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almagro 2008:
Type of Undergrad: Economics - Top institution in my country
Type of Grad: M.A. in Economics - Same institution
Grad GPA: 1st
GRE: 800Q/500V/4.5W
Math Courses: 3 Basic courses + 2 Statistics + 2 advanced courses
Econ Courses: 16 during undergrad + 9 during grad
Other Courses: from art to political science
Letters of Recommendation: very strong
Research Experience: undergrad and grad thesis + co-authoring a paper w/prof + RA to 2 professors
Teaching Experience: 9 undergrad courses (some twice)
Research Interests: microeconometrics
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Harvard ($), Stanford ($)
Rejections: MIT
Pending: Princeton and other top-10

wednesday 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: UC Berkeley
Undergrad GPA: 3.76ish
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: 800/680/4.0
Math Courses: 9 upper division undergrad, 5 grad
Econ Courses: 6 upper div undergrad, 11 grad
Other Courses: misc
Letters of Recommendation: 1 junior guy, 1 senior guy, 1 Nobel laureate
Research Experience: 4 RA gigs, generalizing vNM for my thesis
Teaching Experience: currently teaching intermediate micro
Research Interests: micro theory, finance, PF
SOP: boiler plate
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale
Waitlists: None
Rejections: None
Pending: NSF
What would you have done differently? I'd haveworked harder freshman year and not ruined my GPA.

Sammy6 2008:
Type of Undergrad: Top 25 Econ
Undergrad GPA: 4.0/4.0
Type of Grad: MA, Top 25 Econ
Grad GPA: 4.0/4.0
GRE: 800Q, 650V, 5.0 AW
Math Courses: calc 1-3, diff eq, linear algebra, stochastic processes, optimization theory, adv. prob/stat (all A's), audit topology, self-study real analysis
Econ Courses: Micro, Macro and Metrics (Intermed, Master's and 1st semester PhD), Health (MA), Trade(MA and PhD), Internat'l Finance (MA), Game Theory (MA)
Letters of Recommendation: 5 very strong (1 Harvard, 1 Chicago, 2 MIT, 1 Michigan). 4 of the professors are very well known. 4 I took classes from, and 2 I worked with.
Research Experience: RA for one year, about to submit co-authored paper with supervisor
Teaching Experience: private tutoring
Research Interests: no f***'in clue
SOP: pretty good, my adviser took a look
Other: female, 21 years old, transfer
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Harvard($$), MIT(waiting on NSF), Stanford($$), Yale($$), UPenn($$, declined), Northwestern($$), Chicago($$)
Waitlists: NYU, Berkeley (declined)
Rejections: Princeton
Pending: NSF/Javits
What would you have done differently? Relaxed during the waiting game

99luftballoons 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large Private University, Top 10 Econ/Top 5 Math
Undergrad GPA: 3.82 (4.0 Econ, 3.9 Math)
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: 790Q, 640V, 6.0AWA
Math Courses: Calc Sequence, Linear Algebra, Number Theory, Real Analysis I, Real Analysis II, Algebra I, Combinatorics, Topology, Math Stats, Grad. Linear
Econ Courses: Intros, Micro Theory, Macro Theory, Econometrics, Senior Seminar, International Econ (1 yr), Organizational Analysis, Finance, Math Econ
Other Courses: Ind. study in Game Theory and Math Econ, Intro Operations Research
Letters of Recommendation: 2 really good ones, 1 fairly good one
Research Experience: Spent a summer RAing and trying to write a paper
Teaching Experience: Grading
Research Interests: Micro theory, decision theory, game theory, mech. design, experimental... list keeps growing actually
SOP: Wrote about what I liked, what I'd done, I got comments on being "very specific" in my SOP from schools that I've gotten in to
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Harvard, Caltech, Rochester, Cornell, PSU, Northwestern, UMinn
Waitlists: UPenn
Rejections: Princeton, Stanford GSB, Stanford Econ, Berkeley
Pending: NYU, BU
What would you have done differently? I would have applied to less safeties, but that's really an ex-post judgment. I think I had a good year, though Stanford GSB was my dream school, but oh well, life goes on.
Comments: I think italos is right, letter of recommendation is everything!

scrobles 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Econ and Math, MIT
Undergrad GPA: 4.7/5.0 (equivalent to 3.7)
Type of Grad: none
GRE: 800Q/740V/5.5W
Math Courses: Calc 1&2, Linear Algebra, Probability, Statistics, Real Analysis, Intro to Discrete Math, Modern Algebra, Intro to Stochastic Modeling (Grad course). About half As and half Bs, with more As in the later years.
Econ Courses: Intro and Intermediate Micro and Macro, Econometrics, Education, Development, Behavioral, Public Policy, Environmental, Econ research class. Mostly As.
Other Courses: Chinese
Letters of Recommendation: 3 profs with PhDs from MIT. The first was my development teacher and I RA'd for her a couple of semesters. I worked for the second two doing field research for 2 years after graduating.
Research Experience: Working at a econ research NGO for 2 years after college. RA for a bit in college.
Teaching Experience: Tutoring probability course in university, and general tutoring stuff.
Research Interests: Development, Behavioral, applied micro
SOP: My experiences and my interests. Why I like econ.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UCSD, UCLA, UC Davis ARE, Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, USC, Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford
Waitlists: nope
Rejections: MIT, Columbia, Brown
What would you have done differently?
My results were great, I think mostly because of my LORs so I think my after-college job really saved me. If I had to do it again, I would get As in key courses (mostly math) and do an economics thesis, but this is just theoretical since it wasn't necessary.

LazyStudent 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.Sc. in Math, Economics and Humanities honors program, from a top 50 or so university (international)
Undergrad GPA: 95.4/100 (cum laude)
Type of Grad: M.A. in Economics and Game Theory, same university
Grad GPA: 98.1/100 (cum laude)
GRE: 800Q, 620V, 5.0AWA
Math Courses: Lots of undergrad courses (most of them A+, some A), auditing grad courses.
Econ Courses: Many undergrad courses (all A+), micro, macro, econometrics, and many game theory courses at grad level (all A+)
Other Courses: A lot of humanities undergrad courses, some in social sciences
Letters of Recommendation: All from well-known professors, and according to what I was told, they were all stellar.
Research Experience: Lots of algorithms research in Hi-Tech industry, two unpublished papers (MA thesis and another one) in microeconomics.
Teaching Experience: TA for Microeconomics and Game Theory (grad level) and for Math for economics (undergrad level)
Research Interests: Microeconomics, Game theory
Statement of purpose: Pretty standard, almost non-customized.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Harvard (HBS and Economics), NWU, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Stanford (GSB and Economics), Berkeley, Chicago.
Rejections: None.
What would you have done differently?
In retrospect, I might have applied only to my top 5 places (like I was advised by one of my recommendation letter writers), but I guess there was no way to really predict how much impact the recommendations would have.

slightlyconfused1 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 overall, top 20 econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.99/4.00
GRE: 800Q, 740V, 5.5 AW
Math Courses: Topology (A), Algebra I (A), Analysis II (A+), Math Modeling (A+)
Math Courses (Grad): Ordinary Differential Equations (A+), Real Analysis (A), Functional Analysis (A), Complex Analysis (A+), Algebraic Topology (A)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A+), Intermediate Macro (A+), Econometrics (A+), Random Field Course (A+), Research Seminars (A+ and A)
Econ Courses (Grad): Micro I (A), Micro II (A+), Macro I (A+), Macro II (A-), Econometrics I (A), Econometrics II (A)
Other Courses: 4 additional PhD courses in compsci and physics. (A+s and As)
Letters of Recommendation: One from very well-known prof (research), one from decently well-known prof (research + did an independent study with him), one with younger associate prof (took a 2nd year grad module with him + unofficial adviser)
Research Experience: Financial econometrics research for senior thesis; micro theory + cs research earlier. Nothing too extraordinary, although my advisors want me to submit the financial econometrics work to a top field journal.
Teaching Experience: Various TA gigs over the years.
Research Interests: Everything. Applied micro and econometrics if I had to narrow down a little.
Statement of Purpose: Pretty bland (except for the Berkeley SOP, which was the first one I wrote and included lots of details about papers I liked, etc.). Narrated my interest in econ, advanced coursework, research, etc.
Other: Various awards in math/programming contests. Some "best academics in university" awards given to 2-3 students.
Concerns: Undergrad research was not focused and had little to do with my actual interests?
RESULTS:
Acceptances: MIT ($$), Harvard ($$), Yale ($$$), Princeton ($$), Stanford ($$), Berkeley ($$), Chicago ($$), Northwestern ($$), Duke ($$)
Rejections: None

heraclitus_junior 2010:
It won't let me edit my previous post (on page 3), so I'm reposting this. My profile isn't coming up on untitled's website though. I don't know how to get it to be picked up.
Profile
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Double Major in Math/Econ. Top 3 university in a very small, isolated country. (<300 in the world)
Undergrad GPA: 3.94 out of 4.00 (converted)
Type of Grad: 1st class honors degree
Grad GPA: 3.92 out of 4.00 (converted)
GRE: 780Q, 750V, 4.5AWA (only took once)
Math Courses: First year math, second year multivariate calculus and differential equations, second year linear algebra, second year inference, second year probability, second year real analysis, third year dynamical systems, third year complex variables, third year matrix algebra, third year analysis, third year multivariate stats, honours measure theory, honours probability theory, honours mathematical economics, honours combinatorics (matroids), honours topology (point set topology).
Econ Courses: second year macro, second year micro, third year micro, third year econometrics, third year game theory, honours macro, honours welfare economics, honours empirical macroeconomics.
Other Courses: first year computer science done informally.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 professor of pure mathematics (chaired), 1 econ senior lecturer (associate professor) from my uni. They knew me very well, so their letters should've been good. 1 world-renowned economist who isn't from my university and didn't know me as well as the others.
Research Experience: Paid summer math project. Paid summer internship at my country's central bank with their research team. An honours dissertation on mathematical economics.
Publications: one single author publication in a mid-tier North American Journal (accepted for publication mid-feb 2010). one working single author paper on cooperative game theory.
Teaching Experience: Tutor for first year math and third year microeconomics.
Research Interests: Economic theory (Micro and macro).
Statement of purpose: I talked about my research experience and my goals.
Concerns: My GRE score was a real worry; I was concerned my application would not even be looked at. Also, I did a 4 year degree in 3 years so I didn't have any breadth. I also applied straight out of undergrad at a relatively young age.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Princeton, Berkeley, Chicago, Northwestern, Stanford, San Diego, Harvard (After waitlist).
Rejections: Yale, NYU, MIT (after waitlist), UPenn (withdrawn).

nobigdeal 2010:
Type of Undergrad: B.F.A (!) dbl major in acting and economics (from one of the top acting programs, and a top (15) econ department.
Undergrad GPA: 3.85/4 over all, 3.9 econ; received the senior year econ dept. award.
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 800Q, 650V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-II (AP). Only linear algebra (A) in undergrad. Since then, calc III (A), real analysis (A+), math stats (A+), probability (A)
Econ Courses (undergraduate): two intro classes plus micro, macro, international trade, labor, public, development, statistics, econometrics, thesis. All A's, except an A- in my first intro course.
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ professors (worked for one over a summer, co authored a paper with the other -- top marks in their classes), one economist at a fed (he does more academic research than policy work).
Research Experience: A senior thesis, which grew into a paper that was recently accepted into a top (sub)field journal. Over 2 years at a fed working pretty closely with an economist with who I coauthored a paper we submitted to an interdisciplinary policy journal.
Teaching Experience: Very little. Worked in a statistics lab in college where I gave a lesson on STATA.
Research Interests: Labor, behavioral
Statement of Purpose: Discussed my background and research experiences. Also wrote two paragraphs outlining my research interests in applied microeconomics, labor, and behavioral. So, fairly specific. Hardly addressed the school's strengths at all--only mentioned the school's name once, in the last paragraph.
Concerns: I have a B.F.A, and I didn't take much math in college.
Applying to: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, UC Berkeley, Columbia, Yale, Penn, Duke, Cornel, NYU, Brown, Northwestern, Stanford, U Chicago, U Michigan

xyz621 2010:
Institution:Penn
Program: Econ Phd
Decision: Accepted
Notification date: 03/02/2010
Notified through: Email
Posted on GF: Yes
Comments: Relieved
Institution:Yale
Program: Econ Phd
Decision: Rejected
Notification date: 02/18/2010
Notified through: Email to check website
Posted on GF: Yes
Comments: I am just too old to get in.

Cinzia 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BSc Economics & Math from large Canadian university
Undergrad GPA: 3.95 (not finished yet)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 620V, 800Q, 4.5AW
Math Courses: Calculus (A+), Advanced Calculus (A+), Linear Algebra II (A+), Nonlinear Optimization (A+), Real Analysis -- undergrad (A), Real Analysis -- grad (A+), Advanced ODE (A-), Concepts in Abstract Math (A), Intro Math Logic (A+); Prob & Stats I (A+), Prob & Stats II (B), Probability -- no measure theory (A+), Mathematical Stats (A+). (all undregrad except "grad real analysis")
Econ Courses: Intro Econ (A), Intermediate Micro (A+), Intermediate Macro (A+), Advanced Micro -- game theory (A+), Advanced Macro (A), Econometrics I (A+), Econometrics II (A), Economic Analysis of Law (A+), Political Economy (in progress); graduate courses: PhD Micro Theory II -- game theory, contract theory (A), Advanced Micro Theory (in progress).
Other Courses: 1st year bio + chem + physics (I wanted to study molecular biology), Italian language courses.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from a well-known prof who taught me graduate game theory and supervised a summer research project; 1 from a young prof who taught me intermediate micro and undergrad game theory; 1 from a law & econ prof who taught me economic analysis of law.
Research Experience: summer research project in game theory --> uninteresting small paper.
Teaching Experience: none.
Research Interests: micro theory, political economy.
SOP: talked about how I got interested in economics, in particular micro theory, what I learned from my courses and research, and my own interests (not very well-defined interests); didn't mention any specific faculty.
Other: Note: the Canadian grading system is a bit different from the American one: here 90-100 ~ A+, 85-89 ~ A, 80-84 ~ A- etc., and 85-100 ~ 4.0 GPA, so it seems easier to get high GPA, but my friend told me the grades aren't inflated as much as in the States (which I don't know, but it is true that in my school, a large public school, they try to keep the course average low).
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Stanford, NYU, UPenn (waitlisted for funding), Wisconsin, UCSD (they didn't talk about funding), Toronto MA(doctoral), Toulouse M2.
Waitlists: MIT.
Rejections: Harvard, Princeton, Chicago, Yale, Berkeley.
Pending: Northwestern (what happened to my application???)
What would you have done differently?
I wouldn't say doing sth. could get me into better schools (e.g. Harvard, MIT), but some things could certainly prepare me better for a PhD program, e.g. taking "analysis" instead of "calculus" courses, graduate probability, and more econ courses.

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

2011applicant 2011:
Type of Undergrad: Top 5 US liberal arts college (Economics and Political Science double major). Graduated more than 2 years ago.
Undergrad GPA: 3.87 (3.9 in majors)
Type of Grad: Math Certificate Program
Grad GPA: 3.6
GRE: 790 Quant. 800 Ver. 5.5 Writing
Math Courses: Linear Algebra (Pass), Multi-Var (Pass), Real Analysis I (A-), Real Analysis II (A-), ODE (A-), Masters Level Math Stat I (B+), taking Masters Level Math Stat II
Econ Courses (grad-level):n/a
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): all the basics, except only intro to econometrics. Took advanced IO seminar (A) and advanced Micro theory seminar (B+/A-)
Other Courses: Lots of Political Science, History, and Philosophy courses.
Letters of Recommendation: Professors: One MIT graduate and UMD graduate, who both know me well, but only from classes. One Penn State professor who doesn't know me well. Supervisor at work (economic consulting firm) who has a PhD in Econ from UVA.
Research Experience: research position at think tank, analyst/associate position doing antitrust work at economic consulting firm, 1.5 years doing non-quant research for political science professor.
Teaching Experience: TAed three economics classes.
Research Interests: Industrial organization and Public Finance. Plan to do joint JD/PhD.
Concerns: Letters of Recommendation, Lack of academic research experience, inadequate econometrics background.
Decided to apply to no safeties for PhD programs (all schools I would definitely want to go) and Masters programs as my backups. I also may consider taking econometrics and doing research over the summer and going to a law program next year (since I want to get the law degree too), and then reapply next year from law school.
Applying to: Berkeley, Stanford GSB (Political Economics), Harvard Political Economy, Yale, Michigan, Maryland, Duke, Minnesota, Northwestern, Chicago; Cambridge MPhil, Oxford Mphil, LSE Msc EME, U Toronto Mphil (Doctoral track), UPF/Barcelona GSE + many associated law schools.

concilliatory 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 5 econ/math/undergrad
Undergrad GPA: 3.7, 3.85 math.
GRE: 800/750/5.5
Math Courses: lots of undergrad stuff (A,A-), measure-theoretic probability (A), stochastic calculus (A-_
Econ Courses: standard undergrad stuff (A, A-), Grad Micro I (A), grad micro II(A-).
Letters of Recommendation: fairly well known in their fields, seemed to like me.
Research Experience: RA in neuroscience, REU in math bio, senior thesis (in progress) in econ.
Teaching Experience: math/econ tutor for university.
Research Interests: Micro, Political Economy, theoretical behavioral
SOP: included around 5 references to recent papers relating to my research. otherwise unremarkable.
Applying to: Stanford GSB, Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, other stuff. Advisor told me to apply to about 12 schools.
Acceptances: Stanford GSB (with funding), Yale, no info on rest as of yet.
Comments: I guess my recommendations were stellar. Didn't think I would be getting into Stanford GSB without any publications or major awards.

skysky 2011:
Type of Undergrad: A hopefully well-known school in Asia. One-semester visiting student experience in a top econ dept in U.S.
Undergrad GPA: 90+/100
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800 Q / 720 V / 4.5 W
Math Courses: Mathematical Analysis, Linear Algebra, Probability theory, Mathematical Statistics, Real Analysis, Stochastic Process, Mathematical Modelling, all with decent scores. Abstract Algebra, Differential Equations, finished after application. Complex Analysis, in progress.
Econ Courses (grad-level): PhD-level Micro.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Regular courses like intermediate micro/macro, econometrics, game theory etc.
Letters of Recommendation: 3 from Berkeley professors. 2 from my home institution.
Research Experience: One semester RA in the US school.
Teaching Experience: none.
Research Interests: No idea, really.
SOP: Just so-so. Not in a good mood when writing this stuff, so did not put much effort in it. Emphasized my interest in math, though. Wierd, but that was all in my mind then.
Applying to: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern, Upenn, Columbia, NYU, UCSD

ypdm 2011:
Institution: Yale
Program: 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: Yes
Comments: Feeling very happy and relieved.

wznancy624 2011:
Institution: Harvard
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Admitted
Funding: not sure yet
Notification date: 02/26/2011
Notified through: phone call
Posted on GC: no
Comment: so excited!!! got the phone call 2 minutes ago.

vidamilonga 2011:
I just got an account, so I'll post my results so far in chronological order. Somewhat schizophrenic results...
Institution: Yale
Program: econ PhD
Decision: rejected
Funding: n/a
Notification date: mid Feb
Notified through: email to check website
Posted on GF:no
Comments: not surprised, but a little disheartened
Institution: UPenn
Program: econ PhD
Decision: waitlist
Funding:n/a
Notification date: 2/25
Notified through: email
Posted on GF: no
Comments: high on waitlist
Institution: Harvard
Program: econ PhD
Decision: accepted!
Funding: not specified, but I did submit my documents late
Notification date: 2/25
Notified through: phone call
Posted on GF: yes
Comments: total surprise! but super excited
Institution: UC Berkeley
Program: econ PhD
Decision: rejected
Funding:n/a
Notification date: 3/2
Notified through: email
Posted on GF: no
Comments: surprised at this, especially given my Harvard admit. my recommenders told me I had a very good chance, and they're very well-connected to Berkeley. Oh, well, at least it makes my decision even easier

oikomaniac 2011:
I am a new member. My results below (all funded offers):
Institution: Stanford GSB
Program: PhD in Finance
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Yale
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Duke
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Northwestern
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Harvard
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Maryland
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: MIT
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Stanford
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Chicago
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Columbia
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes

OutOfGame 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.96
Type of Grad: Part-time student at a top 5
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: Q800/ V580/ AWA 5.5
Math Courses: Calc, Modeling, Linear Algebra, Intro to Proofs, Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, Measure Theory, Functional Analysis, Topology, Abstract Algebra, Combinatorics, Number Theory, Probability, Stats, Stochastic Processes, Math Problem Solving
Econ Courses: Principles, Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, Finance, Game Theory, Accounting, Econometrics, PhD Econometrics
Other Courses: Intro to CS, Data Structure, Algorithms, Data Mining
Letters of Recommendation: 3 research supervisor (top young professors in econ / finance), 1 PhD Metrics professor (department chair at top 5), 1 undergrad professor (took 3 classes with, and TAed for).
Research Experience: ~2 years full time RA at top 5
Teaching Experience: TA for intermediate macro
Research Interests: using empirical methods to answer macro / finance questions; IO
SOP: professors say it's very good
Other: rejected by all top 10 schools two years ago
RESULTS:
Attending: MIT
Acceptances: MIT, Harvard, Stanford GSB, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Berkeley, Chicago, NWU, Columbia, NYU, Booth (finance / joint), Sloan (finance)
Waitlists: Penn, Wharton (finance), Michigan
Rejections: None
Never heard back after interview: Stern (finance)

Aha 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: University in Australia; B Ec/LLB
Undergrad GPA: N/A; first class honours
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: 790 Q; 610 V; 5.0
Math Courses: Linear algebra, vector calculus, real analysis
Econ Courses: Grad equivalent courses, particularly micro theory and econometrics
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: probably strong
Research Experience: undergraduate honours thesis, published paper in a low ranked journal; various small research projects from work
Teaching Experience: Taught intro micro, macro; various econometrics courses
Research Interests: various
SOP: nothing special
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, NYU, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Cambridge, Oxford, Toulouse, UBC, Penn
Attending: Harvard
What would you have done differently? Nothing really...

UZW 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large public, top 15 econ, located on an isthmus
Undergrad GPA: 4.0/4.0
Type of Grad: grad micro
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 800/690/5.5
Math Courses: 11 proof based courses, several in analysis, probability, stochastics, measure theory, topology, math stats
Econ Courses: pretty typical, plus the one semester of grad micro
Other Courses: went fairly far in the psych major
Letters of Recommendation: the three most famous economists who I had worked with, including the grad micro teacher. &nbsp;I knew one well, but my advisors really emphasized have tenured professors writing letters, so that was my top priority.
Research Experience: RA for an auction project, RA for an education project, thesis, research class
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: everything
SOP: bland
Other: extensive community involvement, top score in the grad class, a couple best in the department awards, a couple research grants, above average tennis player
RESULTS:
Acceptances: top ten minus Harvard, was waitlisted for funding at MIT
Waitlists:
Rejections: Harvard
What would you have done differently?
From talking to people, it sounds like working for two years at NBER/the fed is a good way to improve your chances at the top two. &nbsp;However, that is two years of your life that you won't get back, and I am pretty set on going into academics, so I'm happy with my decision to apply this year. &nbsp;I'm posting this because I have not seen a profile quite like mine on here before and I think it could be a helpful gauge for people at large publics.

treddi 2012:
Institution: Harvard Kennedy School
Program: PhD in Political Economy and Government
Decision: Accepted
Funding: coming in mail
Notification date: 2/16
Notified through: email
Posted on GC:no
Comments: feels good

chechyccc 2012:
Institution: Harvard Kennedy School
Program: PhD in Public Policy
Decision: Wait-listed No.1
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/16/2012
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Comment: Hopefully!

tunedradio 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.89
Type of Grad: audited 1st year micro, 2nd year development
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q/700V/6.0A
Math Courses: Multivariate Calc (A-) Linear Algebra (A), Real Analysis (currently taking), Statistics (A), Diff Eq. in High School
Econ Courses: lots, A's throughout, A+'s in intermediate micro and macro
Other Courses: lots of political science / development / policy
Letters of Recommendation: one very famous, one very good one (coauthor) but junior, another junior
Research Experience: substantial; senior honor's thesis, presentations at four conferences, year of RA full-time, co-authored (yet to be published) less-technical papers with two professors (one very famous)
Teaching Experience: TA for three semesters (one at graduate level)
Research Interests: devo / trade
SOP: good (but it doesn't really matter)
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: NSF, Yale ($), Berkeley ARE ($), Michigan Econ/Public Policy ($), USSD ($), Penn State ($), Brown (waitlisted $), Duke ($), UC-Boulder ($), LSE (Msc)
Waitlists: Princeton PolyEc PhD
Rejections: Harvard KSG, Cornell, LSE (PhD), MIT
What would you have done differently? I actually applied last year with substantial less math and research experience and was accepted into two top 20 programs but no top 10 programs (and honorable mentioned on the NSF), so for those who are considering it, I found a year of RAing and a few more classes (and better recs) can really boost your admits.

snigai 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: International Student, top 10 University in the country, exhange student in the US.
Undergrad GPA: 85&#37;
Type of Grad: MA in Economics, Top 3 University in the Region
Grad GPA: 4,10 out of 4,33
GRE: 770/420/5.0, TOEFL: 115/120
Math Courses: Mathematics for Economists, Mathematical Programming
Econ Courses: relevant Micro I, II; Macro I, II; Econometrics I,II all grad
Other Courses: Statistics, Probability
Letters of Recommendation: all grom grad economics professors
Research Experience: GRA for 1 semester for visiting professor
Teaching Experience: GTA for 2 semesters
Research Interests: Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics
SOP: It was allright I suppose )))
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UVA, Penn State, UC Riverside, American U (probably)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Harvard, Berkeley ,Cornell, Georgetown
What would you have done differently?Nothing. I did the best I could.

