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kanishka 2007:
Type of Undergrad: International India, Top in country (I mean the college, not my performance)
Undergrad GPA: 3.6 (using the WES conversion guide)
Type of Grad: International India, Top in country (ditto qualification as above)
Grad GPA: 4.0 (using the WES conversion guide)
Note most students perform better in the undergrad than the grad. I ran the other way.
GRE: Q800 , V650, A4.5
Math(s) courses: Real analysis, concepts in linear algebra and calculus: linear independence; bases and dimension; subspaces and vector spaces; eigenvalues, continuity; differentiability; implicit function theorem, static optimization: unconstrained optimization; optimization with equality and inequality constraints; Envelope Theorem, dynamics and dynamic optimization: difference and differential equations, optimal control theory.
Econ Courses: My undergrad was wholly an economics course, as was my grad degree. Took the introductory micro, macro, econometrics (trix) courses in my grad. The material covered in these intro courses is pretty similar to what is done as introductory coursework in the US.
Significant electives: Game Theory, Law and Economics, Environmental Economics, Environment and Development. Also took an advanced macro course Open Economy Macroeconomics, but I wont be doing any more macro. I enjoyed this course, though it was very hard.
Letter of Recommendations: 4 in total. One has a phd from an (arguably) Top 10 US school. The next two were PhDs from LSE; the last is an Indian Phd, with loads of work experience and masters degree from a Top-20 to 25ish US school.
Research experience: One year as a Research Analyst with the Institute of Economic Growth, the leading research institute in environmental economics in India. Also wrote two papers during my masters, which were okay. Not really worth being published, but who knows? I never really tried. A couple of internships during previous summers also one with ICICI Banks Social Initiatives Group (this involved significant field work) and the other with the National Council of Applied Economic Research.
Also worked a year in General Electric Money, the consumer finance division. It taught me two things (a) handling huge databases; and (b) the private sector is not for me.
Research interests: Environment and development; applied work in this area. Would love it if I could do something in India, somewhere in the Himalayas where the scenery is spectacular. If youre going to be doing field work for months on end, might as well do it in a nice place.
SOP: Focused only on a very business-like description of the work I was doing in the Institute of Economic Growth and what I had done in GE; described my term papers and wrote a paragraph on what I would like to do. Did not claim to be touched by the hand of Adam Smith.
Results:
Accepted by: University of Maryland AREC (20K$ first four years) , University of Wyoming Econ (15K$ five years) and University of Minnesota APEC (no funding). Received a note from the Nicholas School of Duke University saying there was interest in my file but not enough funding. Dont know where to place this. Logically I got rejected but my vanity will not allow this.
Rejected by: UCSD, UCSB, Yale, ASU, Wisconsin Madison.
Ignored by: UIUC ACES program.
What would I have done differently?
1. Yale and UCSD were poor fits to my profile + interests. Probably was an immediate reject at these schools, and their apps were expensive, so it was a waste of time and money, which RAs have in limited amounts. Would apply to UC Davis and maybe OSU. That said I got into the program I was aiming for, so it turned out well, which I didnt think likely at the time of application. 2 of my recos were most likely weak to indifferent, but theres nothing much I could do about that.
2. Would erase my last paragraph in my SOP describing in a shallow manner why Im applying to that particular school. I would say, only if there are very strong reasons why you think youd fit with the dept (such as a strong correlation with your research work and some profs main area of research), then include such a paragraph.
Advice:
1. Please get some research experience if you want to do applied work. It helps immensely, apart from adding to your application.
2. For any Indians who are reading this, since we tend to do this when writing SOP, dont describe your love of economics, just say what you have done so far in life in a very objective manner. No phrases like I believe economics to be the true saviour of mankind. I cannot stress this enough. I dont know how much weight an SOP carries, but write it objectively please.

