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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.

Mirk83 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Maths degree in a good Italian university (and student of its honor college)
Undergrad GPA: 3.0/3.0
Type of Grad: Maths degree (student of a program jointly organized with the best scientific research center of the country, that is also a doctoral school) and attending a one year master in economics
Grad GPA: 3.0/3.0
GRE: 700 V, 800 Q, 5.0 AWA
Math Courses: everything you can think about (seriously, in five year of Maths I've attended at least 30-40 Maths courses, some of which at PhD level)
Econ Courses: very very few courses, and just during this year: the basic Micro, Macro and Econometrics (at the level of MWG, Blanchard-Fisher, Hayashi - but of course not all the topics)
Other Courses: a bit of physics and informatics down the road and a bit of neurobiology (my master thesis was about building a kinetic model for a class of ion channels!)
Letters of Recommendation: my weak point. A good, but maybe a bit standard, letter from my thesis advisor, who is a very well known mathematician (who knows me well, since the thesis was partly of research). A very good letter from an economist who taught at the honor college I was in but with whom I took just that small course, a few years ago. And a letter from another well known mathematician whose course I attended during an international summer school - I really have no idea of what he could have written.
Research Experience: just for the thesis - and in maths applied to neurobiology...
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: behavioural models, game theory; but my interests are now moving a bit more towards Macro topics
SOP: just tried to explain why I have been moving from Pure Maths to Applied Maths and then from applications to biology to economics...
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Caltech ($$), LSE (MRes/Phd track 1) ($$), Oxford MPhil (?)
Waitlists: NYU
Rejections: Chicago, MIT
What would you have done differently?
Hard to say. Given my erratic background and the not-so-strong LORs, I think I have calibrated well the applications (my estimate was to have good possibilities from the bottom of the top ten - just like NYU and LSE - downward). Of course I could have waited one more year, finished the economics master in order to use the grades as an additional signal and obtained better LORs... but I'm already 24 and I have already two masters, so I think it's time to move as quickly as possible towards real research.

canecon 2008:
School: UBC
Major: Econ (Hons)
GPA: 3.5 (3.98 upper-econ, 3.98 math (excluding failed calc 1))
GRE: 800q 480v 5.0 AWA (despite the awful verbal I am native English speaker / English background)
Courses:
Econ:Hon micro/macro I (A+'s) Game Theory (Hon) A, Hon Macro II A+, + intro metrics I/II (A+) + lots electives (mostly A+)
Math: Calc 1 (F first time then A), Calc 2, linear, multivariable, ODE's, probability(calc based), intro proof A+'s intro analysis A
Now Taking: Honours Thesis, Advanced Macro, Econometrics
Research: Thesis
letter of recommendation: 3 Assistant Profs, I say mediocre since I had no special relationship, just took their classes.
SOP: Pretty bad I think... that might just be me - but I didn't have any professors read it since I thought it was crappy (very bad reason I know - I expect I might have had spelling/grammar errors as well ). But I guess for Master's it doesn't matter that much.
Interests: Macro, Int trade/finance/development.
Schools:
Decided to apply only for Masters:
LSE, UCL, Oxford, Cambridge, Warwick, UPF, UBC, Toronto, Queens, UWO, Stockholm.
My Concerns:
First year really sucked, second year was average. Only have 1.5 years of good grades.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: LSE Msc (1 year, Res), UCL MSc, Warwick MSc, Oxford M.Phil (??), UPF MSc($$), Queen's MA ($$), Toronto Doc. Stream MA ($$), UBC MA ($$), UWO MA ($$),
Still Waiting: Cambridge M.Phil (B), Stockholm University MSc (Research)
Rejections: None (yet)
What would you have done differently?
-known that I was going to go for grad school (in econ) earlier
-started preparing to apply in the summer, or early sept, or early october. (didnt start applications earlier because very math-packed semester. No time in summer though b/c courses and GRE - basically crammed all the math I needed in last 8 mths I would have grades for).
-Looked into scholarship opportunities for study in UK (many seem to have deadlines around sept/oct. ) I started looking the next february/march.
-Basically I did what I could. Maybe should have applied to some PhD straight away, but still not sure what I want to do and I didn't really have time to put together good apps.