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.

ockam 2007:
hey, I just heard about this forum a couple weeks ago. wish I had know about it earlier, but I hope somebody else might find my info useful
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: large "top-ten" public research university w/ top 15ish econ dept
Undergrad GPA: 3.95 overall, 3.97 math
GRE: 800Q/610V/5.0
Math Courses: majored in math, with rigorous year-long sequences in analysis, stats, and abstract algebra. upper div electives included applied linear algebra and mathematical modeling. note to future applicants: the admissions director at princeton seemed to take very seriously the fact that i had taken the more rigorous math courses
Econ Courses: very few: intro to micro, mathematical econ, grad-level micro. After applying, some macro and behavioral (and said I would do so on application)
Other Courses: lots of philosophy including grad-level coursework in philosophy of science.
Letters of Recommendation: These were probably the strongest part of my application. One from a full professor each of: econ, math, phil departments. Math letter came from my real analysis prof who is also a college provost. Phil letter was from my honors thesis advisor. I took a grad course with the econ prof. I know all my letter writers quite well, so there were lots of very specific things they could say about me.
Research Experience: none in economics. Assisted research in epidemiology (with a sociologist) and genomics. Independent research in philosophy of science and sabermetrics.
Teaching Experience: tutor/TA for the computer science dept (java)
Research Interests: very broad. mostly micro and metrics, both theory and applied
SOP: 700 words, nothing fancy. described how my background in math and phil led me to economics. said my interests in econ were broad and described a couple specific topics that interest me. Used mostly the same statement at every school, changing just the last two sentences for each application
Other: Residential advisor, phil club president, and undergrad phil journal editor.
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
full funding:
Princeton, Stanford, Chicago, UPenn, Columbia, Northwestern Wisc-Madison, UBC
no $: UCSD
Waitlists:
Yale, MIT
Rejections:
Harvard, Berkeley
What would you have done differently?
absolutely nothing.

econchick06 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large, not highly ranked public university
Major: Economics Minor: Mathematics
Undergrad GPA: Overall: 3.96, Econ: 3.98, Math: 3.85
GRE: 780 Q, 600 V, 5.0 A
Math Courses: Calc I through III, Diff Equations (A+), Discrete Math (A+), Foundations of Math (Intro to Proofs) (A-), Matrix Algebra (A+), Linear Algebra (A), Probability (A), Advanced Calc (A, only A in the class)
Econ Courses: Undergrad:
Int Micro (A+), Int Macro (A), IO (A+), Urban/Regional (A+), Public Choice (A+), Math Econ (A), Econometrics (A+), Development Econ (A), International Economics (A), Money and Banking (A+)
Grad (taken as an undergrad):
Macroeconomic Theory (A), Mathematical Economics I (A-)
Other Courses: Intro Stats I and II (A+, A+), Intro to Comp Statistical Packags (SAS) (A+)
Letters of Recommendation:3 econ profs- 1 who I RA'd for and co-authored w/, 1 from grad macro prof, 1 from department chair.
Research Experience: RA for 1 year for one of my professors/TA this
Two sort-of publications (co-authored with professor,1 empirical paper in non-peer reviewed journal, and one study funded by a think tank)
Completed a thesis-type paper (we don't have a formal thesis program), will be submitting for publication shortly (and I did submit this paper to the schools I applied to as evidence of my research aptitude)
Teaching Experience: TA one semester
Research Interests: mostly applied micro
SOP: talked about my experiences with and passion for research, first para was tailored to each school
Other: founded economics club
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
full funding:
Chicago (Will be attending )
Rochester
Duke
University of Maryland
University of Virginia
Johns Hopkins
no funding:
UCLA
University of Pennsylvania (accepted off waitlist)
Waitlists:
Stanford
Rejections:
Harvard, Berkeley, UCSD, Michigan, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, NYU, Northwestern, MIT
What would you have done differently?
Hmm.. I think it turned out pretty well, I probably applied to too many schools but I am happy with the outcome and wouldn't really change anything. At least I don't have any "what ifs"!

macrodude84 2007:
Type of Undergrad: Graduated top 5&#37; of top 10 university
Undergrad GPA: 3.90 overall and major (double major math and economics)
GRE: 800Q, 800V, 6.0 W
Math Courses:
Undergrad Math: Linear Algebra (A+), Differential Equations (A), Differential Geometry (A), Grad level Abstract Algebra (A-), Topology (A-), Grad level Real Analysis I/II (A-/A-), Statistics (A), Partial Differential Equations (A-)
Econ Courses:
Undergrad Econ: Intro Econ (A+), Intro Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Intermediate Micro (A+), Intro Econometrics (A+), International Trade (A), Monetary Economics (A+), Health Economics (A-), Financial Economics (A), Industrial Organization (A), Game Theory (A+), International Macro (A)
Grad Econ: PhD-level micro (A), PhD-level macro (A-), PhD-level econometrics (B+), Mathematical Economics (A+)
Letters of Recommendation: All economics professors, including the chair of the department.
Research Experience: Two years research with public policy professor, plus summer internship with think tank in DC.
Teaching Experience: TA master's-level micro and macro
Research Interests: Macroeconomic theory, search theory, labor economics (theory), some interest in behavioral econ
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
UPenn (funding)
Rejections:
Princeton
Harvard
MIT
What would you have done differently?
Not really sure. Perhaps done a little better in the math classes. Written a better statement of purpose, maybe?

anukriti 2007:
Type of Undergrad: Masters in Economics from the best economics department in my country...history of students being accepted to Top 10 universities every year.
Undergrad GPA: 69&#37;. Ranked 3rd in my class.
GRE: 800Q, 570V, 4.5 W
Math Courses:
Undergrad Math: Linear Algebra , Differential Equations, Topology, Real Analysis, Statistics, Partial Differential Equations, Game Theory, Calculus
Econ Courses:
M.A.Econ: Microeconomic Theory, Advanced Macroeconomic Theory, Basic and advanced Econometrics, Public Economics, International Trade, Forecasting Methods and applications, Economics of Regulation, Applied Consumption Analysis, Comparative Development
Letters of Recommendation: All economics professors with Ph.D.'s from Yale, Cornell, Princeton. One of them working in a leading research institute in the US now.
Research Experience: One year research with an international research organization in DC.
Teaching Experience: Undergraduate Statistics for one year.
Research Interests: Development, Health, Education
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Columbia
Rochester
Maryland
Brown
Wisconsin
Waitlisted
NYU
Rejections:
Princeton
Harvard
MIT
Yale
Cornell
UPENN
What would you have done differently?
Nothing actually. I tried my best!
vbrep_register("442973")

SMH 2007:
Type of Undergrad: No one knows my university outside my country (which is a third world country).
Undergrad GPA: 3.78; Econ:3.81, Math:4.0
GRE: Quant : 800, Verbal : 570, AWA : 5.0
Math Courses: Cal 1-3 (A/A+/A), linear(A),prob(A),stats(A), ODEs(A), numerical solutions to ODEs (A+), Partial diff eqs (A+), Discrete Maths (A+), Quantitative and Computational finance(A)
Econ Courses: inter'l finance, monetary econ., dynamic econ,dev econ,IPE,econometrics1-2, Applied econ, macroeconomic analysis, public econ, (apart from all the regular micros and macros and a couple more)
Recommendation: 2 econ people and one math prof, no big names. i know all of them were full of praise for me in their letters like they are for everyone else
Research Experience: RA for a year
Teaching Experience: TA for ODEs, stats, elementary formal logic, microeconomic-II, econometrics & research methodology (grad level course)
Research Interests: econometrics
SOP: nothing special
Other: a substantial part of my CV and personal statement was only to show my achievements in sports, i know it doesnt count much but i cudnt just leave it out
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UVA, Rice, Rochester, Wisconsin-Madison, UNC (UNC funded from univ, rest funded via a scholarship)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Chicago
(did not hear from U florida and ohio state)
What would you have done differently? if the econ dep at my univ had not made it mendatory for us to take stupid univ core courses (50 units of that) in SS like politics and sociology then i would have taken courses like real analysis and functional analysis
overall it was pretty difficult to choose between wisconsin and rochester first and then after that i got a funded offer from UNC so another difficult decision, but i would probably stick to my original decision of going to rochester

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.

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.

Econ07 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: International, Top in the country
Undergrad GPA: 9.3/10.0
Type of Grad: MSc
GRE: Q800, V550, A4.5
Math Courses:Undergrad: Calculus I-III, 2 semester Lin Algebra, Probability, Statistics, Real Analysis
Grad: Real Analysis II, Measure Theory, Statistics
Econ Courses: Lots of undergrad, core grad sequence in Micro, Macro and Econometrics
Electives: Contract Theory, Finance, Advanced Theory
Letters of Recommendation: All domestic based. Two tenured, two junior. All had PhDs from top 7.
Research Experience: MSc thesis in progress, Undergrad thesis
Research Interests: Theory, Public Finance
SOP: Discussed my background and interests
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Chicago(Ext fund), Columbia($), MIT($, not immediately), Northwestern (waiver, Ext fund), NYU($), Princeton($), Penn($), Yale (lots of $)
Rejections: Chicago GSB-Econ, Stanford GSB-Econ, Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford
What would you have done differently?
Not have applied for the Fulbright. Focused more on the GSBs, emphasizing theory or not have applied to those.
Advice: Relax. Focus on every aspect of the app (LORs, courses, research exp). Now, I believe this forum overemphasizes math (but, still, you should have Real Analysis). Having recomendants that are known by the Adcom seems to be important.

kgreene1906 2007:
Type of Undergrad: Big 10 midwestern School
Undergrad GPA: 3.32
Type of Grad: Smaller BIG 10 school with a Ph.D program in the top 50
Grad GPA: 3.599
GRE: 800 V, 780 Q, 4.0 wirting
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Diff Eq, Linear Algebra, Proof Writring, Abstract Algebra, Advanced Calculus I and II, Real Analysis(B-), Math Stats I and II, Engineering Stats, Grad Complex Analysis, Grad Real Variable Theory.
Econ Courses: MA Micro and Macro, Monetay Theory, Growth and Development, Game Theory and Firm Behavior
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: Pretty Solid, one came from a UCSD grad, one came from a Cal-Berkley Grad and one came from a Michigan Grad
Research Experience: None...
Teaching Experience: TA for 2 semesters
Research Interests: Trade, Development, IO
SOP:
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: SIU-Carbondale, Howard, Purdue, UIUC, Northern Illinois, Michigan State
Waitlists:n/a
Rejections:WUSTL, Berkley, Harvard
Attending: SIU-Carbondale(they are waving me out of alot of classes, it should take me 1.5 years to finish my course work and 1.5 to 3 to do my dissertation)
What would you have done differently? I waited until the LAST MINUTE to apply to places. And basically I wish I had took school alot mroe seriously. But dont underestimate the power of good reconomentation letters...by looking at my GPA, i really shouldnt have gotten into a few places, but letters will get u in.

Chicunomics 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Honours bachelor's degree at a big international university (econphd.net top 100)
Undergrad GPA: 89/100-ish, 1st of 149
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q 700V 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Advanced streams of first year linear algebra, calculus, also core undergrad probability, statistics subjects (As in subjects completed so far). For semester before I start: vector analysis, real & complex analysis.
Econ Courses: up to grad level micro, macro, econometrics, auction theory, search theory, industrial organization (all As)
Other Courses: Nothing any adcom would care about.
Letters of Recommendation: 2 full professors, quite senior and relatively well known, 1 junior academic (honours thesis advisor) -- all economics.
Research Experience: Thesis prize; theoretical IO paper (to be submitted to Information Economics and Policy soon co-authored with advisor), co-author on another paper to be submitted to Journal of Labour Economics soon. RA since 2004 - both empirical and theoretical stuff.
Teaching Experience: TA in intro Micro and Macro, advanced undergrad IO and micro.
Research Interests: IO and micro theory.
SOP: Nothing special, just discussed my interests and research.
RESULTS:
Attending: Northwestern University
Acceptances: Northwestern ($$), NYU ($$), Wisconsin ($$), MIT (No $), UCLA (No $)
Waitlists: Yale ($$), Pennsylvania (No $), Princeton ($$)
Rejections: Stanford GSB (EAP), Columbia, Maryland, Harvard, Stanford Economics, Berkeley
What would you have done differently? Nothing really. I did the best I could. I can't help but feel that with another year's math preparation, I would have gotten admits to a better selection of schools. However, NWU was a really high personal preference, so it was worth cutting the math short a year!

Julius 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad&Grad: BA in Econ and 2 semesters in MA course, Both in the top university in my country (East Asia)
Undergrad GPA: 4.13/4.30
Grad GPA: 4.18/4.30 (At the time of application, 4.10/4.30)
Honors : Top in my graduating class (1/201)
2 Grand prizes in paper contests (one in my school, one nationwide)
GRE: 740V 800Q 4.0AW
Math Courses: Calculus 2, Linear Algebra, Mathematical Analysis, Real Analysis, Topology, Mathematical Statistics, Theory of Statistics 1 & 2 (Grad level) , Probability Theory (Grad level) - All A+ except Probability(A0)
Econ Courses: Bunch of them. Some highlights are: Grad Micro, Grad Macro, Grad Stat in Econ dept, Grad Advanced Micro, Grad Advanced Time series, Game theory, Some finance related courses,... (All A+ except Grad Macro(A0) for aforementioned courses)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: Four LoRs, three from econ and one from stat. I was ranked on the top(or near the top) in at least one class of each professor. Two of them knows me very well and probably wrote their letters enthusiastically.
Research Experience: RA for a macro paper of my adviser, programming for cointegration analysis and stuff.
Teaching Experience: TA for Econometrics, Statistics and Time Series Econometrics. Instructed regular TA sessions.
Research Interests: Applied Micro, Econometrics
SOP: Devoted a lot of space for my motivation and my preparation.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: MIT, Princeton, U of Chicago, Yale
Waitlists: None
Rejections: Stanford GSB, Harvard(99&#37, Stanford(99%), Berkeley, NYU(??)
Others: UPenn, NWU - Stopped the review process before decisions.
What would you have done differently?
Maybe more math.
I really appreciate all the supports and infos from fellow TMers and I think this is the best service I can do for the TM next generation Good luck to everyone!

Fatrapa 2008:
Type of Undergrad: None (French system of Grandes Ecoles)
Type of Grad: Business School + Paris School of Economics
Grad GPA: 1st / 60
GRE: 800/610/4.0
Math Courses: french system
Econ Courses: 3 "undergrad", 20 grad
Other Courses: business
Letters of Recommendation: 3 well-know economists, 2 less-well-known but who know me well
Research Experience: Master thesis
Teaching Experience: TA
Research Interests: Political decision (Roemer, etc.) / political economy
SOP: spoke about my research
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Chicago
Waitlists: None
Rejections: Columbia, NYU (99%), Harvard (99%)
Pending:
What would you have done differently? I would have described my math credentials more precisely. This is an advice for all French future applicants: explain how the system works and how good you are in maths in your letter.

Elly 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small liberal arts college (women's college)
Undergrad GPA: 3.91
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 720V/790Q/5.0A
Math Courses: Math Major: Linear, Advanced Linear, Multivariate, Differential Equations, Probability and Statistics, Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra I and II, Grad Analysis and Topology
Econ Courses: Econ Major: Micro, Macro, Int'l Trade, Int'l Finance, Econometrics.. etc.
Other Courses: Intermediate Programming
Letters of Recommendation: all strong- one from my math advisor, one from my econ advisor (who I also did research with and TA'd for), one from a respected economist at a top department at which I took classes
Research Experience: Summer REU in Game Theory, Senior Thesis
Teaching Experience: TA'd for Calculus, Linear Algebra, Intro to Econ, Macro, MBA Micro Theory, MBA Statistics and Econometrics
Research Interests: Development, Micro Theory
SOP: I took it seriously but it wasn't too long
[B] Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: MIT($), NYU(off of waitlist), UCLA ($), LSE (MRes/PhD Track 1, $), Toronto (Research MA, $), NSF
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, Brown
What would you have done differently? Nothing! I will be attending MIT.

Antonio 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Good Italian University (not Bocconi, but good)
Undergrad GPA: 28/30
Type of Grad: Italian School of Excellence (oooooh)
Ggrad GPA: 30/30
GRE: 800Q 540V 2.5AWA
TOEFL: 107/120
Math Courses (undergrad and grad): Mathematical Methods, Mathematics for Economics I&II, Statistics I&II, Advanced Statistics, Generalised Linear Models.
Econ Courses(undergrad and grad): Advanced Micro/Macro, Game Theory, IO, Advanced Econometrics I&II, Public Finance, Corporate Finance, Applied Econometrics, Financial Economics, Experimental Economics, Advanced Topics in Macro (PhD Course).
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from Economics professors, my graduate academic tutor and a guy from LSE (summer school). The others changed with respect to the target. However they were all economists but one (math).
Research Experience: Undergrad Thesis, one Working Paper and visiting researhcer at ENS-PSE for my grad thesis.
Teaching Experience: Undergraduate Micro.
Research Interests: Applied Micro, IO and Applied Econometrics.
SOP: Pretty good...I think.
Other: GMAT; LSE Summer school (A+); Visiting for 6 months at University of Southampton in UK. Italian, 22 (almost 23).
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Berkeley ($$), Northwestern ($$), BC ($), Toulouse (M2).
Waitlists: NYU.
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, UChicago, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, UCSD, Brown, Duke, UPenn.
Pending: BU.
What would you have done differently?
I really have not understood almost anything!
My results show a lot of randomness (i.e. MIT was wrong in rejecting me) and/or luck (i.e. Berkeley was wrong in accepting me).
On one hand I think that waiting another year, with another master from a well reputed European University and with two more well known LORs I could have had some better shots for Cambridge MA or Princeton.
On the other hand, I could say that I have been very lucky and that I must take this opportunity as soon as possible.
Just some advices for European and, more in dept, Italian guys since this forum is too American-oriented: there is always a trade off between time (apply just during my last year of school) and odds (wait one year in order to improve my chances). And only you can decide upon this. You can speak with your profs and they will suggest you. But in the end it is just a matter of your own preferences.
However I have learnt two things:
1) Getting accepted in a very good US School (Berkeley or Northwestern) is less difficult than I used to think.
2) Getting accepted in a TOP US School (MIT or Princeton) is more difficult than I used to think.

VGC 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Good Latin American university
Undergrad GPA: 5.9/7
Type of Grad: Same Latin American university as undergrad.
Ggrad GPA: 6.4/7
GRE: 790Q 510V 3.0AWA
TOEFL: 108/120
Math Courses (undergrad and grad): Calculus I & II, Algebra I & II, Probability, Mathematical Statistics, Analysis, Mathematical Economics (dynamic systems and optimal control)
Econ Courses(grad): Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Game Theory, Industrial Organization, Econometrics, Aplied Econometrics, Financial Econometrics, Financial Economics, Enviorenmental Economics.
Letters of Recommendation: Strong letter of recommendation from economics professor who know me well.
Research Experience: Master's Thesis, Working Paper, and several research assistanships. Mostly theoretical.
Teaching Experience: Undergraduate Principles of finance.
Research Interests: finance, auction theory.
SOP: I invested a lot of time in it.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Stanford GSB (finance)($$), MIT Sloan (Financial Economics)($$), Harvard (Business Economics)($$), Northwestern Kellogg (Finance)($$), NYU Stern(Finance)($$), Princeton (Economics)($$), Chicago (Economics)($$).
Waitlists: Berkeley Haas (Finance).
Rejections: Harvard (Economics), Wharton (Finance), Columbia GSB (Finance), Duke Fuqua (Finance).
Pending: MIT (Economics), Chicago GSB (Finance).
What would you have done differently?
I really have applied to fewer places.

ForTheWin!_08 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: International, best in South Africa (University of Cape Town for those in the know)
Undergrad GPA: We don't use the GPA system. About 80&#37;, which is 4.0 according to the WES conversion scale.
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q, 5.0 A, 670 V
Math Courses: A year and a half of calculus, Linear Algebra, Algebra I and II, Real Analysis, Metric Spaces, Complex Analysis, Measure Theory, Functional Analysis I + II, Differential Geometry, Topology I + II. All above 75%, so I guess A- to A+ range.
Undergrad thesis: Explained the Delbaen-Schachermayer version of the "Fundamental Theorem of Asset Pricing" (basically, a financial market satisfies No Arbitrage iff there exists an equvalent martingale ["risk-neutral"] probability measure). Essentially, it was just a whole lot of functional analysis and a little bit of stochastic integration.
Econ Courses: Intro macro/micro/game theory, Intermediate Macro/Micro, Honours Macro/Micro (i.e. 4th-yr level - we used adult Varian for micro, to give you an idea of the level), Undergrad Metrics and Quantitative Methods, Computational Political Economy (4th-yr elective on simulation methods and behavioural econ), Masters Econometrics, Masters/PhD Microeconometrics. All A- to A+ range.
Other Courses: 3 years of Mathematical Statistics, including stuff on: basic probability theory, regression analysis, stochastic processes/time series (not that I remember much of it!), Bayesian statistics, generalised linear models/qualitative regression models. Some basic applied math courses on ordinary differential equations (A's).
Letters of Recommendation: One should be very enthusiastic, from the one of the country's most hardcore empirical microeconomists (though his PhD is local)... another is likely to be good (I mean, I'm certain the guy thinks I'm smart, I got the second-best grade in his class), from quite a big-shot macro guy (PhD Cambridge, and he's co-authored some stuff with Phillip Aghion), but he's only taught me once. I'll probably use my honours thesis supervisor for the third one.
Research Experience: Not a lot... I've ostensibly been an RA for one professor for a summer, but I'm not sure how much work you should do to say this of yourself... I attempted to solve this game theory problem for him (he kind of gave me a half-finished paper of his and said "Can you fix this up?"... I couldn't). So not so impressive on this front I think.
Teaching Experience: Tutor for intermediate micro for two years, rewrote some of the problem sets for the same course.
Research Interests: Development micro, game theory, criminology
SOP: Decent, I thought. I posed a few questions that I thought were interesting and tried to show how my personal background led me to be interested in them. Customised one paragraph to mention which fields at the respective schools were strong, and why I thought they should want me.
Weaknesses: No research experience, from a relatively unknown university; no money to live off of if financial aid is denied.
Results:
Admissions: Michigan ($16k + tuition + health insurance), Chicago ($20k + tuition + health insurance) [attending]
Waitlists:Northwestern, Pennsylvania, Princeton
Rejections:Yale, MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard
No Reply:NYU
What would I have done differently: Not much. I wish I had gotten my undergraduate degree from a more prestigious place. Other than that, I'm not sure there was much that I could have done differently. But I'm not at all unhappy with what I got...

ward 2008:
PROFILE:
School: Oklahoma State University
Type of Undergrad: Economics (Honors) and Mathematics
Undergrad GPA: 3.9 (4.0 Econ, ~3.8 Math)
Type of Grad: none
GRE: V 530, Q 790, A 5.0
Math Courses: Calculus 1-3, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Calc. of Several Variables, Intro. to Modern Algebra, Intro. to Modern Analysis, Mathematical Statistics 1 & 2, Mathematical Modeling, Advanced Calc 1.
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, Public Finance, History of Economic Thought, Econ Development, Econometrics (undergrad), Grad Micro Theory, Grad Math Econ.
Other Courses: Computer Science I, SAS Programming
Letters of Recommendation: not from well known professors but must have been fairly strong. Two tenured Econ professors and my Intro. to Analysis prof
Research Experience: honors thesis, but nothing substantial
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Applied Micro, Micro Theory, Behavioral and Experimental
SOP: I put some time into it but it was essentially the same for each school; I just changed a few sentences here and there.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Duke($$) <attending>
Wisconsin (no$)
Ohio State ($$)
UIUC ($$)
Arizona ($$)
Waitlists:
NYU
Rejections:
Harvard
M.I.T.
Northwestern
UCSD
Penn State
RA position at NYC Fed
What would you have done differently?
I would have tried to pick programs that fit my interests better and probably would have applied to more schools - especially in the 10-25 range. That's really about all I would have changed.

needeconhelp 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: large US public university(SUNY-SB), Econ and applied math Major
Undergrad GPA: overall GPA: 3.79; eco: 3.89 ; math:3.88.
GRE: 800Q, 510V,AWA 4.0
Math Courses: Calc 1-3 (A), differential equations(A),Logic, Language and Proof (B), Introduction to Real Analysis (A), Mathematical Statistics(A), Data Analysis(A), Finite Mathematical Structures (B+),Applied Linear Algebra (A), Linear Algebra(fall), Real Analysis(fall),
Econ Courses: A's: Intro, Micro, Macro, Strategic thinking, Regional, Mathematical Statistics, Applied Microeconomics, Financial; Econometrics (A-), Money and Banking (B+)
Grad classes: Graduate Data Analysis (A), Introduction to Probability(B-), Microeconomics(fall)
Other Courses: Intro to comp. sci.(A)
Letters of Recommendation:
4 strong letters(Yale, Stanford,LSE )
Research Experience: Independent research(fall) with Economics honors thesis
Teaching Experience: Grading assistant for intro to economics.
Research Interests: economics of education, family ( i guess labor, developement), applied microeconomics
SOP: probably below standard.
Other: I have been part of a scientific research on arsenic in drinking water in bangladesh. Thus, I have been co-authored in a few science publications. I can get some very strong recommendations from some of these professors who are really well-known in their fields.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UVA($$), Ohio state($$),Duke (no stipend), Wisconsin(no $$ or tuition), Pittsburgh(no $)
Rejections: Berkeley, Columbia, Michigan, yale, brown, harvard, stanford, wharton, Upenn, UCLA, Maryland
What would you have done differently?
-more Pure math classes and actually work harder
-not send my Honors thesis to some school, because it was not that great.

crutchboy3 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 20 Private University
Undergrad GPA: 3.81
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q/600V/5 A
Math Courses: Honors Calculus I-IV (A's), Honors Linear Algebra I,II (B+,A-), Intro to Probability (A), Honors Algebra III (A), Honors Analysis I (A-), Graduate Topology (A-), Graduate Optimization (A), Measure Theory (B), Functional Analysis (B+), Galois Theory (B+), Number Theory (A)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro/Macro (A), Game Theory (A), Econometrics (A), Graduate Econ Prob and Stats (A), Grad Micro I (A),
Letters of Recommendation: Two professors that had taken several classes from and had done research with, One that had just taken classes from, all econ
Research Experience: Math REU, Summer REU to begin work on thesis project, Honors thesis, 2 years of RA
Teaching Experience: Some tutoring
Research Interests: Micro theory, game theory
SOP: Nothing Special
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Northwestern ($)(Attending), NYU ($), Duke ($), UIUC ($), Caltech($), Chicago (Tuition Waiver + Health), Wisconsin (No $), Penn (No $)
Waitlists: Penn (Eventually Accepted, no $)
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, Princeton

touchwood08 2008:
PROFILE
Type of Undergrad: Good European university (Political Science)
Undergrad GPA: 4.00/4.00
Type of Grad (3 years program): Good European University (Economics)
Ggrad GPA: 4.00/4.00
GRE: 780Q 610V 4.5AWA
TOEFL: 102/100
Math Courses (grad): Probability, Statistics, Mathematical Economics (calculus and static optimization), Dynamic Optimization
Econ Courses (grad): Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Various Fields.
Letters of Recommendation: 4 strong letters. One letter from a very well known professor.
Research Experience: Undergraduate honor thesis (applied econometrics. awarded a national price) + working paper on more theoretical stuff (not so polished at the time of applications). Research assistant for the very well known professor.
Teaching Experience: TA in Introduction to Economics (undergraduate) and in Econometrics I (graduate)
Research Interests: Macro-Finance; Corporate Finance; Applied Econometrics.
SOP: ...not enough time to write a good one.
Other info: male, 25 y/o
RESULTS:
Acceptances (waitlist): UPenn ($$ attending), Northwestern ($$, declined), LSE Mrs./track 2 ($$, declined), BU (no $$, declined), NYU (waitlisted, declined).
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Chicago, Yale, UCLA, LBS,
What would you have done differently?
My greatest regret is to not have applied to Princeton. I was informed I ended up at the border at Chicago so I could have taken a chance there. Maybe I would have spent more time polishing my research paper and writing a good SOP. Anyway, I am very pleased with my outcomes and I believe Penn is a very good match with my interests.

Chess is life 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Public University BA
Undergrad GPA: 3.94/ 4.0 Math/ Economics
Type of Grad: Public University MA
Grad GPA: 4.0/ 4.0 Economics
GRE: 670 V 800 M 5.0 Writing (I took it when I was 19 to get a job at Kaplan and it worked!)
Math Courses: Topology, Real Analysis, Linear Algebra, Calculus 1-3, Differential Equations, Probability and Statistics, Numerical Analysis, Econ Courses: International Economics I and II (MA), Math for Economists (MA and PhD), Microeconomics (MA and PhD), Urban Economics (MA), Econometrics (MA and PhD), Health Economics (MA), Macroeconomics (MA), Intro. to Econometrics, Statistical Methods, Intermediate Micro and Macro, Industrial Organization (Best Class ever), Seminar in economics, Money and Banking, several independent studies,
Other Courses: Physics 1 and 2 (I seriously considered majoring in it). Computer science 1.Letters of Recommendation: Math and Economics professors. I did research with the economics professors.
Research Experience: A lot. Washington, DC think tank work for almost a year now, mainly immigration and trade issues. However, I am currently doing research on state policies that effect economic growth and presented at the CATO Institute on microcredit. I also have done research on child abuse, social capital, fed policy and housing prices, a senior thesis on NAFTA's effects on Mexico, municipal government efficiency (Global Perspective), and the fed challenge (Rutgers won our district).
Teaching Experience: Tutor for my University 2 years and tutor/teacher for Kaplan test and prep.
Research Interests: Probably Microeconomics, most likely something very game theoretical. This is subject to change given that I have yet to take a PhD level economics course in Macroeconomics.
SOP: General but adapted to each university I applied to.
Other: I think being affiliated with the CATO Institute (libertarian think tank) hurt me. Also, Rutgers has a tendency of sending students to programs and watching them promptly fail the qualifier. This couldn’t have helped me.[/font]
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Rochester (24k Fellowship), Duke (17k fellowship), Washington University, St. Louis (TA/ RA 20k), Rutgers (30k Presidential Fellowship), Michigan (Nada), UCLA (Nada), Wisconsin (Nada), Georgetown (Wait-list for funding), UCSD (TA and after a complicated formula 7k), Cornell (Nada)
Waitlists: Minnesota, NYU (High whatever that means), MIT (later rejected)
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Chicago, Columbia, UPenn, Brown, Stanford, Berkeley, Northwestern,
Pending: Nothing
Concerns: My letter writers are not very well-known
What would you have done differently?
Maybe take more math? I really don’t know what else I could have done. I think I will regret not taking more computer science courses.