big_o12 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Good but not great liberal arts college, Econ.
Undergrad GPA: 3.80
Type of Grad: MPP, Minnesota
Grad GPA: 3.98
GRE: 750, 580, 5.5
Math Courses: Calc I & II, LA, Math for Economists, Intro to Proofs, Stats, all A's
Econ Courses: Undergrad: intros, intermediates, open-economy macro, econometrics. Masters level: micro, labor, econometrics I & II
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 2 great, one good, nobody famous. One was from a professor who had supervised my masters thesis and said it was the best he had seen, suggested that I send it to a field journal.
Research Experience: aforementioned master's thesis
Teaching Experience: semester each as TA for micro, macro, stats
Research Interests:
SOP:
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Riverside ($$), Oregon($), Minnesota Applied
(waitlisted for $-withdrew), UMass ($), U Washington (no $)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Berk ARE, Davis ARE
Pending: Never heard from UConn, I think i'll call and ask for my $80 back.
What would you have done differently? I have a strong heterodox streak, so UMass is really a nice admit for me. I feel like I just snuck in there given my low test scores, minimal math and unexceptional undergraduate institution, and i'm greatfull for that, so nothing different.

satzer 2010:
Institution: UMinnesota
Program: PhD Applied Economics
Decision: Accept
Notification date: 2/26/10
Notified through: Email
Posted on GF: No.
Comments: No word on funding yet. Might or might not. I got 6 rejections before getting my first one. There's always hope! I got rejected by Vanderbilt, Berkeley ARE, Duke, Wisconsin ARE, Michigan and Johns Hopkins both Public Health.

EconForeThought 2011:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. in Managerial Economics and an Ag/Bio subject from a UC school
Undergrad GPA: 3.35, 3.65 in econ
Type of Grad: M.S. Agricultural and Resource Economics from a UC School
Grad GPA: 3.8
GRE: 780Q, 560V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Calculus I-III, Linear Algebra, Adv Calc (RA I), RAII, 3 Stats courses
Econ Courses (PhD-level): Probability Theory, Metrics I (IP at application)
Econ Courses (masters-level): Micro Theory I, Micro II (IP at application)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro to Micro/Macro, Inter Macro/Micro, Marketing, Metrics, Optimization, Production Management, Real Estate Econ, Econ Sustainability, Finance I,II, Accounting I,II
Other Courses: Many agricultural, biosci, chem, etc. classes
Letters of Recommendation: 1UC Davis ARE, 1 U Minn, 1 NCSU
Research Experience: Geology research, Wine sensory RA, ARE GSR for two qtrs now
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Ag econ, Resource/energy Econ, Sustainability, IO, Micro ...
SOP: Rewriting from last year
Concerns: Not as much math as many, low overall UG GPA, applying with only a quarter's of M.S. grades in
Other: Applied to and got into 3 PhD programs and 1 M.S. program last cycle. One year M.S. and reapplying this cycle.
RESULTS:
Attending: UC Berkeley ARE
Acceptances: UC Berkeley ARE, U Colorado Econ, U Minn Applied Econ
Rejections: U Wash Econ, U Maryland AREc, Cornell AEM, UCSD (implied)
Withdrawn: UC Davis ARE
What would you have done differently? Not be pre-med starting college and know I wanted to do econ from the beginning, but hindsight is 20/20. I got into my dream school (this year with funding) so that regret isn't really a big deal for me in terms of acceptances, more in terms of that I wish I had more math and statistics in my core curriculum. I believe getting my masters really helped me this cycle in terms of securing funding and getting a better math foundation.

valelee 2011:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics, minor history and arts from Peking University, No.1 in China
Undergrad GPA: 86%
Type of Grad: M.S. Agricultural and Resource Economics from a flagship state university
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 780Q, 530V, 3.5AWA
Math Courses: Calculus and intro statistics were taught in high school; in college, adv mathematical analysis 1 2, topo, linear algebra, prob theory, adv stats, dynamic programming, things like that (a total of about 30 hours); in grad school, adv stat, topo, real analysis
Econ Courses: In college: pretty much standard as in U.S. schools, and mostly taught by profs with U.S. PhDs (econ 101/102 was taught by a UC Berkeley prof when he was on sabbatical). In grad school: adv micro, two adv metrics, adv environmental field classes
Other Courses: My history and western arts minor classes. Some environmental science classes in grad school.
Letters of Recommendation: four very solid letters
Research Experience: A lot. Undergrad RA since sophomore year, post-undergrad full time RA (10 months), RA in grad school, etc. Have several papers published/accepted in U.S. and in China.
Teaching Experience: In undergrad, TA for intro environmental econ and micro. In grad, econ 101 sort of things for one semester.
Research Interests: Environmental economics and policies, but had also been involved in health, energy and public policies.
SOP: Nothing special, but emphasized my consistent interests and experiences in environmental economics and policies.
Concerns: GRE not so great. Not really solid GPA.
Other: It's my second application cycle. Oh, and I am sort of a writer while in China (I published about 50 articles, prose, short novels, etc., and was editor in chief of a student publication for three years )
RESULTS:
Attending: North Carolina State University
Acceptances: UC Davis ARE (waitlist $), UNC Econ (waitlist $), NCSU Econ ($$$), Wisconsin AAE ($$), Purdue ARE ($$), UMN Applied Econ ($$, declined), Oregon State Applied Econ ($$, declined), Texas A&M AgEcon ($$, declined), VT ARE ($$, declined), Iowa State Econ (waitlist $, declined), Oklahoma State AgEcon ($$$, declined), Washington State Econ ($$, declined)
Rejections: Berkeley ARE, Cornell AEM, UCSD Econ, UCSB Econ
Withdrawn: MSU ARE, Ohio State ARE
No news so far: UFL Econ

cuass 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics in a liberal arts college country (best private university).
Undergrad GPA: 80%
Type of Grad: M.A. in Economics
Grad GPA: 82%
GRE: 780Q, 480V, 3.5AWA
Math Courses: Linear Algebra (70%) Calculus I (78%) Calculus II (80%) Calculus III (90%) Mathematical Economics (90%)
Econ Courses (masters-level): Advanced Micro, Advanced Macro, Advanced Econometrics (All 90%)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level):The usual courses
Other Courses: Hegel, Foucault, Java programming
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ profs, 1 econ ( thesis supervisor)
Research Experience: I worked for a think tank as R.A (2.5 years)
Teaching Experience: T.A: Advanced Microeconomics (2 years), Advanced Macroeconomics (1 semester), Monetary Theory and Policy (1 year) and History of Economics Analysis (1 semester
Research Interests: Health Economics and Applied Microeconomics
SOP: Rewriting from last year
Concerns: Not as much math as many, letter of recommendation are not from international well known economists. Low GRE quant.
Other: 5 publications in local journals. Master thesis accepted with the highest distinction (Top 5 of 2009 thesis). Third best score of the country on the ECAES test on economics (States undergraduate of Knowledge of Economics).
Applying to: PhD Economics: UBC, Upenn, Minessota, Wisconsin, BU, Columbia, UCLA, Maryland, Georgetown, U Texas - Austin, LSE, UPF, UCL, Penn State, Michigan.
PhD Health Policy: Harvard and Berkeley (Health Services & Policy Analysis)
PhD Public Policy: NYU, Michigan.

Cognazor 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.5
Type of Grad: Geography
Grad GPA: 3.92
GRE: Q-760 V-640 A-4.0
Math Courses: Calc 1-3, Linear Algebra
Econ Courses (grad-level): 0
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Tons
Other Courses: Lots of GIS/spatial analysis stuff
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from Geography MS (including thesis advisor), 1 from Econ BA. Pretty good I hope
Research Experience: RA during master's, RA for Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), graduate thesis
Teaching Experience: TA during MS
Research Interests: Applied Research in Development/Environmental/Regional Economics
SOP: Yes
Concerns: Low undergrad GPA, Low GRE analytical.
Other: I have been out of school for a few years, am probably a little older than most applicants. Hoping my work experience will be beneficial.
Applying to: Berkeley ARE, Davis ARE, Maryland ARE, Oregon St applied, Cornell Applied, Wisconsin Applied, Michigan St AFR, Ohio State AED, Minnesota Applied (MS), George Washington University, Clark

