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SlowLearner38 2010:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics, Medium Less-Selective Midwest State School (no PhD)
Undergrad GPA: 3.52
Type of Grad: Masters-level ECON courses during undergrad.
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 790Q 350V 3.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III (B,A,B), Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A-), Discrete Math (B)
Stat Courses: Intro Stats (A), Regression and Variance I-II (A,A-), Probability Theory (B+)
Econ Courses: Intro/Inter Micro and Macro, Senior Research Seminar, Honors Thesis, Managerial Econ, Econ Forecasting, History of Econ Thought, Public Econ, Econ of Crime, Econ of Sports
Grad Courses: Math Econ I-II (using Simon/Blume), Managerial Econ
Letters of Recommendation: 4 ECON Professors -- None are very well known, but their letters were very strong. They coordinated it so that each focused on different aspects of my ability to do graduate studies in economics in their LORs {1 research ability, 1 teaching ability, 1 classroom ability, 1 summarizing letter from the department chair with a focus on personality}.
Research Experience: Presented undergrad honors thesis at ASSA/AEA conference (won 2 awards at my school for it), Contracted research for a non-profit economic education organization, and 2nd undergrad thesis underway during the time of application.
Research Interests: Applied Micro, IO, Behavioral, Experimental
Statement of purpose: Told an elegant story about how I used to suck at college and now I don't. Tailored the last 1-2 paragraphs to each school.
RESULTS:
Ph.D. Accepts: Emory($$$), UT-Dallas($$), Arizona(Tuition Waiver), Oregon(?-Withdrew)
Ph.D. Rejects: Iowa, Vanderbilt, Virginia
Masters Accepts: UBC M.A.(Partial Tuition Scholarship), Tinbergen M.Phil.(no $)
M.A. Withdrawls: Toronto, Queen's, Simon Fraser
ATTENDING:
Emory University
What would you have done differently? Considering the constraints I was up against, coming from a low ranked state school with only a B.A. in Econ, I think I did very well for myself. Emory is a great fit for me!

77rus 2010:
itution: UC Berkeley
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Reject
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 03/02/2010
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GF: No
Comments: expected

econsd 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BSc in Economics with a Business Minor
Undergrad GPA: 3.731
Type of Grad: MSc in Economics from same school
Grad GPA: 4.00
GRE: First try: 740Q,410V,4.5AWA Second try: 158Q,152V,4.0AWA
Math Courses: Intro to Prob and Stats (Calc Based) (A), Cal 1-3 (B,B,A), Differential Equations (B), Elementary Logic and Sets (Intro to Proofs) (A), Matrix Algebra (A), Linear Algebra (B), Real Analysis (A), Statistics 2 (A)
Grad Econ Courses: Marketing Research (A), International Econ (A), Industrial Organization (A), History of Econ Thought (A), Labor Econ (A), Advanced Micro (A), Research Methods (A), Time Series Econometrics(A), Advanced Macro (A), Econometrics (A)
Econ Courses: Principles of Micro (A), Principles of Macro (A), Marketing (A), Money and Banking (B), Inter Micro (A), Inter Macro (A), Public Finance (A), Math Econ (A), Stats II (Econ Department) (B)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: Grad advisor and 2 from Grad professors. All are from top 50 schools or very close but are not well known in researching or publications. I believe all were very strong.
Research Experience: Graduate Thesis, Co-Author with a professor ( Published ), class: Research Methodology in Applied Econ, Conference Presentation w/ thesis advisor
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests: Health Economics/Applied Micro
SOP: I spent a lot of time on this because of setbacks in my profile and modified it for each school
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UK($), UGA($), FL St. ($), CO(-), NCSU(?), OR(?), Kansas($), WA St($), IUPUI($), OR St.(?), MO(-)
Waitlists:
Rejections: WI-Madison, Duke, VA, Vandy, MSU, AZ, UNC Chapel Hill, Purdue
Pending: 1
Attending: Emory ($)
What would you have done differently? The weaknesses, in my opinion, in my application were my GRE score and my undergraduate/MSc university. I wouldn't have transferred based on friends, relationships, and a co-authorship. The only thing I would have done differently is study more for the GRE instead of taking its impact so lightly. If you would have told me I had a choice between 12 acceptances at the beginning of the cycle I wouldn't have believed it. I'm thrilled with my results and very excited to attend Emory. Thanks for everyone who was there to talk it out in tiny chat for the past few months and good luck with your programs.

TruDog 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top-five public liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.69, cum laude and with general honors
Type of Grad: None
GRE: Q800, V610, A5.0
Math Courses: Calc I/II/III (B/A/C), differential equations (pass), linear algebra (C?), nonparametric stats (B), two semesters of graduate probability (C/C?)
Econ Courses: Intermediate micro/macro (A/A), mathematical economics (B), econometrics (B), numerous electives (3.7 major GPA)
Letters of Recommendation: Strong, but from unknown professors (one each in economics, finance, and statistics--all familiar with my research)
Research Experience: Presented finance research at American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences' annual conference, also submitted to professional journals. Also interned at US Treasury's Office of Economic Policy in Washington.
Research Interests: Public (higher education, pensions)
SOP: Fairly general--highlighted my writing and research experiences
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Wisconsin (no $), Ohio State (deferred one quarter)
Rejections: Minnesota, Michigan, Northwestern, Chicago, Emory, Duke, WUSTL, Iowa, Virginia
What would you have done differently?
My problem was that my institution never emphasized the quantitative aspects of economics, so I had to overload on math courses late in the game after discovering econphd.net. That hurt my GPA, which certainly hurt the strength of my application.
Advice: Take math courses early on, and do lots of research and writing. My writing background was the only reason why I got accepted anywhere.

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.

blackwhite 2010:
Institution: Georgetown
Program:PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding:
Notification date: 2/22
Notified through: Mail
Posted on GF: yes
Comments:
Institution: Pittsburgh
Program:PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Decision is still being made
Notification date: 2/26
Notified through: Email
Posted on GF: yes
Comments:
Institution: Carnegie Mellon
Program:PhD Economics
Decision: Waitlisted
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 2/19
Notified through: Personal email
Posted on GF: No
Comment: Those who were admitted to CMU please tell them that you don't wanna got there asap if you have better option. Many thanks...

delirium 2010:
Institution: Emory
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Reject
Notification date: 3/09/10
Notified through: Email
Posted on GF: Yes
Comments: Disappointed.
Institution: Brandeis
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Reject
Notification date: 3/10/10
Notified through: Email
Posted on GF: Yes
Comments: ...

mgou 2011:
Type of Undergrad: Top 50 U.S. Institution
Major: Quantitative Economics
Minors: Math, Statistics
Undergrad GPA: Cumulative 3.47/ Econ GPA 3.8
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA:None
GRE: First take 760Q/450V 4writing…Retake 740Q/480V TBAwriting
Math Courses: Calc I-II(A,A) Math for Economists(Linear Algebra and Multi-variable Calculus) (A),Intro to Linear Algebra (C+), Linear Algebra (B+), Real Analysis II(A),Analysis of Several Variables (B), Intro Prob&StatsI-II-III (A-,B,A-), Stat Method in Finance (A-)
Econ Courses:
Basic EconI-II(B+,A), IntermedEconI-II-III(A,A,B+), Global Econ (A), Intl Trade (A-), Industrl Econ (D), Math Econ (C+), EconometricsI-II-III(B+,A,A-), Game theory (B), Labor Econ (B+), Finance Econ (A), Econ Honors thesisI-II(A-,A), 6 terms of Research (all A's)
Grad Level: (Stats Dept)Stats Methodology I-II(A-,A-), Survey Data and Analysis (IP), (Econ Dept)Business Cycle History(A)
Letters of Recommendation: A great letter from my advisor (Berkeley) whom I worked with for 8 terms. A good letter from the econ honors director (UCLA) who helped guide my thesis and is aware of the research I do. I've taken courses from both econ professors and done well. A good letter from a statistics professor (Washington) whose grad stats class I've taken that can comment on my ability to analyze and interpret data and is also aware of my research I do.
Research Experience: Undergraduate honors thesis. I am coauthoring a paper with my advisor. I have applied for 3 research grants and received three research grants. I presented my work at my university's undergraduate research symposium.
Teaching Experience: Tutored undergraduate calculus for two terms
Research Interests: Economic History, Empirical Macroeconomics.
SOP: tailored for each school I applied to.
Concerns: I studied abroad for a quarter and did poorly in Ind Econ, and Math Econ due to many reasons. I couldn't retake those courses at my home university since I took them abroad...unless I studied abroad again. Instead I decided to take harder math, econ and stat courses to try to compensate for those poor grades. Also, nowhere in my transcript does it formally say I've taken multivariable calculus. My GRE scores also aren't the best. So there is a lot I have to explain in my SOP.
Results:
Acceptances: UC Irvine($) Rutgers(no $)
Waitlists: UW
Rejections: UCB, NWU, GMU, Vanderbilt, BC, UofA, UVA, WUSTL, Emory
Attending: UCI
What would you have done differently?
Ummm...I don't know. I got bad grades when I studied abroad, but I don't regret that at all. GRE probably couldn't have been much better(actually did worse on the retake). Im happy to be going to UCI. As stated in the previous posts, you only need one good admit

