn (
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/4 Notified through: Email

freecon 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.90/4.0 (gpa in math&econ 3.96) Top ranked out of 150
Type of Grad: No grad degree
GRE: 780Q
Math Courses: Calculus I-II, Linear Algebra, Math for economists, Math Analysis, Graph Theory and Networks, Probability and Statistics I-II
Econ Courses: Many...Macro and micro theories, Game Theory I-II, Growth and Development, International Trade I-II, Public Finance, Monetary, Econometrics I-II, Time Series
Other Courses: Java, Matlab, Management courses...
Letters of Recommendation: I used five different recommenders. One was a famous prof, one was department chair, others were associate profs knowing me well.
Research Experience: non
Teaching Experience: Tutoring in Econ 101&102 for two years, assisting in CS 123 for a semester
Research Interests: Game theory, Macroeconomic theory, macroeconomic policy games
SOP: I have sent a standard SOP to each school by just changing the name of institution. It is neither bad nor well-prepared, although I spent great time on it.
Other:
RESULTS:
Attending: BU ($$$)
Acceptances, declined: UMD ($$$), JHU ($$), Brown, LSE-MSc, UPF-MSc ($$$)
Waitlists: Brown funding list
Rejections: MIT, Princeton, Berkeley, Yale, UCLA, UPenn, Northwestern, NYU, UCSD
Pending: UWM
What would you have done differently? Firstly, I didn't study for GRE assuming that the quantitative part was easy. Yes, it was easy. But I should have studied to gain speed. Further, the verbal part was horrible for me as an international student. If I had studied, I may do well. Secondly, I didn't apply to Cornell, Columbia, Michigan, Chigago and Minnesota. I should have made a better combination of schools instead of applying Princeton,MIT,Berkeley,Yale and so on. Thirdly, it is the important one: I should have written more specific SOPs. But, it was impossible for me since I still haven't know exactly my research interests.
Accepts:
    Attending: BU ($$$) Acceptances, declined: UMD ($$$), JHU ($$), Brown, LSE-MSc, UPF-MSc ($$$)
  • Institution: U of Maryland Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification date: Notified through: Comments: it is an unofficial notification. They have notified one of my professor through e-mail.
  • Institution: JHU Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: full tuition waiver Notification date: Notified through: Comments: they have notified my professor through e-mail
  • Institution: BU Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/17 Notified through: e-mail Funding:$18700+tution waiver+summer stipend($5000)
  • Institution: LSE Programme: MSc Econometrics and Mathematical Economics (1 yr) Decision: Accepted Notification Date: 31/03/2009 Funding: None Comments: After rejecting for Phd just on website ten days ago, this time they notified through e-mail.
Rejects:
    Rejections: MIT, Princeton, Berkeley, Yale, UCLA, UPenn, Northwestern, NYU, UCSD
  • Institution: MIT Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/3 Notified through: e-mail Comments: not suprising
  • Institution: LSE Economics, PhD MRes (Track 1) Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: web-site (no email) Comments: They should have sent an email to be more polite
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Brown funding list
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: waitlisted Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: e-mail Comments:

rvalchev 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small private school. First tier according to US News but dead last in that tier
Undergrad GPA: 4.0 - I have another 2 weeks till graduation but hopefully it'll stay this way
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800Q, 530V, 5.0 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Optimization, Real Analysis, Topology, Probability Theory, Computational Statistics, Differential Equations
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro and Macro, Econometrics and Forecasting, Game Theory, Money and Banking, Public Economics
Other Courses: Assortment of Business core classes.
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Letters from Econ Profs and 1 from a math prof. I think letters will be good to great, math professor has taught me for 2 years and I've conducted research for an year together with one of my econ profs.
Research Experience: Honors Thesis, RA for two summers but I wasted those summers so nothing really came out of it.
Research Interests: Metrics, applied metrics ... i am open to anything
SOP: It was weak, unfocused and not customized for schools
RESULTS:
Attending: Duke ($$$)
Acceptances, declined: Wisconsin ($$$), Cornell ($$$), Ohio State( $$$), UNC -Chapel Hill ($$$), Michigan State ($$$), Pitt ($$$), Tinbergen Institute ($$$), LSE EME (Research), Oxford MPhil, Michigan (no $), Texas(no $), USC ($$$),
Waitlists: Duke funding waitlist, BU funding waitlist, Princeton Waitlist, Texas Waitlist, Michigan waitlist
Rejections: MIT, Princeton (rejected from waitlist), Berkeley, Yale, Harvard, UPenn, Chicago, UCSD, Penn State, Boston College, Cambridge
What would you have done differently? First, read jeeve's thread about suggestions for people from less known undergrads (it was impossible since it was not written until a couple of days ago, but that's what future people should do). Second, apply to NYU, Columbia and Northwestern (but most probably I would have only taken Northwestern over Duke. But still, my portfolio of schools was a little unbalanced). Third, write a much, much better SOPs that would be much better tailored to different schools. You'll be surprised how much SOPs matter (heard it directly from admissions directors at TOP10 and TOP20 schools).Fourth, don't get RA positions that are in the network of your schools and professors because you are already part of this network, so it doesn't add much to your profile. Go out and work for somebody different.
Accepts:
    Attending: Duke ($$$) Acceptances, declined: Wisconsin ($$$), Cornell ($$$), Ohio State( $$$), UNC -Chapel Hill ($$$), Michigan State ($$$), Pitt ($$$), Tinbergen Institute ($$$), LSE EME (Research), Oxford MPhil, Michigan (no $), Texas(no $), USC ($$$),
  • Institution: Purdue University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No word Notification date: Feb 18 Notified through: Email Comments:
  • Institution: U of Pittsburgh Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification date: Feb 18 Notified through: Email and mail Comments: It's been a really good day
  • Institution: Wisconsin-Madison economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification date: 2/21/09 Notified through: Email Comments: I still can't believe it ...
  • Institution: Duke Economics, PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition waiver and on the waitlist for a stipend Notification date: 02/27 Notified through: Mail Weird, they rejected me via the online application earlier this week. Very quick turn around.
  • Institution: Michigan State Economics Ph.D. Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification date: 3/3 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Hey at least I am on 1-1 for the day.
  • Institution: Cornell University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 21,400 fellowship + 4,400 in summers ...crazy Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Sweet deal
  • Institution: Tinbergen Economics MPhil Decision: Admitted Notification date: 3/9 Funding: 975 Euros/month + Tuition Notified through: email
  • Institution: Boston U Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/17 Notified through: E-mail Funding: -"alternative funding applicant" Comments: hey i got one Boston School, even if unfunded
Rejects:
    Rejections: MIT, Princeton (rejected from
  • Institution: Yale University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/20/09 Notified through: Email to check website Comments: Who would have known ... rejection stinks
  • Institution: PSU Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/24/09 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Good luck to everybody else !
  • Institution: Duke Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/25/09 Notified through: E-mail Comments: I was kinda hoping I was out of the woods but oh well.
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/02 Notified through: E-Mail Comments:Another one bites the dust. 0-2 on TOP10 programs.
  • Institution: MIT Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/3 Notified through: E-mail Comments: MIT and Berkeley at least notify all at the same time.
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/19 (Official letter) Notified through: E-mail Funding: -Nada Comments: what can you do
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Duke funding waitlist, BU funding waitlist, Princeton Waitlist, Texas Waitlist, Michigan waitlist
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: 25,750 on the off chance I get in Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: E-mail Comments: At least one TOP10 school thinks I am somewhat worth it
  • Institution: U of Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Notification date: 3/19 (Official letter) Notified through: Mail Funding: -Not mentioned Comments: Interesting
  • Institution: UT-Austin Economics Ph.D. Decision: Waitlisted Notification date: 3/20 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Really rocking those waitlsts this year

tmdruie 2009:
So I can get on the shiny charts!
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Physics and Economics from a top 10 liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.14/4.0
Type of Grad: One stats class
Grad GPA: 3.3
GRE: 790Q, 600V, 5.0AW
Math Courses: Calc I-III(I took them in high school, I really dont remember and nor do my transcripts), Linear Algebra (B), Mathematical Probability and Statistics (B-, B), Real Analyst(A, at a different school then my undergrad), Stochastic Processes (B+, grad course, at a different school then my undergrad)
Econ Courses: AP Micro and Macro (A, in high school), European Economic History (B+), Law and Economics (B), Intermediate Price Theory (B), Intermediate Macro Theory (B), Econometrics (B), Contemporary British Economy (B), Industrial Revolution-Britain (A-), Econ of Multinational Corps (A-), Thesis (labor econ)
Other Courses: Physics, which I put in my math lists. Quantum Mechanics I, Partial Differential Equations (B+), etc. I only did the bare minimum for a liberal arts major
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ professors (my thesis advisor and the person who led my study abroad), 1 physics professor (thesis advisor), 1 economist who is my supervisor
Research Experience: RA for 2.5 years at a central bank
Teaching Experience: Tutored, graded and lab assisted for two years for physics in college
Research Interests: All over the place. Labor, policy, experimental, applied micro, development, etc.
SOP: Intro, I did physics I can do math!, I wrote a thesis in economic and liked doing research, Im working as an RA and like doing research, I took extra math and can write proofs, I was part of an econ paper reading group and like reading papers, interests (changed a bit depending on what the school had, and more policy oriented for ag econ schools). Also a few sentences about things I did that I removed or added depending on the school. The 500 word schools were hard, the 1000 word schools were easy. I also had a Personal History Statement about being a female doing math for the schools that wanted it.
Other: Applied for the NSF. I tried not to say anything to risky, and not say much about interest in policy to non policy/ ag econ schools. I like Aikido.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Boston University (waitlist for $), Michigan State(no $), University of Essex (ISER), Ohio State (Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics) ($-Fellowship), Indiana University ($-TA), Iowa State University ($-TA)
Waitlists: University of Minnesota
Rejections: MIT, Harvard (Econ and Political Economy and Government), Yale, Berkeley (Agricultural & Resource Economics), Northwestern, NYU, U Penn (Econ and Wharton), University of Wisconsin Madison (Econ and Agricultural and Applied Economics ), Columbia, Brown, Cornell, Caltech, University of British Columbia , Ohio State, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor (Econ and Public Policy and Economics), University of Maryland (Econ and Agricultural Economics), Boston College, Johns Hopkins, University of Minnesota (Applied Economics), University of California Davis (Econ and Agricultural Economics), Duke, University of Essex, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Carnegie Mellon (Econ, Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Public Policy and Economics)
Pending: Toronto MA, Queens MA
What would you have done differently?
Gotten better grades in undergrad. When I really started understanding what the things I need to do for a PhD I think I did the best I could, took real analysis, applied for the NSF (if only to write a SoP for them), read papers etc. I probably could have gotten more research experience at my job (co-author), and I defiantly could have gotten better grades and taken more math as an undergrad. But over all Im happy.
Attending:
Boston University
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Boston University (
Rejects:
    Rejections: MIT, Harvard (Econ and Political Economy and Government), Yale, Berkeley (Agricultural & Resource Economics), Northwestern, NYU, U Penn (Econ and Wharton), University of Wisconsin Madison (Econ and Agricultural and Applied Economics ), Columbia, Brown, Cornell, Caltech, University of British Columbia , Ohio State, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor (Econ and Public Policy and Economics), University of Maryland (Econ and Agricultural Economics), Boston College, Johns Hopkins, University of Minnesota (Applied Economics), University of California Davis (Econ and Agricultural Economics), Duke, University of Essex, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Carnegie Mellon (Econ, Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Public Policy and Economics)
Waitlists:
    waitlist for $), Michigan State(no $), University of Essex (ISER), Ohio State (Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics) ($-Fellowship), Indiana University ($-TA), Iowa State University ($-TA) Waitlists: University of Minnesota

zappa22 2009:
Institution: Northwestern
Program: Ph.D. Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Wait-listed for first year funding (funding for subsequent year assured).
Notification date: 2/26/09
Notified through: E-mail
Comments: Received the e-mail half an hour ago.
Accepts:
  • Institution: Northwestern Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Wait-listed for first year funding (funding for subsequent year assured). Notification date: 2/26/09 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Received the e-mail half an hour ago.
  • Institution: UW-Madison Economics, PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No 1st Year Funding Notification date: 3/12 Notified through: Email Comments:
  • Institution: BU Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/17 Notified through: e-mail Funding:$18700+tution waiver+summer stipend($5000)
Rejects:
Waitlists:

filroz 2009:
Institution: Berkeley
Program: Economics, PhD
Decision: Rejected
Notification date: 03/02
Notified through: E-Mail
Comments: no
Accepts:
  • Institution: BU Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/17 Notified through: e-mail Funding:waitlisted
Rejects:
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/02 Notified through: E-Mail Comments: no
  • Institution: NWU Economics PhD Decision: rejected Notification date: 3/4 Notified through: ask by email
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: E-mail
  • Institution: Columbia Economics PhD Decision:Rejected Notification date:March 6 Notified through:E-Mail
  • Institution:Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/6
  • Institution: Columbia Economics, PhD Decision: rejected Notification date: 3/12 Notified through: check the website
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/26 Notified through: E-mail
Waitlists:

sunshine88 2009:
Institution: George Washington University
Program: Economics MA
Decision: Accepted
Notification date: 3/26/09
Notified through: Website
Comments: Submitted application on 2/25/09
Accepts:
  • Institution: George Washington University Economics MA Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/26/09 Notified through: Website Comments: Submitted application on 2/25/09
  • Institution: Boston University Programme: Economics MA Decision: Accepted Notification Date: 3/31/2009 Comments: In the email they said to take more math this summer. I submitted the application in late February a couple days before the deadline. I will be attending BU if I do not get accepted at NYU MA Econ.
Rejects:
Waitlists:

Pedxs 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 liberal arts college (It used to be top 5!!) - Double Major Math & Econ - Graduated in 3 years
Undergrad GPA: 3.96/4.00
GRE: 800Q/650V/4.5AWA
Math Courses: lots of statistic courses + a few applied math + Calc + RA + Abstract Algebra
Econ Courses: the usual undergrad with emphasis on finance courses
Other Courses: two years equivalent of undergrad physics
Letters of Recommendation: 1 each from home institution econ prof and math prof + 1 from prof at top econ phd program
Research Experience: College Math Thesis + College Econ Thesis + 0.5 year at economic consulting (I think this is meaningless) + 1.5 years RA at top econ phd program
Teaching Experience: TA for lots of math and econ classes in college
Research Interests: Finance, Development
SOP: Quite long -my full version was 1500 word. It was necessary for me because I was out of school for 2 years. I felt that I was able to make my SOP interesting enough that they will spend the time to read the entirety. I talked about what inspired me to become interested in finance/development. What I did to gain exposure to these fields and to prepare myself for grad school.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: MIT, Chicago, Minnesota, Cornell, Brown, JHU, BU
Waitlists: Harvard
Rejections: a couple in the top 5
Pending:
What would you have done differently?
Nothing much. I got into my top choice.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: MIT, Chicago, Minnesota, Cornell, Brown, JHU, BU
  • Institution:Minnesota Economics Decision: Admitted Notification date: 2/25/10 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: yes Comments:
  • Institution: JHU Economics Decision: Admitted Notification date: 2/26/10 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: yes Comments:
  • Institution: Chicago Economics Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/5/10 Notified through: Email
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/5/10 Notified through: Email
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/5/10 Notified through: Email
  • Institution: Cornell Economics Decision: Admitted Notified through: e-mail Date: March 8
  • Institution: Brown Economics Decision: Admitted Notified through: e-mail Date: March 8
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision:Accepted Funding: 28k fellowship first two years - TA/RA the rest Notification date: 3/15 Notified through: Email Comments: I still ponder why they chose me
Rejects:
    Rejections: a couple in the top 5
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Harvard
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Wait Listed Notification date: 2/26/10 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: yes Comments: I would really appreciate it if anyone who has been wait listed last year could offer me some insight into the chances of getting in from the wait list (through PM).
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Wait Listed Notification date: 2/26/10 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: yes Comments: I would really appreciate it if anyone who has been wait listed last year could offer me some insight into the chances of getting in from the wait list (through PM).

Morxjez 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: University of Chicago
Undergrad GPA: 3.83
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: Q800 V540 W4.0
Math Courses: Analysis in Rn 1,2,3 , Abstract Algebra 1,2 , Numerical Analysis, Complex Analysis, Theory of ODE (involved use of complex variable) All A's except complex analysis (A-)
Stat Courses: Mathematical Statistics (A-), and mathematical probability (A)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro and Macro (all A's), International trade and finance (A-,A), Econometrics (intro and advance) (A, B+,A), Advanced Macro 1, 2 (A+,A+), Auction Theory (A), Game Theory (A), a graduate class in numerical methods in economics (A)
Other Courses: Computer Science (A,A)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Harvard, 1 Minnesota, 1 Princeton (They are all pretty strong)
Research Experience: 1 Year part time RA, 1 Summer RA at central bank in my country
Teaching Experience: TA for math and econ
Research Interests: Asset pricing and macro
SOP: normal with customized to each program
Other: I am currently a junior year student.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Chicago($), Northwestern (WL), UPenn ($$), Columbia($$), Minnesota ($$), Wisconsin($$), Boston U($$)
Waitlists: MIT
Rejections: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, UMich
Pending: nothing
What would you have done differently? I should not apply this year. I should instead work as an RA for a year or two and then apply. I think then I would have a clear shot at top 5 schools. But well, graduating in three years save me 50,000US worth of tuition fee and now I am happy with Penn, which is very good at Asset Pricing.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Chicago($), Northwestern (WL), UPenn ($$), Columbia($$), Minnesota ($$), Wisconsin($$), Boston U($$)
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, UMich
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: MIT

Biarien 2010:
I'll post some information for anyone in my situation (looking into MA/MS programs).
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BS Environmental Economics, top 25 US Univ. (top 3 public as far as I know)
Undergrad GPA: 3.74
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 690V, 800Q, 5.0AW
Math Courses: 2 semesters of calculus, 1 semester of statistics, 1 semester of econometrics.
Econ Courses: microeconomic theory, environmental economics, natural resource economics, & a few other applied econ. courses, one macroeconomic theory course
Other Courses: environment & development, public policy analysis, energy & resources (more of an engineering course really), general electives.
Letters of Recommendation: One from employer (MS in Econometrics & PhD in Forest Economics), two from UCB professors (public policy & ag. econ.).
Research Experience: None.
Teaching Experience: Limited (taught software applications to UCB staff; unrelated to coursework).
Research Interests: General interests in the field: renewable natural resource economics, land use economics, possibly development.
SOP: I gave a bit of general background about my interest in economics & desire to apply it towards environmental issues in particular, & discussed my work goals. I didn't discuss research interests but did mention my specific interests (above).
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UC Davis (MS Agricultural & Resource Economics); Cornell University (MS Applied Economics & Management); University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (MS Policy Economics); Boston University (MA Economic Policy); Tufts University (MA Economics; offered tuition waiver & TA position); Northeastern University (offered TA position)
Waitlists: None
Rejections: None
Pending: None
What would you have done differently? Overall, I'm pretty happy with my results (no reason to complain). Looking further back, I would have tried to do more work with my professors while doing my undergrad, but they were happy to write me good letters despite my lack of personal interaction with them. It all comes down to asking the right professor, I think, or at least it seemed to in my case. I might not have applied to Northeastern and saved a bit of money, though I wasn't sure what to expect going in.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UC Davis (MS Agricultural & Resource Economics); Cornell University (MS Applied Economics & Management); University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (MS Policy Economics); Boston University (MA Economic Policy); Tufts University (MA Economics; offered tuition waiver & TA position); Northeastern University (offered TA position)
Rejects:
    Rejections: None
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: None

good_tea 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA, Joint Econ/Math at Top 30 Econ department (I am an international student, though)
Undergrad GPA: 3.83/4.00
GRE: 760Q/670V/4.5A
Math Courses: Calculus (B, B, A), Linear Algebra (B+), Differential Equations (A), Analysis (A,A), Operations Research (A), MA Statistics in economics department (A).
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (B), Econometrics (A), Economics of Information (B+), MA Micro (A), MA Macro (A), and many electives (As).
Letters of Recommendation: One famous economics prof., wrote term paper (not sure about strength of the letter but not bad), one somewhat famous economics prof., senior thesis advisor (should have been quite solid), one analysis professor (should have been very good).
Research Experience: Senior thesis.
Teaching Experience: None.
Research Interests: Development, trade.
SOP: Nothing special.
Other: Had been working for an international organisation for a few months during the time of application.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Cornell AEM MS (no $), UVA (wl-$), UMD AREC ($$), Michigan (no $), BU (wl-$).
Rejections: Yale, Harvard KSG, UCB ARE, Princeton, PSU, UMD, Brown, NYU, UCSD.
What would you have done differently?
I am very happy with my outcome but realise that with a bit of bad luck, it could have been a lot worse. I am answering this question not so much in retrospect but in terms of how my a priori thinking/information could have been better (e.g. in retrospect it wouldn't make sense to apply to Princeton but a priori it was reasonable to do so just in case my recommendation letters were extremely strong).
1. I would not have applied to Maryland Economics b/c it really didn't match my interests very well. I would not have applied to Cornell AEM b/c it turns out it is very difficult to get admitted directly into the PhD program and I didn't want to do a MA/MS. I might have applied to Cornell's economics instead, though. I would have applied to at least one more place outside the top-20, maybe University of Washington.
2. A higher GRE score would have been good but I tried and didn't manage (canceled my score after taking it the second time), so it is not something I regret. I am not so good at that kind of test.
3. In terms of the longer run, I should have considered how I could do better in math classes earlier on. I am naturally quite good at math but had been doing only ok since late high school and never really thought about how I could improve. I learned (while studying for my Linear Algebra final exam, which took my grade for that class from a B- to a B+), that it is very useful to study by writing/typing out explanations to make sure one understands everything properly. Studying in this way, I did very well in all my subsequent math classes.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Cornell AEM MS (no $), UVA (wl-$), UMD AREC ($$), Michigan (no $), BU (wl-$).
  • Institution: Cornell AEM Decision: Accepted for MS. Funding: None. Notification date: 23rd of February. Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Yes. Comments: Email said that getting into the PhD program after successfully completing MS should be of no difficulty. Not sure what to be make of this.
  • Institution: University of Virginia Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Nothing yet. Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Email to check website. Posted on GF: Yes. Date posted on Gradcafe: 03/02/2010 Comment: This is very good news.
  • Institution: University of Michigan Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Nothing yet. Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Checked the website but did not receive an email. On the website, it says I will be contacted soon. Posted on GF: Going to very soon. So Yes, basically. Date posted on Gradcafe: 03/02/2010 Comment: This is really excellent!
  • Institution: University of Maryland AREC Decision: Accepted Funding: Graduate Assistantship, tuition remission Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Will do. Comments: Excellent...
  • Institution: BU economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Basically waitlisted for funding. Notification date: 03/05/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: No, maybe I will, in which case I will put my TM name. Comments: Good to know, though I am unlikely to choose it at this point.
  • Institution: Cornell AEM Decision: Accepted for MS. Funding: None. Notification date: 23rd of February. Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Yes. Comments: Email said that getting into the PhD program after successfully completing MS should be of no difficulty. Not sure what to be make of this.
  • Institution: University of Virginia Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Nothing yet. Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Email to check website. Posted on GF: Yes. Date posted on Gradcafe: 03/02/2010 Comment: This is very good news.
  • Institution: University of Michigan Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Nothing yet. Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Checked the website but did not receive an email. On the website, it says I will be contacted soon. Posted on GF: Going to very soon. So Yes, basically. Date posted on Gradcafe: 03/02/2010 Comment: This is really excellent!
  • Institution: University of Maryland AREC Decision: Accepted Funding: Graduate Assistantship, tuition remission Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Will do. Comments: Excellent...
  • Institution: BU economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Basically waitlisted for funding. Notification date: 03/05/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: No, maybe I will, in which case I will put my TM name. Comments: Good to know, though I am unlikely to choose it at this point.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Yale, Harvard KSG, UCB ARE, Princeton, PSU, UMD, Brown, NYU, UCSD.
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected. Notification date: 18th of February, I think. Notified through: Email. Posted on GF: No Comments: Wasn't expecting to get in anyway.
  • Institution: Harvard KSG Public Policy Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/03/10 Notified through: Email. Posted on GF: Will do. Comments: Not particularly bothered.
  • Institution: Harvard KSG Public Policy Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/03/10 Notified through: Email. Posted on GF: Will do. Comments: Not particularly bothered.
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Ag & Resource Econ (ARE) Decision: Rejected Notified through: E-mail to check website. Date: 03/09 Comment: I feel I had a fair shot here. If it is true that NYU and Brown are also out (and Princeton is almost certainly out anyway), then none of the offers I could still get are better than the ones I already have.
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Reject Notification date: 03/09/10 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: No surprise...
  • Institution: PSU Econ Phd Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/12/2010 Notified through: Email. Comments: I would not have attended even if I got admitted with funding at this point. It was meant to be safety though, so that seems to have been a miscalculation!
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: Marjorie Lesser got back to my email, that was nice of her since it was from several days back. Posted on GC: No Comments: Not surprised at this point. Only UCSD to go...
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/24/10 Notified through: e-mail Comments: I wouldn't have gone anyway, but I am really glad I got into Michigan and in retrospect, seem to have been lucky since I was rejected by other similar programs!
Waitlists:

econslave 2010:
Type of Undergrad: BA in Economics from top 15 liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.7ish
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q / 630V / 5.0AWA
Math Courses: Calculus I/II, Intro to Statistics, Probability Theory, Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus, Discrete Math, Ordinary Differential Equations, Real Analysis (Note: Some grades were good, but most were not.)
Econ Courses (Undergraduate): A lot of basic field courses, but also econometrics and advanced theoretical econometrics
Econ Courses (Graduate): N/A
Letters of Recommendation: (1) RA-ed for 2.5 years; (2) RA-ed for, co-authored decent article with, advised for thesis, and took two courses with; (3) Took an advanced economics course with as an undergraduate and did very well in the class (Note: None of the letter-writers are well-known, but all went to top 10 PhD programs.)
Research Experience: 2.5 years RA for one professor, 1 year RA for another professor, undergraduate thesis (ranked best), summer RA at prestigious policy think-tanks, 1 year full-time RA position with top 10 school professor
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Behavioral/experimental, decision theory, micro theory, applied micro
Concerns: Lacking in math (not many classes and less-than-stellar grades). Didn’t graduate with any honors or anything.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UCSD (TA $), Michigan (no $), Boston University (no $)
Waitlist: Minnesota
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Chicago, Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern, Penn, Columbia, NYU, UCLA, Wisconsin, Caltech, Brown, Cornell, Duke, CMU, Maryland, Texas, PSU, Stanford GSB, Chicago Booth
What would you have done differently? Besides getting better grades as an undergraduate, not much. I applied to all of the top 20 and several others, and got into a few great schools. Perhaps I would’ve taken a different RA position, but it seems to have worked out anyway.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UCSD (TA $), Michigan (no $), Boston University (no $)
  • Institution: Michigan Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Don't know Notification date: 3/1 Notified through: Checked website Posted on GF: No Comments I'm so thrilled about this. My first admit!!!
  • Institution: Michigan Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Don't know Notification date: 3/1 Notified through: Checked website Posted on GF: No Comments I'm so thrilled about this. My first admit!!!
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Accepted!! Funding: To arrive via e-mail next week Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Flyout March 31-April 1 ... Financial info to arrive next week. It was a personalized message. So happy!
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Notification date: 3/26 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Nice, but I'll probably turn down the offer soon.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Chicago, Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern, Penn, Columbia, NYU, UCLA, Wisconsin, Caltech, Brown, Cornell, Duke, CMU, Maryland, Texas, PSU, Stanford GSB, Chicago Booth
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 2/16 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on Grad Cafe: No Comment: First "official" rejection. Trying to keep the faith.
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: None Notified Through: Checked online status Posted on Grad Cafe: No Comment: No good news yet...
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economic Analysis and Policy Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/19 Notified Through: E-mail to check website Posted on Grad Cafe: No Comment: Not surprised, still worried
  • Institution: Duke Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/16 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GF: No Comments: 1
  • Institution: Yale Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/18 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GF: No Comments: 2
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Ph.D. Economic Analysis & Policy Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/19 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GF: No Comments: 3
  • Institution: Chicago Booth Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/26 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: No Comments: 4
  • Institution: Northwestern Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/26 Notified through: Checked website Posted on GF: Yes Comments: 5
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Reject Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: No Comments: Not surprised, but very disappointed. Oh well.
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/4 Notified through: E-mail to check website Funding: Laughing to hide the tears... Comments: This is old news by now.
  • Institution: University of Chicago Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: See decision. Notification date: 03/05/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: No Comment: Looks like Illinois does not like me.
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Reject Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: No Comments: Not surprised, but very disappointed. Oh well.
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/4 Notified through: E-mail to check website Funding: Laughing to hide the tears... Comments: This is old news by now.
  • Institution: University of Chicago Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: See decision. Notification date: 03/05/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: No Comment: Looks like Illinois does not like me.
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: ... Notification date: 3/9 Notified through: E-mail (unofficial personalized rejection) Posted on GF: No Comment: This one really really sucks.
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Reject Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/9 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment: Don't care anymore
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison Economics Decision: Reject Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/9 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment: Not surprised at this point.
  • Institution: Penn State University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: ... Notification date: 3/10 Notified through: E-mail (from Lynn Sebulsky) Posted on GC: No Comment: More rejections --> disutility
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: ... Notification date: 3/10 Notified through: Snail mail Posted on GC: No Comment: Hm.
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: ... Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: Postal mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Big shocker...
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/12 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Expected by now.
  • Institution: Brown Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Everything is alright.
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: I'm so surprised...
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/17 Notified through: E-mail (with PDF attachment) Posted on GC: No Comments: It's ok.
  • Institution: Cornell Economics Decision: Reject Funding: ... Notification date: 03/19/10 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Oh well.
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science Decision: Reject Funding: ... Notification date: 03/19/10 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Not surprised by now.
  • Institution: U Maryland Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/20/10 Notified through: E-mail to Check Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Not new news.[/QUOTE]
  • Institution: UT-Austin Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/26 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Oh well.
  • Institution: Carnegie Mellon Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/25 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Oh well.
Waitlists:
    Waitlist: Minnesota
  • Institution: Minnesota Ph.D. Economics Decision: Waitlist (not the "priority" one) Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/25 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Lots of rejections, and even more implicit ones. Hopefully one will work out.
  • Institution: Minnesota Ph.D. Economics Decision: Waitlist (not the "priority" one) Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/25 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Lots of rejections, and even more implicit ones. Hopefully one will work out.

