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

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

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

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

486hunter 2008:
I actually applied to Ph.D. programs in Public Policy but for a course of study that is very applied micro-focused (taking first yr sequence in micro theory and econometrics in econ dept). So I will post my results here for anyone considering the same path in the future. Hope that's OK!
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: top 10-15 university in the US
Undergrad GPA: 3.72 (3.9+ in Econ courses, ~ 3.7 in Math courses, 4.0 in last two years of UG study)
Type of Grad: terminals master's degree in Econ (top-10 dept in the US). Not taught at Ph.D. level but has a good record of sending people on to Ph.D. programs nevertheless.
Grad GPA: did not receive letter grades
GRE: Q 740/V 660/ AW 5.5
Math Courses: two semesters of Statistics, Calculus, Multivariate Calculus, Linear Algebra
Econ Courses: lots of UG courses including standard fare intermediate micro/macro and econometrics (all As). Master's-level courses in micro, macro, econometrics + others
Other Courses: Took graduate course in microeconometrics (grade = A)
Letters of Recommendation: one from econ professor (medicore), two truly excellent LORs from policy researchers (one of whom is very well known in my substantive field of interest) at well-known econ/social policy organization, describing my contributions to empirical research
Research Experience: 2+ yrs experience in heavily empirical policy research
Teaching Experience: UG TA in International Trade Theory
Research Interests: economics of crime and education, labor market policy
SOP: I think it was very good but have no basis for comparison.
Other: Four publications in solid (but not top) journals in substantive field related to my interests. Plus a number of working papers.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Berkeley Public Policy (funded), Duke Public Policy & Econ (funded), Maryland Public Policy (not funded)
Rejections: Chicago Public Policy, Princeton WWS
Withdrawn: Carnegie Mellon Econ & Public Policy
What would you have done differently?
1. My GRE Q score (740) was quite low (took it 5 yrs ago and really should have re-taken) As it turns out, at least some policy depts are substantially more forgiving with regard to a low Q GRE score than econ so it worked out in the end.
2. When I was in school I did pretty well but didn't talk much to my professors and, as such, I did not have many choices to get good recommendations -- I think it would have been helpful if I had another solid rec from a professor from either my UG or grad program. My recommenders in policy research are both academics (one has been a prof) so I think they were taken seriously but I still think it would have helped to have another top letter from a faculty member.

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

Internationalstudent08 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: top U.S. school
Undergrad GPA: 3.7+
GRE: 800q, 670v, 4.5w (yeah, me knows how to writing)
Math Courses: Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, Groups and Topology (intro proofs), Mathematical Probability. In my senior fall I took optimization and now in the spring I take analysis.
Econ Courses: many...
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from econ profs (1 of them is famous, the other is well-known)
Research Experience: 2 summers
Teaching Experience: I have some. does it count anyway???
Research Interests: Macro, Pol. Economy, Public stuff.
SOP: I bet they don't read it
Other: International student, good at foosball.
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Waitlists:
Rejections: Northwestern, Columbia, Duke, Stanford, Brown, Berkeley
Pending: Princeton, Chicago, NYU, UCSD,
What would you have done differently? I could write an essay about this, but I'll do it at the end

Thesus 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BSc Econ, minor in math. School does not appear on econphd.net.
Undergrad GPA: 3.97, 4.00 in math/econ
Type of Grad:n/a
Grad GPA:n/a
GRE: 800Q, 770V, 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I,II,III, Linear Algebra, Vector Calc, Intro Stats, Mathematical Stats, Real Analysis I,II, Integration & Metric Spaces, ODE, Discrete Math
Econ Courses: Micro I,II,III (not very rigourous), Macro I,II,III (ended with Romer), Math Econ I,II, Econometrics I,II, another ten electives or so, honours essay in progress.
Other Courses: nil.
Letters of Recommendation: Used four econ profs and a math prof, depending on school. None of them are well-published or
Research Experience:n/a
Teaching Experience: TA, three semesters.
Research Interests: Growth, economic dynamics.
SOP: Short, succint. Didn't reference names of professors. Briefly discussed interests but admitted I wasn't committed to the field.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Rochester(fellowship), UBC(MA,TA)
Waitlists: Minnesota
Rejections: Brown, Yale, Berkeley, Princeton
Pending: Queen's, Toronto
What I would have done differently: I think I should've transferred to a different undergrad after two years. Now unsure whether to do the MA and reapply or head directly south.