2008applicant 2008:
Undergrad: Top three liberal arts college in US
GPA: 3.75/4.0 Econ (Econ major)
Math:Calc I-III, Linear Algebra
GRE: 790Q/710V/5.5AW
Teaching experience: TA in college for Intermediate Macro and Econometrics
Research experience: Senior thesis, since turned into co-authored paper w/ advisors, submitted for publication. RA job since college (3 years) supervising big field experiment in Latin America. Started (no results yet) small independent field/lab experiment here.
letter of recommendation: 2 from my current bosses and the other from my thesis advisor.
Interests: development, demography, experimental
What I learned: I did very well except at the very top schools and it was obviously my weak math background that hurt me there, but it was my choice not to take those classes. It was a really hard choice between Michigan and Berkeley ARE.
Accepted: Michigan ($), Wisconsin (AAE) ($), Davis (ARE) ($), Berkeley (ARE) ($), Brown ($), UCSD ($), UCLA ($), Duke ($), Penn (Demography) ($)
Rejected: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, NYU
Other: NSF Honorable Mention

nash12 2008:
Undergrad: B.A. in Mathematics (2006) from a well known college/university in my country (South-East Asia). Grades: 84&#37;
Graduate: M.A. in Economics from a well known school of economics in my country. It is a two year course and I only had the grades of the first year or two semesters when I applied. Grades for the first year: 70%
GRE: 800Q, 530V, 5.0AWA. TOEFL: 117/120
Math Courses: Since I'm a math undergrad so lots. Real Analysis, Basic Algebra, Topology, Ordinary Differential Equations, Partial Differential Equations, Probability and Statistics, Linear Algebra, Group Theory, Ring Theory, Mechanics, Multivariable Calculus, Numerical Analysis, Number Theory, etc.
Econ Courses: All Grad Level. On my transcript with grades when I applied- Microeconomic Theory, Macroeconomic Theory, Introductory Econometrics, Mathematical Economics and two more. On my transcript without grades when I applied- Topics in Economic Theory, Game Theory-I, Topics in Macroeconomic Theory and Econometric Methods.
Research Experience: Was a visiting research scholar in a European Institute during the summer of 2007. Wrote two papers there. Both were selected for decent conferences which I mentioned in my application. Sent one of the papers in all the applications.
LORs: One a well published and reasonably well known econ theory professor at University of Warwick. One econ professor in my grad school, phd from Princeton. Another econ associate professor in my grad school, phd from Yale. I think all of them were strong.
SOP: Talked about my interests- Micro and Game Theory. Talked about some of the papers that I've really liked. Also, about my motivation to do economic theory.
Teaching Experience: None.
Other: Male, 22 years old.
Results
Acceptances: NYU($), Columbia($), University of Chicago($), LSE MRes/PhD($), Cornell($), Brown($), Penn State($).
Waitlisted and finally Accepted: Yale($) and Princeton($).
Rejected: Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, UPenn and Stanford.
Attending: Princeton. Yuhoooo..
What would have I done differently? Nothing in particular. Well I don't really know if I would have ever made it to Harvard and MIT. None have made from my school in the past 10 years. As an aspiring economic theorist, Princeton was really my dream school and I'm over the moon to have got it.. My suggestion to all the future applicants, esp the International Students is guys dream big and work hard. Dreams do come true..

elcapitano 2008:
GRE: 800Q 720V 4.5AW(doh) (2nd Attempt)
Undergrad: Good but not brilliant research university
High 1st Class Degree
All Maths and Econ Courses 1st in 12 of 14 including all the maths courses.
Graduated 2nd in class.
Math: All that I was allowed to take
SOP: Probably weak
Experience: Two years in government
Interests: Growth, Development, Trade
Applied: Brown, Columbia, Harvard, Oxford (MPhil), NYU, UBC (MA)
Results: Accepted - UBC ($$), Oxford ($?)
Rejected - Brown, Columbia, Harvard, NYU
What would you have done differently?
I would've realised that UK undergrad and some work experience is not sufficient to get into a top US program. Having realised this I also would've applied to Cambridge for their MPhil and probably LSE and not bothered applying for US programs this time round. However, i'm still pretty happy.

asianecon 2008:
I'll just be following my friend econphilomath...
Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics from a top institution in Southeast Asia.
Type of Grad: M.A. in Economic Theory and Metrics from France
GPA: Graduated 1st in my class for undergrad and 2nd for masters
GRE: 800Q, 610V, 4.5AWA
TOFEL: 114/120
Courses: Tons of econ, some math, no formal real analysis (only audited)
TA: None
Teaching: None
Research: 1 published in IJIO; Honours and MA thesis
RA: RA during undergrad; RA right now for profs in a top 5 program
LORS: 1 really senior (Econometric Society Fellow), 2 junior but quite famous, 1 from undergrad (co-author)
Interests: Microeconometrics + (Statistical) Decision Theory + (a little bit of) Mechanism Design/Game Theory --> IO applications
SOP: Not so good I guess. Not focused enough and all over the place. Kinda sounded like I didn't know what I wanted to do.
Schools: Shooting for the top 10 schools.
Other: Male, 25
RESULTS:
Attending: Northwestern ($$$$)
Acceptances: Yale ($$$$$$$....), Chicago GSB ($$$), Stanford ($$), UChicago ($)
Waitlists: None
Rejections: Harvard, HBS (interviewed) MIT, Princeton, UCSD
Never heard anything: Berkeley
What would you have done differently?
Made my SOP tighter. Maybe tried to impress my current RA bosses more, but I'm not really an applied/Stata guy so that won't be fun. An adcom head told me that they would've accepted me even without the current RA job so I don't know if it really helped (a friend of mine even speculates that it might have hurt me since it's not aligned w/ my interests).
Contrary to econphilomath, don't put too much weight on the flyout. Try to visit the school on an ordinary day and see what goes on. I didn't go to a real flyout at NWU (not even the special TM day) but I decided to go there nonetheless, after visiting thrice and attending classes and seminars.

ImProcrastinating 2009:
Profile:
Type of Undergrad: Top 25 with a top 40ish econ program. BA in econ.
Undergrad GPA: Overall: 3.74, Econ: 3.8ish, Math: bad.
Type of Grad: Not highly ranked, top 100ish. MS in applied math.
Grad GPA (at application time...): 3.9
GRE: 790Q / 740V / 5.0 AWA.
Math Courses:
Undergrad: Calc III (B+), ODE (C- (Ouch...)), Real Analysis (A-), Linear Algebra (A).
Grad: Analysis (A-) (taken at the summer school of a top 10), Measure Theory (A-), Math Stats (A), ODE (A), Functional Analysis (A), General Topology (In progress at application time...)
Econ Courses:
Undergrad: Intro. Micro (A), Intro. Macro (A), Money and Banking (A), Economy of China (A-), Intro to Econ Stats (B+), Mathematical Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (B+), Econometrics (A), International Trade (A), Distinguished Majors Seminar (A), Independent Study (A)
Grad: PhD Micro I (A-), PhD Micro II (A), PhD Micro III (IP)
Letters of Recommendation:
1 from an undergraduate econ professor, not well known.
1 from a graduate math prof, very well known among mathematicians but I don't know if that counts...
1 from a graduate econ prof, very well known.
Research Experience: Summer at the Fed, senior thesis, 1 year + 1 summer as an RA for a professor, RAing at the IMF while applying.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Micro Theory, I/O, International Finance
Results:
Acceptances: NYU ($$$)
Waitlists: None
Rejections: A lot, Harvard, MIT, Chicago, Yale, Berkeley, Stanford, Columbia, and UPenn.
Pending: None.
What would you have done differently? If I could do it ALL over again, I'd probably go to an undergrad that was stronger in econ, take more math courses earlier on, and work as hard my first couple years in college as I did my last couple. But I was expecting to get rejected everywhere I applied this time around, so I'm ecstatic to be going to a dream school like NYU.

MorgieLilly 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A in Econ-Phil and Math. Ivy League, top 10ish in economics Uni.
Undergrad GPA: 3.85, summa cum laude.
GRE: 780Q, 510V, 3.0W
Math Courses (undergrad):
Cal I, Calc III, Linear Algebra, Real Analysis, Analysis and Optimization, Probability and Induction (P/F), Probability and Statistics, Advanced Logic, Independent Reading Course, (all As)
Econ Courses (PhD-level): Micro-econometrics (A-)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro/Macro(A-,B+), Advanced Econometrics (B+), Advanced Macro (A), Economic History (A-), International (C, took abroad in Ghana.)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ, both well known. 1 math, well known in math. 1 philosophy, well known in the philosophy of science.
Research Experience: REU Intern in geophysics at Lamont Earth Observatory, summer 2007 (My paper was accepted to the 2008 ASLO Conference). Full-time economics RA this year.
Research Interests: Development, Economic History, Alternative Theories in Economics, Econometrics.
SOP: Talked about why I chose interdisciplinary study, my work abroad in Ghana and my experience this year as a research assistant. I stated that I expected to change my mind about my specialization anyway, so I didn't want to state a particular one.
Applied to: LSE, MIT, NYU, Harvard, UCSD, UC Berkeley, Chicago, Stanford, Columbia, UMich, Princeton, Yale
Rejected: Everywhere
Waitlisted/Accepted: Nada
What would you have done differently? I dunno. Feedback from my home institutions admissions committee (where I was also rejected) says that I should have taken more econ (at the expense of my philosophy and science courses) but I would not give that knowledge and my resulting world outlook up for an admit to this discipline, because I feel that this will inform my research abilities more so than having taken much more economics. I have to do a lot of thinking now about whether I belong in this discipline, seeing as the adcoms don't seem to think so. Today is sad.

myrrh 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: University of Maryland - Environmental Economics w/ Math minor
Undergrad GPA: 3.77, magna cum laude
Type of Grad: none
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 770Q 540V 4.0AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A-,B,A), Linear Algebra (A-), Differential Equations (A-), Number Theory (B), Advanced Calculus I (B), Probability Theory (B), Mathematical Statistics (TBD)
Econ Courses: Intro Micro and Macro (A,B+), Intermediate Micro (B+), Economic Statistics (A+), Intro Econ & Environment (A), Econ of Nat'l Resources (A), Econ of Land Use (A), Public Finance (A+), Game Theory (A+), Econometrics I (A), Intermediate Macro (TBD), Econ of Climate Change (TBD)
Other Courses: Environmental Policy and Philosophy courses, all A's
Letters of Recommendation: 2 AREC and 1 ECON professor, well known and respected in their fields, should have been solid
Research Experience: ~2-3 years as an undergrad RA in the AREC department. Currently and at time of application, working on honors thesis that has been described as "ambitious," hope to have a publishable version this summer.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Environmental/resource economics, computational economics, applied micro
SOP: Tried to make it engaging, explained why I wanted to be an econimist (environmental research!), talked about my own research and what I wanted to in the future, etc.
Other: n/a
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UC Davis ARE Ph.D. ($), UW Madison AAE MS (no$), Cornell AEM (no$)
Waitlists: none
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Michigan, UT Austin, UC Berkeley ARE, UW Madison AAE Ph.D., Cornell AEM Ph.D.
Pending: none
What would you have done differently? On hand I would have done nothing differently: you really only need one good admit and I am more than satisfied with UC Davis. On the other hand, if I had to do it all over again I would have made sure to have a 4.0 Econ GPA (because I'm sure those 2 B+'s set off red flags), got at least ONE A in my upper level math and found the time/energy to take the graduate micro series. My QGRE was also at the lower bound of what I would have liked it to have been, but I do not think taking the GRE again would have been worth it. I also would have applied to more mid-range top 20-25 ECON schools instead of Harvard and Yale.
All in all, I feel pretty good about how the whole thing went. I'll be attending UC Davis ARE in the fall!

ilikefreefood 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Econ major from a top 5-10 liberal arts college.
Undergrad GPA: 3.73/4, magna cum laude with distinction in major for senior thesis research.
Type of Grad: none
Grad GPA: n/a
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 this Fall)
Econ Courses: Principles Micro/Macro (A-,A), Intermediate Micro (A) Intermediate Macro (B), Econometrics (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: 3 ECON professors (liberal arts college profs but with Chicago/Stanford Ph.Ds), including my thesis adviser who has previously stated that my thesis was one of the best he's ever advised. Where possible, 1 VP at my Econ. consulting firm with whom I've worked extensively on econometric analyses.
Research Experience: ~3 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.
SOP: Well-written but fairly standard; mentioned specifically my interest in development and applied micro fields.
Other Concerns: Didn't anticipate the B in analysis and received it after I had submitted applications; I don't think I have enough additional math coursework to make up for exercising a pass/fail option in linear algebra way back when.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Minnesota ARE ($$)
Waitlists: none
Rejections: Berkeley, Columbia, Harvard, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, MIT, NWU, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, Yale
Pending: Chicago, Cornell
What would you have done differently? Applied to Berkeley ARE and not Berkeley ECON when they made me pick just one; applied to more schools in the 20-30 range and not limited myself by the fact that I applied to 15 programs; discounted the advice of my former professors w.r.t. how far my school's reputation would get me; learned of and read the TestMagic forum earlier in the process.

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.

Internationalstudent08 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top-5
Undergrad GPA: 3.7
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q800, V670, A4.5
Math Courses: Real Analysis, Optimization (As)
Econ Courses: Typical undergrad courses, intro+field courses
Letters of Recommendation: 3 good ones
Research Experience: 1 year RA (+2 summers as an undergrad)
Teaching Experience: Some tutoring
Research Interests: Mostly applied micro
SOP: Must have been good
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UChicago (waiting to hear about funding), UMaryland (18k), Penn State (25k)
Waitlists: Wharton AE
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, Brown
Total Score: 10-1-3
Pending: None
What would you have done differently?
I really didn't take advantage of my undergrad school as I should have. I should have started RAing earlier, and I should have taken graduate-level courses as an undergrad, instead of being a chicken. Also, I made some bad thesis-related choices hehe
However, since last year's admission cycle, I did everything that I could to improve my profile, and ended up working with some great people. I learned a lot- perhaps more than what I'm going to learn in grad school.
The only significant econ-phd-related mistake I made was to apply to all top-10 schools and almost none of the schools between 10 and 20 (except for UMaryland). I rejected most of the schools in that range based on location preferences. Since my profile was not clear-cut top10, I should have been more careful.
Anyway, I'm glad I made it!!!!!

icebear 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Econ (2006), large state university, poorly ranked economics department
Undergrad GPA: 3.89
Type of Grad: A few courses during my BA
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 750/570/4.5 (2006)
Math Courses: Calc 1 (A), Calc 2 (B+), Matrices and Linear Equations (A), Statistical Methods (A), Foundations of Quant Econ Analysis (graduate level math/econ course intended as a refresher for incoming PhD students) (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, the 3 B's were received while studying abroad if that's worth anything].
Other Courses: Java Programming, Electrical Engineering courses for one year (A's, if these helpfully display math/computer competency...?)
Letters of Recommendation: PhDs from MIT, Cambridge, and Harvard. The first was my advisor in University, the latter two colleagues on a research project during 2007/2008 (see below).
Research Experience: Working at a European consultancy (China office) for about 18 months in 2007/2008, as a project manager for government funded economic development/trade research projects dealing with China. The job had me doing about 500usiness related tasks, 50% working with our PhD economists who did the modeling/analysis in a RA type of capacity.
Teaching Experience: ~1 year teaching English in China between my BA and the research listed above.
Research Interests: International trade, economic development in Asia (China/ASEAN), political economy in China
SOP: Talked about my strong interest in being involved in trade policy, emphasized my research experience and particular interest in each respective department (faculty, papers, topics, etc), and provided a few interesting research questions which I had brushed upon with previously and would like to continue working on as examples. Maybe a bit weak, should have sought more advice here.
Other: I decided to apply late last fall as my job was expressing an interest in fast tracking me along a management path and I knew research was more my goal. I knew my math was deficient and sought the advice of my LORs, whom all strongly encouraged me to apply to fewer, higher ranked schools with the explanation that my research experience should outweigh my deficiency in math and hiatus from formal education. This cut my plans of applying to 6-10 schools with a range of competitiveness to only 4 reach schools. Knew my GRE Q score was very low but was unable to retake once I had decided to "go for it" as China only has several mass-test dates per year and the next one wouldn't be available in time for that round of applications (definitely was not interested in the $1500+ option of flying home for a weekend to take the GRE )
RESULTS:
Acceptances: -
Waitlists: -
Rejections: Harvard, NYU, Columbia, Princeton
Pending: -
What would you have done differently?
I knew my math was deficient (both coursework and GRE) and a likely sticking point, but went for it due to encouragement from LORs. In the next 8-9 months I guess my goal is to rectify that situation as best as possible, although my circumstances make that a bit more complicated (will cover that and ask some questions in another thread).
Also, I should have included a few 'safer' options, as only top 10/20 doesn't seem realistic given my profile now that I've read a bit on TM over the past few weeks. More broadly, should have taken more math as an undergrad and perhaps considered transferring schools once I switched majors (my school was pretty good for engineering) - although my scholarship there would have made any transfer unlikely.

Swingkid 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: University of California, BA Econ & Applied Math, French Minor
Undergrad GPA: 3.85
Type of Grad: micro
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 800/700/6.0
Math Courses: Multi-var Calc, Linear Algebra, Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Numerical Analysis, Probability
Econ Courses: Grad Micro, Intermediate Micro and Macro, Metrics, Applied Metrics, Corporate Finance, Game Theory, Contract Theory, Development
Other Courses: a lot of French
Letters of Recommendation: 3 letters, one of which was from a fecund researcher that I've worked with for two years. The other two are from my grad micro professor and my undergrad development professor; the former barely knows me, the latter I've spoken to about my research ideas.
Research Experience: Two years undergrad RA. Thesis (?)
Teaching Experience: Does dance count? =P
Research Interests: Development, Applied Micro
SOP: I don't think it was that special. In any case, it probably didn't carry much weight.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UCLA, Yale, Berkeley, Brown
Waitlists: U Penn
Rejections: MIT, Columbia, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern, NYU
What would you have done differently?
I would have definitely submitted a better-prepared application for the NSF, since funding is kind of an issue for me. I found out about the fellowship a week before the deadline and decided to apply anyway. That said, I wouldn't have done much else differently, since I'm really ecstatic about my acceptances! :-)

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?"

Ecolocomex 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics top LATAM university
Undergrad GPA: 3.78
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: None
GRE: 740Q, 410V 3.5 AWA
Math Courses: Throughout then whole BA studies, never knew about real analysis. Lots of Statistics.
Econ Courses: Advanced Micro, Advanced Micro, Monetary Policy, Industrial Organization, International Trade, Public Sector Economics, Econometrics
Other Courses: Environmental economics, financial markets, etc.
Letters of Recommendation: Professors of economics who also happen to be directors of the graduate school I attended.
Research Experience: Issues in international trade and industrial organization at the construction sector firm.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: International Economics, Monetary Policy, Financial markets
SOP: Application of economics in public policy issues.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UBC MA (no$), McGill MA ($)
Waitlists: None
Rejections: Yale Phd, LSE MA, Columbia Phd, Harvard Phd, UT Austin Phd.
Pending: UofT
What would you have done differently?
I’d have improved my GRE, and done more research. Perhaps that’s the way the cookie crumbles, and I’m rather into applied economics than a PhD. Perhaps I needed to improve my knowledge of economics through a MA program first, and then decide over MBA or PhD.

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!

anx1ous 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Econ & Int'l Affairs from top 10 U.S. public (with an 'unranked' econ dept.)
Undergrad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 800Q, 680V, 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Diff Eqs, Stats I, grad Prob & Stats
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): the usual suspects
Other Courses: lots of poli sci/int'l affairs
Letters of Recommendation: all econ, 2 'unknown' (Berkeley ARE & Michigan State) and 1 'known' (MIT)...probably 2/3 were 'really' strong
Research Experience: in my 4th semester as an RA, worked on 2 projects that led (or rather, are leading) to a working paper & a senior thesis
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: applied micro--labor (specifically education) & development
SOP: standard?
Other: did a summer research program at a top 20 dept. (which I think was incredibly instrumental in my outcomes); tried to show that despite my weak math background I at least had some programming skills
Concerns: LACK OF MATH...everything else was ok, I think
What I would have done different: TAKEN MORE MATH, but I didn't know I wanted to do an econ PhD until 2nd semester junior year and was always drawn more to the social sciences than math (and had no idea they could be one and the same!)
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Columbia ($), Maryland ($), Berkeley ARE ($), Texas ($), Vanderbilt ($), Georgetown (waitlisted w/ $), GW (no $)
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, NYU, Brown
ATTENDING: Columbia
What could I have done differently?
In terms of the application process: applied to 2-3 fewer lower ranked depts. and put that money/time/effort towards applying to a few more top 10 schools (probably just to cover my bases, as I have no reason to believe that I would've done any 'better'). Also: stayed away from TM/Gradcafe during admissions season!
In terms of preparation: again, done a math minor/double major (for admissions as much as self-preparation--I'm pretty worried now!), but you can only take this 'should've/would've/could've' question so far, since I simply didn't know until later that I wanted to pursue this path or what was required of me.
All in all, however, I am extremely happy with my outcomes. I obviously had zero expectations or I wouldn't have applied to such a wide-ranging group of schools.

FierceEconDR 2009:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Math & Econ from the Poor's people Harvard aka CUNY
Undergrad GPA: 3.92/4, Summa Cum Laude
Type of Grad: M.S. Economics courses
Grad GPA: ?
GRE: 790Q, 540V, 5 AWA
Math Courses: All required courses for math degree, Calc I-III + Real Analysis I (B), Abstract Algebra, Linear Algebra 1 and 2, Probability Theory(B+), Statistics (Theory) (A+) All others A's
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro and Macro Theory, Labor, International Finance(Macro), Development theory- All A's Advanced econ stats (A+)
Grad courses: Took the Macro, Micro, Econometrics, and some other stuff at a masters in europe. Not in my applications.
Letters of Recommendation: 4 econ professors=1 Berkeley ('semi-known') + 1 Harvard + 1 Kansas/NBER +1 Queen's ('Known'), I am confident they were solid and very enthusiastic.
Research Experience: AEA Summer Training Program, some development research in Paris IX
Teaching Experience: Macro & Micro, Math Tutor
Research Interests: Labor, Development, Applied Micro-econometrics
SOP: I think it was ok, I did it alla S. Athey: Why I want it (duh research!) what research have I done, what papers did i like, some questions I would like to answer, why U X is good. Name dropped in all of them (2 names).
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Maryland ($),Texas ($)
Withdrawn: UC Davis
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Yale, Chicago, UPenn, Berkeley, Michigan, NYU, Cornell, Northwestern, UCSD, Brown, Penn State
ATTENDING: Maryland
What could I have done differently?
In terms of the application process: not apply to PSU and apply to Columbia for my NY Bias (not that I would've gotten into!). I have to second: stayed away from TM/Gradcafe during admissions season!
I am extremely happy with UMD so in the end it payed off.

mermel 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Math, B.S. Econ honors from top 40 public school, Math semester abroad at strong Russian math program
Undergrad GPA: 3.94, Econ 4.0, Math 3.93
GRE: 800Q, 600V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Multivar Calc, DiffEq, Number Theory, Matrices (Linear Algebra), Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Probability, Topology, Complex Analysis, Computability and Complexity (all A's), Combinatorics (B), Integer Partitions (B+)
Econ Courses: All those required for undergrad econ, was in Honors Economics program my senior year
Letters of Recommendation: 3 from econ professors, one from Econ PhD partner at the firm where I work, PhD's from Chicago, Princeton, Harvard, and Berkeley, 2 I am sure are very strong, and others are probably strong as well
Research Experience: Not any good research experience undergrad. Have been working in econ consulting since, so that sort of counts.
Teaching Experience: just tutoring
Research Interests: Micro theory, game theory, decision theory
SOP: I'm not really sure how to judge my SOP, I think it told a good story of why I want to get econ PhD.
Concerns: Lack of research experience, I had a withdrawal passing from graduate level analysis when I decided to do a second major in econ rather than doing a masters in math. I stated this in many of my essays, so hopefully that's ok.
Other: Working for past 2.5 years in economics litigation consulting
RESULTS:
Attending: Northwestern
Admitted, Declined: UPenn
Waitlists: Princeton(eventually rejected), Chicago(Admitted without funding for first 2 years)
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, NYU, Berkeley, Stanford, NSF
What would you have done differently?
I think some RA'ing as an undergraduate would have helped, but I am very happy with Northwestern and don't really have any regrets.

jeeves0923 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Math, B.A. Economics (Both Honors), Virginia Tech
Undergrad GPA: 3.90
Type of Grad: M.S. Math, Virginia Tech
Grad GPA: 3.90
GRE: 800Q, 610V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses(undergrad): through Real Analysis I & II.
Math Courses(PhD): Abstract Algebra, Stochastic Processes, Measure Theory, Matrix Theory
Econ Courses: Lots of electives + PhD Micro, Metrics, Labor.
Other Courses: Half an engineering degree, history minor.
Letters of Recommendation: 3 Econ Profs (didn't end up using the math prof). All extremely good (at least that's what a couple adcoms told me)
Research Experience: A couple of papers, 4 semesters of econ research, one math theory paper, a bunch of presentations
Teaching Experience:Quite a lot- Calculus, Vector Geometry, Writing Coach, Micro Econ Theory, and some tutoring
Research Interests: Micro Theory, Political Economy, IO... maybe some other applied micro
SOP: I think it was too long, and I would have done a bit differently (see the link below)
Other: I fly airplanes and cook, but not at the same time
RESULTS:
Attending: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Accepted: NSF, MIT($$), Kellogg (MEcS) ($$), UChicago ($$), Minnesota($$), Duke ($$), Michigan(no $), Berkeley Law School
Wait List: Princeton, not eventually admitted
Rejections: Stanford GSB, Yale, NYU, Columbia, Penn, Harvard, Berkeley
What would you have done differently? http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo...te-school.html (And What A Strange Ride It's Been- Advice if you Come from an Unknown State School) I did better than I expected
Nothing too drastic. I'm so happy!

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!

Cricketer 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics - Top British Uni
Undergrad GPA: First Class
Type of Grad: MA Economics - Top Brit. Uni
Grad GPA: (Exp. Distinction)
GRE: 780Q, 600V, 5.5AWA
Econ Courses: Lots of courses + Grad Micro, Macro, Metrics, Networks.
Letters of Recommendation: 3 economic professors. All know me pretty well
Research Experience: Not much - only undergrad dissertation
Teaching Experience:None
Research Interests: Micro Theory, Development
SOP: Wrote what I am interested in and who I would like to work with. Why that uni
Other: Cricket.
RESULTS:
Attending: MIT
Accepted: MIT($$) - after waitlist, LSE ($$$), Cambridge ($$$)
Rejections: Stanford, Chicago, Harvard
Comments: Was apparently very close at Stanford.
What would you have done differently? Nothing much, except apply to a few more places perhaps. Twas a tad risky only applying to four US places I guess

Nebuchadrezzar 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: european, gpa scale
Undergrad GPA: 3.8/4.0
Type of Grad: european masters
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800 q, 440 verbal, 4.0 awa
Math Courses: calculus 1, 2, 3, diff eq, real analysis 1 2, topology, lin alg
Econ Courses: int mic, int mac, labor, game theory, io, phd micro 1 2, phd macro 1,2 , phd metrics 1, 2, optimization
Other Courses: -
Letters of Recommendation: 3 from home inst, at least 2 of them should be good
Research Experience: term paper, honors thesis
Teaching Experience: ta in several courses
Research Interests: micro-macro theory, game theory
SOP: standard sop summarizing my profle
Other: -
RESULTS:
Acceptances: rochester($), wisconsin(no $), michigan($)
Waitlists: wustl
Rejections: harvard, mit, chicago, nw, upenn, nyu, columbia, stanford, berkeley, caltech, cornell, yale, princeton...!!
Pending: -
going to: university of michigan
What would you have done differently?
i could study more in masters and send my transcript and get a letter of recommendation from there maybe. i don't know if that would help with the top 10. but i am happy to go to michigan!

calgrad08 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: UC Berkeley, double major in Economics and Applied Math (with high honors)
Undergrad GPA: 3.9
GRE: 800Q, 710V, 5.5A
Math Courses (Undergrad level): multivariable calc, linear algebra (2 semesters), abstract algebra, numerical analysis, real analysis, complex analysis
Econ Courses (Undergrad level): micro, advanced micro, macro, metrics, applied metrics, game theory, development, psych & econ
Econ Courses (PhD level): metrics (2 semesters)
Other Courses: probability theory; operations research courses for applied math concentration
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from prof for whom I’d worked for years as an RA, 1 from advanced micro prof, and 1 from grad metrics prof
Research Experience: 3 years (including summers) working for Berkeley profs; 1 summer at Treasury Dept; 1 year at Federal Reserve Bank
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: metrics, applied micro
SOP: nothing special, and I didn't customize it at all for the different schools
Other: submitted NSF app but didn’t win
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Berkeley, Chicago, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, UCSD, Wisconsin
Waitlists: Brown
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Yale
Pending: none
Attending: Princeton
What would you have done differently?
--Senior honors thesis, both for the sake of submitting it along with my apps and being able to say that I'd done one, and for the good practice it would have been to have done my own research. I also would have tried to coauthor something with my profs, or at least get more involved in the analysis/writing of their papers rather than the (mostly) data-prep work I did for them as an RA.
--Attend office hours. I got quite good letters from my recommenders, but I can't help but think it would have been good to get to know them (and other professors) better.
--Grad-level micro. Metrics was great and I would certainly take it again if I was doing things over, but it would have been nice to have had micro under my belt as well.
But honestly I've had great luck in the admissions process and I'm thrilled to be heading to Princeton this fall. These "things I would have done differently" are really minor in the grand scheme of things, and with so much noise in the process anyway, would hardly have made much of a difference. The admissions game is as much a mystery to me now as it was before I applied!

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.

