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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:

icebear 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics, Colorado State University
Undergrad GPA: 3.89 (magna cum laude)
Type of Grad: courses during UG: Foundations of Quant Econ Analysis, Political Economy 1
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 790/560/6.0 (2009), 750/570/4.5 (2006)
Math Courses: Calc 1 (A), Calc 2 (B+), Statistical Methods (A), Matrices and Linear Equations (A), Foundations of Quant Econ Analysis (8 week grad math-econ course which covered Simon & Blume) (A+)
Econ Courses: Micro Prin & Inter, Macro Prin & Inter, Econometrics, Independent Study x 2, Comparative Economic Systems, Recent Economic Thought (i.e. History of Academic Economics), Transformation of Central and Eastern European Countries, Privatization and Foreign Capital (B), Globalization - Social and Economic Aspects (B), Games and Decisions (B), Senior Seminar on Globalization and Trade, Political Economy I (graduate level) [Note: all A's except where noted].
Other Courses: Java Programming, freshman year of Electrical Engineering sequence (A's)
Letters of Recommendation: PhDs from MIT, Cambridge, Harvard, Kansas. 1 is a Lead Economist at a international organization, other three are professors; two recent and enthusiastic (regarding research), two enthusiastic but dated (regarding coursework, especially math ability).
Research Experience: Consulting in the private sector and international organizations for ~ 2.5 years, always in close collaboration/supervision with PhD economists.
Teaching Experience: ~1 year teaching English.
Research Interests: International (trade/finance/macro)
SOP: Standard, with a few lines on my grad econ-math course and how my working experience shaped my interests
Other: Intermediate level Chinese, strong experience/knowledge of Chinese development and trade policy, international trade policy, international organizations.
Knew my chances were almost zero at top 10s, but was strongly encouraged to apply to some anyway, given the relatively low costs of additional apps.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: CEMFI ($$), UBC MA ($), Barcelona GSE MSc, Toulouse M2, Carlos III MA ($$)
Waitlists: -
Rejections: Duke PhD, Columbia PhD, JHU PhD, Harvard PhD, UVa PhD, UCSD PhD, NSF GRFP
Pending: Georgetown PhD
Attending: CEMFI
What would you have done differently?
I probably should have taken grad micro/metrics following my grad math-econ course (as typical grad students did), as that signal would have been much stronger than Political Economy 1. More formal math, of course, but I didn't realize that in UG and have never found a schedule complimentary with my working hours since then (I've lived in non-English speaking countries since graduating, so math courses taught in English are pretty limited). Those two things would have done the most to improve my profile, although I wasn't too concerned about it at the time and am happy with how my UG and professional experience has been since then.
That said, I've had talks with my LORs and done some soul searching and am not exactly certain that sinking 5 years into a PhD is the best way to get me where I want to go. Academia is one interesting career path to me, but economic policy research (government, international orgs) or working in China again (in consulting or similar) also hold my interest, and for the later two a MA coupled with 3 more years of working experience and/or language training make more sense. I initially was set on UBC, unfunded, over UC3M, funded, for reputation issues and a better fit with regards to research interests (plus a bad feeling on UC3M's faculty responsiveness from my interactions with them and students), but had a last minute change...