oleador 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA International Economics, unknown Eastern European school
Undergrad GPA: 3.4/4
Type of Grad: MSc Economics, Barcelona GSE
Grad GPA: 6.78/10
GRE: 780Q, 560V, 3.5AW
Math Courses: Advanced math for economists(B) one year course which includes uni- and multivariate calclulus, linear algebra, difference and differential equations, set theory and basic topology, intro to real analysis; Probability and Statistics (B), Theoretical Statistics (A), Optimization (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro theory (D ), Advanced Micro theory (A some improvement over micro ), Econometrics (B), Advanced Econometrics I (C), Macroeconomics (A), International Economics (B), Experimental Economics (B), Econ growth (A).
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Microeconomics (B), Macroeconomics (B), other standard courses
Letters of Recommendation: All from BGSE, should have been quite good.
Research Experience: Macroeconomic research analyst at an investment bank (2.5 years)
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Macroeconomics, international economics and finance, economics of information
SOP: Standard, focused on research interests and ideas
Concerns: Many My profile has many drawbacks as you can see.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: U Houston ($$), Warwick (no $)
Rejections: Maryland, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, LSE MSc, UBC MA, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, McGill, Simon Fraser, WUSTL, USC
Attending: University of Houston
COMMENTS:
I realized that I want to do a PhD only after I finished my BA and started working. If I knew this since my first year of undergrad I would study much harder and would have a much better GPA. To some extent getting an MSc from a top European school helped me, though my performance there was quite mediocre (due to poor undergrad preparation). I have made a large progress by now and studied a lot on my own, so now I am confident that now I am well prepared to study at a PhD level.
Finally, given my terrible profile, it's good that I got into U of Houston, which could not be a top school, but fits my interests and has quite decent placement.

fj217 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BBA Applied Economics/Applied Mathematics (minor) from a mid-sized university in Hong Kong
Undergrad GPA: 3.76/4.00 (#1 in the program)
Type of Grad: -
Grad GPA: -
GRE: Q800 V530 AW4.0
Math Courses: Calculus & Linear Algebra (A); Mathematical Analysis I (A); Mathematical Analysis II (B+); Linear Algebra (A); Statistical Methods & Theory I (A-); Differential Equations (A-); Real Analysis (B); Numerical Methods I (A-); Mathematical & Statistical Modeling (A)
Econ Courses: Principles of Microeconomics (A); Principles of Macroeconomics (A); Intermediate Microeconomics (B+); Intermediate Macroeconomics (A); Mathematical Economics I (B+); Applied Econometrics (A); Money & Banking (A-); International Economics (A); Industrial Organization (A); Aisa-Pacific Economies (A-); Public Finance (A); Money & Finance in China (A)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: One professor from another local university (Stanford PhD); one regionally well-known professor (UW Madison PhD); one statistics professor with a PhD from Germany. At least the latter two letters are very strong.
Research Experience: Summer research at another local university; honors degree project
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests: Macroeconomics, International Economics
SOP: I put much effort into writing it; mainly explaining my interest in economics and my past learning experience
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: IUB PhD ($$, attending), Albany PhD ($$), Simon Fraser MA ($$)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Cornell PhD, PSU PhD, UPitt PhD, USC PhD, Notre Dame PhD, etc.
Pending: CUHK MPhil
What would you have done differently?
I think Id have done better had I picked Mathematics as my major and Economics as minor. That way not only could I have taken more math courses, but I also could have taken them systematically. Now I often had to taken advanced math courses early on without the basic courses. If I could have taken them systematically I would have better math grades.

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