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

DreamFactory 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BBA (minor Econ), International applicant, not top but one of the best schools in my country.
Undergrad GPA: 3.83/4.00 after rescale, summa cum laude (within 2&#37; of the graduates, but the transcripts doesn't offer the rank anymore)
Type of Grad: Same school, MA econ - major:Economic theory (expected aug. 2009)
Grad GPA: 4.0/4.0 after rescale
GRE: 800Q, 670V, 4.0AWA
Math/Stat Courses:
Calculus I (B+),II (A), Intro to Probability (A+), Differential Equations I (B+), Linear Algebra I (Aced all exams, A+), II (A+), Analysis I (A+), II(A+), Topology I (A+), Stochastic Processes (A+), grad Real Analysis I (A)
Econ Courses: undergraduate - Principles I (A+),II (A), Biz Econ (A), Monetary (A), Financial (B+), Micro (A+), Macro (A), Metrics (B+)/ graduate - Micro I (A+) II (A), Macro I (A), II (A+), Metrics I (A+), Financial Economics (A), Micro Seminar (A+), Public Sector Economics II (A+)
Other Courses: Bunch in biz. especially in finance (mostly A's or A+'s in finance)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ (both micro), 2 biz (both finance), 1 math (analysis 1,2, topology 1), all very strong but not so famous
Research Experience: RA for 2 semesters (participated in a project), 1 working paper, conference participation etc.
Teaching Experience: grad Micro I (MWG) - 2 semesters
Research Interests: Behavioral Finance/Economics/Experimental, Market Microstructure, various topics in Micro Theory......actually almost everything in Finance and Economics since most of them are interesting (I'll choose them after I get to know more)
SOP: no idea how it look like to the adcoms.
Other: External fellowship.(5 years of tuition+health+18k)
RESULTS:
Acceptances/Attending: U of Chicago (Econ, very late admission!)
Waitlists: none
Rejections: 4 econ (actually I was rejected from Chicago econ in March) - Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia
17 finance - Booth, Kellogg, Wharton, Stanford GSB, Sloan, Stern, Haas, Fuqua, Tepper, Simon, Anderson, UIUC, OSU, UMinn-TC, Eli Broad, Wisc-Madison, Johnson
Pending: LSE MSc Finance and Economics (Applied after all those dings)
What would you have done differently?
I would've concentrated more on my SOPs. Should've had different major in my undergrad (changing major is not allowed in my alma mater, and Biz major had toooooooo many required courses back then). Also, I should have gone for exchange student in the U.S. when young...get some LORs from famous faculties there...BUT I DON'T CARE ex-post, I got into one of my favorite school!

Mobius Strip 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Mathematics and Economics from a top 10-15 liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.87/4.0
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 800Q, 570V, 5.0AW
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Alg, Modern Alg, Adv Modern Alg, Real Analysis, Game Theory (in Math Dept), Topology, Chaos Theory. Received department honors in Math.
Econ Courses: Basically all of them, 4.0 GPA, Thesis (A), Department Honors, Brownell Prize for Distinction in the Study of Political Economy
Other Courses: NA
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from Federal Reserve, 1 Math from Undergrad
Research Experience: RA for 3 years at FRB in DC. Co-authored published paper on racial discrimination in credit markets.
Teaching Experience: NA
Research Interests: Labor (Education), Real Estate, Financial Markets
SOP: Talked about my volunteer activities in tough, urban schools and how it shaped my interests in research in education. Transition to work at the Fed regarding discrimination in the credit markets. Final, throw-away paragraph naming some profs at schools who I'd be interested in working with.
Other: Crushed by NSF
RESULTS:
Acceptances: U Michigan (off waitlist, after 0-14 start)
Waitlists: NA
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, Princeton, Chicago, Chicago Booth, Northwestern, Wharton, U Penn, NYU, Columbia, Duke
Pending: NA
Outside Fellowship: Received a $20k fellowship from undergrad college to supplement lack of funding from UM
What would you have done differently?
After receiving NSF results and reading Jeeves's posts, spelling out the broader impacts to make it easier to checklist. I scored fairly well on intellectual merit, but only average on the broader impacts.
Other than that, it's hard to say. I had nearly a 3.9 GPA with a Math and Econ double major, 3 years at the Federal Reserve, a published paper, and a presented working paper. I did spend 3 years in the private sector at a major bank, which probably hurt my admissions results, but gave me a broader personal, real-world experience that I do not regret taking.
Attending: U Michigan - Ann Arbor

softsquirrel 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: France's top Grandes Ecoles(2 years in a top "Classe Princeton Review&#233;pa" if anyone knows it)
Undergrad GPA: 4.35/4.4, 1st out of 500 (Our school thinks its students merit a 10&#37; bonus on GPA and that's why they add that, which made me some trouble as I always have to explain that)
Type of Grad: Same school(The system is weird in France, basically it's 2+3 years after high school and they deliver a somewhat Master-equivalent degree at the end)
Grad GPA: FALL
GRE: 800Q, 720V, 4.5AWA
TOEFL IBT: 115(27Speaking and 28Writing)
Math Courses: basically everything, almost like a math majoring student
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): baby micro+macro+corporate finance
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro, Macro, Econometrics, Development , Growth, Game Theory, Financial Economics etc.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from a well-known French prof teaching economics in US top universities, 1 Oxford Phd (eco), 1 School prof(eco), another 1 schoolprof(math)
Research Experience: only one team-based research on auction theory
Teaching Experience: 2 years TA on maths for 2nd-year math students (the so-called "colle" in our argot)
Research Interests: macro+international
SOP: quitewell-written, I think
Applying to: Princeton, Yale, Harvard, MIT, Chicago, Stanford, NYU, UPenn, Columbia
Commnet: little research experience, but it's the problem for all candidates from French Grandes Ecoles

italos 2009:
In this thread please post only your results.For further comments please refer to other threads in the forum
Institution:
Program:
Decision:
Funding:
Notification date:
Notified through:
Comments:

jnaecker 2009:
Institution: Caltech
Program: Social Science Ph.D.
Decision: Accepted
Funding: 28k plus tuition and fees
Notification date: Feb 5, 4 pm PST
Notified through: Email
Comments:
Institution: UCLA
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Tuition and fees totaling 10,000 in year 1, plus eligible for department supplementary fellowship. Tuition, fees, and living expenses in years 2-4.
Notification date: 2/10/09, 1 pm PST
Notified through: email
Notes: 2 for 2!

averageall 2009:

zurich_econ 2010:
PROFILE:
Degrees Licentiate (=MA+BA) in economics, summa cum laude, GPA 5.8/6; B.Sc. math, GPA 5.7/6 both from large Swiss university
GRE: First go: 770Q 510V 5.5 AWA, Second go: 800Q 610V 4.5AWA
TOEFL 119
Math Courses: Analysis I-III (equivalent to real analysis, plus measure theory, integration on manifolds etc.) linear algebra I-II, abstract algebra, probability theory, measure theoretic probability theory, differential geometry (fall), topology (fall), functional analysis (fall)
Econ Courses: Micro I-IV (III and IV used Jehle/Reny and MWG), Macro I-IV (III used Obstfeld/Rogoff, IV used Romer), Growth and distribution theory, public economics, money and credit, monetary economics, behavioral economics, behavioral macroeconomics, behavioral finance (used Shleifer), experimental economics, statistics, econometrics (used Wooldridge), analysis of microdata, mathematical statistics and time series analysis, environmental economics, microeconomic theory of the firm, topics in international finance, finance and the macroeconomy, business economics.
Other Courses: Motivational psychology, psychology of perception, social psychology I-II, social neuroscience
Letters of Recommendation: 1 famous econ, 1 well known econ, 1 less well known econ, one math
Research Experience: RAing for 2 years, two theses (developped a game theoretic model in each of them)
Teaching Experience: Teaching exercise classes in undergrad micro, undergrad macro, public economics
Research Interests: Micro, behavioral, game theory, experimental, public econ
Other Fulbright
Concerns Adcoms not knowing how to interpret Swiss grades, relatively unknown university (though we got a handful of visiting profs from the top 5 every year here), the IIE handling some of my applications (but I'll be happy if they assessed my chances correctly!), ...and of course the insane competition
Applying to Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Chicago, NYU, NWU, Caltech, Cornell, CMU SDS, LSE, Oxford, UCL, Zurich (so much for the hypothesis that we international applicants choose our safeties at home)
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Yale, Stanford, NYU, Berkeley, Chicago, Caltech, Northwestern, Oxford (PhD, PRS), UCL (PhD), all with good or great funding
Waitlists: None (great!)
Rejections: Cornell, Tilburg, Harvard
Pending: LSE, Carnegie Mellon SDS
What would you have done differently? Not much, really. Maybe I should have applied to Princeton, but I certainly can't complain! I think two things boosted my application: 1. The fact that I showed commitment by getting a BS in maths after finishing my MA in econ to do econ theory, and 2. the fact that I did independent research for my MA-thesis and spent sufficient time and energy on it to impress my advisor

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.

Arinamay 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.96
Type of Grad: MA in Economics
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 780Q, 610V, 5.0
Math Courses: Calculus I (A+), self taught other applicable math concepts
Econ Courses: Many, all A's.
Grad Econ Courses (MA level): Micro I (A+), Macro I (A), Micro II (A), Macro II (A), Advanced Statistics (A), Econometrics (A)
Other Courses: A wide variety of courses, including a semester abroad
Letters of Recommendation: One from a very well known professor, one from my MA thesis adviser, one from another strong professor. I asked my letter writers to emphasize that, while I don't have a lot of formal math I did quite well in the math-heavy MA program.
Research Experience: Undergrad thesis(presented at a regional conference), collaborative research project with undergrad adviser, MA thesis
Teaching Experience: TAed for an intro course
Research Interests: Economics of the family, feminist economics, labor economics
SOP: Very specific to my research interests
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Duke ($$, public policy concentration in economics), UMass Amherst ($, economics)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Harvard (public policy), Chicago (public policy)
Pending: Cornell (economics)
What would you have done differently? I had a family crisis that prevented me from taking any math courses during the second year of my MA program. However, Duke was my top choice so really there was nothing lost by not taking more math courses.

dale_albo 2010:
Type of Undergrad: Economics, Top South American University.
Undergrad GPA: 6.02/7 (Highest in my Class)
Type of Grad: MSc, Economics, Top South American University.
Grad GPA: 6.5/7 (Highest in my Class)
GRE/TOEFL: 790Q/780V/5.5AWA. 120 TOEFL.
Math Courses: Calculus I-III, Algebra, Probability and Statistics, Inference, Mathematics for Economists (Linear Algebra, some Dynamic Optimization), Advanced Calculus (Should be Real Analysis I), Real Analysis. All A's, except for Calculus I.
Econ Courses (u/g): Intro Micro, Intro Macro, Micro I-II, Macro I-II, Industrial Organization, International Economics, Econometrics. All equivalent to A's or A+
Grad courses: Macro Theory I, Micro Theory I-II, Econometric Theory I-II-III. In my university, I is a joint M.Sc. and Ph.D. course, while the others are Ph.D. courses. Also, Industrial Organization, Public Economics, Enviromental Economics. All equivalent to A's or A+, except for IO, B+.
Letters of Recommendation: All strong, I believe/hope. I moved them around according to the program, but the summary is 2 MIT, 2 Chicago,1 Harvard, 1 UCLA, 1 Georgetown.
Research Experience: Honors thesis, won the poster contest in the annual meeting of my country's economic society. A co-authored working paper, with a classmate, that I have presented a few times and has been submitted for publication. Also, a couple of other co-authored working papers, including one with a professor from my university. Also, a year and a half of being a research assistant for that professor.
Teaching Experience: Been a TA since 2nd year of undergrad for a bunch of courses. Of note, TA for a core Ph.D. econometrics course and for a graduate enviromental economics course. Also, have been teaching Introduction to Economics for a year.
Research Interests: IO, mostly empirical work.
Statement of Purpose: The usual, I talk about my research, what I have done and what I want to do.
Concerns:
No published or in the pipeline research. Just submitted one working paper to a journal, but I haven't heard back from them so I decided not to mention that I had submitted it.
Applying to: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Chicago, Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, UPenn, Northwestern, UCLA, Yale.
RESULTS:
Will Attend: MIT.
Acceptances: Chicago, Northwestern ($?), UPenn ($$), UCLA. All declined.
Waitlists: Yale, declined.
Rejections: Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, NYU.
What would you have done differently? Wouldve tried harder to get published last year. Still, I got into my top choice, which is all that matters.

triple_sec 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: MA in Econ in a small country in Eastern Europe; univ is among the best in the country but has little, if any, international renown
Undergrad GPA: 4.92/5.00, 1st out of 182
Type of Grad: MPhil Econ at another, English-speaking, univ in the same country
Grad GPA: 3.94/4.00
GRE: 800Q, 660V, 4.0AWA (Nov 2007); 800Q, 630V, 4.0AWA (Nov 2009)
TOEFL: 112/120 (30R, 27S, 27L, 28W)
Math Courses: Calculus (actually, it was more like real analysis; 5/5), Linear Algebra, Linear Programming, Multivariate Analysis (4/5, the last three went under the same course), Probability Theory (5/5), Operations Research (5/5), Advanced Math (A, actually Measure Theory)
Econ Courses: Micro (A,A,A), Macro (A,A), Metrics (A,A,A-,5/5), Monetary Theory (5/5), Recursive Macro (5/5), Time Series Analysis (A,5/5), Intl Macro (5/5), Game Theory (5/5), Public Econ (A), Behavioral (A), Metrics Intro (5/5), Public Econ (5/5), Labor (5/5,4/5), IO (5/5), Micro (5/5,5/5), Macro (5/5,5/5), Corporate Finance (5/5)
Other Courses: Statistics minor, plus some Political Science, Accounting, Law (the first two years of my undergrad were rather a joint social sciences—business—econ program before specialization to econ)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ professors (1 MIT PhD, 1 Harvard PhD), 1 math prof; I guess they were solid
Research Experience: MA thesis (mainly a survey but contains also a standalone RBC model) plus a preliminary project for a series of research seminars
Teaching Experience: a lot, TA for 7 courses altogether (4 math, 1 grad macro, 1 undergrad micro, 1 undergrad macro) and much, much tutoring
Research Interests: econ of information, mechanism design, macro
SOP: Enthusiastic as it should be, emphasizes eagerness for research
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Yale, Berkeley, NYU, Northwestern, Duke (declined)
Waitlists: Princeton, UPenn (asked them to take me off)
Rejections: MIT, MIT Operations Research, Harvard, Chicago, Columbia, Stanford
What would you have done differently? I don't know. What could I have done differently to get into my absolute, unsurpassable dream school, MIT? Probably nothing. I have to come to terms with the fact that either I'm not *that* good or this year has been unusually competitive (or both). Anyways, I'm extremely delighted with my actual offers—I would be a moron if I weren't, of course.

dreck 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in Economics (summa cum laude), BA in Math (summa cum laude), large state school, not well known for economics
Undergrad GPA: 4.00/4.00
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 790Q, 630V, 5.5 AW
Math Courses: Multivariate Calc, Linear Algebra, Diff. Eq., Abstract Linear Algebra, Numeric Analysis, Set Theory & Proofs, (Analysis and Topology not reflected in the application)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Macro/Micro, Game Theory, Labor Economics, Discrimination Seminar, Colloquium on Poverty, Two Undergraduate Econometrics courses, PhD-level Econometrics, PhD-level Micro
I made an A in each of these. My school does not use +/-.
Other Courses: A lot of psychology,
Letters of Recommendation: Three professors at my school. Did research and classes with one, taught with the other, just class with the third. None are famous, but two are reasonably well-known in their field. One is the department chair.
Research Experience: Two Honors Theses, one term paper in econometrics. Wasn't able to secure a publication before application season.
Teaching Experience: TA for two years, Intro to Micro and Intermediate Micro
Research Interests: Applied Micro, Micro Theory, Development
SOP: Pretty standard, just outlined my progress through an undergraduate degree and my research interests
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Michigan (no $(?)), Illinois Urbana-Champaign ($$), Texas at Austin ($$ if I wanted it)
Waitlists: Princeton ($$ if admitted)
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, NYU, Columbia, Duke, Northwestern, Berkeley
Pending: LSE (applied later)
What would you have done differently?
Started math classes sooner. Considered more seriously a Masters program abroad. I also wish that I had discovered these forums earlier! So much good advice...
If I could go even further back, I would have attended a undergraduate institution with a stronger economics program. That said, I'm still happy. I'm leaning toward Michigan, but keeping my fingers crossed for Princeton.

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.

sperner's lemma 2010:
Type of Undergrad: Top 3 Canadian University (in economics)
Undergrad GPA: 95 cumulative, ~97 for math/econ courses
Type of Grad: Taking first year PhD Micro
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q800,V730,W5.5
Math Courses: Calc I-IV , Lin Alg I-III, Differential Eq, Metric Topology, General Topology, Real Analysis I-II, Intro. to Probability and Stats
Econ Courses: standard honors sequence in Micro/Macro/Metrics, and some Math of Econ
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: One well known in his field, Two semi-known. I have taken classes from the two semi-known ones. I have RAed for the well-known one for the summer. They all know me well.
Research Experience: RAed during third year summer. Did matching/social network stuff.
Teaching Experience: N/A
Research Interests: Applied Game theory, IO
SOP: Spent a lot of time on it. Looking back now, it was probably too much (I didn't know about TM back then). But I think it may have helped, especially for getting me admission from Chicago since I mentioned I am a Libertarian and big fan of Friedman (both are true statements).
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: (Full funding): Stanford, NWU, UPenn, NYU, UMN, UMichigan (Partial Funding)Chicago
Waitlists: MIT
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Berkeley
What would you have done differently?
Nothing really, other than taking more math courses (especially in Probability theory). I am very surprised by my result. My letter of recommendation writers must have gone all the way for me. I am very very grateful for their help.

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.

whoisdg 2010:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Math and Economics, Tufts U
Undergrad GPA: 3.8 Math, 4.0 Econ (Summa/PBK)
GRE: 800Q 780V 5.0 AWA
Math Courses (UG): Standard lower level curriculum, all A/A+; Real Analysis (A); Abstract Alg (B+); Complex Variables (A-); Probability (B – explained in SOP); Math Stats (A)
Econ Courses (UG): Principles of Economics (A), Intermediate Micro (A), Quant. Intermediate Macro (A), Advanced Econometrics (A), Financial Economics (A), International Trade (A), Quant. International Finance (A), State and Local Public Finance (A)
Letters of Recommendation: Michigan PhD, Stanford PhD, Duke Math PhD (two were advisors, both of whom know me very well; none are especially well known)
Research Experience: Theoretical-Empirical term paper in international trade; RA at policy research organization. **No THESIS. No academic RA.**
Research Interests: Diverse. Mostly applied micro.
Statement of purpose: Don’t have any standard for comparison...but I actually think it mattered, contrary to popular opinion. More on that below.
Other: Worked in management consulting for six months after college; a couple of national scholarships in college (e.g. NMSP); solid programming background.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Berkeley ($$), Michigan ($$), Penn (Waitlisted “very high” for $$), UCSD ($$), Wisconsin (withdrew before funding offer made), UT (withdrew before funding offer made)
Waitlists: MIT, awaiting rejection
Rejections: Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Chicago, Yale, NWU
NSF: Honorable mention (Intellectual Merit: 2 Excellent, 1 Good; Broader Impacts: 2 Excellent, 1 Very Good. Argh!)
What would you have done differently? Lots to say here. First of all, a THESIS. The one reviewer that submarined my NSF proposal clearly wanted to see more independent research experience. I’m pretty sure that was the deal breaker. Even though undergraduate theses (or “first papers”, more generally) are usually pretty bad, they are (1) an important signal of interest in and ability to do independent research, and (2) a significant learning experience. It might have been useful to take grad-level core courses, but I don’t think they’re necessary – the math courses convey the necessary skill set. Similarly, it might have been useful to RA as an undergrad, but again, from what I understand those roles are usually menial unless you have good programming/data skills.
I've also spent two years in the working world. For me, this experience was incredibly valuable. It's not for everyone, but I think it has a lot to offer - exposure to lots of interesting situations and questions, confirmation of your interest in research career, personal growth, big dollar.
Important note: I think the adcoms took the SOP more seriously than I had anticipated. Several possible explanations for this observation. The increase in applications probably leaves marginally admissible candidates indistinguishable from one another, and the statement might therefore be used as a second- or third-order criterion. Or maybe they really do sort applicants according to fit. Or maybe I’m just imagining things! In any case – I called out my interests in applied fields more than theory, and in some more specific topics that interest me (e.g. tournaments, peer effects, evaluation), and the decisions I got seemed to sort themselves accordingly. If I could change anything, I'd probably shift a little weight from applied to theoretical micro.
Overall, I’m thrilled with Berkeley. Ex-post,it’s my third-most desired program, behind the Cambridge contingent. My only disappointment is NSF – I really thought I could snag it. In any case, I now have a well-developed idea to embark upon this summer, so the process is valuable in and of itself.
Good luck to all future applicants. I hope this information is helpful!

mifx 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top Brazilian University
Undergrad GPA: 9.0/10 (highest honor)
Type of Grad: -
Grad GPA: -
GRE: 790Q, 500V, 3.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I, II, III , Operational Research, Mathematical Economics, Real Analysis, Linear Algebra
Econ Courses: Macro, Micro, Estatistics I and II, Econometrics I and advanced, International Econ, Environmental Econ, Public Econ, Game theory, Agrobusiness, Development Economics, Latin America Economics.
Other Courses: Management, International Business, Finance, Adv. Finance
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Harvard, 1 Stanford, 1 University of Illinois, 1 LSE (pos-doc)
Research Experience: Award for my undergrad thesis on health economics, Joint Research for an international non-profit organization (published), Individual Research (orientated by a Harvard PhD econ professor)
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Development, International Economics, International Finance, Macroeconomics, Public Policy
Statement of purpose: Standard
Concern: GRE AWA
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Stanford, LSE, University of Illinois
Waitlists: none
Rejections: Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Yale
Pending: none
What would you have done differently? I would have studied more for GRE verbal. But, unfortunatly, I didnt have time enough.

SubEffect 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 3 US liberal arts college.
Undergrad GPA: overall, 3.88; excluding freshman year, 3.94
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 800 Q 720V 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Modeling (A), Math Stats (A), Differential Equations (A), Data Analysis (A), Real Analysis (B+), Topics in Analysis: Dynamical Systems (A+), Senior Research Project (A) [freshman year: Honors Linear Algebra (P, school mandates P/F), Honors Multivariable Calc (B)]
Econ Courses (PhD-level): NA
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Econometrics (B+), Adv Econometrics (A), Polit Econ of Africa (A), Economic Development (A+), Public Policy Evaluation (A), Experimental Economics (A+), Behavioral Economics (A), Senior Research Project (A+), [freshman year: Int. Macro (A-), International Polit Econ. (A-)]
Other Courses: Nothing too useful, except for Comp Sci (A+).
Letters of Recommendation: prof with MIT PhD; assistant prof with Berkeley PhD; assistant prof at a top 5 econ grad uni with a Harvard PhD whom I RAed for over a summer. From my NSF feedback, it sounds like they were all very strong.
Research Experience: RA for a prof at a top 5 econ grad university for a summer; did independent research with a prof at my school; thesis-like paper for a class that won an award
Teaching Experience: TA for Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Econometrics
Research Interests: Development, Behavioral, Auctions, tons of different applied microtopics
Statement of purpose: Probably good?
Concerns: Mostly my B+ in real analysis, as the other blemishes seem like they were sort of made up for by A's in higher level classes
Other: Won an award for best paper in my department last year
RESULTS:
Acceptances: none
Waitlists: Princeton, MIT
Rejections: Harvard, Berkeley, Yale, Honorable Mention from NSF
Pending: none
What would you have done differently? Get better than a B+ in real analysis! But honestly, I'm pretty happy with how things turned out: I get to spend the next year at my dream job and should have a stronger application when I reapply in the future (from classes this semester/recs from my job). The feedback from the NSF people was especially helpful and getting on those waitlists was encouraging for the future. Also, to future applicants from liberal arts colleges who may be reading this, it seems like there is a big benefit in not applying straight out: this is at least what I have gathered from talking to professors and looking at past applicants from my school. I don't know why, maybe getting recs from better known professors? But anyway, good luck to everyone else!

bluebucket 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 2 Econ PhD program
Undergrad GPA: 4.4/5
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 790Q, 630V, 4.0AWA
Math Courses: multi-var calc, diff eq, linear alg, real analysis
Econ Courses: I was an econ major so alot
Letters of Recommendation: 1 very well known, 1 known within field, 1 senior lecturer, 1 math prof
Research Experience: interned at regional fed
statement of purpose: explained why I want a phd in econ, what my research interests are, and more in depth description of research and other experience
Concerns: grades
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Berkeley ($), U Chicago($)
Waitlists: none
Rejections: Michigan, Brown, Yale, Harvard, MIT, Brown
Attending: U Chicago
What would you have done differently?
Applied to schools where more of my letter writers would be recognized. I didn't apply to Stanford and one of my letter writers got his phd there. But I probably would have chosen Chicago regardless.

econsailorgirl 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Economics Major, mid-size public university
Undergrad GPA: 3.9/4 overall
Type of Grad: n/a
GRE: 790Q, 710V, 5.0AWA
Math Courses: Single and Multi-variable Calculus, Linear Algebra I and II, Probability and Statistics
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro/Macro, Advanced Micro, many applied micro courses (Environmental, Health, etc.), Econometrics, Economy History, Experimental Econ, Game Theory
Other coursework: Many courses in Environmental Sciences/Studies and Geology
Letters of Recommendation: 1 well-known Berkeley ARE, 1 other Berkeley ARE, 1 UWashington
Statement of Purpose: Research interests, interest in Economics in general, how each program fit with my interests
Research Experience: Very little formal--mostly through coursework
Teaching Experience: Economics tutor, environmental educator
Research Interests: primarily agriculture and development, but also environmental
RESULTS:
Acceptances: U. of Rhode Island ENRE ($$), UC Davis ARE ($$), UMD AREC (wl$), U. Wisconsin AAE (wl$),
Waitlists: Johns Hopkins Health Econ and Policy
Rejections: UC Berkeley ARE, Harvard Econ, Duke Econ
Attending: UC Davis
What would you have done differently?
I feel very good about the outcome. There's nothing off the top of my head that I would have done differently.

backtotheUS 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.Sc. Economics and Mathematics, non-Oxbridge/LSE UK university; exchange year at top-20 US university
Undergrad GPA: 18.2/20.0 (top 1%), GPA 3.87 during exchange year
GRE: 800Q, 490V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Mathematical Methods & Calculus (20.0, 19.0), Statistics (18.0, 16.6), Algebra (19.0, 19.0, A+), Real Analysis (16.9, A at graduate level), Game Theory (A), Elementary School Teaching (P), Linear Algebra (A), Topology (B+), ODEs & PDEs (16.3), Number Theory (17.2), FORTRAN Programming (17.5), Dissertation (?)
Econ Courses: Microeconomics (16.9, 18.8, 19.0), Macroeconomics (19.6, 16.7, ?), Mathematical Finance (A), Probabilistic Models (A+), Rationality (A+), Game Theory (B+ at graduate level), Econometrics (A+), Econometrics Seminar (A+)
Other Courses: 2 Management, 1 Political Science
Letters of Recommendation: 1x junior UK professor and co-author, 1x senior UK RA-supervisor, 1x junior US professor and independent research supervisor, 1x senior US professor
Research Experience: 1.5 years RA at the LSE, independent research project, co-authoring journal article (work in progress), mathematics dissertation
Teaching Experience: 1 year (Mathematical Methods for Economists)
Research Interests: Contract theory, auctions, rationality
SOP: focused on research experience
Other: assisted in editing an article for the Royal Economic Society, co-founded and organized national economic forum
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Princeton ($), LSE MRes/PhD ($), Oxford ($?), Munich University ($)
Rejections: NYU, Northwestern, Berkeley, Chicago, Yale, Stanford, Harvard, MIT
What would you have done differently?
Ex-post: not much, since I am extremely happy with this outcome. I was warmly welcome at Europe's top places. Princeton appears to be a lucky outlier. I am not sure if I would trade the amazing experience I have had as an undergraduate for the more rigorous education offered at Oxbridge/LSE.
I should have placed more emphasis on grad coursework during my exchange year and secured a stellar reference from that.