...long after assuming CEMFI had implicitly rejected me I received a invitation to Madrid for an interview in early May to clear up some question marks in my profile (several years of professional experience and goals with pursuing the MA). Apparently I made a good impression, because I was admitted with the standard (?) CEMFI scholarship and stipend. CEMFI made a great impression on me also, with the faculty very warm, responsive and expressing a genuine interest in and support for my several competing career goals and providing clear examples of how CEMFI is well placed to get me there. I was really impressed with the detail they could provide on professional and academic placements relative to most other master's programs' vagueness at this question. So, the main take away is that it isn't over till its over and I'm very pleased to be moving to Madrid next fall!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: CEMFI ($$), UBC MA ($), Barcelona GSE MSc, Toulouse M2, Carlos III MA ($$)
  • Institution: Barcelona Graduate School of Economics (B-GSE) MSc Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: None Notification date: January 26 2010 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Notified within several days of all supporting documents being received. 500 Euro deposit required by late February to maintain offer/status. Good to have a 'safety' as the next six weeks of waiting come; hoping for a better funded option in the meantime (although going elsewhere will be a hard decision - I'm a huge, huge fan of the city).
  • Institution: Barcelona Graduate School of Economics (BGSE) MSc Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: - Notification date: January 26, 2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on grad cafe: Yes Comments: Wouldn't mind a year there at all :whistle:
  • Institution: Toulouse School of Economics M2 - Economic theory and econometrics (ECOMATH) Decision: Admitted Funding: - Notification date: February 25, 2010 Notified through: Mail Posted on grad cafe: Yes Comments: More affordable than BGSE... but I'm not sure about spending a year in France...
  • Institution: Barcelona Graduate School of Economics (BGSE) MSc Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: - Notification date: January 26, 2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on grad cafe: Yes Comments: Wouldn't mind a year there at all
  • Institution: UBC MA Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: Partial Tuition Waiver Notification date: 03/18/10 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: Great!
  • Institution: Universidad Carlos III Masters in Economic Analysis Decision: Admitted Funding: $$ Notification date: 03/20/10 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: CEMFI Master in Economics and Finance Decision: Accepted Funding: $$ Notification date: Notified through: Posted on GF: No Comments: Killer
Rejects:
    Rejections: Duke PhD, Columbia PhD, JHU PhD, Harvard PhD, UVa PhD, UCSD PhD, NSF GRFP
  • Institution: Duke Econ Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/16/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on Gradcafe: (yes or no) yes
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: February 16, 2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on grad cafe: Yes Comments: -
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 03/04/2010 Notified through: Email to check website Comment: Not at all surprising.
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: February 16, 2010 Notified through: E-mail Posted on grad cafe: Yes Comments: -
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 03/04/2010 Notified through: Email to check website Comment: Not at all surprising.
  • Institution: John Hopkins Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments: -
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: - Notified through: Post Posted on GC: No Comments: Shocking
  • Institution: U Virginia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/22/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/22/2010 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: -
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: -