EconDev137 2010:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Quantitative Economics. & B.A. Political Science
Undergrad GPA: 3.36
GRE: 770Q 570V 4.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III, (AP, AP, A) Linear Algebra (A), Real Analysis (D), Probability (B+)
Econ Courses: Intro Micro (C), Intro Macro (C), Elementary Econometrics (A), Econometrics (A), Advanced Econometrics (A), Intermediate Micro (A+), Intermediate Macro(A+), Economic Growth (A), Economic Development (B+), Environmental Economics (B+), International Monetary Policy (A)
Grad Courses: Advanced Micro (A), Advanced Macro (A-)
Letters of Recommendation: All very good, from top 10.
Research Experience: Work at a public policy think tank. Thesis in Political Science.
Research Interests: Applied micro, development
Statement of purpose: Way better than average
Other: LORs are the most vital part of your application. Do not overlook the importance of building quality relationships with a few profs. However don't use this as an excuse to be a kissa$$.
RESULTS:
PhD Accepts: Arizona (tuition waiver and assistantship for years 2-5), Purdue (nothing official, but presumed tuition plus 18k), Colorado-Boulder (waitlisted for $),
PhD Waitlists: Boston College (Decent Chance of admit, but won't know until after deadlines for other schools), OSU (acceptance not probable)
PhD Rejections: Duke, Maryland, Penn State, Vanderbilt and Indiana,
Masters Accepts: Michigan, Boston University, Tornoto
Masters Rejections: Tufts (really?)
Masters Pending: UBC
What would you have done differently? The most glaring thing would be not to have gotten a D in real analysis, I think I could have pulled vanderbilt without that. Other than that I think I had a pretty solid plan. Take the most useful classes you can, do as well as you can and spend your free time having fun. I think people on TM get too worked up about not having an 800Q or a 4.0 at the expense of living life.
Accepts:
    Accepts: Arizona (tuition waiver and assistantship for years 2-5), Purdue (nothing official, but presumed tuition plus 18k), Colorado-Boulder (waitlisted for $), PhD
  • Institution: Boston University Masters Decision: Accepted Funding: Not available for Masters Students Notification date: 3/1 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Very happy. While my goal is still to go to a PhD program at least I have a backup plan now!! :D
  • Institution: Boston University Masters Decision: Accepted Funding: Not available for Masters Students Notification date: 3/1 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Very happy. While my goal is still to go to a PhD program at least I have a backup plan now!!
  • Institution: University of Colorado-Boulder Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Not now, but I am being considered Notification date: 3/10/2010 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: Not Yet
  • Institution: Purdue Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TBD Notification date: 3/10/2010 Notified through: Email and Postal Posted on GC:Not Yet
  • Institution: Arizona Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Details will come within the week Notification date: 03/19/10 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Now I have an excuse to fly to Arizona for a few days
  • Institution: Michigan Economics MAE Decision: Admitted Notification date: 4/1 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Yes Funding: No Idea Comments: Baring some amazing funding package or unreal placements, I'm pretty sure I'm going to decline, but the email said to wait a week before responding because they are going to be so busy.
  • Institution: U of Toronto Masters Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Can apply for a TA in July Notification date: 4/6 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comment: Will decline
  • Institution: UBC Masters Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Details at all, but I think I will get some Notification date: 4/13/10 Notified through: Email and Postal to follow within 24 hours Comments: Will Decline,
Rejects:
    Rejections: Duke, Maryland, Penn State, Vanderbilt and Indiana, Masters
  • Institution: Duke Econ Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/16/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on Gradcafe: (yes or no) yes
  • Institution: Duke Economics, PhD Decision: Rejection Notification date: 2-16-2010 Notified through: Email to Link Posted on GF: Yes Comments: So happy that TM is back
  • Institution: Duke Economics, PhD Decision: Rejection Notification date: 2-16-2010 Notified through: Email to Link Posted on GF: Yes Comments: So happy that TM is back
  • Institution: Penn State Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: No Notification date: 3/10/201 Notified through:Email Posted on GC:Not Yet
  • Institution: Tufts Masters Decision: Rejected Funding: No Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through:Personal e-mail Posted on GC:Not Yet Sorry I took so long to post these. I was out of the country with no internet all week.
  • Institution:Vanderbilt Phd Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/30 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Yes Funding: ... Comments: Very Upset
  • Institution: Indiana Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/31 Notified through: Email Response to an inquiry Posted on GF: Yes Funding: - Comments: Looking more and more like Arizona
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Boston College (Decent Chance of
  • Institution: Boston College Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Waitlisted Notification date: 2-28-2010 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: Yes Comments: Said I will remain waitlisted until at least April 15th when more spots could become available. It was sent really late on sunday night as well.
  • Institution: Boston College Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Waitlisted Notification date: 2-28-2010 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: Yes Comments: Said I will remain waitlisted until at least April 15th when more spots could become available. It was sent really late on sunday night as well.

shy_student 2010:
Type of Undergrad: One of the top universities in economics in my country
Undergrad GPA: 3.3
GRE: 770Q/450V/4.5A
Math Courses: Calculus, linear algebra, probability and statistics, game theory, differential equations, dynamic optimization, linear programming, stochastic calculus
Econ Courses: Too many actually. Vast majority of them being applied, but standard intermediate micro-macro and econometrics present. I've also taken time series and discrete choice models, though they were very introductory. A lot of introductory field courses: IO, Public, Labor, Financial Markets etc.
Grad degree: Best MA in economics program in my country, intended as a step to PhD
Graduate courses: Math for Economists, Advanced Macro, Advanced Micro, Intermediate and Advanced Econometrics, Contract theory, IO. Letters of Recommendation: 3 professors of my school, including my adviser.
Research Experience: I worked in a think tank for a year, but was doing policy project. Also joined a University Economics Lab for several projects as an undergrad
Teaching Experience: Worked as an instructor in basic micro at evening school for bright high school students. Also was TA at my MA program.
Research Interests: Applied microeconomics and econometrics, labor, contracts
SOP: Quite standard I suppose. I describe development of my ideas, touch some skills gained and explain, why I'd like to do empirics.
Concerns: low GPA, not perfect quantitative GRE. Worried that my SOP was not impressive enough.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Duke (attending), Boston University (no $), Boston College, Rutgers (no $)
Waitlists: UCLA
Rejections: Maryland, Northwestern, NYU, Cornell, Michigan, CMU
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Duke (attending), Boston University (no $), Boston College, Rutgers (no $)
Rejects:
    Rejections: Maryland, Northwestern, NYU, Cornell, Michigan, CMU
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: UCLA

2pm 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.B.A, Econ concentration from large state university with no PhD program
Undergrad GPA: 4.0
Type of Grad: M.A. Econ, same school
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 790Q, 640V, 4.0AWA
Math Courses: Cal I (AP test), II (Community College), III, Intro to Proofs, Matrices and Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Real Analysis I
Econ Courses (master level): Macro, Micro, Metrics, International Finance, Health Econ, Time Series, Research Methods, Forecasting
Econ Courses (undergrad): Intermediate Macro, Micro, Metrics, Money & Banking, Math for Economist (same class with graduate level)
Other Courses: Mostly in business
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ professors , been told they are all strong
Research Experience: Honors undergrad thesis & master thesis. Nothing spectacular
Teaching Experience: Tutor in the Econ dept
Research Interests: Applied micro
Statement of purpose: Standard, did not customize
Concern: (somewhat) inadequate math background. Realized I wanted to do a Ph.D. in econ too late & tried to cram as much required math courses as possible while finishing my M.A.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UT Austin ($$) (attending), Houston ($$), Michigan State (no $), BU (no $), UVA (no info on $ yet)
Waitlists: BC, UW-M long waitlist -> rejection
Rejections: let me count the way…Yale, Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, Michigan, UCLA, UCSD, UMN, Duke, PSU, Maryland, WUSTL
Pending: Ohio State (the earliest deadline, still nothing yet. Oh the irony!)
What would you have done differently? Hard to say, since I know beforehand there will be lots of noise in my results anyway. Probably take more math and get 800Q in GRE? Perhaps spend more time on my SOP, although I don’t feel comfortable discussing my research goals & ideas in details since I don’t even know which field I am interested in at the time of the application process. One thing I won’t regret is not transferring. I have made some fantastic friends and built tremendous relationship w/ the faculty at my current university. Overall, I’m extremely happy. 2 years ago when I decided to go for a Ph.D. in economics I didn’t think I could even make it to a mid-rank program, so UT is definitely a step up from my expectations.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UT Austin ($$) (attending), Houston ($$), Michigan State (no $), BU (no $), UVA (no info on $ yet)
  • Institution: UT Austin economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship, details TBA Notification date: 03/9/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comment: Thrilled! First offer after going 0 for 7...
  • Institution: Houston economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship + Fellowship Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: very flattered but will likely decline due to better offer...
  • Institution: Michigan State Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: no first year $ Notification date: 3/22 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: unlikely to attend w/out funding
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Admit Funding: nada Notification date: 3/24/10 Notified through: Email Comments: a strong ego-boost. But will probably decline since there is little chance I'm getting financial aid
  • Institution: UVA Economics PhD Decision: Admit Funding: No information on the letter Notification date: 03/24 Notified through: randomly checked website Comments: Happy
Rejects:
    rejection Rejections: let me count the way…Yale, Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, Michigan, UCLA, UCSD, UMN, Duke, PSU, Maryland, WUSTL
  • Institution: Penn State Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No.
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/17 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: one of my dream schools...
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/19/2010 Notified through: E-mail Comment: expected...
  • Institution: Maryland Economics Decision: Reject Notification date: 03/19/10 Notified through: Randomly check Testudo website Posted on GC: No Comments: bleh...
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/23/2010 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: WUSTL Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 04/06/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment: Took them long enough...
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: BC, UW-M long waitlist ->
  • Institution: Boston College Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Waitlisted Notification date: 2-28-2010 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: No Comments: Same email as EconDev. It seems very uncertain though, who knows what will happen after 4/15?
  • Institution: Boston College Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Waitlisted Notification date: 2-28-2010 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: No Comments: Same email as EconDev. It seems very uncertain though, who knows what will happen after 4/15?

shadowprice 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 undergrad; top 15 graduate econ program
Undergrad GPA: 3.46
Type of Grad: some master-level classes
Grad GPA:
GRE: 780 (1st time 690 - yikes!), 620, 5.0
Math Courses: Calc 1-3, Linear Algebra, Analysis and Optimization, Real Analysis 1-3, Probability, Statistical Inference, Stochastic Processes, Sample Surveys
Econ Courses (PhD-level):
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, Development, Public, Poverty and Inequality, International Monetary Theory, Intro to Econometrics, Microeconometrics, Advanced Micro
Letters of Recommendation: 1 U Chicago - took class, very strong; 1 U Chicago - RA for three years at regional Fed; 1 UCLA - RA for one year in undergrad
Research Experience: 5 years - 2 in undergrad , 3 years at a regional Fed. Extensive programming, coauthoring 2 papers (although not at the time of applying)
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Applied micro - public and IO.
Statement of purpose: 2 pages double-spaced (~650 words). Did not tailor to schools.
Concerns: Very low undergrad GPA with a few B's and B+'s in important classes
Other:
RESULTS:
Attending: University of Wisconsin ($$)
Acceptances: University of Wisconsin ($$), Boston University (none), Boston College ($$), Johns Hopkins (tuition - off of waitlist), UC-Davis (none), University of Pittsburgh ($$), University of Washington (could have if wanted), University of Colorado ($$), Georgetown (wl funding)
Waitlists: Carnegie Mellon (econ)
Rejections: Columbia, NYU, Brown, Chicago Booth, Michigan, Maryland
What would you have done differently?
Definitely do better as an undergrad. I went to a prestigious university that typically sends students to MIT (and NSF), so I feel like I let an amazing opportunity slip by. That being said, I am ecstatic with my admits and think that Wisconsin is a great fit for my interests. I know for a fact that one of my letters played a HUGE role in getting funding, so for anyone who does not have a stellar GPA - if you forge a great relationship with your professors, your chances of landing a top 20 admission are completely possible. Good luck all future classes!
Accepts:
    Attending: University of Wisconsin ($$) Acceptances: University of Wisconsin ($$), Boston University (none), Boston College ($$), Johns Hopkins (tuition - off of
Rejects:
    Rejections: Columbia, NYU, Brown, Chicago Booth, Michigan, Maryland
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Carnegie Mellon (econ)

chin_music 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 Public, top 15 Econ. B.A. Math & Economics, B.A. Political Science.
Undergrad GPA: 3.78
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 760Q, 600V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc, Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A), Mathematical Reasoning (B), Ordinary Differential Equations (B), Advanced Linear Algebra (A), Game Theory (A), Cryptography (A+), Analysis I (B-), Linear Programming (A+)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A,A,A-), Intermediate Macro (A,A), Econometrics (A+,A+,A+), Non-linear Optimization (Pass), Economics of Immigration (A)
Other Courses: Political Science Coursework (All A's and a few A-'s)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Caltech (political science), 1 UCLA (political science), 1 UW (econ)
Research Experience: Won departmental and college award for economics thesis. Won departmental award for political science thesis. 1 year in economic consulting.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Political Economy, Development, Public Policy
SOP: Standard
Other: I wasn't sure how my admissions would turn out. I had 2 letters of rec from political science faculty, a B- in real analysis, no stats in a math department and 760 GRE quant. It appears that my two theses and presumably excellent recommendations as a result, were very beneficial. I am quite pleased with my results.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UCSD ($), UCLA($), UVA(?), UCI($), UCSB($), BU(no $), Princeton WWS-political economy ($$), RAND Pardee ($), UCSD Political Science ($$), NYU Political Science ($$), Rochester Political Science ($$)
Waitlists: Johns Hopkins
Rejections: Stanford GSB (political economics), Berkeley Hass BPP, MIT political science, Harvard KSG, Chicago Harris
What would you have done differently? I would apply to Harvard PEG instead of Harvard KSG and Stanford Political Science instead of Stanford Political-Economics as I believe that both are better fits for me.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UCSD ($), UCLA($), UVA(?), UCI($), UCSB($), BU(no $), Princeton WWS-political economy ($$), RAND Pardee ($), UCSD Political Science ($$), NYU Political Science ($$), Rochester Political Science ($$)
Rejects:
    Rejections: Stanford GSB (political economics), Berkeley Hass BPP, MIT political science, Harvard KSG, Chicago Harris
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Johns Hopkins

El Greco 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: top 50 large public university - to 10 business school. B.S. in finance and international business
Undergrad GPA: 3.76
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 790/610/4.5 (q/v/awa)
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A+,A,current), Finite Math (B+), Intro to Stats (B+), DiffyQ 1 (current), Prob & Stats 1 (current),
Econ Courses: Intro Micro/Macro (A-,A), Inter Micro (A), Bus Econ (A-), Banking and Cap Mkts (A)
Other Courses: finance courses
Letters of Recommendation: Probably pretty good, one was my thesis advisor (UCLA PHD finance), cap mkts class (WVU PHD Econ), inter micro (PHD Cornell)
Research Experience: Just undergraduate thesis on credit derivatives
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: fin econ, behavioral econ/finance, monetary econ, macro
SOP: I think it was normal to good.
Other:
RESULTS: (masters)
Acceptances: Tufts ($), BU (no $)
Waitlists: Duke
Rejections: Duke (off waitlist), UToronto MFE
Pending: WashU MfinWhat would you have done differently? I was happy to get into Tufts w some $. I was a finance major with little math background and have been taking math/econ courses at a local university back home in florida. I don't know what I want to do (phd/private sector) but I am happy with Tufts. After getting into Tufts i rescinded and didn't complete other international apps because I'd rather be in the states, hopefully that doesnt end up being a bad decision but tufts is a good school with a good reputation and I am really excited to start there in the fall
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Tufts ($), BU (no $)
  • Institution: Tufts University MS Economics Decision: Accepted (unofficial) Funding: 65% tuition, 4.5k TA-ship for 1st semester + if im good enough Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Yay!!! Wondering if i should even bother applying to other programs since most don't offer any funding
  • Institution: BU MA Economics Decision: Accepted Notification date: 04/01 Notified through: E-mail Funding: None Comments: Cool, but, w no funding, I will be choosing Tufts w/ $ over this..
Rejects:
    Rejections: Duke (off
  • Institution: U of Toronto Masters in Financial Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/25/10 Notified through: letter Comments: Expected. Especially after the back and forth with the department over supplemental material. Really a pain in the a$$.
  • Institution: Duke University MA Economics Decision: Rejected off the waitlist Funding: NA Notification date: 4/12/10 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Oh well.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Duke
  • Institution: Duke MA Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: n/a Notification date: 3/11/2010 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: was disappointed but happy it wasn't an outright rejection

roadvirusss 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 Liberal Arts College.
Majors: BA Math, BA Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.93/4 (3.93 math, 3.97 econ)
GRE: 800 Q, 610 V, 6 AW
Mathematical 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), Deterministic Ops Research (Spring), Topology (Spring)
Econ Courses: Intro Macro (A-), Intro Micro (A), Empirical Methods (A), Econ Stats (A), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), International Econ (A), Energy Economics (A), Econometrics (A), Game Theory (A), Advanced Micro (Spring)
Other Courses: Took five semesters of Chinese (didn't have time for the minor), though I doubt this will help.
Letters of Recommendation: One econ prof (did research with, took three classes with), chair of math department (took several classes with, academic advisor), math professor who was director at summer REU (worked with for two months). None are particularly reputable, but all three I know fairly well and will write solid recs.
Research Experience: Summer grant for econ research, math REU in graph theory (I'm continuing both projects for senior theses right now)
Teaching Experience: None aside from grading
Research Interests: Micro Theory
Concerns: No graduate level courses offered at my school, lack of big-name recs.
Work Experience: "Head Statistician" for the school's football and basketball teams, tutoring calculus, four semesters of grading (calc, multivariable, prob theory, real analysis), and those two research positions.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: BU($$), UW($), Cornell(no$)
Rejections: Yale, Kellogg, Berkeley, Princeton, NYU-Stern, Stanford, Harvard, Penn, Caltech, UCSD
Waitlists: UCLA (rejected)
Attending: None. A tough decision, but for a number of reason's I'm going to take a year off. Has just as much to do with wanting to make certain of what I want to do with my life, as with increasing the number of options.
Done differently?: Perhaps I could have spent more time researching schools and individualizing my essays. Going way back, I should have been more active finding research opportunities, or maybe chosen to attend a more prestigious school
Accepts:
    Acceptances: BU($$), UW($), Cornell(no$)
  • Institution: Boston University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Admit Funding: Yearly stipend of $19,300 (requires TAing starting second year), summer funding Notification date: 1st March Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: A great birthday present
  • Institution: University of Washington Economics Decision: Admit Funding: $ Notification date: 3/9 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment: In the running
  • Institution: Cornell Economics Decision: Admit Funding: No chance Notification date: 03/17/10 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments:
Rejects:
    Rejections: Yale, Kellogg, Berkeley, Princeton, NYU-Stern, Stanford, Harvard, Penn, Caltech, UCSD
  • Institution: Yale Econ Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 19 February 2010 Notified through: Email Posted on Gradcafe: (yes or no) No Comments: A day late, but expected.
  • Institution: Yale Ph.D. Economics Decision: Reject Notification date: 19th Feb February Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: No Comments: Definitely hurts less now
  • Institution: Kellogg MEcS PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: March 1st Notified through: Randomly checked website (letter dated 2/28) Posted on GF: No Comments: Figured I was out after not getting an interview
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: There goes that dream... just seems to be the way things are going though.
  • Institution: Yale Ph.D. Economics Decision: Reject Notification date: 19th Feb February Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: No Comments: Definitely hurts less now
  • Institution: Kellogg MEcS PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: March 1st Notified through: Randomly checked website (letter dated 2/28) Posted on GF: No Comments: Figured I was out after not getting an interview
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: There goes that dream... just seems to be the way things are going though.
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Reject Funding: Meh Notification date: 3/9 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment: Not surprising after my other decisions. But ex ante I thought I had a chance at some of these top schools...
  • Institution: NYU Stern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/10/2010 Notified through: email to check online Posted on GF: No Comments: pwned!
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/11/2010 Notified through: Email, and letter. Posted on GC: no Comments: No surprises.
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/22 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: And it's over
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: UCLA (
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Waitlist Notification date: 3/17/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Disappointing, but at least I'm still in the hunt

MorgieLilly 2010:
Type of Undergrad: B.A in Economics-Philosophy and Mathematics from top 10 undergrad with a top 15 econ department.
Undergrad GPA: 3.85
GRE: 780Q, 640V, 4.0W
Math Courses (undergrad):Cal I, Calc III, Linear Algebra, Real Analysis, Probability and Statistics, Advanced Logic, (all As)
Econ Courses (PhD-level): Micro-econometrics (A-), Graduate Macroeconomics (A-)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro/Macro(A-,B+), Advanced Econometrics (B+), Advanced Macro (A), Game Theory (A-), Economic History (A-), International (C, took abroad in Ghana)
Letters of Recommendation:
Economics. Well Known. My boss.
Economics. Well Known. Professor. (I wrote an empirical research paper for his course.)
Philosophy of Science. Professor. (I took two classes with him. I wrote a paper that I presented at a philosophy conference. He advised me on a documentary that I made as a senior.)
Mathematics. Professor. (Adviser for my senior research project.)
Geophysics. Researcher. (Adviser for my REU research project. )
Research Experience: REU Intern in geophysics at Lamont Earth Observatory, summer 2007 (My paper was accepted to the 2008 ASLO Conference). I also published a paper in the philosophy of science when I was a sophomore, but I'm not so proud now of what I said and the journal was not a big deal at all. Full-time economics RA since July 2008 for one of my letter writers. I've made a bunch of documentaries and I included one in my application.
Research Interests: Development, Growth Theory, Economic History.
Statement of Purpose: Talked about my background, why I chose to pursue interdisciplinary undergraduate study. Talked about my experiences abroad in Ghana, my research experience at Lamont and as an RA and my motivation for studying development and poverty issues.
Applied to: MIT, NYU, Harvard, UC Berkeley, Columbia, UMich, Princeton, Yale, UCLA, UC Davis, BU, Duke, Brown, Northwestern, U Penn
Admitted: BU(wl/$), UCLA(wl/$), UC Davis($$), Michigan($$/Regents Fellowship), Brown(wl/$)
Rejected: MIT, NYU, Harvard, UC Berkeley, Columbia, Princeton, Yale, Duke, Northwestern, U Penn
Attending: Brown(no first year funding, 19.5K+health+tuition years 2-5)
What I would have done differently: I don't think I would have gone to any other school over Brown. I would have considered MIT, Yale or Harvard. But honestly, I couldn't be happier. The debt will be worth it. I know it.
Accepts:
  • Institution:UC Davis Econ Decision: Admitted! Funding: TBD in March. Notification date: 8th Feb 2010 Notified through:Informal email. Posted on Gradcafe: Nope. Don't know how. Date of Gradcafe post: N/A Comments: Hooray!
  • Institution: UC Davis Phd Economics Decision: Admitted! Funding: 16K for first two years (and I'm hoping after if I'm doing alright.) Notification date: 2/8 Notified through: Unofficial E-mail Posted on GF: No Comments: I was so excited and happy that I cried.
  • Institution: University of Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: Tuition Waiver + Health Coverage. 16K stipend guaranteed after first year, conditional on good standing. Notification date: 02/28 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: No Comments: Excited! Hoping for 1st year stipend.
  • Institution: University of Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: Tuition Waiver + Health Coverage. 16K stipend guaranteed after first year, conditional on good standing. Notification date: 02/28 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: No Comments: Excited! Hoping for 1st year stipend.
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: e-mail Funding: Wait-list for first year funding. Notification date: 3/16/10 Posted on GC: No Comments: Cool! However, I really wish they'd sent this yesterday. I asked and begged and asked and now I'm leaving LA in three hours. =(
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Admit Funding: None Notification date: 3/24/10 Notified through: Email
Rejects:
  • Institution: Duke Econ Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/16/2010 Notified through: Email alerting online decision Posted on Gradcafe: no
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/18 Notified Through: Checked online status randomly. Posted on Grad Cafe: No Comment: Bummer.
  • Institution: Duke University Phd Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/a Notification date: 2/16 Notified through: Website. Posted on GF: Yes Comments: I was really interested in this department, so this was disappointing.
  • Institution: Yale University Phd Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/a Notification date: 2/18 Notified through: Website. Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Rejections are a bummer.
  • Institution: Northwestern University Phd Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/a Notification date: 2/26 Notified through: Website. Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Chicago is cold. (That's what I'm telling myself to feel better.):)
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 1st March Notified through: Email (Mass email) Posted on GF: No Comments: Auro-reply from Jody: "If you are inquiring about Admission results for the PhD program, be advised that students who have been recommended for admission have been notified. If you have not received notification, I'm sorry, but it means you were not admitted. Official notification will come later from the Admissions Office. Please do not contact the Economics Department to inquire about results."
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: March 1st Notified through: Confirmation that all who have not heard are implicitly rejected. Posted on GF: Yes Comments: I saw this as kinda like buying a one time lottery ticket. Even though I sort of knew I wouldn't get in. If I hadn't applied, I'd always wonder.
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics, PhD Decision: Reject Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: This one didn't hurt as much. Maybe I'm getting used to this process.
  • Institution: Northwestern University Phd Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/a Notification date: 2/26 Notified through: Website. Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Chicago is cold. (That's what I'm telling myself to feel better.)
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 1st March Notified through: Email (Mass email) Posted on GF: No Comments: Auro-reply from Jody: "If you are inquiring about Admission results for the PhD program, be advised that students who have been recommended for admission have been notified. If you have not received notification, I'm sorry, but it means you were not admitted. Official notification will come later from the Admissions Office. Please do not contact the Economics Department to inquire about results."
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: March 1st Notified through: Confirmation that all who have not heard are implicitly rejected. Posted on GF: Yes Comments: I saw this as kinda like buying a one time lottery ticket. Even though I sort of knew I wouldn't get in. If I hadn't applied, I'd always wonder.
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics, PhD Decision: Reject Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: This one didn't hurt as much. Maybe I'm getting used to this process.
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/09/10 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comment: It's chill.
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: Got email back from Marge Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: MIT Economics Phd. Decision: Rejected Notified through: E-mail Notification date: 03/16 Posted on GC: Nah
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Brown Economics Decision: Wait Listed for Funding Notified through: e-mail Date: March 8

ilikefreefood 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Econ major from a top 5-10 Midwestern liberal arts college.
Undergrad GPA: 3.73/4, magna cum laude, distinction in major for senior thesis research.
Type of Grad: first semester of PhD microeconomics at Maryland
Grad GPA: 3.00/4.00 (B+)
GRE: 800Q 640V 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc II-III (A,B+), Linear Algebra (Pass), Statistics (A), Mathematical Structures (A-), Real Analysis (B, taken as a non-degree student at a local school Fall 2008), Probability (A, taken as a non-degree student at a local school Summer 2009)
Econ Courses: Principles Micro/Macro (A-,A), Intermediate Micro (A) Intermediate Macro (B), Econometrics (B+), PhD Micro Theory I (B+), pre-thesis seminar (A-), Ag. & Food Econ. (A), Development Econ. (B+), Econ. of Inequality (A), Econ. of Water Policy (B+), British Econ. history (B+)
Other Courses: A pass/fail seminar on game theory, a Poli. Sci. course on agent-based computer modeling (A)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Econ. professors (liberal arts college profs but with Chicago/Stanford PhDs), including my thesis adviser who has previously stated that my thesis was one of the best he's ever advised. 1 Partner at my Econ. consulting firm with whom I've worked extensively on econometric analyses (PhD Cornell).
Where possible, a third Econ. professor (PhD Chicago).
Research Experience: ~3.5 years as an RA in a major Econ. consulting firm; I specialize in statistical and econometric analysis within my office.
Awards: Thesis award from state Economics association, thesis presentation award from state science association, college fellowship
for (non-research) work in development related to microfinance.
Research Interests: Development, environmental/resource economics, urban economics, general applied micro.
Statement of Purpose: Well-written but fairly standard; mentioned specifically my interest in development and applied micro fields.
Other: This is my second time applying, and I am reapplying to several schools with the additional Probability and PhD micro courses and a new letter of recommendation. I am deferred at Minnesota ARE from last year.
Applying to: Maryland, Maryland AREC, Duke, UC Berkeley ARE, Washington, Wharton Applied Economics, Michigan, Penn, Yale, Chicago, Michigan State, Northwestern, WUSTL, Georgetown, Texas, Boston University, UCSD, Cornell, Brown, UC Davis ARE, Illinois, Penn State, Virginia
RESULTS:
Attending: Boston University
Acceptances: Boston University (no $), U. of Washington ($), Michigan State ($ waitlist), Illinois ($), UC Davis ARE ($), Maryland AREC ($).
Rejections: Maryland Econ., Duke, UC Berkeley ARE, Wharton Applied Economics, Michigan, Penn, Yale, Chicago, Northwestern, Washington U. in St. Louis, Texas, UCSD, Cornell, Brown, Penn State, Virginia
No Response: Georgetown
What would you have done differently?
I would have taken more care to keep my grades in key courses consistently high in college to avoid a few potential red flags. I would have started my math education earlier and taken more classes as an undergrad. I would have worked only 2 years as an economic consultant and timed the business cycle to avoid applying in 2009 and 2010. I would have applied last year to a few schools that just missed my 2009 list (BU, Washington, and Illinois were all nearly on it), and potentially avoided the annoyance of waiting another year. I would have done more research to discount the advice of my advisors who said I would definitely get into schools on my 2009 list. All those things said, i feel that BU is really a fabulous program for my interests, and I am very, very excited to be headed there.
Accepts:
    Attending: Boston University Acceptances: Boston University (no $), U. of Washington ($), Michigan State ($
  • Institution: UC Davis ARE Decision: Accepted Funding: "We are going to offer you funding" Notification date: January 28th Notified through: Phone (Voicemail) Posted on Gradcafe: (yes or no) Yes Comments: This feels good.
  • Institution:UC Davis (ARE) Agricultural & Resource Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 16K RA/TA Notification date: 1/28 Notified through: Phone Posted on grad cafe: Yes Comments: A solid first offer to start the season.
  • Institution: Michigan State University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Waitlisted for TAship Notification date: 3/11/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comment: The plot thickens.
  • Institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: First year fellowship 8.5k, TA years 2-5 17k + tuition & fee waiver Notification date: 3/23/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Booyah.
  • Institution: Maryland (AREC) Agricultural & Applied Economics (AREC) Decision: Accepted Funding: Waitlisted for assistantship Notification date: 3/26 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Official letter said no possibility of funding, but it was followed by an email saying "Under normal budgetary conditions, we would have made an offer of financial assistance in the form of a graduate assistantship ... our ability to support incoming graduate students is severely limited at this time. I wanted you to know that your name has been place on a waiting list for just such an assistantship."
  • Institution: Boston University (BU) Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/29 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Funding: No funding. Comments: Given my interests, this is a tempting option. Lots of thinking to do.
  • Institution: University of Washington, Seattle Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: "we are in a position to make you a funded offer" Notification date: 4/15 Notified through: Email (at 1:15am Pacific!) Comments: UW never really officially told me I was in before this because I told them I wouldn't come without funding. However, I have given this eventuality a lot of thought in the past few days, and I will decline their funded offer for an unfunded offer at BU. In spite of the funding-related antics, I really liked UW, I love Seattle, and this was a tough decision to make.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Maryland Econ., Duke, UC Berkeley ARE, Wharton Applied Economics, Michigan, Penn, Yale, Chicago, Northwestern, Washington U. in St. Louis, Texas, UCSD, Cornell, Brown, Penn State, Virginia No Response: Georgetown
  • Institution: Duke Econ Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/16/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on Gradcafe: (yes or no) yes
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/18/2010 Notified through: email to check website Posted on Gradcafe: (yes or no) yes Comments: expected
  • Institution: Duke Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 2/16 Notified through: E-mail Posted on grad cafe: Yes Comments: Bummer. As with many other posters, I'm going to try not to read into this one too much.
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 2/18 Notified through: E-mail Posted on grad cafe: Yes Comments: More or less expected.
  • Institution: Cornell Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Yes Comment: Very disappointing. Last year they held my application until April, and since then I have added a letter of recommendation from a Cornell Ph.D.
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Website Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Never really expected to get in, but boy I wish it hadn't taken so long to determine that I hadn't.
  • Institution: University of Michigan Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/3 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Not surprised to get re-rejected, but this was a program at which my advisor thought I had a good shot, so it's still a bummer.
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 2/18 Notified through: E-mail Posted on grad cafe: Yes Comments: More or less expected.
  • Institution: Cornell Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Yes Comment: Very disappointing. Last year they held my application until April, and since then I have added a letter of recommendation from a Cornell Ph.D.
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Website Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Never really expected to get in, but boy I wish it hadn't taken so long to determine that I hadn't.
  • Institution: University of Michigan Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/3 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Not surprised to get re-rejected, but this was a program at which my advisor thought I had a good shot, so it's still a bummer.
  • Institution: Chicago Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 03/05 Notified through: Email Comment: Got the email during a presentation at a flyout. So expected I didn't even flinch.
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Ag & Resource Econ (ARE) Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notified through: E-mail Date: 03/08 Comment: This one is a major disappointment. I really wanted to go here, and my advisor thought I had an excellent shot.
  • Institution: Penn State Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 03/12/2010 Notified through: email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Bummer. I'm pretty sure my family would've loved to see me as a Nittany Lion.
  • Institution: Penn Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Not really.
  • Institution: Brown Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Email (check website) Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/19/2010 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Interesting program, but I didn't think I was going to get in anyway.
  • Institution: Maryland Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 03/20/10 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Obviously this one was assumed at this point, but it's especially disappointing because I took a graduate course in this department to beef up my application recently. C'est la vie.
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/22 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: -
  • Institution: University of Texas, Austin Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/26 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Bummer. I'm hanging out with friends from Austin today and had to break the news to them that I won't be joining them anytime soon.
  • Institution: University of Virginia Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/31 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: Yes Funding: - Comments: Charlottesville would have been nice.
  • Institution: Washington U. in St. Louis Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 4/6 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comment: The field narrows.
  • Institution: Georgetown Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 4/16/10 Notified through: Letter Comment: Maybe Georgetown's objective in waiting till after April 15th is to ensure that no one cares if they're rejected?
Waitlists:
    waitlist), Illinois ($), UC Davis ARE ($), Maryland AREC ($).