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.

in_limbo 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ and Math from a top U.S public with a good Econ PhD program
Undergrad GPA: 3.7
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 800Q, 640V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses(undergrad): Calculus(I-III), Linear Algebra, Diff eq, Discrete, Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Chaotic Dynamical systems, Probability, Topology
Math Courses(grad): Analysis, Measure Theory
Econ Courses(undergrad): standard, including Econometrics and Advanced Macro
Econ Courses (grad): Quant Methods, Macro I and II.
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Econ, 1 Math. Did some good RA work for one of them
Research Experience: RA for about a year and currently doing an honors thesis
Teaching Experience: Principles, Intermediate Micro
Research Interests: Macro theory and public finance
statement of purpose: pretty standard
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Minnesota($$), LSE-EME(no$)
Waitlists: UCLA (Withdrawn)
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, Columbia, Penn, NYU, Northwestern
Attending: Minnesota
What would you have done differently?
I am extremely happy with my outcome. Minnesota was always a top choice for me given my research interests and I probably would have chosen to go there over most of the other schools I applied to. That being said, in retrospect it was probably a good idea to apply to some safeties given the tough admissions season. Also, my grades in some classes weren't stellar which is probably why I was rejected at many of the other top places. My advice to those applying in the future is to really concentrate on getting As in important math classes. The margin for error is minimal and the difference between a B+ and an A is larger than you might think. I think its also extremely helpful to have a good idea of what you might want to study as you can then apply to schools that may not be top 5 overall by have fantastic programs in your chosen field. However, the most important part of your application are your recommendation letters and these can very often make up for other parts that are lacking.

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

Springsteen 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.Sc. Management, European university
Undergrad GPA: 17/20 - ranked 2nd out of 116
Type of Grad: M.Sc. Economics, same university
Undergrad GPA: 17/20
GRE: 800Q, 410V, 3.5AWA
Math Courses(undergrad): Mathematics I, Mathematics II, Mathematics III, Statistics I, Statistics II (covers linear algebra, calculus, ODE, probability theory, etc...)
Econ Courses(undergrad): Microeconomics I, Macroeconomics I, Microeconomics II, Econometrics
Math Courses(grad): Advanced Mathematics (covers topology and optimization theory)
Econ Courses(grad): Microeconomic Theory, Advanced Macroeconomics, Advanced Econometrics, IO, Regulation, International Money and Finance, Game Theory, Information and Uncertainty, Microeconometrics
Other Courses: Some Management courses that I hated
Letters of Recommendation: 1 senior econ (phd MIT), 1 senior econ (phd Chicago), 1 junior econ (phd MIT)
Research Experience: graduate thesis (completing)
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Micro theory: Game Theory, Contract theory, Mechanism Design, Auctions
SOP: standard
Concerns: Low AWA,
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: NW (waitlisted for first year funding), UPenn (waitlisted for first year funding)
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Chicago, Yale, Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, UW-M, UMichigan, LSE, Cornell
Comments: I am extremely happy with this outcome!! But, since I have been rejected at 13 universities out of 15, and many universities ranked lower than NW rejected me, I guess I was lucky to ge in NW!
What would you have done differently? Take real analysis (although it was not offered at my university...), RA to get stronger LORs
Attending: Northwestern University!

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.

dauntilus 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in econ & math at top 10 econ dept
Undergrad GPA: 3.88
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA: 4
GRE: 800q, 660v, 5w
Math Courses: Linear algebra (A), Real Analysis (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Numerical Analysis (A), Complex Analysis (A-), Probability (A)
Econ Courses: Undergrad: Intermediate Micro, Macro (A, A), Game Theory (A), Financial Econ (A), Metrics (A)
Grad: Micro (A), Game Theory (A), Psych in Econ (A)
Letters of Recommendation: 3 great letters from good economics faculty with a record of putting students into top schools. 2 knew me very well, 1 not as well.
Research Experience: 2 years RA experience for 1 professor, no publications
Research Interests: Applied micro, Behavioral econ
SOP: More or less polished, minor changes for each school. I found 1 small typo in 1 school's SOP after submitting.
RESULTS:
Attending: MIT
Acceptances: Berkeley, Yale, Chicago, MIT, Caltech, UCSD, Cornell (no funding), NYU Stern Waitlists: NYU
Rejections: HBS, UPenn, Columbia, NYU, MIT GSB, Harvard, Princeton, Northwestern, Stanford, Brown
What would you have done differently? I would have started taking grad classes my third year- I thought they would be harder than they are.

wobuffet 2010:
Profile
Type of Undergrad: top 15-ish US national university, econ PhD program is top 20-30
Undergrad GPA: 4.00 (easier to attain than at other schools)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q, 790V, 5.0AW
Math Courses: Honors Multivariable Calculus (pass/fail option); Essential Stats; Honors Linear Algebra; Statistical Inference I; Abstract Algebra; Probabilistic Models; Real Analysis (single-variable)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Macro; Intermediate Micro; a bunch of field courses (Int'l Finance; Public Econ; Econ Growth; Health Econ; Econ Analysis of Institutions; Econ and Psychology; Theory of Econ Growth; Labor Economics); Econometrics I; Econometrics II; Game Theory; grad core Micro I (mandatory pass/fail); grad core Micro II (mandatory pass/fail); grad applied econometric methods course (graded, in progress when I applied); grad class on economic theories of inequality (graded, in progress when I applied)
Other Courses: two intro comp sci classes
Letters of Recommendation: one reasonably well-known prof I RA'd for, took 2 classes with (1 undergrad, 1 grad), and planned to write a thesis under; one somewhat less-known prof I had an undergrad class with and planned to TA for; one well-known prof I took two grad-level courses with (including Micro II, in which I internally got an A); and another well-known prof I RA'd for for a year or so. [I mixed and matched somewhat for schools that only accepted 3 LORs]
Research Experience: RA'd for 2 semesters + 2 summers (under 2 diff profs)
Publications: Nah.
Teaching Experience: none at time of application, although I was planning to in the spring
Research Interests: applied micro (especially public and labor)
Statement of purpose: Tried to be honest; it probably ended up sort of dry.
Comments: Going in, I had basically no idea how most of my letters were going to turn out; I was only reasonably confident about one of them.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Berkeley ($$, attending), Stanford ($$$), Yale ($$$$), UMich (no $), Chicago (waitlisted for $), Northwestern ($$), NYU ($$$)
Waitlists: MIT (eventually rejected), Princeton (eventually rejected)
Rejections: Harvard, UPenn, Columbia
What would you have done differently? On the margin, I guess having done some research on my own would have done the most good, or perhaps getting to know a few professors better. (But ex post, I wouldn't change a thing! In particular, attending a well-regarded private research university for my undergraduate studies definitely worked out well for me.)

greeneggs 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Triple Major (Econ, Math, Stat - all B.S.) from UMN
Undergrad GPA: 3.75/4
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q, 570V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Calculus I-IV, (HS,HS, B+, B+), Intro to Stat I-II (A,A-), Linear Algebra (A-), Intro to Proofs (A-), Real Analysis I-II (A-,A), Prob & Stat I-II (A,A), Math Modeling (A), Prediction & Filtering (A), Multivariate Stat (A-), Numerical Methods (A-), phd Real Analysis (B,B), phd Time Series (A-), phd Probability & Measure theory (B), phd Commutative and Homological Algebra (A)
Econ Courses: Principles of Micro (A), Principles of Macro (A), Game Theory (A-), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (A-), International Trade (A), Macro Policy (A), Mathematical Econ (A), phd Micro I-IV (A,B,B,A-), phd Macro (A-,Spring), phd Trade (A,Spring)
Other Courses: C/C++ (A-), Algorithms & Data Structures (A-)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 amazing letter from a very well known researcher, 1 really good from a newer tenure track prof, and 1 not sure from a decently well known researcher - may change this last one though; I have a lot of options and I haven't talked to him for 2 years...
Research Experience:
Summer research and honors thesis in international trade (working with the Melitz model)
Teaching Experience:
None
Research Interests: Trade, Macro, Growth
SOP: Standard
RESULTS:
Attending: University of Minnesota ($20k)
Acceptances: NYU ($23k+), Princeton ($28.5k), Chicago ($21k), Northwestern ($21k), Stanford ($32k)
Waitlist: Yale (Accepted - $37.5k), MIT (rejected)
Rejections: Harvard, Berkeley
What would you have done differently?
Not sure. People are going to think I'm crazy but I'm confident I made the right decision. Mind you it wasn't easy; I gave up going to a school with a fancy name (my family is taking it surprisingly well), I gave up thousands of dollars in funding, I gave up living with my girlfriend (she's got into a school near Stanford and one near Chicago - and we don't plan on breaking up), and I gave up seeing someplace new; but at the end of the day I know that Minnesota is the place for me. I still think it was important that I visited all of the departments of the schools I got into, so I don't feel like I just wasted my time and money staying where I am.
One thing I would have done differently is I wish I hadn't started slacking off after I got my decisions now that I'm going to take the prelims right away this spring...

kimbanator 2010:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. in Business Economics, B.A. in History from top 50 overall undergrad, top 40ish econ phd program
Undergrad GPA: 3.96/4.00 (same for both majors)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q, 670V, 5.0 AWA
Math Courses: Calculus I (A), Calculus II (A-), Intro Stats (A+), Applied Stats for Econ (A+), Linear Programming (A), Calc III (taken in fall, A), Vector Analysis (winter), Linear Algebra (winter), Intro Proofs (winter), Advanced. Calc (i.e. RA I) (spring), Probability Theory (spring)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Principles Micro (A+), Principles Macro (A+), Intermediate Micro I (A+), Intermediate Micro II (A+), Econometrics (A+), Intermediate Macro (A+), Corporate Finance I (A), Corporate Finance II (A+), International Trade (fall, A), Applied Econometrics (Master's level, fall; A)l
Other Courses: Financial Accounting (A+), Managerial Accounting (A+), Federal Tax Accounting (A+), Operations Management (B+), Business Law (A+); lots of history courses; primarily modern US/Europe, some Latin American
Letters of Recommendation: 3-5 per school; at least 2 were very strong; others strong. one letter of recommendation is very well known but he didn't know me that well at the time.
Research Experience: Senior Thesis (International Trade), RA beginning in fall
Teaching Experience: None.
Research Interests: International Trade, Industrial Organization, Economic History, applied micro in general...
Statement of Purpose: Probably a bit long. Justified the history degree and explained I'd have all the requisite math done.
Work Experience: Two summers of work in treasury (private sector), one summer in corporate finance.
Applying to: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, Chicago, UCLA, UCSD.
Other: Lots of awards/scholarships won within the department. Applied to NSF unsuccessfully.
RESULTS:
Attending: {}
Acceptances: {}
Waitlist: MIT
Rejections: everywhere
What would you have done differently?
At the time of my application, I only had completed Calc II. That's it. My advisors pressured me to apply in this cycle, and with a great job offer in my pocket, I could afford to be very risky. And it didn't pan out, as expected. Interestingly, MIT waitlisted me and I received very positive feedback from their adcom. Yes, the lack of math killed me. I imagine my argument for my history background might have been a bit polarizing too, I don't know (but NSF liked the diversity, and I think MIT did, too). The bottom line is that I will apply next fall to a much broader portfolio of schools with the math all done and I'm confident the results will be much better.

PerfectMarkets 2010:
Profile
Type of Undergrad: BS in Econ, minor in math at MIT
Undergrad GPA: 4.7/5.0
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q, 790V, 5.5AW
Math Courses (+/- grades aren't recorded): Multivariable Calculus (Pass) Probability/Statistics (B); Differential Equations (B); Linear Algebra (B); Advanced Statistics (A); Real Analysis (A); Discrete Applied Math (A)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Macro (B); Intermediate Micro(A) ; a bunch of field courses (all A's); Econometrics (A); Economics Research/ Paper writing (A); Game Theory(B); grad labor (A);
Other Courses: Some computer science classes, some finance
Letters of Recommendation: 1 senior lecturer who had worked on a project with me, 1 senior prof who I RA's for back in freshman year, 1 senior prof who I took grad labor with, 1 senior prof who I took two classes with.
Research Experience: RA'd for freshman summer and 2 semesters in junior year
Publications: None.
Teaching Experience: None.
Research Interests: Applied micro and central bank policy
Statement of purpose: Uninteresting, talked about how I like applied micro and was good at Stata. Didn't really mention the macro interest at all.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Northwestern ($$) (Attending), Cornell ($$$), NSF fellowship
Waitlists: MIT (eventually rejected, got so close)
Rejections: Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Stanford, Berkeley, Chicago, Michigan, NYU, Princeton
What would you have done differently? Ouch, lots of rejections. I would have done better on my math classes, and moved the order I took them around. I should have taken analysis earlier and linear algebra later to free up my schedule. I could maybe have taken some of the intro grad sequence, but I feel like I would've just gotten a B against the grad students here and it would just look worse, so hard to say. My recommenders were very well known, and I think the letters should have been solid, if not completely glowing. I don't know if this helped or hurt me; certainly they have been very supportive throughout this process, but maybe I would have been better off working with a junior faculty and getting a very effusive review. I pinned a lot of hope on the NSF award, but it didn't reverse any decisions, even though it got me much closer to getting off the MIT waitlist. So, the NSF isn't magical. Though money is nice. I also spent two summers working in consulting, which was bad in terms of apps but good in making me realize that I wanted to apply to grad school. I have to chalk up my results to an insanely competitive year and spotty math grades in important classes.

helpzwouldbenice 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.79/4.00
Type of Grad:-
Grad GPA:-
GRE: 800Q 710V 5.0AWA
Math Courses: Multivariable Calc (A); Linear Algebra (P); DiffEq (A-); Intro Proofs (A-);
Econ Courses: Intro Econ (B+), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Econ Stats (A), Econometrics (A), Trade (A-), Public Econ (A-)
Other Courses: Took a year of physics, lots of random courses. Lots of A's in courses an econ student typically wouldn't take, like Religion and Chinese.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Math Dept. Prof, 1 Econ Dept. Prof, 1 External Prof who I RA'd for
Research Experience: Fair amount in health services research. Have a paper up for submission, and another one that my supervisor and I are working on.
Teaching Experience:None
Research Interests: Health, Labor
SOP: Very tailored to my interests. Definitely proved to be hit or miss with regard to schools.
Other: Rejected from NSF
RESULTS:
Acceptances: University of Virginia ($$), Rice University ($$), UNC ($$), Michigan ($$)
Rejections: Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Cornell, Texas, WUSTL, Duke, Caltech, Berkeley, Northwestern, Wharton Applied Econ, Maryland
Never heard from: Wharton Healthcare (interviewed, then never heard back)
Atttending: Michigan
What would you have done differently? Taken more math classes and pushed harder for A's instead of A-'s. My school doesn't have the greatest reputation when it comes to elite grad schools but the teachers are really supportive. I did pretty well here and there's no telling what would have happened if I had gone to a different school.

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.

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!

freakout2010 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.Sc. Economics at Top10 South American university.
Undergrad GPA: 8.5/10 (Top 5%)
Type of Grad: MA Economics at Top10 South American university (not the same as undergrad).
Grad GPA: 9.6/10 (1st in class)
GRE: 800q/500v/3.0a
Math Courses (undergrad): Calculus I to III, Linear Algebra, Introductory Real Analysis.
Math Courses (grad): Real Analysis, Measure Theory.
Econ Courses (undergrad): a bunch of them!
Econ Courses (grad): Micro Theory I to IV (entire MWG), Macro Theory I to III, Econometrics, Microeconometrics, (New Dynamic) Public Finance, Corporate Finance, Mathematical Economics I and II (some chapters of Stokey&Lucas).
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: A total of 5 letters, all from MA professors. Strong letter from my advisor which I sent to all universities (rotated among the other recommenders). Two strong letters from micro theory guys (with PhD outside US but good recent publications); one good letter from a professor at top10 US university; and one fair letter from well-known general equilibrium guy.
Research Experience: My MA Dissertation.
Teaching Experience: TA for Microeconomic Theory I and II at the graduate level.
Research Interests: macroeconomics, mechanism design, economics of information.
SOP: pretty standard
Other: Ranked the first (out of 800 candidates) on a national selection process for economics MA in my country.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Princeton($$$), Yale($$$$), Northwestern($$), Columbia($$), UCLA(no $)
Waitlists: MIT (then rejected)
Rejections: Chicago Booth (Econ), Stanford GSB (EA&P), Berkeley, HBS (BusEc), Harvard.
What would you have done differently? Not applied for to many business schools. Also I think I should have studied more for the analytical section of the GRE. I am pretty sure my application was dropped off on some schools because of my weak score.

keano 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ, top 5 UK university
Undergrad GPA: First (not sure how this translates)
Type of Grad: MSc in Competition Economics, part-time UK university
Grad GPA: On course for distinction
GRE: 800Q, 790V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Maths for economists courses: calculus, linear algebra etc
Econ Courses (Ma-level): A lot of micro-based + econometrics: mostly As
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Lots
Letters of Recommendation: 2/3 econ professors (not well known) Current Employer (Economic consultant with Econ PhD). Hopefully v.positive but names probably won't be known in US.
Research Experience: 3.5 years in economic consultancy
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Micro theory, IO
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Caltech (from waitlist), EUI, LSE (MSc), Oxford (MPhil), BGSE (MSc), Toulouse (M2)
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Stanford GSB, Kellogg, Wharton (Applied Econ), MIT, UCSD, Berkeley, Wisconsin-M, PSU, Chicago, NYU
What would you have done differently? At the time of the applications process not sure I could done have lot a lot more. Looking at my results, I was a lot more successful in Europe which I would speculate is due to a lack of formal maths courses. So going back a few years, I would have tried to address that somehow.

asdfjkl 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics from a Public University, top 10 Economics Department
Undergrad GPA: 3.77 overall, 3.94 Economics GPA
Type of Grad: 1 second-year field sequence in the Economics Department
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: Q: 800, V:640, AWA:4.5
Math Courses: Analysis (B), Linear Algebra (Pass), Multivariable Calculus (A-)
Econ Courses: Advanced Micro (A), Advanced Macro (A+), Game Theory (A), Auction Theory (A-), Advanced Econometrics (A-), along with Econ History, International Monetary Economics, Research Economics (all As), also Psych and Econ, Behavioral Corporate Finance
Letters of Recommendation: 2 very strong letters from Professors from the Economics Department at my undergraduate university (with a history of sending undergraduates to top Economics departments), 1 from the Business School, 1 from the Federal Reserve Board
Research Experience: Summer RA/Intern at the Federal Reserve Board, RA for a Professor at the Business School and RA to another professor in the Economics Department at my university, also worked for a graduate student in the Economics Department
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Applied Micro - beyond that Labor? IO? Development? Psych and Econ?
SOP: nothing special and I did not bother making it specific to the schools I applied to
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UMichigan (attending! no funding initially, $$$$$ at the end), Northwestern (waitlist for funding, ultimately would've received a tuition waiver), UCSD ($$), UCLA ($$)
Waitlists: UPenn Wharton - Applied Economics (would've been accepted to the program off the waitlist with $$)
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Berkeley, UPenn, NYU, Columbia, Yale, ChicagoWhat would you have done differently? A LOT more math. My letter writers had told me I had sufficient math to competitive at all schools; however I think that my lack of strong math background really hurt me on the margin. I think I may have gotten into better schools if I'd taken more math and done better, but I preferred to work on research projects for professors and graduate students throughout my undergrad - so I can't say I regret my decision for get more research experience at the expense of a stronger math background.

cluelessness 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Ivy league, major in economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.9/4.0
GRE: 800Q/780V/5.0Writing
Math Courses: multivariable calculus, linear algebra, statistics, optimization, introductory real analysis, probability
Econ Courses: intro+intermediate+1semester of grad micro, intermediate macro, econometrics, law and econ, an applications course, public finance
Other Courses: a few in hard sciences, engineering, humanities
Letters of Recommendation: 3 professors from undergrad institution (took classes from them, one was my thesis advisor)
Research Experience: undergrad thesis and a junior year research project
Teaching Experience: none at college level (tutored a middle school kid though)
Research Interests: uncertain
SOP: was probably on the weak side
Other: I didn't apply directly from undergrad; spent some time working after graduation
RESULTS:
Acceptances: NYU, Berkeley
Rejections: Yale, Penn, Columbia, Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern, MIT
What would you have done differently?
I think stronger evidence of research potential would have helped (an RAship maybe). I also think my SOP was on the weak side.

mindlessme 2010: Type of Undergrad: Bachelor of Economics from the top school in Russia
Undergrad GPA: 4.9/5.0 (basically one 4 in Int. Taxation, all the rest are 5), rank 4/160
Type of Grad: MSc Finance and Economics at LSE in progress
Grad GPA: not available till June 2010
GRE: Q 790, V 460, AWA 4.5; TOEFL 117
Math Courses: undergrad - Calculus, Linear Algebra, Diff Equations, Probability and Statistics, Discrete Math, Optimization Theory, Stochastic Calculus; grad - LSE math camp for MSc Econ students and Stochastic Calculus (preparatory course for Asset Pricing)
Econ Courses: undergrad Micro, Macro, Econometrics, Game Theory, IO, Public Economics, Institutional Economics, Regional Economics, a whole bunch of Finance courses (had a specialization in Finance); grad - Advanced Micro, Financial Econometrics, Fin Economics, Fin Time Series, Corporate Finance
Other Courses: a bunch of humanities necessary to graduate from my Russian undergrad
Letters of Recommendation: 3 from LSE (2 senior econ professors - PhDs from Stanford and MIT, 1 junior econ prof with PhD from Berkeley), should be good, but I'm not 100ure; may be not very specific
Research Experience: undergrad thesis and 2 research papers (during 2nd and 3rd years of the undergrad); plus I'll have a Master's dissertation in Time Series this year
Teaching Experience: taught the very basic Micro as a volunteering teacher for high school seniors for 3 semesters, if that counts
Research Interests: Applied Micro, Behavioral Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
statement of purpose: I guess, pretty standard.
Other: had a semester abroad at Turku School of Economics, Finland
Concerns: a lot - reputation of my undergrad program; no transcripts from LSE so far; pretty low GRE; no Real Analysis
Applying to: Economics - Chicago, Princeton, Stanford, Harvard, Northwestern; Finance - NYU Stern, Chicago Booth, LBS, LSE
I'll be fine reapplying next year, if this time it doesn't work out, so no safeties on the list

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...

Kelei2010 2010: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. in math and econ at top 20 US university
Undergrad GPA: overall: 3.50, math 3.85
Type of Grad: 2 year econ masters at top UK university
GRE: 800Q 550V 5.0AWA
Math Courses (undergrad-level): Multivariable, Linear Algebra, Analysis I and II, Complex Analysis, Math Stats I and II, Graph Theory etc...
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Basic micro and macro, Honors micro and macro theory, Intl Trade, Intl Finance, Labor, Metrics (x2)...
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro, Macro, Econometrics, Development, Labor
Letters of Recommendation: 1 professor (master thesis supervisor), 2 professional (researchers in think tank with degrees from Harvard and Fletcher)
Research Experience: 3 years of research work, significant amount of publications, but all policy related
Teaching Experience: none, other than being a guest speaker in a few classes
Research Interests: International trade
Statement of purpose: Nothing out of the ordinary, talked about background, research interests, why I like the specific school.
Concerns: Low overall GPA. Too policy oriented.
Applying to: Havard (pol econ and govt), Stanford econ, Georgetown econ, Oxford econ, CMU (econ and public policy), Fletcher (intl affairs), SAIS (intl affairs)

OogieBoogieMan 2010:
Institution: Upenn
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: waitlisted (very high they say) for fellowship
Notification date: 03/02
Notified through: Phone (Email later)

jenferlizbeth 2010:
Institution: Columbia University
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 03/04/2010
Notified through: Email to check website
Comment: I had already counted them out anyway...
Institution: UC Irvine
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Yes! $$
Notification date: 2/26/2010
Notified through: unofficial e-mail from director Dale Poirier
Comment: Very happy
Institution: Yale University
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/18/2010
Notified through: Email to check website
Comment: ah well.

econgirl19 2010:
Institution: Rutgers
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: None
Notification date: 1/27/2010
Notified through: Email
Comments: Not going without funding.
Institution: Yale
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding:N/A
Notification date: 2/18/2010
Notified through: Email to check website
Comments: Oh well.
Institution: Penn State
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Tuition + $24k stipend
Notification date: 2/22/2010
Notified through: Email
Comments: :-)
Institution: Duke
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Tuition + $18k stipend + $2k stipend for the summer
Notification date: 2/22/2010
Notified through: Email to check website
Comments: Definitely high up on my list.
Institution: Johns Hopkins
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Tuition + $17k stipend
Notification date: 2/26/2010
Notified through: Email with attachment
Comments: Another good option.
Institution: University of Maryland
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Tuition + $18k stipend
Notification date: 3/3/2010
Notified through: Email
Comments: Excited!
Institution: Columbia
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 3/4/2010
Notified through: Email to check website
Comments: I wasn't really planning on going there anyway….

Econg 2010:
Institution: UC Davis
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: No
Notification date: 1/15/2010
Notified through:Personal e-mail
Posted on GC:No
Institution: OSU
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Fellowship, 20K stipend
Notification date: 1/15/2010
Notified through:E-mail
Posted on GC:No
Institution: Yale
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding:
Notification date: 1/19/2010
Notified through:E-mail to check site
Posted on GC:No
Institution: UPitt
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Fellowship, 15K Stipend
Notification date: 3/5/2010
Notified through:Letter
Posted on GC:No
Institution: Harvard
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding:
Notification date: 3/8/2010
Notified through:Letter
Posted on GC:No
Institution: Stanford
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding:
Notification date: 3/8/2010
Notified through:Letter
Posted on GC:No
Institution: Wyoming
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Assistantship, 15K stipend
Notification date: 3/9/2010
Notified through:E-mail
Posted on GC:No

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

EconOldGuy 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 75 U.S. Public
Undergrad GPA: 3.68
Type of Grad: Top 50 U.S. Public
Grad GPA: 3.9
GRE: 780(Q)/610(V)/4.5(AW)
Math Courses: Calculus I-II
Econ Courses: Undergrad -- Micro (2), Macro (1), Environmental (2), Development(1)
Grad -- Micro, Macro, Metrics, Game Theory, Environmental, Int'l Trade
Other Courses: SAS, Logistic Regression
Letters of Recommendation: 2 solid Env. Economists and 1 Trade Prof.
Research Experience: 2 years RA, 3 co-authored papers to be submitted soon
Teaching Experience: 1 semester undergrad Env. Econ. Solid review from students
Research Interests: Environmental: land use policies, climate, energy
SOP: Laid out future research/career plans, summarized research experience
Other: 6 yrs work experience btw undergrad and grad.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: NC State Econ ($$), Oregon St. Applied Econ ($ pending), Colorado Econ (No $)
Waitlists: Cornell AEM ($$ and acceptance could happen this week)
Rejections: Harvard, Duke, UC Santa Barbara, Arizona State(implicit), Berkeley ARE
Pending: None
What would you have done differently? Since my MS is in applied econ, maybe work my comparative advantage by applying to more applied programs. Take more MATH period -- don't even bother applying top 20 Econ with as little math as I have. Overall, first funding came today so very relieved. Good Luck to all.

Cinzia 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BSc Economics & Math from large Canadian university
Undergrad GPA: 3.95 (not finished yet)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 620V, 800Q, 4.5AW
Math Courses: Calculus (A+), Advanced Calculus (A+), Linear Algebra II (A+), Nonlinear Optimization (A+), Real Analysis -- undergrad (A), Real Analysis -- grad (A+), Advanced ODE (A-), Concepts in Abstract Math (A), Intro Math Logic (A+); Prob & Stats I (A+), Prob & Stats II (B), Probability -- no measure theory (A+), Mathematical Stats (A+). (all undregrad except "grad real analysis")
Econ Courses: Intro Econ (A), Intermediate Micro (A+), Intermediate Macro (A+), Advanced Micro -- game theory (A+), Advanced Macro (A), Econometrics I (A+), Econometrics II (A), Economic Analysis of Law (A+), Political Economy (in progress); graduate courses: PhD Micro Theory II -- game theory, contract theory (A), Advanced Micro Theory (in progress).
Other Courses: 1st year bio + chem + physics (I wanted to study molecular biology), Italian language courses.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from a well-known prof who taught me graduate game theory and supervised a summer research project; 1 from a young prof who taught me intermediate micro and undergrad game theory; 1 from a law & econ prof who taught me economic analysis of law.
Research Experience: summer research project in game theory --> uninteresting small paper.
Teaching Experience: none.
Research Interests: micro theory, political economy.
SOP: talked about how I got interested in economics, in particular micro theory, what I learned from my courses and research, and my own interests (not very well-defined interests); didn't mention any specific faculty.
Other: Note: the Canadian grading system is a bit different from the American one: here 90-100 ~ A+, 85-89 ~ A, 80-84 ~ A- etc., and 85-100 ~ 4.0 GPA, so it seems easier to get high GPA, but my friend told me the grades aren't inflated as much as in the States (which I don't know, but it is true that in my school, a large public school, they try to keep the course average low).
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Stanford, NYU, UPenn (waitlisted for funding), Wisconsin, UCSD (they didn't talk about funding), Toronto MA(doctoral), Toulouse M2.
Waitlists: MIT.
Rejections: Harvard, Princeton, Chicago, Yale, Berkeley.
Pending: Northwestern (what happened to my application???)
What would you have done differently?
I wouldn't say doing sth. could get me into better schools (e.g. Harvard, MIT), but some things could certainly prepare me better for a PhD program, e.g. taking "analysis" instead of "calculus" courses, graduate probability, and more econ courses.

