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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

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

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

AstralTraveller 2008:
Type of Undergrad: Top research institution in the country (Latin America), Economics major.
Undergrad Ranking: 54th out of almost 300 people
Type of Undergrad: Doctoral Stream MA in Econ at same University as undergrad.
Grad Ranking: 4th out of 38
GRE: 780Q, 550V, 3.5 AW
GMAT: 710 Overall, Percentile 95%Q, 83%V.
Math Courses: Calc I,II, Statistical Probability, Statistical Inference, Classic Algebra, Linear and Matrix Algebra, Optimization Methods, Mathematical Economics (Differential Equations).
Econ Courses:
UG: Intro Econ, Intro Micro, Intermediate Micro I & II, Industrial Organization, Intro Macro, Intermediate Macro I & II, International Economics, Econometrics, Urban Economics, Econ Growth Theory.
Graduate: Micro Theory (MWG), Macro Theory (Journal articles), Econometric Theory incl. Probability Theory (Spanos, Greene), Applied Econometrics (Hamilton, Maddala, Baltagi), Resource Economics (Journal articles), Behavioral Economics (Becker + Journal articles), Economics of Regulation (Tirole), Macroeconomic Programming (too many things to mention!), Social Projects Evaluation (Fontaine + Journal articles).
Letters of Recommendation: 3 Profs from my alma mater (two econometricians who graduated from Econ departments ranked 30-50, plus the director of grad studies who graduated at a top-15 institution), 1 prof from the current B-school I work at (graduated from a B-school in Europe, but who has held visiting positions at several top-5 US schools) and 1 letter from a professor (Info Systems and Technology Management) at a US Top 30 B-school who studied at a top-5 PhD program in the New England area. To all I related either as a student, research assistant, or both.
Research Experience: RA for three years: one at my alma mater's Econ department, two at a nascent local B-school. Several working papers.
Publications: Published an empirical paper on an ISI indexed blind-refereed minor journal, and a chapter on Maximum Likelihood Estimation on a Math for Economists textbook.
Teaching Experience: TA for entire Econometrics and Statistics sequence, undergrad and graduate Economics, and MBA.
Lecturer for graduate econ: Math camp (you know, the pre-enrollment course we'll all have to go through before our PhD...I have taught it!), plus Introductory Econometrics and Optimization Methods the following term. Also lecturer of Statistical Inference (for 2nd year undergrad business and econ) and Advanced Econometrics (for 6th year engineering students).
Research Interests: Industrial Organization, Econometrics.
SOP: Prepared over a 18 months timeframe.
Other: Male, single, 25 years old. Since I didn't take analysis at college, self taught Real Analysis from Baby Rudin and Topology from Ivorra. Pointed it out on my SOP.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: none so far
Waiting: UCLA (Anderson) [interviewed, shortlisted according to prof, but "not admitted" according to PhD program secretary]
Rejections: Northwestern (Econ), Chicago (GSB), Minnesota (Econ), Stanford GSB (EA&P), Duke (Fuqua), Brown (Econ).
Pending: NYU (Stern), MIT (Sloan) [these two already notified their admits], UCSD (Econ)
What would you have done differently?
Don't quite know yet . Prepared this season's application for years. As Mr. Keen, I don't know what a Micro or Macro course is without calculus. Have done my best throughout years to get admitted at a good place and so far I only have been "booted out". Maybe I applied to one too many business schools. Should have tried more Econ schools (2 top 10's) and some definite safeties.
Not sure if I want to go thru this process once again.

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.

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

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

Nymaj 2008:
Type of Undergrad: Big Ten School
Undergrad GPA: overall 3.0 degree in Econ
Type of Grad: mid size university - terminal master econ program
Grad GPA: 3.9
GRE: Q 770/ V 410 / AWA 5.5
Completed Math Courses: Calc 1-2, Multivariate Calc, Diff Eq, Stats, Prob, Real Analysis
Completed Econ Courses: Micro, macro, metrics and many others
Letters of Recommendation: Strong letter of recommendation's from two Duke prof. and two strong letter of recommendation from my home university
Research Experience: One research project with professor from Michigan State University and also with an professor at Duke. Currently working on another research project.
Teaching Experience: Teach Principles of macro and also TA for advance micro and metrics
Research Interests: Alot of stuff
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Michigan, Maryland, UT-Austin, Texas A&M, Rice, Houston,
Waitlists:
Rejections: Brown, Duke, Boston College, Iowa
Pending: Cornell
What would you have done differently? Should have listen to my professors and drop some lower ranked schools and applied to Yale and Harvard for kicks.

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.

tennisboy85 2008:
Type of Undergrad: good but not elite program, no PhD or grad econ
Undergrap GPA: 3.8 (3.9 in finance and econ)
GRE: 800q/450/4.5
math courses: Calc 1 (A), Calc 2 (A), Stats (A), Linear Algebra (in progress)
econ courses: a lot including math econ and econometrics
other courses: finance and econ double major, thus a lot of finance courses as well
LORs: Tufts, Purdue, Virginia, good rec-s, but not from well-published profs
Research experience: none, not in my school
Teaching experience: none
reseach interests: macro
SOP: very good one, spend a lot of money and time on it
results:
acceptances: Tufts MA Econ ($), LSE F&E (no $)
waitlists: Wustl MS Finance
rejections: Brown, Cornell, Yale Phd-s in econ, Cambridge Mphil Finance, Princeton MS Finance
pending: JHU PhD, BC MS Finance
What would you have done differently? I would not have applied to any PhD-s. Clearly I have no shot to get into them, because of my lack of my lack of math background. Not really sure if I actually want to get a PhD.

EMEQU 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Good Latin American university
Undergrad GPA: 15.4/20
Type of Grad: Good Latin American university
Ggrad GPA: 8/10
GRE: 800Q 500V 4.0AWA
TOEFL: 260/300
Math Courses (undergrad and grad): Calculus, Probability, Statistics, Real Analysis, Mathematical Economics (optimization and optimal control)
Econ Courses(grad): Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Aplied Econometrics.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 strong letter of recommendation from one very well-known senior professor, 2 strong LORS from two assistant professors.
Research Experience: Master's thesis, few working papers.
Teaching Experience: TA (undergraduate), Lecturer (undergraduate)
Research Interests: Macroeconomics.
SOP: Explained why I wanted to pursue a PhD in economics.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: University College London (no $), Texas A&M ($$), UC Davis ($$), University of Virginia ($$), Arizona State University ($$$), UIUC ($$$, 1st year fellowship), Carnegie Mellon ($$$, 1st year fellowship).
Rejections: UC San Diego, Brown University, UC Santa Cruz, JHU.
Pending: Queen's University.
What would you have done differently?
I think LORs matter a lot, specially for international students (since one professor may recommend 4 or 5 students at the same time to the same university). I wish I applied to fewer safety schools.

pdilly 2008:
Type of Undergrad: BA from a less prestigious liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.75
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: 770M/590V
Math Courses: Cal I-III (A's), Linear Algebra (A), Applied Stats (A), Probability Theory (B). Taking Differential Equations this semester.
Econ Courses: A's in Macro I, Intermediate Macro, Intermediate Micro, Urban Econ, Labor Econ, American Econ History, Law and Economics, B's in Micro I and Regional Econ.
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: Very strong, but not from well-known professors. My best came from my statistics prof, who is also the dean of natural sciences.
Research Experience: None
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Urban, applied Micro
SOP: Not especially strong. I have only a vague Idea of what I want to do at this point.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Syracuse ($$), UConn (MA only, at this point)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Texas, Boston College, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, UC Boulder
Pending:
What would you have done differently?
I probably shouldn't have aimed quite so high... I didn't have much of a shot at BC and Texas. I would have applied to more schools in the 40-60 range.
I'm actually putting off grad school for a little while. Syracuse agreed to hold my offer till next year, and I'm going to work on improving my resume. I'm taking advanced cal and complex analysis at my dinky liberal arts college in the fall, and I'm planning to transfer to UT-Austin in the spring to take real analysis and econometrics, among other things. Hopefully I'll be able to work some research experience in at some point too.

friendlyskies 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Small, mid-ranked liberal arts college
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.

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.

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 (waitlist), Vanderbilt (waitlist)
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.

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.

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

octavio 2008:
Type of Undergrad: Large US state university, econ program ranked very low
Undergrad GPA: 4.0
Type of Grad: Currently enrolled in econ masters at a US public university
Grad GPA: 4.0 through first semester
GRE: 800Q, 690V, 6.0 AW
Math Courses: Undergrad: Calc 1-4, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Real Analysis; Grad: Topology, Optimization (IP)
Econ Courses: Undergrad: All the standard intro/intermediate, econometrics, electives; Grad: Micro, Macro, Econometrics
Letters of Recommendation: All three were from economists and should be very positive. Nobody famous, that I know of... but I get the impression that they were very specific.
Research Experience: Summer RA for econometrics professor, currently an RA for a couple of professors working in applied micro
Teaching Experience: None, except some grading
Research Interests: Development, trade, applied micro
SOP: It was very conservative, about a page long, talking about what I had done as a research assistant, what my general research interests were, and my desire to work in academia after graduation. For the AREC programs, I added a short paragraph about my experiences studying abroad in a developing country and my eagerness to do field work (without sounding naive).
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Berkeley ARE ($, will be attending), UCSD ($), Maryland ($), Michigan (no $), Wisconsin AAE ($), Michigan State ($), UC Davis ($)
Waitlists: Brown
Rejections: Stanford, Yale
What would you have done differently? Things worked out well given that my pedigree was so poor. I got into Berkeley ARE, which is a perfect match for my interests, so I can't think of much to do differently. Probably shouldn't have applied to Stanford and chosen a different reach instead, not that I would have gotten in.

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.