acoustickel 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Business Administration & Public Accounting (tiny liberal arts college in South Dakota)
Undergrad GPA: 3.92
Type of Grad: MS Economics from private Texas school
Grad GPA: 3.96
GRE: Q 750 / V 590 / AW 4.5
Math Courses: Er...Cal I-III, Prob & Stats, Linear Algebra (currently taking)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Econometrics, Micro, Health Econ, Development, Intl Policy, Econ of Information, Macro Analysis, Urban, Thesis
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro, Econ of Religion, Intl Trade
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: None well known. Two are pretty enthusiastic about helping me get in somewhere and the other is supportive but probably didn't write a glowing letter.
Research Experience: RA for 3 semesters, Master's thesis
Teaching Experience: TA for 2 semesters and tutored for 2 semesters
Research Interests: IO, education, labor, maybe behavioral
SOP: I tried to make myself sound interesting even if I may not be all that qualified
Concerns: Obviously math...and my GRE score...
Other: I think I win the least math award
Applying to: Minnesota (Applied), Oregon, Nebraska, Kansas State, Missouri, Wisconsin, Kansas, Michigan State, Colorado, U of Illinois - Chicago, Vanderbilt, Purdue
In: Minnesota (Applied), Oregon, Nebraska, Kansas State ($), Missouri

johndoe12 2011:
Institution: University of Minnesota
Program: Applied Economics PhD
Decision: admitted
Funding: no information
Notification date: 2/10/2011
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GF: no
Comments: apparently funding decision to be made in a few weeks
Institution: Cornell University
Program: Applied Economics and Management AEM PhD
Decision: wait list
Funding:
Notification date: 2/23/2011
Notified through: Email
Posted on GF: no
Comments: apparently high on the list, not sure if this is meaningful

meatweaver 2012:
Profile:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 LA - Economics and Biology
Undergrad GPA: 3.70
Type of Grad: M.S. Resource Conservation, did a non-market valuation study in a forestry department
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 770 Q, 680 V, 4.0 AWA
Math Courses: Multivariate calculus (A-, at college level--previous calc was in high school), Statistics (A), Econometrics (A), Econometrics (A, at graduate level).
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro, Econometrics
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Micro (A), Intro Macro (A-), Intermediate Micro (B+), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Environmental Economics (A), Poverty & Public Policy (A-), Tax Policy (A), Public Economics Seminar (A)
Teaching Experience: Taught 1 1/2 undergraduate-level courses following my Masters. Taught 4 8-hour days of an undergraduate-level economics class US Forest Service employees.
Research Experience: Master's thesis and 1 1/2 year of research experience with the USFS
Research Interests: environmental and resource, behavioral and experimental
SOP: About my long varied path toward deciding I wanted to pursue a PhD
Letters of recommendation: Master's advisor (PhD - University of Queensland), Master's econometrics professor (PhD - University of Oregon), current supervisor (PhD - Oregon State University), none of them well known
Concerns: Math
Applying to: University of Washington, Oregon St Applied, Berkeley ARE, Davis ARE, UCSB, Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin AAE, Texas A&M ARE
Results:
Accepted: University of Washington ($), Oregon St ($), UCSB ($, funding off waitlist), Wyoming ($), Minnesota (?), Wisconsin AAE ($), Texas A&M ARE ($)
Rejected: Davis ARE (rejected off waitlist), Berkeley ARE
Attending: UCSB
What would you have done differently?
I would have started following this forum earlier. Seriously, this forum was an invaluable source of information for me. I found this place in August of last year and at that point I was relatively clueless about the level of competition I would be facing in applying to graduate school. This forum guided me through the admissions process and helped me choose a school that I feel will be a very good fit.