JRav 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Math, Economics; MA Math (haven't graduated yet) Top 15 US, Top 25 Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.91/4.0
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: 4.0/4.0
GRE: 800 Q, 620 V, 6 AW
Math Courses: Honors Multivariable Calculus (A+), Honors Linear Algebra (A-), Differential Equations (A), Complex Analysis (A), Honors Analysis I (A), Honors Analysis II (A-), Number Theory (A+), Topology (A), Abstract Algebra I (A+), Abstract Algebra II (A-), Differential Geometry (A-), Graduate Real Variables (A), Graduate Microlocal Analysis (A), Graduate Abstract Algebra (A), Graduate Partial Differential Equations (A), Graduate Algebraic Topology (A+), Graduate Complex Variables (in progress), Probability & Statistics (A+)
Econ Courses: Elements of Macro (A), Elements of Micro (A), Monetary Analysis (A+), Macro Theory (A), Financial Markets and Institutions (A), Econometrics (A+), Graduate Macro I (A), Graduate Micro Theory I (A+), Graduate Macro Theory II (in progress), Graduate Micro Theory II (in progress), Corporate Finance (in progress), Economic Forecasting (in progress), Senior Thesis (in progress)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: Thesis adviser whom I had for two classes (Ph.D. from MIT, among top 1% most cited economists), Professor I had for graduate macro (Ph.D. from Northwestern, among top 7% most cited), Fairly well-known math professor I had for three grad math courses (Ph.D. from Princeton)
Research Experience: Senior Thesis (in progress)
Teaching Experience: Teaching Assistant for Calculus I and II
Research Interests: Macro, Monetary Economics, Finance (?)
SOP: Talked about my senior thesis, my coursework, and department macro seminars I attended. Threw in a paragraph for each school. Solid.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Princeton ($$$), Stanford ($$$)
Waitlists: MIT, Chicago (in with funding any other year they say), Michigan (same as Chicago)
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Berkeley, Brown
Pending:
What would you have done differently? I didn't take an economics course until I was a sophomore so I guess I would have started sooner, which would have allowed me to take more grad econ courses. I might have also pushed harder for a research opportunity. But I'm not complaining about Princeton vs. Stanford...

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.

Elliephant 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: business (Canadian school, econ dept. ranked >100 worldwide)
Undergrad GPA: 3.9/4.0 or 3.98/4.0, depending on conversion scheme
Type of Grad: none
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q800, V790, AWA 6.0
Math Courses: calc I-III, linear algebra I-II, applied stats, real analysis I-II (all A or higher)
Econ Courses (grad-level): none
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): intro micro, intro macro, international econ, advanced micro, advanced macro, metrics (all A+); supply-side macro (B+); did a term in China's top econ department (roughly speaking, >85 = A): international trade (90), information econ (91), Chinese development (93), urban and regional econ (98); applied metrics and forecasting (spring); managerial econ (spring)
Other Courses: none relevant
Letters of Recommendation: micro prof (reasonably well-known in IO and a past department chair); research supervisor in Beijing (used to be tenured at UNC, well-connected in health policy); UG director at b-school
Research Experience: summer fellow at an econ think tank in Beijing, one RAship at my home school, two conference presentations of my sole-authored papers
Teaching Experience: TAed micro and business statistics
Research Interests: still fluid; currently economics of human capital (education, health), transition economies, other applied micro
SOP: standard
Concerns: credibility of LORs; insufficient math background; low visibility of UG econ department
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Wharton health, Kellogg MECS, Penn, UMich, Toronto MA, Queen's MA, UBC MA
Waitlists: none
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Berkeley, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, NYU (implicit)
What would you have done differently? If I had known in high school that I wanted this, I would have gone to a better UG school and done a double major in math and econ. However, given my constraints, I'm very happy with my results, and it's entirely possible that I would not have ended up with equally good offers if I'd had the option of slacking off in UG (by being in a better department, say). I'll write up a detailed "lessons learned" thread for applicants from low-ranked UG departments, non-quantitative majors, and internationals without a master's in the next couple of weeks.

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.

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

LAecon 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: International Student, Joint Econ and Math + Computer Science double major at a top US Econ PhD granting school. (Transferred in Junior Year from no name east coast business school)
Undergrad GPA: 3.9
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA:N/A
GRE: 790 Q, 590 V, 3.5 AWA / 740 Q, 610 V, 3.0 AWA
Math Courses: At business school: Discrete Math, Linear Algebra, Calc I-III, Intro to Prob and Statistics (All A's). At PhD school: Analysis I (A), Probability and Statistics (B), Topology (A), Scientific Computing (A), Analysis II (Current Semester)
Econ Courses: At business school: Intro Micro/Macro, Intermediate Micro/Macro, Money and Banking (All A's). At PhD School: Intro to Econometrics (A-), Public Econ (A), Africa in the world Economy (A), International Econ (A), Advanced Macroeconomics and Finance (A).
Other Courses: Whole Computer Science Major (As(, Plus Honors Thesis (A and Current Semester)
Letters of Recommendation: Great (I expect) one from a really well known economist who I've taken classes and worked for. Great one from political scientist I've worked for and are currently trying to get a paper published with. I have no idea one from the chair of my department who didn't know me that well.
Research Experience: Worked the whole summer for my main letter writter, a really well known economist, also for my number two letter, will end up coauthoring a paper with him. Writing my own honors thesis.
Teaching Experience: Nothing.
Research Interests: Macro, DSGE, Finance, Development and International.
SOP: Pretty bland, just changed Universities and sometimes faculty I'm interested in. One page and a half. Actually sent a couple in with a small grammatical mistake. Talked about my research experiences, a little bit about my interests, and about my thesis.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UPenn ($$$), Minn ($$$), UCLA ($$), Duke ($$$).
Waitlists: Carnegie Mellon
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Northwestern, Chicago, Booth, Stanford GSB, Brown, NYU, Princeton, Stern and Yale.
Pending:
What would you have done differently?
The only thing in my opinion that could have gotten me into higher ranked places in my opinion would have been to get a better third letter of recommendation, which is something that I could have done in my department in retrospect; or a master's abroad. This last one IMO, is not worth my time, as I got into great schools.
I will make a post in the Getting into PhD's from low ranked schools thread, but I hope my example here shows that if you care about the two years you will invest in a masters and will not get funding, if you have the grades try to transfer to a department with a good PhD. From my previous department I wouldn't have been able to enter a top 50 place. My money / time was better invested in an undergrad where access to great economists is commonplace.

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.

blinvisible 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BCom/BSc (Hons) Australian university. Honours in maths.
Undergrad GPA: 3.93 equiv - 89% average.
GRE: 800Q, 650V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses: subjects in calculus, linear algebra, real and complex analysis, topology, measure theory, functional analysis, abstract algebra, probability, statistics, stochastic calculus and processes, partial differential equations
Courses (PhD-level): probability, measure theory, functional analysis, statistics
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro to micro/macro, Inter macro/micro, metrics, topics in micro, game theory
Other Courses: operations research, finance, history and philosophy of science
Letters of Recommendation: Maths prof and thesis supervisor, Econ prof (BU), Statistics prof (UMN). All enthusiastic I presume.
Research Experience: Honours thesis in probability/statistics, summer RA work in statistics
Teaching Experience: Calculus and probability for 2 years
Research Interests: Decision theory, mechanism design, market design
SOP: There was one.
Concerns: My application was non-standard in enough dimensions that it was difficult to get comparisons. I had the minimal econ background, unusual LsOR and a few years since completing undergraduate study. I had no idea what to expect.
Other: 3 years working between finishing uni and application
RESULTS:
Attending: Duke-Fuqua (Decision Sciences)
Acceptances: Duke-Fuqua (Decision Sciences)
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Caltech, Wisconsin-Madison, U Penn, Stanford GSB (EA&P), Kellogg (MECS)
Waitlisted: Minnesota, Princeton
What would you have done differently? During the admissions process not much... This forum is a great resource and lurking here helped me avoid many mistakes I may otherwise have made.
A few years back I would have attempted to forge stronger relationships with professors. This would have helped me both figure out what I wanted to do earlier as well as potentially provided the elusive RA/letter of recommendation opportunity. As it was, I didn't realise that I liked real (as opposed to undergraduate) economics until my final semester and did not take the classes I could have.

hzzhangyu 2011:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ from a top-tier Chinese university; Exchange at a top-15 econ department in U.S.
Undergrad GPA: overall 91.3/100 (1/48, but the program includes people doing sociology and political science); Exchange GPA 4.0
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: V700 Q800 AW4
TOEFL: 119 (iBT)
Math Courses: Single Variable Calculus (90), Multivariate Calculus (92), Linear Algebra & Analytical Geometry (91), Probablity Theory & Math Stats (97) -- (mandates of my program, these four appear in transcripts as College Math for Social Sciences 1, 2, 3, 4: really bad course names which need explaining in the SOP) -- , Real Analysis (96, rank 1st), Stochastic Calculus(92).
Econ Courses (grad-level): Phd Micro I (A), Math Econ I (A). both at the exchange department and top in both classes.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): typical econ major requirement at home university (all but one are above 90/100); International Finance (A), Game Theory(A), Econometrics (A) at the exchange department, top in all three classes.
Other Courses: lots of typical mandates required in China.
Letters of Recommendation: all come from professors in the exchange department, two senior faculty from grad micro and undergrad international finance (both relatively well-known in their respective fields), one AP from grad math econ course (should be very enthusiastic).
Research Experience: Virtually none. Started to write a Honor Thesis only after applying.
Teaching Experience:No
Research Interests: Macro theory and behavioral macro. likely to change after 1st year.
SOP: talks about my love for math, however I have no solid research experience to write about.
Concerns: lack of research experience (also all three letters are supposed to talk about not much more than performance in class); bad names for math courses.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: MIT(wl for $ -> unfunded), Stanford($$$), Princeton($$$), Minn, UCLA, PSU
Waitlists: UPenn(-> rej), UMich
Rejections: Harvard, Chicago, Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern, NYU, Columbia, Duke.
Withdrawn: UCSD, Wisc.
What would you have done differently?
My lack of research experience partly results from some family reasons and an unexpected health incident; I guess I couldn't have done much differently.

kipfilet 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Economics, top school in small European country
Undergrad GPA: 18/20, converted to 4.0/4.0, top of my class
Type of Grad: MPhil in Economics in progress (2 year Masters including 1st year PhD coursework)
Grad GPA: 19/20, converted to 4.0/4.0
GRE: Q800, V710, AWA 5.0
Math Courses: Calc I (already includes some intro real analysis and lots of proofs), Calc II (multivariate calc, topology, lots of optimisation), Linear Algebra, Math I (difference eqns, dynamic programming, discrete-time optimization), Math II (differential eqns, optimal control), Advanced Math (advanced topology and real analysis, measure theory, correspondence theory). All A's
Econ Courses (grad-level): Full Macro and Micro sequences, lots of random trimester courses (game theory I and II, time series, microeconometrics, energy economics, etc), all A's.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Lots of them. In my country, programs are not flexible at all. We spend 3 years being bombed with economics courses just about everything.
Other Courses: some Law, Finance and History courses. Two seminars on European Union institutions.
Letters of Recommendation: My thesis advisor and three assistant professors who know me well I guess (was a student and worked/working in projects with all of them).
Research Experience: Summer internship at a Ministry, applied macro research; lots of minor projects; macroeconometric paper with two colleagues; co-authoring an empirical paper; my MPhil thesis (in progress) is supposed to be one of the three papers one usually writes for a PhD.
Teaching Experience: twice TA (lecturer) for Multivariate Calc, twice TA (lecturer) for intermediate macro (all undergrad)
Research Interests: Macro: monetary economics, DSGE's, asset pricing. Also interested in behavioural.
SOP: Pretty standard, not customised at all. I actually sent the same SOP to ALL schools, only changing their name.
Concerns: Coming from a school that is virtually unknown in the US (and better known as a business school in Europe), no letter of recommendation from a senior professor.
Other: TOEFL 119, Erasmus in a well-known university in the Netherlands.
RESULTS
Acceptances: Minnesota ($$$), UPenn ($$$), LSE (), Oxford (MPhil, no ), Columbia ($$$), Chicago (no $), Northwestern (no$ 1st year), NYU($$$)
Waitlists: UCLA (rej), MIT (rej), Northwestern (acc), NYU (acc)
Rejections: Yale, Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford, Princeton, UCLA, MIT.
Attending: NYU
What would you have done differently?
Not much, I think. I regret not having asked a letter of recommendation from a well-known professor at my university whom I later discovered to be rather willing to write it (I had never worked for him). Not asking any senior prof for a letter of recommendation was a huge risk I took, and I only discovered the value of seniority much later (i.e. after having discovered TM). My 2nd year MPhil grades (1st year PhD courses) have been rather good so far, and my thesis is going really well (my apologies for not being very humble in this aspect), so I guess I could have a stronger profile if I decided to apply next year. Anyway, I'm not going to cry over it, as I'm already ecstatic with my outcome! This was an extremely long and stressful process, and I'm really glad that it has come to a happy ending. See you all in the job market!

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).

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.

Potica 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA econ and psych from top 10 liberal arts college. Post-BA math classes in continuing studies program at top 20 University
Undergrad GPA: 3.5 (overall), 3.4 (BA institution), 3.8 (post-BA), 3.6 (econ classes), 3.6 (final two years of UG at liberal arts college)
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q780, V650, AWA 5.0
Math Courses: Calc I-III (C, A, A), Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A-), Game Theory (A-), Probability I-III (A, A, A-), Real Analysis I-III (B+, A, A-), Math Stats I (B-). All but Calc I taken post BA.
Econ Courses: Intro Micro (B+), Intro Macro (B+), Intermediate Micro (A-), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (B+), IO (A), Decision Making (A-), IO Seminar (A), Trade (B+), Managerial Econ (A-), Law and Econ (P)
Other Courses: lots of psychology courses, a few history classes.
Letters of Recommendation: Two young (well known) economists at top 10 econ PhD program for whom I had a 1.5 year RA job. One economist who previously had a senior position at the FTC who supervised me at a consulting firm for 5 years. Letters were clearly strong.
Research Experience: Undergrad thesis (both econ and psych), work at econ consulting firm (5 years), full time RA job at top 10 university (1.5 years), co-authored working paper with supervisors at RA job, and a little bit of very preliminary work on a couple of my own ideas
Teaching Experience: TA for 2 quarters of intro micro and 2 quarters of intro macro
Research Interests: Applied micro (changed the fields a bit from school to school)
SOP: Probably strong. Good argument for why I want to study econ and why I am prepared. Wrote extensively about two research ideas. Customization varied from school to school.
Concerns: Relatively old, weak undergraduate grades, no grad classes.
Other: Presented co-authored paper as a poster at a conference in late March (a mention that the paper was accepted for the conference made it onto about half of my apps)
RESULTS
Acceptances: UW Madison ($), Cornell ($), UT Austin ($), UVA ($), OSU (unclear), Vanderbilt ($), UC Davis ($), UC Irvine ($), Notre Dame ($)
Waitlists: U Chicago Booth econ (accepted), U Michigan Ross econ (accepted), Brown (accepted), U Maryland (accepted, no $), U Michigan (withdrawn, prob could have gotten in at last minute), UNC (withdrawn), U Minnesota (rejected)
Rejections: Yale, Harvard PEG, Berkeley ARE, Stanford, Princeton, UPenn, Wharton Applied Econ, U Chicago, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, CMU, Duke, JHU, Rochester, University of British Columbia, UCSD, Wash U
Attending: U Chicago Booth econ
What would you have done differently?
Not much. Would have changed my mix of schools slightly and not applied to UBC (with its $150 application fee). Obviously I could have done better as an undergrad, but at the time I had no interest in graduate school. I think the RA job was hugely beneficial (for a number of reason). My results would have been much worse without it. The last five months have been very busy and stressful, so I'm happy it's done even, especially given how well it turned out.

JerseyBoy89 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Economics, B.A. Mathematics (Top ~10 Econ Dept / Top ~5 Math Dept)
Undergrad GPA: 3.85/4
GRE: 800Q/700v/5.0a
Math Courses: Linear Algebra, Multivariate Calculus, Intro Probability Theory, Mathematical Statistics, Stochastic Calculus, Numerical Analysis, Analysis I, Topology, Vector Analysis, Abstract Algebra (Overall, 3.85 GPA)
Econ Courses: Basic Microeconomics Course, Math for Economists, Micro Theory, Macro Theory, Global Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Adv. Macro and Finance, Adv. Micro Theory, Independent Study (Overall, 3.9 GPA)
Other Courses: Finance Courses (foundations financial markets, corporate finance), Business Core (don't wish to list these )
Letters of Recommendation: I received one recommendation from an extremely well known econ professor. Other two recs from well known econ academics that are very successful as well.
Research Experience: RA work sophomore and junior summers. Also worked on independent thesis project senior year.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Macro-Finance (consumption-based asset pricing, term structure models), Corporate Finance in macro setting, Monetary Economics, Business Cycles
SOP: My statement was pretty straightforward - I discussed my research interests and motivations, coursework, research experiences, and my broad fit with each program.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Carnegie Mellon ($$$), UMN ($), UPenn ($$), Wharton Finance ($$$), UCLA ($$ eventually)
Waitlists: Michigan, Princeton (eventually rej), Columbia Business
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Stanford, among others
Attending: Wharton
What would you have done differently? I am very very happy with my results and am really pumped to go to Wharton. That said, I think the one thing I should have considered is attending an MA program in econ (eg. Toronto, LSE) or an RA job at one of the regional Federal Reserve banks. Given my relatively strong recommendations, either one of these would have solidified my candidacy for a higher-ranked program (not that I didn't get into a great program already!). Looking back, coming from an undergraduate program, I also wouldn't mind some more economics training before I start a PhD program - it would certainly make me more economically mature as well. Nonetheless, I am very very happy with my results.

kevinp123 2011:
Type of Undergrad: BS Econ; Top 30 public, not highly ranked in econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.94
Type of Grad: MA Econ, same school as undergrad
Grad GPA: 3.92
GRE: 780Q, 610V, 4.5AW
Math Courses: Multivar Calc (A), Math for Econ (A), Adv. Calc I (A), Lin. Algebra (A), Probability (A)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro/Macro, Development, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Econometrics I,II, Game Theory (A), Corp. Finance (B)
Grad Econ Courses: Micro I,II, Public Finance (A), IO (B)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Chicago, 1 Princeton, 1 Stanford; 1 somewhat famous
Research Experience: Master's Thesis
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UT-Austin, Maryland
Waitlists: Initially Maryland
Rejections: Harvard, Chicago, UPenn, Northwestern, Yale, NYU, Stern, UCLA, Michigan, Duke, CMU-Tepper, UVA, VanderbiltWhat would you have done differently? I would have started taking math courses before my junior (and mostly senior) year, especially statistics courses. I think not having any calculus based statistics courses really hurt me (other than probability). I also would not have withdrawn from an honors research course to take and LSAT prep class.

SubEffect 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 5 US liberal arts college.
Undergrad GPA: overall 3.89, with about the same in econ/math and a strong upwards trend since freshman year
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 800 Q 720V 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Modeling (A), Math Stats I (A), Math Stats II (A), Differential Equations (A), Data Analysis (A), Real Analysis (B+), Topics in Analysis: Dynamical Systems (A+), Senior Research Project (A) [freshman year: Honors Linear Algebra (P), Honors Multivariable Calc (B)]
Econ Courses (PhD-level): NA
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro (A), Advanced Micro (A/A-), Intermediate Econometrics (B+), Adv Econometrics (A), Polit Econ of Africa (A), Economic Development (A+/A), Public Policy Evaluation (A), Experimental Economics (A+), Behavioral Economics (A), Senior Research Project (A+), [freshman year: Int. Macro (A-), International Polit Econ. (A-)]
Other Courses: Nothing too useful, except for Comp Sci (A+).
Letters of Recommendation: 1) prof with MIT PhD, took two high level classes with and talked a lot about research ideas; 2) assistant prof with Berkeley PhD, did independent research and took three classes with; 3) prof at top policy school who I worked for. From my NSF feedback, it sounds like they were all good, though the ones from my undergrad profs were probably stronger.
Research Experience: JPAL field RA for a year; RA for a prof at a top 5 econ for a summer; did independent research project with a prof at my school; thesis for my math major, which won best paper award in department; separate thesis-like econ paper, which won best paper award in my department
Teaching Experience: TA for Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Econometrics
Research Interests: Development, Behavioral, Auctions, tons of different applied micro topics
Statement of purpose: Probably fine.
Other: Can't think of anything
RESULTS:
Attending: Yale
Acceptances: NSF, Yale ($$, off waitlist), Berkeley ($, off waitlist), Cornell ($), Brown ($)
Waitlists: MIT, Chicago Booth, Columbia
Rejections: Harvard, Princeton, NYU
What would you have done differently? I spent a long time thinking about this, especially the painful stretch between the first wait list and getting the NSF. My school has had really good placement in the past, and my profs had been pretty excited about my chances at top 5 schools, so letting them down was a bit of a bummer. With another year at JPAL, especially at the Cambridge office, or taking real analysis 2 to get the A , maybe I could have been a contender at M/H? Still, I'm pretty eager to start working on my own research, so wouldn't have wanted to take more time off beforehand; this also lets me be near my girlfriend, which is a high priority. The one thing I would change is to apply to more business PhD programs, but Yale was my third choice behind the Cambridge schools, so I am very happy to be going there. Since they do a lot of behavioral/dev combined, it might even be a better fit for my interests than the others.
A couple of people have asked for advice on the NSF. It didn't end up helping me too much with admission (since Yale would have worked out anyway), so I feel kind of bad getting it when it might have helped someone else, but it did get me into Berkeley. Jeeves and others have a lot of good things to say, so I'll just focus on three things.
First, working at JPAL/doing a proposal on development topics is clearly a huge advantage. JPAL produced at least 200f the NSF's this year, which is just absurd. All three my reviewers mentioned it, and two included it in their comments on both intellectual merit and broader impacts. Second, don't be bashful about multiple applications. I put out feelers in a proposal last year, and the comments were extremely helpful in succeeding this time around. Even if you're rushing to finish it, you'll be able to get a sense of what they think of your idea. Third, just follow their criteria for broader impacts. In your personal statement, you can dedicate a paragraph to each one individually; make their lives easier in checking off excellent for each one. Non-econ related things, such as tutoring or mentoring other students is looked upon favorably, especially if you plan to continue doing so. Also, make sure to devote some substantial part of your research proposal to broader impacts, they look for that too: I had the final half page be just about ways that my proposal could be broadly applied. If you can tie in broader impacts in any way, do it.

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!

dr12 2011:
PROFILE
Type of Undergrad: BS economics and physics from top 10 university
Undergrad GPA: 3.95
GRE: 800Q 620V 5.0AW
Math Courses: Multivariable Calc, Linear Algebra, Probability, Statistics, Diff EQs, Complex Analysis, Data Analysis
Econ Courses (grad-level): Econometrics (3 terms)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Macro, Micro, IO, Game Theory, Econometrics, Auctions, Finance, Options, Organization Design
Other Courses: Lots of physics courses
Letters of Recommendation: 1 famous, 1 well-known, 1 assistant prof (all econ)
Research Experience: Job in private industry focused on econ analysis, research, and data work
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Micro theory
SOP: Standard
Concerns: No research within academia or published papers
Other: Worked for several years in private industry after undergrad
RESULTS
Acceptances: Northwestern, UCLA, UCSD
Waitlists: MIT
Rejections: Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, Chicago, Princeton, Yale
Attending: Northwestern
Comments: I think working in private industry the last five years likely prevented me from cracking the top-5. I think it is legitimately viewed as a risk (e.g., potential for rusty math skills, concern of going back into private industry, added likelihood of personal distractions) - a friend I have in graduate school says that the older graduate students tend not to do as well on average (at least in his class). Additionally, it becomes harder to get academic letters of recommendation. I would recommend that people who have worked for a few years and are thinking about pursuing an econ phd to take a graduate economics course or two through a local university's extension program (if you can fit it in while working). Outside of being informative/beneficial for you, it will strengthen your application and maybe set you up for a fresher letter of recommendation. That being said, I am very excited about Northwestern as my interests are in micro theory and it has always been in my personal top-5. Feel free to PM me if you'd like to know anything else.

beeconomist 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Math and Economics double major at Maryland
Undergrad GPA: 3.9 overall, 4.0 math, 3.7 economics
GRE: 770Q, 730V, AWA 4.5
Math Courses: Calc II (A+), Calc III (A), Linear Algebra (A-), Differential Equations (A), Intro to Analysis (A), Number theory (A), Probability and Statistics (A), Advanced Calculus (A-), Math of Finance (A), Stochastic Processes (A), Advanced Calculus II (A), Advanced Linear Algebra (A) , Numerical Analysis (IP)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Micro (A-), Intro Macro (B+), Intermediate Macro (A), Intermediate Micro (A), Econometrics I (A+), Development (A), Honors Thesis I (A), Risk and Uncertainty in Economics (IP), Mathematical Economics (IP), Econometrics II (IP), Honors Thesis II (IP)
Other Courses: C Programming (A), Writing for Economics (A+)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 very strong from assistant professor I've RA'd for a year and a half, 1 very strong from distinguished professor I've RA'd for a year, 1 semi-strong from professor who is director of the econ honors thesis program
Research Experience: RA for macro professor (1 and a half years), RA for environmental economics professor (1 year), received a grant to complete a math research project, 2 summer research programs for women in mathematics, honors thesis
Teaching Experience: Tutored math for a semester
Research Interests: When I applied, it was macro. Now I'm interested in learning more about public, health, environmental, and agricultural and food policy.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Maryland (graduate assistantship), NYU (fellowship), Penn (waitlist for funding), UVA (fellowship), Duke (1st year tuition), GW (fellowship)
Waitlists: Columbia, Johns Hopkins
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, UNC, Georgetown
Attending: Maryland

ggoofer 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Econ, Math at Non-HYP Ivy
Undergrad GPA: 3.89 overall, 3.94 Math, 3.97 Econ (out of 4)
GRE: 790 Q, 660 V, 4.5 AWA
Math Courses (undergrad level): Baby Linear Algebra (A+), Multivariable Calc (A), Honors Analysis (A), Linear Algebra (A-), Honors Algebra (A-), Topology (A), Stochastic Processes (A+)
Math Courses (grad level): Measure Theory (A+), Applied Functional Analysis (A), Algebra (A), Probability (A), Topics in Group Theory (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad level): Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Prob & Stat (A+), Intro to Econometrics (A+), Money and Banking (A-), Financial Economics (A+), Game Theory (A), Intertemporal Economics (A+), Trade (A+)
Econ Courses (grad level): Micro I (A), Micro II (A), Decision Theory II (A+), Contract Theory (in prog)
Other Courses: Stochastic Calculus for Finance (A-)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ, 1 math. I know these people well. Expecting strong letters.
Research Experience: Econ, none worth mentioning. Spent a summer working on finite group theory with a math prof here. Learned how much I hate group theory.
Teaching Experience: TAing is not allowed. I have done a lot of tutoring for the department since sophomore year.
Research Interests: Micro theory topics
SOP: Weak. Did not spend much time.
RESULTS:
Attending: Northwestern
Acceptances: Northwestern ($$$$), Berkeley ($$), Princeton ($$$), Yale ($$$$), UMN ($), Cornell ($$$)
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Penn, Chicago
What would you have done differently? Not much really. Very happy with my results. I should have spent more time on my SOP probably. Wish I could have gotten econ research in somehow, but it is borderline impossible to get anything that is not applied/data monkey work (and any theory stuff you do yourself e.g. for thesis most likely sucks). Also would have stopped taking undergrad econ courses a lot sooner. Most are a waste of time.

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.