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.

elcapitano 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BSc Economics, University of Sussex
Undergrad GPA: ~3.9+
Type of Grad: MA Economics, UBC
Grad GPA: ~3.8+
GRE: 800Q, 720V, 4.5 AWA. Second time.
Math Courses: Not many, all (A's)
Econ Courses: A bunch, mostly (A's)
Letters of Recommendation: Will have been enthusiastic, although might not have the highest profile in the US.
Research Experience: fairly little, two years working in government, undergrad thesis.
Teaching Experience: TA for introductory courses.
Research Interests: Political Economy, Development (macro/institutions/policy), Trade, Economic History
SOP: Short, dull.
Concerns: Not much real math.
RESULTS:
Attending: LSE (MRes/PhD) ($$$)
Acceptances: LSE (MRes/PhD)
Withdrawals: Cambridge, Oxford, Cornell
Rejections: Columbia, Brown.
What would you have done differently? Not too much, LSE was one of my two target schools. Could possibly applied to more of the top ten, however given the funding and location offered there are only perhaps 5-6 schools that I might have taken ahead, and my chances at these were probably infintessimal. I think British undergrad certainly helped applications to British schools and probably hinders in the US.

rvalchev 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small private school. First tier according to US News but dead last in that tier
Undergrad GPA: 4.0 - I have another 2 weeks till graduation but hopefully it'll stay this way
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800Q, 530V, 5.0 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Optimization, Real Analysis, Topology, Probability Theory, Computational Statistics, Differential Equations
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro and Macro, Econometrics and Forecasting, Game Theory, Money and Banking, Public Economics
Other Courses: Assortment of Business core classes.
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Letters from Econ Profs and 1 from a math prof. I think letters will be good to great, math professor has taught me for 2 years and I've conducted research for an year together with one of my econ profs.
Research Experience: Honors Thesis, RA for two summers but I wasted those summers so nothing really came out of it.
Research Interests: Metrics, applied metrics ... i am open to anything
SOP: It was weak, unfocused and not customized for schools
RESULTS:
Attending: Duke ($$$)
Acceptances, declined: Wisconsin ($$$), Cornell ($$$), Ohio State( $$$), UNC -Chapel Hill ($$$), Michigan State ($$$), Pitt ($$$), Tinbergen Institute ($$$), LSE EME (Research), Oxford MPhil, Michigan (no $), Texas(no $), USC ($$$),
Waitlists: Duke funding waitlist, BU funding waitlist, Princeton Waitlist, Texas Waitlist, Michigan waitlist
Rejections: MIT, Princeton (rejected from waitlist), Berkeley, Yale, Harvard, UPenn, Chicago, UCSD, Penn State, Boston College, Cambridge
What would you have done differently? First, read jeeve's thread about suggestions for people from less known undergrads (it was impossible since it was not written until a couple of days ago, but that's what future people should do). Second, apply to NYU, Columbia and Northwestern (but most probably I would have only taken Northwestern over Duke. But still, my portfolio of schools was a little unbalanced). Third, write a much, much better SOPs that would be much better tailored to different schools. You'll be surprised how much SOPs matter (heard it directly from admissions directors at TOP10 and TOP20 schools).Fourth, don't get RA positions that are in the network of your schools and professors because you are already part of this network, so it doesn't add much to your profile. Go out and work for somebody different.

desemejante 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics from Top 5 European
Undergrad GPA: Predicted 1st class honours
Math Courses: Courses covering: Single and Multivariate Calculus, Analysis, Statistical Theory, Econometrics
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, Advanced Micro, Advanced Macro, Industrial Economics, Economic Theory (Game Theory, Information Economics, General Equilibrium, Decision Theory)
Other Courses: Finance, Accounting
Letters of Recommendation: 2, both from Tutors, should be solid!
Research Experience: none
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Micro Theory and IO
SOP: Good
Applying to: LSE MSc, UCL MSc, Oxford MPhil, potentially Bocconi & Cambridge

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

Philippmetrics 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Ba Economics small school mainly known for business
Undergrad GPA: 5.65/6
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: 800 / 550 / 4.5
Math Courses: not that many math classed offered just applied math for economics students, as much as I could but econ only really starts in the 3 semester and was at a school for politics in the 5th as an exchange
Econ Courses: standard micro / macro 1-3 etc. all 5.5 or 6.0 of 6
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: don't really know, one from a math professor i had 3 or 4 courses and one from a young phd from upf
Research Experience: worked a bit for the math professor, nothing serious
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests:
SOP: I guess the usual
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: LSE Msc EME, Oxford Mphil, Cambridge Mphil (all no $)
Waitlists:
Rejections:
What would you have done differently? Maybe tried to apply in the US for a PHD directly? But not really sure if I want to do a PHD anyway. Applied for funding before it was too late

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.