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

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

yayflipflops 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.6/4
GRE: 770Q 710V 5.0W
Math Courses: Calculus I,II,III, Algebra I & II, Analysis I & II
Letters of Recommendation: economics professor, math professor, and staff economists at Fed. should be strong.
Research Experience: Undergrad Thesis and research assistantship.
Research Interests: financial economics
SOP: I invested a lot of time in it.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Hopkins ($), Wisconsin, Cornell
Rejections: Berkeley, Columbia, Yale, Michigan, Maryland, UCLA
What would you have done differently?
Try to do some presentations, publish during RA-ship.

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

raamar 2008:
Type of Undergrad: International Solid University (Not in EconPhD Ranking)
Undergrad GPA: 3.76/4.00 in Business Administration
Type of Grad: International Another Solid University (Still Not in EconPhD Ranking)
Grad GPA: 3.53/4.00 Economics
GRE: Q 800/ V 370 / AWA 4.0
TOEFL: 111/120
Completed Math Courses: Not plenty
Completed Econ Courses: Micro, macro, metrics and many others (mostly solid, Grad Level)
Letters of Recommendation: Good Recommendations from some known professors of grad. school
Research Experience: Ongoing Master Thesis, (an international paper, but not at the time of application), RA
Teaching Experience: TA for 2 semesters of grad and undergrad macros
Research Interests: Macro mainly
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Maryland ($$), Pittsburgh ($$), Virginia ($ waitlist), Carlos III de Madrid ($$), Pompeu Fabra (No $)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Berkeley, Columbia, Minnesota, Michigan
Pending: WUSTL, UNC, Georgetown, Penn State
Attending : Maryland
What would you have done differently? Could have gone for more and better publications

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

wcd123 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 25 American research University
Undergrad GPA: 3.97
Type of Grad: none
Grad GPA: none
GRE: 800/510/6.0
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A's), Linear Algebra (A), Probability and Statistics (A), Introduction to Math Reasoning (A)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Game Theory (A), Math for Economists (A--graduate course), Public Economics (A), Health Economics (A), and a bunch more
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 1 assistant prof that I RA for, 2 senior faculty that I was in class with. All 3 are actively publishing, and both senior faculty are well established in their fields
Research Experience: 1 year RA, Honors essay
Teaching Experience: Tutoring
Research Interests: Applied micro--more towards public/labor/health than IO, but I generally like empirical research and applied econometrics.
SOP: I thought it was pretty good. Don't know if it helped or not. Talked about why I like empirical work, some current research I'm working on, and tried to signal that I know what I'm getting into.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Yale (going there), Michigan, Columbia, Duke, Brown, Maryland, Wisconsin
Waitlists: Chicago
Rejections: MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley
Pending: none
What would you have done differently? Not much. I would have liked to have gotten in to Princeton or MIT, but I am extremely happy with my outcomes.

ephyou 2008:
Type of Undergrad: top 10 liberal arts
Undergrad GPA: 3.5
Type of Grad: none
GRE: 790/630/6.0
Math Courses: multi, linear alg, real & complex analysis, diff-e-q, stat+prob
Econ Courses: metrics, math-econ, history of thought
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ profs, 1 math prof from top 10 uni's
Research Experience: RA at university, govt agency, private sector
Teaching Experience: TA, math/stats/econ/stata&sas tutor
Research Interests: "inequality," metrics
SOP: spent 5 min on it
RESULTS:
Acceptances: osu, virginia, jhu, ucsd (attending), boston uni, brown
Rejections: chicago, berkeley, mich, columbia
What would you have done differently? i graduated in '07 and took a year off. would have tried to do one of those full-time academic research assistanships