LUDuckling 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 30 liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 4.0 Economics/Maths/International Relations
GRE: Q 800 V 730 AW 4.0
Math Courses: Calculus, Linear Algebra, ODE, Probability, Math Stat, Real Analysis
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro, Macro, Econometrics, IO, Economic Thought, Development, Money Banking
Letters of Recommendation:professor of grad micro class; econ prof; math thesis advisor - all mentioned my originality & ability to abstract from real world happenings. One talked about I am "one of the most impressive students during his 40+ years of teaching at Harvard & xx university."
Research Experience: RIPS student industrial math research@IPAM; RA; math thesis in game theory
Teaching Experience: TA math & econ for 2 years
Research Interests: micro, behavioral, not really set
Other Experience: Co-founded a company and initiated an int'l summer school; various volunteering experiences, mainly has to do with (re)building houses for poor people(write about in diversity statement)
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Yale, Columbia, NYU, UCB, Chicago, etc.
Waitlists: MIT, UCLA, CMU
Rejections: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Brown, Caltech, etc.
What would you have done differently?
Applying straight from a non-top liberal arts college and with no significant grad course work/ research job, I am very content with my result. I think I really put everything I could reach together. I have no regrets.

noa 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Economics, specialized in Quantitative Econ (basically lots of Econometrics) from unranked European Univ
Undergrad GPA: 9.27/10 (top of 300+ class)
Type of Grad: One year Master in Economics from the same uni (taking it now)
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q 660V ?A
Math Courses: linear algebra, topology, calc and advance calc, real analysis, matrix algebra, linear and non-linear programming (all A+ save for linear algebra, A-)
Econ Courses (grad-level): macroeconomics, microeconomics, quant methods, energy markets, labor markets, monetary markets
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I-IV, Macro I-IV, game theory, tons of Econometrics and Statistics courses (mostly As, a couple of Bs)
Other Courses: Some applied econ courses, business courses, operations research
Letters of Recommendation: Should be quite good, from teacher whose PhD is from Harvard, UPenn, SUNY, CEMFI, Stanford, and whose Post-Doc was from Berkeley, Princeton,... (I think asking for approx. 10 LORS is a lot so I'm splitting the work a bit)
Research Experience: TA/RA Scholarship for a semester, I wasn't allowed to do much however, university system in Spain is not flexible at all...
Teaching Experience: High School Math and English tutor
Research Interests: Applied Econometrics, Macroeconomics, Micro Theory
SOP: Not finished yet, hopefully decent
Concerns: Adcoms not knowing my uni, not knowing how to interpret grades, etc. Also I'll be applying as a US student but I have more of a Int'l profile (I have dual citizenship)
Other: Any suggestions welcome!
Applying to: assorted top 20 and some safeties, also applying for several RA positions

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

thesparky 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Econ with honours, top 4 Canadian
Undergrad GPA: ~3.9X/4.0 (converted)
Type of Grad: none
Grad GPA: -
GRE: 800Q 650V 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A-, A, A+), Honours Linear Algebra (A-), Proofs (A), ODE (A+), Probability (A+), Stochastic Processes (A+)
Econ Courses: Inter. Micro I-II (A, A+), Inter. Macro I-II (A-, A-), Stats-Metrics (A+, A+, A+), Development Econ (A+), Game Theory (A+, A+), Human Behaviour (grad; A+), Honours Thesis (A, A), Math Econ (A, A)
Other Courses: some commerce courses (As), some relevant non-econ courses (A, A+), several unofficial grad course audits
Letters of Recommendation: econ/psych prof; current boss (well known); econometrics prof
Research Experience: A couple of directed studies (A+s), thesis, some years RA for first letter of recommendation writer, currently full-time RA for second letter of recommendation writer.
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Behavioural econ
SOP: Its a statement of purpose alright.
Concerns: No real analysis. Oh well.
Other: Had a SSHRC (Canadian NSF) last year.
Applying to: Some top 5 (with B-schools) and a few others

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

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

zorro12 2011:
Type of Undergrad: Group of 8 Australia
Double Major: Economics / Mathematics
Undergrad GPA: 3.79 (converted)
Exchange GPA: 3.33 (top 10 economics)
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 790Q 660V 4.0AW; 770Q 690V 4.0AW
Math Courses: calculus, linear algebra, optimisation theory, discrete mathematics, ODEs, PDEs, applied mathematics
Econ Courses: micro (up to 4th yr), macro (up to 4th yr), econometrics (up to 4th yr), game theory, law and economics, industrial org, international finance
Letters of Recommendation: I assume they will be positive
Research Experience: honours thesis
Teaching Experience: 1st year micro and macro
Research Interests: micro, game theory
Concerns: (1) If I'd seen the results forums from last year before I'd applied I would have applied to some lower ranked universities. (2) Exchange GPA. (3) 770 on the quant section of my 2nd attempt at the GRE.
Applying to: Berkeley, Brown, CalTech, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, MIT, Northwestern, NYU, Princeton, Stanford, UCSD, UIllinois, UPenn, WUSTL, Yale
Comments: Implicit rejection from CalTech

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!

Econ1012011 2011:
Type of Undergrad: Top 5 U.S. Liberal Arts College. Well-respected Econ Dept but some difficulty placing people into PhDs in recent years, perhaps b/c of lack of grad classes to take and failure to keep pace with big U.S. universities and foreign universities in their emphasis on math in undergrad econ curriculum.
Undergrad GPA: 3.9/4.0
Type of Grad: M.Sc., top ten European program. 1 year of coursework, no thesis, didn't do as much of the PhD core theory sequence as I should have.
Grad GPA: 8.4/10.
GRE: 800 Q / 800 V / 6.0 W (native English speaker)
Math Courses: Calc I and II (AP credit from high school), Calc III mini course (A, at my undergrad institution), Calc III (A-, taken after my B.A. at so-so university #1, not known for econ or math, approx. rank 50), Linear Algebra I (A, taken after my B.A. at so-so university #2, not known for math, approx. rank 80), Math for Econ (A-, post-B.A., masters-level but taken at so-so university #2), Intro to Sets and Proofs and Stuff (A, taken post-M.Sc. at so-so university #1), Ordinary Differential Equations (A-, post-M.Sc., so-so university #1), Real Analysis I (A-, post-M.Sc., so-so university #1; taken fall 2010, some schools didn't allow submission of fall grades), Mathematical Statistics (B+, post-M.Sc., graduate level, so-so university #1, ditto on fall grades.) In progress: Real Analysis II, Mathematical Statistics II.
Econ Courses (grad-level): Did masters in econ. Didn't do PhD-level micro (the Mas-Colell textbook), did mostly masters-level stuff. Did PhD macro, applied micro, applied econometrics, and six standard electives (e.g. labor, public).
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Full major, 3.9/4.0. Did the most advanced international econ, development econ, and econometrics. Didn't do the most advanced micro and macro theory. Econometrics grades somewhat erratic (Intro: A+. Intermediate: B. Advanced: A-.)
Other Courses: Basic Latex, Matlab, and Maple class during Spring 2011 so no grade on transcript.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from masters who knows I wasn't the best student in the class (Princeton PhD), 1 from undergrad who adores me but didn't teach me any advanced stuff (MIT PhD), 1 former boss who is a PhD economist but not an academic (Columbia PhD).
Research Experience: One summer RA in college doing non-quant stuff, 2 years at a relatively well respected think tank (but it's not academia for sure), 3 years in research department at international organization (very applied, far from academia).
Teaching Experience: TA'ed intermediate micro and macro early in undergrad career, nothing since then.
Research Interests: international, macro labor, environment (not the most coherent storyline).
SOP: Pretty decent (this is a skill of U.S.-trained applicants, I think), but I may have expressed interest in too many different things. Was careful to mention that I know who is doing what in areas I was interested in within each department to show I was paying attention.
Concerns: Most are mentioned throughout up above. Main ones: 1. My math might look like an afterthought, and my grades are in the A- average range, not As. 2. I'm old. Too many years away from school hurts you. 3. I don't come across as focused on a coherent set of topics / tools. 4. I wasn't a rock star at my masters. Solid, but not a rock star, as I hadn't done the needed math yet when I entered that program.
Other: My list of schools is a bit odd, because I have geographic constraints (the result of being older). Also applied to a few law schools as back up, and got offer of full funding at a top school, so I have options if I don't get funding at an econ program.
Applying to: Already Rejected Yale. Still waiting (in geographic order) Harvard, MIT, Columbia, NYU, Princeton, U Penn, Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, Georgetown, Duke, University of Michigan, University of Washington.

econger 2011:
Institution: LSE
Program: EME 2y
Decision: Accepted
Funding: no "graduate support scheme" - other available scholarships pending till July...
Notification date: 01/21/11
Notified through: Email
Posted on GF: no
Comments: if I don't get any form of financial support, I cannot afford the fees (plus living expenses London!) - so I guess I hope for PhD-admits or other Master-programs, which are more generous

thirty 2011:
Institution: Yale
Program: Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: Feb 16
Notified through: Email to check website
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Started thinking about applying next year if I don't get any offer.

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?

Peot 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Math/Econ double major at a Top 40 Econ, top something US News... too lazy to check. We like experimental econ and college basketball.
Undergrad GPA: 3.9
Type of Grad: Just classes
Grad GPA: 3.9
GRE: 760Q/640V/4.0 Attempt #1, 165Q/161V/5.0 Attempt #2
Math Courses: Calc 1-3, Intro to Analysis I-II, Abstract Algebra, Honors Linear Alg, Honors ODEs, Applied Stat, Probability Theory, Math Stat, Stochastic Processes, Grad Analysis I, Topology, Combinatorics, Number Theory. All A's except an A- in ODEs and a B in Grad Analysis
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I, Micro II, Political Economy, Topics in Micro Theory. All A's except an A- in Micro II
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): A whole bunch
Other Courses: A bunch of English classes
Letters of Recommendation: 1 extremely well known (multiple publications in AER/'metrica/JET), 1 very well known (publications in AER, 'metrica, JET), 1 not as well known. All 3 are micro theorists and have had me for at least one grad Econ class and at least two are advising me with my thesis/research projects.
Research Experience: 2 summer research grants from my university to work on independent projects in micro theory/game theory, another grant to work on that same project during this academic year, some independent studies over the years, all of which will be aggregated into a special degree/honors thesis
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests: Game Theory, Mechanism Design, Formal Political Theory, Algorithmic Game Theory. How information affects games and how mechanisms can incentivize information acquisition.
SOP: Cookie cutter with one paragraph tailored to each place.
Other: Varsity letterman/spent 4 years on a perennial top 15-25 Division I team in my sport. That made this all so much harder than it needed to be!
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Caltech, Wisconsin, Kellogg MECS, UT-Austin, UCLA, NYU, Berkeley (no first year fellowship), Penn (wl for first year funding)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Stanford GSB Econ Analysis + Policy
Attending: Caltech
What would you have done differently?
Can't say I could have changed anything drastically. Maybe done marginally better in a course or two, or not messed up my first GRE. But those are ninth or tenth order concerns. RA or a Masters wouldn't have done anything for me. I'm thrilled and fortunate to be where I am!

laca 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Econ from top 10 US, top 5 econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.77/4.00
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: 800Q 690V 4.0AWA
Math Courses: Honors Calculus I-III (A,B-,A), Real Analysis I-III (A-,B+A-), Math Probability (A-), Stat Methods/Theory (A-)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Price Theory I (B), Social Interactions and Inequality (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate micro (A-,A), intermediate macro (A,A-), game theory (A-), IO (A), honors metrics I-II (B+, A), macro modeling (B+), reading/research (A,A)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 1 econ, 1 finance, 1 accounting prof, all highly regarded in their field. I have RAd for at least a year for each, two of them have seen me in a classroom setting as well. Coauthored an unpublished working paper with two of them. They all reassured me that the letters would be strong.
Research Experience: 1 year undergrad RA, 1.5 year as full time researcher at highly ranked business school.
Teaching Experience: for a short while I tutored math to freshmen in college
Research Interests: applied micro
SOP: Nothing too exciting.
Concerns: Math grades could be stronger; GRE AWA could be better. Hoping that research experience and strong LORs will compensate for it.
Other: Some poli sci electives and required college core courses
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Chicago Booth finance ($$), Chicago ($), Stanford GSB political econ ($$), NYU Stern finance ($$), UCLA ($)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Berkeley, Brown, Columbia GSB finance and econ, Cornell, Harvard, Kellogg finance, MIT, NYU, Princeton, Stanford, Yale
Attending: Chicago Booth finance
What would you have done differently?
Overall, I am very happy with my results, although I was really not expecting the composition of the acceptances to be so tilted towards finance instead of econ - I originally applied with the expectation that I would end up at an econ program. I think that the take home point is that recommendations matter; having two biz school recs provided me with excellent results at other business schools, but possibly doomed my applications at econ departments. So in hindsight I should have added an additional econ recommender. I also wonder a bit if I somehow messed up my econ sop, despite the fact that I have much less familiarity with finance research topics.
However, I am quite excited to take a step outside of my comfort zone, and learn about a whole new field!

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.

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.

backtowork 2012:
Type of undergrad: BA in Econ and Math from non-HYP Ivy
Undergrad GPA: 3.94/4.00
GRE: 800Q/710V/5.0W
Math courses: honors calc (B), honors linear (A), honors ODE I and II (A, A), operations research (A), statistical inference (B), information theory (A), real analysis (A+), grad stochastic processes (A-)
Econ courses (all undergrad): intro (A), micro (A), macro (A), health (A), int'l (A), financial institutions (A), corp finance (A), honors econometrics (A), economic growth (A), theory of general equilibrium (A), public econ (A), Labor (1st-taken at an oxbridge), Political Econ (1st-taken at an oxbridge)
Other courses: mostly random poli-sci
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from my thesis adviser (not well known). 1 from my former boss as an intern at the Fed Board (pretty well known, but I only worked there for a couple months and he didn't know me all that well). 1 from my current boss at regional fed who is somewhat well known and knows me quite well.
Research Experience: thesis, a little RA work in UG, internship at the Fed BoG, currently an RA at a Fed Bank. No publications.
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interest: Macro, labor, IO, pretty much open to anything
SOP: eh
Other: elected phi beta kappa junior year, magna cum laude, honors;
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Penn (wl for funding, asked to be removed), UCLA ($$$), Princeton($$$)
Waitlists: Minnesota (asked to be removed)
Rejections: NYU, Harvard, HBS, MIT, Stanford, Stanford GSB, UC Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern, Chicago, Columbia,
Attending: Princeton!
What would you have done differently?
I would have decided during college that this is what I wanted to do and made an effort to work with some of the big name professors at my UG institution. I was very fortunate to get such favorable results without having done so. After going through the whole admissions process, it has become abundantly clear that it's all about the letters; not just what's in them, but also who writes them. Not that your letter writers have to be famous or anything, but they need to be well-connected. Looking at my admissions results, the process looks almost random (rejected from Columbia, accepted at Princeton?), but in fact my results were quite predictable; if one of my letter writers personally knew someone on the admissions committee, I was accepted. If they did not, I wasn't. Simple as that. So my advice to the next generation of applicants is the same that has been given all over this board: LETTERS ARE EVERYTHING! If I had followed that advice a little earlier, I might have cracked the Harvard/MIT barrier, but Im certainly not complaining!

chatlunatique 2012:
Type of undergrad: BA in Econ, minor in Math, from large public school in the midwest (top 60 econ)
Undergrad GPA: 3.85/4.00
GRE: 170 Q /160 V /6.0 AWA
Math courses: Multivariate calc (A), Vector calc (A), Diff EQ (A), Linear Algebra (A), Real Analysis (A+; taken at Ivy)
Econ courses: Econometrics I-II (A,A), Honors thesis (A), Financial econ (A), Trade (A), Development (A), Seminar in Monetary econ (A), Seminar in trade/devo (A), Statistical analysis (A), Intermediate Macro/Micro (A,C+), Intro Macro/Micro (A,A+)
Other courses: Some African studies, some French, others from across the humanities/social science spectrum
Letters of recommendation: 2 from professors who I have managed field research projects for in the past 2 years (I am co-authoring a paper with one; both are junior but fairly well known in their sub-fields and earned their PhDs from top programs). 1 from undergrad professor who I took two classes with and excelled.
Research experience: UG thesis; 6 months RA at a regional Fed; 2 years RA managing research projects in an African country; co-authoring paper with one of my current bosses.
Teaching experience: 2 semesters TA for Intro to Micro
Research interest: Development, IO, Personnel, Micro
SOP: Talked about my research interests and how they developed, and explained my grade trajectory.
Other: Phi Beta Kappa, Summa cum laude, econ departmental honors
RESULTS:
Acceptances: NSF ($$$$), HBS Bus-Ec ($$$$), Stanford ($$$$), LSE ($$$), Northwestern ($$$), UCSD ($$$), UCLA ($$$), Duke ($$), Michigan ($$), Maryland ($$)
Rejections: Harvard econ, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Stanford GSB, Chicago, Chicago GSB, Columbia, Columbia GSB, NYU, NYU Stern, Penn, Penn Wharton, UCL, Berkeley, Brown
Attending: HBS!
What would you have done differently?
Nothing? I’m thrilled with my acceptances, and managed to get into my top 2 choices, even with such high variance in outcomes. Above all else my results show that even with a shaky and unfocused first couple years of undergrad, it is possible to get into good programs. I did not take any math or serious econ courses until my fourth year of university, and ended up overcoming some poor early grades (including a C+ in intermediate micro) to finish strong in my last two years, and then go on to earn RA positions where I was able to work with top economists on research that fascinated me. Should be a fun few years ahead!

greenrebelette 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in International Studies and Chinese, Minor in Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.95
Type of Grad: MA in Economics at top 20 Econ Department, PhD-Track
Grad GPA: 3.49
GRE: Q800, V720, AW5.5
Math Courses: Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Advanced Calculus, Probability
Econ Courses: Econometrics I & II at PhD level, lots
Other Courses: first course in Stat PhD sequence
Letters of Recommendation: 1 excellent (well-known economist), 1 great (unknown instructor), 1 excellent (from political scientist), 1 of unknown (and suspect) quality.
Research Experience: 1 paper, presented at a conference & published on conference website
Teaching Experience: TA for Master’s level class, TA for introductory Chinese course
Research Interests: Environmental Economics, International Economics (Trade)
SOP: Told it was excellent by several profs
Other: none
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Michigan Econ, UMD AREC, UC Davis ARE, MSU AFRE, Ohio State AEDE, Duke UPEP, Iowa State Econ, Wisconsin AAE
Waitlists: Michigan Econ (originally)
Rejections: UC San Diego Econ, Harvard PEG, Brown Econ, Cornell AEM, Berkeley AREC, Georgetown Econ
Attending: Michigan Econ
What would you have done differently? Figured out what kind of career I wanted (in an econ dept or ARE dept) BEFORE I applied!

hulk86 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BS Econ (top 25, top 50 econ)
Undergrad GPA: 3.69
Type of Grad: MA Econ (Top 20 econ)
Grad GPA: 3.81
GRE: 800Q 710V 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A, A, A), Linear Algebra (A), Real Analysis I-II (A, A-)
Econ Courses (Ph.D.-level): Micro I (A-) Macro I (A-) Metrics I (A)
Econ Courses (MA-level): Time Series (A-), Micro theory (A+), Macro I-II (A, A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Typical undergrad econ major with political economy electives, mostly A-/B+ with some As
Other Courses: (All Stat Ph.D.-level) Probability (A), Stat. Inference (B), Probability and Measure Theory (A)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from profs that taught me, 1 from prof I RAed for
Research Experience: Undergrad thesis, 2 semesters RA + current full-time RA job
Teaching Experience: Private tutoring in math and econ
Research Interests: Political economy, growth, development, social choice, public economics
SOP: Standard
Other: n/a
RESULTS:
Acceptances: U Virginia ($$), Michigan State ($$$)
Waitlists: Duke, Johns Hopkins
Rejections: Yale, Berkeley, MIT, Wisconsin, Princeton, Maryland, UCSD, Michigan, Brown, Harvard, NYU, Cornell
Attending: Michigan State
What would you have done differently?
I would have been more careful about selecting letter writers. I expected to bag a few more admits (as did my adviser)--especially target schools like Maryland or Wisconsin--and I suspect one reason why I didn't was because one of my letters was weak. I overestimated the signalling power of good grades in hard classes and didn't fully appreciate the primacy of LORs until the process was underway. Nonetheless, I'm very pleased with my great offer from MSU, which became my top choice yesterday (without hearing about my waitlists) due to external, personal/geographic factors. Really excited to get started in August!

Pburg 2012:
Type of Undergrad: US, top 30
Undergrad GPA: 3.8 (3.9 econ, 3.6 math)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q 167 V 161 AWA 5.5
Math Courses: Calc II and III (A-, B+), Lin Alg (B+), Intro to Proofs (B), Math Stats (A-), Applied Stats (A), Bayesian Stats (B+), Diff Eq (A-), Nonlinear ODE (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Analysis (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Principles of Micro, Macro (A-, A), Hon Intermediate Micro, Macro (A, A-), History (A), Intro & Intermediate Econometrics (A-, A), IO (A), Math for Econ (A), Information (A), Regulation/Antitrust (A)
Letters of Recommendation: good to great, from Stanford, Michigan, and UCLA econ PhDs
Research Experience: summer RA, kind of light
Teaching Experience: TA 4 semesters
Research Interests: applied micro
SOP: average
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Wisconsin ($), Vanderbilt ($$)
Waitlists: UVA (withdrawn)
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Yale, Northwestern, UCSD, Cornell, Duke, Penn State, UC Berkeley ARE
Attending: Wisconsin
What would you have done differently? Better math grades. If I had developed an interest in econ sooner, I might have avoided some mediocre grades and snagged a couple more research opportunities.

UZW 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large public, top 15 econ, located on an isthmus
Undergrad GPA: 4.0/4.0
Type of Grad: grad micro
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 800/690/5.5
Math Courses: 11 proof based courses, several in analysis, probability, stochastics, measure theory, topology, math stats
Econ Courses: pretty typical, plus the one semester of grad micro
Other Courses: went fairly far in the psych major
Letters of Recommendation: the three most famous economists who I had worked with, including the grad micro teacher. &nbsp;I knew one well, but my advisors really emphasized have tenured professors writing letters, so that was my top priority.
Research Experience: RA for an auction project, RA for an education project, thesis, research class
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: everything
SOP: bland
Other: extensive community involvement, top score in the grad class, a couple best in the department awards, a couple research grants, above average tennis player
RESULTS:
Acceptances: top ten minus Harvard, was waitlisted for funding at MIT
Waitlists:
Rejections: Harvard
What would you have done differently?
From talking to people, it sounds like working for two years at NBER/the fed is a good way to improve your chances at the top two. &nbsp;However, that is two years of your life that you won't get back, and I am pretty set on going into academics, so I'm happy with my decision to apply this year. &nbsp;I'm posting this because I have not seen a profile quite like mine on here before and I think it could be a helpful gauge for people at large publics.

dbeef 2012:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 US University, econ + math double major.
Undergrad GPA: 3.82 (3.83 econ, 3.58 math)
Type of Grad: 3 math field courses, and a masters/advanced undergrad micro theory course; additional econ field course at a top 10 program while working.
Grad GPA: 3.62
GRE: 163Q, 163V, 5.5AW
Math Courses: Random undergrad (calc, odes, etc... mostly As), Analysis (B), Algebra (B-), Probability theory (B+), Grad complex w/ some functional (A-), Other grad math (A,A-)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Labor (A), Micro(B-), Asset pricing (A-)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate micro and macro (A+,A+,A), metrics (A-), some other honors courses (As)
Other Courses: Some chem and physics + some businessy CS courses (As)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from a well known econ professor I took a grad course with (top 1 0EAS ranking), 2 additional strong (hopefully?), detailed letters from fairly well known economists who observed me in a research setting (one regional fed economist and one thesis advisor), a 4th letter from a math professor I took grad courses from.
Research Experience: A ton. In econ: a few undergrad RAships (over 3.5 years), a solid undergrad honors paper, and 1.5 years as an RA at a regional Fed... a couple of published papers as a coauthor in decent field journals plus a few coauthored working papers, some policy papers, and a couple self-authored (under the guidance of my letter writers) working papers. Other: was part of a math/theoretical physics research team for a while and also did some material chemistry research as an undergrad.
Research Interests: Lots, but mainly labor, health, and theory.
SOP: Standard-ish with some sections individualized for each school.
Concerns: bad math grades and a marginal GRE score
Applying to: Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, Penn, Wisconsin, Michigan, Carnegie Mellon, NSF
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Northwestern (wl $), Wisconsin ($$$$), Michigan ($$$$), NSF($$$$$), Penn (off wl post NSF)
Waitlists: Penn
Rejections: Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, Carnegie Mellon
Attending: Northwestern

ecoetz 2012:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics with Mathematical Economics Concentration (Minor?) from Private Latin American University (Five year degree) (Not well known internationally, known locally).
Undergrad GPA: 4.8/5.0 (Graded on a 5.0 scale, but graded on a percentage basis) (~4.8/5.0 last two years) (~4.8/5.0 maths) (Ranked first in my class).
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q164 (790, 91%) / V161 (620, 89%) / AWA 5.5 (96%).
Math Courses: Differential Calculus (5.0), Integral Calculus (4.5), Multivariable Calculus (5.0), Linear Algebra (4.7), Statistics I,II (4.7, 5.0), Advanced Math for Econ (Covers Intro to Proofs, Elementary Topology and RA) (5.0), Dynamic Optimization (4.9), Stochastic Processes (4.5).
Econ Courses (grad-level): Topics in Modeling (Grad Econometrics) (4.5).
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I,II,III (4.8, 4.8, 4.7), Macro I,II,III (4.5, 4.2, 4.3), Econ History and Thought (4.3, 4.7, 4.4), International Econ (4.9, 4.9), Game Theory (4.9), Public Sector Econ (4.8), Monetary Theory and Policy (4.8), Dynamic Macroeconomics (4.7), Business Cycles and the Firm (IO) (5.0), Econometrics I,II (5.0, 4.7), Time Series Econometrics (4.7), Advanced Econometrics (Multiple Time Series Econometrics) (4.7), Applied Econ and Math Seminar (Microeconometrics) (5.0). There is some grad content in the more advanced courses, but they are still UG-level.
Other Courses: Economic Theory (Epistemology) (5.0), Financial Mathematics (4.9), Financial Analysis (4.8), Five course Politics Sequence, and some other not-as-relevant courses.
Letters of Recommendation: Harvard Prof (PhD Yale, well known), Local Econometrics Prof (PhD UCSD, Co-author, was his TA for grad macro course, former supervisor at work), Local Macro Prof (Former head of Econ Department at my UG school, was his TA for five semesters), and, where a fourth letter could be sent in, Local Summer School Prof (Recent PhD MIT, RAing for him now, TAing for his Fiscal Policy course). All should be strong (hopefully!).
Research Experience: Co-authored paper in top local Journal. RA for over a year at my UG school, with co-authored working paper. Currently RA at top local University in Econ Department. Worked as regional macro research analyst for Citibank for a year after a six-month internship (don't know if this counts towards research experience, since it is not academic. Lots of writing though!).
Teaching Experience: Intermediate Macro TA for five semesters. Advanced Macro (Grad) TA, Fiscal Theory and Policy TA (at top local University).
Research Interests: Political Economy, Comparative Development, Macro Policy.
SOP: Talked about my research interests and how a PhD would be appropriate right now. Run-of-the-mill IMHO.
Concerns: UG school is not very well known, though hopefully LORs will make up for it, since 3 of the 4 recommenders are not from my UG school, but do know it well. Very few grad courses for an international applicant (as mentioned above, while many courses do have grad content, the grad program at my UG school is not as big and, since the UG program is long, grad content is taught at UG level, which is hard to signal to adcoms).
Other: \end{anxiety}
RESULTS
Acceptances: UPenn
Waitlists: None
Rejections: Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern, Stanford, Princeton, MIT, Columbia, Harvard, NYU.
Attending: UPenn
What would you have done differently? Well, the plan was to apply to the top 10 (didn't apply to Chicago though) and see what happened. If I got shut out, I would have gotten an MA in my home country at a good school with good placements and tried again. As fellow TMers have said before, I just needed the one, and I got it. So, in that regard, I played my cards right. However, I went to a very unknown UG school, so in retrospect I probably should have gone to a more known school. I won't say a better school because I believe my undergrad education was very good. I had excellent classmates and I'm sure the more advanced undergrad content was at least, in part, at the MA level, so I don't regret doing my UG there. However, a better known school would have meant better LORs, although I got a very good one from a very good professor I hope to keep working with. For sure more math. I'm still dreading that one going into a PhD program like Penn's. I hope to get caught up in their long math camp though! All in all, I'm thrilled!

george 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Double major: Math/Econ from a top 50 us.
Undergrad GPA: 3.95 (4.0 Math/Econ)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q: 170 V: 166 AWA: 4.5
Math Courses: Calc I-III high school, Real Analysis 1-2 (A), Linear Algebra 1-2 (A), Abstract Algebra 1-2 (A), (A), Combinatorics (A), Number Theory (A), Topology (A), Graph Theory (A), Algebraic Topology grad (A), Combinatorics grad (A), Functional Analysis grad (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): MicroTheory 1-3 (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro(A), Macro (A), Principles Micro (A), Principles Macro (A), Labor Economics (A), Crime Economics (A), Game Theory (A), International Econ (A), Research seminar (A), Econometrics (A).
Other Courses: Symbolic Logic (A).
Letters of Recommendation: 2 that are very well known, and 1 that is brilliant, all very strong.
Research Experience: Did research in both math and econ
Teaching Experience: TA for a math course
Research Interests: Micro, applied micro, risk
SOP: awesome.
Concerns: Strength of undergrad institution
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Brown, Penn off wl, Chicago off wl, UCSD, Columbia.
WL: Chicago, Duke, Penn
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, Berkeley, Princeton
What would you have done differently?
I got brought in and told the reasons for my poor results at one of the schools, and he said it was all institution. All you have to do though is take a couple years off and ra with someone famous, if youre in this position but I want to head straight to grad school plus new york is pretty swanky.
Attending: Columbia