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.

hotfuss 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: 4 year Honours degree in economics at a major Australian university
Undergrad GPA: First Class Honours (ranked first in Honours class)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q
Math Courses: First and second year advanced maths courses, differential calculus, integral calculus, discrete mathematics, first and second year linear algebra, vector calculus, PDEs
Econ Courses: Game Theory, Advanced Microeconomics, Advanced Macroeconomics, International Trade, Applied Economics, Industrial Organisation, Mathematical Economics
Other Courses: First year psychology
Letters of Recommendation: One Fellow of the Econometric Society and two other economics professors with US PhDs (these LORs knew me very well; two of these had marked my thesis, including one who was my adviser, and I had taken one course with one letter of recommendation and two courses with another letter of recommendation (coming first in everything (including thesis), except one course))
Research Experience: Honours thesis and one other game theory paper
Teaching Experience: TA for undergrad economics courses, including intermediate microeconomics
Research Interests: Microeconomic theory and its applications, behavioural economics
SOP: Standard
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Northwestern ($$), Wisconsin Madison ($$), Penn State ($$), Maryland (?), Oxford (MPhil in Economics), LSE (MSc in Economics (Research))
Waitlists: Boston
Rejections: Yale, Princeton, Stanford, UCSD and many other places
Attending: Northwestern
What would you have done differently? Not much. I think I should have applied earlier (I worked for a few years after my undergraduate degree) or done more maths courses at university. I would have also applied for a few business schools and a couple more top 10 places.

econrocker 2010:
Institution: Brown
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Wait Listed for Funding
Notified through: e-mail
Date: March 8

keano 2010: keano<

kushluk 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics at a Top 10 South American University
Undergrad GPA: Don't know the conversion, but approximately 90th(ish) Percentile
Type of Grad: MSc Economics at the same SA University as above
Grad GPA: Don't know the conversion, but approximately 90th(ish) Percentile
GRE: 790Q 580V 4.5 AW
Math Courses:
Undergraduate: Calculus I, II; Algebra I,II;
Graduate: Mathematics for Economists (Vohra), Mathematical Methods (introductory maths for graduate course)
Econ Courses: Undergraduate and Graduate Macro, Micro, Econometrics, Development, Monetary Policy, Economic Policy, Labour Economics, International Trade
Other Courses: Graduate Microeconometrics (Advanced and Applied)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Oxford PhD graduates (in the early 2000s), one of them well known in liberal arts college development/innovation economics circles and 1 MIT Phd graduate unknown (but who knew me best)
Research Experience: Have been working at an International Development Bank for 7 months now. Also in the process of publishing my graduate thesis at a second tier european journal.
Teaching Experience: 1 semester as lecturer of Introduction to Macroeconomics for undergrads
Research Interests: Labour Economics, Microeconometrics, Macroeconomics, Political Economy
SOP: Don't know how to describe it, but I tried to be funny.
Other: I have had my share of political participation in my country, and made a note of it on my SOP
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Oxford (MPhil Economics), LSE (MSc Economics Research), Warwick (MSc Economics)
Waitlists: None
Rejections: None
Pending: None
What would you have done differently?
I would have applied to more programmes. Should of taken a chance with the USA programmes. But my dream school is LSE and will probably attend. Funding is sketchy though.

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!

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 !

