Index of Schools AnalysisAbout the Site 2012 20112010 20092008 2007all years
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Most Recently Selected profile:

The data below comes from testmagic forums and shows accepted, waitlisted, and rejected applicants for 2010 for economics graduate school. Clicking on points in the graph above will make the most recent profile appear in the space below the graph.


Acceptances:

JerseyBoy89 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Economics, B.A. Mathematics (Top ~10 Econ Dept / Top ~5 Math Dept)
Undergrad GPA: 3.85/4
GRE: 800Q/700v/5.0a
Math Courses: Linear Algebra, Multivariate Calculus, Intro Probability Theory, Mathematical Statistics, Stochastic Calculus, Numerical Analysis, Analysis I, Topology, Vector Analysis, Abstract Algebra (Overall, 3.85 GPA)
Econ Courses: Basic Microeconomics Course, Math for Economists, Micro Theory, Macro Theory, Global Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Adv. Macro and Finance, Adv. Micro Theory, Independent Study (Overall, 3.9 GPA)
Other Courses: Finance Courses (foundations financial markets, corporate finance), Business Core (don't wish to list these )
Letters of Recommendation: I received one recommendation from an extremely well known econ professor. Other two recs from well known econ academics that are very successful as well.
Research Experience: RA work sophomore and junior summers. Also worked on independent thesis project senior year.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Macro-Finance (consumption-based asset pricing, term structure models), Corporate Finance in macro setting, Monetary Economics, Business Cycles
SOP: My statement was pretty straightforward - I discussed my research interests and motivations, coursework, research experiences, and my broad fit with each program.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Carnegie Mellon ($$$), UMN ($), UPenn ($$), Wharton Finance ($$$), UCLA ($$ eventually)
Waitlists: Michigan, Princeton (eventually rej), Columbia Business
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Stanford, among others
Attending: Wharton
What would you have done differently? I am very very happy with my results and am really pumped to go to Wharton. That said, I think the one thing I should have considered is attending an MA program in econ (eg. Toronto, LSE) or an RA job at one of the regional Federal Reserve banks. Given my relatively strong recommendations, either one of these would have solidified my candidacy for a higher-ranked program (not that I didn't get into a great program already!). Looking back, coming from an undergraduate program, I also wouldn't mind some more economics training before I start a PhD program - it would certainly make me more economically mature as well. Nonetheless, I am very very happy with my results.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Carnegie Mellon ($$$), UMN ($), UPenn ($$), Wharton Finance ($$$), UCLA ($$ eventually)
Rejects:
    rej), Columbia Business Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Stanford, among others
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Michigan, Princeton (eventually

riskaverse 2011:
Type of Undergrad: B.Sc. Economics at Top10 South American university; B.A. International Relations (not the same university as Economics)
Undergrad GPA: 7.5/10 for Economics (Top 5%); 8.46/10 for International Relations
Type of Grad: M.A. Economics at Top10 South American university (not the same as undergrad).
Grad GPA: 7.98/10
GRE: 800Q/540V/4.0A (2nd try)
Math Courses (undergrad): Calculus I and II
Math Courses (grad): Real Analysis, Measure Theory, Linear Algebra (audit)
Econ Courses (undergrad): a lot of them
Econ Courses (grad): Micro Theory I to IV (entire MWG), Macro Theory I to III, Econometrics, Microeconometrics, Corporate Finance, Empirical Microeconomics, Mathematical Economics I and II (some chapters of Stokey&Lucas).
Other Courses: lots of them too because of International Relations
Letters of Recommendation: A total of 4 letters, all from my MA professors. I think all of them like me, but I'm pretty unsure about the strenght of the letters. Two of them are somewhat well known, specially in their fields. I sent the letter from my advisor to all universities and rotated among the other recommenders.
Research Experience: My MA Dissertation. I have some works from undergrad published (co-authored), but not in academic journals (they were mainly directed to policy makers in my country - only one of them written in English).
Teaching Experience: TA for Microeconomic Theory II and Statistics II at the graduate level; TA for International Finance and IO in MBA courses; TA for Micro and Trade for undergrads.
Research Interests: Microeconomics, Contract Theory, Corporate Finance
SOP: very honest. I liked it in the end.
Other: TOEFL 106, but a low grade in the speaking portion. Although I applied to all parts of the US, I have very strong personal reasons for wanting to be in the East Coast.
Concerns: my first GRE try was a disaster, the second try was in December 2010, which made me really afraid of my results getting to the universities very late. My profile seems sometimes a Frankstein for me and I'm really concerned about my letters of recommendation. I don't have the minimum score for the TOEFL speaking portion that many universities require. I'm not the strongest applicant from my country this year, which makes me very pessimist about my dream schools. Also, I worked some time before entering my MA, so I'm kind of older I think... well, lots of concerns!
Accepts:
  • Institution: Penn State (PSU) Decision: Accepted Funding: yes (RAship) Notification date: 2/20/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: yes Comments: Totally unexpected for a Sunday! Really relieved!
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics (PhD) Decision: accepted Funding: yes (TAship) Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: email with formal acceptance (pdf) Posted on GF: yes Comments: very very happy!!!
  • Institution: Arizona State (ASU) Economics (PhD) Decision: Accepted Funding: not mentioned Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GF: yes Comments:
  • Institution: University of Rochester Economics (PhD) Decision: Accepted Funding: no funding Notification date: 2/23/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GF: yes Comments: wrote the department to ask about my results. They replied with a letter attached saying I was accepted but no funding...
  • Institution: U Penn Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: "very high on the wait list for a first year fellowship" Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: yes Comment: kind of worried about funding but very very happy . Great school!!
  • Institution: Georgetown Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: yes Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: Yes Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments: I am very very happy!! The program seems very nice and l would love to live in Philadelphia!!
  • Institution: Wisconsin - Madison Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: no first year funding, support guaranteed for the next three years Notification date: 03/14 Notified through: Email (informal) Posted on GC: yes Comment: without funding, even only for the first year, is impossible for me
  • Institution: UIUC Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: yes Notification date: 3/14/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GradCafe: yes Comment: very nice, specially after a week of rejections
  • Institution: Cornell Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Notification Date: March 23, 2011 Notified through: Official e-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments: no funding for 5 years as well... but I'm really surprised to be accepted
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments: I cried... one of my very top choices. Already expected from not hearing from them, but it is still hard... Congrats for the ones accepted and waitlisted!
  • Institution: Harvard Kennedy School Political Economy and Government (PhD) Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: Postal service (the letter was dated 2/18) Posted on GC: Yes Comments: long long shot, but still
  • Institution: Duke PHD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments: kind of expected
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: yes Comments:
  • Institution : Chicago Program : Economics PhD Decision : Rejection Funding : N/A Notification date : 3/7/2011 Notified through : E-mail Posted on GC : yes Comments : soooo sad... I thought I had a good chance
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/08/11 Notified through: email Posted on GF: yes Comments: it was a long shot
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: This one hurt a lot...
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/11/11 Notified through: Email Comments: never really thought I had a chance, but I had to try... it was my dream school, both for academic and personal reasons
  • Institution: NYU Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 3/18/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments: Finally... they replied my email
  • Institution: Boston University Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejection FUnding: N/A Notification Date: 03/25/2011 Notified Through: Email Comments: Mass email with no care about privacy...
  • Institution: Washington University St. Louis (WUSTL) Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: -- Notification date: April 13 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments: finally^2
  • Institution: Columbia Business School Finance and Economics Decision: Rejected (from wait list) Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/19/2011 Notified through: e-mail to see website Posted on GC: no Comments: I happened to know that I was waitlisted from the rejection letter.
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Wait listed Funding: I think it's yes if admitted Notification date: 3/18/11 Notified through: Email to check Website Posted on GC: yes Comments: short wait list

coffeefanatic 2011:
Throwing my results so far into the mix...
Institution: Wharton
Program: PhD in Applied Economics
Decision: Interview
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/15/2011
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: Yes
Comment: Who knows how many they interviewed...
Institution: Yale
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/16/2011
Notified through: Email to check website
Posted on GC: Yes
Comment: Unsurprising.
Institution: Stanford GSB
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/18/2011
Notified through: Email to check website
Posted on GC: Yes
Comment: Super long-shot/terrible match for my research interests, anyway.
Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: university-wide fellowship
Notification date: 02/21/2011
Notified through: Email from department
Posted on GC: Yes
Comment: Nice.
Institution: Duke
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: graduate school fellowship
Notification date: 02/22/2011
Notified through: Email to check website, follow-up email from department
Posted on GC: Yes
Comment: Very nice.
Institution: Penn
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/24/2011
Notified through: Email to check website
Posted on GC: Yes
Comment: Ouch.
Accepts:
    Accepted Funding: university-wide fellowship Notification date: 02/21/2011 Notified through: Email from department Posted on GC: Yes Comment: Nice. Institution: Duke Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: graduate school fellowship Notification date: 02/22/2011 Notified through: Email to check website, follow-up email from department Posted on GC: Yes Comment: Very nice. Institution: Penn Program: PhD in Economics Decision:
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: university-wide fellowship Notification date: 02/21/2011 Notified through: Email from department Posted on GC: Yes Comment: Nice.
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: graduate school fellowship Notification date: 02/22/2011 Notified through: Email to check website, follow-up email from department Posted on GC: Yes Comment: Very nice.
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: Waitlisted Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comment:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Pleasant surprise
  • Institution: UCLA Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: None first year Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: University of Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: First year tuition waiver + nominated for fellowship (waiting to hear back) Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Yes Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: WHATTTT. Still recovering from the shock, can't believe it!!
  • Institution: UChicago Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Level 2 Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Nice!
  • Institution: Columbia University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Waitlisted for first year funding Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No info yet Notification date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
Rejects:
    Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/16/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comment: Unsurprising. Institution: Stanford GSB Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/18/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comment: Super long-shot/terrible match for my research interests, anyway. Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison Program: PhD in Economics Decision:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/16/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comment: Unsurprising.
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/18/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comment: Super long-shot/terrible match for my research interests, anyway.
  • Institution: Penn Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comment: Ouch.
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Brown University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Chicago Booth Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: No clue how likely an admission would be.
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Yes if admitted Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No


Rejections:

rthunder27 2011:
Type of Undergrad: BS in Electrical Engineering from Penn State, Math Minor
Undergrad GPA: 3.92 (1 B, assorted A-'s)
Type of Grad: MS in EE from Johns Hopkins, MA in Applied Econ from JHU in progress
Grad GPA: EE: 3.91, Econ: 3.95
GRE: 800Q, 630V, 4.5AW (08/10) / 770Q 650V 5.5AW (08/06)
Math Courses(undergrad): Calc, Multivariate Calc(A), Diff Eq(A), Matrices(A), Linear Programming(A), Game Theory(A), Stats(A), Numerical Computation(A-), Discrete Math-proof based(A)
Math/other Courses(grad)- My emphasis in EE was signal processing, which is pretty much all advanced calculus. Neural Networks (A), Intelligent Algorithms (A), Probability (B), Math of Finance (A), Control Systems (A), Digital Signal Processing(A), Advanced Signal Processing(A), Multidimensional Signal Processing (A), Wavelet Signal Processing (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro (A), Macro (A-), Statistics(A) Econometrics (A+), Game Theory in Economics (A+), Financial Economics (A+), Microeconometrics (A). Macroeconometrics, Macro Forecasting, International Finance
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro(A)
Letters of Recommendation: Strong letters I hope, but from weak recommenders. Undergraduate Thesis adviser (Math Phd, PSU I think), current supervisor (non-academic), and Grad School professor (UVA Econ Phd).
Research Experience: Undergrad Honors thesis on game theory/agent based modeling. Presented preliminary results from an unfinished game theory/behavioral paper on wagering Behavior in "Jeopardy!" at the Stony Brook Game Theory Conference. My current work is at a research lab, but it's not econ focused.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Game Theory, Behavioral Economics/Finance, Discrete Micro
SOP: Strong maybe? I explained my research interests, the road I took in discovering them, and I describe the type of ideas that I have and how to test them.
Concerns: My letter of recommendation could be stronger, but that's a result of access. No RA, for which I am kicking myself, because I could have taken it as an elective in my EE MS program. No clue how adcoms view EE/signal processing (which is very much proof based calc at times)
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Stanford GSB Finance ($$$$), UCSD($), uArizona
Waitlists: Columbia (asked to be removed), Kellogg MEDS (implicit, later rejected)
Rejections: Princeton, NYU, Wharton, Booth, Berkeley, UCLA, CMU
What would you have done differently? Geesh, well, for starters, I would have realized my interest in economics earlier than 22 months ago (May 2009). I also regret some of my school choices, I probably should have applied MIT/Sloan instead of UCLA and I definitely should have applied for NSF, since I had a pretty good idea for a proposal, but I didn't learn about it in time. The late interest in economics really made it difficult to get good LORs while working full-time.
In reverse chronological order, I would have taken RA when I had the chance (Spring 2009), taken more than one econ course in my undergrad (2003-2007), potentially taken a different major entirely, and applied back in high school to more schools than just the PSU honors program (2002). But maybe I shouldn't have done anything differently; I got into a top 5 program about which I am very excited, and can lead to a wide variety of future opportunities. And I doubt I would have gotten in if I had a more traditional background. So although I sometimes feel I've wasted the past four years of my life, I did earn 2 masters in that time while saving up enough money to finance an extravagant (by grad student standards) lifestyle for the next 4-5 years, which is something at least.
Accepts:
    access. No RA, for which I am kicking myself, because I could have taken it as an elective in my EE MS program. No clue how adcoms view EE/signal processing (which is very much proof based calc at times) RESULTS: Acceptances: Stanford GSB Finance ($$$$), UCSD($), uArizona
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Finance PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: No mention Notification date: Feb 14 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: I'm blown away right now
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Letter coming later Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Relieved. This is the school a priori I thought I'd most likely attend. So even though I'll probably turn them down for Stanford GSB, it's just good to know that I wouldn't have been completely shut out if I hadn't had that fluke admit.
  • Institution: u Arizona Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: ?? Notification date: 3/17/11 Notified through: Unofficial e-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Expected, but appreciated. This was my last minute safety school. I feel pretty good that my self-assessment of likely admits was pretty much dead-on, given this and UCSD (and my implicit waitlist at Kellogg). I will reject this for my completely unexpected Stanford GSB admit, so I'm glad to be spared a potentially difficult choice between a well-funded uA offer and a minimally funded UCSD offer.
Rejects:
    rejected) Rejections: Princeton, NYU, Wharton, Booth, Berkeley, UCLA, CMU
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 10 Notified through:Email Posted on GC: yes Comments: "Our applicant pool is outstanding and unfortunately we cannot offer admission to all good candidates." Very disappointed, this was one of my top choices.
  • Institution: uChicago Booth MOB Decision: Rejected Funding: N/a Notification date: Feb 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Slighty disappointed, but I had already convinced myself that Stanford GSB dominates them in my interests, so no biggie.
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Not unexpected, it was a bad fit, which I realized as I was prepping my SOP for them. I regret not applying to MIT/Sloan instead, but I guess I went on a Cali kick when selecting schools.
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Expected, given how things have been trending.I would be feeling incredibly depressed and hopeless right now if it weren't for Stanford GSB.
  • Institution: Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: Checked website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Not unexpected given the talk of waitlists over the weekend. Strictly dominated by other offer, so only hurts my ego, not my future.
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - NA Notification date: 03/11/2011 Notified through: email
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 3/17/11 Notified through: Official e-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Oh well, I figured that this was the case. They must have read the complaints I posted on this board Stanford it is then!
  • Institution: Kellogg MEDS Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/18/11 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Not surprising, I guess I was on their implicit waitlist, and they realized that they wouldn't need to draw from it. Overall a bit disappointing, because before decisions started rolling in they were my top pick of schools I thought I had a decent chance of getting. Of course things have changed a lot since then, and I'm happy with the way things turned out.
  • Institution: Columbia GSAS MA in Mathematics of Finance Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 06/22/2011 Notified through: e-mail to check site Posted on GF: No Comments: The Columbia PhD application had the option to also apply to an MA program for no additional cost. I figured why not, so I checked that box, and submitted to them the same exact SOP as I did to Economics. I don't particularly care, since I've accepted an offer elsewhere, but I am amused because I thought I was finished with getting rejection letters.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Columbia (asked to be removed), Kellogg MEDS (implicit, later
  • Institution: Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: Full Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : yes Comments: My very first wait-list, I'll probably ask to be removed when they ask later.

chisquared 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BBM Quantitative Finance and BSc Economics. Small university in SE Asia.
Undergrad GPA: 3.92/4.00
Type of Grad: MSc Applicable Mathematics, LSE
Grad GPA: In Progress
GRE: 800Q, 660V, 5.0AW
Math Courses: Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A-), Real Analysis (A-), Intermediate Mathematics for Economics (A+), Advanced Mathematics for Economics (A), Stochastic Calculus (A), Numerical Analysis (A), Probability Theory and Statistical Inference (A-), Continuous Time Optimization (Grad, IP), Probability and Measure (Grad, IP), Stochastic Analysis (Grad, IP)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Advanced Microeconomics (IP)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Microeconomics (A+), Intermediate Macroeconomics (A-), International Economics (A+), Economics of Financial Intermediation (A+), Applied Econometrics (A), Economic Development in Asia (A)
Other Courses: A lot of other business and finance courses. A few courses in psychology, sociology and political science.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Stanford PhD, 1 Berkeley PhD, 1 Harvard PhD, 2 UPenn PhDs distributed over different schools. All supposedly good letters.
Research Experience: Undergraduate thesis in political economy (A-), a few research assistantships
Teaching Experience: A few terms as a teaching assistant
Research Interests: micro theory, game theory, financial economics, political economy
SOP: Standard
Concerns: Unknown undergrad institution. Limited (read: almost none) placement history. Unknown letter of recommendation credibility.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: LSE ($$$, initially on a waiting list for funding), Michigan (off the waiting list, $$), BU ($$, initially on a waiting list for first-year funding)
Rejections: Tons. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern (Kellogg MEDS), UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, UCSD (actually, I never heard from them. Should probably send them an angry email.), Chicago Booth, Stanford GSB, Wharton, Minnesota
Withdrawn:
Attending: LSE
What would you have done differently?
It's hard to say, really. A few ideas, though:
(i) Work harder on my senior thesis. Winning the senior thesis prize may have helped me sneak on to a few more waiting lists.
(ii) Write a more interesting SOP. It probably wouldn't help much, but it just might matter on the margin, and it's hard to say where I was or wasn't a marginal candidate exactly (at least, for the schools ranked just above where I was admitted. I'm only kidding myself by trying to claim I could have been a marginal candidate at Harvard/MIT.).
(iii) Done more undergrad field courses in econ. This would help me write a more interesting SOP, I guess, since it would give me more research ideas. This would mean that I'd have to drop one of my majors, or not do a senior thesis, though. I'm not sure I would be willing to do the former ex-ante, nor the latter ex-post.
(iv) Tried to go on exchange at the one top 10 department my undergrad had an exchange program with. Someone from my undergrad did this, and it seemed to have helped her out a lot this admissions season. That being said, that entails the same kind of tradeoffs that I mentioned in (iii), so I'm not sure I'd do this if I could do everything over again.
(v) Worked really hard on my MSc, graduate with distinction, and apply for admission in fall 2012 instead. I may still consider this, in fact.
(vi) Considered schools that I was applying to more carefully. While I don't think I'd have applied to fewer schools, there are some programs (PSU, CEMFI, Toulouse) I wish I applied to after all the deadlines were over but before the admissions results were released. While I wouldn't have gone to any of those aforementioned programs over any of the options I had, this may have been a wiser decision ex-ante (even if I may be out a few hundred dollars ex-post).
Accepts:
    Acceptances: LSE ($$$, initially on a
  • Institution: London School of Economics MRes/PhD Track 1 Decision: Accepted Funding: No. "Unfortunately competition for funding is very strong and we are not able to offer you any financial support at this stage. However you are waitlisted for funding and we will inform you immediately if and when this becomes available. In the meantime we would be grateful if you could update us on the outcome of any funding applications you have made." Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: Relieved. Will probably need funding though.
  • Institution: BU Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: After first year, tuition + $19k stipend Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Michigan Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted from the waiting list Funding: Full Notification date: April 12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: None.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Tons. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern (Kellogg MEDS), UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, UCSD (actually, I
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 16 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Expected, but still depressing.
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economic Analysis and Policy Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: February 18 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 22 February 2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: UPenn Phd in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Website -- checked it after I saw the rejection on GC Posted on GC: No Comments: Ouch. A shut out is looking likelier every day. Ah, well.
  • Institution: Minnesota Phd in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Saw a rejection on GC, then checked the website. ...I should really stop doing this. Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Ouch.
  • Institution: Chicago Booth Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No. Comments: Not too surprising.
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Well, that was a long-shot.
  • Institution: Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Ugh.
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Sigh.
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Hm, I guess a shut-out wasn't all that unlikely. (Yes, I am aware at the pitfalls of considering probabilities ex post.)
  • Institution: Northwestern - Kellogg Ph.D. MECS Decision: Rejection Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/11/11 Notified through: Email Comments: I appreciate their promptness. Take note, NYU. <-- Ditto. I guess this marks the close of the admissions season for me.
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/11 Notified through: Snail Mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/17/11 Notified through: Unofficial e-mail after I asked about my status Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 04/21/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: That took a while.
Waitlists:
    waiting list for funding), Michigan (off the waiting list, $$), BU ($$, initially on a waiting list for first-year funding)
  • Institution: UMich Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: Yes, if accepted Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:

Potica 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA econ and psych from top 10 liberal arts college. Post-BA math classes in continuing studies program at top 20 University
Undergrad GPA: 3.5 (overall), 3.4 (BA institution), 3.8 (post-BA), 3.6 (econ classes), 3.6 (final two years of UG at liberal arts college)
Type of Grad: None
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q780, V650, AWA 5.0
Math Courses: Calc I-III (C, A, A), Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A-), Game Theory (A-), Probability I-III (A, A, A-), Real Analysis I-III (B+, A, A-), Math Stats I (B-). All but Calc I taken post BA.
Econ Courses: Intro Micro (B+), Intro Macro (B+), Intermediate Micro (A-), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (B+), IO (A), Decision Making (A-), IO Seminar (A), Trade (B+), Managerial Econ (A-), Law and Econ (P)
Other Courses: lots of psychology courses, a few history classes.
Letters of Recommendation: Two young (well known) economists at top 10 econ PhD program for whom I had a 1.5 year RA job. One economist who previously had a senior position at the FTC who supervised me at a consulting firm for 5 years. Letters were clearly strong.
Research Experience: Undergrad thesis (both econ and psych), work at econ consulting firm (5 years), full time RA job at top 10 university (1.5 years), co-authored working paper with supervisors at RA job, and a little bit of very preliminary work on a couple of my own ideas
Teaching Experience: TA for 2 quarters of intro micro and 2 quarters of intro macro
Research Interests: Applied micro (changed the fields a bit from school to school)
SOP: Probably strong. Good argument for why I want to study econ and why I am prepared. Wrote extensively about two research ideas. Customization varied from school to school.
Concerns: Relatively old, weak undergraduate grades, no grad classes.
Other: Presented co-authored paper as a poster at a conference in late March (a mention that the paper was accepted for the conference made it onto about half of my apps)
RESULTS
Acceptances: UW Madison ($), Cornell ($), UT Austin ($), UVA ($), OSU (unclear), Vanderbilt ($), UC Davis ($), UC Irvine ($), Notre Dame ($)
Waitlists: U Chicago Booth econ (accepted), U Michigan Ross econ (accepted), Brown (accepted), U Maryland (accepted, no $), U Michigan (withdrawn, prob could have gotten in at last minute), UNC (withdrawn), U Minnesota (rejected)
Rejections: Yale, Harvard PEG, Berkeley ARE, Stanford, Princeton, UPenn, Wharton Applied Econ, U Chicago, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, CMU, Duke, JHU, Rochester, University of British Columbia, UCSD, Wash U
Attending: U Chicago Booth econ
What would you have done differently?
Not much. Would have changed my mix of schools slightly and not applied to UBC (with its $150 application fee). Obviously I could have done better as an undergrad, but at the time I had no interest in graduate school. I think the RA job was hugely beneficial (for a number of reason). My results would have been much worse without it. The last five months have been very busy and stressful, so I'm happy it's done even, especially given how well it turned out.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UW Madison ($), Cornell ($), UT Austin ($), UVA ($), OSU (unclear), Vanderbilt ($), UC Davis ($), UC Irvine ($), Notre Dame ($)
  • Institution: Notre Dame Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ~$17k/year Notification date: 2/9/11 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: UC - Irvine Economics Decision: Accepted ("unofficially") Funding: a few quarters of fellowship with TAship for the rest Notification date: 2/9/11 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: UC Davis Economics PhD Decision: Accepted (conditional on OK from Grad Admissions office) Funding: Decision "before the end of March" Notification date: Feb 11 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Very happy about this one.
  • Institution: UVA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ? Notification date: 2/21/2011 Notified through: Email to Check Website Posted on GF: No Comments: They let me in even though the grad school listed two of my three transcripts (including the one for my BA) as incomplete
  • Institution: Vanderbilt Economics (PhD) Decision: accepted Funding: yes (1st year fellowship, later years TA) Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GF: no
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TA-ship (not much money) Notification date: 03/01/2001 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: 14 other people copied on email. Indicated they previously made 13 fellowship offers
  • Institution: UT - Austin Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Unclear Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: No.
  • Institution: Maryland Economics PhD Decision: Admitted (off waitlist) Funding: Not currently, but they indicate they may be able to offer me funding Notification date: 3/17/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: One waitlist down, four to go!
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Sage Fellowship: 22.25k stipend +4.7k summer stipend + tuition waiver, health insurance, etc. (required to RA or TA after first year) Notification date: 3/18/11 Notified through: Personalized email Posted on GC: No Comments: A very nice offer...looks like I'll have some decisions to make after all
  • Institution: U Chicago Booth Ph.D. Business Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Full Notification date: April 8 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Was waitlisted
Rejects:
    rejected) Rejections: Yale, Harvard PEG, Berkeley ARE, Stanford, Princeton, UPenn, Wharton Applied Econ, U Chicago, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, CMU, Duke, JHU, Rochester, University of British Columbia, UCSD, Wash U
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 10 Notified through:Email Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 16 February Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: University of Rochester Economics (PhD) Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Harvard Kennedy School Political Economy and Government (PhD) Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: Letter Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UPenn Phd in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Duke Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Northwestern University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 3/4/2011 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: UChicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: Checked website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Washington U. in St. Louis Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Somewhat surprised by this rejection. I guess it's evidence of the randomness of the process.
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/08/11 Notified through: Mail Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia University Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/09/2011 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: CMU (Tepper) Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejection Notification Date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Agricultural & Resource Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/14 Notified through: e-mail to check status Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: March 22, 2011 Notified through: Official e-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: I was looking forward to getting this one after all the waiting.
  • Institution: University of British Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/29/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GradCafe: No Comments: The application fee was steep. Probably should have just skipped this one.
  • Institution: UCSD Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 04/06 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: U Chicago Booth econ (
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics (PhD) Decision: Wait List Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/23/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: University Michigan Economics Decision: Waitlisted (indicate that last year I would have been admitted without funding and there is a reasonable chance of being admitted this year) Funding: if admitted tuition waiver, TA after first year Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: first two sentences of the letter: "I am happy to report that the Admissions Committee of the Department of Economics has enthusiastically recommended you for our Ph.D. program. I would like to inform you that you have now been placed on a waitlist for admissions." Thought I was in until I read it more carefully!
  • Institution: Chicago Booth Economics Decision: Waitlist ("...you are highly ranked on the Economics waitlist.") Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No. Comments: Pretty happy about this one. Because I excpected a rejection. No idea what my chances are of getting off the waitlist.
  • Institution: University of Maryland Economics PhD Decision: Wait List Funding: "...There is also some probability that we may be able to offer financial aid" Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: University of Michigan (Ross) Business PhD (international business and business economics) Decision: Waitlist Notification date: 3/15/11 Notified through: Response to email asking about my status Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: I think it's yes if admitted Notification date: 3/18/11 Notified through: Email to check Website Posted on GC: no Comments: Waitlist number 6 (this must at least put me in a tie for the most waitlists)
  • Institution: UNC Ph.D. Economics Decision: waitlist Funding: ? Notification date: April 13 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No

fj217 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BBA Applied Economics/Applied Mathematics (minor) from a mid-sized university in Hong Kong
Undergrad GPA: 3.76/4.00 (#1 in the program)
Type of Grad: -
Grad GPA: -
GRE: Q800 V530 AW4.0
Math Courses: Calculus & Linear Algebra (A); Mathematical Analysis I (A); Mathematical Analysis II (B+); Linear Algebra (A); Statistical Methods & Theory I (A-); Differential Equations (A-); Real Analysis (B); Numerical Methods I (A-); Mathematical & Statistical Modeling (A)
Econ Courses: Principles of Microeconomics (A); Principles of Macroeconomics (A); Intermediate Microeconomics (B+); Intermediate Macroeconomics (A); Mathematical Economics I (B+); Applied Econometrics (A); Money & Banking (A-); International Economics (A); Industrial Organization (A); Aisa-Pacific Economies (A-); Public Finance (A); Money & Finance in China (A)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: One professor from another local university (Stanford PhD); one regionally well-known professor (UW Madison PhD); one statistics professor with a PhD from Germany. At least the latter two letters are very strong.
Research Experience: Summer research at another local university; honors degree project
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests: Macroeconomics, International Economics
SOP: I put much effort into writing it; mainly explaining my interest in economics and my past learning experience
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: IUB PhD ($$, attending), Albany PhD ($$), Simon Fraser MA ($$)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Cornell PhD, PSU PhD, UPitt PhD, USC PhD, Notre Dame PhD, etc.
Pending: CUHK MPhil
What would you have done differently?
I think Id have done better had I picked Mathematics as my major and Economics as minor. That way not only could I have taken more math courses, but I also could have taken them systematically. Now I often had to taken advanced math courses early on without the basic courses. If I could have taken them systematically I would have better math grades.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: IUB PhD ($$, attending), Albany PhD ($$), Simon Fraser MA ($$)
  • Institution: University of Hong Kong MEcon Decision: Admission Funding: None Notification date: 2/28/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: Don't know if institutions in HK are of any people's concern here. Just saw some non-US schools so I thought it doesn't hurt to post anyway...
  • Institution: Simon Fraser University MA Economics Decision: Acceptance Funding: Yes Notification date: 3/10/11 Notified through: Email
  • Institution: University at Albany Economics Decision: Acceptance Funding: Tuition Waiver + 13k Assistantship Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: Indiana University Bloomington Economics Decision: Acceptance Funding: Waiting list Notification date: 4/4 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No. Comments: Really hope I can get funding... Update: I was informed of funding for five years at around 2:30am (UTC+8) Apr. 16. Very happy and have already accepted their offer!
Rejects:
    Rejections: Cornell PhD, PSU PhD, UPitt PhD, USC PhD, Notre Dame PhD, etc.
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Applied Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/11/11 Notified through: Email directing to website Posted on GF: No. Comments: My first certain response. Still waiting for the rest.
  • Institution: Yale University Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/17/2011 Notified through: Email -> website Posted on GF: No. Comments: My reach school.
  • Institution: Duke University Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/25 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: Pennsylvania State University Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: - Notification date: 3/7/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: Just another rejection.
  • Institution: Iowa State University MS in Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: - Notification date: 3/9/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: Sad.
  • Institution: Cornell University Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: - Notification date: 3/23 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: University of Iowa (Tippie) Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: - Notification date: 3/16 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No. Comments:
  • Institution: University of Pittsburgh Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: - Notification date: 3/24 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: Emory University Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: - Notification date: 3/14 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments:
  • Institution: University of Notre Dame Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: - Notification date: 3/30/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of Toronto MA Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: - Notification date: 5/5/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: No Comments: Not going even if admitted. Got better plans.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists:

pestivendeglo 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 liberal arts college. B.A Economics. B.A. Mathematics
Undergrad GPA: 3.92/4.00
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q, 720V, ?AWA
Math Courses (undergrad/level): Real Analysis I (A), Topology (A), Stochastic Processes (A), Abstract Algebra I (A), Intro to Stats Inference (A-), Probability Theory (not measure-based, A), ODE (A), Number Theory (A), Linear Algebra (A)
Econ Courses (masters-level):N/A
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro to micro (A), intro to macro (A), intermediate micro (A), intermediate macro(A), econometrics(will get it soon), behavioral econ (A), labor econ (A), game theory (A-), IO (B+)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ professors (2 both from my college) 1 math professor. All three graduated from top phD in their fields.
Research Experience: RAed for an econ prof till now// independent study- senior thesis on labor economics
Research Interests: Labor economics, Behavioral economics, health economics.
SOP: Writing now.
Concerns: Not much significant research experience.
Other: N/A
Applying to: UCLA, Duke, Berkeley ARE, U MN, NWU, U Chicago, CMU, Caltech, NYU
Accepts:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics (PhD) Decision: Rejected Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: email to check website
  • Institution: UPenn Phd in Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Email to check website
  • Institution: Duke [/B] PhD Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 02/28/2011 Notified through: website (saw above and checked)
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Minnesota Phd in Economics Decision: Wait list Notification date: 02/22/2011 Notified through: Email

blueser 2011:
Type of Undergrad: One of the Lower Ranking Big 10
Undergrad GPA: Cumulative 3.84 Econ 4 Math 3.81 (PhD course grades not counted)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q800 V720 AW4.5
Math Courses: Cal 1,2,3 (all A's) ODE (A+) Linear Algebra (A) Linear Algebra-Proof (A) Honors Real Analysis (B)
Econ Courses (PhD-level): Micro 1 (B+) Micro 2 (B) Math for Economists (B)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Standard basic courses + IO + Game Theory + International Finance + Econometrics + Honors Thesis (All A's and A+'s)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 1 professor- MIT PhD (strong), 1 assit prof - Stanford PhD (strong), 1 assit prof - Stanford PhD (not strong), 1 associate prof - Northwestern PhD (not strong)
Research Experience: Honors Thesis in IO, 1 independent research in labor econ - paper just submitted to a journal, 1st author
Teaching Experience: UTA for 1 semester in the department of English (probably not gonna help...)
Research Interests: IO, Game Theory, Labor
SOP: Nothing special
Concerns: I really shouldn't have taken soooo many PhD Econ courses this past fall... bombed all of them... I was simply too busy too keep up with everything...
Other:
Applying to: 18 schools ranging from Harvard to UC Davis with a very significant emphasis on schools ranking in the 10th to the 30th, which I think is more realistic for me.
Accepts:
  • Institution: Toulouse School of Economics M2 EMO Decision: Accepted Funding: Chances low since there are 70+ students competing for 5-6 scholarships Notification date: April 11 Snail Mail, April 6 email Notified through: Emailed inquiry last week; received snail mail this Monday Posted on GC: No Comments: Will definitely go if awarded scholarship; will seriously consider going even if without funding. I don't have many choices...
Rejects:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GF: will do Comments: Thought I might get a chance of interview when I didn't get rejection in the first round... But more or less kinda expected... 3 rejections and no ad does make me kinda sad...
  • Institution: MIT Sloan Economic Sociology PhD Decision: rejected Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GF: Yes Comments: 4th rejection... No ad so far... Just saw a very good job posting on my schools career services website... Hope it's not too late to have a backup plan to apply for a JOB...
  • Institution: Duke PHD economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comment: ......
Waitlists:

applied 2011:
Type of Undergrad: Small liberal arts college (Economics major, math minor)
Undergrad GPA: 3.51/4.00 (3.75 in major)
Type of Grad:n/a
Grad GPA:n/a
GRE: 710 Quant. 580 Ver. 5.5 Writing
Math Courses: Applied Calc (B), Calc 1-2 (B+), Differential Equations (B+), Math Structures(A), Linear Algebra (A), Statistics 1-2 (A), Topology (current)
Econ Courses (grad-level):n/a
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Micro and Macro (A), Intermediate micro and macro (A), Economic Development (A), Managerial Econ (current), International Econ (current)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: Three great letters, one very young econ, one penn state phd, and one upenn math phd.
Research Experience: summer research position at tech start-up, independent study/thesis
Teaching Experience: three years as tutor for econ and statistics
Research Interests: Development, Industrial organization, lots of random stuff
Concerns: Very low GRE quant score. I took the GRE having only taken calc I and II, and with only about a week to study.
Applying to: Wharton AE PhD, Penn State PhD, BU MS, UC Irvine PhD, Harvard BE PhD, BC PhD, Northeastern PhD, UMass Amherst PhD
Accepts:
  • Institution: Boston University M.A. in Economics and M.A. in Global Development Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: none Notification date: 3/21/11 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: Already have my decision made, this was a backup.
Rejects:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 10 Notified through:Email Posted on GC: no Comments: "Our applicant pool is outstanding and unfortunately we cannot offer admission to all good candidates."
  • Institution: Penn State Economics Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/08/11 Notified through: E-Mail Posted on GF: No Comments: meh
Waitlists:

econophd 2011:
Institution: Wharton
Program: Applied Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: Feb 10
Notified through: Web
Posted on GC: yes
Accepts:
  • Institution: U of Michigan Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TA 2+ Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Y Comments: Very happy
  • Institution: John Hopkins Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: None Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Y Comments: I was expecting funding
Rejects:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb 10 Notified through: Web Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: Feb. 16 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments:
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics (PhD) Decision: Wait List Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Yes Comments: 2 wait list same day
  • Institution: University of Rochester Economics (PhD) Decision: Wait List Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/22/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GF: Yes Comments: 2 wait list same day
  • Institution: U of Pennsylvania Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: no info Notification date: 2/28/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: Y Comments: Very high in the waitlist

Pinkee 2011:
My apology for posting late too.
Institution: Penn State
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Full fellowship
Notification date: really early
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: No
Comment: One of the earliest decisions.
Institution: UC Berkeley
Program: PhD in ARE
Decision: Recommended for admission
Funding: Nominated for competition
Notification date: 02/04/2011
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: No
Comment: Email saying a more formal letter would follow, but haven't received it yet.
Institution: Yale
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/16/2011
Notified through: Email to check website
Posted on GC: No
Comment: My top choice, perfect match for my research interests (development and political economy). I thought I had a shot, but got to know the sad result about a week before the official notification, so kinda prepared for it.
Institution: Stanford GSB
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/18/2011
Notified through: Email to check website
Posted on GC: No
Comment: Super long shot. I actually regret applying...
Institution: Penn - Wharton
Program: PhD in Applied Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/22/2011
Notified through: Email to check the website
Posted on GC: No
Comment: I think my research interests do not really match.
Institution: Penn
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Waitlisted
Notification date: 02/24/2011
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: No
Comment: One of my top choices. Hoping for the best.
Accepts:
    Accepted Funding:
  • Institution: Penn State Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Full fellowship Notification date: really early Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: One of the earliest decisions.
  • Institution: UC Berkeley ARE Decision: Recommended for admission Funding: Nominated for competition Notification date: 02/04/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: Email saying a more formal letter would follow, but haven't received it yet.
  • Institution: Penn Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Waitlisted Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: One of my top choices. Hoping for the best.
Rejects:
    Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/18/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comment: Super long shot. I actually regret applying... Institution: Penn - Wharton Program: PhD in Applied Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/22/2011 Notified through: Email to check the website Posted on GC: No Comment: I think my research interests do not really match. Institution: Penn Program: PhD in Economics Decision:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/16/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comment: My top choice, perfect match for my research interests (development and political economy). I thought I had a shot, but got to know the sad result about a week before the official notification, so kinda prepared for it.
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/18/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comment: Super long shot. I actually regret applying...
  • Institution: Penn - Wharton Applied Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/22/2011 Notified through: Email to check the website Posted on GC: No Comment: I think my research interests do not really match.
  • Institution: Duke University Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/25/2011 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GF: No Comments: Expected.
  • Institution: Chicago Booth Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Long shot.
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Long shot.
  • Institution: Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no Comments:
  • Institution: UMD Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/9/2011 Notified through: E-mail to check website Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/9/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/10/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no
  • Institution: Princeton Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/11/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC : no
Waitlists:
    Waitlisted Notification date: 02/24/2011 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: One of my top choices. Hoping for the best.
  • Institution: UMich Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: Yes, if accepted Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: A bit confusing letter.
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Notification date: 3/5/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: 3 wl's in a row... a bit disappointed

oikomaniac 2011:
I am a new member. My results below (all funded offers):
Institution: Stanford GSB
Program: PhD in Finance
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Yale
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Duke
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Northwestern
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Harvard
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Maryland
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: MIT
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Stanford
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Chicago
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Institution: Columbia
Program: PhD in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: yes
Accepts:
    Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes Institution: Yale Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes Institution: Duke Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes Institution: Northwestern Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes Institution: Harvard Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes Institution: Maryland Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes Institution: MIT Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes Institution: Stanford Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes Institution: Chicago Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes Institution: Columbia Program: PhD in Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Finance Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Maryland Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Chicago Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Accepted Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
Rejects:
  • Institution: MIT Sloan Finance Decision: Rejected Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Chicago Booth Financial Economics Decision: Rejected Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Columbia Business Finance & Economics Decision: Rejected Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: London Business School Finance Decision: Rejected Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Wharton Finance Decision: Rejected Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
  • Institution: Princeton Economics Decision: Rejected Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: yes
Waitlists:


Waitlists:

frozenchip 2011:
PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top 10 University (Overall, Econ, Math) (top 5 depending on the ranking system)
Undergrad GPA: 3.8 Math + Econ
GRE: 780M/750V/5.5A
Math Courses: Calculus (honors), Analysis (real and complex), Algebra (honors), ODE (mostly A's, couple A-/B+), some other logic type stuff
Econ Courses: Micro (Intermediate), Macro (Intermediate and Advanced), Econometrics (Honors, Topics, Advanced), some random joke topic classes (Population economics, econ of crime, etc) (mostly A's, couple A-)
Other Courses: Statistical Modeling, Probability Theory, Intermediate level CS courses
Letters of Recommendation: 1 Stanford PhD, 1 Harvard PhD, 1 Berkeley PhD (All both supervisors and professors, 2 well known, the 3rd very very well known)
Research Experience: Undergrad Thesis, 3 years as an U-Grad RA, 1.5 year econ consulting (I've heard others complain about this, but I actually run regressions, plan pricing surveys, etc...)
Teaching Experience: Math TA (3 years) for Calculus
Research Interests: IO/Micro/Dev
SOP: Generic (was told to make it as bland as possible by my profs)
Concerns: the couple B+ grades; spent waaay too much time on non-academic activities in college (but I did have a blast)
Other: Facing the academic two-body problem.
Applying to: Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Chicago, Chicago(Booth), Northwestern(Kellogg), Berkeley, NYU, UPenn(Wharton), NYU(Stern)
Accepts:
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: To be announced Notification date: Feb 15 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments: First notification, first acceptance!
  • Institution: Northwestern - Kellogg Managerial Economics and Strategy (PhD) Decision: Accepted Funding: TBA Notification date: 2/21/2011 Notified through: phone (unofficial) Posted on GF: no Comments: two acceptances, no rejections yet...
  • Institution: NYU Stern Phd Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: $$$ Notification date: 3/2 Notified through: Call Posted on GC: No Comments:
Rejects:
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: First Rejection.
Waitlists:
  • Institution: UPenn Wharton Phd Applied Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/2 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Chicago Booth Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/3/2011 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No. Comments: "Please note that you are highly ranked on the Economics waitlist."
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC : no Comments: Is this one of those, "You are in if you get the NSF waitlists?"
  • Institution: Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Wait list Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/9/2011 Notified through: E-mail, said it is an unofficial notification and the official one will come later. Posted on GC : no Comments: My fifth wait list too. Thank god Yale accepted me, otherwise I'd be on complete edge!
Admit summary statistics:
As submitted and recoreded from Test Magic:
There were 3 accepted out of 14 applicants.Of those accepted, average GPA was 3.85, average GREQ was 800.0.
No link to department posted statistics has been added, please let me know if these exist and I will add them.

Links:
Test Magic Econ Forums
econphd.econwiki.com
Last Updated: 14:58:1, Fri May 11, 2012