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Most Recently Selected profile:

The data below comes from testmagic forums and shows accepted, waitlisted, and rejected applicants for 2007-2009 for economics graduate school. Clicking on the graph above will make the most recent profile appear to the right of the graph.

All profiles:

Acceptances:
Nalfien 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: SUNY University Center
Undergrad GPA: Econ (4.0)/Math (3.8) overall 3.84
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: None

GRE: 800/590/5.5
Math Courses: Multi Variable Calc A- , Diff Eqs A, Real Analysis A, Measure Theory A, Linear Algebra I B+ &II A, Computational A, Typical Math Major,
Econ Courses: Grad Micro, Metrics. undegrad Math Stats, Metrics, Money and Banking, Computational, Interm Micro and Macro. A's
Other Courses: Honors College

Letters of Recommendation: 3 strong ones. One very very strong one. I really think the biggest reason I got in where I got in is because one of my recommenders put his neck out for me and called people to tell them about me.
Research Experience: Year long honors thesis senior year.
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Labor, Development

SOP: Pretty nice... I think, didn't hear anything bad about it. two pages.
Other: Used to go to departmental research seminars since sophmore year, got my face seen and showed an interest in research.

RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Stanford ($)Yale ($)UCLA ($)UVa ($)UNC ($)..... no money: UCSDU,Mich
Waitlists:

UPenn,NWU,NYU
Rejections:
Princeton,Berkeley,Columbia,Duke

What you would have done differently: I would have applied to less places. But there is no way I would have imagined I would have made out how i did. Very very fortunate. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
applying07 2007:
PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Large Private
Undergrad GPA: 3.81 (Econ: 3.9, Math: 4.0)
GRE: 800Q, 560 V, 6.0A
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Lin Alg, Prob Theory
Econ Courses: Principles, Intermediate Theories, Stats, Intl. Econ, Econ Thought, Environmental Econ, Econometrics, Intl. Econ Relations, Senior Thesis

Other Courses: A bunch of other International Studies class (poli sci, sociology, etc.)
Letters of Recommendation: Associate Prof. (Ph.D. MIT) thesis advisor and teacher, Assistant Prof (Ph.D. BC) Econometrics Teacher, Associate Math Prof. Lin Alg Teacher
Research Experience: Senior Thesis, summer of consulting as an RA
Teaching Experience: Tutoring

Research Interests: Trade and Development
SOP: Probably nothing too special, described career goals, why wanted to study econ and bits about each school


RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Duke

Michigan State
Boston College
UNC-CH
Colorado

Rejections:
MIT
Northwestern
Brown

UMich
Columbia
What would you have done differently? Maybe waited a year and taken more math or worked doing a research job to fill in those gaps. Pretty happy with how turned out though Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
wobo82 2007:
PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 25 research university per USNWR
Undergrad GPA: 3.33 (electrical engineering BS)
Type of Grad: Top 100-ish research university without an econ PhD program
Grad GPA: 3.87 (economics MA)
GRE: 790Q/670V/5.0A
Math Courses: Calc I through III, Diff Eq, Matrix/Linear Algebra, Math Stats, Stochastic Proc, Analysis

Econ Courses: Micro Theory, Applied Econometrics, bunch of field courses
Other Courses: Bunch of undergrad EE courses (lots of Matlab, some C++)
Letters of Recommendation: Three from econ profs at grad school. (They were not alumni of the schools I applied to so where they got their PhDs was of no consequence.)
Research Experience: Very insignficant.
Teaching Experience: None.
Research Interests: Development, broadly speaking.

SOP: I liked it.
Other: Male, international

RESULTS:
Acceptances: USC (fellowship), UMD AREC (RA), UMN APEC (fellowship), UVA (w*itlisted for aid), GWU (w*itlisted for aid), UW-Seattle (no aid)
No news as of Apr 3rd (not that I care anymore): UNC-CH, Pitt, Purdue
Rejections: Berkeley ARE, Brown, Georgetown, Vanderbilt


What would you have done differently?
Nothing. (Well, perhaps tried the PowerPrep tests.) My personal circumstances were such that I couldn't have done things differently. I do feel that I had overestimated the difficulty of getting in (to the departments I chose) but underestimated the difficulty of getting funding. But hindsight is 20-20. The biggest holes in my profile going in were: unknown grad school, bad undergrad record, lack of research experience, complete absence of a macro course (taking my first one right now). I feared the lack of macro would shut me out from the straight econ depts. All in all I am happy with my acceptance tally. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
kartelite 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Graduated Top 20 LAC, after 2 years at Top 30 University
Undergrad GPA: 3.79 both schools

Type of Grad: Top 50, MS in Applied Mathematics
Grad GPA: 4.00 (at time of application)
GRE: 800Q, 640V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses:
Undergrad Math: Linear Algebra (A), Multivariable Calc (A-), Applied Stats (A), Probability (A), Operations Research (B+), Foundations of Mathematics (A-), Combinatorics (A), Number Theory (A), Abstract Algebra I/II (A/A), Real Analysis I/II (A/A-), Graph Theory (A), ODE's (A)
Grad Math: Abstract Algebra (A), Linear Algebra (A-), Cryptography (A+), Functional Analysis (IP), Probability (IP), Combinatorics Seminar (IP)

Econ Courses:
Undergrad Econ: Intermediate Micro Theory (A-), Intermediate Macro Theory (A), Econometrics (A-), Int. Trade (A), Int. Finance (A), Econ Stats (A), Comparative Economics (B), Game Theory (A), Experimental Econ (A), Money and Banking (B), Mathematical Econ (A)
Grad Econ: Phd-level Econometrics (IP)
Letters of Recommendation: All math professors, 2 from undergrad (real analysis prof + adviser), 1 from grad (thesis adviser/probability prof)
Research Experience: Summer REU program in mathematics, research assistant for a couple summers

Teaching Experience: Calculus 2/pre-algebra/geometry instructor, Linear Algebra TA
Research Interests: Decision theory, perhaps financial or international econ
SOP: Yes
Other: Cross country captain, NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, lots of sports awards; one publication from REU program, hoping to get thesis published in good journal; applied for NSF