jaymerchi 2011:
Attending US NEWS Top 40 East Coast Liberal Arts college.
Major: Economics and Public Policy. Minor: Applied Math
Rising Senior. GPA So far : 3.88 (Major 3.94)
Class Rank: 15/565
Study Abroad at Oxford University. Two 2:1, two firsts out of 4 tutorials.
Omicron Delta Epsilon Honors Society (for whatever its worth)
GRE: Q 780, V 600, AWA 5.5
Econ So far: Intro Macro (A), Intro Micro (A), Inter Macro(A), Inter Micro(A-), Econ Stats(A), Econ of China's Growth and Trade (A-), Marxian Economics and Perspectives (A), Money and Banking (A) Public Economics (A) Welfare Economics (A-)
Taking:Macroeconomic Stabilization, Impact of Trade Liberalization
Will Take: Econometrics
Math So far: Calc 1(A), Calc 2(A), Calc 3(A), Dynamic Optimization (A), Stats (A)
Taking: Linear Algebra & Diff Equations, Prob Stats 2
Will Take: Advanced Stats
Research Exp: Authored one research paper on unemployment and incarceration with a professor last summer.
Other Stuff: Did a course on global trade and development this summer.
Recommendations: Professor at Oxford. Well known here. Would definitely help with my application for the Oxford Mphil program. (professor taught at LSE and attended a top 10 institution in the USA)
Another from a not so well known professor at my college. The professor knows me very well and the recommendation should be excellent.
The third one is from a top professor from my department who attended a top 10 institution in the USA
SOP: Should be decent.
Research Interests: Trade, FDI,

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.

illuminatus 2011:
Type of Undergrad: BSc in math from a regular less known Midwest university
Undergrad GPA: 3.95
Type of Grad: MA in Econ
Grad GPA: 3.95
GRE: 560V / 800Q / 4.0 awa
Math Courses: lots, grad level: RA, CA, differential geometry, optimization (1st course, so not too rigorous), categorical data analysis, Bayesian statistics.
Econ Courses (grad-level): econometrics, time series, microeconometrics, micro theory, macro theory, forecasting,
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): basic and intermediate theory and econometrics
Letters of Recommendation: 3 from econ ans 1 from a math less known professors. All of them are probably pretty good.
Research Experience: senior thesis, masters thesis
Teaching Experience: TA for 1.5 years
Research Interests: macro, development, econometrics
SOP: standard 1.5 pages.
Concerns: not a lot of experience in research and teaching. (partly concerned about low verbal and awa scores on GRE).
Other: I have a pretty high credit score.
Applying to: LSE MSc EME (2nd year), Oxford Mphil, Toulouse 2nd year ECOMATH, BGSE Masters in econ. PhD in econ: Minnesota - Twin Cities, Columbia, Northwestern, UMich, Wisconsin - Madison, U Washington, UCSD, U Toronto.

Irrational 2011:
Institution: Barcelona GSE
Program: MSc in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Partial tuition waiver (9,000 €)
Notification date: 01/24/2011
Notified through: e-mail
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Decision until 23/02/2011, which is very early. Still, it's my first admit, so I am kind of happy :-)

growth 2011:
Institution: UPenn
Program: Phd in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/24/2011
Notified through: Website
Posted on GC: No
Comments: Expected result. I still don't know why I applied there in the first place.
Institution: LSE
Program: MSc Economics (research)
Decision: Accepted (conditional offer)
Funding: No
Notification date: 02/24/2011
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: No
Comments: Happy but I can't fulfill all the conditions. Have to negotiate with the admittion committee.

hugo 2011:
Institution: U Oxford
Program: MPhil in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: waiting for a college decision
Notification date: 3/4/2011
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Excited!

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...

Pho 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A in Economics (major), Maths & East Asian Studies (minors) from top 20 LA college
Undergrad GPA: 3.8/4.0
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 790Q (91%), 580V (79%), 4.0 AWA (wanted to retake the GRE but did not have time to study)
Math Courses: Calc II-III (A,A), Linear Algebra (A), Intro. to Prob. and Stats. (A-), Real Analysis (A-), ODE (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): N/A
Math Courses (grad-level): Mathematical Statistics
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): The usual, mostly A, a few A-
Other Courses: Many
Letters of Recommendation: PhD OSU (very strong), PhD Michigan (strong), 2 Math Professors (strong, strong), 1 PhD MIT (work supervisor)
Research Experience: Senior research project
Teaching Experience: TA/tutor for Intro to Stats & Probability, Metrics, and Intermediate Macro
Research Interests: Monetary as of now, might change later
SOP: Decent, I think. I tried to tailor for each school (specific research topics of the faculty that I am interested in working with, but not mentioning names, research centers...)
Other: I studied abroad for a year in London. Have been working for 2 years at an economic consulting firm. As an undergrad, I never thought I would want to pursue a PhD, so I filled my summers and work study assignments with banking and consulting gigs in the private sector.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: MA: Duke ($$), Oxford MPhil (???) PhD: WUSTL ($$$), JHU (off the waitlist - tuition waiver, but no 1st year stipend)
Waitlists: PhD: JHU (later off the waitlist), MA: Columbia Statistics
Rejections: Chicago, Princeton, Stanford, NYU, Columbia, Northwestern, Georgetown, Maryland, OSU
Pending:
Attending: Duke for Masters
What would you have done differently?
- Once I realized that I wanted to do a PhD, I should have actively sought out for RA positions, instead of staying in the private sector (even though the visa issue might complicate this).
- Took more Math classes in undergrad. Maths never hurts, regardless of what direction/sector I would go later. Also, majoring in Maths would give me extra OPT months, hence solving the visa issue.
- Took Econ classes with more professors (I took more than half of my classes with the PhD OSU professors), so that I didn't have such a hard time asking for recs.
Anyway, happy that I got such choices and I am excited to head to Duke!