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

jazzcon 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Econ major at a US state university with top 200 Econ grad program (ie not very strong).
Undergrad GPA: overall GPA: 3.6; econ: 3.9 ; math:3.7.
GRE: 800Q, 520V,AWA 5.5
Math Courses: Calc sequence (A), Differential equations (B+), Linear Algebra (B+), Probability Theory (B), MathEcon w/ S&B (A)
Econ Courses: The basic sequence of things.
Grad classes: MathStats w/ Casella (A), Econometrics sequence (A)
Letters of Recommendation: thesis advisor, econ prof I graded for, 2 Economists from work.
Research Experience: Undergraduate thesis, 2 years RA at the Fed.
Teaching Experience: Grader
Research Interests: IO, public, applied micro.
SOP: didnt really spend much time on it.
Concerns: Not stellar pedigree. Not great grades. No Analysis.
RESULTS:
Attending: Virginia($$)
Acceptances: Virginia($$), Boston U.(no $$)
Rejects: Berkeley, Yale, Chicago, NWU, UMD, UMich, Brown, Duke
What would you have done differently? Went to a better undergrad? Taken more math. Better grades in Math. I am very happy with my Virginia($$) admit though.

kevinomic 2008:
Undergrad: Small private university (Loyola University New Orleans) majored in Accounting and Finance
GPA: 4.0
Grad: MA Economics University of Colorado Denver
GPA: 3.98
Math:Calc I-III (As), Linear Algebra (A), Diff Eq (A), Abstract Math (A), Real Analysis I (A)
GRE: 790Q/530V/5.5AW
Teaching experience: Principles of Macro Instructor, Stats Lab Instructor, TA for Econometrics (Grad), Research Methodology (Grad), Intermediate Macro / Micro, Principles of Macro/Micro
Research experience: Masters thesis, turned into co-authored paper w/ advisor, submitted for publication. Blogged about on Freakonomics! (College Football and Crime). RA job during MA program (2.5 years)
letter of recommendation: 3 from professors. I think they were really good.
Interests: labor, education, health, applied metrics
What I learned: I'm very pleased with my results
Accepted: UCSB ($$$), Cornell - PAM ($$), UC Irvine ($$), MSU ($), Washington ($), CUNY ($$), Oregon ($$), CU Boulder ($$), Michigan (no $), Wisconsin (no $), UT Austin (no $)
Rejected: Berkeley, Princeton, Maryland, Wharton (Applied Econ)
Attending: UC Santa Barbara, very excited. Not the best program I got into, but great faculty to work with, great location, great fellowship package. I know a lot of people (especially in this forum) stress going to the best ranked school you get into, but I'm a little older and location and fit were very important to me. I'm very happy about my decision.
Other: I don't have any of the pedigree (top undergrad, grad, etc.), but feel that I did very well. I got to know my professors in grad school very well and got lots of research and teaching experience. I think my LORs pushed me up a few notches and allowed me to get really good funding packages from lower ranked programs (30-70) and got in with no funding to some 10-20 ranked programs.
Although I didn't contribute, I found this forum very helpful and a little addicting. Good luck to all you future applicants.

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

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

mysherona 2008:
My turn!
Type of Undergrad: Economics from Philippine university
Type of Grad: Mathematics from the same university (will not complete degree)
GPA: I can't convert it so it's useless
GRE: 800Q, 760V, 6.0AWA
TOEFL: 118/120
Courses: Typical in the programs I took; nothing special
Teaching: A year of intro calculus
Research: First prize for undergrad paper
RA: Small jobs here and there
LORS: Former econ profs
Interests: International, Monetary
SOP: Used the same thing for all the schools
Others: Male, 22
RESULTS:
Attending: Columbia ($)
Other acceptances: Northwestern ($), Duke ($), Georgetown ($), master's programs at Oxbridge, LSE and Toulouse ($)
Waitlists: Berkeley, Penn, Brown---all rejected me in the end
Rejections: the rest of the top 10 econ programs, UCLA, UCSD
Comments: I was very lucky so I'm happy with the way it turned out. If I could start over again I'd probably do my BA abroad.