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

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

This is hard 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Ivy League, top 10 econ program. BA in Math with minor in Actuarial Science.
Undergrad GPA: 3.77/4
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q, 710V, 5.5AW.
Math and Stats: The whole gamut-- Calc I-III, PDE, Complex analysis, algebra, real analysis, probability statistics, multivariate regressions, time series, other stat courses. Mostly As, but a few B+s in the statistics courses.
Econ: Intro Micro (A+), Intro Macro (B)
Other Courses: Also graduated with departmental honors in English Lit.
Research Experience: 2 summers of applied statistics work for the Pathology department at a high ranking medical school. I should mention my honors thesis in English as well even though it obviously isn't directly applicable.
Letters of Recommendation: Didn't know anyone in the econ dept and I spent 3 years out of school before deciding to go back. So I went with the 3 people who knew me best: my English thesis advisor, my manager from the actuarial consulting firm I worked for, and the project leader for the Pathology research I worked on. I would expect that all their letters were strong recommendations.
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: trade, growth.
SOP: passionate, articulate, and thoughtful.
Other: I intentionally limited myself to schools within commuter distance of Philadelphia because that's where my family and my gf are. Considering that limitation I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The funny thing is I could have been a top 10 admit out of school for PhD programs in English. I have to wonder if the adcoms who actually looked closely at my file didn't stop to check if it had been sent to the wrong department.
Results:
Accepted: Drexel ($$$+), University of Delaware ($$)
Rejected: Princeton, Upenn
What I would have done differently:
If I spent some more time on this forum beforehand I would have known that my reaches were foregone conclusions. Also, I obviously could have taken considerably more advantage of my proximity to a top-tier econ department when I was in college. Still, I think I'm going to be very happy at Drexel. They are strong in trade, their funding is very generous, and their grad students get a lot of individual attention. Most importantly the location is ideal for me.

The MAN 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Bachelors at an unranked non-PhD state school
Undergrad GPA: 3.4
Type of Grad: none
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800 Q, 560 V, 4.0 AWA
Math Courses: Calc 1 and 2
Econ Courses: All the prerequisites, Environ. Econ, Econometrics 1 and 2, Law and Econ, Telecom Econ, and a bunch of others
Other Courses: Computer Programming in C++, Physics
Letters of Recommendation: Three letters from instructors at unranked state school
Research Experience: None
Teaching Experience: Some tutoring experience
Research Interests: Public econ, environ. econ, tech. econ
SOP: Pretty standard SOP talking about why I want to pursue econ grad school, details on why I am a good candidate, and details on why I like the particular school.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: NIU, U. of Delaware, UNM, Colorado State, Nevada-Reno, IUPUI, and Illinois State
Waitlists: none
Rejections: USF and Oregon
Pending: none
What would you have done differently? I would have taken more math classes as an undergrad. I'm planning on going for a masters and picking up some missing math classes before applying to PhD programs.

baj393 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics from UT Austin
Undergrad GPA: 4.00/4.00
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 740-Q 560-V 6.0-W
RESULTS:
Acceptances: PhD: New Mexico ($$$) Masters AREC: UConn ($$), Delaware ($$), Maine ($$) Other Masters: Duke Nicholas School MEM (Environmental Economics and Policy) ($)
Waitlists: None
Rejections: Maryland AREC MS
Pending: None
Will be attending Duke in the Fall!
What would you have done differently? Applied to AREC Masters programs at Ohio State and Purdue. Applied to Yale's School of the Environment. Overall, very happy with the Duke program and the other options that I had. If you are interested in both environmental economics and the policy side of things, then the Duke Nicholas School is the place for you because you can take economics classes as well as environmental classes. However, it is not a good prep for a PhD in economics, but is a good prep for a PhD in Public Policy or Environmental Policy.

wtcracker 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics from mid-ranked private college with no econ PhD program
Undergrad GPA: 3.63/4.00 (Econ: 3.91/4.00 Math: 2.83/4.0)
GRE: 800Q, 670V, 5.0AW
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A,A,C), Linear Algebra, Diff Eqs (D), Real Analysis (B), Stat (B), also W for Calc III and PDQ
Econ Courses: A's in Intermediate Micro and Macro, Game Theory, Econometrics, et c, B in Environmental, B+ in Math Econ
Other Courses: Liberal Arts
Letters of Recommendation: 3 good letters from Dept Chair, Thesis Adviser, and Micro Theory/Econometrics prof
Research Experience: Senior Thesis, lots of conference experience including refereeing for an undergrad conference
Teaching Experience: 4 years of tutoring principles 1hr/wk
SOP: Pretty good, talked about my desire to do applied, policy-relevant research
Other: Need to be in the Philadelphia area for 4 years while my wife goes to med school there
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Temple PhD ($$), Delaware MA (no $)
Rejections: none
Attending: Temple PhD
What would you have done differently?
1) Better math grades, my glaring weak spot. I could never get myself to finish problem sets even when they were graded.
2) Applied earlier than March to get funding, and to be able to apply at all to Lehigh, Drexel, Penn
3) But really nothing, since Penn is the only school close enough that is significantly better than Temple, and I don't think better math grades and an early application would have been enough to get me in there

eastcoastkitty 2009:
Institution: University of Delaware
Program: Economics, MA
Decision: Accepted
Funding: TBA
Notification date: 3/18/2009
Notified through: Snail mail
Comment: Yay!