RESULTS:
Acceptances:

Virginia ($19,000)
Duke ($17,000)
UNC ($14,400)
UCSD (none)

Rejections:
Princeton
Kellogg MEDS
Columbia

Cornell

What would you have done differently?
Gotten recommendation from econ professor, sent master's thesis to someone at programs, applied to Stanford Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
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 wud 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 wud probably stick to my original decision of going to rochester
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
rdblots 2007:
Profile:

Gre: 800 Q, 570 V, 6.0 A
GPA: Overall: 3.86. Math: 3.96, Econ: 3.94 (Econ major with math minor)
Classes:
Math: Calc II, Multivariable, Intro Lin Alg, Diff Eq, Math Stat, Intro Proofs, Linear Algebra (A's), Advanced Calc (A-)

Econ: all the usual undergrad courses (A's). PhD Math Econ (A), PhD Micro (B+).

Type of Undergrad: Virginia Tech
Research Experience: this past summer and fall I RA'd for a professor at my school, I only did minor tasks, but it was still a pretty good experience
Teaching Experience: 3 semesters of tutoring economics (principles and intermediate micro)
LORs: All of my letter writers were encouraging and thought my choice of schools fit me well, so I am taking that to mean the letters should be decent. 1) Assoc. Prof/Head of Undergrad (PhD Stanford) who I tutored for and with whom I took a class, 2) Assist. Dean/Assoc. Prof who I worked with on my RA project (PhD Northwestern), 3) Prof., tutored his intermediate micro course, took intermediate micro and PhD Math Econ with him. (PhD Minnesota)

SoP & Interests: I talked about being interested in applied micro research. I named some professors from each school who had research that I found interesting.
Other: male/white/american. Boring.

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Funding- Duke (attending), Cornell, Boston College, UNC, UVA, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Georgetown
No funding- Maryland, Boston U.

Rejections: Brown
What would you have done differently? I would have only applied to Duke. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Dunny 2007:
Profile:

Gre: 770 Q, 510 V, 5.0 A
GPA: Overall: 3.78 Major: Math
Classes: (all undergrad- highest grade is A)
Math: Calc I,II (AP), III (A), Matrix Algebra (A), Continuous Probability (A-), Business Stats (A-), Discrete Mathematics (A-), Linear Modeling (B+), ODE (IP), Linear Algebra (IP), Discrete Probability (IP), Math Stats II (IP)
Econ: Intro Macro (A), Intro Micro (B+), Intermed Macro (A), Intermed Micro (A), Advanced Macro Topics (A), Financial Markets (A-)
Type of Undergrad: small business school in the northeast

Research Experience: Not much- did a thesis for the advanced macro class.
Teaching Experience: Was a tutor in the school's athletic dept. for economics and math
LORs: Econ professor (PhD Oregon) who was my adviser and taught me intermed macro and advanced macro. Chair of econ dept. (PhD Rutgers), had for Intermed. Micro. Math Prof (PhD Rhode Island) who I had for Calc III, ODE, Linear Algebra. Mentioned that she was confident I'd do well in the important classes I hadn't finished (Linear Algebra and ODE). Also helped me with a lot of the math topics in my advanced macro thesis
SoP: Nothing too fantastic, mentioned a couple professors from each school whose work I found interesting. Graduating in 3 years, so I mentioned that as the reason why I was taking stats, linear algebra, and ODE right now.
Interests: Macro topics for sure, after that I don't really know. Maybe growth, development, labor.


Admissions Decision Results
Admitted w/funding: UNC-CH, Indiana, ASU
Admitted w/o funding: Rutgers, Virginia
Rejected: BU, BC, Georgetown, Rochester, WUSTL

Heading to ASU.

What would I have done differently? I ask myself this question a lot. There are definitely holes in my application (theoretical math as the biggest). At the same time, I wasn't sure I would be willing to put off my plans for another few years to get more math. I also didn't want to wait to get my IP math classes' grades for personal reasons. Looking back on it, the biggest thing I should have done would have been to pick a better undergrad school, with more available math classes. My school didn't offer RA, topology, etc. I was rather late to the game in deciding to pursue a PhD, which definitely was tough juggle with early graduation. I ended up packing a lot of math into these last 2 semesters. Overall, given the circumstances, I'm pretty happy.


Best of luck everyone! Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
phdphd 2007:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Business Administration
Undergrad GPA: 7.5/10

Type of Grad: MSc Business Administration
Grad GPA: -
GRE: 790Q / 580V / 3.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III / Operations Research I-II / Stats I-II / Linear Algebra / Advanced Probability (Grad)
Econ Courses: Econometrics I, II, IV (Grad), Stochastic Economics I-II (Grad) (kind of asset pricing courses, devoted specially to derivative pricing).
Other Courses: Micro I, Macro I, Mathematical Analysis - First year PhD courses, I didn't have the grades at the time of the application

Letters of Recommendation: One supposed to be strong, finance PhD from Stanford GSB; the other two good ones I think (PhD North Carolina, local)
Research Experience: Two papers presented at a National Conference in Finance, MSc dissertation thesis.
Teaching Experience: TA for the MBA courses in my university.
Research Interests: Finance, applied micro, political economy.
SOP: I did the following: first I explained my interest in finance, second why pursuing a PhD in economics and not in business, third I mentioned three professors that I would like to work with at the university that I was applying.

Other: Male, 26, Latin America.