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.

AusEconGuy 2012:
Another data point (for Australians)
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad:Econ with first class honours from Go8 Australian Uni
Undergrad GPA: 3.8 for standard Bachelor, 4.0 in Honours (Converted to US scale)
Type of Grad: M Phil in Economics
Grad GPA: Coursework: 4.0 (US converted)
GRE: 159V, 168Q. 5.0 AW
Math Courses: Math for Economists (B, undergrad), econ students dont do pure math courses in my institution
Econ Courses (grad-level): Macro (A+), Micro (A), Metrics (A+)
Econ Courses (honours-level): Macro (A+), Metrics (A+), Advanced Math Econ (A+); Behavioural Game Theory (A+); Micro (B; whoops!)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I/II (B+; A+); Macro I/II (A+, A+); Metrics I/II/II (A+;A+;B); Econ Theory (B); Trade II/II (A+;A+); Econ History (A); Development (A); Money & Banking (A); Public Econ (A);
Other Courses: Finance I/II (A+;A) and some politics stuff
Letters of Recommendation:
- thesis supervisor for Hons and MPhil thesis, also taught me
- Prof I RA'd for over 2 years
- Assist Prof whom i tutored with for three years
- Head of School .... All should be positive
Research Experience: 6 years as RA for various profs (since 2nd year undergad); 3 conference presentations in 2011 for MPhil thesis; 2 thesis in experimental econ
Teaching Experience: TA for 4 years in range of courses from first year through third year
Research Interests: Behavioural Econ and Experiments, Political Econ, Information Econ
SOP: These are hard work! But its over
Concerns: Lack of obvious maths training (hons and Mphil courses are all at graduate level... LORS hopefully mention this), occasional B's in theory classes - These aren't horrible grades, I was still in top few students in these courses but no scaling
Applying to:
Phd: Northwestern, NYU (Econ and Stern), Cornell, Brown, UCSD, UC Berkeley, Princeton, Stanford ,Caltech, U Penn
Masters: Oxford; U College London; Autonoma, UC3M; Barcelona GSE; LSE; Toronto

eXcuvator 2012:
Institution: Princeton University
Program: Economics PhD
Decision: Rejected
Funding: NA
Notification Date: 3/8/2012
Notified Through: Email
Posted on GC: No

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.

fhk 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A Economics, Yale
Undergrad GPA: 3.20
Type of Grad: Masters of Economics, ANU
Grad GPA: 73/100 (Upper Second Class or 2.1 as they call it in UK)
GRE: 800Q/660V/6A
Math Courses: Multi Variable Calc, Linear Algebra, Probablity and statistics, Optimisation, Math for Economists 1 and 2 (Masters)
Econ Courses: Masters Micro, Macro, Applied Econometrics, Econometric Techniques, Quantitative International Economics, Development Economics (all masters) plus a bunch of courses in undergrad.
Other Courses: Nothing relevant
Letters of Recommendation: One Professor (really famous), one lecturer, and an Associate Professor.
Research Experience: Masters Thesis
Teaching Experience: Teaching introductory economics at a Management Sciences Department in Pakistan
Research Interests: Trade and Development
SOP: Ok. Tried to explain my terrible undergraduate record and point out the improvement since. Didn't really work
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: ANU (already attending)
Waitlists:
Rejections: U Chicago, Tepper School of Business, Pen State, Oxford, Brown, UCSD
Pending: Boston, UBC
What would you have done differantly? Performed much better in my undergrad obviously. And applied to much lower ranked schools. Also should have been more careful about whom to ask for LORs.