The Blueprint 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: U.S. Public University Top 50 Econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.94 (4.0 Math, 4.0 Econ)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 790Q 800V 6.0 (first time) / 170Q 170V 6.0 (retake)
Math Courses: Calc I-II (exam), Intro. Computer Science (A), Linear Algebra (A), Calc III (A-), ODE (A+), UG Real Analysis (A+), Prob. and Stats (A), Grad Analysis I (A), Numerical Analysis (A), Math. Stats I (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I (A+)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro. Micro (A+) & Macro, Intermediate Micro & Macro, Public Sector Economics, Game Theory, Industrial Organization (A+), Intro. Econometrics, Labor Economics (A+)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 2 well known senior faculty who advised me on research, 1 AP who taught the grad micro course
Research Experience: One year as RA, senior thesis
Teaching Experience: Math tutor
Research Interests: Theory or applied micro
SOP: Standard, but well-written
Other:
Concerns: Reputation of institution, strength of rec. letters (explained below)
Applying to: All Top 10, Some Top 20
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Penn ($$), Minnesota ($$), Duke ($), Princeton ($$$, from WL)
WL: Princeton
Rejections: Stanford, Northwestern, S. GSB, Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Yale, Berkeley, NYU, Columbia, Wisconsin, Michigan
Attending: Princeton
THOUGHTS:
First of all, I am over the moon to be attending Princeton given my background. I think that for students who come from lesser-known U.S. schools, it's incredibly important to apply to a broad range of programs; I could not have predicted, when the process began, that Michigan and Wisconsin would reject me. I was unsure that my rec. letters would be strong enough to crack the Top 10not because the content was weak, but because my recommenders (who are wonderful) might not have as much influence or credibility as "famous" people from top institutions who write many letters. However, if your recommenders are willing to go to bat for you, I think that you will have a shot at most programs.
If I had realized my ambitions in economics earlier, I would have made sure to serve as an RA for a famous professor at a top department (during a summer or academic term). I had no desire to spend time after my bachelor's researching for a top professor or for a Fed in order to dress up my resume for future application cycleswhich I am sure would have helpedbut that is personal preference.
Finally, a thought about the Princeton waitlist. I kept in good touch with the department and sent them notes intended to demonstrate (1) that the program was an excellent fit for me, and (2) my writing style, which, while trivial compared to "real" qualifications for the PhD in economics, should at least set me apart from the field of candidates. While I am sure that many waitlisted candidates send notes explaining point (1), I would encourage them also to pick out some aspect about their candidacy which is unique or different, and express that as well. It just might make a small but material difference.
Also, I should have applied for the NSF. What was I thinking?

csalriv 2012:
PROFILE
Type of Undergrad: BA in Economics of a Chilean university (best in Chile, top-3 in Latin America).
Undergrad GPA: 6.1/7.0, Maximum Distinction and Highest Honors (ranked 1st).
Type of Grad: MA in Economics of the same Chilean university (top-3 MA Economics Program in LatAm, probably best).
Grad GPA: 6.5/7.0, Maximum Distinction and Highest Honors (ranked T-1st).
GRE: Q 170 (99%); V 148 (40%); AW 4.0 (48%).
TOEFL: 112 overall. 30 R, 30 L, 23 S, 29 W.
Math Courses: Calculus I-II, Algebra I-II, Statistics I-II, Operations Research + 4 Grad School courses + 1 courses in a Summer Exchange in a top Math Grad School in Brazil.
Econ Courses (grad-level): Microeconomics I-II, Macroeconomics I-II, Econometrics I-II, Financial Economics.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): All usual.
Other Courses: Accounting and Management stuff.
Letters of Recommendation: 6 Recommenders total: 4 professors at my University (2 outstanding letters, 1 very good, 1 quite good) + 2 other research economists (1 quite good letter plus a standard one).
Research Experience: RA for a top Chilean economist (known worldwide) and for a young University economist. MA Thesis approved with honors. Currently working at the Econ Research Dept. of a top Chilean facility.
Teaching Experience: Professor of Microeconomics I at the best Chilean university, plus over 10 TAs in Undergrad School and 1 Grad School TA.
Research Interests: Game and Contract Theory, Financial Economics.
SOP: Bloody long.
Concerns: Almost no own research (but MA Thesis). Disperse interests and experience. Few years ‘lost’ working. Being Chilean.
Other: Useless but cool stuff: political leadership, a second foreign language and Math Olympics honors, among others.
Applying to: Econ PhD at 9 of the top-15 places. Social Sciences PhD at Caltech. PhD in Economic Analysis and Policy at Stanford GSB. MEDS PhD at Kellogg.
RESULTS
Acceptances: NYU, UCLA, Penn. Finance PhD at Kellogg (redirected from MEDS). Caltech (off the waitlist). All fully-funded with stipend, luckily.
Waitlists: Caltech.
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Chicago, Stanford GSB.
Attending: NYU!
Random Thoughts
I am really happy with my decision, though I had a hard time deciding between NYU and Caltech. I appreciate weather a lot (and being from the Pacific coast of South America, California's climate conditions are quite similar), even more than living in THE big city. Besides, Caltech's Social Science Program is outstanding, specialized in my main Econ interests, with good placement records and close interaction between (the few) students and Faculty. Nevertheless, NYU is quite good as well and their placements are improving constantly... but most importantly, there is a rich interaction between Theory and Macro and I can have a close link to Finance just by crossing the street to Courant or Stern. Besides, I really loved the Faculty-students relationship. And all students I met were really nice and easygoing, with high social skills (maybe that's because they're living in NYC!).
My advice for all admitted, if possible: go to the visit days, without any doubt you'll have a good time and you'll collect relevant information for your decision (eventually unknown before).
What would I have done differently?
- Applying 1 or 2 years earlier instead of losing time working (in a Research unit, but still).
- Taking more time to apply: I just took the GRE by mid-October and wrote my SOP in late-November!
- Because of the latter, writing an specific SOP. I am totally sure that some features of my profile were cons in some places. You don't need (want) to lie, but sometimes you should hide some (potentially irrelevant) information. It could be misleading.
- Apply to UC Berkeley and to more Business Schools.

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

TA89 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Dual Major in Economics/Mathematics from Top 10 liberal arts college. Transfer from a top public after one year, Summer Coursework at an ivy, top 15 national university, and another top public.
Undergrad GPA: 3.85 (Math: 3.90, Economics: 3.85)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q:780 V:570 AWA:6.0 (second attempt)
Math Courses: Calculus I (A+), Calculus II (B+), Calculus III (A), Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A-), Introduction to Analysis (A), Analysis & Optimization (A), Probability (Fall 2011), Principles of Real Analysis I (Fall 2011)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Advanced Microeconomics I (A), Advanced Microeconomics II (A): The first semester course used MWG and covered consumer theory/producer theory/GE topics. The second semester course used half the class to cover Gibbons' Game Theory, and the second half covered Contract Theory using Bolton and Dewatripont, as well as Berkeley lecture notes. Both were Ph.D. level courses.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Principles of Microeconomics (A), Principles of Macroeconomics (A), Experimental Economics (B+), Intermediate Microeconomics (A-), Intermediate Macroeconomics (A-), Economics Statistics (A), Econometrics (A-), International Trade (A),
Other Courses: Not sure what to say here, but I took a year of Chinese (A/A), and a Philosophy Seminar/Tutorial double course (A-/A-)
Letters of Recommendation:
1. Adviser. TA'd his UG Advanced Microeconomics class. I will be doing my thesis under him and have spent this summer working on a research project for him.
2. Advanced Microeconomics I-II Professor. Took both my Ph.D. Micro classes and have discussed my graduate school plans with him.
3. Analysis Professor: I took intro Analysis and Principles of Real Analysis I with him.
All should have been very good.
Research Experience: Summer research project in Health Economics for adviser. Will continue this project as my senior thesis. The plan is to submit as a co-author.
Teaching Experience: TA'd undergraduate Advanced Microeconomics.
Research Interests: Micro Theory, International Trade, Applied Micro (very open)
SOP: I haven't written in yet, but will be good.
Concerns: Typical concerns of a liberal arts applicant. Not really sure what to think or expect.
Other: Again, not really sure what to put here. Unlikely it's relevant, but President of Model UN for two years, and lots of Model UN awards.
RESULTS:
Accepted: Duke Fuqua School of Business: Decision Sciences ($$$), Wisconsin ($$), Cornell ($$$), WUSTL ($$$), UT-Austin (?), LSE MsC Econ (-)
Waitlists: Michigan (high on WL, but withdrew), UCLA (rejected), Penn (rejected), UVA (withdrew)
Rejected: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Stanford GSB, Chicago, Yale, Northwestern MEDS, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, UCSD, Duke Econ, Brown, LSE MsC EME
Attending: Duke Fuqua School of Business: Decision Sciences
What would you have done differently?
Nothing. I could not be happier with the way the process turned out. I am so fortunate to have been presented with so many great offers. Thanks TM for all the guidance along the way.

roadvirusss 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 5 Liberal Arts College
Majors: BA Math, BA Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.94/4
GRE: 800Q, 610 V, 6.0 AW
Math 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), Operations Research (A), Topology (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Macro (A-), Intro Micro (A), Empirical Methods (A), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), International (A), Energy Economics (A), Econometrics (A), Game Theory (A), Advanced Micro (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Econometrics I (A-)
Research Experience: Departmental honors for theses in both majors; Math thesis will be published. Did econ and math research during undergrad summers.
Research Interests: Applied Micro, IO
SOP: Spent no time on fluff; focused on a particular project.
Letters of recommendation: Four active Harvard PhD economists.
Concerns: Did poorly when I applied two years ago (Profiles and Results 2010).
Work Experience: Two years working as an RA at a top 5.
Results:
Accepted: Princeton, Northwestern, Chicago Booth, Columbia, UCLA, UCSD, Wisconsin, Duke
Waitlists (all declined): Penn (vh), NYU, Michigan
Rejected: Wharton (Interviewed), Yale, Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, GSB, Chicago, Stern, HBS, Cornell
Never Heard from: UW
Attending: Princeton
What would you have done differently?
Nothing. I was very well informed about the process this time around. I'm definitely happy with my results, and in the end the decision between Princeton and Northwestern was a tough one. It was odd that the only Top 7 I got into was the one worst in IO even though my SOP was spent entirely on an IO topic. My decision to take two years off was in the end vindicated, even though I largely slacked off during this time and at one point almost gave up on the PhD route. I can't help but be an advocate of the liberal arts college -> RA -> PhD route, as the improvement in rec letters alone earned me a jump from the top 25 to the top 5.

econcr 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics at a large LA University
Undergrad GPA: 3.8 (First in my class)
Type of Grad: -
Grad GPA: -
GRE: Q: 800, V: 450, AW: 3.0
Math Courses: Math for economics I-IV (A). Calc. I-III (A+,A,A+), Algebra (A-), Probabilities (A+).
Econ Courses (grad-level): -.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I-IV (A, A+, A+, A). Macro I-IV (A, A, A+, A). International economics I-II (A+, A). Development Economics (A+). Monetary Theory (A-)
Other Courses: -
Letters of Recommendation: VERY strong. Two well-known (in the USA) economists (Berkeley and UPenn).One well-known (but only in my country) economist (UCLA).
Research Experience: 2 years as a R.A.
Teaching Experience: 3 years as T.A.
Research Interests: International economics, Macroeconomics.
SOP: Decent.
Other: 3 published co-authored paper. One of them published for the Center for Latin American Monetary Studies.
Results:
Accepted: UPenn, Maryland ($$$), Oxford, CEMFI ($$$)
Waitlisted: Penn State (declined)
Rejected: Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern, Columbia, UCLA, Michigan, Toronto
Attending: CEMFI
What I would have done differently?
I think that never had taken grad level courses in my live is what hurt me the most. From UMDs flyout I learned that nowadays more and more people are doing a masters degree before their PhDs. Besides that I think the poor reputation of my school hurts me too. So, I consider that if do a masters I would have more chances at the Top10. Because of that, I accepted CEMFIs offer.

vcb 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.Sc. in Economics in one of the best universities in a small EU country
Undergrad GPA: 3.7
Type of Grad: research masters in economics in the same university
Grad GPA: 3.7
GRE: Q: 170, V: 159, AW: 4.5
Math Courses: Calculus I and II, Linear Algebra, Mathematics I and II, Advanced Mathematics, Probabilities, Statistics
Econ Courses (grad-level): - Microeconomics, Microeconomic Theory I and II, Game Theory I and II, Macroeconomics, Macroeconomic Theory, Macro Theory I and II, Development Economics, Tools for Applied Policy Analysis.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I-III, Macro I-III, Global Economy, Information and Games, European Economic Policy, Comparative Political Economics
Other Courses: -
Letters of Recommendation: Should be strong.
Research Experience: R.A. for 3 professors.
Teaching Experience: 3 years as T.A.
Research Interests: "Applied" Macroeconomics, Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Debt Management and Internacional Finance (pretty much open to everything).
SOP: Standard.
Other: -
Results:
Accepted: Duke ($), Rochester($$), LSE (EME Program, no funding)
Waitlisted: JHU (declined)
Rejected: Harvard, MIT, NYU, Chicago, Northwestern, Yale, Michigan
Attending: Duke!
What I would have done differently?
I would have taken a B.Sc. in Mathematics and I would have gone for a masters in economics (research track) in a major european program such as the Barcelona GSE or LSE.

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:

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)

UWGrad09 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BMATH from Top Math University in Canada, Minor in Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.6 (Roughly since they grade on a percentage basis)
Type of Grad: Masters at Top 5 Canadian School
Grad GPA: A
GRE: 800Q, 540V, 4.0 AW
Math Courses: Calculus I,II,III,IV; Algebra; Linear Alebra I,II; Probability; Statistics; Differential Equations; Introduction to Combinatorics; Applied Real Analysis; Applied Complex Analysis; Introduction to Computational Mathematics; Linear Optimization; Mathematics of Finance; Corporate Finance; Introduction to Actuarial Mathematics; Introduction to Casualty Insurance
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I,II (PhD Level) Macro I,II (PhD Level) Econometrics I,II; Health Economics; Topics in Public Economics
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I,II,III,IV; Macro I,II,II; Public Economics:Expenditure; International Economics; Econometrics I
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation:
1) PhD Princeton - VERY Strong - Taught Public Course in Grad School and am currently working for as an RA for the year between my Masters and my PhD
2) PhD Toronto - Strong - Taught first grad level Micro and he requested me to TA a class for him the following Spring
3) PhD U British Columbia - Strong - Took Micro IV with him in undergrad and got a 99%, and I know him very well
Research Experience: One semester as an RA for Chair of the Department as well as currently doing a 1-year RA/Data Technician job at the University
Teaching Experience: Taught a tutorial during Masters but none other than that
Research Interests: Public, Micro Theory
SOP: Standard
Concerns: Was super lazy in years 2&3 of undergrad, so some of my courses have low 70's grades
Other: I'm planning on staying in Canada, unless there's an offer from one of the top US schools (hence my bizarre looking list of applying to)
Applying to: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, U Toronto, U British Columbia, McMaster

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: -

Big Tuna 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Highly ranked US public university with top 25 econ phd program. Majors in economics/philosophy, minor in math.
Undergrad GPA: 4.0
Type of Grad: No masters program; just 1 course while in undergrad.
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 800V/800Q/4.5AW
Math Courses: Calculus I, I, III, linear algebra, real analysis, mathematical modeling, ordinary differential equations, currently enrolled in numerical methods and complex variables.
Econ Courses: intro/intermediate micro/macro, stat for economists, undergrad econometrics, 3 thesis/independent study courses, a bunch of undergrad field courses, and PhD econometrics I.
Other Courses: Mostly a lot of philosophy.
Letters of Recommendation: Three from good people, all of whom have supervised an independent project I've done.
Research Experience: The aforementioned thesis projects, plus 2 years as a research assistant and one empirical paper submitted to a decent (though not top tier) journal. I received an undergraduate research grant from my school to do this paper.
Teaching Experience: Just tutoring.
Research Interests: Applied micro, public finance, maybe econometrics
SOP: I guess it was fine.
Other: I had one withdrawal (W) on my transcript because I dropped abstract algebra; the professor was more boring than anyone else I'd ever had.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: MIT, Stanford, Yale, UChicago, Northwestern, NYU, Columbia, Duke, UMaryland.
Waitlists: Harvard.
Rejections: None.
Pending: None.
What would you have done differently? Probably nothing. I guess Harvard might have let me in instead of waitlisting me if I'd taken more advanced math or gone to an Ivy, but that's hard to tell and I wouldn't have wanted to do too much more work as an undergrad than I actually did; you have to leave time to have some fun.

jcash 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: top ten U.S. liberal arts
Undergrad GPA: 3.95
Type of Grad: none.
GRE: 670V/800Q/6.0AW
Math Courses: real analysis(A+), differential equations (A+), math logic (A), linear algebra and multivariable calculus in high school
Econ Courses: core courses in micro and macro, math econ and econometrics, some electives
Other Courses: lots of random stuff
Letters of Recommendation: 2 good econ ones, but not from well-known professors. 1 from a more well-known professor, but who didn't know me as well. 1 really good one from a political science professor.
Research Experience: Undergrad thesis in philosophy of economics, empirical and theoretical term papers.
Teaching Experience: TA for intermediate macro.
Research Interests: Public finance, econometrics
SOP: talked about possible research interests and what I had worked on
Other: applying for a j.d.-ph.d. Also: I meant to apply to Berkeley, but found out after the fact that I had never finished submitting my online application...oh well...
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Yale, Princeton, Columbia
Waitlists: Harvard
Rejections: MIT
Assumed Rejections: NYU, Chicago
What would you have done differently? Taken a grad level math course

gregobad 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Research university w/ top 5 econ program
Undergrad GPA: 4.9/5
Type of Grad: none.
GRE: 770V/800Q/5.5AW
Math Courses: calc I & II, differential equations, linear algebra, probability, linear programming / optimization
Econ Courses: intermediate micro and macro, econometrics, game theory, various field courses
Other Courses: Minor in physics
Letters of Recommendation: Two from econ profs, neither of whom are well-known but both know me well (one was my thesis advisor, another my undergrad advisor). One from a manager at my job (econ consulting firm). Pretty sure all three are very strong recs, but the third probably doesn't count for much because it's non-academic.
Research Experience: Was an RA for a summer in a physics lab. Did an undergrad thesis. Worked for 1.5 years doing semi-relevant stuff at an economic consulting firm - I have a lot of experience with Stata, Matlab, other programming languages
Teaching Experience: tutored undergrads in physics and econ
Research Interests: Game theory, political economy, behavioral economics
SOP: talked about possible research interests and what I had worked on
RESULTS:
Acceptances: MIT, Stanford GSB (political economy), Princeton, Caltech, Berkeley, Northwestern, Chicago
Waitlists: Harvard
Rejections: Stanford economics
What would you have done differently? Not much, really. Maybe taken an academic RA job instead of working in economic consulting, and applied for last year instead of this year. Although, there's nothing like having a boring job to motivate you to get back to school.

eqtisadi 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Econ,Philosophy,Politics from an Israeli university
Undergrad GPA: 94&#37;
Type of Grad: Econ in the same university
Grad GPA: 96%
GRE: Q800, V450, A5.0
Math Courses: Calculus, (simple and calculus-based) Statistics, Linear algebra and advanced calculus, as well as two advanced logic courses by the department of philosophy (all 90+). I took Real Analysis too but I am not going to do the test. It was much more fun doing it without the pressure.
Econ Courses: All around: undergrad: intro to econ I & II, price theory I & II, macro I & II, development, econ history, intro to econometrics, honors students seminar. MA: micro, macro I & II, industrial organization, econometrics I-III, econ history. All 90+
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from a very known professor, 2 from professors who are pretty known in their respective fields and 1 from a pretty young professor
Research Experience: RA for the first professor mentioned above
Teaching Experience: quite a few econ courses for BA, but I don't think it mattered.
Research Interests: Too many. I have to narrow them down.
SOP: 500 words (or whatever was the limitation) about why I want to do research in economics and how I decided that.
Other: Nice set of teeth.
RESULTS:
Admitted: Berkeley, NYU, Yale, Columbia, Northwestern, Chicago, Stanford, Princeton
Waitlisted: Harvard
Rejected: MIT
What would I have done differently? Nothing. Maybe get an American citizenship and apply for the NSF, but seriously, I'm very very happy with the choices I have.

econphilomath 2008:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics from top institution in my country.
Type of Grad: M.A. in Economics from the same institution
GPA: Graduated 1st in my class, both programs.
GRE: 800Q, 730V, 4.5AWA
TOFEL: 118/120
Courses: Tons of econ, some math, no formal real analysis.
TA: Lots of undergrad macro courses and some graduate macro courses.
Teaching: I teach undergrad macro.
Research: Several published papers. All applied. (average to low/mediocre national and international journals)
RA: Current job is as an RA at Central Bank and lecturer at my university.
LORS: One senior, one semi-senior and one junior. I know them all really well (for over two years) and with all I have co-authored different research.
Interests: Macroeconomics, Labor and Development.
SOP: Tried to be serious, signal I know what I'm getting into. No BS, no talking about whats in my CV, no naming professors and not very long.
Schools: Shooting for the top 10 schools.
Other: Male, 27
RESULTS:
Attending: Yale ($$)
Acceptances: NorthWestern ($$), Columbia ($$), UMinn ($$), UPenn (), UChicago ()
Waitlists: Harvard and MIT. Later rejected.
Rejections: Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, NYU.
What would you have done differently?
Applied earlier. Would not have stressed so much and spent less time on TM! The extra stuff on your CV doesn't make all that much of a difference. Past decent grades and GRE, basic math requirements, its all LORs. Its how you get the LORS that differs among applicants. Randomness that I was worried about was confirmed but its not that big once you know the underlying decision making structure.
Also I would have gone with more famous professors LORs who didn't know me as well, but who were willing to write beaming letters, instead of my junior professor/coauthor.
ALSO wait-lists suck. They do move around (not for me) but the wait is terrible.
Last Recommendation: Try as hard as you can to go to fly-outs. It can make a huge difference when you have to choose on the margin. Talk with professors and students as much as you can. It helped me a lot.
EDIT: See my buddy asianecon's next post. To avoid confusion, I recommend visiting (something usually done at fly-outs). However as asianecon suggests, it might be more informative to go on a regular day and sit in at classes talk with people etc as he has done and skip the marketing. Either way try and go get a feel for the program in person.

knickerbocker 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics, Math, Applied Math, Top 7 econ program, Minor Japanese Language and Culture
Undergrad GPA: 3.94/4.0 PBK, Econ 4.0/4.0, Math 4.0/4.0
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q 790; V 620; AW 5.5
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Math Stats, Real Analysis I,II, Higher Level Math
Econ Courses: A lot
Other Courses: Mostly Japanese
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ full professors, no nobel prize winners, but know my work well
Research Experience: NONE
Teaching Experience: None.
Research Interests: Economic History, Macro
SOP: Sub par, I fear
Other: Good summer jobs the past three summers
Applying to: Columbia, Yale, Harvard, MIT, Penn, Berkeley, Stanford, Princeton, Chicago
Worried I didn't apply to any safeties. Low GRE. Reassurances greatly appreciated.

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.

heraclitus_junior 2010:
It won't let me edit my previous post (on page 3), so I'm reposting this. My profile isn't coming up on untitled's website though. I don't know how to get it to be picked up.
Profile
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Double Major in Math/Econ. Top 3 university in a very small, isolated country. (<300 in the world)
Undergrad GPA: 3.94 out of 4.00 (converted)
Type of Grad: 1st class honors degree
Grad GPA: 3.92 out of 4.00 (converted)
GRE: 780Q, 750V, 4.5AWA (only took once)
Math Courses: First year math, second year multivariate calculus and differential equations, second year linear algebra, second year inference, second year probability, second year real analysis, third year dynamical systems, third year complex variables, third year matrix algebra, third year analysis, third year multivariate stats, honours measure theory, honours probability theory, honours mathematical economics, honours combinatorics (matroids), honours topology (point set topology).
Econ Courses: second year macro, second year micro, third year micro, third year econometrics, third year game theory, honours macro, honours welfare economics, honours empirical macroeconomics.
Other Courses: first year computer science done informally.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 professor of pure mathematics (chaired), 1 econ senior lecturer (associate professor) from my uni. They knew me very well, so their letters should've been good. 1 world-renowned economist who isn't from my university and didn't know me as well as the others.
Research Experience: Paid summer math project. Paid summer internship at my country's central bank with their research team. An honours dissertation on mathematical economics.
Publications: one single author publication in a mid-tier North American Journal (accepted for publication mid-feb 2010). one working single author paper on cooperative game theory.
Teaching Experience: Tutor for first year math and third year microeconomics.
Research Interests: Economic theory (Micro and macro).
Statement of purpose: I talked about my research experience and my goals.
Concerns: My GRE score was a real worry; I was concerned my application would not even be looked at. Also, I did a 4 year degree in 3 years so I didn't have any breadth. I also applied straight out of undergrad at a relatively young age.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Princeton, Berkeley, Chicago, Northwestern, Stanford, San Diego, Harvard (After waitlist).
Rejections: Yale, NYU, MIT (after waitlist), UPenn (withdrawn).

eds 2011:
PROFILE
Type of Undergrad: South Italian University. Graduate in 2004.Major in Economics
Undergrad GPA: 110/110 cum laude (say equivalent to 4 )
Type of Grad: MSc in economics form a top 5 UK department in 2007,
Grad GPA: Master 90+%,
GRE: 800Q, 590V, 3.0AWA. I will be retaking it next month. Do not consider this result when evaluating my profile.
Math Courses: (UG)General Mathematics, Financial Mathematics, Linear Algebra, Real Analysis Multivariable Analysis(should be calculus) , Statistics I and I. ‐ All equivalent to A's or A+.
Math Courses: (Master): introductory to math and stats 90%+
Econ Courses (masters-level): Micro, Macro, monetary economics ,international monetary economics, Econometrics ,Trade theory All 90%+
Econ Courses (PhD level) About 13 course in macro fields with famous profs at PhD level. All passed with As
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro and Macro Theory, Labor, International economics, monetary economics, Industrial econ. Development economics, economic history, History of economic thought theory, econometrics, Public economics, Regional Economics, Applied economics, Economic Policy‐ All equivalent to A's or A+
Other Courses: Summer school at UPF
Letters of Recommendation: ) 1 stellar letters from a NYU PhD undergraduate thesis supervisor well connected 2) Form a guy with PhD Michigan well known in his field. I got A in his graduate course. I am now looking for the third letter.
Research Experience: A working paper in progress with one of my a letter of recommendation writers and we are talking to start working on a paper with my second letter of recommendation writer. Not sure If I will have something concrete by December 2010 . I won special merit from the evaluation committee for the quality of my u/g thesis work, presentation skills and academic performance. I also won the prize for the best u/g thesis for that year. My MSc thesis was marked (90%+) as the best among MSc students in my year. Visitor Researcher at a well know institute .Visitor Scholar at a top 20 US department (research only) for fall 2009. I have served as a visitor scholar at the research division of the ECB
Teaching Experience: TA for intro to micro (In the USA) and for Monetary economics
Research Interests: Monetary economics , International macro, .
SOP: Should be strong.
Concerns: AGE!!!! I am, currently 33. I will been turned 34 and a half by fall 2011 .. I need to get new letters of recommendation from people I currently work with . I cannot ask for a letter from my MSc because of other personal reasons nor from the US department.
Other: Applying for the usual fellowships.
Applying to: In many programs. In the US and Europe. Suggestions are welcome !

vidamilonga 2011:
I just got an account, so I'll post my results so far in chronological order. Somewhat schizophrenic results...
Institution: Yale
Program: econ PhD
Decision: rejected
Funding: n/a
Notification date: mid Feb
Notified through: email to check website
Posted on GF:no
Comments: not surprised, but a little disheartened
Institution: UPenn
Program: econ PhD
Decision: waitlist
Funding:n/a
Notification date: 2/25
Notified through: email
Posted on GF: no
Comments: high on waitlist
Institution: Harvard
Program: econ PhD
Decision: accepted!
Funding: not specified, but I did submit my documents late
Notification date: 2/25
Notified through: phone call
Posted on GF: yes
Comments: total surprise! but super excited
Institution: UC Berkeley
Program: econ PhD
Decision: rejected
Funding:n/a
Notification date: 3/2
Notified through: email
Posted on GF: no
Comments: surprised at this, especially given my Harvard admit. my recommenders told me I had a very good chance, and they're very well-connected to Berkeley. Oh, well, at least it makes my decision even easier

chechyccc 2012:
Institution: Harvard Kennedy School
Program: PhD in Public Policy
Decision: Wait-listed No.1
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/16/2012
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Comment: Hopefully!