RESULTS:
Acceptances:
University of Southern California ($)
UNC ($)
Minnesota (no $)
Penn State (no $)

Boston University (no $)
UC Davis (no $)
Waitlists:
Cornell (I suppose) - rejected in the end
Rejections:
MIT
Princeton
Stanford
Chicago

Columbia
Northwestern
UCLA - Anderson
Rochester
Maryland
Wisconsin
Caltech

Going to: University of Southern California


What would you have done differently?
First of all, a good MSc in economics, not only because it would increase my chances of being admitted at better places but to feel more comfortable with the courses in the first year; second, I should have participated more in this forum, I remember that I asked for the evaluation of profile stuff but only this. I should have gathered more information about the places that I would fit better with the TM's; I'm happy with the school that I'm going to but a little bit frustrated being rejected in all the top 15 schools. What I mean is that the idea of applying to a lot schools can hurt a lot. Now I have kind of mixed feelings about all of this: should I wait one more year, finish the PhD core couses sequence in my program right now and apply again? Or this is just a dream? I don't know... Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
txecon 2008:
PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Medium State University, Econ Major/Math Minor

Undergrad GPA: 3.91 (4.0 Econ/3.8 Math)

Type of Grad: This coming Summer in the AEA Summer Program at UCSB

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: 750Q / 560V / 4.5A


Math Courses: Calculus I-III, Linear Algebra, Probability and Statistics Theory I-II, Intro to Real Analysis, a few business analysis courses, and self-guided through Diff. Eq.

Econ Courses: Principles, Intermediates, Labor, Managerial (Game Theory, Applied Micro, etc.), Development, Monetary, Econometrics (UCSB), Master's Level Micro/Macro (UCSB), Economics Research Methods (UCSB)

Other Courses: A few programming courses

Letters of Recommendation: Mostly professor at my undergraduate. All know me very well, and some are well known for research.


Research Experience: Two years as an undergraduate research assistant

Teaching Experience: 2 years tutoring and teaching recitation courses

Research Interests: Financial Econometrics, Labor, Applied Micro, dabbled in Development

SOP:I think it shows my writing ability and explains some of my weak points. I think simplicity is desirable in an SOP. They want to know you can write concisely and well as clearly.

Other: I spent a summer taking courses at UChicago (unfortunately I didn't know at the time that I wanted to pursue a Ph.D. and didn't build a memorable relationship with my professor. DOH!)

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Texas A&M ($$$)(attending),Texas (no$), UNC (no$), SMU($$), Claremont ($), UIC ($)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Rochester, Georgetown, UVA, Colorado
Pending: None :)

What would you have done differently? To be honest I was a bit behind the curve in learning the process and the method for applying for an Econ. Ph.D. I learned I needed a strong math background late, so I had to settle for a minor. I learned about the importance of LORs, so my time at UChicago didn't help much. Saying this, though, I am very happy about my outcome. TAMU will be an excellent place to receive sound training.


I should note that it is said on here a lot that the two most important things about your application is GRE scores and LORs, and I just simply want to reiterate that. GRE will get you through the door, and letter writers who are known (either because they are famous or just simply have a contact in the AdCom) will get you a place at the dinner table and possibly nominations for fellowships.

Good Luck to all those still waiting to hear this year, and beginning the process next year! If you are reading this in the Fall and have a question about TAMU, please don't hesitate to PM me. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
bertthepuppy 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 50 private university by US News
Undergrad GPA: 3.61

Type of Grad: a couple semesters of non-degree courses, medium-sized, well-ranked state school
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 790/500/5.5
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Lin Alg, Real Analysis, 3 semesters of Stats
Econ Courses: Int Micro & Macro, Money and Banking, Public Finance, Int'l Trade, Int'l Finance, Thesis Course, Econometrics...

Other Courses: many policy-related analytical courses
Letters of Recommendation: solid, all knew me very well one Yale, one Johns Hopkins, one Berkeley, and one Northeastern (but ironically, probably the most well-known)
Research Experience: RA in undergrad and currently RA for one of my letter writers
Teaching Experience: TA for Econ for Public Affairs and Macro
Research Interests: Labor, Applied micro

SOP: well-tailored to each school, and given emphasis on my drive, with comparisons to running the two marathons I did

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Wisconsin (short list for $), Texas (w*it list for $), UNC-CH($), Ohio State (no $), Iowa ($), Colorado (?), Illinois ($), Cornell (no $), Vanderbilt ($), Kentucky ($)
Waitlists: Georgetown (then given fellowship)
Rejections: Duke, Michigan, MarylandWhat would you have done differently? I wish I would have realized that April 15th seems like this magical day when everything will be done. However, this is not always the case, especially if you are near the middle of the pack at some good programs. Even though I've been formulating preferences for months, I feel like they have all changed within the past week. I'll probably go to Wisconsin if I get off the wait list for $, otherwise I think I will go to Texas, perhaps unfunded. Ask me tomorrow and I will change my mind again. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
friendlyskies 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small, mid-ranked LAC
Undergrad GPA: 3.99 Business admin major, Econ minor

Grad GPA: 4.0 as non-degree math grad student
GRE: 780q, 620v, 5.0w
Math Courses: multivariable calculus, linear algebra, diff eq, real analysis (2 sem.), math stats (2 sem. w/ Casella&Berger)
Econ Courses: intro micro/macro, intermediate micro/macro, IO, statistical analysis for econ
Letters of Recommendation: 2 fed economists, 1 undergrad finance prof.
Research Experience: 3 yrs as a Fed RA, a couple undergrad publications in weak journals

Teaching Experience: TA for a couple semesters in UG
Research Interests: macro, int'l trade and finance
SOP: pretty standard...try to explain away the weaknesses and accentuate the positive. emphasized my fed research experience, recent math classes, programming abilities, teaching experience.

RESULTS:
Attending: Arizona State University
Acceptances: UVA ($$), Boston College ($$), Boston University ($$$), UNC ($$), Arizona State ($$$), Vanderbilt ($$$), Tufts MA ($)

Waitlists: UT Austin
Rejections: Maryland, Duke, Brown, Georgetown
Pending: Never heard from WUSTL
What would you have done differently? I don't think I would have done much, if anything, differently. I think I targeted the range of schools pretty well given the outcome, and I'm happy with the results. ASU is a small but growing program, and I'm stoked about the opportunity to work closely with guys like Prescott and Rogerson. I am really glad that I took a few years after undergrad to build up my resume before applying though...getting good research experience, working with well-known economists, and taking higher math classes made all the difference in the quality of programs for which I was a competitive applicant. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
zwicker 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Econ Major, Private not well known University (US)
Undergrad GPA: overall GPA: 3.9; econ: 4.0 ; math:4.0.
GRE: 800Q, 510V,AWA 5.0

Math Courses: Calc sequence (A), Differential equations (A), Linear Algebra (A), Probability & Stats (A), Adv. Stats (A), Discrete Math (A)
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ, 1 math; all were strong (but not MIT, Harvard, etc.)
Research Experience: Very little.
Teaching Experience: Graded and have taught occasional undergrad classes.