chestnut.cc 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergraduate: BA Economics from a Top 10 college in my country (south east Asia) with math and stat minors
Undergraduate GPA: Currently (Final Year) 84&#37;. We don't use the GPA system so I'm unsure of how much that translates to. It's similar to a UK percentage system though
Type of Graduate: NA
Graduate GPA: NA
GRE: 760V, 800Q, 5.5 AWA
TOEFL: 119
Math Courses: Three Year long Industrial Mathematics courses. Audited Real Analysis, Linear Algebra of the more rigorous sort.
Statistics Courses: Three Year long Applied Statistics courses.
Economics Courses: Economics Specials I II III IV. Basically intermediate micro, macro, international trade, history of economic thought, monetary, development economics.
Letters of Recommendation: Head of Department, Senior Lecturer, no one known, will serve my purposes.
Research Experience: NA
Teaching Experience: NA
Research Interests: Political Economy, Game Theory, Mechanism Design, Micro theory.
SOP: Short, Simple, just tried to signal course content, courses audited, interests.
Applied to: LSE, Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Toulouse, UPF BGSE, Tilburg, Erasmus Mundus
Acceptances: LSE EME(2 yr), Toulouse M1, UPF, Tilburg (MPhil), Erasmus Mundus MMEF1, Cambridge PG Dip (Econ)
Rejections: Oxford, UCL, Erasmus Mundus QEM
Attending: LSE

ecuaecon 2009:
Type of Undergrad: international student with a a degree from a local university
Type of Grad: MS econ from a mid-size private american university
Undergrad GPA: 3.6/4
Graduate GPA: econ 3.6, econ + math 3.4
GRE: 770Q, 470V, 4.0 AW
Math Courses: Calculus I, II, III. Statistisc I, II. Linear Algebra. Math for econ (undergrad and grad). Advanced Calculus (Analysis). Not so great grades
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro (A-) and econometrics (A)
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ profs (graduated at UT, Brown, Cornell), I think these will be good recommendations.
Research Experience: RA for a professor, RA local central bank, master's thesis
Teaching Experience: instructor (econometrics)
Research Interests: Institituions, Econ history, behavioral econ
Concerns: I don't have a 800-gre, not so great grades for math courses
Applying to: Caltech, Michigan, Maryland, WUSTL, Barcelona School of Econ, Warwick, Oxford, European University Institute, Queen's, British Columbia, Toronto.

Epanechnikov 2009:
Institution: Oxford
Program: Economics, MPhil
Decision: Rejected
Notification date: 3/24
Notified through: email
Comments:
Institution: Cambridge
Program: Economics, MPhil (Option B)
Decision: Accepted
Notification date: 3/24
Notified through: email
Comments: Great! I look forward to their funding

DerPumuckl 2010:
Undergrad: Top 3 in Germany, BA in Economics
Undergrad GPA: 1.45/5.00 (the nearer to 1, the better)
Exchange: UW, Seattle
Exchange GPA: 3.86/4.00
GRE: 800Q/560V/4.5AWA
Math Courses: 2 Math courses for Economists, 2 Statistics Classes, Game Theory
Econ Courses: A lot including Micro I & II, Macro I & II as well as Econometrics I & II.
Grad courses: None - even though advanced German courses are well above Econ 400 level.
Letters of Recommendation: 3 from Profs with PhDs from Columbia, Chicago and Harvard. All should be strong.
Research Experience: RA for one Semester (for one of my letter of recommendation writers).
Teaching Experience: TA for one Semester.
Research Interests: International Macroeconomics, Finance.
Statement of Purpose: Good.
Other: Applying for Masters.
Concerns: Maybe not good enough grades.
RESULTS (Masters only):
Acceptances: Cambridge, UCL, Tinbergen ($$$) and Warwick
Still waiting for response: SSE, UBC
Rejections: LSE, Oxford
What would you have done differently? I'm attending Cambridge for my MPhil - very happy!

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.

divikid 2010:
Institution: Oxford
Program: DPhil in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 2/22
Notified through: Post
Posted on GF: No
Comments: At least wasn't in my top 5 choices
Institution: Northwestern
Program: Ph.D in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 2/27
Notified through: Website (randomly checked it, did not received any emails)
Posted on GF: No
Comments: That was too bad, thought I had some chance of getting at least waitlisted
Waiting: MIT, Chicago, Princeton, Cornell, Texas at Austin, Brown, London Business School

callmebetty 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics, top college for humanities and social sciences in my country (in South Asia), unknown internationally
Undergrad GPA: Not yet complete. 76o far-first class honours
Type of Grad:-
Grad GPA:-
GRE: 800 Q 740 V 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Mathematical Methods for Economics, Linear Algebra and Calculus
Econ Courses: Intermediate Macro and Micro, Development Theory, International Economics,Public Economics, Money and Finance, Political Economy, Introductory Econometrics
Other Courses: Statistics for Economics, Formal Logic
Letters of Recommendation: All from senior college professors who'd taught me for at least a year and knew me well, one of them also the head of the department. Very strong in all likelihood.
Research Experience: None
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Development Economics and International Economics. I'm also developing a belated liking for Public Economics. Behavioural Economics also sounds interesting, though I've never studied it. And Econometrics is one of my favourite subjects in college. I obviously need to figure this out.
SOP: Managed to include all that I thought was relevant without making it too long. Was quite satisfied with it.
RESULTS:
Applied to: LSE (Msc Economics), Cambridge (Diploma+MPhil in Economics), Oxford (Mphil Economics),Warwick (Msc Economics), UCL (Msc Economics)
Acceptances: LSE, Cambridge, Warwick
Waitlists: -
Rejections: Oxford
Pending: UCL
What would you have done differently? Not much. I'm very happy I got through LSE and Cambridge. Not surprised about Oxford, as they rarely take BA students from my university and the ones that do get in have exceptional grades. I don't, so of course there's always the feeling that I could have worked harder, both for my grades and on the essays that were required for the Oxford application. But the focus is now on doing really well in my Master's and getting some research experience so I can figure out what area to specialise in and have a stab at top PhD programmes.

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 !

Neshamah 2011:
Institution: Warwick
Program: MSc Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Will know more in March/April
Notification date: 12 January 2011
Notified through: Email
Posted on GF: No
Comments: Good to get some feedback. Quite expensive course, will only attend with funding...

Saoirse 2011:
Institution: Yale
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/16/2011
Notified through: email to check website
In: ---; Out: Yale, Oxford, LSE; Waiting: 10 others

Frederic 2011:
Institution: University of Oxford
Program: MPhil in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Notification date: 03/15/2011
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: No
Institution: University of Oxford
Program: MSc in Economics for Development
Decision: Accepted
Notification date: 03/18/2011
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: No

intrepidtravels 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BSc Top 5 UK, major in Statistics, minor in Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.75
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q780, V530, AW5.5
Math Courses: Linear Algebra (A-), Real Analysis (A+), Calculus (B)
Stats Courses: Introduction to Statistics (A), Further Statistics (A), Practical Statistics (A), Probability and Inference (B), Linear Models (B), Applied Probability (B+), Statistical Inference (B), Stochastic Systems (B), Decision and Risk (A+), Optimisation Algorithms (A+)
Econ Courses: Microeconomics (A), Macroeconomics (A), Econometrics (A), Game Theory (A), Environmental Economics (B)
Other Courses: Finance (B)
Letters of Recommendation: Two unknown professors
Research Experience: Undergraduate thesis
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Development
SOP: Linking research interests, relevant work experience, and undergraduate thesis
Other: Lots of relevant international work experience (including 4 internships and one full-time job for a year)
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Yale MA International and Development Economics (IDE), UCL MSc Economics
Waitlists: Cambridge MPhil Economics
Rejections: UC Berkeley PhD Agricultural and Resource Economics, Oxford MPhil Economics
Pending: Oxford MSc Economics for Development
Attending: Yale MA International and Development Economics (IDE)
What would you have done differently?
Not too much, got into my dream master's program so am really very excited. UK schools rarely (if ever?) give TA/RA positions to undergraduates so I am not too worried about lacking experience there.
If I had to mention something, I would say improve my grades. A's across the board, in difficult subjects, is absolutely essential.

ptf 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics (Minor: Mathematics) from an unknown SE Asian university (Top 2 in my unknown country)
Undergrad GPA: 3.83 (Econ: 3.76, Math: 3.81)
Type of Grad: MSc Economics from a Top 3 UK university
Grad GPA: Pass (Average: 58.5%)
GRE: 800Q/320V/3.5AW, 800Q/500V/3.0AW
Math Courses (Undergrad): Calculus 1-3 (A, B+, A), Logic and Set Theory (A), Abstract Algebra (B+), Linear Algebra (A), Ordinary Differential Equation (A), Partial Differential Equation (A), Mathematical Analysis (B+), Vector Analysis (A), Statistics 1-2 (A, B+)
Econ Courses (Undergrad): Principles of Microeconomics (A), Principles of Macroeconomics (A), Microeconomic Theory (A), Macroeconomic Theory (B+), Mathematical Economics 1-2 (B, A), Econometrics 1-2 (B, B+), Public Economics 1-2 (A, B+), Seminar in Public Economics (A), International Economics 1-2 (B+, A), Seminar in International Economics (A), Monetary Economics 1-2 (A, A), Industrial Organization (A), Agricultural Marketing (B+)
Econ Courses (Grad): Microeconomics (Merit), Macroeconomics (Merit), Econometrics (Pass), Public Economics (Pass)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from senior lecturer at my grad program (PhD Harvard) + 1 from assistant professor at my undergrad program (PhD ANU) + 1 from lecturer at my undergrad program (PhD Indiana)
Research Experience: 2 years of part-time RA in public economics and international economics during my undergrad
Teaching Experience: 2 semesters of TA in microeconomics during my undergrad
Research Interests: public finance, education, inequality, macroeconomics
SOP: Standard statement talking about my preparations, explaining bad grades in my master's degree, and describing my research interests with some (minor) modifications for each school (Not so specific in terms of research topics and hardly mentioned any particular names)
Other: (1) Participated in a summer internship at the central bank (2) Got funding for my graduate studies from the government scholarship (3) Had a second bachelors in political science and is currently doing a second masters in political theory
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Chicago
Waitlists: Pennsylvania, UC-Davis, Washington
Rejections: UC-Berkeley, Northwestern, Columbia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, UCLA, UCSD, Duke, CMU, Marryland, Rochester, UT-Austin, Oxford, UCL
Pending: UIUC
Attending: Chicago
What would you have done differently?
Well, I've always thought that my life would be much easier if I did my undergrad in the US. Anyway, I'm more than happy -- and very surprised -- with this bizarre result.
Some advices from my experience!
If you're from an unknown country, a master's degree from a well-known program does help a lot! Coming from a university outside the US, you'll get more chance if there've been some students from that university in a program to which you are apllying. Also, things get easier if you've got external funding. Another important thing is to note that all this process is extremely subjective; therefore, you should apply to quite a wide range of schools. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, pray hard... I think it helps!

Euro 2012:
Institution: Tilburg
Program: MRes
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Waitlisted
Notification date: Mar 14
Notified through: email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Yeey! Perfect program for me!
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: 'Will let me know'.. Waitlisted?
Notification date: Feb 29
Notified through: email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Childcare will be a problem for students like me with young children
Institution: TSE
Program: M2 ecomath
Decision: Accepted
Funding: no mention
Notification date: Feb 16
Notified through: email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: hmmm. Will have to compete to stay for PhD. I'm tired of competition now.
Institution: Oxford
Program: MPhil
Decision: Rejected
Funding: 'scholarship application won't be considered'
Notification date: Mar 16
Notified through: email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Almost glad it rejected me. Would have been tough choice between Tilburg and Oxford.

canadamike 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics (Honours) from a top Canadian School (though not top in Economics)
Undergrad GPA: With 2 terms left, almost a 3.3 but if you look beyond first year it goes up to over 3.8
GRE: 790Q, 600V, 5.0AWA
Math Courses: Calculus 1, Algebra 1, and I failed Linear Algebra in first year
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): All the core courses plus advanced Econometrics and international economics courses (trade, finance, institutions). 83&#37; Average overall
Other Courses: Philosophy minor
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Econ (1 Assistant Prof, 1 Lecturer) and for Oxford I got a 2nd Assistant Prof
Research Interests: Trade theory, sports economics
SOP: Done and Done
Concerns: Poor first year (poor is an understatement); only a 780verall; worried my bad first year performance will outshine my grades since
Applying to: LSE, Oxford, UCL, Warwick, Nottingham, Bristol, York
RESULTS:
Acceptances: York (UK), Nottingham, Warwick
Rejections: LSE
Waiting: Bristol, UCL, Oxford

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.