eastcoastkitty 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics from State Flagship University (top 100 econ) in Southeast
Undergrad GPA: 3.16 overall 3.87 last two years, 4.0 econ
Type of Grad: none
Grad GPA: none
GRE: 600Q/590V (terrible, i know. i had been sick with mono for 3 months prior)
Math Courses: Calc I, Stats
Econ Courses: Macroeconomic Policy Analysis (A+), Law and Econ (A), Monetary Theory and Policy (A), Development Economics (study abroad), Macro/Micro (both A+), History of Economics (A+), Political Economy of Terrorism (B)
Other Courses: Public Administration (A), Money and Finance (C+)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 excellent recommendations from fairly no-name economists, 1 excellent recommendation from political scientist/public administration chair--all tenured at flagship state school
Research Experience: Research intern for prestigious university-based research center, research intern for state department of finance, intern for state governor's office, related post-grad work/research experience in Washington, DC for non-profit
Teaching Experience: TA - economic policy analysis course (senior year)
Research Interests: Public Finance/Public Policy
SOP: Pretty standard, talked about my interested in public policy/finance
Other: Recipient of outstanding student in economics award by faculty (senior year)
RESULTS:
Acceptances: University of Delaware (MA Economics)
Waitlists: William & Mary (MPP)
Rejections: None
Pending: None
Attending: University of Delaware, MA Economics
What would you have done differently? Delaware was my top choice, so I am happy. Could have made better grades during freshmen/sophomore years--this did not hurt me too much in the end. I thought that my GRE would keep me out of graduate school, but that didn't seem to weigh as heavily as I anticipated. My work/internship experience and my letter of recommendation's probably made up for a couple of F's freshman year and for my horrendous GRE's. I did not "explain away" any of my weaknesses in my SOP--I only focused on my strengths. Everyone told me to apply to more than two schools but no other schools seemed like a 'good fit' for me. I expected two rejections and got none. I'm happy!

geegro05 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BS Economics from Small liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.08 (2.6 after 3rd year)
Type of Grad: MA Economics from Directional State Schoool
Grad GPA: 3.85
GRE: 780Q, 410V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III (C, B, A-), Math for Economists (A), Linear Algebra (B), Diff. Eq (A-), Intro. to Proofs (B), Complex Variable (A-), Advanced Calc. I (A), Topology (A), Math Stats I (A-)
Econ Courses (grad-level):Microeconomics I, II (A-,A-), Macroeconomics I, II (A-,A) Econometrics I, II (A,A), Time Series Forecasting (A), Growth and Development (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): tons, all A's and a few B's in the beggining
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from Dept. Chair and Thesis Advisor who I took 2 grad macro classes with, 1 from Prof. who I RA'd for and took 2 grad classes from, and an assistant prof I took grad micro 2 with. all should be decent
Research Experience: RA for 3 professors; working on a paper to be published with thesis advisor
Teaching Experience: TA'd for 4 professors
Research Interests: International Finance, Development, Poverty
SOP: rather informal, mentioned professors I would like to work with
Concerns: low ug grades, low verbal score, unknown letter of recommendation
Other: almost dropped out of college junior year. thanks to the support of a specific professor I turned my act around and started trying
Applying to: UCSC, Georgetown, MSU, JHU, PSU, GWU, UNC, UVA, CUNY, Kentucky, Oregon, Utah, Delaware, Kansas
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UCSC($$), Oregon($$), Kentucky($$), Kansas($$), Delaware($$)
Waitlisted: Georgetown
Rejections: PSU, JHU, Virginia
Still Waiting on: UNC-CH, MSU, CUNY, GWU, Utah
What would you have done differently? First off let me say I am going to attend my dream program(UCSC) so what I could've done this cycle is just relax. But overall, I should have gone to a better undergrad, tried harder in school, and made better connections with professors. I was accepted at a top 20 school for my undergrad, but decided to stay close to home and continue dating my girlfriend from high school. While I believe all of these things could have propelled me to a much better program, who knows if I would've developed the same passion for economics and development that I did.

kekecib 2012:
Institution: Texas Tech
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: TAship (~$15K)
Notification date: 1/23/2012
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: NO
Comments: One of my safety schools. Good to know that I am in. However, they want me to let them know by 2/17/2012 about my decision. I'll try to extend the decision deadline.

TripleAxel 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: First rejection, not surprised but still sad

buno 2011:
Type of Undergrad: medium size Business College, (No Phd program though) BBA in Eco and Fin
Undergrad GPA: 3.81 (4.0 Econ) (3.97 Finance)
Type of Grad: Currently ongoing MSc. Econ in Germany wont finish though
Grad GPA: 3.1 (First semester grades only)
GRE: 730Q 490V 4.5AW; 720Q 430V 4.5AW (first)
Math Courses: 12 credit hours Math transfer from High School Transcript equivalent to Calc I-II, Linear Algebra and Probability all with grade B+,Intensive College Algebra A, Elementary Statistics A, Business/Econ Statistics A,
Econ Courses (grad): Time Series Econometrics B, Estimation of reduced forms Econometrics B,
Econ Courses (u/g): Transfer credit from High School for Micro and Macro B, Intermediate Macro A, Intermediate Micro A, Econometrics A, International Trade A, Advanced Econometrics, Public Finance A, Behavioral Finance A,
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Texas, 1 UIUC, 1 UW should be all solid
Research Experience: 3 years RA for Prof, doing research on local economic Issues. Including housing bubble, Commodity prices, VAR analysis on Unemployment and Retail Sales. Was able to do research based on my interests.
Teaching Experience: taught a German class for a while
Research Interests: Public, Labor, Macro, Environmental
Concerns: Not enough Math, low GRE Q, low Graduate GPA (even though high considering my University)
Applying to: OSU, TAMU, NCSU, UF, GSU, UNC, Rutgers, Purdue, Notre Dame, UIC, UNM, CEMFI, Tilburg, Clemson, Delaware,