Research Interests: IO, micro.
SOP: I thought it was good.
Concerns: No grad level classes. No analysis. No research. Not from well known school.



RESULTS:
Attending: Arizona ($$$)
Acceptances: Wisconsin (none 1st year), Virginia($$), UNC ($$), Kentucky ($$), Arizona ($$), Texas A&M ($$), Clemson ($$),
Rejects: Yale, Brown, BC, Caltech
Pending: WUSTL (list), Vanderbilt (list)

What would you have done differently? Nothing really. I am happy with arizona. I will be a good fit there. If I was shooting for a top 10 school then I should have done a masters program in stats first and/or finished my math major. I shouldn't have applied to so many lower ranked schools. I wish I would have applied to UIUC. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
filroz 2008:
GRE 800/510/3.5
TOEFL 112/120 (30R, 28W, 24S, 30L)

Undergraduate Charles University in Prague, best school in my country, top in central Europe, I guess

1) econ BA, GPA 2.8
2) math BA, GPA 2.45 (beat that )

Graduate Charles University econ, 3.75

VISITING POSITIONS/EXPERIENCE
-Summer School at LSE in Advanced Macro, (A)
-Visiting student (ERASMUS) at University of Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne (FRA), GPA cca 3.8


Research I hope strong, internship in Czech central bank, one my paper awarded and I was offered to publish it in Czech impacted journal, but I still want to work on it a bit
LORS should be strong, one from thesis advisor, he promised to write it very strongly, but I am am afraid he lost some addresses where to send it , second from senior guy in nation bank, last from another prof. All know me well and for some years... but they are not very know internationally

Scholarships and Awards
- Scholarship as exchange student (ERASMUS)

- National Economic Association prize
Interests macro (esp. monetary policy, business cycles)

Results: Accepted: Rutgers, UNC($), BU, BC($), LSE msc econ, Georgetown($)

Rejected: Columbia, Cornell, Duke, LSE EME, UMich, Maryland, Ox, JHU

What would you have done differently?: Maybe I should have chosen BC, but I don't know:confused:
Overall, I think I did really well, given my undergrad profile. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
treblekicker 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ (Honors I think) and Math Double Major; U.S. Private University ranked 35th overall by US News (the one that isn't a top 20 Econ School)
Undergrad GPA: Overall: 3.65/4.0, Econ: 3.71/4.0, Math: 3.89/4.0 (at time of application)
Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a

GRE: 790Q 590V 4.0AWA
Math Courses: Calculus I-III (B+/A/A), Linear Algebra (A), ODE (A), Probability (A), Math Stats (A), UG Analysis (A-), Complex Variables (A), Topology (took in the fall, B, did not submit the grade), PhD Analysis (W), Abstract Algebra (currently taking), Intro to Proof Writing (currently taking)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A-), Money and Banking (A-), Labor (B+), Antitrust and Regulation (A), International Trade (A-), Econ Stats I & II (B, A), Metrics (A), PhD Micro (took in the fall, A, did not submit)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 PSU, 1 Duke, 1 UNC; All three knew me very well, two I have had significant research experience with; I am sure all were strong.
Research Experience: Independent Study on Nonparametric Statistics; Senior Thesis on Monetary Policy; Research Assistant for Health Econ.

Teaching Experience: n/a
Research Interests: Metrics Theory
SOP: nothing special

RESULTS:
Attending: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (Fellowship)

Acceptances: UNC
Rejections: Stanford, Princeton, NWU, Yale, Penn, Columbia, UCSD, Duke, Berkeley
Waitlist: PSU (will withdraw)
What would you have done differently? I knew I wanted to do a PhD early enough that I could have transferred to a Top 15 department. However, I would never in a million years regret staying at my current school. I love my professors and have made some fantastic friends and memories.

I would not have taken the course load that I did in the past fall. I would have taken Financial Calculus and PDEs instead of Topology and PhD Analysis. That way, I would have better grades in the fall (and no W) and I could have gotten the chance to submit my PhD Micro A. That probably would have gotten me into at least one school that I got rejected from, but whatever. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
FilleNouvelle 2009:
I'll post this now, since my decision is not going to be made especially soon, and it could eventually change.

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Economics MA (Hons), Scottish University (ranked overall #23 in the world)
Undergrad GPA: 1st Class (distinction), ranked 1 (tied with one other student) out of 98.

Type of Grad: n/a
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 800Q, 580V, 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Mathematical Methods (A), Applicable Mathematics (A), Linear Algebra (A), self-study of Real Analysis, private tutoring (Economics classes were very math-based as well)
Econ Courses: Everything there was to take, pretty much
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Oxford, 1 Cambridge, 1 LSE (2 with US teaching experience)

Research Experience: Econometrics research papers, senior thesis on convergence
Teaching Experience: TA for Econometrics
Research Interests: Development, Applied Econometrics, IO
SOP: standard

RESULTS:
Acceptances: UNC ($$), UVA ($?), UT-Austin (no $), BU (no $), Michigan (no $, off waitlist)