msu2010 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Big Ten School
Undergrad GPA: 3.7/4.0
Type of Grad:-
Grad GPA:-
GRE: 790Q 550V
Math Courses: I did a math major, the typical math courses
Econ Courses: Game Theory, Grad Metrics, nothing else outstanding
Other Courses: Some science courses (physics)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 very well known, 1 well know, 1 newer prof (all econ)
Research Experience: Wrote and presented paper at a conference, no publications or anything outstanding
Teaching Experience:TA for intro econ
Research Interests: Labor/Micro/Metrics
SOP: Very odd statement
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Boston College ($), University of Virginia ($), Ohio State ($$), Illinois ($$), Boston University, Arizona, UCSB, UC Davis, George Mason
Rejections: Too Many
Stanford, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, a lot more, I really am drawing a blank...
What would you have done differently? Gotten a better GPA. I guess a few things, but its over and I am happy, two years ago I didn't think I would be here. I am happy to be going to Boston College in the fall. Its not Stanford, but it suits me
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Boston College ($), University of Virginia ($), Ohio State ($$), Illinois ($$), Boston University, Arizona, UCSB, UC Davis, George Mason
  • Institution: UCSB Economics Decision: Accepted Notification date: 02/26/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: NO Comments: Where is the money?!
  • Institution: UCSB Economics Decision: Accepted Notification date: 02/26/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: NO Comments: Where is the money?!
  • Institution: George Mason University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TBD Notification date: 3/10/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment: hmmm...
  • Institution: U Arizona Economics Decision: Admit Funding: No first year funding Notification date: 03/19/10 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Sad that I don't have funding anywhere
  • Institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TA 5 years 17,000 Notification date: 3/23/2010 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: N0 Comments: FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Admit Funding: prob not Notification date: 3/24/10 Notified through: Email Comments: Suprise
Rejects:
    Rejections: Too Many Stanford, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, a lot more, I really am drawing a blank...
  • Institution: University of Michigan Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: NO Comments: No one wants me :/
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: NO Comments: I give up
  • Institution: Penn State University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/10/2010 Notified through: E-mail (from Lynn Sebulsky) Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Brown Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Email (check website) Posted on GC: No Comments: I have taken enough of a beating to expect this
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Boston College Economics Decision: Waitlisted Notification date: 03/01/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: NO Comments: ugh

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.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: American ($?), BU (no $), CUNY (Fellowship), Fordham ($?), Colorado ($$$), UI-Chicago ($?), Washington (no $), Wisconsin ($$)
  • Institution: UIllinois-Chicago Decision: Accepted Funding: will hear in March Notification date: 2/10 Notified through: Postal Service Posted on GF: yes Comments: At least I got one in the bag
  • Institution: Wisconsin-Madison Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition waiver + $12.5K TAship 1st year, something guaranteed for 3 more years Notification date: 2/27 Notified through: Email + More info by mail Posted on grad cafe: No Comments: Anyone else accepted know if they reimburse for flyout?
  • Institution: CUNY Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: "Short list" for an 18k fellowship Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: No Comments: Likely will withdraw due to better offer.
  • Institution: Fordham University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Waitlisted Notification date: 03/04/2010 Notified through: Email Comment: I hadn't researched the program well. Just picked it b/c it's in NYC.
  • Institution: Wisconsin-Madison Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition waiver + $12.5K TAship 1st year, something guaranteed for 3 more years Notification date: 2/27 Notified through: Email + More info by mail Posted on grad cafe: No Comments: Anyone else accepted know if they reimburse for flyout?
  • Institution: CUNY Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: "Short list" for an 18k fellowship Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: No Comments: Likely will withdraw due to better offer.
  • Institution: Fordham University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Waitlisted Notification date: 03/04/2010 Notified through: Email Comment: I hadn't researched the program well. Just picked it b/c it's in NYC.
  • Institution: UC-Boulder Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ~15k TA, 5k Fellowship Notification date: 03/09/10 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comment:
  • Institution: BU Phd Economics Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/29 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Funding: $0 Comments: Out at GWU and in at BU? This is a weird process.
  • Institution: U of Washington Economics Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/30 Notified through: email Posted on GF: no Funding: no Comments:
Rejects:
    Rejections: Columbia, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, George Washington, Minnesota, Michigan, NYU, Northwestern, UCLA, Maryland, UNC, Notre Dame, USC, Texas,
  • Institution: Duke Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 2/17 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: no Comments:
  • Institution: Minnesota Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 2/26 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: no Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern University Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: Website Posted on GF: No Comments: Oh well...
  • Institution: University of Michigan Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/04/2010 Notified through: Email to check website Comment: No surprise there.
  • Institution: Minnesota Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 2/26 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: no Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern University Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: Website Posted on GF: No Comments: Oh well...
  • Institution: University of Michigan Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: Notre Dame Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 3/11/2010 Notified through: E-mail to check Website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/11/2010 Notified through: Email to Check Website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Emory University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: got an early interview so this surprised me a bit
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 03/12/2010 Notified through: email response from Marjorie Lesser Comments: zero surprise but still a bummer
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: Mar 15 Notified through: Postal Service Funding: N/A Posted on GF: no Comments:
  • Institution: Maryland Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/20/10 Notified through: E-mail to Check Website Posted on GC: No Comments: C'est la vie.
  • Institution: George Washington Phd Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/27 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: No Funding: n/a Comments: Seriously? Definitely didn't expect this.
  • Institution: University of Texas Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 04/05/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment:
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: BC
  • Institution: Boston College Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Waitlisted Notification date: 12:30am ET 3/1 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: No Comments: Not sure if I'll put my name on the list or not...
  • Institution: Boston College Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Waitlisted Notification date: 12:30am ET 3/1 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: No Comments: Not sure if I'll put my name on the list or not...

sahimal2009 2010:
Type of Undergrad: BSc Economics - UK Top 3
Undergrad GPA: Upper second (2:1 Hons) - Equiv. to 3.5-3.6 on GPA scale
GRE: 760Q/520V/4.5AWA
Math Courses: Multivariable calculus, Linear Algebra, Differerntial Equations+ Difference Equations (All B+), Linear Programming and Optimization, Operational research techniques, Stats I,II (All A-)
Econ Courses: Micro I,II,III (A-,B+,B), Macro I,II,III (A-,B+,B), EconometricsI,II (B ouch!), International Economics I,II (A-), Economic Analysis of EU I,II (B,B+), Principles of Finance I,II (A+,A+), Corporate Finance I,II (B+,B)
LORs: 2 Econ professor + 1 Employer/Research supervisor
Research Experience: Research for 1.5 years with United Nations
Teaching Experience: IB Mathematics (Higher level) for 6 months
Research Interests: Macro, International finance
SOP: Links interests to past work experience
Concerns: Alot! Few B's in econ courses (major worry) & have been out of school for 1.5 years. Insufficient Maths?
Applying to (Only Masters): NYU, BU, UBC, UofT, Yale IDE, UPF, Tilburg, Vienna University, LSE (Econ&Fin)
Accepts:
  • Institution: Boston University MA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: None Notification date: 03/05/2010 Notified through: E-mail Comment: Reconsideration decision from last year and so was very much expected. Will wait for a better offer though :)
  • Institution: Boston University MA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: None Notification date: 03/05/2010 Notified through: E-mail Comment: Reconsideration decision from last year and so was very much expected. Will wait for a better offer though
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale MA IDE Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/10/2010 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: will do Comments: Feel like utter crap...was my first choice
  • Institution: NYU MA Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/31 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Yes Funding: - Comments: Nothing left to say
Waitlists:

donovanmcnair 2010:
Type of Undergrad: Economics, South American University. Master degree in a top masters program in South America
Undergrad GPA: GPA down here is weird. Lets say that I averaged B+ in undergrad and A- as graduate, but dont use it for comparison.
GRE/TOEFL: 800Q/570V/3.5AWA. TOEFL: 106
Math Courses: Typical undergrad courses + Measure theory (A-) + Dynamic Programming (A-) + Graduate Probability + Graduate Statistics + Topology (A-)
Econ Courses: Typical Undergrad courses + 4 graduate macro theory courses (one of them with feynmann kac, Ito & all that jazz), 5 graduate Micro theory courses
Letters of Recommendation: One of a visiting professor from the US, Two from Masters degree professors who have a PhD from top10 schools in the US, one additional from a professor in my undergrad university who knows me very well and, when available a fifth letter from a star professor in statistics, who teach in SA in the northern summer
Research Experience: 3 years as an RA in behavioral and experimental economics.
Teaching Experience: Lots of TA. 6 years (from almost the very beginning) in micro courses in a public university, 3 years in a wide variety of courses in a private university and 1 year in the masters degree. (anyway, I was told it doesnt count more than at the time of offering you a TAship)
Research Interests: Game Theory, Networks
Statement of Purpose: What can I say. An SOP. Hope it was good.
Applying to: Caltech, UW, WUSTL, UCSD, Cornell, BU, UT-Austin, PSU, ASU
Accepts:
  • Institution: ASU Econ Decision: Accepted Notificationn date: Feb 16 Notified through: Website Funding: No word yet Posted on Gradcafe: yes Comments: It seems they are releasing the acceptances one by one. Never loose hopes, guys
  • Institution: Arizona State University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Info! Notification date: 04/03/2010 Notified through: Checked the website. Comments: Sort of a relief, first admit. But no info on funding is making me nervous. Out: Duke, Michigan It happened the same to me a couple of weeks ago. Don't worry, you should receive an email in the next days with the 'official acceptance offer' and there you'll find out if there's funding for you or not.
  • Institution: Texas Austin Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Assistanship but didn't mention a number Notification date: 3/9 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comment: a) The title of the email was 'congratulations' so I didn't had to wait to open the email and reading half a paragraph to get to the good part. I loved it; b) "We would greatly appreciate your letting us know whether you are still interested in our program. If you aren’t, we can reallocate these funds to another applicant who considers us his/her top choice." I will probably decline it so, cross your fingers!!!!
  • Institution: Boston U. Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Notification date: 3/23/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Funding - No Funding, I think it wouldn't have changed my decision
Rejects:
  • Institution: Cornell Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 02/10/2010 Notified through: email Posted on Gradcafe: Yes Comment: The troops are starting to wave in the field of battle...
  • Institution: PSU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/9/2010 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Not sad. I was going to go to WUSTL anyway. Funn stuff: It happened right after I shouted 'Booooooring!' at home.
  • Institution: CalTech Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/19 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yesl Comments: I didn't have to be strong in the ways of the Force to realize this on feb 15...
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/23/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: I think it wouldn't change my decision
Waitlists:

Buster 2010: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ, top 15 US Econ institution
Undergrad GPA: 3.2/4
Type of Grad: Public Policy Master's, Same school
Grad GPA: 3.85/4
GRE: 780Q, 550V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I, II, III (B,B,D), Diff Eq (B-), Finite (A-), Linear Alg (A), Real Analysis (B+)
Econ Courses (PhD-level): Micro (A), Econometrics I, II (A, Pass), Institutional (A-)
Econ Courses (Ma-level): Micro (A), Macro (A), Econometrics I, II (A,A), Trade (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): A lot, mostly A's
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ professors (1 Harvard PhD well known, co-authored a paper, 1 Purdue PhD, Econometrics Prof) Current Supervisor (Chief Economist, Rochester PhD)
Research Experience: Graduate RA for well known Econ Prof. RA 2 years at U.S. central bank.
Teaching Experience: Tutoring Econ/Math/Stats
Research Interests: International Macro, Monetary Econ
Applying to: Berkeley, UCSD, UCLA, Santa Cruz, USC, Santa Barbara, UC-Davis, University of Washington, BC, BU, Duke, UNC
Accepts:
  • Institution: Santa Barbara Economics Ph.D. Decision: Accepted Funding: no word Notification date: February 16th Notified through: Website Posted on Gradcafe: No Comments: First response I've gotten from any school, glad it was good news!!
  • Institution: UC-Santa Barbara Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Decision in March Notification date: 2/16 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: No Comments: First news is good news.
  • Institution: UC-Santa Cruz Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Doesn't look like it Notification date: 2/24 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: No Comments: 9 left!
  • Institution: UC-Santa Cruz Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Doesn't look like it Notification date: 2/24 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: No Comments: 9 left!
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Admit Funding: Waitlist Notification date: 3/24/10 Notified through: Email Comments: This was a surprise... I thought they were done.
Rejects:
  • Institution: Duke Econ Decision: Rejected Notification date: 17 February, 2010 Notified through: email Posted on Gradcafe: (yes or no) no Date of Gradcafe post: (if yes) Comments: That's disappointing.... 1 for 2 so far with 10 left.
  • Institution: Duke Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 2/17 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: No Comments: Second response not as good.
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: That was my Hail Mary... guess it was intercepted.
  • Institution: UC Davis Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: Email/Website Posted on GC: NO Comments: That one burns a little.... thought I had a good shot.
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/02/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: That was my Hail Mary... guess it was intercepted.
  • Institution: UC Davis Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: Email/Website Posted on GC: NO Comments: That one burns a little.... thought I had a good shot.
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/17 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: figured as much...
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/22/10 Notified through: Email Comments: Not a surprise
Waitlists:
  • Institution: UNC-CH Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/24/10 Notified through: Email Comments: Seems like a long waitlist

confusedgrad 2010: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. in Economics (one of the best universities in the country but not known extremely all over the world. still, it is recognized at some schools).
Undergrad GPA: 3.98/4 - 1st rank among 145 students.
Type of Grad: M.S. in Economics from the same university.
Grad GPA: 3.95/4.0 - 2nd rank
GRE: Took it three times: Q:800, 800, 800, V:430, 350, 390, AWA: 5.5, 3.5, 4.5,
TOEFL: IBT:110 (R:29, L:29, S:24, W:28)
Math Courses: allmost no math. Calculus I and II, Linear Algebra, Mathematics for Economists, Mathematical Statistics I and II, Econometrics I and II, Econometric Theory I an II, Time Series Econometrics and only auditing RG Real Analysis this semester. All AAs (no grade for real anal.)
Econ Courses (PhD-level): Microeconomic Theory I and II, Macroeconomic Theory I and II,, International Macroconomics. All AA except for one BA.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): A lot of courses with straight AAs.
Letters of Recommendation: 4 econ professors (mostly 3 or only 2 of them were used). All from my university. They tried to write strong letters but none of them are knon actually.
Research Experience: Several years in Research department of the Central Bank. However, nothing published in good journals. Only some empirical work.
Teaching Experience: TAship at my ug university for the Statistics courses.
Research Interests: Macro including Int'l macro, monetary economics...
Statement of purpose: Not well tailored for each university. A standard one for all.
Concerns: 1. Almost no math. No advanced calculus, no differential equations, no real analysis. 2. letters from unknown profs and no special efforts from the referees, 3. not enough research experience, 4. age (i'll be 29) 5. that stupid visa issue.
Other: One positive concern: My employee might support 1st year expenditures so I can go with an unfonded offer for the first year.
Applying to: 3 types in US: 1) The ones I got accepted before: UMN, BC, BU, UCLA, UMD. 2) The ones I got rejected last year: Columbia, NYU, Northwestern, UCSD, 3) The ones I am applying for the first time (mostly dream school, just a fantasy): MIT, Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Brown. Also some European schools in case the visa becomes a problem again: LSE, LBS, Oxford, TI, UPF, CEMFI, EUI. Seems like I am a professional applicant. I made 51 applications so far. (6 in 2003, 23 in 2009, 22 in 2010). God, so much money, so much effort. Best luck, everyone...
Accepts:
  • Institution: University of Maryland, CP Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Not now, maybe later.. Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: E-mail. Comments: At least they accepted me again. Thanks. This year I have only one acceptance. Hope there ill also be some funding later.
  • Institution: Tinbergen Institute MPhil Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition + 1000 euro per month Notification date: 03/05/2010 Notified through: E-mail Comment: Given that all the schools I declined last year rejected me or made unfunded offers, this is surprising now. Thanks!
  • Institution: Tinbergen Institute MPhil Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition + 1000 euro per month Notification date: 03/05/2010 Notified through: E-mail Comment: Given that all the schools I declined last year rejected me or made unfunded offers, this is surprising now. Thanks!
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: Tuition+fees only for the 1st year. Notified through: e-mail Notification date: 3/16/10 Comment:they just renewed the offer from the last year. i was waiting stupidly instead of asking them poreviously, despite their commitments. now, i am relaxed. and i am sure that if i applied this year for the first time, i would not get this offer as this year is really a hard one!
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Notification date: 3/26 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Does no funding mean no funding forever? and why they ask you to confirm acceptance till May 15th? Is it because of the offer being unfunded?
  • Institution: Boston College Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 16K RA'ship+possible 4K in summer Notification date: 03/29/10 Notified through: Email Comments: Off the waitlist...
Rejects:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: - Notified through: Website. They never bothered for sending an e-mail. Posted on GF: No, but who cares this any more? Comments: Rejected last year as well and applying again, which was a last minute decision, was completely nonsense. No surprise!
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 02/26/2010 Notified through: e-mail. Comments: I knew this was coming as they implicitly asked me whether i will accept this year or not. I could not make a commitment of course and two days later they announced the fellowship offers. I was not at that list. Still, I was expecting some offer with no funding or assitantship. However, they are completely right! They cannot tie their resources to someone who is unlikley to attend once more. It was a mistake to re-apply to a school that you had rejected and give them a second chance to reject you.
  • Institution: Columbia University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 03/04/2010 Notified through: Email to check website Comment: Ok I knew it for days. But still this is the one that really hurts me. My dream school at my dream city. Perfect combination! But it does not want me...
  • Institution: University of Chicago Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 03/05/2010 Notified through: E-mail Comment: This year everything is much tougher than last year...
  • Institution: Columbia University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 03/04/2010 Notified through: Email to check website Comment: Ok I knew it for days. But still this is the one that really hurts me. My dream school at my dream city. Perfect combination! But it does not want me...
  • Institution: University of Chicago Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 03/05/2010 Notified through: E-mail Comment: This year everything is much tougher than last year...
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/11/2010 Notified through: E-mail Comments: no surprise, i never expected an acceptance indeed. and this year everything just sucks...
  • Institution: Brown Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Email (check website) Comments: At this point it was totally expected. However, at the very beginning I was considering it as a sfatey. Who would know that this year will be a complete failure for me with so many rejections?
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notified through: Postal Mail Notification date: Mail dated 3/8/2010 Comments: God, I am surprised
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/19/2010 Notified through: E-mail (same above, no inquiry) Comment: I hope I will not have to apply to NYU for a fourth time in the future... My second dream school and my dream city does not want me. Ok! I got it!
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/24/10 Notified through: e-mail Comments: It would not make any difference anyways...
  • Institution: European University Institute Economics Decision: Rejected (i guess?) Funding: NA Notification date: 03/30/10 Notified through: Email Comments: The most awkward letter I received during the whole process. First, I thought I was rejected, then it sounded like I am accepted and then wait listed... In the end, I really did not understand whether I am waitlisted or rejected. Still, the word "regretfully" makes me think that yes I am rejected....
  • Institution: LSE MRes/PhD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 4/11/10 Notified through: E-mail Comments: A rejection letter on late sunday? Interesting... BTW, I always find LSE rejection letters quite straightforward, direct and a bit rude...
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 4/12/10 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Finally I know where I'll be going. It was an honor to get even waitlisted and I was not expecting anything more...
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Boston College Economics Decision: Wait listed Funding: NA Notification date: 01/01/2010 Notified through: A personal e-mail. Comments: An e-mail stating "we totally remember you from last year.. we have limited resources and many excellent candidates from your country so we cannot offer you admission at this time". I can understand their point. They are totally right.
  • Institution: London Business School Economics Decision: Wait listed Funding: NA Notification date: 3/11/10 Notified through: Email Comment: "very high on waitlist". even though i don't think it is likely to get off the waitlist, i would definitely like to go this school. i love london, school is great and funding is generous. i hope i can make it...
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: NA Notification date: 03/17/10 Notified through: e-mail Comments: Now this is a real surprise after so many rejections. I think my first year external funding has played a role. Seems like a long-list.

helloworld09 2010: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. statistics, NE Asia
Undergrad GPA: approx 3.7/4, econ avg 3.9ish
GRE: 800Q, 7X0V, 5.0A
Math Courses: many statistics courses & enough math to fulfill requirements
Econ Courses: 7 incl micro, macro, metrics
Letters of Recommendation: among 2 econ professors and 3 statistics professors
Research Experience: nada
Teaching Experience: nope (some tutoring..)
Research Interests: open-economy macro, international, monetary.
statement of purpose: nothing too special.
Concerns: I have no research experience and have been working at a bulge-bracket IB for the last 3.5yrs, not too sure how adcoms would see that. UMN seems ok with that so i'm not as concerned as before..
Applying to: NWU, UPenn, Columbia, UMN (accepted!!), NYU, UCLA, Brown, Maryland, Rochester, BU, JHU, PSU, WUSTL, BC, UW-Seattle.
Accepts:
  • Institution: U of Minnesota Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: nominated for grad school fellowship, with result to come out late feb / early march Notification date: January 26th Notified through: Email Posted on Gradcafe: (yes or no) Yes Date of Gradcafe post: (if yes) January 27th (gave my TM ID) Comments: thrilled :D
  • Institution nstitution: BU Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: none Notification date: 3/24/10 Notified through: e-mail Comments: unlikely to attend but happy to get a sort of approval stamp on my profile Posted on GC : no
Rejects:
  • Institution: Columbia University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 03/04/2010 Notified through: Email to check website Comment: now official. love the school, NY, and i've people from UG @ Columbia it'd have been great to hang out with, but oh well.. likely headed to UMN. phew..
  • Institution: Columbia University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 03/04/2010 Notified through: Email to check website Comment: now official. love the school, NY, and i've people from UG @ Columbia it'd have been great to hang out with, but oh well.. likely headed to UMN. phew..
  • Institution: PSU economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 03/10/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comment: Wouldn't have attended, but still..
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: ? Notified through: ? Posted on GC: No Comment: weird, can't find any record.
  • Institution: Rochester Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: ..
  • Institution: JHU Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/13 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: ..
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: 3/12 Notification date: Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: .. phew.
  • Institution: Brown Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Email (check website) Posted on GC: No Comments: Bleh. 6 to go now.
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/17/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: ...........
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/19/2010 Notified through: E-mail Comment: not surprised, but wow - so my only admit is a UMN fellowship offer? how weird..
  • Institution: U Maryland Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/20/10 Notified through: E-mail to Check Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Bleh..
  • Institution: BC Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/30 Notified through: snail mail Posted on GF: no Funding: Comments: first snail mail received - a hardcopy with the school seal affixed feels more formal, which i like - but still, preference is slow formal mail <<< quick informal email, regardless of the admit result
  • Institution: Washington U. in St. Louis Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 4/6 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: My last one
Waitlists:

Churchill 2010:
Institution: Cornell
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Rejected
Funding: -
Notification date: 02/10
Notified through: Email
Posted on grad cafe: No
Comments:
Institution: Duke
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: 18k
Notification date: 02/22
Notified through: Email / Website
Posted on grad cafe: No
Comments:
Institution: Northwestern
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Waitlist
Notification date: 02/24
Notified through: Website
Posted on grad cafe: Yes
Comments:
Institution: Minnesota
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Waitlist
Funding:
Notification date: 02/26
Notified through: Email
Posted on grad cafe: Yes
Comments:
Accepts:
  • Institution: Duke Econ Decision: Accepted! Funding: Financial award in letter Notification date: 19 February 2010 Notified through: Website Posted on Gradcafe: (yes or no) No Comments: :D:D:D
  • Institution: Duke Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 18k Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email / Website Posted on grad cafe: No Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Waitlist Notification date: 02/24 Notified through: Website Posted on grad cafe: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Maryland Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: "Some probability" Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: No Comments: Hope I get financial aid
  • Institution: Maryland Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: "Some probability" Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: No Comments: Hope I get financial aid
  • Institution: Brown Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition + 19.5k Notified through: E-mail Date: 03/08 Comment: Awesome!
  • Institution: BU Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: None Notification date: 3/23/10 Notified through: e-mail Comments:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Cornell Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 02/10/2010 Notified through: email Posted on Gradcafe: No Comment:
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/10 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: No Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 03/04/2010 Notified through: Email to check website Comment: Expected
  • Institution: Columbia University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 03/04/2010 Notified through: Email to check website Comment: Expected
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/9 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment:
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: na Notification date: 3/11/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: E-mail to check the website Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: Notification date: 02/26 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: Notification date: 02/26 Notified through: Email Posted on grad cafe: Yes Comments:

Jake S 2010:
Institution: Boston University
Program: Ph.D. Economics
Decision: Admit with Funding
Funding: "...a stipend of approximately $19,300, a summer stipend of $5000, and a medical insurance package"
Notification date: 1st March
Notified through: Email
Posted on GF: No
Comments: Awesome!
Institution: UCLA
Program: Ph.D. Economics
Decision: Admit and being considered for fellowship
Notification date: 26th February
Notified through: Email
Posted on GF: No
Comments: First-year funding please?
Accepts:
  • Institution: Boston University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Admit with Funding Funding: "...a stipend of approximately $19,300, a summer stipend of $5000, and a medical insurance package" Notification date: 1st March Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: Awesome!
  • Institution: UCLA Ph.D. Economics Decision: Admit and being considered for fellowship Notification date: 26th February Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: First-year funding please?
  • Institution: UCLA Ph.D. Economics Decision: Admit and being considered for fellowship Notification date: 26th February Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: First-year funding please?
Rejects:
Waitlists:

yes_no_maybe 2010:
Institution: USC
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: 21k, 5 years
Notification date: 2/26/2010
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC:Yes
Institution: Boston College
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Wait listed
Funding: Yes if out
Notification date: 3/1/2010
Notified through:E-mail
Posted on GC:No
Institution: UC Berkeley
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Notification date: 3/3/2010
Notified through:E-mail
Posted on GC:No
Institution: Maryland, College Park
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: 18k, 4-5 years
Notification date: 3/3/2010
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Institution: Columbia
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Notification date: 3/5/2010
Notified through: E-mail to check the website
Posted on GC: No
Institution: Brown
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Wait listed
Funding: Yes if out
Notification date: 3/8/2010
Notified through:E-mail
Posted on GC:No
Institution: Princeton
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Notification date: 3/9/2010
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Institution: MIT
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Notification date: 3/11/2010
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Institution: Stanford
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Notification date: 3/12/2010
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Institution: UPenn
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Notification date: 3/13/2010
Notified through: E-mail to check the website
Posted on GC: No
Accepts:
  • Institution: USC Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 21k, 5 years Notification date: 2/26/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC:Yes
  • Institution: Maryland, College Park Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 18k, 4-5 years Notification date: 3/3/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution:Stockholm School of Economics Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: SEK 15000 /month after tax Notification date: 03/19/10 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Boston U Economics Decision: Accepted Notification date: 4/7/10 Notified through: E-mail Funding: None Posted on GC: No
Rejects:
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/3/2010 Notified through:E-mail Posted on GC:No
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/5/2010 Notified through: E-mail to check the website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/9/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/11/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/13/2010 Notified through: E-mail to check the website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Rejected Notified through: Postal Mail Notification date: Mail dated 3/8/2010 Posted on GC:No
  • Institution: Harvard Political Economy & Government Decision: Rejected Notified through: Postal Mail Notification date: Mail dated 3/5/2010 Posted on GC:No
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/17/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/19/10 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Washington U in St. Louis Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 4/6/10 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Brown University Economics Decision: Rejected from the wait list Notification date: 4/15/10 Notified through: E-mail
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Boston College Economics Decision: Wait listed Funding: Yes if out Notification date: 3/1/2010 Notified through:E-mail Posted on GC:No
  • Institution: Brown Economics Decision: Wait listed Funding: Yes if out Notification date: 3/8/2010 Notified through:E-mail Posted on GC:No

Whitney 2010:
Institution: MIT
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Reject
Notification date: 3/16
Notified through: Email
Funding: N/A
Posted on GF: no
Comments: longest of long shots ~ congrats to all you ninjas out there who made the cut.
Institution: Brown
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Reject
Notification date: 3/16
Notified through: Email
Funding: N/A
Posted on GF: no
Comments:
Institution: Boston College
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Reject
Notification date: 3/24
Notified through: post
Funding: N/A
Posted on GF: no
Comments:
Institution: Boston University
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Admit
Notification date: 3/24
Notified through: Email
Funding: no
Posted on GF: no
Comments: Delighted, but funding will be pivotal. (Otherwise, it's back to being a boring old lawyer). Lighting a candle for the NSF . . .
Accepts:
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Admit Notification date: 3/24 Notified through: Email Funding: no Posted on GF: no Comments: Delighted, but funding will be pivotal. (Otherwise, it's back to being a boring old lawyer). Lighting a candle for the NSF . . .
Rejects:
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Reject Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Email Funding: N/A Posted on GF: no Comments: longest of long shots ~ congrats to all you ninjas out there who made the cut.
  • Institution: Brown Economics Decision: Reject Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Email Funding: N/A Posted on GF: no Comments:
  • Institution: Boston College Economics Decision: Reject Notification date: 3/24 Notified through: post Funding: N/A Posted on GF: no Comments:
Waitlists:

econpeace 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Double Math / Econ major - Top 15 for Econ.
Undergrad GPA: 3.75 Cumulative, 3.8 in Econ, 3.72 in Math.
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800q / 710v / 5 awa
Math Courses: LOWER DIV: Calc (A/A-). UPPER DIV: Analysis (A- avg), Algebra (A-), Ord Diff Eq (A-), Complex (B-), Probability, Stat Theory (A-)
Econ Courses: Micro/Macro (As), Honors Metrics (B+), Honors Game Theory (A), assorted econ electives (A/A-), Grad Micro (IP),
Letters of Recommendation: One from RA job, famous, should be strong, two from classes, hopefully of some value.
Research Experience: Senior Thesis and RA job (1 year during junior year and still at it currently).
Teaching Experience: None at College level
Research Interests: Labor
Concerns: Less than stellar math grades.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Maryland, BU, UCLA, Cornell
Waitlists: NU, Booth
Rejections: Princeton, Columbia, Penn, Michigan, Berkeley, NYU
Pending: -
What would you have done differently?
Worked harder in math class!!!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Maryland, BU, UCLA, Cornell
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Need funding! But grateful for the admit.
  • Institution: Maryland Economics, PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Yes Notification date: 3/03/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: I'm glad I have at least one funded offer!
  • Institution: Boston U Phd Decision: Accepted Funding: Full funding Notification date: Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comment: ok
Rejects:
    Rejections: Princeton, Columbia, Penn, Michigan, Berkeley, NYU
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Expected.
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: No Notification date: 2/24/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:...
  • Institution: Michigan Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: No Notification date: 3/03/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Pah.
  • Institution: Princeton Phd Decision: Reject Funding: Notification date: Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comment: ...
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: NU, Booth
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification date: Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: not bad!
  • Institution: Chicago Booth Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification date: Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: two waitlists

papachara 2011:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. in Economics from unknown Latin-american university
Undergrad GPA: N/A (First place of graduating class)
Type of Grad: M.S. Economics from well-known Latin-american University
Grad GPA: Average: 9.66/10.00 (first of classs)
GRE: 800Q / 570V / 4.0AWA (1st try) 800Q / 600V / 4.0 AWA (2dn try)
Math Courses: Real Analysis I and II (A+), Measure Theory (A+), Topology (A), Convexity and Optimization (A), Dynamic Sistems (A-), Probability (A), Intro to Stochastic Processes.
Econ Courses (grad-level): Microeconomic Theory (A+), Game Theory (A), Macro I and II (A+), Mechanism Design (A), Political Economy, General Equilibrium, Macroeconometrics, Microeconometrics (A-)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I and II, Macro I and II, IO, International Economics I and II, Growth, Development, Econometrics I and II, Topics in Micro Theory, Topics in Mathematical economics, Monetary, Econometrics I and II, Public Economics. Basically A's and A+'s
Other Courses: Agent-Based modelling
Letters of Recommendation: 1 prof from NYU, 1 from UCLA and 1 from Urbana-champaign (knows me very well and should be an excellent letter)
Research Experience: RA in political economy research for 3 years, thesis in political economy
Teaching Experience: TA in econometrics, microeconomics and computational economics
Research Interests: Micro theory, computational economics and development
SOP: Very short, only 400 words long. No names mentioned and very general ideas.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Princeton ($$$), Yale($$$), Northwestern MECS ($$$), Columbia($$), UPenn($$), BU($$)
Waitlists: None.
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Stanford GSB, Berkeley, .
Pending: NYU (I think this a reject).
What would you have done differently? Not much. Getting into top programs depends on the people writting your LORs, that is why I got into Princeton. Not much to be done about this. If I had really wanted to go to MIT or Harvard I would have had to chose another MA. Conclusion: Good grades and LORs are fundamental.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Princeton ($$$), Yale($$$), Northwestern MECS ($$$), Columbia($$), UPenn($$), BU($$)
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: A letter containing the details of our offer has been sent via mail. Notification date: Feb 15 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: No Comments: 11 more to go!
  • Institution: Northwestern Kellogg (MES) Decision: Accepted Funding: 32k Notification date: 2/23/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: no Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 23k + 3k summer stipend + health insurance Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UPenn Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 23k + 3k health insurance Notification date: 2/24/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Yes Notification date: 03/10/11 Notified through: Email Comment:
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Stanford GSB, Berkeley, .
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economic Policy and Analysis Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: February 18 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: no Comments: This was a hard one. 10 more to go!
  • Institution Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: None.

econchef 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small Liberal Arts University, Atlantic Canada (Honors Econ, Minor Math)
Undergrad GPA: 3.95 (4.0 Econ) (4.0 Math) (Converted) (top graduate in Econ)
Type of Grad: MA Econ, Queen's University
Grad GPA: 4.0 (Converted) (top graduate)
GRE: 800Q 570V 5.5AW
Math Courses: calculus (I,II,III), linear algebra, ODE, Discrete, Intro Stats, History of Math, Intro to Game Theory (All A or higher)
Econ Courses (grad): Micro, Macro , Econometrics, Resource, Applied Econometrics, Research Problems and Methodology, Empirical Micro (All 90%+)
Econ Courses (u/g): Adv Micro, Adv Macro, Uncertainty and Strategy (Adv Micro II), Econometrics (full-year), All intermediates and Intros, a bunch field courses (All A or Higher)
Letters of Recommendation: All positive, 2 full professors (1 resource econ, very well established; 1 applied time series), 1 associate professor (gaining a big rep in time series), I supplement with three other profs who know me well at universities where they have contacts.
Research Experience: master's essay, summer research paper in u/g, Internship at Inter-American Development Bank (Poverty Research / HH Exp'd Surveys), 3 applied metrics courses in Grad, very strong STATA programming skills and LATEX knowledge
Teaching Experience: Taught tutorials for principles (Micro and Macro) for 2 years in u/g; environmental econ and principles macro at Queen's
Research Interests: Econometrics, Labor, Education
Concerns: Could have taken more math; Small unknown undergrad
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Berkeley ($$$), Princeton ($$$), BU ($$), U Toronto ($$$), Queen's ($$$), Chicago (3rd year)
Waitlists: MIT, U Penn, U Mich
Rejections: Harvard, Northwestern, Stanford, NYU, Yale, Columbia
What would you have done differently? Well if I had a time machine, I would have gone back to the start of first year and convinced myself not to take any political science courses in second year and instead replace them all with math courses. I also might have convinced myself that I should have taken more math in fourth year instead of taking basic sciences for med school (I applied and got in but decided to continue with econ grad school). The only other thing I might have changed regarding my record with said time machine would have been to write my MA essay on a time series theory topic as opposed to one in applied micro but I'll be honest these wouldn't be the first things I would do with a time machine. Perhaps with those changes I might have had a better shot at Harvard but there's always some noise in the dgp so who knows. Overall, I'm very excited by my results and can't wait to visit my top two offers.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Berkeley ($$$), Princeton ($$$), BU ($$), U Toronto ($$$), Queen's ($$$), Chicago (3rd year)
  • Institution: UofT Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: fellowship/teaching assistant/ra-ship ($31K first year, $28K 2-4) Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: First acceptance albeit expected. Exciting nonetheless!
  • Institution: Queen's University (Kingston) Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship/TAship/Summer Stipend Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comment: Good to know I have a couple fall back options.
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 25000 for first year + tuition/fees Notification date: 3/6/2011 Notified through: E-mail (attached letter is dated 1 March 2011) Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No funding until phase two (3rd year) Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Really exciting to get in to Chicago but no funding first and second year is a hard sell with other funded offers.
  • Institution: BU Ph.D. in Economics Decision: accepted Funding: tuition/fees and stipend Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: I'm surprised. I thought this would come much later.
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Yes Notification date: 03/10/11 Notified through: Email Comments: Incredible!
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, Northwestern, Stanford, NYU, Yale, Columbia
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: On the bright side, the rule of complements holds true - much rejoicing ensues.
  • Institution: Northwestern University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: no Comments: certainty...at last
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: The sign off on the reject letter is first class
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: I haven't read White Man's Burden...they must have known...
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/16/11 Notified through: Post Posted on GC: no Comments: Unfortunately I'm not a 6'5" crew star nor did I revolutionize social networking. Ex post I should have spent more time trying to prove the Riemann Hypothesis before applying.
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: March 22, 2011 Notified through: Official e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: certainty..at last!
  • Institution: MIT Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected from waitlist Funding: NA Notification date: 04/07 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Makes the deciding easier.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: MIT, U Penn, U Mich
  • Institution: U Penn Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: placed high on the waitlist for admission (I'm sure they say that to everyone)
  • Institution: UMich Economics Decision: waitlisted Funding: 1st year tuition waiver, TA/RA 2nd year onward (if admitted) Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Enthusiastically placed on the waitlist!
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: I hope it's not a fake

burkaru 2011:
Type of Undergrad: Computer Science
Undergrad GPA: 3.33
Type of Grad: Economics
Grad GPA: 3.4 (when applied, now 3.6)
GRE: Q 800, V 340, AW 3.0
Math Courses:
undergrad: Calculus (C), Linear Algebra (C), Probability Theory (C), Discrete Math (C), Methods of Optimization (C), Advanced probability (A), Advanced statistics (A), Stochastic processes (A), Applied probability theory (A), Advanced discrete math (A), Differential eq's (B), Eq's of math physics (B), Introductory calculus of approximations (C), Advanced calculus of approximations (B), Game theory (A), Econometrics (A), Methods of univariate statistical analysis (A)
grad: probability (B), statistics (A-), econometrics (1 B, 2 B-, 3 B+, 4 B-), math for economists (1 B, 2 B+), game theory (A)
Econ Courses:
undergrad: Economics (A), Macromodels (1 A, 2 A)
grad: Macroeconomics (1 A-, 2 B, 3 A-, 4 B+, 5 A-, 6 A-), Microeconomics (1 B-, 2 A-, 3 A, 4 A, 5 A), Financial markets (B+), Derivatives (A-), World Economic History (A+)
Other Courses: a lot of computer science stuff (grades A and B), sociology (A), history (A), philosophy (B)
Letters of Recommendation: from 2 scientific advisors (good?), strong from economic history professor, one from professor in microeconomics (probably weak?)
Research Experience: no
Teaching Experience: no when applied (yes right now)
Research Interests: macro, political science
SOP: why I love economics, my strong side, research interests, current research
Other: TOEFL 91, IELTS 7.5
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UCLA, BU, Wisconsin-Madison
Rejections: UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Brown, Cornell
What would you have done differently? instead of professor in microeconomics asked about recommendation well-known professor in political science
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UCLA, BU, Wisconsin-Madison
  • Institution: UCLA Economics, PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No 1st year stipend Notification date: 03/02/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Wisconsin-Madison Economics, PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No 1st year funding Notification date: 03/05/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: no for the 1st year Notification date: 03/16/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: yes Comments: not going there
Rejects:
    Rejections: UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Brown, Cornell
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Reject Funding: -- Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Weird, was accepted to much better programs
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/16/2011 Notified through: emailed Marj about status Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:

tcttc 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: University in China ranked between 3-5. Econ department is not so famous.
Undergrad GPA: 3.79 overall, 3.92 last 2 years
Type of Grad: Master of economics in US university with top 20 econ department
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: V640+Q800+AW3.5
Math Courses (undergrad-level): calculus, linear algebra, ODE, probability, statistics, complex analysis, functions of real variables, stochastic process, intro to topology, abstract algebra, measure theory, numeric analysis, dynamic programming
Math Courses (grad-level): measure and probability, linear models, Functional analysis
Econ Courses (PhD-level): RA for economists , Micro 1 & 2, metrics 1,2, Metrics 3.a & b
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): primary + intermediate micro, macro and metrics sequence, several math econ courses
Other Courses: Finance 1 in B-school
Letters of Recommendation: 1 young Associate professor from UCSD (know me quite well, took class with him),
1 new hired assistant professor from Northwestern (took class with him and get an A+),
1 young associate professor from Univ of Florida (took class with him and get an A),
1 senior full professor from Harvard (my director, know me well, work with him).
None of my references are famous economists. But they are all very kind persons. Two of them think I am strong. I didn't talk with the other two too much.
Research Experience:1. undergraduate thesis (excellent thesis award),
2. 2 course projects in my first year in US.
3. worked with my director on a conference project. And finally he converted it to a working paper and put my name on it. not published and not theoretical. I feel very grateful for him to put my name on it but I didn't talk it too much in my sop.
4. Now RAing for a professor in Law school. mainly coding in R and run all kinds of regressions.
Teaching Experience:none in english, undergraduate metrics in Chinese
Research Interests: metrics theory
SOP: Pretty good I guess. Although my AW is low, I ask for help from my friend who is good at writing proposals and my directors.
Concerns: Low AW, funding
Others: TOEFL 110
Applying to: (all econ PhD) USC, U Washington, UC Davis, UT Austin, BU, Duke, NYU, Berkeley, Stanford, Northwestern, UCSD, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, MIT
Results:
Acceptances: Duke($$), BU(waitlisted for 1st year/$$ from 2nd year), UT Austin($$), USC($$$),UC Davis(?), U Washington Seatle(asked about my other offers, then withdrew),
Rejections: NYU, Berkeley, Stanford, Northwestern, UCSD, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, MIT.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Duke($$), BU(waitlisted for 1st year/$$ from 2nd year), UT Austin($$), USC($$$),UC Davis(?), U Washington Seatle(asked about my other offers, then withdrew),
  • Institution: UC-Davis Economics Decision: Accept Funding: will decide at the end of March Notification date: Feb. 17 Notified through: E-mail from Paul Bergin Posted on GC:No Comments: Yes, after reject by Yale
  • Institution: Duke Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TBD Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GF: No Comments: Now I am relieved
Rejects:
    Rejections: NYU, Berkeley, Stanford, Northwestern, UCSD, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, MIT.
Waitlists:

LameDuck 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BS Mathematics, Physics Minor @ state university
Undergrad GPA: 3.24/4.00 (3.8ish Math)
Type of Grad: First year of Mathematics MS @ same university
Grad GPA: 4.0/4.0
GRE: 800Q 700V 3.5AW
Math Courses: Around 20 -- Topology, Grad Analysis Sequence, Grad Algebra Sequence, a few Linear Algebra courses, DiffEQ, Stat Theory, Programming/Applied courses, etc.; mostly A's
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A+), Intermediate Macro (A+); both taken as a non-degree student after my BS
Other Courses: Programming (Java), Physics courses (Mechanics, Circuit Design, Math Modeling, etc.)
Letters of Recommendation: Good(great?) letters from 3 math professors who are somewhat known in the math world -- I really had no access to econ letters
Research Experience: Math research (Approximation Theory)
Teaching Experience: One year as a TA for Calc. III, and one year as an Algebra instructor while I was in the MS program
Research Interests: International Macro, Development, Game Theory -- admittedly, I'm not entirely certain which route I'll go.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Iowa($$), Boston U.(MA), Pitt(unfunded) <-- deferred from 2010
Waitlists: U. Washington - Seattle
Rejections: Columbia, Minnesota, UPenn, Boston U. (PhD), Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Maryland, UWO, Wisconsin
What would you have done differently?
This year was my full-court shot at some high ranked programs; I already held a deferred offer from Pitt. In retrospect, I might not have applied to some of the places that weren't really a good fit for me -- live and learn.
If I had it all to do over again? Well, I'd be a less capricious youngster, perform better in the first years of my undergrad, and I'd realize an interest in economics earlier than a few years ago. That being said, I'm happy where I am, but I wouldn't recommend my circuitous route to anyone; the hope is that experience matters, no?
Given my lack of access to econ reference writers and my nontraditional background, I think I did alright for myself. The fact that I missed out on funding at Pitt this year gave me a scare, but I got into another program that I heavily targeted.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Iowa($$), Boston U.(MA), Pitt(unfunded) <-- deferred from 2010
  • Institution: University of Iowa Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Accepted (off the waitlist) Funding: Yes Notification date: April 8 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Ecstatic to have a funded offer! The department is going through some changes, but I'll likely still go here.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Columbia, Minnesota, UPenn, Boston U. (PhD), Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Maryland, UWO, Wisconsin
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Saw a rejection here, checked the website. Posted on GC: not yet Comment: suck, I had hopes for this one.
  • Institution: Upenn Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: email to log onto the website Posted on GC: not yet Comment: Expected, but still a crappy day.
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: yep Comments: twas inevitable, but I had to try
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Expected. The last of my reach schools -- only waiting on realistic admits now.
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/14/11 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: short letter
  • Institution: Wisconsin-Madison Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: another rejection :/
  • Institution: University of Western Ontario Economics MA/PdD track Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: 8th rejection, this one from a school I thought I had a good shot at. If I were not holding onto a deferred offer from last cycle this would be a very sad year.
  • Institution: Boston University Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejection FUnding: N/A Notification Date: 03/25/2011 Notified Through:Email Comments: Mass public slaying
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: U. Washington - Seattle
  • Institution: University of Washington-Seattle Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: no Notification date: 4/5 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: It'd be nice to have funding if admitted but I'll see how it goes -- might still consider going.
  • Institution: Iowa Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: if admitted Notification date: 4/5 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: They foresee admitting a few from the waitlist. I'd be really happy to go here.

chisquared 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BBM Quantitative Finance and BSc Economics. Small university in SE Asia.
Undergrad GPA: 3.92/4.00
Type of Grad: MSc Applicable Mathematics, LSE
Grad GPA: In Progress
GRE: 800Q, 660V, 5.0AW
Math Courses: Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A-), Real Analysis (A-), Intermediate Mathematics for Economics (A+), Advanced Mathematics for Economics (A), Stochastic Calculus (A), Numerical Analysis (A), Probability Theory and Statistical Inference (A-), Continuous Time Optimization (Grad, IP), Probability and Measure (Grad, IP), Stochastic Analysis (Grad, IP)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Advanced Microeconomics (IP)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Microeconomics (A+), Intermediate Macroeconomics (A-), International Economics (A+), Economics of Financial Intermediation (A+), Applied Econometrics (A), Economic Development in Asia (A)
Other Courses: A lot of other business and finance courses. A few courses in psychology, sociology and political science.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Stanford PhD, 1 Berkeley PhD, 1 Harvard PhD, 2 UPenn PhDs distributed over different schools. All supposedly good letters.
Research Experience: Undergraduate thesis in political economy (A-), a few research assistantships
Teaching Experience: A few terms as a teaching assistant
Research Interests: micro theory, game theory, financial economics, political economy
SOP: Standard
Concerns: Unknown undergrad institution. Limited (read: almost none) placement history. Unknown letter of recommendation credibility.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: LSE ($$$, initially on a waiting list for funding), Michigan (off the waiting list, $$), BU ($$, initially on a waiting list for first-year funding)
Rejections: Tons. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern (Kellogg MEDS), UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, UCSD (actually, I never heard from them. Should probably send them an angry email.), Chicago Booth, Stanford GSB, Wharton, Minnesota
Withdrawn:
Attending: LSE
What would you have done differently?
It's hard to say, really. A few ideas, though:
(i) Work harder on my senior thesis. Winning the senior thesis prize may have helped me sneak on to a few more waiting lists.
(ii) Write a more interesting SOP. It probably wouldn't help much, but it just might matter on the margin, and it's hard to say where I was or wasn't a marginal candidate exactly (at least, for the schools ranked just above where I was admitted. I'm only kidding myself by trying to claim I could have been a marginal candidate at Harvard/MIT.).
(iii) Done more undergrad field courses in econ. This would help me write a more interesting SOP, I guess, since it would give me more research ideas. This would mean that I'd have to drop one of my majors, or not do a senior thesis, though. I'm not sure I would be willing to do the former ex-ante, nor the latter ex-post.
(iv) Tried to go on exchange at the one top 10 department my undergrad had an exchange program with. Someone from my undergrad did this, and it seemed to have helped her out a lot this admissions season. That being said, that entails the same kind of tradeoffs that I mentioned in (iii), so I'm not sure I'd do this if I could do everything over again.
(v) Worked really hard on my MSc, graduate with distinction, and apply for admission in fall 2012 instead. I may still consider this, in fact.
(vi) Considered schools that I was applying to more carefully. While I don't think I'd have applied to fewer schools, there are some programs (PSU, CEMFI, Toulouse) I wish I applied to after all the deadlines were over but before the admissions results were released. While I wouldn't have gone to any of those aforementioned programs over any of the options I had, this may have been a wiser decision ex-ante (even if I may be out a few hundred dollars ex-post).
Accepts:
    Acceptances: LSE ($$$, initially on a
  • Institution: London School of Economics MRes/PhD Track 1 Decision: Accepted Funding: No. "Unfortunately competition for funding is very strong and we are not able to offer you any financial support at this stage. However you are waitlisted for funding and we will inform you immediately if and when this becomes available. In the meantime we would be grateful if you could update us on the outcome of any funding applications you have made." Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: Relieved. Will probably need funding though.
  • Institution: BU Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: After first year, tuition + $19k stipend Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Michigan Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted from the waiting list Funding: Full Notification date: April 12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: None.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Tons. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern (Kellogg MEDS), UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, UCSD (actually, I
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Expected, but still depressing.
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economic Analysis and Policy Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: February 18 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 22 February 2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: UPenn Phd in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Website -- checked it after I saw the rejection on GC Posted on GC: No Comments: Ouch. A shut out is looking likelier every day. Ah, well.
  • Institution: Minnesota Phd in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Saw a rejection on GC, then checked the website. ...I should really stop doing this. Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Ouch.
  • Institution: Chicago Booth Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No. Comments: Not too surprising.
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Well, that was a long-shot.
  • Institution: Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Ugh.
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Sigh.
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Hm, I guess a shut-out wasn't all that unlikely. (Yes, I am aware at the pitfalls of considering probabilities ex post.)
  • Institution: Northwestern - Kellogg Ph.D. MECS Decision: Rejection Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/11/11 Notified through: Email Comments: I appreciate their promptness. Take note, NYU. <-- Ditto. I guess this marks the close of the admissions season for me.
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/11 Notified through: Snail Mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/17/11 Notified through: Unofficial e-mail after I asked about my status Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/21/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: That took a while.
Waitlists:
    waiting list for funding), Michigan (off the waiting list, $$), BU ($$, initially on a waiting list for first-year funding)
  • Institution: UMich Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: Yes, if accepted Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:

aliceav23 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics, Latin American University
Undergrad GPA: 3.9 cumulative, 3.9 Econ, 4.0 Math
Type of Grad: M.A. Economics, same university as undergrad
Grad GPA: 3.7
GRE: 800Q, 560V, 4.0AW
Math Courses: CalcI (A+), CalcII(A+), Linear Algebra (A), Probability (A), Statistics (A+), Numerical Methods (A+)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Microeconomics I (A) Microeconomics II (A) Macroeconomics I (A) Macroeconomics II (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Microeconomics (A+,A,A) Macroeconomics (A,B+,A), Econometrics (B+, A), Finance (A+,A+)
Other Courses: Statistics packages (A+)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 UCLA PhD, 1 LSE PhD, 1 Minnesota PhD, 1 T&A M.A. (head of the economics department)
Research Experience: RA in research center, currently research analyst in governmental institution
Teaching Experience: TA of Microeconomics II (Undergrad) for 3 years, TA of Econometrics II, TA of Microeconomics I and II (graduate level), currently part-time teacher Mathematics for Economists
Research Interests: micro theory, applied micro, IO, game theory
SOP: Standard
Concerns: LORs and the fact that my university is not that known
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Duke, Maryland, BU, Toulouse M2
Waitlists: Brown
Rejections: NYU, Northwestern, Minnesota, UCSD, Carnegie Mellon, CalTech, Cornell, UPenn
Attending: Duke
Comments:
If i had known I wanted this from the start that I wanted a PhD, I would've taken many more math courses in a university close to mine. I actually enjoy math but my university didn't offer RA until last year when I was out. That said, I probably would've applied to a more well known masters, however the students that are coming out of my program now know that they can get into a top 20 US school so that makes me happy.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Duke, Maryland, BU, Toulouse M2
  • Institution: Duke Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TBD Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Happy. I was really scared when I saw the mail.
  • Institution: Maryland University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "We have reviewed your record carefully and believe that there is some probability that we will eventually be able to offer you financial aid" Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: need funding though =(
  • Institution: Toulouse I Second year M2 Economic Theory and Econometrics Decision: Accepted Funding: have to apply for external funding i guess Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: E-mail. Sent an e-mail to Aude to ask if I had been rejected since she told me decisions were going to be made by late February, she said the letter was on its way through snail mail. Posted on GC: No Comments: Need external funding to attend. Really like the department but I'm not really sure.
Rejects:
    Rejections: NYU, Northwestern, Minnesota, UCSD, Carnegie Mellon, CalTech, Cornell, UPenn
  • Institution: UPenn Phd in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Website, checked it after I saw the rejection on TM Posted on GC: No Comments: Sigh...
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Have been checking my status periodically and I finally saw that a decision had been made Posted on GC: Yes Comment: Sucks! I really thought i had a chance here
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: naaaaaaaaaaaaaah
  • Institution: Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2011 (website) 3/10/2011 (e-mail) Notified through: Randomly checked website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Kind of sad
  • Institution: Caltech Social Sciences PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GradCafe: yes Comments: expected...
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: March 22, 2011 Notified through: Official e-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: ='(
  • Institution: Cornell University Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/24/2011 Notified through: e-mail Comments: Finally...
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/02/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: finally!
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Brown
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Wait listed Funding: I think it's yes if admitted Notification date: 3/18/11 Notified through: Email to check Website Posted on GC: yes Comments: short wait list

Economics Dude 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S.B.A. Economics from Top 15 public, Top 50 Econ (considered public Ivy for whatever that's worth)
Undergrad GPA: 3.94/4 (Summa cum laude - Won Outstanding Scholar Award, sort of equivalent to Valedictorian)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA:
GRE: 800Q/630V/4.5AWA (Not a native speaker of English)
Math Courses: Calc sequence, Sets and Logic (Intro to proofs), Diff Eq, Linear Algebra, Intro to Prob, Intro to Stats Theory, Regression Analysis, Advanced Calc, Modern Analysis (All A's, no A+ at my school, except for 1 B+ on the easiest class, Diff Eq.)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro Theory
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Usual stuff plus Empirical Research seminar (All A's)
Other Courses: AEA Summer Training Program: Econometrics, Micro Theory, Applied Micro, Research - 5 A's 2 A+'s and 1 A- (Only 3 professors gave A+'s - I missed one)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 director of AEASTP (Ph.D. Chicago), 1 professor (Ph.D. Chicago), 1 professor and current boss (Ph.D. Yale), 1 professor and current boss (Ph.D. Florida). Should all be strong. My office is on the same hallway as virtually all econ professors. I run into them every day and chat with them often (usually about random things besides econ, though).
Research Experience: RA'ed as an undergrad. Won a grant to conduct research as undergrad. Presented replication and extension of a paper at the AEASTP. Currently work as a Associate Research Economist at a research center in the university where I got my degree from.
Teaching Experience: TA'ed for almost 2 years for 1 introductory and 1 intermediate econ course.
Research Interests: Labor, Econometrics, Public Econ/Choice.
SOP: Long (about 2 pages).
RESULTS:
NSF Honorable Mention
Acceptances: Duke MA(some $),BU (no 1yr$), BC($$), UT-Austin ($$), Rochester($$$), UCSD($)
Waitlists: None
Rejections: Berkeley, NYU, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, and Michigan.
Attending: UCSD
What would you have done differently?
I guess I could have moved to the US for high school and gone to a better undergrad institution, but I was having too much fun in Brazil at the time. I guess I could also have had more math (isn't that almost always the case?) In any case, I will be attending one of my top choices, which also happens to be right by the ocean.. I couldn't ask for much more.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Duke MA(some $),BU (no 1yr$), BC($$), UT-Austin ($$), Rochester($$$), UCSD($)
  • Institution: Rochester Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship (Full tuition + 24k) Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: E-mail with attachment Posted on GF: Yes Comments: First school I hear from. I'm really excited.
  • Institution: Boston College Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: RA-ship $16.5K Notification date: 3/1/2011 (at 9pm) Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: Yes Comments:E-mail was personalized since they mentioned my two friends that are already in their program.
  • Institution: UT-Austin Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship (unofficially told, not sure how much but prob. around $15K) Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail to check website (status check website) Posted on GC: No Comments: At least I didn't finish the day on the negative side of the board.. Economics Dude 1 x 1 Rejections today! Damn you Berkeley!
  • Institution: Duke University Econ Masters Decision: Admitted Funding: ? Notification date: 3/8 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GF: No Comments: Even though I have 3 funded PhD offers, it still feels good.
  • Institution: BU Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No first year funding at all, afterwards tuition + $19k stipend Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: Good for the ego (better than rejection or WL), but with no 1st year funding, I'd much rather take one of my other offers.
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Letter coming later Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Big f-ing yeahhh! My top choice! Hoping good news is coming regarding financial aid!! Invited to the open house with expenses paid.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Berkeley, NYU, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, and Michigan.
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: First rejection. Oh well.. you can't always win!
  • Institution: Michigan Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Kind of expected.. didn't use my strongest letter of recommendation writer, one other letter of recommendation writer sent my letter a month later, they didn't have my transcripts for universities I attended but not receive a degrees from nor my fall 2010 grades. Even without that I would still not be surprised with a rejection.. oh well! The game continues..
  • Institution: Columbia University Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: - Notification Date: 3/9/2011 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Got mine!
  • Institution: Brown University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Thought I had a good chance based on some inside info.. guess not! Glad to hear though. The season is almost over for me.
  • Institution: NYU (GSAS) Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/14 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: "Unfortunately, we are not able to make you an offer this year. We had a very strong applicant pool this year --- almost 1000 applicants for 18 slots --- and we have had to pass over literally hundreds of high-quality applicants. Please take one of your other options." I'm really glad I heard, though. 1 more school left to hear from then it's fly-out and decision time!
  • Institution: Cornell Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/25/2011 Notified Through: Email Posted on GradCafe: No Comments: F-ing finally!
Waitlists:
    Honorable Mention
  • Institution: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Decision: Honorable Mention Funding: No Notification date: 4/5 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Not bad given that I put the proposal together in 3-5 days and didn't get a chance to have any of my professors give me feedback on it. I'm not sure what to make of the Teragrid access, though. Does anybody actually use supercomputers in economics? EDIT: I will be applying again next year.

urray 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA, Major Economics, Minor Mathematics one of the top schools in Middle East
Undergrad GPA: 3.7/4
Type of Grad: MA Economics, same university
Grad GPA: 3.85 /4
GRE: 790Q, 600V, 4.5AW
TOEFL:116/120
Math Courses: UG Level: Calculus Sequence, Linear Algebra, Probability, Statistics, Discrete Mathematics
Grad Level: Real Analysis, Measure Theory, Stochastic Calculus, Abstract Algebra
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I-II (Taken at senior year in UG), Matching and Auction Theory (Taken at senior year in UG), Macro I-II, Metrics I-II, Advanced Topics in Macro Theory, Advanced Topics in Game Theory
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Way too many to list.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Minnesota PhD, 1 Rochester PhD, 1 BU PhD, all should be very good,
Research Experience: Co-authoring a paper with one of the letter of recommendation writers, which had incredibly good feedback from a few conferences, going to submit it pretty soon.
Teaching Experience: 8 semester of TA for a variety of classes, (intro to Micro, intro to Game Theory, etc.) Instructed the math camp for incoming graduate students at our university.
Research Interests: Game Theory
SOP: Pretty standard, I actually forgot to change the phrase "university X" to the name of the university in a few cases
Concerns: My GPA in the first two-years in undergrad where I took the majority of the ug level math courses was lowish (around 3.4) Got a C+ plus from linear algebra as I had to skip an exam due to a medical condition(did not mention the reason in my sop), 790Q in GRE
RESULTS:
Acceptances: NYU, Kellogg Mecs, Minnesota, Michigan, Caltech, CMU, Boston U, Rochester, JHU, WL from WUSTL
Rejections: Yale, Brown, Columbia GSB
COMMENTS:
I decided to do a PhD only around my junior year or so, I wasn't even actually planning to study economics when I entered university. I did pretty stupid things in my first two years, I think my overall attendance was around %10 or so of the classes, entered some exams after night-outs without sleeping etc. On the other hand I took quite a bit of grad courses in my last two years as an undergraduate, as a result I had a chance focus on research on my masters. I actually came up with my own idea for the current paper we are writing pretty early in my masters. Then again due to a death in the family I couldn't get it published before the admission season started, hence didn't bother to apply to top 5. In retrospect, I think I should have given it a shot. And if I had the opportunity I would slap my younger self for my behavior in my first two-years.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: NYU, Kellogg Mecs, Minnesota, Michigan, Caltech, CMU, Boston U, Rochester, JHU, WL from WUSTL
  • Institution: Caltech Social Sciences PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: $28k/year Notification date: Feb 10 Notified through: email Comments: No phone call, probably due to 10 hour difference (the e-mail came at 02.30 local time)
  • Institution: Kellogg MECS Decision: Accepted Funding: $$$$ Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Rochester Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: $$$ Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Minnesota Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Michigan Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: No first year funding 17k+ after 2nd year Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Carnegie Mellon Tepper Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: $$$$ Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: No offer since they think I will end up with other offers Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: NYU Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: $$$ Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
Rejects:
    Rejections: Yale, Brown, Columbia GSB COMMENTS: I decided to do a PhD only around my junior year or so, I wasn't even actually planning to study economics when I entered university. I did pretty stupid things in my first two years, I think my overall
  • Institution: Yale Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Columbia Business School Finance & Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:

mutatismutandis 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in Political Science/Economics with Honors from a regional university in the US without a graduate economics program
Undergrad GPA: 3.85/4
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 540V/750Q/4.0 AWA
Math Courses: almost none; Calc I (AP), Statistics I/II (A/A); currently registered for Calc II and Linear Algebra
Econ Courses (grad-level): none
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro to Macro (A), Intro to Micro (A), Intro to Geographical Information Systems (A), Intermediate Macro (A-), Intermediate Micro (A), International Trade (A), International Finance (A)
Other Courses: Many international relations / political science courses, notably a course in political economy (A)
Letters of Recommendation: One political science professor, one economics professor, and one from the honors program director
Research Experience: Wrote a political economy thesis entitled "The Mystery of Social Capital: Microfinance, Civil Society, and Long Run Development" which I will be presenting at the NYSPSA conference in April
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Political economy, development, some theory
SOP: Strong
Concerns: Lack of proper math preparation, GRE, LoRs are strong but not the best simply due to my school's reputation, and also I am quite late to the application game
Applying to: NYU (MA), Tufts (MS), BU (MA), Fordham (MA), GWU (MA)
Results:
Accepted: Tufts ($$), BU
Rejected: NYU
NB: Stopped applying after receiving Tufts' offer. It was too good to refuse. Also updated grades (not relevant to this cycle's profile, but for the future when I apply for PhD programs): Linear Algebra (A), Calc II (A-)
Accepts:
    Accepted: Tufts ($$), BU
  • Institution: BU MA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/22/2011 Notified through: e-mail Comments: 1st response
  • Institution: Tufts University MS Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: $20,600 tuition scholarship; $4,500/semester TAship Notification date: 03/22/2011 Notified through: e-mail Comments: Absolutely shocked, honored, and excited. Hoping this will get me on the way to a PhD!
Rejects:
    Rejected: NYU NB: Stopped applying after receiving Tufts' offer. It was too good to refuse. Also updated grades (not relevant to this cycle's profile, but for the future when I apply for PhD programs): Linear Algebra (A), Calc II (A-)
Waitlists:

caledonian2011 2011:
Type of Undergrad: BS from a large Asian Uni (ranked in top 60 in econphd.net), majored in Economics and Applied Mathematics
Undergrad GPA: 3.82 (top undergraduate)
Type of Grad: MS in Economics from a top European uni
Grad GPA: Highest honors, ranked top 5 graduates of about 80 people in cohort
GRE: 800Q, 600V, 5.0AW
Math Courses: Linear algebra I (B), Linear algebra II (A-), Calc (B+), Multivariate Calc (B+), Diff Eq (B-), Mathematical Stats (A+), Probability (A+), Numerical Computation (B-), Real Analysis I (A), Real Analysis II (A-), Complex Analysis (A-)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I, II, II (All A+) .. (intermediate micro is micro II), Macro I, II, III (All A), Econometrics I, II, III (all A+), International econ (A+), Game Theory (A+), IO (A+), Monetary Econ (A-), Financial Econ (B+), Math econ (A+), Health econ (B+)
Econ Courses (grad-level): PhD micro (A-), Phd macro (A), PhD Econometrics (A), Game Theory (A+), price theory (B+), master IO (A), PhD IO (B+), Empirical IO (A-), dynamic optimization (A+), Mircoeconometrics (A+)
Other Courses: None relevant
Letters of Recommendation: 1 master thesis supervisor, 1 undergrad thesis supervisor, 1 from master program... None of them is famous, but all letters should be good or very good
Research Experience: Undergrad Honors thesis (grade A-) and Master thesis (grade A, and currently polishing under my sup to send for publication), and some term papers
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Theoretical and empirical IO, applied microeconometrics
SOP: explained reasons for doing PhD, career goal, and talk (at a rather shallow level) about research interest... did not mention any names of professors
Concerns: Some poor math grades (but math dept in undergrad uni is very stringent in grades), no 800Q (but not retaking), letter of recommendation from not famous people, lack of RA experience
Applying to: (I only have "sufficient money" to apply to around 10 schools). Looking to apply to 4 top 10s (probably MIT, Stanford, Yale, NU) , 4 top 20s (probably Columbia, NYU, UPenn, UCSD)... and 2 "safeties": UIUC and Penn State
Others:I posted my profile on a seperate thread to ask for comments but I didn't get many. If anybody has any advice or comment, please PM me. I will appreciate it very much!
Accepts:
  • Institution: UIUC Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: fellowship and TAship Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution:Penn State economics Decision: Accepted Funding:yes Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Boston University economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Yes Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: UC San Diego economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ? Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Northwestern economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Waitlisted for 1st year funding Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: -
  • Institution: Chicago economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Yes Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: -
  • Institution: Columbia economics Decision: Accepted Funding: yes Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Most likely will attend
Rejects:
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notified through: Mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
Waitlists:
  • Institution: MIT economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: ? Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: Not hopeful at all

thewhiterabbit 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: MIT, SB Economics, SB Political Science, LSE study abroad (General Course)
Undergrad GPA: 4.8/5.0 overall and across both majors (converts directly to 3.8/4.0). All 1st class marks on exams at LSE (4.0/4.0).
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 790Q 660V ?AWA
Math Courses: Statistics (AP), Single Variable Calculus (AP BC), Multivariable Calculus (P under P/no record - mandatory for first term), Principles of Econometrics (LSE advanced intro course, known in UK to be very hard, 1st/A), Differential Equations (credit by advanced standing, B), Linear Algebra (audited), Introduction to Analysis (pending, ~60hance A, 40hance B)
Econ Courses (grad-level): International Economics I (A), Politics and Economics (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro (grad Varian, A), Game Theory (A), Intermediate Macro (B), Econ Research (A), Public Economics (LSE: 1st/A), Development (A), Principles of Micro (B), Principles of Macro (A)
Other Courses: Political Science degree, French concentration
Letters of Recommendation: 3 very recognizable names in my field. They all mentor the very top students regularly (since I'm at MIT) so it is somewhat hard for me to gauge strength of two of them. (I feel a little like a medium sized fish in a big pond)
Research Experience: Oodles: part time RA all through undergrad, full time RA since 2007. ~2 years field work. Speak Indonesian fluently. No journal publications. AAA+ Stata programmer. Best thesis award for political science thesis.
Teaching Experience: After school teacher for middle schoolers, test prep.
Research Interests: Development, behavioral, health
SOP: Have a lot of material to work with, will condense three NSF essays
Concerns: The obvious, math preparation. That I haven't had the chance to coauthor (just hasn't been an option) but some other people in RA jobs do. That I've been out of school longer than most people similar to me.
Other: I've done some cool work in technology innovation that is somewhat relevant to economics and which I wrote about for NSF. I'm really happy with my NSF app (and have been told by profs who are historically very honest with me that it was good).
Applying to:
Funding: NSF
Econ: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, NYU, Chicago, LSE, Columbia, Brown, UCLA, Caltech, UCSD, Oxford, BU, UMD, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, UCL, Georgetown, BC
Other: Berkeley (ARE), Stanford (GSB), Chicago (GSB), Harvard (Public Policy), HSPH Economics
Accepts:
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "You have been nominated for a San Diego Fellowship and your file is currently under review at the UCSD Office of Graduate Studies." - came in later email. Notification date: Feb 11 Notified through: email Comments: First result, so I'm happy
  • Institution: London School of Economics MRes/PhD Track 1 Decision: Accepted Funding: "2+2 Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) studentship which provides full fee remission and maintenance support of 18,590 a year for four years subject to satisfactory progress in your studies." Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comment: A welcome bit of news.
  • Institution: Harvard School of Public Health Doctor of Science (SD) in Global Health and Population, Economics track Decision: Accepted Funding: Pending Notification date: 02/18/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Georgetown Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 5 years, $20,000 Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comment: No decision in the online web portal through ApplyYourself, it looks like, only an email.
  • Institution: Harvard Kennedy School of Government Public Policy Decision: Accepted Funding: Full funding with stipend (no dollar amount mentioned) Notification date: 02/28/2011 Notified through: Voicemail Posted on GC: Not yet
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No first year funding Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: tuition waiver, stipend after first year, can discuss stipend in first year if I want to come. Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Oxford MPhil Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Not decided; haven't even been put through college selection yet. Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: Same UK visa problem.
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: They think I will win NSF Notification date: 3/6/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Um. What?
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: $33,000 Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Now I'm really confused.
  • Institution: BU Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No first year funding at all, afterwards tuition + $19k stipend Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: Will decline immediately
  • Institution: University of Maryland Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Full Fellowship Notification date: 03/11/11 Notified through: Email Comments: I emailed for feedback on my file and reasons for rejection, not asking for it to be reconsidered. The response was a full fellowship offer and an apology for never having read my file. Eesh.
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 20.5k stipend +3.5k summer stipend + tuition waiver, health insurance, etc. Notification date: 3/18/11 Notified through: Email to check Website, letter posted Posted on GC: No Comments: Email came at 9:24am EST.
  • Institution: NSF GRFP Decision: Accepted Notification date: 4/5 Notified through: NSF website Posted on GC: no Comments: Really happy, since funding at MIT was still uncertain. For all future years, it seems like there is a pattern where they announce planned server maintenance on Fastlane from 11pm-5am on some day in early April, and upload the results then. The results become available around 2AM.
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/16/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economic Analysis and Policy Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/18/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comment: Was a terrible fit anyways. Also, I'm presuming I'm out at Caltech and Northwestern, but haven't heard officially.
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: As much as people say admissions are random, I am starting to see a distinctly bright line in the rankings of the places where I am admitted and rejected.
  • Institution: Chicago Booth Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No. Comments: Laughed out loud at "Our action is not intended to discourage your interest in further study nor is it a judgment of your overall ability."
  • Institution: Northwestern University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: University of Maryland, College Park Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - NA Notification date: 03/11/2011 Notified through: email
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/12/11 Notified through: Post Comments:Quelle Surprise!
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Caltech wins among my schools for greatest lag between notifying admits and notifying rejects.
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/17/11 Notified through: Unofficial e-mail after I asked about my status Posted on GC: no
Waitlists:

liamc 2011:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics (Quant. Track), Top 30 liberal arts college, minors in Math & CogSci
Undergrad GPA: 3.77
GRE: 800Q 730V 4.0AWA
Math Courses: Honors Calc I-II (A+), Honors Calc III (A-), Honors Lin Alg (A), Probability (A), Real Analysis I (A), Real Analysis II (A-), Mathematical Neuroscience (A), Grad Analysis (B+), Statistics (IP)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Macro Theory I (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Inter. Micro Theory (A+), Quant. Inter Micro Theory (A-), Statistics (B), Quant. Econometrics (A-), Quant. Game Theory (A), Behavioral Economics Seminar (A), Senior Honors Thesis (IP)
Other Courses: Newton's Principia (A)
Letters of Recommendation: All (supposedly) strong from thesis advisor and econ professor, both somewhat famous, and well-known math professor
Research Experience: Worked in a psych lab 2+ years, presented posters at conferences. Did a theory paper independently and presented it at a conference this year.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Game Theory, Neuroeconomics
SOP: Bold statement of an ambitious research project, and general ode to the economics profession
Concerns: Not looking forward to moving
Other:
Applying to: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern U, Brown, CalTech, Cornell, Duke, Wash U St Louis, BU, BC
Accepts:
  • Institution: Wash U. St Louis Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition waiver + $20400 stipend Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: An acceptance at last!
  • Institution: BU Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: tuition + $19k stipend Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: Sweet!
  • Institution: Cornell Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: None Notification date: 3/22/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: That's cute.
  • Institution: CalTech Behavioral and Social Neuroscience Decision: Accepted Funding: no word, but they fund everybody Notification date: 04/14/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Totally psyched!
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: February 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: Didn't want to live in New Haven anyway.
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 2/25/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: no Comments:
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: BC Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: "Honestly, we feel that it is likely that you will receive offers from top schools, and for this reason, we decided not to make an offer to you at this time." That's nice to hear, but it would really have calmed my nerves to get an admiit.
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Damn.
  • Institution: Brown , Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 03/11 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: no Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton , Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 03/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: no Comments: Now, the day-dreaming ends and the planning begins.
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/12/2011 Notified through: snail mail Posted on GC : no Comments:
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: I was told earlier that I was on the waitlist with "slim" chances of admission, so not too surprising.
Waitlists:

economics girl 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 50 undergrad
Undergrad GPA: 3.42
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 740Q, 590V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-II (B, A-), Math for Economists (A), Linear Algebra (proof-based) (B+), Currently taking Diff EQ, and plan to take Real Analysis over the summer
Econ Courses (grad-level): Took applied economics (A), microeconomics (A), and econometrics (A+) at the AEA Summer Program (these courses are supposedly taught at a "graduate" level)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): intermediate microeconomics (B+), intermediate macroeconomics (A), labor economics (A+), urban economics (A), applied econometrics I-II (A, B), managerial economics (B)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: well-known labor economist (PhD Harvard), an assistant director of AEA (PhD U. Chicago), my employer (PhD UF)
Research Experience: I am currently working as a full-time RA at a public research center. Before that, I worked as an RA for a PhD student for one quarter. At AEASP I did a research project on replication & added to it by updating the paper with newer data. Lastly, during my senior year I was part of the honors program and wrote a senior thesis.
Teaching Experience: I am a certified tutor (CRLA) and tutored microeconomics during my senior year
Research Interests: labor economics, education economics and urban economics.
SOP: Should be fine. I talked about why I had a low GPA, discussed what I have done since graduating (AEASP, RA), and talked about my future plans
Concerns: low grades, GRE score & GPA
Other: I'm only applying to Master's programs and later plan on applying to PhD programs with a better profile and a master's under my belt.
Applying to: Barcelona GSE MSc Economics, LSE MSc Economics, UIUC MSPE, NYU MA Economics, Tufts MS Economics, USC MA Economics, Duke MA Economics, Michigan MA Applied Economics, BU MA Economics
Accepts:
  • Institution: Barcelona GSE MSc in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Notification date: 01/24/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments: Definitely excited!
  • Institution: San Diego State MA in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Pending Notification date: 01/27/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Received the unofficial acceptance email from an old professor.
  • Institution: UC Denver MA Economics Decision: Accepted Notification date: 02/28/2011 Notified through: via email 8 pm EST Posted on GC: Yes Comments: I wonder if they accepted me today because it's my birthday...
  • Institution: UIUC MSPE Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/4 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: I like having options
  • Institution: Duke Economics AM Decision: Accepted Funding: no info Notification date: 3/09/11 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Yay! Didn't think I'd get in. Ready to celebrate Fat Tuesday tonight
  • Institution: Boston University MA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/22/2011 Notified through: e-mail
  • Institution: UCSB MA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/24/2011 Notified through: e-mail to check website
  • Institution: Tufts University MS Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: $30,900 scholarship Notification date: 03/24/2011 Notified through: website Comments: I was not expecting this at all. This is the second best offer I have. I'm gonna take the Duke offer for 60% tuition waiver, though. I'm thrilled!
  • Institution: NYU MA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: N/A Notification date: 4/1/11 Notified through: email Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Cool! But not attending
Rejects:
  • Institution: LSE MSc in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 01/27/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Sad... but not surprised.
  • Institution: LSE MSc in International Health Policy (Health Economics) Decision: Rejected Notification date: 2/21/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Yes Comments: Not surprised. This was my second choice program-- I was rejected from MSc Economics on 1/27
Waitlists:

applied 2011:
Type of Undergrad: Small liberal arts college (Economics major, math minor)
Undergrad GPA: 3.51/4.00 (3.75 in major)
Type of Grad:n/a
Grad GPA:n/a
GRE: 710 Quant. 580 Ver. 5.5 Writing
Math Courses: Applied Calc (B), Calc 1-2 (B+), Differential Equations (B+), Math Structures(A), Linear Algebra (A), Statistics 1-2 (A), Topology (current)
Econ Courses (grad-level):n/a
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Micro and Macro (A), Intermediate micro and macro (A), Economic Development (A), Managerial Econ (current), International Econ (current)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: Three great letters, one very young econ, one penn state phd, and one upenn math phd.
Research Experience: summer research position at tech start-up, independent study/thesis
Teaching Experience: three years as tutor for econ and statistics
Research Interests: Development, Industrial organization, lots of random stuff
Concerns: Very low GRE quant score. I took the GRE having only taken calc I and II, and with only about a week to study.
Applying to: Wharton AE PhD, Penn State PhD, BU MS, UC Irvine PhD, Harvard BE PhD, BC PhD, Northeastern PhD, UMass Amherst PhD
Accepts:
  • Institution: Boston University M.A. in Economics and M.A. in Global Development Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: none Notification date: 3/21/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: Already have my decision made, this was a backup.
Rejects:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 10 Notified through:Email Posted on GC: no Comments: "Our applicant pool is outstanding and unfortunately we cannot offer admission to all good candidates."
  • Institution: Penn State Economics Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/08/11 Notified through: E-Mail Posted on GF: No Comments: meh
Waitlists:

Irrational 2011:
Institution: Barcelona GSE
Program: MSc in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Partial tuition waiver (9,000 €)
Notification date: 01/24/2011
Notified through: e-mail
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Decision until 23/02/2011, which is very early. Still, it's my first admit, so I am kind of happy :-)
Accepts:
  • Institution: Barcelona GSE MSc in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Partial tuition waiver (9,000 €) Notification date: 01/24/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Decision until 23/02/2011, which is very early. Still, it's my first admit, so I am kind of happy :-)
  • Institution: University of Warwick MSc in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Notification date: 01/27/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Another safety accept, which is nice. However I would probably prefer UPF as Warwick does not have any experience with placements into US PhD programs.
  • Institution: University of Oxford Master of Philosophy in Economics (MPhil) Decision: Accepted Funding: Not yet specified Notification date: 03/10/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Does Oxford offer an exchange semester/year? Edit: Called them, they don't.
  • Institution: Duke University AM Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No information yet Notification date: 03/10/2011 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: Sweet. But it felt strange, when they sent me my password in plain text.
  • Institution: University of British Columbia MA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TA (10,914$) and possibly reduced tuition fees Notification date: 03/17/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: -
  • Institution: Boston University Master of Arts in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Nope Notification date: 03/23/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: University of Cambridge MPhil in Economic Research Decision: Accepted Funding: no Notification date: 03/31/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: It is conditional on finishing my Bachelors with minimum 1.5/5.0. This was the same for Oxford, might be interesting for future applications from my country who consider applying to Oxbridge.
  • Institution: London School of Economics and Political Science MSc Economics and Philosophy Decision: Accepted Funding: no, will not apply for funding. Notification date: 04/19/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: It is conditional on finishing my Bachelors with minimum 2.2/5.0. This was my second preference after the EME. They asked me via e-mail to shortly state the reasons for my interest into the program, since my SOP did not mention any philosophy.
  • Institution: University College London MSc Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: no Notification date: 04/26/2011 Notified through: snail mail Posted on GC: no Comments: It is conditional on finishing my Bachelors with minimum 1.5/5.0.
Rejects:
  • Institution: London School of Economics Master of Econometrics and Mathematical Economics (2-year) Decision: Rejected Funding: No Notification date: 03/07/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Queen's University Master of Arts Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 04/13/2011 Notified through: e-mail after I inquired about my application status Posted on GC: no Comments: I guess they have only very few places for international students. Maybe, I should've said in the application, that I do not require funding.
  • Institution: University of Toronto MA Economics (Doctoral stream) Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 05/05/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
Waitlists:

bruin4 2011:
Just created a username, heres what i've heard so far...
Institution: University of New Hampshire
Program: MA Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Tuition waver/RA
Notification date: Mid Feb
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Applied to PhD, letter stated that all applicants without a MA are automatically considered for MA program. Excited to have an offer!
Accepts:
  • Institution: University of New Hampshire MA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition waver/RA Notification date: Mid Feb Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: Applied to PhD, letter stated that all applicants without a MA are automatically considered for MA program. Excited to have an offer!
  • Institutioninstitution: Boston University Master of Arts in Economic Policy Decision: Accepted Funding: N/A Notification Date: March 22, 2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Expensive, don't know if it will be worth it....
Rejects:
Waitlists:

hchoi02 2011:
Institution: BU
Program: Ph.D. in Economics
Decision: accepted
Funding:
Notification Date: just now (10:45 EST)
Notified through: email
Posted on GC: No
Comments:
Accepts:
  • Institution: BU Ph.D. in Economics Decision: accepted Funding: Notification Date: just now (10:45 EST) Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments:
Rejects:
Waitlists:

snowcat 2011:
Institution: Duke
Program: MA Economics
Decision: Rejected
Notification date: 3/15
Notified through: e-mail to check status
Comments: my first rejection. disappointed.
Accepts:
  • Institution: Boston University Master of Arts in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Notification date: 03/24/2011 Notified through: e-mail Comments: Very happy but worried about expensive tuition and living cost there.
Rejects:
  • Institution: Duke MA Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/15 Notified through: e-mail to check status Comments: my first rejection. disappointed.
  • Institution: NYU MA, Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 03/22/2011 Notified through: e-mail Comments: deep sigh
Waitlists:

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!

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

art_vandelay 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BS in Econ/Math
Undergrad GPA: 3.9 (4.0 Econ , 3.9 Math)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q 730V 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calculus (1-3), Probability, Math Stats, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Real Analysis I , Real Analysis II. All As except an A- in Analysis 1 and a B+ in Probability
Econ Courses: Standard courses + some electives (A), Phd Micro (A) , Phd Metrics (A), Phd Math for Econ (A)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 2 well-known, pretty strong. 1 probably somewhere between lukewarm-strong, in retrospect.
Research Experience: RA'd for two summers + a few papers
Teaching Experience: TA'd a couple of courses
Research Interests: Education, IO, Health, Development ... in that order
SOP: A little too standard
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Michigan ($), Duke ($), BU (none first year), Texas ($) , UVa ($)
Waitlists: Maryland
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, MIT, UPenn, Princeton, Stanford, NYU
What would you have done differently?
Would have started writing this paper I have due in 2 hours, last night... Apart from that, not much.
I pulled schools I expected to get into, and got shafted at places I didn't. Yale stung a bit, but I'm otherwise quite happy with how the cycle turned out.
To future generations of TMers, temper your expectations, it really makes the cycle a lot more tolerable.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Michigan ($), Duke ($), BU (none first year), Texas ($) , UVa ($)
  • Institution: UT-Austin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Not as of now, since they think I'll get a higher-ranked offer Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Nice
  • Institution: Duke University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Standard Notification date: 2/28 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Awesome
  • Institution: University of Virginia Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: tuition, health, 20k TAship Notification date: 03/05/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Just declined
  • Institution: Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Nice
  • Institution: BU Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: from the 2nd year Notification date: March 12 notified through: Email posted on GC: NO Comments: damn unfunded admits.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, Yale, MIT, UPenn, Princeton, Stanford, NYU
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: -(Cost of the two six-packs I'm going to need now) Notification date: 2/22/2012 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: On the plus side, it's in New Jersey...
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Maryland
  • Institution: University of Maryland Ph.D. Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:

octane90 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Econ, BS Physics, Math minor (Large Top 25 Public)
Undergrad GPA: 3.92
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 780 Q 630 V 4.5 AW
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Diff Eq, Intro Stat, Linear Algebra, Probability Theory, Stochastic Methods, Financial Mathematics, Math Methods for Theoretical Physics I & II (all A’s)
Econ Courses: Intro Micro, Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, Game Theory, Intro Econometrics, Antitrust Policy, Public Choice, International Trade, 2 Honors Seminars, Honors Thesis, Environmental Economics(@LSE Summer School) (all A’s)
Other Courses: Physics Major
Letters of Recommendation: Honors Thesis Advisor(well known, old guy), Econ Professor(Chicago grad), Physics Professor
Research Experience: Honors Thesis on empirical micro, some minor physics/material science co-authored publications
Teaching Experience: N/A
Research Interests: Applied Econometrics, Sports Economics, Political Economy
SOP: standard I guess?
Other: Phi Beta Kappa
RESULTS:
Acceptances: BU($$)
Waitlists: none
Rejections: MIT, Chicago, Princeton, LSE, Duke, NSF
Pending: none
What would you have done differently? I would have applied to more programs in the 10-20 range. I also would have got a 3rd letter from an econ professor, taken Real Analysis, and perhaps retaken GRE for a perfect Q score.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: BU($$)
Rejects:
    Rejections: MIT, Chicago, Princeton, LSE, Duke, NSF
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: none

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 (

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

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:

applicant12 2012:
Type of undergrad: BS Economics, Finance, Math minor from a mid-sized state university (not flagship), has a well-regarded international business program, econ dept is in the college of art & sciences and has sent some people to some top 20 schools and several people to programs ranked below 20
Undergrad GPA: 3.96/4.00; ranked 1st in both Econ and Finance (my advisers told me this), but rank is not published on transcript
Type of Grad: MA Econ, same school, started Spring 2012
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 770Q 330V 4.0AWA
Math courses: Cal 1-3, Discrete math, Math stats I, II, Linear Algebra (all A's); Real Analysis (A-); ODE (Spring 2012)
Econ courses (all undergrad): Intro micro-macro, Intermediate Micro-Macro, Intro to Econometrics, Money Banking, Game theory, International Economics (all A's); Applied Econometrics (A-)
Other courses: a bunch of business courses for the Finance major
LORs: should all be good to strong
1) Econometrics prof (PhD Illinois) - I did an independent research with her and presented it at the school's undergrad research symposium; working as an RA for her right now
2) Applied econometrics professor (PhD Arizona)
3) International econ prof (PhD Iowa State). Took a class with him and he likes me.
Research exp: presented a research at the school's Undergrad Research Symposium, 1 semester of RA by the time of application, a few papers in classes
Teaching exp: taught short courses on many topics related to computers (MS Office, Web-page building, Photoshop, etc.) at the place where I work
Research Interest: Macro, Monetary, public finance, international finance
SOP: standard. Didn't mention professors' names or anything too particular
Concerns: from a not-so-well-known school, no grad courses yet, low GRE, no ODE
Other: won some university-wide and departmental scholarships; can't attend any school without funding
Applying to: Michigan, Cornell, Maryland, BU, BC, WUSTL, Vanderbilt, Toronto DSMA
Accepts:
  • Institution: Boston University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: no $ first year, TA/RA 2-5 of at least $19,300 stipend + tuition Notification date: 3/14 (Happy pi day!!!!) at 11.30am EST Posted on GC: Does 15 minutes save you less than 150n car insurance? - answer is NO. This is not to promote Geico by any means. Comments: no $ 1st year. Probably can't go SAD
Rejects:
  • Institution: Vanderbilt Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 2/10/2012 Notified through: email and change in application status page Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Maryland (UMD) Economics Decision: Rejected Notification Date 3/9/2012 Notified through: testudo Posted on GC: No Comments: ​My hope of going to grad school is fading fast
  • Institution: Michigan Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comment: Expected but sad. Guess I won't be able to attend grad school this fall?
  • Institution: Washington University - WUSTL Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: I called the department and was told they couldn't offer me admission Posted on GC: No Comments: Disappointed Very sad. I was expecting an official notification. I don't know why they kept me (and obviously a few other among us) in limbo
Waitlists:

strugglin 2012:
Good post? |
Accepts:
  • Institution: BU Economics Phd Decision: Accepted Funding: Years 2-5 Notification date: 03.14.2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: aww hell nah! Comments: about time! email not personalized outside of funding
Rejects:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/16/2012 Notified Through: E-mail to check website. Posted to GC: Absolutely not. Comments: Expected, no interview
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

HowCanIfly 2012:
Institution: Princeton University.
Program: Economics PhD.
Decision: Rejected.
Funding:
Notification Date: March 8.
Notified Through: E-mail.
Posted on GC: No.
Comments: My top choice is gone...
Institution: UCSD
Program: Economics PhD.
Decision: Rejected.
Funding:
Notification Date: March 9.
Notified Through: E-mail.
Posted on GC: No.
Comments: The last chance to live in California..
Accepts:
  • Institution: BU Economics PhD Decision: Admitted FUnding: from the 2nd year Notification date:march 12 notified through: email posted on GC: NO Comment: No money... no party
Rejects:
  • Institution: Princeton University. Economics PhD. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification Date: March 8. Notified Through: E-mail. Posted on GC: No. Comments: My top choice is gone...
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification Date: March 9. Notified Through: E-mail. Posted on GC: No. Comments: The last chance to live in California..
Waitlists:

minicooper 2012:
Institution: BU
Program: Economics Phd
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Years 2-5
Notification date: 3-14
Notified through: email
Posted on GC: No
Comments: After 12 rejections, I finally got my first admit !!!
Accepts:
  • Institution: BU Economics Phd Decision: Accepted Funding: Years 2-5 Notification date: 3-14 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: After 12 rejections, I finally got my first admit !!!
Rejects:
Waitlists:

Swagonomics 2012:
Institution: University of Toronto
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Admitted
Funding: 32 000$
Notification Date: 3/15/2012
Notified Through: E-mail
Posted to GC: No
Comments: Feels good.
Accepts:
  • Institution: University of Toronto Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: 32 000$ Notification Date: 3/15/2012 Notified Through: E-mail Posted to GC: No Comments: Feels good.
  • Institution: Boston University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/23/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
Rejects:
Waitlists:

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


Rejections:

macrotime 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Third world country (unknown to most)
Undergrad GPA: 76/100 (math 90/100)
Type of Grad: Third world country (well known top program)
Grad GPA: 6/7
GRE: 780Q/500V/4.5A
Math Courses: Calculus, Linear algebra, ODE, Dynamic prog., optimization, probability, econometrics
Econ Courses: micro, macro, just as many courses an econ major should take
Letters of Recommendation: 1 (MIT), 2 (NYU), 1 (Duke), 1 (UCLA) all of them really strong. 4 of them publish or have published in top journals, one less known.
Research Experience: 2 years as an RA in a well known research institute, 2 years working in an interntional organization but in a more policy oriented position
Teaching Experience: TA ecometrics grad level, TA international macroeconomics, instructor undergard macro, TA while undergrad macro, an intro courses to economics
Research Interests: Macro, econometrics
SOP: Honest, just described my research interests
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Duke ($$)
Georgetown (no $$)
Rochester ($$)
Waitlists:
NYU
Rejections:
MIT
Harvard
Northwestern
Columbia
BU
What would you have done differently?
First, I would have resaerched more the universities I wanted to apply. Probably, that would have led me to apply to other set of universities. I would have worked less, and I would have taken more math classes.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Duke ($$) Georgetown (no $$) Rochester ($$)
Rejects:
    Rejections: MIT Harvard Northwestern Columbia BU
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: NYU

MNGoon 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics and Political Science with a Math Minor from large state University top 25ish in general, top 20 in Econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.07/4.0
Type of Grad: Master of Regional Planning
Grad GPA: 3.8/4
GRE: 780Q, 710V, 800A
Math Courses: Calculus (multi variate), Linear Algebra, Differential Equations
Econ Courses (PhD-level): None
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Public, Input-Output, IO, Urban, Housing, Game Theory, Micro and Macro Theory
Other Courses: A whole pile of Economic Development and GIS courses for Masters
Letters of Recommendation: 3 economic develoment professors (1 UC-Berkely PhD, 1 Cornell PhD, 1 Rutgers PhD), all extremely solid.
Research Experience: RA for Econ Development Prof, thesis, and cited extension work
Teaching Experience TA for Masters level Urban and Spatial Econ
Research Interests: Public Finance, Urban Econ, Spatial Modeling, Community Economic Development, Extension
SOP: Critiqued by Econ Profs
Other: Been out of school for a while, Former Peace Corps Volunteer, Currently working for a non-profit loan fund
RESULTS:
Attending: UW-Madison (Agricultural and Applied Economics)
Acceptances: Applied/Ag Econ Programs: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia State, Clemson
Waitlists:
Rejections: Econ Programs: Brown, BU, UMass-Amherst, UConn Applied: Cornell, Wharton, UNC
What would you have done differently? Maybe not have waited until I turned 30 to accept an offer. In all seriousness, as far as the application process goes, I would not have done anything differently. I spent last summer talking to former professors and asked them to introduce me to the people they know in departments that they thought would be a good fit for me. I also talked to them extensively about my interests and the work I had done with them in the past so that they would have more information to draw upon when writing the LORs. As a result, I got into more, and better programs than my profile may have suggested. I am though going to get my *** handed to me at Madison.
Accepts:
    Attending: UW-Madison (Agricultural and Applied Economics) Acceptances: Applied/Ag Econ Programs: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia State, Clemson
Rejects:
    Rejections: Econ Programs: Brown, BU, UMass-Amherst, UConn Applied: Cornell, Wharton, UNC
Waitlists:
    Waitlists:

xbar 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Economics: Management Science (Top 10 US Institution by IDEAS)
Undergrad GPA: Econ: 3.5/4, Highest Distinction; Cumulative: 3.14
GRE: 800Q, 550V, 4.5W
Math Courses (undergrad): Calc II (B-), Calc III (C+), Linear Alg (B-), Mathematical Reasoning (B)
Econ Courses (grad): Econometrics I (B), Micro I (B-)
Econ Courses (undergrad): Everything besides macro (A's and B's)
Other Courses: Bob Marley and History of Jamaican Culture, MMW 5
Letters of Recommendation: MIT, Stanford GSB, UCSD
Research Experience: Senior Thesis (A)
Teaching Experience: TA for one year (Intro. Micro/Macro)
Research Interests: Econometrics, Game Theory
SOP: Concise.
RESULTS:
Attending: Rochester
Acceptances: Rochester ($$)
Rejections: Penn State, JHU, Cal, Brown, BU
What would you have done differently?
Stress out less. Maybe taken one or two more grad courses. Topology, just because it is interesting in itself.
Accepts:
    Attending: Rochester Acceptances: Rochester ($$)
Rejects:
    Rejections: Penn State, JHU, Cal, Brown, BU
Waitlists:

mjsmith1986 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ from small but respectable liberal arts college with well known Econ researchers; they don't do minors but I have taken enough math to qualify for a "minor" at other schools
Undergrad GPA: 3.67 cumulative, 3.83 econ
GRE: 800Q, 590V, 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I (A-), Calc II (A), Calc III (A), Linear Algebra (A), Proofs and Fundamentals (B), Stats (A), Real Analysis I (A), Topology (A), Real Analysis II (Spring '09), Dynamical Systems (Spring '09)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): The relevant ones: Intermediate Micro (B+), Intermediate Macro (A), Advanced Micro (A), Econometrics (A), Senior Thesis (A)
Other Courses: Some political studies/physics
Letters of Recommendation: Two from Econ Profs (UT-Austin and Yale), one from Math Prof (head of Math dept.)
Research Experience: RA for Econometrics professor; Awarded summer research grant (co-authored a paper with a professor, in publishing stages); senior thesis
Teaching Experience: TA for intro micro
Research Interests: Labor Economics (specifically Economics of Education), Behavioral Economics, basically Applied Micro and Econometrics stuff.
SOP: Just talked about my research experience and interests.
Other: Applied for an NSF grant to build on some conclusions from my undergraduate thesis.
Concerns: That my Verbal score might be a little low. I was easily testing in the high 600s but I basically rushed through it on the GRE to get to the Quant. I also declared a late major in Econ (in my junior year) and have spent the last year and a half rushing to make up the appropriate math/econ courses for grad school, so I don't know whether that sends a good or bad signal to the adcomms. Also, high volume of apps this year with rather homegenous profiles.
What I would have done different: Majored in math from the start. Curse my fickle interests!
Applying to: Princeton (Woodrow Wilson School), Cornell, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, George Mason, Carnegie Mellon, Boston U, Boston College, Virginia, Duke
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Boston College ($$), Johns Hopkins ($), UVA ($?)
Rejections: Princeton, Brown, Maryland, George Mason, Boston U, Duke, CMU
Pending: Cornell (Probably rejected)
ATTENDING: Boston College
What could I have done differently?
As I said before, I would have majored in math from the start rather than rushing in my last semesters to make up the appropriate coursework. Aside from that, not much; I am pleased to have the offer that I do and am looking forward to graduate school!

Accepts:
    Acceptances: Boston College ($$), Johns Hopkins ($), UVA ($?)
Rejects:
    Rejections: Princeton, Brown, Maryland, George Mason, Boston U, Duke, CMU
Waitlists:
    Pending: Cornell (Probably

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 ($$), Suffolk U ($), and the New School ()
Waitlists: Boston C, U Washington, U North Carolina, Georgetown U
Rejections: Johns Hopkins U, U Maryland, Boston U, George Washington U, Michigan U
What would you have done differently?
Very happy with this outcome. I spread my applications far and wide, so I am sure that I got into the best program that I could have - and then I fell in love with CUNY on a campus visit. As for advice to others, I have a huge hole in my transcript where there should have been upper-level math courses, and I should have corrected that.
Accepts:
    Attending: City University of New York, Graduate Center. $18k "Enhanced Chancellor's Fellowship," guaranteed for 5 years. Admitted, Declined: American U ($-WL), Northeastern U ($$), Suffolk U ($), and the New School ()
Rejects:
    Rejections: Johns Hopkins U, U Maryland, Boston U, George Washington U, Michigan U
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Boston C, U Washington, U North Carolina, Georgetown U

Texcards 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Minor Economics and Math at very large state school (top 15 engineering, top 50 economics)
Undergrad GPA: 3.35/4.0 (3.65 Math, 4.0 Econ)
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q, 550V, 4.0AW
Math Courses: Calc I-III(A,B,A), Differential Equations (B), Linear Algebra (A), Mathematical Probability and Statistics (A), Fund Discrete Math (Spring 09)
Econ Courses: Principles of Micro and Macro (A, CR by exam), Intermediate Micro and Macro theory, Econometrics (A,A,A)
Other Courses: Lots of engineering
Letters of Recommendation: 2 not well known assistant econ professors (UT-Austin, Rice) but excelled in their classes, 1 associate engr professor (Berkeley) that I went on a study abroad trip with
Research Experience: none
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: International and Development
SOP: Paragraph about why I wanted to do econ even though I did engineering as an undergrad, another on my interests, and another on why I wanted to be an academic. Slightly altered my interests paragraph depending on the school, but for the most part the same for each one.
Other: Didnt start considering this until fall of last year.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UC Riverside (Fellowship), University of San Francisco MA in International and Development Economics (1/2 tuition remission + TA), UC Davis, University of Washington, UC Santa Cruz, Colorado, Oregon, UI-Chicago
Waitlists: Oregon fellowship, eventually notified of no funding
Rejections: Maryland, Boston University, Boston College, UT Austin, Michigan State, Georgetown, UBC MA
Pending: Toronto MA, Queens MA
What would you have done differently?
I wouldnt have applied to the Canadian MAs (1 year wouldnt have been enough to help me), Michigan State, UCSC, or UI-Chicago and maybe applied to a couple more reaches instead, but I really didn't think I would get into as many as I did. I dont know if it would have changed anything though, after really thinking about it I think an MA is a very good choice for me. Ive realized that my 3 economics courses hasnt given me enough of a background in general economics knowledge. Yes I could learn it in the course of a PhD but I think strengthening my economics background will allow me to have more focus on what field I want to go into and give me more ideas when I eventually start to write my dissertation. An MA will also allow me to improve 3 big weaknesses in my profile: (1) Do some research which will allow me to have (2) stronger letter of recommendations and (3) a more focused SOP.
I think I learned a lot in this application process and feel like I will be able to put together a much better application in 2 years after an MA.
Attending:
University of San Francisco MA in International and Development Economics
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UC Riverside (Fellowship), University of San Francisco MA in International and Development Economics (1/2 tuition remission + TA), UC Davis, University of Washington, UC Santa Cruz, Colorado, Oregon, UI-Chicago
  • Institution: UC-Riverside Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship: 13.5K stipend first year, 16.6K TA/RA next 4 + Health Insurance Notification date: 1/22/09 Notified through: E-mail Comments: My super safety
  • Institution: UC-Davis Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: End of March Notification date: 2/4/09 Notified through: e-mail Comments: Very Excited! Especially if I get funded!
  • Institution: UC Santa Cruz International Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: "I regret that I am unable to offer you any financial support at this time" Notification date: 2/20/09 Notified through:Email Comments: Surprised again... too bad there is no funding
  • Institution: Oregon Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "Currently being evaluated for a graduate teaching fellowship" Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Kind of expected after the UCSC and Davis admits. I'm hoping it will replace Riverside as my best funded offer. Even if I am funded, will likely decline in favor of Davis
  • Institution: UI-Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Mid-March Notification date: 3/6/09 Notified through: USPS letter dated 2/26, postmarked 3/3 Comments: I applied to far too many safeties.
  • Institution: University of Colorado, Boulder Economics, PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: None Notification date: 3/12 Notified through: Email Comments: I was hoping I would get funded...
  • Institution: Washington-Seattle Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "Cannot offer you funds right now" Notification date: 3/24 Notified through: e-mail Comments: I e-mailed the grad director and got a response saying I was "very appealing" and if I wanted an unfunded offer they would send me a letter of admission "right away."
  • Institution: University of San Francisco International and Development Economics (IDEC), Master's Decision: Accepted Funding: Didn't say anything about it Notification date: 4/11/2009 Notified through: Postal Mail Comments: Would actually consider this if they fund me...but will definitely decline if not (EDIT: No funding, will decline)
Rejects:
    Rejections: Maryland, Boston University, Boston College, UT Austin, Michigan State, Georgetown, UBC MA
  • Institution: UT-Austin Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/12 Notified through: Website Comments: Oh well...
  • Institution: Maryland Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/13 Notified through: Website Comments: Expected...
  • Institution: UBC Economics, MA Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/18 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Wasn't ever really sure I would want to go this route and go through this whole process again anyways...
  • Institution: Boston College Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Agora Comments: Grad A+S Decision Letter mailed, I am assuming this is a rejection but I'm on spring break so I can't check my mail! Edit: officially a rejection!
  • Institution: Michigan State University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/25 Notified through: response to my inquiry email Comments: I don't think I would have liked living in East Lansing anyways
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/27 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Continuing the trend of no East Coast love
  • Institution: Georgetown Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 4/13/2009 Notified through: E-Mail Comments: Finally after sending 2 e-mails.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Oregon fellowship, eventually notified of no funding

untitled 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Math, BA International Studies (mid ranked Midwest Flagship State School)
Undergrad GPA: 3.65
Type of Grad: M.S. Math (mid ranked but slightly better Midwest Flagship State School)
Grad GPA: 3.6
GRE: 800Q, 600V, 5.5AW (scored 800, 590, 6 before MS degree)
Math Courses (undergrad): Lots, some Bs, B+/A- average
Math (grad): Lots, still a couple Bs, A- average
Econ Courses (grad): Few
Econ Courses (undergrad): None
Other Courses: Physics Minor, once, lots of Poli Sci before I realized math + poli sci =~ econ
Letters of Recommendation: Two Math, One Poli Sci, One Econ. Econ was extremely strong
Research Experience: Math Thesis, RA at academic leaning econ consulting firm
Teaching Experience: Taught micro, macro, math econ, and econ stats principles courses during two year stint at local university while working as a consultant
Research Interests: Econometrics, Resource Economics, Decision Theory, Development
SOP: Focused on work/research experience - probably would have done it differently
Concerns: yes, mostly private.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: University of Washington - Seattle
Waitlists: none
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, Duke, Boston University, Davis, Pittsburgh, UCSD, UBC
What would you have done differently?
I can think of one or two classes where an A might have made a difference. Also, it might have been helpful to take at least some econ classes as an undergrad, but I'm glad I didn't, as I enjoyed my undergrad enough. Many private things.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: University of Washington - Seattle
  • Institution: University of Washington - Seattle Economics Ph.D. Decision: Accepted Funding: Pending (I hope) Notification date: 3/14 Notified through: E-mail Comments:
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, Duke, Boston University, Davis, Pittsburgh, UCSD, UBC
  • Institution: Duke Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Notification date: 2/17 Notified through: E-mail / Website Comments:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Notification date: 2/20 Notified through: E-mail/Website Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/6 Notified through: E-mail Comments:
  • Institution: UC-Davis Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/11 Notified through: E-mail Comments:
  • Institution: Pittsburgh Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/17 Notified through: E-mail Comments:
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/19 Notified through: E-mail Comments:There were a couple other top 10 schools, but you get the picture.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: none

jito32 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Finance from Univ Florida
Undergrad GPA: 3.89/4
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800Q, 650V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc Sequence (A), Sets & Logic (A) Diff. Eq, Linear Algebra, Mathematical Statistics next semester
Econ Courses: Principles (As) Intermediate Micro (A) Urban next semester
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ professors, one great one good, 1 from finance lecturer
Research Experience: RA for a year
Teaching Experience: TA for a year
Research Interests: Macro, public, interational
SOP: Boiler plate
Concerns: Just decided to pursue the degree this summer, so lacking in math/econ classes.
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Waitlists:
Rejections:
Pending: Stanford, Princeton, Cornell, Brown, Rochester, Boston U, Texas, Virginia, WUSTL, Iowa, George Mason
What you would have done differently: Started applying sooner. I knew all semester what I was doing but somehow everything got pushed back with my late GRE date of November 1st. Wish I would have read this forum earlier.
Accepts:
    Acceptances:
  • Institution: George Mason Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/26 Notified through: Mail Comments: 1st admit, kinda neat...just not sure I'm going to attend.
  • Institution: University of Texas Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Notification date: 4/7/2009 Notified through: E-mail Comments: No funding... probably going to stay at UF and take math classes.
Rejects:
    Rejections:
  • Institution: Cornell Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 2/26/09 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Pretty much expected. Now I miss not having any notifications in my inbox...
  • Institution: Rochester Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Was unsure about this one. Too bad
  • Institution: Princeton Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Expected.
  • Institution: Stanford Econ Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/6 Notified through: Email Comments: Oh-fer-four. Time for a plan B?
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/20 Notified through: E-mail Comments:
  • Institution: Virginia Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/26 Notified through: Checked website Comments: -
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/27 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Yyyyep.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists:
  • Institution: UT-Austin Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Notification date: 3/20 Notified through: E-mail Comments: It didn't say rejected!

DesperateEconomist 2009:
It's time to do this:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Bachelor in Business Administration, prestigious institution in Latin America.
Undergrad GPA: 7.6/10
Type of Grad: Master in Economics, same institution than undergrad.
Grad GPA: 8/10
GRE: 800Q, 490V, 4.0AWA
TOEFL: 104 (30R, 30L, 20S, 24W)
Math Courses: Mathematics I, II, Linear Algebra, Metric Spaces, Statistics I, II, III, Mathematical Economics (grad).
Econ Courses (Masters): Macro I, II, Micro I, II, Metrics, Time Series and others not so relevant.
Econ Courses (undergrad): Macro, Micro, no Metrics.
Other Courses: Several other courses, but with small or no relevance for admission purposes.
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ professors (1 Chicago PhD, 1 UCLA PhD, 1 Cornell PhD), and I believe that all of them are solid.
Research Experience: RA for two econ professors and currently working on my master's thesis. I also presented a paper in an economics meeting in my country.
Teaching Experience: TA for two graduate courses (Macro and Time Series) and 1 undergrad course (Statistics).
Research Interests: Macro and IO.
SOP: The usual stuff: I put a brief description of my profile and talked about my preferences and why I think I would succeed in their program.
Concerns: Low score on the speaking section of the TOEFL. Maybe my math background is not as strong as desired by some schools. At least a few low grades that could hurt me.
Applying to: Berkeley, Boston College, BU, Cornell, Columbia, Maryland, MSU, Minnesota, Northwestern, NYU, UT Austin, UCLA, UPenn, Washington St. Louis, Yale.
Accepts:
  • Institution: Boston College Economics, PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Full tuition + 15.6K RAship Notification date: 03/01 Notified through: E-mail Comments:
  • Institution: Michigan State Economics Ph.D Decision: Accepted Funding: tuition+health insurance+13.4Kmin TAship Notification date: 3/3 Notified through: E-mail with an acceptance letter attached Comments: Very happy, it's good to have options!
  • Institution: Washington University in St. Louis Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Full tuition plus 9K fellowship Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: E-mail Comments:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: Feb 5th Notified through: E-mail Comments: Expected because they were rejecting a lot of internationals, but it was disappointing nonetheless.
  • Institution: Yale University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 20th Notified through: Email and website. Comments: T-13 and counting...
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/25/09 Notified through: E-mail Comments: 0-3 so far...
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/02 Notified through: E-mail Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/4 Notified through: Website Comments: At least I don't have to wait anymore...
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/4 Notified through: Email with an attached letter
  • Institution: UCLA Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: E-mail/attachment Comments: Completely expected by now....
  • Institution: Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: E-mail directing me to website. Comments: No surprise here...
  • Institution: UPenn Economics PhD Decision: Rejected again Notification date: 3/6/09 Notified through: E-mail Comments: I had already received an email with an attached letter, now I get an email asking me to check the website!
  • Institution: Maryland Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/13 Notified through: Website Comments: By now, it was completely expected...
  • Institution: NYU Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/18 Notified through: E-mail
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/27 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Finally!
Waitlists:

sappy 2009:
Institution: Yale University
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 2/20/09
Notified through: Website
Comments: first rejection...
Accepts:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/20/09 Notified through: Website Comments: first rejection...
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/01 Notified through: checked through apply yourself Comments: D'oh
  • Institution: University of Chicago Decision: Rejected Cost: Pride(ish) Notification date: Today, Letter dated March 6 2009 Notified through: postal service
  • Institution: Cornell University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 7/4/2009 Notified through: E-mail Comments:
  • Institution: Boston University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 7/4/2009 Notified through: E-mail Comments:
Waitlists:

decision09 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 overall, top 15 econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.75/4.00 Graduated High Honors Economics
GRE: 760Q, 580V, 5.0 AW (last year 740Q)
Math Courses: Analysis I (B)(blew first 2 exams but aced final to save myself), Modern Algebra (B+), Probability Theory (A-), Ord Diff Eq (A), Combinatorics(Winter 2010), CalcI,II,II,LA(A)
Math Courses (Grad): Intro Topology (Winter 2010)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (A-), Random Field Courses (A), Research Seminars (B+(due to ULWriting) and A), Game Theory (A), Time series Analysis (A-)
Econ Courses (Grad): Micro I (B+), Micro II (B), Econometrics I (B), Math for Economists (B)
Letters of Recommendation: Well-known senior professor from research seminar
The other from a younger associate prof, said he wrote me an A+ letter (took game theory with him + unofficial adviser)
Research Experience: Financial econometrics research for senior thesis(publication: in process); experimental micro theory research. Labor research paper that will likely become my third year paper for my PhD, it caught the interest of a Senior person at my undergrad institution.
Teaching Experience: None.
Research Interests: Everything but Theoretical Econometrics.
Statement of Purpose: Much better the second time around but still about 1800 words, I had a few things to write about my career outside of econ and how it will influence my research.
Other:
Concerns: Poor performance in critical math classes, test jitters!
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Wisconsin Madison, Cornell
Rejections: Umich, Penn, Yale, Texas, Penn State, BU, Maryland, Mich State, Princeton, Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, CalTech, Stanford, Northwestern, Duke
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Wisconsin Madison, Cornell
Rejects:
    Rejections: Umich, Penn, Yale, Texas, Penn State, BU, Maryland, Mich State, Princeton, Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, CalTech, Stanford, Northwestern, Duke
Waitlists:

nnweconphd 2010:
Type of Undergrad: BS in Mathematics and Economics, Top 80ish public university
Undergrad GPA: 3.5-3.6
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q, 350V, 4.0AWA
Math Courses: Calculus Sequence(A/A+), Linear Algebra(A), Discrete Math(A), Abstract Algebra(B), Geometry(A), Real Analysis(A), Graph Theory(A), Intro to Statistics(A-), Probability Theory(B), Differential Equations(In progress), Optimization(In progress)
Econ Courses (Undergraduate): Intro Micro(A-), Intro Macro(B), Intermediate Micro(A-), Intermediate Macro(A), Econometrics(A-), some others, grades vary, two A+, one B+, and one C+(sigh), three in progress
Econ Courses (Graduate): None
Letters of Recommendation: I don't think any of them is really well known and I actually have no idea how the letters are.
Research Experience: None
Teaching Experience: Tutor math and hold review sessions
Research Interests: Micro theory, econometrics, international
Concern:
1.Bad GRE Verbal and writing grade. I am international and graduating in three years with double major so I didn't have time preparing for the test. I might have been better off taking a TOFEL test at least to show that I don't have trouble with English.
2.Bad Econ grades. My econ gpa should be around 3.5, very bad. I even got a C+ in one course. I was too aggressive and took too many courses each semester which resulted in bad grade.
3.LORs. I had a hard time finding professors that can write me good letters. I rarely talked with econ professors but spent more time in the math department. So I don't think the letters were good.
4.No research experience, not even senior thesis
RESULTS:
Acceptances:None
Rejections: Cornell, Brown, UW-Madison, UPitt, BU,UW-Seattle, UCI(they said my GRE Verbal was too low and it's not likely that I be accepted)
Pending: Purdue
What would you have done differently?
Except for the listings above under Concern, I would have done some more research before choosing schools, say, at least wouldn't have put UCI on the list since they are strict with students' verbal and TOFEL grades. I would also have applied to a larger number of schools and put some more safeties.
It's a very disappointing result but I am not despair. I am not waiting for Purdue and I've decided to stay at school for one more year to take some graduate level econ courses to convince adcoms that I can do well in economics. Hopefully with the grades of current semester and next fall, my GPA can go up a little bit. And my summer might mostly be contributed to GRE Verbal and AWA.
Accepts:
    Acceptances:None
Rejects:
    Rejections: Cornell, Brown, UW-Madison, UPitt, BU,UW-Seattle, UCI(they said my GRE Verbal was too low and it's not likely that I be
  • Institution: Cornell University Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 02/26/2010 Notified through: email Comments: eventually, very disappointing, no acceptance so far
  • Institution: Cornell University Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 02/26/2010 Notified through: email Comments: eventually, very disappointing, no acceptance so far
  • Institution: University of Pittsburgh Econ Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notified through: E-mail Date: 3/8 Comment: still no acceptance so far...
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/9 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment: expected, no acceptance so far
  • Institution: Brown Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Email (check website) Comments: only 3 more to go, still no acceptance
Waitlists:
    Pending: Purdue

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 $$), George Washington (no $), Rutgers (no $)
Waitlists: none
Rejections: too many! NYU, BU, UCLA, UCSD, Cornell, CMU, UPenn, MIT and Columbia (for different programs, not econ)
Pending: Georgetown (that's a no, but I havent gotten the letter yet), CUNY (also probably a no or an unfunded offer)
Attending: I haven't been able to decide yet.
What would you have done differently?
If I had known earlier that I wanted to study Econ, I would have taken more math. I am taking the classes I should have had now and I know that I am really good at them, but there was no way for the adcoms to know that if they only saw my grade from Calc I. I also should have applied to International Political Economy PhD programs, rather than Economics PhDs, because I am much better prepared for those with numerous internships and publications at government organizations and NGOs. A reality check was very necessary, but unfortunately, I had nobody to turn to and had to figure it all out on my own. On the other hand, I got accepted to all of my safeties and to schools that match my research interests. If I didn't care about location and I had external funding, I would have been super-happy.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: American ($$), UMass ($), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ($$), Fordham (2nd on
  • Institution: Rutgers Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: no info Notification date: I found out today Notified through: I was not actually notified. I logged into my profile on their website and under Decision it said "Congratulations, you have been accepted" Posted on Gradcafe: (yes or no) No Comments: I still havent received an official letter or email. I am worried about funding.
  • Institution: UMass Amherst Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification date: 2/15 Notified Through: Phone call Posted on Grad Cafe: No
  • Institution: Rutgers Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: none Notified through: email --
  • Institution: UMass Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notified through: phone --
  • Institution: Fordham Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: waitlist for funding Notified through: email --
  • Institution: American University Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: fellowship Notified through: phone Date: March 5 Comment: I am so happy - finally a dream school said yes! Awesome! All times are GMT. The time now is 10:40 PM. Page 10 of 10 « First < 6789 10 Show 30 post(s) from this thread on one page Copyright © 2009 TestMagicAd Management by RedTyger SEO by vBSEO 3.2.0
  • Institution: American University Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: fellowship Notified through: phone Date: March 5 Comment: I am so happy - finally a dream school said yes! Awesome!
  • Institution: GWU Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: ??? Notification date: 3/26 Notified through: website Comments: when do we find out about funding? Is GWU better than American?
Rejects:
    Rejections: too many! NYU, BU, UCLA, UCSD, Cornell, CMU, UPenn, MIT and Columbia (for different programs, not econ)
  • Institution:Cornell Econ Decision:Reject Funding: N/A Notification date:8th Feb 2010 Notified through:email
Waitlists:
    waitlist for $$), George Washington (no $), Rutgers (no $) Waitlists: none

blablabla 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A in Economics, top South American University
Undergrad GPA: 7.9/10.0
Type of Grad: M.A in Economics, same University
Grad GPA: 3.95 (converted). 8 A's and 1 B
GRE: 800Q 490V 3.5 AWA
TOEFL: 103
Math Courses: Calculus I and II, Linear Algebra, Math Economics I and II, Math Economics (grad level: sort of a real analysis course)
Econ Courses (undergrad level): A lot.
Econ Courses (grad level): Micro I and II, Macro I, Econometrics I and II, Microdevelopment I and II, Contract Theory
Other Courses: NA
Letters of Recommendation: 1 PhD UCLA and 1 PhD BU (probably very good ones), 1 PhD Yale and 1 PhD Chicago (probably not so good ones)
Research Experience: Nothing special. 1 year in a research foundation
Teaching Experience: 1 semester as TA for grad Econometrics I, 1 semester as TA for undergrad Econometrics II
Research Interests: Development Economics, Microeconometrics
SoP: Standard, I think.
Other: NA
RESULTS:
Acceptances: A few. Wisconsin-Madison (no $ 1yr), Maryland ($), Brown ($), LSE MRes/Track 1 (no $)
Waitlists: None
Rejections: A lot. MIT, Yale, Northwestern, Berkeley, NYU, Duke, Michigan, BU, UCL, Princeton, Stanford, Chicago, Cornell
Pending: None
Attending: Brown
What would you have done differently?
1. Get higher grades as an undergrad.
2. Lack of math. I would have taken real analysis/measure theory
3. One of the probably-not-so-good letter of recommendation is my currently advisor. HUGE mistake.
Anyway, I am happy with my outcome! Good luck to all future applicants!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: A few. Wisconsin-Madison (no $ 1yr), Maryland ($), Brown ($), LSE MRes/Track 1 (no $)
Rejects:
    Rejections: A lot. MIT, Yale, Northwestern, Berkeley, NYU, Duke, Michigan, BU, UCL, Princeton, Stanford, Chicago, Cornell
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: None

epinefrin 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Mathematics, one of the best in my country
Undergrad GPA: 3.35 (it is hard to get it: the graduation average is 2.78)
Type of Grad: M.A Economics (one of the other best
Grad GPA: 3.87
GRE: 800Q / 400V / 3.5AWA. TOEFL: 101 (R:27 L:27 S:22 W:25 )
Math Courses: Undergrad: Calculus I-II-III (BA), Real Analysis I-II (CB-DC!!!), Linear Algebra (AA), Algebra I-II (AA-BA), Statistics (BA), Probability (BA), Differential Eqns (AA), Calculus of Variations (AA), Matrix Theory(The GRE Big Book), other courses like Numerical Analysis-Mathematical Logic-Discrete Math I,II-Coding Theory are ranging between AA and The GRE Big Book.
Grad: Math for Econ (A-)
Econ Courses: Undergrad: Intro-Intermediate Micro (AA-BA), Intro-Inter-Advanced Macro (AA-BA-BA), Mathematical Statistics I-II(AA), Econometrics I-II (AA-BA)
Grad: Macro I-II (A), Econometrics I-II (A), Micro I-II(A-, B+), Time Series (A), Independent Study about econometrics and Time series (A)
Other Courses: U/G: Lots of German and French Courses, lots of Physics and Chemistry, and Seminar Course where I presented my (some kind of) undergrad thesis (or graduation project)
Grad: Financial Markets and Institutions (A), from the Industrial Eng. department Stochastic Processes and their Applic. (Intro and Adv) (non-credit)
Letters of Recommendation: 4 professors. A good reference (I hope!) from my thesis advisor but he is from Europe, thus not known much in US. Others are moderate ref. letters.
Research Experience: Master thesis and undergrad thesis.
Teaching Experience: Undergrad & Grad Econometrics I-II TA (4 semesters), instructor in the math camp for the 1st year master students.
Research Interests: (both theoretical and applied) Econometrics, Time Series, Macroeconometrics and Monetary Economics.
SOP: How my math undergrad contributed my career, explained my theoretical master thesis
Concerns: Not much research experience, bad Real Analysis grades (!), and not much known ref. letters.
Applying to: Yale, LSE, UCSD, Northwestern, UPenn, Columbia, Duke, Cornell, Wisconsin-Madison, Ohio State, Boston U, Boston College, UNC Chapel Hill, Michigan State, Washington Uni St.Louis, UNC State Raleigh, Pompeu Fabra, Tinbergen, Carlos III
In: Ohio State (waitlisted for funding)
Waitlist: Boston College
Out: Yale, LSE, Northwestern, UPenn(implicit), Columbia, Duke, Cornell, Wisconsin-Madison
Accepts:
  • Institution: Ohio State University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Later Notification date: 02/09/2010 Notified through: Website Posted on Gradcafe: Yes Date of Gradcafe post: (if yes) 02/09/2010
  • Institution: UNC-Chapel Hill Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: $19,000 for the 1st year; min $15,000 for the remaining years Notification date: 03/19 (03/14 asked me if I am still interested in) Notified through: E-mail
  • Institution: Michigan State University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: $13,400 Assistantship + $2,000 fellowship + tuition + health insurance Notification date: 3/22 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: yes Comments: happy, but also confused between UNC and MSU
  • Institution: North Carolina State University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ? (Assistantship: None Available) Notification date: 3/25 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: will decline soon.
Rejects:
  • Institution: LSE MRes/PhD Economics Track 1 Decision: Rejected Notification date: 02/09/2010 Notified through: website Posted on Gradcafe: yes
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 02/08/2010 Notified through: e-mail Posted on Gradcafe: yes
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/24 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: This dream is over as the others...
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/31 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Yes Funding: - Comments:
Waitlists:

LameDuck 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BS Mathematics, Physics Minor @ state university
Undergrad GPA: 3.24/4.00 (3.8ish Math)
Type of Grad: First year of Mathematics MS @ same university
Grad GPA: 4.0/4.0
GRE: 800Q 700V 3.5AW
Math Courses: Around 20 -- Topology, Grad Analysis Sequence, Grad Algebra Sequence, a few Linear Algebra courses, DiffEQ, Stat Theory, Programming/Applied courses, etc.; mostly A's
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A+), Intermediate Macro (A+); both taken as a non-degree student after my BS
Other Courses: Programming (Java), Physics courses (Mechanics, Circuit Design, Math Modeling, etc.)
Letters of Recommendation: Good(great?) letters from 3 math professors who are somewhat known in the math world -- I really had no access to econ letters
Research Experience: Math research (Approximation Theory)
Teaching Experience: One year as a TA for Calc. III, and one year as an Algebra instructor while I was in the MS program
Research Interests: International Macro, Development, Game Theory -- admittedly, I'm not entirely certain which route I'll go.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Iowa($$), Boston U.(MA), Pitt(unfunded) <-- deferred from 2010
Waitlists: U. Washington - Seattle
Rejections: Columbia, Minnesota, UPenn, Boston U. (PhD), Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Maryland, UWO, Wisconsin
What would you have done differently?
This year was my full-court shot at some high ranked programs; I already held a deferred offer from Pitt. In retrospect, I might not have applied to some of the places that weren't really a good fit for me -- live and learn.
If I had it all to do over again? Well, I'd be a less capricious youngster, perform better in the first years of my undergrad, and I'd realize an interest in economics earlier than a few years ago. That being said, I'm happy where I am, but I wouldn't recommend my circuitous route to anyone; the hope is that experience matters, no?
Given my lack of access to econ reference writers and my nontraditional background, I think I did alright for myself. The fact that I missed out on funding at Pitt this year gave me a scare, but I got into another program that I heavily targeted.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Iowa($$), Boston U.(MA), Pitt(unfunded) <-- deferred from 2010
  • Institution: University of Iowa Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Accepted (off the waitlist) Funding: Yes Notification date: April 8 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Ecstatic to have a funded offer! The department is going through some changes, but I'll likely still go here.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Columbia, Minnesota, UPenn, Boston U. (PhD), Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Maryland, UWO, Wisconsin
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Saw a rejection here, checked the website. Posted on GC: not yet Comment: suck, I had hopes for this one.
  • Institution: Upenn Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: email to log onto the website Posted on GC: not yet Comment: Expected, but still a crappy day.
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: yep Comments: twas inevitable, but I had to try
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Expected. The last of my reach schools -- only waiting on realistic admits now.
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/14/11 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: short letter
  • Institution: Wisconsin-Madison Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: another rejection :/
  • Institution: University of Western Ontario Economics MA/PdD track Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: 8th rejection, this one from a school I thought I had a good shot at. If I were not holding onto a deferred offer from last cycle this would be a very sad year.
  • Institution: Boston University Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejection FUnding: N/A Notification Date: 03/25/2011 Notified Through:Email Comments: Mass public slaying
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: U. Washington - Seattle
  • Institution: University of Washington-Seattle Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: no Notification date: 4/5 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: It'd be nice to have funding if admitted but I'll see how it goes -- might still consider going.
  • Institution: Iowa Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: if admitted Notification date: 4/5 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: They foresee admitting a few from the waitlist. I'd be really happy to go here.

ryanmagic 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Rank 3 University in China (Fudan), B.A. of econonmics, with one semester exchange experience in UC Davis.
Undergrad GPA: 3.57 in Fudan, top 10%; 4.0 in UC Davis (courses with * below).
Type of Grad: N/A.
Grad GPA: N/A.
GRE: 800Q 540V 3.0 AWA, TOEFL 105.
Math Courses: Advanced Math (differential calculus, integrals, a little differential equations)(B&A-), Linear Algebra(B+), Probability Theory(A), Statistics(A-).
Econ Courses (grad-level): N/A.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Political Economics(A), Micro(A), Macro(B+), International Trade(B+), History of Economic Thoughts(A), Econometrics(A+*), Macro Development(A*), Money and Banking(A+*), Financial Management(A-), Industrial Economics(A), Investment(B), Economic History of China(A), Accounting(B), Contemporary Chinese Economy(B+), Theory on Capital(C+).
Other Courses: C programming(A).
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from UC Davis, 1 from Fudan.
Research Experience: RA for a term, one independent project and one team project in progress.
Teaching Experience: Representative for a course.
Research Interests: Labor, Development, IO.
SOP: So so.
Other: Awarded the National Scholarship in China (for top 1tudents).
RESULTS:
Acceptances: BU MA, UC Davis ARE MS.
Waitlists:
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Northwestern, UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Cornell, Duke, CMU, Rochester, Maryland, Berkeley AREC, BU, JHU, UC Davis, Georgetown, U Colorado - Boulder, UC Davis ARE PhD.
Pending: Syracuse, Columbia QMSS.
What would you have done differently?
I would apply to Canadian master programs, Duke master and Tufts master.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: BU MA, UC Davis ARE MS.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Northwestern, UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Cornell, Duke, CMU, Rochester, Maryland, Berkeley AREC, BU, JHU, UC Davis, Georgetown, U Colorado - Boulder, UC Davis ARE PhD.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists:

Refused 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 5 undergrad, top 10 econ - Physics and Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.4
Type of Grad: Top 10 math, non-degree
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 800q 680v 5.0aw
Math Courses: Real analysis, ODE, PDE, stats, probability (grad)
Econ Courses (grad-level):
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Advanced micro, econometrics, &c.
Other Courses: physics
Letters of Recommendation: 2 top 10 profs and one 1 top 5 PhD now in industry
Research Experience: RA one summer, economics research group at investment bank since college, 1 working paper
Teaching Experience: no
Research Interests: Macro
SOP: yes
Concerns: B- in real analysis
Other:
Applying to: NYU, NYU Stern, Wisconsin, UCLA, UCSD, Boston University, Duke, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Washington University in St. Louis, Johns Hopkins, UC Davis, Georgetown, Boston College, Penn State, UC Santa Barbara, University of Southern California, University of Washington, Virginia, Duke MA, UBC MA, Oxford MSc in Economics for Development
Accepts:
  • Institution: UC Davis Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "before the end of March" Notification date: Feb 11 Notified through: email Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: UC Santa Barbara Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No mention of funding Notification date: Feb 14 Notified through: website (I checked after seeing an acceptance up at GC) Posted on GC: yes Comments: Not sure if I got an email as it's blocked at work
  • Institution: Duke AM Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Notification date: 3/09/11 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: University of Washington, Seattle Economics Ph.D. Decision: Accepted Funding: Waitlist for partial funding Notification date: 04/01/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments: Email asking if I would like to be put on a waitlist for partial funding - doesn't actually mention acceptance but presumably they wouldn't give me partial funding to not attend
Rejects:
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 02/28/2011 Notified through: website (saw above and checked) Posted on GC: yes Comment:
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail
  • Institution: Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: Checked website, though I had done this an hour ago after seeing others had and nothing was there, so they seem to be trickling out Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Washington University in St. Louis Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Georgetown Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/10/11 Notified through: Post Comments: Letter dated 3/7
  • Institution: NYU Stern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: yes Comments: Email to check website; 1100 applications for 20 spots
  • Institution: Brown University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Penn State Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/14 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: yes Comment: first letter of surname is 75th percentile
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GradCafe: yes Comments: last name starts with 's'
  • Institution: University of Oxford Economics for Development MSc Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/17/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: University of Virginia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/19/11 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: yes Comments: No email, I just checked the website as I saw someone else had. The decision was available 3/18, apparently.
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: March 22, 2011 Notified through: Official e-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Decision: Rejected Funding: No Notification date: 4/5 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: UCSD Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 04/06 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: UBC MA Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: April 13 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/15/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments:
  • Institution: University of Southern California Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/23/2011 Notified through: Postal Posted on GC: yes Comments:
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Boston College Economics Decision: Wait list Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: Wisconsin-Madison Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: No Notification date: 4/4/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:

riskaverse 2011:
Type of Undergrad: B.Sc. Economics at Top10 South American university; B.A. International Relations (not the same university as Economics)
Undergrad GPA: 7.5/10 for Economics (Top 5%); 8.46/10 for International Relations
Type of Grad: M.A. Economics at Top10 South American university (not the same as undergrad).
Grad GPA: 7.98/10
GRE: 800Q/540V/4.0A (2nd try)
Math Courses (undergrad): Calculus I and II
Math Courses (grad): Real Analysis, Measure Theory, Linear Algebra (audit)
Econ Courses (undergrad): a lot of them
Econ Courses (grad): Micro Theory I to IV (entire MWG), Macro Theory I to III, Econometrics, Microeconometrics, Corporate Finance, Empirical Microeconomics, Mathematical Economics I and II (some chapters of Stokey&Lucas).
Other Courses: lots of them too because of International Relations
Letters of Recommendation: A total of 4 letters, all from my MA professors. I think all of them like me, but I'm pretty unsure about the strenght of the letters. Two of them are somewhat well known, specially in their fields. I sent the letter from my advisor to all universities and rotated among the other recommenders.
Research Experience: My MA Dissertation. I have some works from undergrad published (co-authored), but not in academic journals (they were mainly directed to policy makers in my country - only one of them written in English).
Teaching Experience: TA for Microeconomic Theory II and Statistics II at the graduate level; TA for International Finance and IO in MBA courses; TA for Micro and Trade for undergrads.
Research Interests: Microeconomics, Contract Theory, Corporate Finance
SOP: very honest. I liked it in the end.
Other: TOEFL 106, but a low grade in the speaking portion. Although I applied to all parts of the US, I have very strong personal reasons for wanting to be in the East Coast.
Concerns: my first GRE try was a disaster, the second try was in December 2010, which made me really afraid of my results getting to the universities very late. My profile seems sometimes a Frankstein for me and I'm really concerned about my letters of recommendation. I don't have the minimum score for the TOEFL speaking portion that many universities require. I'm not the strongest applicant from my country this year, which makes me very pessimist about my dream schools. Also, I worked some time before entering my MA, so I'm kind of older I think... well, lots of concerns!
Accepts:
  • Institution: Penn State (PSU) Decision: Accepted Funding: yes (RAship) Notification date: 2/20/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: yes Comments: Totally unexpected for a Sunday! Really relieved!
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics (PhD) Decision: accepted Funding: yes (TAship) Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: email with formal acceptance (pdf) Posted on GF: yes Comments: very very happy!!!
  • Institution: Arizona State (ASU) Economics (PhD) Decision: Accepted Funding: not mentioned Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GF: yes Comments:
  • Institution: University of Rochester Economics (PhD) Decision: Accepted Funding: no funding Notification date: 2/23/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GF: yes Comments: wrote the department to ask about my results. They replied with a letter attached saying I was accepted but no funding...
  • Institution: U Penn Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: "very high on the wait list for a first year fellowship" Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: yes Comment: kind of worried about funding but very very happy . Great school!!
  • Institution: Georgetown Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: yes Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: Yes Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments: I am very very happy!! The program seems very nice and l would love to live in Philadelphia!!
  • Institution: Wisconsin - Madison Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: no first year funding, support guaranteed for the next three years Notification date: 03/14 Notified through: Email (informal) Posted on GC: yes Comment: without funding, even only for the first year, is impossible for me
  • Institution: UIUC Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: yes Notification date: 3/14/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GradCafe: yes Comment: very nice, specially after a week of rejections
  • Institution: Cornell Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Notification Date: March 23, 2011 Notified through: Official e-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments: no funding for 5 years as well... but I'm really surprised to be accepted
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments: I cried... one of my very top choices. Already expected from not hearing from them, but it is still hard... Congrats for the ones accepted and waitlisted!
  • Institution: Harvard Kennedy School Political Economy and Government (PhD) Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: Postal service (the letter was dated 2/18) Posted on GC: Yes Comments: long long shot, but still
  • Institution: Duke PHD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments: kind of expected
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: yes Comments:
  • Institution : Chicago Program : Economics PhD Decision : Rejection Funding : N/A Notification date : 3/7/2011 Notified through : E-mail Posted on GC : yes Comments : soooo sad... I thought I had a good chance
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/08/11 Notified through: email Posted on GF: yes Comments: it was a long shot
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: This one hurt a lot...
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/11/11 Notified through: Email Comments: never really thought I had a chance, but I had to try... it was my dream school, both for academic and personal reasons
  • Institution: NYU Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/18/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments: Finally... they replied my email
  • Institution: Boston University Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejection FUnding: N/A Notification Date: 03/25/2011 Notified Through: Email Comments: Mass email with no care about privacy...
  • Institution: Washington University St. Louis (WUSTL) Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: -- Notification date: April 13 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments: finally^2
  • Institution: Columbia Business School Finance and Economics Decision: Rejected (from wait list) Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/19/2011 Notified through: e-mail to see website Posted on GC: no Comments: I happened to know that I was waitlisted from the rejection letter.
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Wait listed Funding: I think it's yes if admitted Notification date: 3/18/11 Notified through: Email to check Website Posted on GC: yes Comments: short wait list

blackwhite 2011:
Institution: USC
Program: PhD Economics
Decision:rejected
Funding:
Notification date: 1/15/2011
Notified through: Postal Mail
Posted on GC : No
Comments: Disappointing
Accepts:
Rejects:
  • Institution: USC Economics Decision:rejected Funding: Notification date: 1/15/2011 Notified through: Postal Mail Posted on GC : No Comments: Disappointing
  • Institution: Rice Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 15 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: SAD...
  • Institution: Duke PHD economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comment: Expected but still hurts no admission so far
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: no acceptance so far
  • Institution: UNC, Chapel Hill Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/23/2011 Notified through: Email from DGS Posted on GC: No Comments: It was a big disappointment
  • Institution: Boston University Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejection FUnding: N/A Notification Date: 03/25/2011 Notified Through:Email Comments:Mass email
  • Institution: Arizona State University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/29/2011 Notified through: Check MYASU Posted on GradCafe: No Comments: Heartbroken
Waitlists:
  • Institution: UC Davis Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/10/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: I need admission!!! Fingers crossed...

kekecib 2011:
Institution: Rice
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: NA
Notification date: Feb 13
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Comments: Terrible news for me. 1st decision I got. It was one of my safeties. I do know what is wrong with my profile according to their ad. committee's view.
Institution: UIUC
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: NA
Notification date: Feb 17
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Comments: I started to freak out. I am wondering what will happen to the rest of my applications. This one did hurt and made me pretty sad.
In: None Out: Rice, UIUC Waiting: 19 Econ PhD
Accepts:
  • Institution: Rutgers Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: None Notification date: 2/24/2011 Notified through: I personally looked at application status check web page after seeing a post here. Posted on GC: No idea. Comments: No funding = No PhD. I feel devastated.
  • Institution: MSU Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: None at this time but waitlisted for funding Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: E-mail with decision and accept/decline letters attached Posted on GC: No Comments: Wait 2-3 weeks to see if funding becomes available.
Rejects:
  • Institution: Rice Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: Feb 13 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Terrible news for me. 1st decision I got. It was one of my safeties. I do know what is wrong with my profile according to their ad. committee's view.
  • Institution: UIUC Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: Feb 17 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: I started to freak out. I am wondering what will happen to the rest of my applications. This one did hurt and made me pretty sad. In: None Out: Rice, UIUC Waiting: 19 Econ PhD
  • Institution: Rochester Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: After I did send an e-mail to the graduate coordinator, they did send my rejection letter or they were anyway going to send it today. I wanted to get in this one. It was one of my reaches. I feel OK after unexpected rejections from Rice and UIUC. If I get another rejection from a low-tier school, I am gonna feel terrible then.
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/28/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comment: After getting very abnormal results, I find this very normal.
  • Institution: UW Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/11/11 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: The best rejection e-mail I have received so far.
  • Institution: UT Austin Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/10/11 Notified through: E-mail to check the application website Posted on GC: No Comments: No Comment
  • Institution: UVa Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/10/11 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: No Comment
  • Institution: Duke Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Notification date: 02/28/11 Notified through: E-mail to check the application website Posted on GC: No Comments: I wanted so bad to gain admission to that program. I will give another shot in 2013 Fall application cycle.
  • Institution: Uni. of Iowa Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: No comment.
  • Institution: NYU Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/18/11 Notified through: Unofficial e-mail from the secretary of the Economics Department upon my e-mail. Posted on GC: No Comments: This was my dream school. This time, it did not happen. See you on the application cycle of Fall 2013, NYU.
  • Institution: Iowa State University Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/21/11 Notified through: E-mail upon my e-mail asking if they have decided on my application. Posted on GC: No Comments: I have no idea about how ad-coms are deciding this cycle
  • Institution: Indiana University, Bloomington Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/21/11 Notified through: E-mail upon my e-mail asking if they have decided on my application. Posted on GC: No Comments: What a shame.
  • Institution: NYU Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/22/11 Notified through: Official e-mail from the GSAS Posted on GC: No Comments: My dream university.
  • Institution: BU Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/23/2011 Notified through: E-mail upon my e-mail sent to the Ph.D. Program Administrator Posted on GC: No Comments: I do not understand why they are not bothering to send an e-mail saying "I got rejected."
  • Institution: UCSD Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 04/06 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: I was expecting this.
  • Institution: Boston College Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 04/06 Notified through: Official rejection letter via postal mail. Posted on GC: No Comments: Am I a genius? I knew this.
  • Institution: UNC - CH Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: None Notification date: 04/14/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: No comment.
  • Institution: OsU Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: None Notification date: 04/14/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: No comment.
  • Institution: USC Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/18/2011 Notified through: E-mail after I e-mailed "Have you lost my application?" - Literally like this. Posted on GC: Of course, No. Comments: Waste of money. That school's application fee is one of the highest, and its application deadline is the earliest (together with OSU). Look at their treatment. They definitely make their life easy by making our application process harder.
  • Institution: University of Western Ontario Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected from the waiting list. Funding: NA Notification date: 05/20/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: No comment.
Waitlists:
  • Institution: UWO Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Certainly on the second offer round. Notification date: 3/21/11 Notified through: E-mail upon my e-mail asking if they have decided on my application. Posted on GC: No Comments: I will wait and see what will happen.
  • Institution: UNC-Chapel Hill Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: NA Notification date: 04/07 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: They have not decided yet. Simply the e-mail says "wait a little more until after April 15."

Icametoconquer 2011:
Institution: Rutgers
Program: Econ PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: None
Notification date: 2/23/2011
Notified through: Online
Posted on GF: Yes
Comments: No funding=No PhD
Accepts:
  • Institution: Rutgers Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: None Notification date: 2/23/2011 Notified through: Online Posted on GF: Yes Comments: No funding=No PhD
  • Institution: Houston Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TA+fellowships Notification Date: 03/10/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: My first full funding. I thought I was going to be shut out for good
  • Institution: UConn Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: None (got the letter emailed from the department) Notification date: 03/21/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Harassed the department. Was told that I was admitted and that the official acceptance was sent via snail mail last week.
Rejects:
  • Institution: U of Maryland, College Park Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/06/2011 Notified through: Online Posted on GC: No Comments: Sad ((
  • Institution : Georgetown Program : Economics PhD Decision : Rejected Notification date : 03/07/2011 Notified through : Snail mail Posted on GC : no Comments : Oh well, I definitely saw it coming
  • Institution: Penn State Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment: They were taking so much time I started to wonder... but no, a rejection
  • Institution: NYU Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: ... Notification date: 03/17/11 Notified through: Asked Marjorie via E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Sad, it was my dream school
  • Institution: BU Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/22/2011 Notified through: Response to my email Posted on GC: No Comments: My second choice. Oh well. At this point I just want to have all the information
  • Institution: UMass Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/24/2011 Notified through: E-mail Comments: My final decision. This cycle is over for me. Looks like I'll be going to U of H.
Waitlists:

growth 2011:
Institution: UPenn
Program: Phd in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/24/2011
Notified through: Website
Posted on GC: No
Comments: Expected result. I still don't know why I applied there in the first place.
Institution: LSE
Program: MSc Economics (research)
Decision: Accepted (conditional offer)
Funding: No
Notification date: 02/24/2011
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: No
Comments: Happy but I can't fulfill all the conditions. Have to negotiate with the admittion committee.
Accepts:
    Accepted (conditional offer) Funding: No Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Happy but I can't fulfill all the conditions. Have to negotiate with the admittion committee.
  • Institution: LSE MSc Economics (research) Decision: Accepted (conditional offer) Funding: No Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Happy but I can't fulfill all the conditions. Have to negotiate with the admittion committee.
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: $-$$, no obligations first year, TA or RA 2-4 Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes Comment: Very, very happy!!
  • Institution: University of Oxford Economics Mphil Decision: Accepted Funding: No idea...probably not Notification date: 03/16/2011 Notified through: Snail Mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Very very happy with this one
Rejects:
  • Institution: UPenn Phd in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Expected result. I still don't know why I applied there in the first place.
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 02/28/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comment: At least a decision. Heard of 3, waiting on 14.
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Brown University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Penn State University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/14 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: finally the answer..
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Agricultural & Resource Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/14 Notified through: e-mail to check status Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Georgetown Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/18/11 Notified through: Snail Mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Finally indeed!
  • Institution: Cornell Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejection FUnding: N/A Notification Date: 03/25/2011 Notified Through:Email Comments:
  • Institution: Boston University Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejection FUnding: N/A Notification Date: 03/25/2011 Notified Through:Email Comments:Mass email, I could see the address of other 100 students
Waitlists:

kswaic 2011:
Institution: Boston University
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 04/15/2011
Notified through: e-mail
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Not so happy, but good to know.
Accepts:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/15/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Not so happy, but good to know.
Waitlists:

Kevs 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Econ/Math BS double major. Small private Midwest university. Unknown econ dept.
Undergrad GPA: 3.85
GRE: 164 Q, 156 V, 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I (B), Calc II (A), Calc III (A), Discrete I (A-), Discrete II (A), Differential Equations (A), Linear Algebra (A), Real Analysis (A), Probability and Statistics (A), Statistics (A), Abstract Algebra (A-)
Grad Math Courses: Game Theory (in progress)
Econ Courses: standard UG sequence with econometrics
Letters of Recommendation: Nobody famous. Thesis adviser and guy I was an RA for, was very strong. Another econ prof I had a few classes with, was strong. Math prof w/ phd from Berkeley who taught me calc III and real analysis.
Research Experience: RA, did a senior thesis that applied game theory to IO. Theoretical paper.
Teaching Experience: tutored econ and calc for 3 semesters. Was a TA for diff eq and calculus.
Research Interests: At time of application, game theory and IO. Now I've added behavioral and experimental.
SOP: It was an SOP alright.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UCSD ($--will attend), UT-austin
Waitlists: None
Rejections: Kellogg MECS, Caltech, HBS, NYU, Boston U, Maryland, Penn State
Pending: Funding decision from UT, but I don't care what it is. EDIT: No funding at UT.
What would you have done differently? Applied to significantly more schools because I'm from an unknown and small econ program. We do not even have a PhD program. For anyone in a similar situation who doesn't wish to transfer, here is some advice. If you want to breach the top 25, you have to get very good grades. This isnt enough though. When your good grades are compared to the same grades from someone from Yale, guess who theyre going to choose. So you need something that separates you from the pack. For me, I think that was my thesis and my LORs were very strong (despite coming from nobody famous). Apply to a lot of schools as the variance for someone with this background will be high. Just look at my case--outright rejection from Penn State, but got into UCSD. I got lucky.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UCSD ($--will attend), UT-austin
  • Institution: UT Austin Econ PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: Don't know Notification Date: 3/1/12 Notified Through: Checked website Posted on GC: No Comments:Yay! I think of the schools remaining on my list, NYU is the only one id rather go to.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Kellogg MECS, Caltech, HBS, NYU, Boston U, Maryland, Penn State
  • Institution: Northwestern MEDS Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: happened to check their admissions page today Posted on GC: No Comments: It was only my dream school so no big loss right?
  • Institution: Maryland Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: March 9 Notified through: checked website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Penn State Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: March 9 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Boston University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: I'm pretty sure Boston, Penn State, and Maryland pick names out of a hat...
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: expected
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: None

Sheldor 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics at top 10 liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.2
Type of Grad: M.A. in Economics at top 20 econ phd school
Grad GPA: 3.43
GRE: 166 Q 170 V 5.0 AW
Math Courses: Calc II (B) Calc III (A) Linear Algebra (A) Differential Equations (A+)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro (B) Macro (B-) Econometrics (B+) Statistics (B+) Labor Economics (B+) Environmental Economics (A-) Public Economics (B+) Financial Economics (A-)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro (B) Macro (A-) Stats (B) Econometrics (B) International Econ (B) Money and Banking (A-) Current Issues in Money and Finance (B+) Public Finance (A-) Law and Economics (B) Investments and Valuation (B+)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: One from a very well known economist from M.A., one from an economist from B.A., one from economist at work
Research Experience: 3 years working as a research analyst for an economic research organization
Teaching Experience: 1 year TA
Research Interests: Applied micro econometrics- primarily labor and public economics
SOP: Talked mostly about my reasons for wanting to be an economist, why I thought I would succeed, some research interests, and tailored a bit to each school
Concerns: low undergrad GPA is a major concern. Also, I have done well in the math I have taken, but haven't had the opportunity to take a lot of it.
Other: Senior undergrad thesis on connection between strength of financial systems and economic growth
RESULTS:
Acceptances: ColoradoWaitlists: Washington
Rejections: Brown, Boston U, Boston College, Maryland, UCSB, UCSD, UCLA, USC, UT-Austin, Vanderbilt, Virginia
Pending: none
Attending: Colorado
What would you have done differently?
I guess there are two different periods of time where I could have changed things. Going back prior to the application process, it would have been nice to realize I wanted to do a PhD sooner as well as get much better grades. I think taking mathematical statistics and real analysis (and doing well) would also have shown my math skills better. Going into the process, I thought my Master's and verbal GRE scores would matter, even though they have been discounted on many forums and information pages. It's hard to know whether my recommendations and SOP could have been better without feedback from the departments, but I definitely think I aimed too high on my school selection. My weaknesses are pretty obvious (low undergrad GPA, decent if not stellar performance in my Master's). If I went through the application process again, I would have eliminated the top 20 programs and focused more on the 30-50 range. However, I am ecstatic to be going to Colorado and I may have picked it even if I had gotten into more schools.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Colorado
  • Institution: University of Colorado at Boulder Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Waiting to hear Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: After 5 rejections, an admit feels great! Funding would be nice.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Brown, Boston U, Boston College, Maryland, UCSB, UCSD, UCLA, USC, UT-Austin, Vanderbilt, Virginia
  • Institution: Vanderbilt Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date:2/10/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Would have been nice to get in but the process is random so no point in putting a lot of stock in it
  • Institution: UCSB Econ. Ph.D Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/15/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comment: Very surprised and disappointed
  • Institution: University of Virginia Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: March 2 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: 0/4 with only two schools ranked out of top 30 left. Starting to get really worried.
  • Institution: USC Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/26/2012 Notified through: mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: UCLA Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2012 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments: expected
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Expected
  • Institution: Maryland Econ Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notified: 3/10 Notified through: email Posted on GC: yes Comments: Expected
  • Institution: UT-Austin Econ Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notified: 3/12 Notified through: website Posted on GC: yes Comments: wow. no letter or email. classy.
  • Institution: Boston College Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/17/2012 Notified Through: mail Posted to GC: yes Comments: Given that the accepts came out awhile ago, I was just waiting to receive the rejection letter.
  • Institution: Boston University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: expected. Now just waiting to hear from Brown and U Washington
  • Institution: Brown University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: now just U Wash
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Washington

littletotoro 2012:
PROFILE
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 Liberal Arts College
Undergrad GPA: Economics Major - 3.72; Cumulative - 3.69; double Philosophy and Mathematics minor
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q, 660V, 5.0 AW
Math Courses: Calc 1 (A+), Calc 2 (A), Vector Calculus (B+), Linear Algebra (B), ODE (A), Probability Theory (B-), Intro to Analysis (A-), Operations Research (A-), Combinatorics (A)
Econ Courses: Principles of Micro/Macro (A,A); Intermediate Micro/Macro (A-,A-); International Economics (A), Technology and Growth (A), Game Theory (B), Econometrics (A+), Labor Economics (A), Senior Seminar (B)
Other Courses: N/A
Letters of Recommendation: 3 Econ professors, 1 whom I co-authored a political economy paper with in a 4th tier journal
Research Experience: RA for environmental economist over a summer, co-author as mentioned above
Teaching Experience: N/A
Research Interests: Behavioral Economics, Political Economy, Economics of Education, Labor Economics (Economics of Family, Unemployment)
SOP: In retrospect, not very well written, lacked direction.
Results:
Acceptances (Master's): Duke, Tufts($), UBC
Rejections: PhD - Michigan, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Minnesota, Johns Hopkins, Boston University, Cornell, Rochester, Brown, Maryland, Master's - Queen's, Toronto
Waitlists: Wisconsin (rejected)
Attending: Duke
What would I have done differently?
I really should not have been afraid of taking advanced math courses earlier, even though my comparative advantage is not in Math (because I was too obsessed with my GPA). So I should have taken Real Analysis and the Probability-Statistics sequence earlier. If I didn't do well in those courses, then it would have given me a better signal into my comparative advantage. As it stands, I'm still not sure. Should not have taken so many economics elective courses. I should also have done a computer science course (because nowadays facility with computing languages seems to be becoming more crucial for cutting edge economics research). Two words for all applicants: Mathematical Maturity. Build that up in your undergrad, while you have friends and faculty around you to help, as much as you can.
Having said that, I'm happy I got into Duke and I'm going to put myself through as many math, statistics and PhD courses as I can stomach (in the words of Greg Mankiw). My GPA has a high likelihood of tanking. But if an Econ PhD is meant to be, then taking all these technical courses will be the best preparation that I can hope for. If not, then at least I would have challenged myself and learned valuable quantitative skills in the process before heading into the private sector.
Accepts:
    Acceptances (Master's): Duke, Tufts($), UBC
  • Institution: Duke University MA Economics Decision : Accepted Funding : None Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through : E-mail Posted on GC : Yes Comments: Very happy - will definitely take the hardest classes I can to see if I can actually hack it in a PhD program.
Rejects:
    Rejections: PhD - Michigan, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Minnesota, Johns Hopkins, Boston University, Cornell, Rochester, Brown, Maryland, Master's - Queen's, Toronto
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Wisconsin (

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

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

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

GAmbler29 2012:
Institution: UVA
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification Date: 2.09.2012
Notified through: email to check web
Posted on GC: No
Comments: what went wrong?
Accepts:
  • Institution: Texas A&M Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: NA Notification date: 03/19/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: where's my money man ?
Rejects:
  • Institution: UVA Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2.09.2012 Notified through: email to check web Posted on GC: No Comments: what went wrong?
  • Institution: Boston University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 03/19/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: worst week ever
  • Institution: Tilburg Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 03/20/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: 500 applicants... who cares!?
  • Institution: Arizona University (Tucson) Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 03/21/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: why does it still hurt!?
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:

anibalem 2012:
Institution: University of Rochester
Program: PhD Finance
Decision: Rejected
Funding: -
Notification 2/23/12
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Accepts:
  • Institution: University of Tennessee - Knoxville Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition + 16K Notification 02/09/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Very happy! My first acceptance.
  • Institution: Texas A&M University Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: Tuition + 19K Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Very happy!!
  • Institution: UC Riverside Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Full Funding Notification date: 4/2/12 Notified through: I called them and asked for the status of my application Posted on GC: No Comments: -
Rejects:
  • Institution: University of Rochester Finance Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification 2/23/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Rice University Finance Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification 02/24/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: This program was one of my first options
  • Institution: NCSU Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification 02/08/12 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: USC Finance Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification 01/30/12 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: - In: UTK Out: USC Fin, Rice Fin, Rochester Fin, NCSU Waiting:19.
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Boston University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Expected
  • Institution: Michigan State University Economics Decision : Rejected Funding : Notification Date: 27th March Notified through: I called them asking my status Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Indiana University Bloomington Economics Decision : Rejected Funding : Notification Date: 28th March Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: University of Washington Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 3/30/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Indiana University Bloomington Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 3/30/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: UNC Chapel Hill Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 04/13/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: - Attending University of California at Riverside.
Waitlists:

rivera 2012:
Institution: UC Santa Cruz
Program: 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: No funding...........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !
Accepts:
  • 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: No funding...........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !
  • Institution: University of Colorado- Boulder Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: None first semester Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
Rejects:
  • Institution: Boston University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:
  • Institution: UC-Davis Economics. Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Definitely nothing Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: hum...
  • Institution: Georgetown Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Yes if accepted Notification date: March 9 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: yes


Waitlists:

Sonaar 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics, minor in History from a Latin American University
Undergrad GPA: 4.3/5.0, ranked 2nd in cohort.
Type of Grad: M.A. Economics, same Uni as undergrad
Grad GPA: 4.4/5.0, ranked 7th in cohort.
GRE: 790Q, 500V, 4.0 AWA. Second time.
Math Courses: Calculus I, II and multivariate (A, B+, A), linear algebra (A), Math for economics (A), Math statistics I and II (both As), Econometrics I and II (both As)
Econ Courses (PhD-level): Micro (A+), Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Growth theory (A), International Economics (A), etc. for M.A.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I, II and III (A, B+, A); Macro I, II and III (A, B, A+), Fiscal and Monetary theory, Public Economics... lots of them, lots of As.
Letters of Recommendation: one from a pre-tenured economics professor, one from the senior economist of a IFI, other from an economist of another IFI. One from a prof of a Public Policy School.
Research Experience: lots, almost 7 years between an Latin American think tank, now at IFI.
Teaching Experience: tutor of linear algebra and other econ courses, TA and later main instructor.
Research Interests: Applied Microeconomics, Health economics, Development, Labor
SOP: Done, pretty good
Concerns: some weak grades and econ and math courses (I was young and stupid then), and no formal, more advanced math.
Other: M.A. thesis published at local refereed journal, presented at an international conference.
RESULTS:
Attending: Maryland ($)
Acceptances: Maryland ($)
Rejections: Michigan, Duke, Michigan St, UT Austin, Johns Hopkins, U British Columbia, Brown.
Pending: BU
What would you have done differently? A lot. besides the obvious (more math, better grades, apply to more safeties), I should have applied earlier. Too much RAship (7 years!) probably hurt my application. I was extremely lucky to get a funded offer.
Accepts:
    Attending: Maryland ($) Acceptances: Maryland ($)
  • Institution: Maryland - College Park Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: $18+tuition waiver+health insurance Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: E-mail Comments: pheeeww... relieved at last!
Rejects:
    Rejections: Michigan, Duke, Michigan St, UT Austin, Johns Hopkins, U British Columbia, Brown.
  • Institution: Duke Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: Feb 18 9:07 AM EST Notified through: Email Comments: I thought I had a chance there...
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/11 Notified through: shortest rejection email in history. Comments: A micro guy applying to JHU, trying to fit into health economics... long shot, but it worthed!
  • Institution: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Website Comment: there goes my dream school...
  • Institution: University of British Columbia Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/17 Notified through: email Comments: and there goes Canada for me...
  • Institution: Brown University Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/20 Notified through: E-mail Comments: expected
  • Institution: Michigan State Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/24 Notified through: E-mail Comments: nah, I don't care anymore
  • Institution: University of Texas - Austin Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/30/09 Notified through: Website Comments: why did it take that long?
Waitlists:
    Pending: BU

bigleaguechew 2009:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ / B.S. Math from a top 100 econphd.net public school
Undergrad GPA: 3.5 Overall, 4.0 Econ, 4.0 Math
GRE: 790Q, 610V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: One year of real analysis (A+'s); two quarters each of theoretical linear algebra (A+'s), numerical analysis (A+'s), math prob stat, nonlinear dynamics and chaos; one quarter each of PDE's, abstract algebra and complex analysis
Econ Courses: applied metrics (A+'s), public finance (A+'s), labor, game theory (A+), and a few others in addition to intermediate micro/macro
Letters of Recommendation: It seems as though I had one very respected letter writer, and other letters were more or less ignored at many schools (just what I gathered from my conversations with grad directors where I was accepted)
Research Experience: Virtually none. Started an undergrad research project that was never finished
Work Experience: 2 years in consulting (business, but not econ)
Research Interests: Applied micro, IO
SOP: Talked about how my experiences and coursework have influenced my research interests. Tailored last paragraph to each school I applied to. I cannot say this with enough emphasis... THE STATEMENT OF PURPOSE DEFINITELY MATTERS AT SCHOOLS OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 10. IF YOU DO NOT COME FROM AN IVY AND YOU DON'T HAVE A SPOTLESS MATH/ECON RECORD WITH SOLID RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO SPEND SOME TIME ON YOUR SOP AND START WORKING ON IT EARLY!
Concerns: I had about a year straight of abysmal grades (yes, we're talking about F's and W's here people) in my sophomore year of college due to some family issues. I think it was important that this occurred when I was an english major, and I made up for it by excelling in all of my econ and math courses. So, if you have screwed up and permanently marred your transcript like I did, HOPE IS NOT LOST! It just means that you have to work extra hard to outperform your classmates from here on out.
RESULTS:
Attending: UCSD ($)
Admitted, Declined: Stanford GSB Marketing ($$$$$$$$), Penn State ($$), WUSTL ($), UNC ($/2), UVA ($), Texas ($$), ASU ($$), Arizona ($$), Pittsburgh ($), Ohio State ($), U of Washinton ($), Maryland (stiffed me)
Waitlists: Minnesota, BU
Rejections: Top 10, NYU, Columbia, UCLA, Michigan, JHU, Wharton (but it doesn't count in my mind cuz I hardly showed up for the interview)
Never heard back from: USC (not that I care anymore, but seriously WTF?)
What would you have done differently?
Nothing really. I had a huge black spot on my record with that one atrocious year, and nobody knew how that would affect me. My letter writers were extremely supportive in helping me apply to as many places as I could afford, and cover a broad spectrum of programs. I thought UCSD was a long shot heading into this process, and I am thrilled to be going there. I can honestly say that I would have been happy at just about any of the programs that I was accepted to, and it was incredibly difficult for me to turn down so many attractive offers. Obviously, this is a problem that I am happy to have, but you'd be surprised how gut wrenching it is to turn down a fellowship offer from a school that you had been day-dreaming about attending just a few weeks earlier. Still, I would advise everyone who isn't a superstar with stellar letter of recommendation's to adopt a similar strategy and apply to as many places as you can afford.
Accepts:
    Attending: UCSD ($) Admitted, Declined: Stanford GSB Marketing ($$$$$$$$), Penn State ($$), WUSTL ($), UNC ($/2), UVA ($), Texas ($$), ASU ($$), Arizona ($$), Pittsburgh ($), Ohio State ($), U of Washinton ($), Maryland (stiffed me)
  • Institution: Penn State Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding:24k Assistantship Notification date: Feb 18 Notified through: Email Comments: Suck on that Duke!
  • Institution: Washington University, St. Louis Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification date: 2/25/09 Notified through: email
  • Institution: UNC Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TBA Notification date: 2/26/09 Notified through: email
  • Institution: Univ. British Columbia MA Decision: Accepted Funding: No word yet Notification date: 3/9 Notified through: email
  • Institution: University of Maryland Decision: accepted Funding: waitlist Notification date: 3/10/2009 Notified through: email
Rejects:
    Rejections: Top 10, NYU, Columbia, UCLA, Michigan, JHU, Wharton (but it doesn't count in my mind cuz I hardly showed up for the interview)
  • Institution: Duke Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: Feb 18 9:07 AM EST Notified through: Email Comments: Easier to take since I already have some other options.
  • Institution: Northwestern Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: -100 Notification date: 2/25/09 Notified through: Website Comments: Decision available through ApplyYourself website - not the separate link they sent for decision status.
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/02 Notified through: E-mail Comments:
  • Institution: Chicago Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/9 Notified through: snail mail
  • Institution: NYU-Stern Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: -100 Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: checked website after seeing other posts here (no email)
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: randomly checked website Comments: Not at all surprised. I had lost interest in this program prior to my interview, and I pretty much let that be known to them.
  • Institution: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Website
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Minnesota, BU
  • Institution: Minnesota Ph.D. Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/24/09 Notified through: E-mail

securityblanket 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Economics, BA from Turkey
Undergrad GPA: 2.80/4.00
Type of Grad I: Economics, Msc
Grad GPA: 3.30
Type of Grad II: Financial Mathematics, Msc
Grad GPA: 3.85 (ranked second out of 30-40 people)
GRE: 780Q, 320V, 4.0AWA
Math Courses: (3.30 average) Calc I-II, Linear Algebra, Honour's Linear Algebra I-II, Ordinary Differential Equations, Introduction to Probability Theory, Real Analysis I-II, Game Theory (grad level course form math. department), Difference Equations, Lebesgue Integration and Measure Theory, Introdution to Functional Analysis, Functional Analysis (PhD level), Probability Theory (Grad level), Stochastic Calculus Applied to Finance (Grad level), Stochastic and Deterministic Optimal Control (PhD Level), Partial Differential Equations and these are all I guess.
Econ Courses: A lot since I am graduated and obtain my Msc fromm department of economics
Other Courses: A lot of statics and econometrics courses (even more than my math course including grad and undergrad courses).
Letters of Recommendation: 3 Econ profs plus one professional -- exceptional. 1 well known.
Research Experience: Working in a research department for 3.5 years and published one SSCI paper (D-Class but anyway) and one conference paper (ECOMOD)
Teaching Experience: TA for into to econometrics
Research Interests: Applied time series econometrics, international finance, monetary macroeconomics, macro-finance models and DSGE models
SOP: why my undergrad gpa is low, I want to be a policymaker etc (3 pages explains my professional activities etc.)
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
UNC Chapel Hill (no funding)
UC Santa Cruz (no funding)
UPF (no funding)
JHU (no funding)
Rejections: so many
Waitlists: UPENN and BU
Will be attending: JHU rocks!!!
What would you have done differently? My undergard GPA is a very big problem and even my math courses were not enough. may be this year was a disaster, who knows? but I have very close friend wişth a simlliar background that has done a lot better in two years ago. Anyway, still I am satisfied with JHU. I wish all TMers a good luck in the future. I hope you will be more lucky than me...
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UNC Chapel Hill (no funding) UC Santa Cruz (no funding) UPF (no funding) JHU (no funding)
  • Institution: UNC Chapel Hill Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: We do not know yet Notification date: 3/24 Notified through: e-mail Comments: Finally... I guess I am going to US next year.
Rejects:
    Rejections: so many
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: UPENN and BU Will be

rvalchev 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small private school. First tier according to US News but dead last in that tier
Undergrad GPA: 4.0 - I have another 2 weeks till graduation but hopefully it'll stay this way
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800Q, 530V, 5.0 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Optimization, Real Analysis, Topology, Probability Theory, Computational Statistics, Differential Equations
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro and Macro, Econometrics and Forecasting, Game Theory, Money and Banking, Public Economics
Other Courses: Assortment of Business core classes.
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Letters from Econ Profs and 1 from a math prof. I think letters will be good to great, math professor has taught me for 2 years and I've conducted research for an year together with one of my econ profs.
Research Experience: Honors Thesis, RA for two summers but I wasted those summers so nothing really came out of it.
Research Interests: Metrics, applied metrics ... i am open to anything
SOP: It was weak, unfocused and not customized for schools
RESULTS:
Attending: Duke ($$$)
Acceptances, declined: Wisconsin ($$$), Cornell ($$$), Ohio State( $$$), UNC -Chapel Hill ($$$), Michigan State ($$$), Pitt ($$$), Tinbergen Institute ($$$), LSE EME (Research), Oxford MPhil, Michigan (no $), Texas(no $), USC ($$$),
Waitlists: Duke funding waitlist, BU funding waitlist, Princeton Waitlist, Texas Waitlist, Michigan waitlist
Rejections: MIT, Princeton (rejected from waitlist), Berkeley, Yale, Harvard, UPenn, Chicago, UCSD, Penn State, Boston College, Cambridge
What would you have done differently? First, read jeeve's thread about suggestions for people from less known undergrads (it was impossible since it was not written until a couple of days ago, but that's what future people should do). Second, apply to NYU, Columbia and Northwestern (but most probably I would have only taken Northwestern over Duke. But still, my portfolio of schools was a little unbalanced). Third, write a much, much better SOPs that would be much better tailored to different schools. You'll be surprised how much SOPs matter (heard it directly from admissions directors at TOP10 and TOP20 schools).Fourth, don't get RA positions that are in the network of your schools and professors because you are already part of this network, so it doesn't add much to your profile. Go out and work for somebody different.
Accepts:
    Attending: Duke ($$$) Acceptances, declined: Wisconsin ($$$), Cornell ($$$), Ohio State( $$$), UNC -Chapel Hill ($$$), Michigan State ($$$), Pitt ($$$), Tinbergen Institute ($$$), LSE EME (Research), Oxford MPhil, Michigan (no $), Texas(no $), USC ($$$),
  • Institution: Purdue University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No word Notification date: Feb 18 Notified through: Email Comments:
  • Institution: U of Pittsburgh Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification date: Feb 18 Notified through: Email and mail Comments: It's been a really good day
  • Institution: Wisconsin-Madison economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification date: 2/21/09 Notified through: Email Comments: I still can't believe it ...
  • Institution: Duke Economics, PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition waiver and on the waitlist for a stipend Notification date: 02/27 Notified through: Mail Weird, they rejected me via the online application earlier this week. Very quick turn around.
  • Institution: Michigan State Economics Ph.D. Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification date: 3/3 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Hey at least I am on 1-1 for the day.
  • Institution: Cornell University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 21,400 fellowship + 4,400 in summers ...crazy Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Sweet deal
  • Institution: Tinbergen Economics MPhil Decision: Admitted Notification date: 3/9 Funding: 975 Euros/month + Tuition Notified through: email
  • Institution: Boston U Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Notification date: 3/17 Notified through: E-mail Funding: -"alternative funding applicant" Comments: hey i got one Boston School, even if unfunded
Rejects:
    Rejections: MIT, Princeton (rejected from
  • Institution: Yale University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/20/09 Notified through: Email to check website Comments: Who would have known ... rejection stinks
  • Institution: PSU Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/24/09 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Good luck to everybody else !
  • Institution: Duke Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/25/09 Notified through: E-mail Comments: I was kinda hoping I was out of the woods but oh well.
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 03/02 Notified through: E-Mail Comments:Another one bites the dust. 0-2 on TOP10 programs.
  • Institution: MIT Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/3 Notified through: E-mail Comments: MIT and Berkeley at least notify all at the same time.
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/19 (Official letter) Notified through: E-mail Funding: -Nada Comments: what can you do
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Duke funding waitlist, BU funding waitlist, Princeton Waitlist, Texas Waitlist, Michigan waitlist
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: 25,750 on the off chance I get in Notification date: 3/5 Notified through: E-mail Comments: At least one TOP10 school thinks I am somewhat worth it
  • Institution: U of Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Notification date: 3/19 (Official letter) Notified through: Mail Funding: -Not mentioned Comments: Interesting
  • Institution: UT-Austin Economics Ph.D. Decision: Waitlisted Notification date: 3/20 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Really rocking those waitlsts this year

TeaMania 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 25 liberal arts college but the econs department is at least top 10 among LACs. BS in Econs, Physics and Maths
Undergrad GPA: 3.96/4.00
Type of Grad:-
Grad GPA:-
GRE: 800Q 720V 4.0AWA
Math Courses: Linear Algebra, Multivariable calculus, Intro to Abstraction, Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Maths Method for Physics, a few more senior year.(all As
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro , Intermediate Macro, Econometrics, Advanced Econometrics, Advanced Macro, Game Theory, International Finance, Labor Econs, (all As)
Other Courses: Physics Major, Japanese Minor
Letters of Recommendation: 3 Econs professors, of which two are well-known, at least by liberal arts college standard. One knows me very much, and said extremely good things about me. Another said something like " the best in the past 15 years". Not sure about the last one.
Research Experience: for a professor, since summer of sophomore year. Coauthor a paper. R&R at the time of application (I only said "submitted" in the applications, because I didn't know the distinction.) Now forthcoming at a top field journal.
Teaching Experience:None
Research Interests: Development, Labor
SOP: Standard and did not customize
RESULTS:
Acceptances: University of Maryland($$, off the waitlist), BU(no $)
Rejections: Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Cornell, Northwestern,Rochester, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Upenn
Atttending: Maryland
What would you have done differently? I would have applied to more and a wider range of schools. I was ignorant of the process, and didn't spend enough time researching schools, partly because I was taking a lot of classes. I overestimated where I stood in the competition, because I underestimated the importance of grad classes and undergrad/letter of recommendation reputation. Nevertheless, I am glad to make it and will make the most out of my education at UMD. Hope my case will serve as a warning to top students from LACs: this game is very difficult to play, even after taking my warning into account.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: University of Maryland($$, off the
  • Institution: Maryland Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: "Some probability" Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: No Comments: 1st admit. What a relief.
  • Institution: Maryland Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: "Some probability" Notification date: 03/03/2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: No Comments: 1st admit. What a relief.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Cornell, Northwestern,Rochester, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Upenn Atttending: Maryland
Waitlists:
    waitlist), BU(no $)

wheretogo1 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Big 10 School - top 50 undergrad
Undergrad GPA: 3.9/4.0
GRE: 800Q/550V/4.5Writing
Math Courses: multivariable calculus, linear algebra, probability theory, real analysis (2 semesters), abstract algebra, topology
Econ Courses: intermediate micro, intermediate macro, econometrics, game theory, labor, international
Other Courses: java programming
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from institution (one advised me during research paper), 1 from current boss (who is a professor at a top 5 program)
Research Experience: junior year research project, 3 years at a public policy thinktank
Teaching Experience: tutored calculus at college.... does that count?
Research Interests: applied micro, labor, public econ, but open to anything really
SOP: Not great, not terrible
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Maryland, Virginia, Texas
Rejections: Berkeley, Yale, nwestern, columbia, mich, wisconsin, cornell, carnegie mellon, penn state, illinois, duke, UCSD
Wait lists: BU, Uwashington, Upenn, Minnesota
What would you have done differently?
Build closer relations with economics faculty at my undergrad institution. My rec letters were not as strong as others.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Maryland, Virginia, Texas
Rejects:
    Rejections: Berkeley, Yale, nwestern, columbia, mich, wisconsin, cornell, carnegie mellon, penn state, illinois, duke, UCSD
Waitlists:
    Wait lists: BU, Uwashington, Upenn, Minnesota

chisquared 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BBM Quantitative Finance and BSc Economics. Small university in SE Asia.
Undergrad GPA: 3.92/4.00
Type of Grad: MSc Applicable Mathematics, LSE
Grad GPA: In Progress
GRE: 800Q, 660V, 5.0AW
Math Courses: Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A-), Real Analysis (A-), Intermediate Mathematics for Economics (A+), Advanced Mathematics for Economics (A), Stochastic Calculus (A), Numerical Analysis (A), Probability Theory and Statistical Inference (A-), Continuous Time Optimization (Grad, IP), Probability and Measure (Grad, IP), Stochastic Analysis (Grad, IP)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Advanced Microeconomics (IP)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Microeconomics (A+), Intermediate Macroeconomics (A-), International Economics (A+), Economics of Financial Intermediation (A+), Applied Econometrics (A), Economic Development in Asia (A)
Other Courses: A lot of other business and finance courses. A few courses in psychology, sociology and political science.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Stanford PhD, 1 Berkeley PhD, 1 Harvard PhD, 2 UPenn PhDs distributed over different schools. All supposedly good letters.
Research Experience: Undergraduate thesis in political economy (A-), a few research assistantships
Teaching Experience: A few terms as a teaching assistant
Research Interests: micro theory, game theory, financial economics, political economy
SOP: Standard
Concerns: Unknown undergrad institution. Limited (read: almost none) placement history. Unknown letter of recommendation credibility.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: LSE ($$$, initially on a waiting list for funding), Michigan (off the waiting list, $$), BU ($$, initially on a waiting list for first-year funding)
Rejections: Tons. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern (Kellogg MEDS), UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, UCSD (actually, I never heard from them. Should probably send them an angry email.), Chicago Booth, Stanford GSB, Wharton, Minnesota
Withdrawn:
Attending: LSE
What would you have done differently?
It's hard to say, really. A few ideas, though:
(i) Work harder on my senior thesis. Winning the senior thesis prize may have helped me sneak on to a few more waiting lists.
(ii) Write a more interesting SOP. It probably wouldn't help much, but it just might matter on the margin, and it's hard to say where I was or wasn't a marginal candidate exactly (at least, for the schools ranked just above where I was admitted. I'm only kidding myself by trying to claim I could have been a marginal candidate at Harvard/MIT.).
(iii) Done more undergrad field courses in econ. This would help me write a more interesting SOP, I guess, since it would give me more research ideas. This would mean that I'd have to drop one of my majors, or not do a senior thesis, though. I'm not sure I would be willing to do the former ex-ante, nor the latter ex-post.
(iv) Tried to go on exchange at the one top 10 department my undergrad had an exchange program with. Someone from my undergrad did this, and it seemed to have helped her out a lot this admissions season. That being said, that entails the same kind of tradeoffs that I mentioned in (iii), so I'm not sure I'd do this if I could do everything over again.
(v) Worked really hard on my MSc, graduate with distinction, and apply for admission in fall 2012 instead. I may still consider this, in fact.
(vi) Considered schools that I was applying to more carefully. While I don't think I'd have applied to fewer schools, there are some programs (PSU, CEMFI, Toulouse) I wish I applied to after all the deadlines were over but before the admissions results were released. While I wouldn't have gone to any of those aforementioned programs over any of the options I had, this may have been a wiser decision ex-ante (even if I may be out a few hundred dollars ex-post).
Accepts:
    Acceptances: LSE ($$$, initially on a
  • Institution: London School of Economics MRes/PhD Track 1 Decision: Accepted Funding: No. "Unfortunately competition for funding is very strong and we are not able to offer you any financial support at this stage. However you are waitlisted for funding and we will inform you immediately if and when this becomes available. In the meantime we would be grateful if you could update us on the outcome of any funding applications you have made." Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: Relieved. Will probably need funding though.
  • Institution: BU Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: After first year, tuition + $19k stipend Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Michigan Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted from the waiting list Funding: Full Notification date: April 12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: None.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Tons. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern (Kellogg MEDS), UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, UCSD (actually, I
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Expected, but still depressing.
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economic Analysis and Policy Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: February 18 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 22 February 2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: UPenn Phd in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Website -- checked it after I saw the rejection on GC Posted on GC: No Comments: Ouch. A shut out is looking likelier every day. Ah, well.
  • Institution: Minnesota Phd in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Saw a rejection on GC, then checked the website. ...I should really stop doing this. Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Ouch.
  • Institution: Chicago Booth Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No. Comments: Not too surprising.
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Well, that was a long-shot.
  • Institution: Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Ugh.
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Sigh.
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Hm, I guess a shut-out wasn't all that unlikely. (Yes, I am aware at the pitfalls of considering probabilities ex post.)
  • Institution: Northwestern - Kellogg Ph.D. MECS Decision: Rejection Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/11/11 Notified through: Email Comments: I appreciate their promptness. Take note, NYU. <-- Ditto. I guess this marks the close of the admissions season for me.
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/11 Notified through: Snail Mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/17/11 Notified through: Unofficial e-mail after I asked about my status Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/21/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: That took a while.
Waitlists:
    waiting list for funding), Michigan (off the waiting list, $$), BU ($$, initially on a waiting list for first-year funding)
  • Institution: UMich Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: Yes, if accepted Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:

FromTheHip 2011:
Well, time to throw out my profile, which I suspect will make my results a source of hope for many with mediocre undergraduate GPAs.
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BS in a science field at a highly-ranked U.S. university
Undergrad GPA: 3.34/4
Type of Grad: Part time classes at a top-5 econ program
Grad GPA: 4.0/4
GRE: 800Q, 700V, 4.5AW
Math Courses: Linear Algebra (A), Multivariable Calculus (A), Vector Analysis (B), Differential Equations (A-), Real Analysis (B+)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Two semesters of core micro (A/A), both grades near the top of the class
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Micro (A-), Intro Macro (A-), Intermediate micro (A-), Intermediate Macro (A-), Two term theoretical econometrics course (B/B+)
Other Courses: A lot of very quantitative science courses.
Letters of Recommendation: All three were economists with tenure at a top-5 econ program and PhDs from top programs. One was a professor from my core micro who talked about my coursework, while another was my long-time boss (see below). The third worked as my advisor on an independent project.
Research Experience: Two years as an RA and an independent research project (still ongoing).
Research Interests: Resource/environmental, development, game theory, IO. Statement focused on resource, game theory, and development.
SOP: Fairly long. I’ve spent some time outside of undergrad and was not an econ major, so I spent a bit of time explaining how I’d come to be interested in economics and putting my non-economics accomplishments into context.
Other experience: Several years work experience before starting my economics career
Concerns: Non-economics background, low undergraduate grades
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Cornell (no $), Georgetown ($), Iowa State ($),LSE ($), Penn State ($), Rochester ($), UC-Davis ($), UC-San Diego ($), UC-Santa Barbara (no $), University of British Columbia ($), University of Colorado ($), UPenn (initially wl for $, then $), University of Wisconsin ($), Yale ($).
Rejections: Berkeley ARE, Brown, Caltech, Chicago, Chicago Booth, Duke, Harvard, Minnesota, NYU, Northwestern, Princeton, Stanford, University of Maryland, University of Michigan
Waitlists: BU (withdrew), Columbia (withdrew), MIT (eventually rejected)
Withdrawn: University of Wyoming
Attending: Yale
What would you have done differently? Gotten better undergraduate grades and started as an economist sooner.
Other Comments: Given where I was coming in, I’m pretty ecstatic about my results. There was a lot of variance in my admits, and I’m grateful to all the programs which were willing to take a chance on me.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Cornell (no $), Georgetown ($), Iowa State ($),LSE ($), Penn State ($), Rochester ($), UC-Davis ($), UC-San Diego ($), UC-Santa Barbara (no $), University of British Columbia ($), University of Colorado ($), UPenn (initially wl for $, then $), University of Wisconsin ($), Yale ($).
  • Institution: UC Davis Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Will be decided in March Notification date: Feb 11 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Extremely happy about my first acceptance.
  • Institution: UC Santa Barbara Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No mention of funding Notification date: Feb 14 Notified through: website (I checked after seeing an acceptance up at GC) Posted on GC: no Comments: I suspect decisions are generally available, even though an e-mail notification hasn't been sent yet.
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: To be announced (but they fund everyone, so it seems a safe bet) Notification date: Feb 15 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: Um, yeah, I'm pretty happy
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Very high on the waitlist for 1st year fellowship Notification date: 2/24/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Penn State Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification date: 2/24/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: LSE Economics MRes/PhD (track 1) Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Georgetown Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: yes; 3 years TA, 2 years Fellowship Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TA-ship Notification date: 03/01/2001 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: University of British Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Pending Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Sorry, slow to post this one. Excited though - looks like another option which will solves my two-body problem!
  • Institution: Rochester Economics PhD Decision: Accepted? Funding: No idea? Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Got an e-mail with an invitation to visiting day and a second congratulations on admission. I never got any sort of notification the first time around, so I'm just guessing.
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Will get a letter next week Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: University of Colorado - Boulder Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TA+Fellowship Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no
Rejects:
    Rejections: Berkeley ARE, Brown, Caltech, Chicago, Chicago Booth, Duke, Harvard, Minnesota, NYU, Northwestern, Princeton, Stanford, University of Maryland, University of Michigan
  • Institution: University of Minnesota PHD economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Duke PHD economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: University of Michigan Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Chicago - Booth School of Business Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Northwestern University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Guess I picked the wrong week to quit smoking... (Airplane reference for the humorless)
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 (letter dated 3/5) Notified through: post Posted on GC : no Comments: Guess I picked the wrong week to quit drinkin'... (Airplane reference part 2 for the humorless)
  • Institution: Maryland Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/9/2011 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: Princeton Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: Harvard University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/14 Notified through: mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Agricultural & Resource Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/14 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: BU (withdrew), Columbia (withdrew), MIT (eventually
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Please pardon the interruption -- when NYU/Stanford rejects come out, we will return to your regularly scheduled Airplane-based programming.
  • Institution: Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/9/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: BU Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no

HealthEconGirl 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Econ from top-30 U.S. university
Undergrad GPA: 3.76 / 4.0, magna cum laude
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q800, V720, AW5.5
Math Courses: Calc I&II (AP), Multivariable Calc (A), Diff Equ (A), Intro to Proofs (A), Upper-level Probability Theory (A), Lin Alg (A), Intro to Analysis (A-)
Econ Courses (grad-level): None
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Regular econ major courses (mostly A's, one B+ and one B), IO (B+), African Development (A-), Econ Reforms and Corruption (A-), Pol Econ of Growth, Redistribution and Poverty (A-), Intermediate Econometrics (A), Senior thesis seminar (A)
Letters of Recommendation: Senior thesis advisor (Columbia Ph.D.), one Assoc Prof (Foreign Ph.D.), one Epidemiologist (Berkeley Ph.D.), one former supervisor
Research Experience: Senior thesis, RA for epidemiologist since August 2010, Paid Internship where I basically do standard RA work (data cleaning, analysis) since June 2010
Teaching Experience: none really, but LORs talked about my potential for teaching
Research Interests: economics of global health, specifically HIV and sexual behavior in developing countries
SOP: Highlighted my senior thesis, significant time working in a developing country, and well defined research interests; customized to each school
Concerns: While I have extensive work experience that is relevant, it's not the standard econ RA work; no graduate econ classes despite being in a research univ.
RESULTS:
Attending: UCSD
Acceptances: UCSD ($), UBC ($$$)
Waitlists: U Mich (Withdrawn), UCLA (Withdrawn)
Withdrawn: BU, U Toronto
Rejections: UC Berkeley, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, NYU, Harvard, MIT, Brown, Cornell, Northwestern, Duke, UPenn, UMD College Park, NSF (Honorable Mention)
Comments:
Overall, I am very pleased with this result. Even though I had a lot of rejections (and that was hard), you only need one good admit, and I am extremely excited about UCSD. I applied to all of the top ten on the advice of my undergrad advisor, but I knew that cracking the top ten was a long shot.
The best thing I did was apply for the NSF GRFP. The application process, and particularly the process of developing a research proposal, really helped me crystallize my objectives and research interests, and I believe the experience made my SOPs that much stronger.
Taking my choice of undergrad institution, GPA, GRE, and work experience as given, there isn't much I would have done differently. However, writing the SOPs took me much, much longer than I expected. If I could do it again, I would start drafting SOPs over the summer.
A note about my LORs: a lot of people say that LORs from non-economists are useless. But I decided to go with an letter of recommendation from an epidemiologist who is extremely well know both within and outside her field, knows me really well, has a good sense for my research ability, and wrote me a glowing recommendation. I believe that if they are relevant to your research interests, LORs from disciplines that are close to econ, such as math, poli sci, or epidemiology, can be acceptable, and may even be preferable to letters from econ profs who barely know you.
I'm so glad the waiting is over!
Accepts:
    Attending: UCSD Acceptances: UCSD ($), UBC ($$$)
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Not yet specified Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Didn't get an official admission letter, but an invitation to their open house that says "Congratulations on being nominated for admission to the Economics Doctoral Program at the University of California San Diego for Fall 2011. You should receive a formal admission email from the Office of Graduate Studies (OGS) soon and we want to welcome you!" I am so, so happy.
  • Institution: University of British Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 25k Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GradCafe: no Comments: Deadline to respond is Mar 29!
Rejects:
    Rejections: UC Berkeley, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, NYU, Harvard, MIT, Brown, Cornell, Northwestern, Duke, UPenn, UMD College Park, NSF (
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/28/2011 Notified through: website (saw above and checked) Comments: really disappointing, I thought I had a good chance of getting in
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: My first choice. This sucks.
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics, PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Finally!
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/5/2011 Notified through: Mailed letter Posted on GC: no Comments: Expected but still disappointing, as this was my last shot at staying in the SF Bay Area.
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Expected.
  • Institution: UMD College Park Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: Testudo website Posted on GC: No Comments: Still no admits.
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/11/11 Notified through: Email Comments: I appreciate their promptness. Take note, NYU.
  • Institution: Brown University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Harvard University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/14/11 Notified through: mail Posted on GC: no Comments: The letter finally came.
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/17/11 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Finally.
  • Institution: Cornell Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/25/2011 Notified Through:Email Comments: Waiting on two more.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: U Mich (Withdrawn), UCLA (Withdrawn) Withdrawn: BU, U Toronto
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GF: No Comments: Even though it's only a waitlist, feeling better about my chances.
  • Institution: UMich Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: Yes, if accepted Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:That letter is seriously confusing. Like others, it says I would have been admitted without funding last year. I wonder what happens if I am able to find an external source of funding (will call tomorrow).
  • Institution: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Decision: Honorable Mention Funding: No Notification date: 4/5 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Obviously funding would have been great, but I knew it was a long shot, so I'm happy with this result.

snowyday 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA magna cum laude in Econ and History from top 30 US undergrad, top 30 econ dept
Undergrad GPA: 3.8
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800Q / 800V / 6.0 AWA
Math Courses: AP BC Calculus 5, AP Statistics 5, online courses in Linear Algebra and Multivariate Calculus, both As
Econ Courses: Honors Micro Theory A-, Honors Macro Theory A-, Econometrics B+, Game Theory A, Money Banking & Financial Markets A-, Capital Markets A-, Monetary Theory & Policy B+, Senior Thesis A
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: Thesis adviser (econ professor, not well known), director of economics honors program for undergraduates (economics professor), senior administrator at another University (PhD in social work)
Research Experience: Received thesis prize for best economics thesis senior year
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests: Various, capital markets, Monetary Theory, Macro - subject to change
SOP: Discussed my current situation, and how I came to be seriously interested too late in my undergrad career to pursue more math
Other: Working for last two years in finance job.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Duke (tuition remission for 1st year), Brown (MA offer w/ no funding), Wisconsin (no funding 1st year), UCSB (waitlist for funding), BU (no funding 1st year)
Waitlists: Minnesota
Rejections: Yale, MIT, Berkeley, UCSD, Stanford, Caltech, WUSTL, UVA, Michigan
Pending:
What would you have done differently? No regrets, and am extremely pleased with my results all things considered. I had been thinking about applying to RA jobs to beef up the profile, but am not sure with offers from some top 20 schools if it would be worth another 2 years of my life. If I had been thinking of this possibility during my formative years in undergrad, I would definitely have taken more math, and probably some grad econ classes / pursued other research opportunities, but I didn't really become interested in econ until my junior year. Take heart all those with little formal math preparation! Some admissions committees will be willing to take a chance!
Attending: Duke (!!)
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Duke (tuition remission for 1st year), Brown (MA offer w/ no funding), Wisconsin (no funding 1st year), UCSB (
Rejects:
    Rejections: Yale, MIT, Berkeley, UCSD, Stanford, Caltech, WUSTL, UVA, Michigan
Waitlists:
    waitlist for funding), BU (no funding 1st year) Waitlists: Minnesota
Admit summary statistics:
As submitted and recoreded from Test Magic:
There were 82 accepted out of 126 applicants.Of those accepted, average GPA was 3.76, average GREQ was 788.6.
No link to department posted statistics has been added, please let me know if these exist and I will add them.

Links:
Test Magic Econ Forums
econphd.econwiki.com
Last Updated: 14:58:27, Fri May 11, 2012