cremorna2 2010:
Institution: Universidad Carlos III
Program: Masters in Economic Analysis
Decision: Admitted
Funding: $$
Notification date: 03/20/10
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: Yes
Comments: This is my miracle. I thank God.
Accepts:
  • Institution: Universidad Carlos III Masters in Economic Analysis Decision: Admitted Funding: $$ Notification date: 03/20/10 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: This is my miracle. I thank God.
Rejects:
Waitlists:

teddypicker 2011:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics from a somewhat-known non-US, non-EU university, (ranking 100+ in Times Higher Education)
Undergrad GPA: 3.89/4.0 (Class Rank:5)
Type of Grad: none
Grad GPA: none
GRE: Q800 V450 AWA4.5
Math Courses: Calculus I&II (A, which is the highest grade you can get), Mathematics for Economists (A), Introduction to Linear Algebra (A), Probability and Statistics I&II (A), Programming for Social Sciences (A)
Econ Courses: Macro-Micro Theory (A), , International Economics I&II (A), Econometrics I&II (A), Transition Economics (A), Theories of Growth and Development (A), Institutions and Development (A), History of Economic Thought (B+, A), Finance (A), Principles of Accounting (A-), Fiscal Economics (A), Monetary Economics (A-), World Economy in 20th Century (A), Analytical Writing for Economists (A), Game Theory I (A), Advanced Economic Theory (A), International Political Economy (A), Political Economy of Natural Resources (A), International Money (A-), Seminar in Macroeconomic Policy (A)
Other Courses: Selected Topics in Law (C+ basically why my GPA got lower), Social Transformation and Political History of my country (both A), History of Civilization (B-), Sociology and Social Psychology (both A)
Letters of Recommendation: All three are macro-economists. One got his PhD from Princeton (among top 6ited economists), one from Minnesota (considered to be the top economist of my country) and one from Maryland.
Research Experience: Currently conducting one with the professor who got his PhD from University of Minnesota. (A proposal on the Brazilian capital controls). I also wrote some papers for my previous professors; the most "credible" one is something I wrote for Sweder van Wijnbergen when I was an exchange student in the University of Amsterdam.
Teaching Experience: Worked as a TA for Introduction to Economics and Macroeconomic Theory classes over the summer.
Research Interests: Macroeconomics, Growth and Development, Political Economy
SOP: Talked about my previous research, my extra-curricular activities and my interests. Took 3 pages. It might have been shorter.
Others: TOEFL ibt: 114 (26R, 30L, 28S, 30W)
Concerns: Math courses are not sufficient.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: LSE (MSc Economics -Research-), BGSE (MSc Economics), Warwick (MSc Economics), CEMFI Madrid (MSc Economics and Finance), King's College London (MA International Political Economy), University of Bristol (MSc Economics, Management and Finance), University of Edinburgh (MSc Economics)
Waitlists: UCL (MSc Economics)
Rejections: Warwick (MA International Political Economy)
What Would You Have Done Differently?
I like the outcome of my results, as my only rejection is from a program I considered to be of low priority. Still, I would have
-taken more math courses during my undergraduate
-wouldn't be so scared of getting a rejection so maybe applied for some US Universities as well as Oxbridge
-would have pressured my professors for an RA position.
-would have studied more for the verbal section of GRE
Accepts:
    Acceptances: LSE (MSc Economics -Research-), BGSE (MSc Economics), Warwick (MSc Economics), CEMFI Madrid (MSc Economics and Finance), King's College London (MA International Political Economy), University of Bristol (MSc Economics, Management and Finance), University of Edinburgh (MSc Economics)
  • Institution: BGSE MSc Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Partial Tuition Waiver (half) Notification date: 2/27/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comment: Will consider if rejected from LSE and Cambridge.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Warwick (MA International Political Economy)
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: UCL (MSc Economics)

don quijote 2011:
Institution: UC3M
Program: Master in Economic Analysis + Phd
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Yes
Notification date: Feb 16
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: No
Comments: The last of my list, but still good to have one!
Accepts:
  • Institution: UC3M Master in Economic Analysis + Phd Decision: Accepted Funding: Yes Notification date: Feb 16 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: The last of my list, but still good to have one!
  • Institution: London School of Economics MRes/PhD Track 1 Decision: Accepted Funding: No. "Placed at the top of our reserve list for funding" Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comment: Hope someone who got funding will have better offers
Rejects:
Waitlists:

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


Rejections:

econphp06 2008:
Type of Undergrad: Business Major, Economics Minor
Undergrad GPA: overall GPA: 3.33 (bad freshman year, excluding freshman it is 3.55)
GRE: 800Q, 330V,AWA 4.0
Math Courses: Math for Econ I-II (AA)Calculus I-II (CB), Differential equations (CB), Linear Algebra (The GRE Big Book), Operations Research (AA), Decision Support Systems( AA)
Econ Courses: Int. Micro-Macro, Econometric, Financial Markets Institutions etc..
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ prof and 1 math prof
Research Experience: RA for 3 months.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Financial Economics, Financial Econometrics, Econometrics.
SOP: ok.
Concerns: Not having great grades and math courses
RESULTS:
Attending: CEMFI Master in Economics and Finance ($$)
Acceptances: CEMFI Master in Economics and Finance ($$), University of Houston Economics Phd, North Carolina State University Econ Phd, Washington State University Econ Phd($$), UPF Msc Finance, Vanderbilt GPED, Central Michigan MA Economics
Rejects: University of Virginia Econ Phd, Boston College Econ Phd, Purdue Econ Phd, Carlos III MA
What would you have done differently? Studied in freshman year, applied only masters programs...
Accepts:
    Attending: CEMFI Master in Economics and Finance ($$) Acceptances: CEMFI Master in Economics and Finance ($$), University of Houston Economics Phd, North Carolina State University Econ Phd, Washington State University Econ Phd($$), UPF Msc Finance, Vanderbilt GPED, Central Michigan MA Economics
Rejects:
    Rejects: University of Virginia Econ Phd, Boston College Econ Phd, Purdue Econ Phd, Carlos III MA
Waitlists:

Cartman84 2010:
I made some slight changes in my profile (that is I tried to convert my grades to GPA used by the US universities and explained in further detail my Maths - I was kind of freshman-to-the-forum when posting my profile)
Type of Undergrad: MA (top grade/summa cum laude) in Econometrics from the top Polish business schol, BA (expected June 2010) in Maths, Warsaw University
Undergrad GPA: 4.7/5.5 (this is extremely hard to get on Econometrics, like 3,9 - 3,95/4 GPA) at my MA program, excellent grade on my thesis, rather poor grades at Maths (I study and work part-time as a freelancer so it's hard to be the top student now, GPA like 3,0/4 but I got very good grades on courses that are most closely related to economics)
Grad GPA: I did a 5 year program, consider it equivalent to Undergrad and some Grad courses too
GRE: V-530, Q-790, A-4.0(I think I was too nervous and solved some problems too fast, better use time they give you in 100%)
TOEFL: 112
Math Courses: Linear algebra, Calculus I-IV, Topology, ODE, Probability Theory I-II, Abstract Algebra, Control Theory, Time Series, Measure Theory, Functional Analysis, Computational Maths I-II, Complex Analysis, Statistics I-II, - mostly C and B but I consider the program very demanding as for a BA level, due to the reform of Polish university education system some of them is on the grad level
Econ Courses: Macro (4 semesters), Micro (3 semesters), Econometrics (lots of small lectures, let's say Theory and Applied with good understanding), Growth Theory, Game Theory I-II, Public Finance Theory, Monetary Policy, Mechanism Design
Other Courses: C++,
Letters of Recommendation: One from Economics Professor affiliated at one of the top10 US universities (get to know him during his lectures in Poland), one from my MA thesis supervisor (that's a really great letter, he recommended succesfuly some students to the top US and Europe programs), one from Maths Professor (PhD NYU, currently at Warsaw University, published in top Maths journals)
Research Experience: worked 2 years as a research economist, did some policy analyses for various Polish government agencies, also one paper for OECD/World Bank on pension funds performance; now working for a financial risk consultancy - mostly forecasting and programming
Teaching Experience: 4 years of TA - macro and micro for undergrads (started during my MA program)
Research Interests: Macroeconomics, focus on pension systems, DSGE models, exchange rates
statement of purpose: I aimed at presenting how professional and educational experience made me prepared well for the program, focus on strong mathematical background and teaching experience
Other: 26yr old male, Polish nationality
Concerns: late application to UMN, late reference letters
Applying to: UMN, Tinbergen, Tilburg, Stockholm Uni, Stockholm Sch. of Econ., Goethe, Universidad Carlos 3 Madrid, EUI Florence
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UMN, TI, Tilburg, SU, SSE, Goethe, EUI
Waitlists:
Rejections: UC3M (withdrawn application after being admitted to UMN, never really wanted to go there)
What would you have done differently? Nothing, I guess. Maybe if I had different preferences I would have speeded up my TOEFL/GRE and applied to some more US programs
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UMN, TI, Tilburg, SU, SSE, Goethe, EUI
  • Institution: University of Minnesota Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Nomination for Graduate School Fellowship, if not granted with the fellowship I will receive a standard financial aid package Notification date: January 26th Notified through: Email Posted on Gradcafe: (yes or no) No Comments: Very late application (January 10th) so it's a nice surprise
  • Institution: Tinbergen Institute MPhil/PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Yes (12k EUR/year + healthcare insurance) Notified through: E-mail Date: 03/05 Comment: The salary for years 3-5 is tempting
  • Institution: Stockholm School of Economics Economics Decision: Admit Funding: 15000SEK per month (after tax); for further years - contingent on performance Notification date: 03/10/10 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comment: Totally surprised
  • Institution: Goethe Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: 12k EUR 1st year Notification date: 3/11/2010 Notified through: phone call from the program director Posted on GC: no Comments: They want me despite the fact a few days before I informed them I withdraw my application
  • Institution: Tilburg University ResearchMaster/intro for PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: peanuts for the first two years Notification date: 3/12/2010 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: I thought there will be no cash at all, my referee was late with the letter of recommendation
  • Institution: Stockholm University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 11k SEK/month Notification date: 03/22/10 Notified through: E-mail Comments: oops, did not expect that ... however, I've already rejected SSE which is basically the sam program, with better financial conditions ... gonna decline it quickly
  • Institution: European University Institute Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: standard grant paid by my country authority with respect to the agreement with the Institute Notification date: 03/23/10 Notified through: Email Comments: I forgot to post it here as I have already rejected the offer, sorry about that
Rejects:
    Rejections: UC3M (withdrawn application after being
Waitlists:
    Waitlists:

cuass 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics in a liberal arts college country (best private university).
Undergrad GPA: 80%
Type of Grad: M.A. in Economics
Grad GPA: 82%
GRE: 780Q, 480V, 3.5AWA
Math Courses: Linear Algebra (70%) Calculus I (78%) Calculus II (80%) Calculus III (90%) Mathematical Economics (90%)
Econ Courses (masters-level): Advanced Micro, Advanced Macro, Advanced Econometrics (All 90%)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level):The usual courses
Other Courses: Hegel, Foucault, Java programming
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ profs, 1 econ ( thesis supervisor)
Research Experience: I worked for a think tank as R.A (2.5 years)
Teaching Experience: T.A: Advanced Microeconomics (2 years), Advanced Macroeconomics (1 semester), Monetary Theory and Policy (1 year) and History of Economics Analysis (1 semester
Research Interests: Health Economics and Applied Microeconomics
SOP: Rewriting from last year
Concerns: Not as much math as many, letter of recommendation are not from international well known economists. Low GRE quant.
Other: 5 publications in local journals. Master thesis accepted with the highest distinction (Top 5 of 2009 thesis). Third best score of the country on the ECAES test on economics (States undergraduate of Knowledge of Economics).
Applying to: PhD Economics: UBC, Upenn, Minessota, Wisconsin, BU, Columbia, UCLA, Maryland, Georgetown, U Texas - Austin, LSE, UPF, UCL, Penn State, Michigan.
PhD Health Policy: Harvard and Berkeley (Health Services & Policy Analysis)
PhD Public Policy: NYU, Michigan.
Accepts:
  • Institution: University of Minnesota Applied Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb. 17 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC:Yes Comments: Yes! One of my top list.
Rejects:
  • Institution: Carlos III Master in Economics Analysis Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 16 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: What surprise!
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Health Care Management & Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: E-mail and website Posted on GF: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: University of Maryland ARE Ph.D. Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/2/2011 at midnight Notified through: E-mail adn website Posted on GF: No Comments:I posted on the GF the details
Waitlists:


Waitlists:

raamar 2008:
Type of Undergrad: International Solid University (Not in EconPhD Ranking)
Undergrad GPA: 3.76/4.00 in Business Administration
Type of Grad: International Another Solid University (Still Not in EconPhD Ranking)
Grad GPA: 3.53/4.00 Economics
GRE: Q 800/ V 370 / AWA 4.0
TOEFL: 111/120
Completed Math Courses: Not plenty
Completed Econ Courses: Micro, macro, metrics and many others (mostly solid, Grad Level)
Letters of Recommendation: Good Recommendations from some known professors of grad. school
Research Experience: Ongoing Master Thesis, (an international paper, but not at the time of application), RA
Teaching Experience: TA for 2 semesters of grad and undergrad macros
Research Interests: Macro mainly
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Maryland ($$), Pittsburgh ($$), Virginia ($ waitlist), Carlos III de Madrid ($$), Pompeu Fabra (No $)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Berkeley, Columbia, Minnesota, Michigan
Pending: WUSTL, UNC, Georgetown, Penn State
Attending : Maryland
What would you have done differently? Could have gone for more and better publications
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Maryland ($$), Pittsburgh ($$), Virginia ($
Rejects:
    Rejections: Berkeley, Columbia, Minnesota, Michigan
Waitlists:
    waitlist), Carlos III de Madrid ($$), Pompeu Fabra (No $) Waitlists:

EnvEcon 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Economics and Business in a top economics university in Europe
Undergrad GPA: We have a different grading system, I would say "good" but not "excellent"
Type of Grad: Economics in the same university
Grad GPA: Again, comparison is difficult; I went way better than my undergrad (especially for math and stat classes) but still not at the top.
GRE: 770Q, 630V, 3.5AW
Math Courses: Basic math&stat + dynamic optimization and inferential statistics
Econ Courses: Basic undergrad courses + lot of grad courses, mainly applied econ (labour, development, energy, international econ, applied macro, behavioural economics) and solid econometric background
Other Courses: Some history and law classes, especially during undergrad
Research Experience: About one year RA in a well known European energy research center within an economics faculty.
Letters of Recommendation: All during my RA period: one from my supervisor, one from the head of the research group (very well known in the energy field), one from a Phd now in the US. As far as I know, all of them are very good and detailed.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Applied micro in general, environmental, development, behavioural
SOP: I put a lot of weight on my RA job and my graduate studies. I specified my research interests and career goals but I didn't mentioned any professor in particular with which I wanted to work.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Maryland Econ (waitlist for $), Maryland AgEcon ($), Purdue AgEcon ($), Wyoming Econ ($), Madrid Carlos III ($)
Waitlists:
Rejections: UCB AgEcon, UCSB, UBC, Tinbergen, Cornell AEM
Pending: Stockholm School of Economics
Attending: Maryland AgEcon
What would you have done differently?
1) I feel that I have been ruled out from some programs due to my GRE quant score, just a bit below 90%.
2) Applied to more places, perhaps some more Econ programs.
3) Did an undergraduate in economics. It would have been way more painful, but I would have been much more prepared for the graduate program (and got better grades).
4) For the econ programs only, doing some more theoretical macro/micro stuff could help, but who knows.
5) Prepare applications carefully from the beginning! Actually, for me it was a learning-by-doing process: for UCSB application (the first I sent), for instance, I didn't include syllabus of econ and math classes.
Other considerations
1) I feel that here people overestimate GRE and grades and underestimate the weight AdComs give to how much overall a candidate fit into the program. Maryland AgEcon was an excellent fit for me (given my interests and research experience) and that put me above other candidates with better grades/GRE.
2) LORs are incredibly useful, one of the few things of an application which can show what is your research potential. Being a RA opened many doors, too.
3) Networking with faculty researchers is fundamental, especially if you are lucky enough to be a RA; in the application process, many people see Professors only as LORs writers, but first of all they are experienced people from which you can learn how to properly do research even after your admission. Starting a Phd with a network of young and senior researchers is a tremendous advantage.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Maryland Econ (
Rejects:
    Rejections: UCB AgEcon, UCSB, UBC, Tinbergen, Cornell AEM
Waitlists:
    waitlist for $), Maryland AgEcon ($), Purdue AgEcon ($), Wyoming Econ ($), Madrid Carlos III ($) Waitlists:
Admit summary statistics:
As submitted and recoreded from Test Magic:
There were 5 accepted out of 10 applicants.Of those accepted, average GPA was 3.86, average GREQ was 795.0.
No link to department posted statistics has been added, please let me know if these exist and I will add them.

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