Rejections: Stanford, Princeton, NWU (initially waitlisted), Columbia, Berkeley, NYU, MIT, Harvard, Cornell (assumed), UChicago
Waitlist: UPenn, Georgetown
Withdrawn: LSE
What would you have done differently? Obviously, when choosing my undergraduate institution, I didn't know I wanted to do a PhD. If I had known, I probably would have chosen a different undergrad. Also, I think staying in the US may have made things a bit easier. My results show that it's very possible to get good results when your institution is international and perhaps not that well-known, but that sometimes schools do not know how to view you. I ended up with 4 waitlists this cycle and a few unfunded admits. Anyway, other than that, wouldn't have done anything differently. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
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, LOR 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! Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
bigleaguechew 2009:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ / B.S. Math from a top 100 econphd.net public school
Undergrad GPA: 3.5 Overall, 4.0 Econ, 4.0 Math
GRE: 790Q, 610V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: One year of real analysis (A+'s); two quarters each of theoretical linear algebra (A+'s), numerical analysis (A+'s), math prob stat, nonlinear dynamics and chaos; one quarter each of PDE's, abstract algebra and complex analysis

Econ Courses: applied metrics (A+'s), public finance (A+'s), labor, game theory (A+), and a few others in addition to intermediate micro/macro
Letters of Recommendation: It seems as though I had one very respected letter writer, and other letters were more or less ignored at many schools (just what I gathered from my conversations with grad directors where I was accepted)
Research Experience: Virtually none. Started an undergrad research project that was never finished
Work Experience: 2 years in consulting (business, but not econ)

Research Interests: Applied micro, IO
SOP: Talked about how my experiences and coursework have influenced my research interests. Tailored last paragraph to each school I applied to. I cannot say this with enough emphasis... THE STATEMENT OF PURPOSE DEFINITELY MATTERS AT SCHOOLS OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 10. IF YOU DO NOT COME FROM AN IVY AND YOU DON'T HAVE A SPOTLESS MATH/ECON RECORD WITH SOLID RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO SPEND SOME TIME ON YOUR SOP AND START WORKING ON IT EARLY!
Concerns: I had about a year straight of abysmal grades (yes, we're talking about F's and W's here people) in my sophomore year of college due to some family issues. I think it was important that this occurred when I was an english major, and I made up for it by excelling in all of my econ and math courses. So, if you have screwed up and permanently marred your transcript like I did, HOPE IS NOT LOST! It just means that you have to work extra hard to outperform your classmates from here on out.

RESULTS:
Attending: UCSD ($)

Admitted, Declined: Stanford GSB Marketing ($$$$$$$$), Penn State ($$), WUSTL ($), UNC ($/2), UVA ($), Texas ($$), ASU ($$), Arizona ($$), Pittsburgh ($), Ohio State ($), U of Washinton ($), Maryland (stiffed me)
Waitlists: Minnesota, BU
Rejections: Top 10, NYU, Columbia, UCLA, Michigan, JHU, Wharton (but it doesn't count in my mind cuz I hardly showed up for the interview)
Never heard back from: USC (not that I care anymore, but seriously WTF?)

What would you have done differently?

Nothing really. I had a huge black spot on my record with that one atrocious year, and nobody knew how that would affect me. My letter writers were extremely supportive in helping me apply to as many places as I could afford, and cover a broad spectrum of programs. I thought UCSD was a long shot heading into this process, and I am thrilled to be going there. I can honestly say that I would have been happy at just about any of the programs that I was accepted to, and it was incredibly difficult for me to turn down so many attractive offers. Obviously, this is a problem that I am happy to have, but you'd be surprised how gut wrenching it is to turn down a fellowship offer from a school that you had been day-dreaming about attending just a few weeks earlier. Still, I would advise everyone who isn't a superstar with stellar LOR's to adopt a similar strategy and apply to as many places as you can afford. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
securityblanket 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Economics, BA from Turkey
Undergrad GPA: 2.80/4.00

Type of Grad I: Economics, Msc
Grad GPA: 3.30
Type of Grad II: Financial Mathematics, Msc
Grad GPA: 3.85 (ranked second out of 30-40 people)
GRE: 780Q, 320V, 4.0AWA

Math Courses: (3.30 average) Calc I-II, Linear Algebra, Honour's Linear Algebra I-II, Ordinary Differential Equations, Introduction to Probability Theory, Real Analysis I-II, Game Theory (grad level course form math. department), Difference Equations, Lebesgue Integration and Measure Theory, Introdution to Functional Analysis, Functional Analysis (PhD level), Probability Theory (Grad level), Stochastic Calculus Applied to Finance (Grad level), Stochastic and Deterministic Optimal Control (PhD Level), Partial Differential Equations and these are all I guess.

Econ Courses: A lot since I am graduated and obtain my Msc fromm department of economics
Other Courses: A lot of statics and econometrics courses (even more than my math course including grad and undergrad courses).
Letters of Recommendation: 3 Econ profs plus one professional -- exceptional. 1 well known.

Research Experience: Working in a research department for 3.5 years and published one SSCI paper (D-Class but anyway) and one conference paper (ECOMOD)
Teaching Experience: TA for into to econometrics
Research Interests: Applied time series econometrics, international finance, monetary macroeconomics, macro-finance models and DSGE models
SOP: why my undergrad gpa is low, I want to be a policymaker etc (3 pages explains my professional activities etc.)


RESULTS:
Acceptances:
UNC Chapel Hill (no funding)
UC Santa Cruz (no funding)
UPF (no funding)
JHU (no funding)
Rejections: so many

Waitlists: UPENN and BU
Will be attending: JHU rocks!!!

What would you have done differently? My undergard GPA is a very big problem and even my math courses were not enough. may be this year was a disaster, who knows? but I have very close friend wişth a simlliar background that has done a lot better in two years ago. Anyway, still I am satisfied with JHU. I wish all TMers a good luck in the future. I hope you will be more lucky than me... Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
singmeat 2009:
Drumroll for the non top 50 club please.........

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Economics from small state non-flagship non-PhD granting university.

Undergrad GPA: Overall: 3.1/4.0, Econ: 3.7/4.0, Math: 3.4/4.0
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 740Q 610V 4.5AWA
Math Courses: Concepts of Calculus (A), Calculus 1 (B), Calculus II (B), Linear Algebra (B), Statistics (A), Econ Statistics (A), College Algebra (D!)
Econ Courses: Intro Micro (A), Intro Macro (B), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Growth and Development (B), Managerial Econ (A), Labor Econ (A), Econometrics (A)

Other Courses: Linear Programming (B), Intro Finance (D), Multinational Finance (A), lots of Decision Science, Marketing, Accounting, Management, Strategy, etc courses (As and Bs)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Econ profs and a math prof
Research Experience: n/a.
Teaching Experience: n/a
Research Interests: Micro and Applied Micro

SOP: I personally think it was very good. I told my academic story concisely with elegance.

RESULTS:
Funded Admit
Wyoming (Attending): Assistantship + Tuition + Fees + Insurance

MTSU: Assistantship + Tuition + 50% Fees + Summer Research Grant
Missouri: Assistantship + Tuition + Fees
Clemson: Assistantship + Tuition + Fees

UT Dallas: Was told I’d be funded, told them I was going to Wyo.
Florida FRED: Wanted to fund me, but is having a budget crisis or something
UNC Greensboro: Admitted to MA, Assistantship

Arizona AREC MA: Half-Time Research Assistantship + Tuition + Fees
Michigan State AREC: Offered funding in email without details (RA presumably), told them I was going to Wyo.
Unfunded Admit:
Oregon: No funding

Kentucky: WL for funding, didn’t hear back
New Mexico: Never heard about funding despite emailing
U of Utah: No funding

Fail (Reject):
UC-Davis AREC: Rejected, Scholarship below that of admitted applicants
Maryland AREC: Rejected
Florida Econ: Didn’t finish the app, rejected anyway

NC State: One of my LORs never made it, didn’t care enough to pester prof.
???:
Kansas: Admitted, but no idea about funding, paperwork problems with Grad School and I declined before I got any update. Assuming no.

Comments:

Not too shabby considering my profile. I must have some rockin’ LORs or my SOP was magical. I really hated to decline MTSU, I’m hoping they do well in the future. I should have studied more for the GRE: I kept putting it off because Calc 2 was actually pretty fun. Looking back, I should have applied to more flagship state unis and a few more reaches, and actually finished my NC state and Florida apps.

My GPA is low because of a few stupid unrelated courses: Geography (F/D), Algebra (D), lots of Cs my first semester (tough year for me, PM for details on that), etc. Econ, business, math were As and Bs. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
rvalchev 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small private school. First tier according to US News but dead last in that tier :p
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. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
brettm84 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: U.S. Large Public University, maybe top 150 econ. B.A. Philosophy and History (2007), B.S. Economics (2008)

Undergrad GPA: 3.96/4.00 (4.00 Econ and Math)
Type of Grad: 1 yr. masters at same university as undergrad.
Grad GPA: 3.70/4.00
GRE: 780Q, 630V, 5.0 AW
Math Courses: Undergrad: Calc. 1-3, Linear Algebra, ODE, Intro to statistical methods (I & II), finite math, discrete math.

Graduate: Probability theory (B), Intro to stochastic processes (in progress)
Econ Courses: The usual undergraduate classes.
Graduate Econ Courses: Math for Economics (A-), Micro theory I (A), Macro theory (A), Econometrics (A), Micro theory II (in progress), Econometrics seminar (in progress), Monetary Economics (in progress).
Other Courses: the first 75% of my transcript is largely irrelevant (mostly philosophy and history courses).

Letters of Recommendation: All 3 from econ professors. Only 1 is from someone who is active researching/publishing.
Research Experience: none
Teaching Experience: grader/TA for math department.
Research Interests: macro, development, financial
SOP: straightforward and informative. I am uncomfortable saying anything nice about myself, so it may have been too "humble".

Other: My undergraduate career got off to a rocky start, and includes being suspended for disciplinary reasons. I included an explanation of the "incident" in each application. Six years having elasped probably reduced the negative impact. UNC, however, did make me pay for a criminal background check.

RESULTS:
Acceptances: UNC($), Duke (Tuition only), UVA (no $), Univ. Wash. (no $)
Waitlists: WUSTL

Rejections: UPenn, Yale, JHU
Pending:

Attending: University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill


What would you have done differently? I have only been doing economics for a year and a half, and my pre-econ career included no math, so my record is limited. Obviously, if I had decided to pursue a PhD in Econ earlier, I could have done more to improve my application. I should have chosen my reach schools from a little further down the rankings, since it probably took Upenn and Yale all of 2 min to toss my application in the trash. When I submitted the applications I gave myself a 1hance to get into Upenn and Yale, a 10hance for JHU and Duke, and 50 0.000000or the rest, so E[# of acceptances]=2.22. I exceed my expectations so I am very happy, and I'm sure I'll love UNC. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
AREStudentHopeful 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in Econ from a medium-sized public university in the Southeast

Undergrad GPA: 3.4/4.0
GRE: 740Q, 510V, 5.0AWA
Math/Stat Courses: Calc I & II, Axiomatic Systems, Linear Algebra
Econ Courses: Intro to micro and macro, intermediate micro and macro, advanced macro, econometrics, managerial, natural resource, environmental, developmental, comparitive systems and money/capital markets ...all A's or A-'s

Other Courses: many environmental science courses
Letters of Recommendation: 5 econ professors (1 Berkeley ARE, 1 Chicago, 2 NC State, 1 UVA)
Research Experience: a final paper for metrics on gas pricing and some limited experience RAing for professors (mostly surveying)
Teaching Experience: tutoring
Research Interests: environmental and natural resource

SOP: pretty standard

RESULTS:
Acceptances: Colorado State ARE MS ($), UNLV MA, UNM MA, UNCG MA ($)
Attending: Colorado State ARE
Waitlists: none

Rejections: Berkeley ARE PhD, UMD AREc PhD, Oregon State ARE PhD, Colorado-Boulder PhD, UMass RE PhD, UC Davis ARE PhD
Pending: NCSU MA, Ohio State AED MS, URI ERE MS (I have retracted all of these)

What would you have done differently? I would *definately* have started taking math classes a year earlier so I could fit more in. I also would have not screwed around as much as a freshman which screwed up my GPA. Overall I feel I'm better prepared now for two years down the road when I do this again for my PhD. Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Rejections:
econ2007 2007: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: medium (roughly 30,000 students) public university

Undergrad GPA: 3.55 overall, 3.83 economics GPA
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q / 580V/ 6.0AW
Math Courses: Calc I (A), Calc II (B+), Calc III (C+), Applied Linear Algebra (C+), Numbers and Polynomials (D+), Elementary Differential Equations (C), proof-based Linear Algebra (B)
Econ Courses: Honors Principles of Microeconomics (A), Honors Principles of Macroeconomics (A), Banking Financial Markets and Monetary Theory (A), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (B), Games and Decision (B), International Trade (A), Economics of State and Local Govt (A-), Intro to Econometrics (A)

Other Courses: audited PhD Macro I
Letters of Recommendation: undergraduate advisor and professor in two classes (PhD from UNC-CH), econ prof for intermediate micro and macro (PhD from Carnegie Mellon), econ prof for econometrics (PhD from Carnegie Mellon), math prof for proof-based LA (PhD from NYU)
Research Experience: started a senior thesis, but not completed.
Teaching Experience: tutored all four years of undergrad
Research Interests: micro theory, applied micro, labor, environmental, bioeconomics
SOP: started with a template, and tailored each SOP to each schools interests and strengths (as long as there was some intersection in interests). THEY DO READ YOUR SOP.

Other: out of school for 2 years

RESULTS:
Acceptances: FSU, UGA, Colorado at Boulder, UC Irvine
Waitlists: UNC (r*jected later), Illinois (r*jected later),Boston College, Pitt
Rejections: UWashington, UTexas, UNC, Illinois
What would you have done differently?

Let me preface by saying that my original plan was to go to law school. I didn't seriously start thinking about economics PhD until late junior year. Take as much math as possible, with good grades.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
MNGoon 2008: PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics and Political Science with a Math Minor from large state University top 25ish in general, top 20 in Econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.07/4.0
Type of Grad: Master of Regional Planning
Grad GPA: 3.8/4
GRE: 780Q, 710V, 800A
Math Courses: Calculus (multi variate), Linear Algebra, Differential Equations

Econ Courses (PhD-level): None
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Public, Input-Output, IO, Urban, Housing, Game Theory, Micro and Macro Theory
Other Courses: A whole pile of Economic Development and GIS courses for Masters
Letters of Recommendation: 3 economic develoment professors (1 UC-Berkely PhD, 1 Cornell PhD, 1 Rutgers PhD), all extremely solid.
Research Experience: RA for Econ Development Prof, thesis, and cited extension work
Teaching Experience TA for Masters level Urban and Spatial Econ

Research Interests: Public Finance, Urban Econ, Spatial Modeling, Community Economic Development, Extension
SOP: Critiqued by Econ Profs
Other: Been out of school for a while, Former Peace Corps Volunteer, Currently working for a non-profit loan fund

RESULTS:
Attending: UW-Madison (Agricultural and Applied Economics)
Acceptances: Applied/Ag Econ Programs: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia State, Clemson

Waitlists:
Rejections: Econ Programs: Brown, BU, UMass-Amherst, UConn Applied: Cornell, Wharton, UNC
What would you have done differently? Maybe not have waited until I turned 30 to accept an offer. In all seriousness, as far as the application process goes, I would not have done anything differently. I spent last summer talking to former professors and asked them to introduce me to the people they know in departments that they thought would be a good fit for me. I also talked to them extensively about my interests and the work I had done with them in the past so that they would have more information to draw upon when writing the LORs. As a result, I got into more, and better programs than my profile may have suggested. I am though going to get my *** handed to me at Madison.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
JasonEcon 2009: PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: B.S. Industrial Engineering with honors; U.S. top 5 engineering program
Undergrad GPA: Overall: 3.2/4.0, Econ: almost none, Math: 3.1/4.0
Type of Grad/Post-Bac: M.S. Economics at large state non-Ph D granting university
Grad/Post-Bac GPA: 3.9/4.0
GRE: 800Q 630V 5.0AWA
Undergrad Courses: Calculus II-III (A/B), Linear Algebra (B)

Grad & Post-Bac Courses: Grad Micro (A), Grad Macro (A), Grad Metrics (A), 3 grad field courses (As); Diff Eq (A), Adv Calc (A), Grad Analysis (B)
Letters of Recommendation: 3 Econ, 1 Math, good professors but not well known.
Research Experience: Only a directed study on growth at the time of application.
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: International/Development

SOP: discussed my very late interest in Economics and thus my five year hiatus between undergrad and returning to school, other than that boilerplate.

RESULTS:
Attending: Vanderbilt (Fellowship year 1, TA years 2 - 5)
Acceptances: Vanderbilt ($), NC St ($), Virginia
Rejections: Duke, Maryland, UNC-CH, Arizona St, Georgetown (never heard)
What would you have done differently? I would of done more research with professors as part of my grad program. I think my professors were able to write solid but not exceptional recommendations because they just did not know me well enough to elaborate extensively. That said, Vanderbilt is the best fit for me in terms of fields and as a personal fit, so I am thrilled with going there!
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
EcoBd 2009: PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad/Grad: BSS and MSS in Economics in a South Asian University.
Undergrad/Grad GPA: 3.7/4.0 in Undergrad and 4.0/4.0 in Grad
GRE: 790Q, 380V, 3.5AWA
TOEFL: 106 (29R, 29L, 23S, 25W)
Courses: Lots of econ courses. PhD level micro and econometrics. Calculus, probability theory, linear algebra, real analysis etc.

Letters of Recommendation: 3 economics professor from my University. 1 got his PhD from Harvard and taught me Microeconomics. Another did her PhD from MIT and taught me Econometrics. The last one got his PhD from Manchester and taught me International Economics. I am sure that they all gave me excellent recommendations.
Research Experience: Currently working in a research institute in my home country. I also have 2 RA positions in two different organizations previously.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Econometrics

SOP: Traditional. Emphasized my interests in economics.
RESULTS:
Attending: Texas A & M University
Acceptances: TAMU ($$), FSU (no $), OSU AEDE: (no$: informally)
Rejections: UCSD, UIUC, UNC, UF, Vanderbilt, IUB,

No word: USC
What would you have done differently? I think I should really do well on GRE verbal and AWA. And I should be more focused on my SOP.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
Waitlists:
econ2007 2007: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: medium (roughly 30,000 students) public university

Undergrad GPA: 3.55 overall, 3.83 economics GPA
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q / 580V/ 6.0AW
Math Courses: Calc I (A), Calc II (B+), Calc III (C+), Applied Linear Algebra (C+), Numbers and Polynomials (D+), Elementary Differential Equations (C), proof-based Linear Algebra (B)
Econ Courses: Honors Principles of Microeconomics (A), Honors Principles of Macroeconomics (A), Banking Financial Markets and Monetary Theory (A), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (B), Games and Decision (B), International Trade (A), Economics of State and Local Govt (A-), Intro to Econometrics (A)

Other Courses: audited PhD Macro I
Letters of Recommendation: undergraduate advisor and professor in two classes (PhD from UNC-CH), econ prof for intermediate micro and macro (PhD from Carnegie Mellon), econ prof for econometrics (PhD from Carnegie Mellon), math prof for proof-based LA (PhD from NYU)
Research Experience: started a senior thesis, but not completed.
Teaching Experience: tutored all four years of undergrad
Research Interests: micro theory, applied micro, labor, environmental, bioeconomics
SOP: started with a template, and tailored each SOP to each schools interests and strengths (as long as there was some intersection in interests). THEY DO READ YOUR SOP.

Other: out of school for 2 years

RESULTS:
Acceptances: FSU, UGA, Colorado at Boulder, UC Irvine
Waitlists: UNC (r*jected later), Illinois (r*jected later),Boston College, Pitt
Rejections: UWashington, UTexas, UNC, Illinois
What would you have done differently?

Let me preface by saying that my original plan was to go to law school. I didn't seriously start thinking about economics PhD until late junior year. Take as much math as possible, with good grades.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
vivaquijote 2007: GRE:
Q 640 V 630 Written 5

MA GPA: 3.2 from a small moderately ranked private school.
Classes: Micro I and II, Macro I and II, Econometric Theory, Applied Financial Econometrics, Microeconometrics, Labor Economics, Development of Human Capital (all at doctoral level of the school)

Undergrad GPA: 3.4 from a large state school, with honors.

Spanish BA: 3.7
Econ BA: 3.3
Math BA: 2.5
Classes: Honors Spanish (MA level courses), MA Econometrics, MA Econometric Forecasting, International Finance, Math Theory of Statistics, Probability Theory, Analysis (that class killed me), Linear Algebra, Calculus, and lots of Latin American literature courses (doesn't help my chances for economics, but it certainly was fun).

Research experience: I don't think my MA papers count. They were literature reviews. No real grunt work with data. I ended up reading more papers for it than I did for the classes though.

Teaching experience: Calc paper grader and tutor for business and engineering level calculus courses.


LOR: Good recomendations from an Econometrician and Macro prof in my MA program.

SoP: Harped on my interest in international trade, remittances, migration (emigration), education and human capital development. Noted that while my GPAs were not as high, I had three majors in undergrad while taking MA courses, and took all doctoral levels in my MA program (thank God the department let me). Not sure if that last bit actually helped, but I suppose it was worth a shot. It probably just revealed that I like biting off more than I can chew. :rolleyes:

Admission Results:
Accepted:
University of Kansas (ah, my sense of nostalgia won me over)
University of New Mexico
Pending:
University of Colorado - ?
University of Maryland - ?
University of Arizona - ?
Univeristy of Illinois Urbana - ?
University of North Carolina - ?
University of Texas (Austin) - ?
Arizona State University - ?
Texas A&M - ?
Rejected:
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists:
eggman 2009: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top Public University (William & Mary)

Undergrad GPA: 3.87 Overall, 4.0 Econ, 3.9 Math
GRE: 760 Q, 550 V, 4.5 A
Math Courses: MultiVar. Calc (A), Linear Algebra (A), Intro Proofs Class (A), Real Analysis (B+), Ordinary Differential Equation (A), Probability (A), Mathematical Statistics (in progress)
Econ Courses: Econ of Information (A), World Trade Theory (A), Econometrics (A), Time-Series Econometrics (A), Cross Section Econometrics (A) (advanced econometric courses are part of my school’s MPP program, but are cross-listed in Econ)
Letters of Recommendation:

-Assistant Professor I was a TA for
-Professor that is my Honors Thesis Advisor
-Professor I worked for on a theoretical paper, well known in his subfield.
Research Experience:
-RA for one summer doing grunt work data collection
-Empirical Honors Thesis on a topic in pubic economics (decentralization)
-Worked on a Theoretical Paper in social choice theory, attempted to prove a theorem the professor could not solve. Even though I couldn’t finish the paper for him, I was able to make enough progress that he could see that I had some talent, greatly improving my LOR.
Teaching Experience:
TA for an Econ 101 class, graded assignments and held review sessions.

Research Interests: Public, Labor, Applied Micro
SOP: I think it was fine, matched up my interests with some professors, nothing noteworthy to say about it

RESULTS:
Will be Attending: UVA
Acceptances: UVA($$), Indiana ($$)

Waitlists: UNC
Rejections: Princeton, Yale, UPenn, Rochester, Penn State, Maryland, JHU, Duke, Michigan, Minnesota, UCLA

What would you have done differently?
I wish I would have started math earlier and had been a Econ/Math double major instead of just a math minor. I believe I had enough Math to make me competitive, but a little bit more could have been nice. I also wish I had done better on the GRE, but I studied a lot and only got a 760Q, so I don’t think taking it again would have improved my score, thus I don’t regret not retaking the GRE.

Comments: I’m surprised I got so many rejections, but ultimately I am very happy with the final outcome. I really like UVA’s Program and they gave me good funding.
Accepts: Rejects: Waitlists: