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:

OutOfGame 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 liberal arts college
Undergrad GPA: 3.96
Type of Grad: Part-time student at a top 5
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: Q800/ V580/ AWA 5.5
Math Courses: Calc, Modeling, Linear Algebra, Intro to Proofs, Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, Measure Theory, Functional Analysis, Topology, Abstract Algebra, Combinatorics, Number Theory, Probability, Stats, Stochastic Processes, Math Problem Solving
Econ Courses: Principles, Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, Finance, Game Theory, Accounting, Econometrics, PhD Econometrics
Other Courses: Intro to CS, Data Structure, Algorithms, Data Mining
Letters of Recommendation: 3 research supervisor (top young professors in econ / finance), 1 PhD Metrics professor (department chair at top 5), 1 undergrad professor (took 3 classes with, and TAed for).
Research Experience: ~2 years full time RA at top 5
Teaching Experience: TA for intermediate macro
Research Interests: using empirical methods to answer macro / finance questions; IO
SOP: professors say it's very good
Other: rejected by all top 10 schools two years ago
RESULTS:
Attending: MIT
Acceptances: MIT, Harvard, Stanford GSB, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Berkeley, Chicago, NWU, Columbia, NYU, Booth (finance / joint), Sloan (finance)
Waitlists: Penn, Wharton (finance), Michigan
Rejections: None
Never heard back after interview: Stern (finance)
Accepts:
    Attending: MIT Acceptances: MIT, Harvard, Stanford GSB, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Berkeley, Chicago, NWU, Columbia, NYU, Booth (finance / joint), Sloan (finance)
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economic Analysis and Policy Decision: Accepted Funding: Standard package Notification Date: 2/17/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Yale Decision: Accepted Funding: Will come in by mail Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check online status change Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Booth Finance PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 35K Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: coming by mail Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: phone Comments: Happy
  • Institution: UC Berkeley Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: ?? Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: phone call Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: MIT Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification date: 2/27/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 34k Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Will come by email soon Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition + stipend + summer funding etc Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email
  • Institution: Sloan Finance Decision: Accepted Funding: 32k Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email
  • Institution: Princeton Econ Decision: Admit Funding: ~30k Notified: 3/7 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no
Rejects:
    Rejections: None
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Penn, Wharton (finance), Michigan
  • Institution: Penn Economics Decision: Waitlisted Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: University of Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: NA Notification date: 2/29/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: "In a normal year, I would be offering you admission and financial aid at this time. Due to the economic realities of the current year, however, we must place you on a short wait list."
  • Institution: Wharton Ph.D. Finance Decision: Wait listed Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Michigan Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notified: 3/13/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments:

Aha 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: University in Australia; B Ec/LLB
Undergrad GPA: N/A; first class honours
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: 790 Q; 610 V; 5.0
Math Courses: Linear algebra, vector calculus, real analysis
Econ Courses: Grad equivalent courses, particularly micro theory and econometrics
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: probably strong
Research Experience: undergraduate honours thesis, published paper in a low ranked journal; various small research projects from work
Teaching Experience: Taught intro micro, macro; various econometrics courses
Research Interests: various
SOP: nothing special
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, NYU, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Cambridge, Oxford, Toulouse, UBC, Penn
Attending: Harvard
What would you have done differently? Nothing really...
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, NYU, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Cambridge, Oxford, Toulouse, UBC, Penn Attending: Harvard
  • Institution: Wisconsin Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Yep Notification date: 2/25/12 Notified through: Phone Posted on GC: No Comments: ohh
Rejects:
Waitlists:

UZW 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large public, top 15 econ, located on an isthmus
Undergrad GPA: 4.0/4.0
Type of Grad: grad micro
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 800/690/5.5
Math Courses: 11 proof based courses, several in analysis, probability, stochastics, measure theory, topology, math stats
Econ Courses: pretty typical, plus the one semester of grad micro
Other Courses: went fairly far in the psych major
Letters of Recommendation: the three most famous economists who I had worked with, including the grad micro teacher.  I knew one well, but my advisors really emphasized have tenured professors writing letters, so that was my top priority.
Research Experience: RA for an auction project, RA for an education project, thesis, research class
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: everything
SOP: bland
Other: extensive community involvement, top score in the grad class, a couple best in the department awards, a couple research grants, above average tennis player
RESULTS:
Acceptances: top ten minus Harvard, was waitlisted for funding at MIT
Waitlists:
Rejections: Harvard
What would you have done differently?
From talking to people, it sounds like working for two years at NBER/the fed is a good way to improve your chances at the top two.  However, that is two years of your life that you won't get back, and I am pretty set on going into academics, so I'm happy with my decision to apply this year.  I'm posting this because I have not seen a profile quite like mine on here before and I think it could be a helpful gauge for people at large publics.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: top ten minus Harvard, was waitlisted for funding at MIT
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard
Waitlists:
    Waitlists:

treddi 2012:
Institution: Harvard Kennedy School
Program: PhD in Political Economy and Government
Decision: Accepted
Funding: coming in mail
Notification date: 2/16
Notified through: email
Posted on GC:no
Comments: feels good
Accepts:
  • Institution: Harvard Kennedy School Political Economy and Government Decision: Accepted Funding: coming in mail Notification date: 2/16 Notified through: email Posted on GC:no Comments: feels good
  • Institution: Harvard University Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: don't know Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: phone call Posted on GC: no Comments: you, Yale
  • Institution: LSE Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Notification date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: very excited!!
  • Institution: Princeton Econ Decision: Admit Funding: 30k Notified: 3/7 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Michigan Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: --- Notified: 3/08 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: well damn.
  • Institution: MIT Econ Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: checked website Posted on GC: Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: rejected Funding: Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: website
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: email

chechyccc 2012:
Institution: Harvard Kennedy School
Program: PhD in Public Policy
Decision: Wait-listed No.1
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/16/2012
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Comment: Hopefully!
Accepts:
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 1st year fellowship waitlisted Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments:
  • Institution: Harvard Kennedy School Public Policy Decision: Accepted Funding: Full funding Notification date: 4.2.2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: yes Comments: Got off the wait list!
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22/2012 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: 1st rejection. Guess my research interest does not quite match theirs; it took me a hard time indicating who I would like to work with in my personal statement. Anyway I got wait-listed no.1 at Harvard Kennedy School, where my research interests are a better fit. Yet 8 more economics to go.
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments:
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Harvard Kennedy School Public Policy Decision: Wait-listed No.1 Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/16/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment: Hopefully!
  • Institution: Harvard Ph.D. Economics Decision: Wait listed Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/1/2012 Notified through: postal Posted on GC: yes Comments:


Rejections:

MathEcon12 2012:
Since it seems like the season is coming to an end for some TMers, and because last year's thread was also started on the second Saturday of March, I think it's a good time to get the annual Profile and Results Thread started.
I'll take a page out of Italos' playbook and quote asquare's post from the 2009 thread:
"This thread is meant to be a reference thread only. Please fill out the information below, but post any comments or questions in a separate thread. Other comments will be deleted from this thread. Note that you can only edit your posts for about one hour after you make them. This means that if you are still waiting on admissions decisions, you should wait to post your profile on this thread. Otherwise, your profile will be incomplete."
Without further ado,
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad:
Undergrad GPA:
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE:
Math Courses:
Econ Courses:
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation:
Research Experience:
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests:
SOP:
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Waitlists:
Rejections:
Pending:
What would you have done differently?
Accepts:
    admissions decisions, you should
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Accepted? Funding: No first-year tuition waiver; no stipend. TA/RA yrs 2-4. Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Whoooooaaaaaaa! (But I fear I have now lost the "Chron Award")
  • Institution: Boston University Econ Decision: Admitted Funding: Only years 2-5. Notification date: March 12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comment: Official decision to come in the mail.
Rejects:
    Rejections:
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/22/2012 Notified through: Email to check website. Posted on GC: No Comments: On to the next one...
  • Institution: Stanford GSB EAP PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: Checked website (no e-mail) Posted on GC: No Comments: Expected after all the admits were notified last Friday.
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: I don't like Philadelphia anyways.
  • Institution: UC-Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: 0 for 4 - starting to freak out.
  • Institution: Chicago-Booth Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/28 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Sad face emoticon.
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29 Notified Through: Checked website at 1:30 a.m. EST Posted on GC: No Comments: Sincerely, thanks for the heads up gemmy.
  • Institution: UChicago Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: February 29 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: 0 for 7...
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: February 29 Notified through: Email to check website. Posted on GC: No Comments: ...0 for 8.
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Used to it by now...
  • Institution: Duke Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Coach Krysheckweiskschki was one of my letter writers, wtf?
  • Institution: Minnesota Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Darn it! I loved the first Mighty Ducks movies and wanted to reshoot it with my fellow Twin City dwellers.
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notified: 3/13 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: Absolutely not.
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/16/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted to GC: No Comments: Had plenty of time to prepare for the inevitable.
  • Institution: Harvard Business School Business Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/16/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted to GC: No Comments: Letter dated March 9, 2012
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Glad this is my last post in the Admissions and Rejections thread.
Waitlists:
    waiting on
  • Institution: University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: 18K stipend + health/dental insurance if admitted Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Want this soo bad!

Peot 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Math/Econ double major at a Top 40 Econ, top something US News... too lazy to check. We like experimental econ and college basketball.
Undergrad GPA: 3.9
Type of Grad: Just classes
Grad GPA: 3.9
GRE: 760Q/640V/4.0 Attempt #1, 165Q/161V/5.0 Attempt #2
Math Courses: Calc 1-3, Intro to Analysis I-II, Abstract Algebra, Honors Linear Alg, Honors ODEs, Applied Stat, Probability Theory, Math Stat, Stochastic Processes, Grad Analysis I, Topology, Combinatorics, Number Theory. All A's except an A- in ODEs and a B in Grad Analysis
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I, Micro II, Political Economy, Topics in Micro Theory. All A's except an A- in Micro II
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): A whole bunch
Other Courses: A bunch of English classes
Letters of Recommendation: 1 extremely well known (multiple publications in AER/'metrica/JET), 1 very well known (publications in AER, 'metrica, JET), 1 not as well known. All 3 are micro theorists and have had me for at least one grad Econ class and at least two are advising me with my thesis/research projects.
Research Experience: 2 summer research grants from my university to work on independent projects in micro theory/game theory, another grant to work on that same project during this academic year, some independent studies over the years, all of which will be aggregated into a special degree/honors thesis
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests: Game Theory, Mechanism Design, Formal Political Theory, Algorithmic Game Theory. How information affects games and how mechanisms can incentivize information acquisition.
SOP: Cookie cutter with one paragraph tailored to each place.
Other: Varsity letterman/spent 4 years on a perennial top 15-25 Division I team in my sport. That made this all so much harder than it needed to be!
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Caltech, Wisconsin, Kellogg MECS, UT-Austin, UCLA, NYU, Berkeley (no first year fellowship), Penn (wl for first year funding)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Stanford GSB Econ Analysis + Policy
Attending: Caltech
What would you have done differently?
Can't say I could have changed anything drastically. Maybe done marginally better in a course or two, or not messed up my first GRE. But those are ninth or tenth order concerns. RA or a Masters wouldn't have done anything for me. I'm thrilled and fortunate to be where I am!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Caltech, Wisconsin, Kellogg MECS, UT-Austin, UCLA, NYU, Berkeley (no first year fellowship), Penn (wl for first year funding)
  • Institution: California Institute of Technology Social Sciences PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuiton Waiver + 28k stipend Notification date: 1/27/2012 Notified through: Got a phone call. Completely caught me off guard. Absolutely thrilled! Posted on GC: No Comments: ​I'm on cloud nine!
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin- Madison Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship first two years + guaranteed funding for 2 more Notification Date: 2/14/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment: 2 for 2 at places I'd like to be.
  • Institution nstitution: Northwestern- Kellogg School of Management MECS PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Tuition + Health Insurance + 32k Notification Date: 2/15/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Yahoo!
  • Institution: UT- Austin Econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: None as of now because I'm told they think I will have competitive offers Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: If my preference ordering was based solely on disc golf and SXSW I'd be set....
  • Institution: UPenn Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: "Very high" on the waitlist for fellowship Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Hm.
  • Institution: Berkeley Ph.D Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: No funding for 1st year. Full funding for years 2-5. Notification Date: 2/27/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:​ Awww come on
  • Institution: NYU Decision: Admitted Funding: at least 24k + summers Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: NICE. Comments: yea
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 4 year fellowship Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: The funding details are kinda vague.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Stanford GSB Econ Analysis + Policy
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Dang.
  • Institution: Stanford GSB EA&P PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Hoo boy. Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: Checked website (no e-mail) Posted on GC: No Comments: Let's go Stanford Econ!
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments: WHO NEEDS 'EM?
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Tough to be disappointed with what I have but this one stings a whole lot.
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: That just about wraps up the season for me. On to flyouts!
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/20/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted to GC: No Comments: Good riddance Econ PhD applications. On to decisions!
Waitlists:
    Waitlists:

laca 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Econ from top 10 US, top 5 econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.77/4.00
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: 800Q 690V 4.0AWA
Math Courses: Honors Calculus I-III (A,B-,A), Real Analysis I-III (A-,B+A-), Math Probability (A-), Stat Methods/Theory (A-)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Price Theory I (B), Social Interactions and Inequality (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate micro (A-,A), intermediate macro (A,A-), game theory (A-), IO (A), honors metrics I-II (B+, A), macro modeling (B+), reading/research (A,A)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 1 econ, 1 finance, 1 accounting prof, all highly regarded in their field. I have RAd for at least a year for each, two of them have seen me in a classroom setting as well. Coauthored an unpublished working paper with two of them. They all reassured me that the letters would be strong.
Research Experience: 1 year undergrad RA, 1.5 year as full time researcher at highly ranked business school.
Teaching Experience: for a short while I tutored math to freshmen in college
Research Interests: applied micro
SOP: Nothing too exciting.
Concerns: Math grades could be stronger; GRE AWA could be better. Hoping that research experience and strong LORs will compensate for it.
Other: Some poli sci electives and required college core courses
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Chicago Booth finance ($$), Chicago ($), Stanford GSB political econ ($$), NYU Stern finance ($$), UCLA ($)
Waitlists:
Rejections: Berkeley, Brown, Columbia GSB finance and econ, Cornell, Harvard, Kellogg finance, MIT, NYU, Princeton, Stanford, Yale
Attending: Chicago Booth finance
What would you have done differently?
Overall, I am very happy with my results, although I was really not expecting the composition of the acceptances to be so tilted towards finance instead of econ - I originally applied with the expectation that I would end up at an econ program. I think that the take home point is that recommendations matter; having two biz school recs provided me with excellent results at other business schools, but possibly doomed my applications at econ departments. So in hindsight I should have added an additional econ recommender. I also wonder a bit if I somehow messed up my econ sop, despite the fact that I have much less familiarity with finance research topics.
However, I am quite excited to take a step outside of my comfort zone, and learn about a whole new field!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Chicago Booth finance ($$), Chicago ($), Stanford GSB political econ ($$), NYU Stern finance ($$), UCLA ($)
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Political Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Standard package Notification Date: 2/17/12 Notified through: phone Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Amazing.
  • Institution: Booth Finance PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 35K Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: NYU Stern Finance PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Don't know yet, but assume full funding Notification Date: 2/28 Notified Through: Unofficial email from professor Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: UChicago. Econ PhD. Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship (23k + 3k summer) Notification Date: 2/29 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: I finally have a pure econ acceptance!
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
Rejects:
    Rejections: Berkeley, Brown, Columbia GSB finance and econ, Cornell, Harvard, Kellogg finance, MIT, NYU, Princeton, Stanford, Yale
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 12.22.2012 Notified through: Checked website after posts here. Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: February 22 Notified through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: No Comments: Although I always thought it was a long shot, it's still disappointing; was my top choice without question.
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Like Peot, this just about wraps up the season for me. I am a tad ambivalent about the results - I was hoping for more econ and received (apart from Chicago) a bunch of finance and PE instead. Suppose a little career shift might not be so bad. Conclusion: unless your coursework clearly conveys you're a genius, who writes your recs will make it or break it.
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/15/12 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/20/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted to GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/21/2012 Notified Through: E-mail Posted to GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia Business School Finance and Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 03/21/12 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Cornell Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 4/4/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Whatever.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists:

Blerg 2012:
Thanks, TM community for being such a valuable resource. I was a lurker, but I'll submit my results for posterity and such. All of the results below are what was put on my applications, i.e. the first 6 semesters of college.
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Flagship Public (Top 5 math, Top 10 econ)
Undergrad GPA: 3.63
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q/680V/5AWA
Math Courses: Intro Bus. Stats (A-)/Calc III (B+)/Linear Algebra (B)/Discrete Math (A-)/Numerical Analysis (B)/Probability (A)/Intro to Analysis (B)/Linear Algebra (B+)/Stochastic Processes (A)
Econ Courses: Intermediate Micro (A-)/Intermediate Macro (A)/Transition Economics (B-)/Mathematical Economics (A-)/Econometrics (A)/International Trade (A-)/Advanced Microeconomics (A)/Development (In Progress as of Fall)/International Monetary Econ (IP as of Fall)/Thesis (IP as of fall)
Other Courses: N/A
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from the guy who taught me mathematical economics/1 from a guy I was a RA for/ 1 from the guy who taught advanced micro, with whom I also wrote my thesis. All are well respected Microeconomists who are still publishing
Research Experience: Several semesters as RA for various profs, Was writing my thesis while applying
Teaching Experience: N/A
Research Interests: Development, Micro
SOP: Cookie cutter, nothing special at all
Other: I had been worried about that 1 really bad grade on an econ class, as well as my rather average grades in math classes
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UCSD (ATTENDING!) (full tuition, 25% TAship first year, 50% after), BU (Nothing first year, full tuition and ~18k TAship years 2-5)
Waitlists: UCLA (I asked to be removed)
Rejections: NYU, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Michigan, Penn, NW, Chicago, UCB, Columbia, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Cornell, Brown
Pending: N/A
What would you have done differently?
Let me count the ways...The main point would have just been doing better in classes. I don't know that I could have gotten A's in all of those classes, as the math department is very competitive and very bright, but I'm sure I could have bumped Bs up to B+s, etc. Writing a thesis was key, as I think it got my by far my best letter of rec. I also would have lowered my expectations, and applied to some lower ranked schools.
Regardless, I am ecstatic with my outcome. La Jolla is going to be glorious.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UCSD (ATTENDING!) (full tuition, 25% TAship first year, 50% after), BU (Nothing first year, full tuition and ~18k TAship years 2-5)
Rejects:
    Rejections: NYU, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Michigan, Penn, NW, Chicago, UCB, Columbia, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Cornell, Brown
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: UCLA (I asked to be removed)

art_vandelay 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BS in Econ/Math
Undergrad GPA: 3.9 (4.0 Econ , 3.9 Math)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q 730V 5.5 AWA
Math Courses: Calculus (1-3), Probability, Math Stats, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Real Analysis I , Real Analysis II. All As except an A- in Analysis 1 and a B+ in Probability
Econ Courses: Standard courses + some electives (A), Phd Micro (A) , Phd Metrics (A), Phd Math for Econ (A)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 2 well-known, pretty strong. 1 probably somewhere between lukewarm-strong, in retrospect.
Research Experience: RA'd for two summers + a few papers
Teaching Experience: TA'd a couple of courses
Research Interests: Education, IO, Health, Development ... in that order
SOP: A little too standard
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Michigan ($), Duke ($), BU (none first year), Texas ($) , UVa ($)
Waitlists: Maryland
Rejections: Harvard, Yale, MIT, UPenn, Princeton, Stanford, NYU
What would you have done differently?
Would have started writing this paper I have due in 2 hours, last night... Apart from that, not much.
I pulled schools I expected to get into, and got shafted at places I didn't. Yale stung a bit, but I'm otherwise quite happy with how the cycle turned out.
To future generations of TMers, temper your expectations, it really makes the cycle a lot more tolerable.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Michigan ($), Duke ($), BU (none first year), Texas ($) , UVa ($)
  • Institution: UT-Austin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Not as of now, since they think I'll get a higher-ranked offer Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Nice
  • Institution: Duke University Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Standard Notification date: 2/28 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Awesome
  • Institution: University of Virginia Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: tuition, health, 20k TAship Notification date: 03/05/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Just declined
  • Institution: Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Nice
  • Institution: BU Economics PhD Decision: Admitted Funding: from the 2nd year Notification date: March 12 notified through: Email posted on GC: NO Comments: damn unfunded admits.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, Yale, MIT, UPenn, Princeton, Stanford, NYU
  • Institution: Yale Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: -(Cost of the two six-packs I'm going to need now) Notification date: 2/22/2012 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: no Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: On the plus side, it's in New Jersey...
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Maryland
  • Institution: University of Maryland Ph.D. Economics Decision: Waitlist Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:

backtowork 2012:
Type of undergrad: BA in Econ and Math from non-HYP Ivy
Undergrad GPA: 3.94/4.00
GRE: 800Q/710V/5.0W
Math courses: honors calc (B), honors linear (A), honors ODE I and II (A, A), operations research (A), statistical inference (B), information theory (A), real analysis (A+), grad stochastic processes (A-)
Econ courses (all undergrad): intro (A), micro (A), macro (A), health (A), int'l (A), financial institutions (A), corp finance (A), honors econometrics (A), economic growth (A), theory of general equilibrium (A), public econ (A), Labor (1st-taken at an oxbridge), Political Econ (1st-taken at an oxbridge)
Other courses: mostly random poli-sci
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from my thesis adviser (not well known). 1 from my former boss as an intern at the Fed Board (pretty well known, but I only worked there for a couple months and he didn't know me all that well). 1 from my current boss at regional fed who is somewhat well known and knows me quite well.
Research Experience: thesis, a little RA work in UG, internship at the Fed BoG, currently an RA at a Fed Bank. No publications.
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interest: Macro, labor, IO, pretty much open to anything
SOP: eh
Other: elected phi beta kappa junior year, magna cum laude, honors;
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Penn (wl for funding, asked to be removed), UCLA ($$$), Princeton($$$)
Waitlists: Minnesota (asked to be removed)
Rejections: NYU, Harvard, HBS, MIT, Stanford, Stanford GSB, UC Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern, Chicago, Columbia,
Attending: Princeton!
What would you have done differently?
I would have decided during college that this is what I wanted to do and made an effort to work with some of the big name professors at my UG institution. I was very fortunate to get such favorable results without having done so. After going through the whole admissions process, it has become abundantly clear that it's all about the letters; not just what's in them, but also who writes them. Not that your letter writers have to be famous or anything, but they need to be well-connected. Looking at my admissions results, the process looks almost random (rejected from Columbia, accepted at Princeton?), but in fact my results were quite predictable; if one of my letter writers personally knew someone on the admissions committee, I was accepted. If they did not, I wasn't. Simple as that. So my advice to the next generation of applicants is the same that has been given all over this board: LETTERS ARE EVERYTHING! If I had followed that advice a little earlier, I might have cracked the Harvard/MIT barrier, but Im certainly not complaining!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Penn (wl for funding, asked to be removed), UCLA ($$$), Princeton($$$)
Rejects:
    Rejections: NYU, Harvard, HBS, MIT, Stanford, Stanford GSB, UC Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern, Chicago, Columbia,
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Minnesota (asked to be removed)

chatlunatique 2012:
Type of undergrad: BA in Econ, minor in Math, from large public school in the midwest (top 60 econ)
Undergrad GPA: 3.85/4.00
GRE: 170 Q /160 V /6.0 AWA
Math courses: Multivariate calc (A), Vector calc (A), Diff EQ (A), Linear Algebra (A), Real Analysis (A+; taken at Ivy)
Econ courses: Econometrics I-II (A,A), Honors thesis (A), Financial econ (A), Trade (A), Development (A), Seminar in Monetary econ (A), Seminar in trade/devo (A), Statistical analysis (A), Intermediate Macro/Micro (A,C+), Intro Macro/Micro (A,A+)
Other courses: Some African studies, some French, others from across the humanities/social science spectrum
Letters of recommendation: 2 from professors who I have managed field research projects for in the past 2 years (I am co-authoring a paper with one; both are junior but fairly well known in their sub-fields and earned their PhDs from top programs). 1 from undergrad professor who I took two classes with and excelled.
Research experience: UG thesis; 6 months RA at a regional Fed; 2 years RA managing research projects in an African country; co-authoring paper with one of my current bosses.
Teaching experience: 2 semesters TA for Intro to Micro
Research interest: Development, IO, Personnel, Micro
SOP: Talked about my research interests and how they developed, and explained my grade trajectory.
Other: Phi Beta Kappa, Summa cum laude, econ departmental honors
RESULTS:
Acceptances: NSF ($$$$), HBS Bus-Ec ($$$$), Stanford ($$$$), LSE ($$$), Northwestern ($$$), UCSD ($$$), UCLA ($$$), Duke ($$), Michigan ($$), Maryland ($$)
Rejections: Harvard econ, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Stanford GSB, Chicago, Chicago GSB, Columbia, Columbia GSB, NYU, NYU Stern, Penn, Penn Wharton, UCL, Berkeley, Brown
Attending: HBS!
What would you have done differently?
Nothing? I’m thrilled with my acceptances, and managed to get into my top 2 choices, even with such high variance in outcomes. Above all else my results show that even with a shaky and unfocused first couple years of undergrad, it is possible to get into good programs. I did not take any math or serious econ courses until my fourth year of university, and ended up overcoming some poor early grades (including a C+ in intermediate micro) to finish strong in my last two years, and then go on to earn RA positions where I was able to work with top economists on research that fascinated me. Should be a fun few years ahead!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: NSF ($$$$), HBS Bus-Ec ($$$$), Stanford ($$$$), LSE ($$$), Northwestern ($$$), UCSD ($$$), UCLA ($$$), Duke ($$), Michigan ($$), Maryland ($$)
  • Institution: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Decision: Accepted Funding: Standard NSF package Notification date: 3/30 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: Pretty awesome.
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard econ, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Stanford GSB, Chicago, Chicago GSB, Columbia, Columbia GSB, NYU, NYU Stern, Penn, Penn Wharton, UCL, Berkeley, Brown
Waitlists:

greenrebelette 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in International Studies and Chinese, Minor in Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.95
Type of Grad: MA in Economics at top 20 Econ Department, PhD-Track
Grad GPA: 3.49
GRE: Q800, V720, AW5.5
Math Courses: Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Advanced Calculus, Probability
Econ Courses: Econometrics I & II at PhD level, lots
Other Courses: first course in Stat PhD sequence
Letters of Recommendation: 1 excellent (well-known economist), 1 great (unknown instructor), 1 excellent (from political scientist), 1 of unknown (and suspect) quality.
Research Experience: 1 paper, presented at a conference & published on conference website
Teaching Experience: TA for Master’s level class, TA for introductory Chinese course
Research Interests: Environmental Economics, International Economics (Trade)
SOP: Told it was excellent by several profs
Other: none
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Michigan Econ, UMD AREC, UC Davis ARE, MSU AFRE, Ohio State AEDE, Duke UPEP, Iowa State Econ, Wisconsin AAE
Waitlists: Michigan Econ (originally)
Rejections: UC San Diego Econ, Harvard PEG, Brown Econ, Cornell AEM, Berkeley AREC, Georgetown Econ
Attending: Michigan Econ
What would you have done differently? Figured out what kind of career I wanted (in an econ dept or ARE dept) BEFORE I applied!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Michigan Econ, UMD AREC, UC Davis ARE, MSU AFRE, Ohio State AEDE, Duke UPEP, Iowa State Econ, Wisconsin AAE
Rejects:
    Rejections: UC San Diego Econ, Harvard PEG, Brown Econ, Cornell AEM, Berkeley AREC, Georgetown Econ
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Michigan Econ (originally)

hulk86 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BS Econ (top 25, top 50 econ)
Undergrad GPA: 3.69
Type of Grad: MA Econ (Top 20 econ)
Grad GPA: 3.81
GRE: 800Q 710V 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-III (A, A, A), Linear Algebra (A), Real Analysis I-II (A, A-)
Econ Courses (Ph.D.-level): Micro I (A-) Macro I (A-) Metrics I (A)
Econ Courses (MA-level): Time Series (A-), Micro theory (A+), Macro I-II (A, A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Typical undergrad econ major with political economy electives, mostly A-/B+ with some As
Other Courses: (All Stat Ph.D.-level) Probability (A), Stat. Inference (B), Probability and Measure Theory (A)
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from profs that taught me, 1 from prof I RAed for
Research Experience: Undergrad thesis, 2 semesters RA + current full-time RA job
Teaching Experience: Private tutoring in math and econ
Research Interests: Political economy, growth, development, social choice, public economics
SOP: Standard
Other: n/a
RESULTS:
Acceptances: U Virginia ($$), Michigan State ($$$)
Waitlists: Duke, Johns Hopkins
Rejections: Yale, Berkeley, MIT, Wisconsin, Princeton, Maryland, UCSD, Michigan, Brown, Harvard, NYU, Cornell
Attending: Michigan State
What would you have done differently?
I would have been more careful about selecting letter writers. I expected to bag a few more admits (as did my adviser)--especially target schools like Maryland or Wisconsin--and I suspect one reason why I didn't was because one of my letters was weak. I overestimated the signalling power of good grades in hard classes and didn't fully appreciate the primacy of LORs until the process was underway. Nonetheless, I'm very pleased with my great offer from MSU, which became my top choice yesterday (without hearing about my waitlists) due to external, personal/geographic factors. Really excited to get started in August!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: U Virginia ($$), Michigan State ($$$)
  • Institution: Michigan State University Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: $25K, 5 years (university fellowship) Notification Date: 2/08/2012 Notified through: phone, then email Posted on GC: yes Comments: oops, disregard old signature
  • Institution: University of Virginia Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: tuition, health, 20k TAship Notification date: 03/05/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes
Rejects:
    Rejections: Yale, Berkeley, MIT, Wisconsin, Princeton, Maryland, UCSD, Michigan, Brown, Harvard, NYU, Cornell
  • Institution: Yale Decision: reeeeeejected Funding: Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check online status change Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: UC-Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: tornado watch where i'm at...
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified Through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin Economics Ph.D. Decision: Rejection Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/7/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: ​
  • Institution: Princeton Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: it's about time.
  • Institution: University of California, San Diego Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: University of Maryland Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments:
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Duke, Johns Hopkins
  • Institution: JHU Econ PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: Notification Date: 3/1/12 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: hmm.
  • Institution: Duke Ph.D. in Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: good grief, not again!

Pburg 2012:
Type of Undergrad: US, top 30
Undergrad GPA: 3.8 (3.9 econ, 3.6 math)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q 167 V 161 AWA 5.5
Math Courses: Calc II and III (A-, B+), Lin Alg (B+), Intro to Proofs (B), Math Stats (A-), Applied Stats (A), Bayesian Stats (B+), Diff Eq (A-), Nonlinear ODE (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Analysis (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Principles of Micro, Macro (A-, A), Hon Intermediate Micro, Macro (A, A-), History (A), Intro & Intermediate Econometrics (A-, A), IO (A), Math for Econ (A), Information (A), Regulation/Antitrust (A)
Letters of Recommendation: good to great, from Stanford, Michigan, and UCLA econ PhDs
Research Experience: summer RA, kind of light
Teaching Experience: TA 4 semesters
Research Interests: applied micro
SOP: average
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Wisconsin ($), Vanderbilt ($$)
Waitlists: UVA (withdrawn)
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Yale, Northwestern, UCSD, Cornell, Duke, Penn State, UC Berkeley ARE
Attending: Wisconsin
What would you have done differently? Better math grades. If I had developed an interest in econ sooner, I might have avoided some mediocre grades and snagged a couple more research opportunities.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Wisconsin ($), Vanderbilt ($$)
  • Institution: Vanderbilt econ PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: First year fellowship + TAship Notification date: 2/9/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: how nice
  • Institution: U. Wisconsin-Madison Ph.D. Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TAship Notification date: 2/26/2012 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:
Rejects:
    Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Yale, Northwestern, UCSD, Cornell, Duke, Penn State, UC Berkeley ARE
  • Institution: Duke Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: randomly checked website, no email Posted on GC: no Comments: no interview
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: UVA (withdrawn)

UZW 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Large public, top 15 econ, located on an isthmus
Undergrad GPA: 4.0/4.0
Type of Grad: grad micro
Grad GPA: 4.0
GRE: 800/690/5.5
Math Courses: 11 proof based courses, several in analysis, probability, stochastics, measure theory, topology, math stats
Econ Courses: pretty typical, plus the one semester of grad micro
Other Courses: went fairly far in the psych major
Letters of Recommendation: the three most famous economists who I had worked with, including the grad micro teacher.  I knew one well, but my advisors really emphasized have tenured professors writing letters, so that was my top priority.
Research Experience: RA for an auction project, RA for an education project, thesis, research class
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: everything
SOP: bland
Other: extensive community involvement, top score in the grad class, a couple best in the department awards, a couple research grants, above average tennis player
RESULTS:
Acceptances: top ten minus Harvard, was waitlisted for funding at MIT
Waitlists:
Rejections: Harvard
What would you have done differently?
From talking to people, it sounds like working for two years at NBER/the fed is a good way to improve your chances at the top two.  However, that is two years of your life that you won't get back, and I am pretty set on going into academics, so I'm happy with my decision to apply this year.  I'm posting this because I have not seen a profile quite like mine on here before and I think it could be a helpful gauge for people at large publics.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: top ten minus Harvard, was waitlisted for funding at MIT
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard
Waitlists:
    Waitlists:

dbeef 2012:
Type of Undergrad: Top 10 US University, econ + math double major.
Undergrad GPA: 3.82 (3.83 econ, 3.58 math)
Type of Grad: 3 math field courses, and a masters/advanced undergrad micro theory course; additional econ field course at a top 10 program while working.
Grad GPA: 3.62
GRE: 163Q, 163V, 5.5AW
Math Courses: Random undergrad (calc, odes, etc... mostly As), Analysis (B), Algebra (B-), Probability theory (B+), Grad complex w/ some functional (A-), Other grad math (A,A-)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Labor (A), Micro(B-), Asset pricing (A-)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate micro and macro (A+,A+,A), metrics (A-), some other honors courses (As)
Other Courses: Some chem and physics + some businessy CS courses (As)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from a well known econ professor I took a grad course with (top 1 0EAS ranking), 2 additional strong (hopefully?), detailed letters from fairly well known economists who observed me in a research setting (one regional fed economist and one thesis advisor), a 4th letter from a math professor I took grad courses from.
Research Experience: A ton. In econ: a few undergrad RAships (over 3.5 years), a solid undergrad honors paper, and 1.5 years as an RA at a regional Fed... a couple of published papers as a coauthor in decent field journals plus a few coauthored working papers, some policy papers, and a couple self-authored (under the guidance of my letter writers) working papers. Other: was part of a math/theoretical physics research team for a while and also did some material chemistry research as an undergrad.
Research Interests: Lots, but mainly labor, health, and theory.
SOP: Standard-ish with some sections individualized for each school.
Concerns: bad math grades and a marginal GRE score
Applying to: Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, Penn, Wisconsin, Michigan, Carnegie Mellon, NSF
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Northwestern (wl $), Wisconsin ($$$$), Michigan ($$$$), NSF($$$$$), Penn (off wl post NSF)
Waitlists: Penn
Rejections: Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, Carnegie Mellon
Attending: Northwestern
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Northwestern (wl $), Wisconsin ($$$$), Michigan ($$$$), NSF($$$$$), Penn (off wl post NSF)
  • Institution: Wisconsin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: University Fellowship Notification date: 2/14/2012 & 2/22/2012 Notified through: Email from department Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: wait list Notification Date: March 7th Notified Through: email Posted on GC: nope Comments: very very very happy
  • Institution: Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "Rackham Merit Fellowship" Notification Date: March 8th Notified Through: email Posted on GC: nope Comments:
Rejects:
    Rejections: Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, Carnegie Mellon
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 2/22/2012 Notified through: Email to check website. Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: UC-Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: 2 emails Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified Through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UChicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: This day is a pile of turds.
  • Institution: Princeton Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: March 8th Notified Through: email Posted on GC: nope Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: March 2nd Notified Through: email to check website Posted on GC: nope Comments:
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Penn
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Decision: Waitlist Funding: Notification date: 2/27/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: nope Comments:

ecoetz 2012:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics with Mathematical Economics Concentration (Minor?) from Private Latin American University (Five year degree) (Not well known internationally, known locally).
Undergrad GPA: 4.8/5.0 (Graded on a 5.0 scale, but graded on a percentage basis) (~4.8/5.0 last two years) (~4.8/5.0 maths) (Ranked first in my class).
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q164 (790, 91%) / V161 (620, 89%) / AWA 5.5 (96%).
Math Courses: Differential Calculus (5.0), Integral Calculus (4.5), Multivariable Calculus (5.0), Linear Algebra (4.7), Statistics I,II (4.7, 5.0), Advanced Math for Econ (Covers Intro to Proofs, Elementary Topology and RA) (5.0), Dynamic Optimization (4.9), Stochastic Processes (4.5).
Econ Courses (grad-level): Topics in Modeling (Grad Econometrics) (4.5).
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I,II,III (4.8, 4.8, 4.7), Macro I,II,III (4.5, 4.2, 4.3), Econ History and Thought (4.3, 4.7, 4.4), International Econ (4.9, 4.9), Game Theory (4.9), Public Sector Econ (4.8), Monetary Theory and Policy (4.8), Dynamic Macroeconomics (4.7), Business Cycles and the Firm (IO) (5.0), Econometrics I,II (5.0, 4.7), Time Series Econometrics (4.7), Advanced Econometrics (Multiple Time Series Econometrics) (4.7), Applied Econ and Math Seminar (Microeconometrics) (5.0). There is some grad content in the more advanced courses, but they are still UG-level.
Other Courses: Economic Theory (Epistemology) (5.0), Financial Mathematics (4.9), Financial Analysis (4.8), Five course Politics Sequence, and some other not-as-relevant courses.
Letters of Recommendation: Harvard Prof (PhD Yale, well known), Local Econometrics Prof (PhD UCSD, Co-author, was his TA for grad macro course, former supervisor at work), Local Macro Prof (Former head of Econ Department at my UG school, was his TA for five semesters), and, where a fourth letter could be sent in, Local Summer School Prof (Recent PhD MIT, RAing for him now, TAing for his Fiscal Policy course). All should be strong (hopefully!).
Research Experience: Co-authored paper in top local Journal. RA for over a year at my UG school, with co-authored working paper. Currently RA at top local University in Econ Department. Worked as regional macro research analyst for Citibank for a year after a six-month internship (don't know if this counts towards research experience, since it is not academic. Lots of writing though!).
Teaching Experience: Intermediate Macro TA for five semesters. Advanced Macro (Grad) TA, Fiscal Theory and Policy TA (at top local University).
Research Interests: Political Economy, Comparative Development, Macro Policy.
SOP: Talked about my research interests and how a PhD would be appropriate right now. Run-of-the-mill IMHO.
Concerns: UG school is not very well known, though hopefully LORs will make up for it, since 3 of the 4 recommenders are not from my UG school, but do know it well. Very few grad courses for an international applicant (as mentioned above, while many courses do have grad content, the grad program at my UG school is not as big and, since the UG program is long, grad content is taught at UG level, which is hard to signal to adcoms).
Other: \end{anxiety}
RESULTS
Acceptances: UPenn
Waitlists: None
Rejections: Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern, Stanford, Princeton, MIT, Columbia, Harvard, NYU.
Attending: UPenn
What would you have done differently? Well, the plan was to apply to the top 10 (didn't apply to Chicago though) and see what happened. If I got shut out, I would have gotten an MA in my home country at a good school with good placements and tried again. As fellow TMers have said before, I just needed the one, and I got it. So, in that regard, I played my cards right. However, I went to a very unknown UG school, so in retrospect I probably should have gone to a more known school. I won't say a better school because I believe my undergrad education was very good. I had excellent classmates and I'm sure the more advanced undergrad content was at least, in part, at the MA level, so I don't regret doing my UG there. However, a better known school would have meant better LORs, although I got a very good one from a very good professor I hope to keep working with. For sure more math. I'm still dreading that one going into a PhD program like Penn's. I hope to get caught up in their long math camp though! All in all, I'm thrilled!
Accepts:
    Acceptances: UPenn
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Waitlist for fellowship Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments: First Admit! Going to grad school!
Rejects:
    Rejections: Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern, Stanford, Princeton, MIT, Columbia, Harvard, NYU.
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 12.22.2012 Notified through: Checked website after posts here. Posted on GC: no Comments: One down. Others will be better!
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Application website Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notified: 3/13 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: ---- Notification date: 3/13/2012 Notified through: Postal Service Posted on GC: No Comments: Letter is dated March 1st
  • Institution: NYU Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 03/21/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Done with the cycle. Decision time!
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: None

george 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Double major: Math/Econ from a top 50 us.
Undergrad GPA: 3.95 (4.0 Math/Econ)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q: 170 V: 166 AWA: 4.5
Math Courses: Calc I-III high school, Real Analysis 1-2 (A), Linear Algebra 1-2 (A), Abstract Algebra 1-2 (A), (A), Combinatorics (A), Number Theory (A), Topology (A), Graph Theory (A), Algebraic Topology grad (A), Combinatorics grad (A), Functional Analysis grad (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): MicroTheory 1-3 (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro(A), Macro (A), Principles Micro (A), Principles Macro (A), Labor Economics (A), Crime Economics (A), Game Theory (A), International Econ (A), Research seminar (A), Econometrics (A).
Other Courses: Symbolic Logic (A).
Letters of Recommendation: 2 that are very well known, and 1 that is brilliant, all very strong.
Research Experience: Did research in both math and econ
Teaching Experience: TA for a math course
Research Interests: Micro, applied micro, risk
SOP: awesome.
Concerns: Strength of undergrad institution
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Brown, Penn off wl, Chicago off wl, UCSD, Columbia.
WL: Chicago, Duke, Penn
Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, Berkeley, Princeton
What would you have done differently?
I got brought in and told the reasons for my poor results at one of the schools, and he said it was all institution. All you have to do though is take a couple years off and ra with someone famous, if youre in this position but I want to head straight to grad school plus new york is pretty swanky.
Attending: Columbia
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Brown, Penn off wl, Chicago off wl, UCSD, Columbia. WL: Chicago, Duke, Penn
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: no 1st year Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: yea
  • Institution: Brown Ph.D. Economics Decision: admitted Funding: that weird first year thing Notification Date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: I think its weird that Ive been an on the cusp applicant at such a range of schools I think what that means is Im risky or something.
  • Institution: UCSD Economics Phd Decision: Accepted Funding: No mention Notification date: 03.14.2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: 3 am like the rest
Rejects:
    Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, Berkeley, Princeton
Waitlists:

The Blueprint 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: U.S. Public University Top 50 Econ
Undergrad GPA: 3.94 (4.0 Math, 4.0 Econ)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 790Q 800V 6.0 (first time) / 170Q 170V 6.0 (retake)
Math Courses: Calc I-II (exam), Intro. Computer Science (A), Linear Algebra (A), Calc III (A-), ODE (A+), UG Real Analysis (A+), Prob. and Stats (A), Grad Analysis I (A), Numerical Analysis (A), Math. Stats I (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I (A+)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro. Micro (A+) & Macro, Intermediate Micro & Macro, Public Sector Economics, Game Theory, Industrial Organization (A+), Intro. Econometrics, Labor Economics (A+)
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: 2 well known senior faculty who advised me on research, 1 AP who taught the grad micro course
Research Experience: One year as RA, senior thesis
Teaching Experience: Math tutor
Research Interests: Theory or applied micro
SOP: Standard, but well-written
Other:
Concerns: Reputation of institution, strength of rec. letters (explained below)
Applying to: All Top 10, Some Top 20
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Penn ($$), Minnesota ($$), Duke ($), Princeton ($$$, from WL)
WL: Princeton
Rejections: Stanford, Northwestern, S. GSB, Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Yale, Berkeley, NYU, Columbia, Wisconsin, Michigan
Attending: Princeton
THOUGHTS:
First of all, I am over the moon to be attending Princeton given my background. I think that for students who come from lesser-known U.S. schools, it's incredibly important to apply to a broad range of programs; I could not have predicted, when the process began, that Michigan and Wisconsin would reject me. I was unsure that my rec. letters would be strong enough to crack the Top 10not because the content was weak, but because my recommenders (who are wonderful) might not have as much influence or credibility as "famous" people from top institutions who write many letters. However, if your recommenders are willing to go to bat for you, I think that you will have a shot at most programs.
If I had realized my ambitions in economics earlier, I would have made sure to serve as an RA for a famous professor at a top department (during a summer or academic term). I had no desire to spend time after my bachelor's researching for a top professor or for a Fed in order to dress up my resume for future application cycleswhich I am sure would have helpedbut that is personal preference.
Finally, a thought about the Princeton waitlist. I kept in good touch with the department and sent them notes intended to demonstrate (1) that the program was an excellent fit for me, and (2) my writing style, which, while trivial compared to "real" qualifications for the PhD in economics, should at least set me apart from the field of candidates. While I am sure that many waitlisted candidates send notes explaining point (1), I would encourage them also to pick out some aspect about their candidacy which is unique or different, and express that as well. It just might make a small but material difference.
Also, I should have applied for the NSF. What was I thinking?
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Penn ($$), Minnesota ($$), Duke ($), Princeton ($$$, from WL) WL: Princeton
  • Institution: U. Minnesota Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship & TAship Notification date: 2/17 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: 1st offer :-)
  • Institution: UPenn Econ Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship 24k Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: great way to start my Friday!
Rejects:
    Rejections: Stanford, Northwestern, S. GSB, Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Yale, Berkeley, NYU, Columbia, Wisconsin, Michigan
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: It is what it is. Congrats to those who were admitted
  • Institution: U. Chicago Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Northwestern Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Checked website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email to check website; letter still has not been uploaded. I emailed Mandy, who sent me my letter. For anyone who cannot view their letter online--just contact Mandy. She was able to resolve this problem quickly. Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: U. Wisconsin-Madison Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
Waitlists:
    waitlist. I kept in good touch with the department and sent them notes intended to demonstrate (1) that the program was an excellent fit for me, and (2) my writing style, which, while trivial compared to "real" qualifications for the PhD in economics, should at least set me apart from the field of candidates. While I am sure that many waitlisted candidates send notes explaining point (1), I would encourage them also to pick out some aspect about their candidacy which is unique or different, and express that as well. It just might make a small but material difference. Also, I should have applied for the NSF. What was I thinking?
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Excited to make the waitlist! Does anyone care to decline their Princeton offer? :-)

csalriv 2012:
PROFILE
Type of Undergrad: BA in Economics of a Chilean university (best in Chile, top-3 in Latin America).
Undergrad GPA: 6.1/7.0, Maximum Distinction and Highest Honors (ranked 1st).
Type of Grad: MA in Economics of the same Chilean university (top-3 MA Economics Program in LatAm, probably best).
Grad GPA: 6.5/7.0, Maximum Distinction and Highest Honors (ranked T-1st).
GRE: Q 170 (99%); V 148 (40%); AW 4.0 (48%).
TOEFL: 112 overall. 30 R, 30 L, 23 S, 29 W.
Math Courses: Calculus I-II, Algebra I-II, Statistics I-II, Operations Research + 4 Grad School courses + 1 courses in a Summer Exchange in a top Math Grad School in Brazil.
Econ Courses (grad-level): Microeconomics I-II, Macroeconomics I-II, Econometrics I-II, Financial Economics.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): All usual.
Other Courses: Accounting and Management stuff.
Letters of Recommendation: 6 Recommenders total: 4 professors at my University (2 outstanding letters, 1 very good, 1 quite good) + 2 other research economists (1 quite good letter plus a standard one).
Research Experience: RA for a top Chilean economist (known worldwide) and for a young University economist. MA Thesis approved with honors. Currently working at the Econ Research Dept. of a top Chilean facility.
Teaching Experience: Professor of Microeconomics I at the best Chilean university, plus over 10 TAs in Undergrad School and 1 Grad School TA.
Research Interests: Game and Contract Theory, Financial Economics.
SOP: Bloody long.
Concerns: Almost no own research (but MA Thesis). Disperse interests and experience. Few years ‘lost’ working. Being Chilean.
Other: Useless but cool stuff: political leadership, a second foreign language and Math Olympics honors, among others.
Applying to: Econ PhD at 9 of the top-15 places. Social Sciences PhD at Caltech. PhD in Economic Analysis and Policy at Stanford GSB. MEDS PhD at Kellogg.
RESULTS
Acceptances: NYU, UCLA, Penn. Finance PhD at Kellogg (redirected from MEDS). Caltech (off the waitlist). All fully-funded with stipend, luckily.
Waitlists: Caltech.
Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Chicago, Stanford GSB.
Attending: NYU!
Random Thoughts
I am really happy with my decision, though I had a hard time deciding between NYU and Caltech. I appreciate weather a lot (and being from the Pacific coast of South America, California's climate conditions are quite similar), even more than living in THE big city. Besides, Caltech's Social Science Program is outstanding, specialized in my main Econ interests, with good placement records and close interaction between (the few) students and Faculty. Nevertheless, NYU is quite good as well and their placements are improving constantly... but most importantly, there is a rich interaction between Theory and Macro and I can have a close link to Finance just by crossing the street to Courant or Stern. Besides, I really loved the Faculty-students relationship. And all students I met were really nice and easygoing, with high social skills (maybe that's because they're living in NYC!).
My advice for all admitted, if possible: go to the visit days, without any doubt you'll have a good time and you'll collect relevant information for your decision (eventually unknown before).
What would I have done differently?
- Applying 1 or 2 years earlier instead of losing time working (in a Research unit, but still).
- Taking more time to apply: I just took the GRE by mid-October and wrote my SOP in late-November!
- Because of the latter, writing an specific SOP. I am totally sure that some features of my profile were cons in some places. You don't need (want) to lie, but sometimes you should hide some (potentially irrelevant) information. It could be misleading.
- Apply to UC Berkeley and to more Business Schools.
Accepts:
    Acceptances: NYU, UCLA, Penn. Finance PhD at Kellogg (redirected from MEDS). Caltech (off the
  • Institution: Kellogg SoM. Finance. Decision: Admitted. Funding: FF + 32k. Notification date: February 20. Funding notified on February 24. Notified through: E-mail. Posted on GC: No. Comments: First applied to Kellogg MEDS (I thought Id had a better shot in there). But both departments agreed that my application would be considered by Finance Dept. Helluva change!
  • Institution: Penn. Economics PhD. Decision: Admitted. Funding: FF + 23,7k. Notification date: February 24. Notified through: E-mail. Posted on GC: No. Comments: First good news in Econ! Lovely.
  • Institution: NYU. Economics. Decision: Recommended for Admission. Funding: FF + 26k. Notification Date: March 2. Notified Through: Phone Call. Posted on GC: No. Comments: Happy as f*ck! Started spreading the news... (Even though I will have a hard time deciding where to go!)
  • Institution: UCLA. Economics. Decision: Admitted. Funding: FF + 20k. Notification Date: March 2. Notified Through: E-mail. Posted on GC: No. Comments: I think this will be my last offer of admission...
  • Institution: Caltech. Social Science PhD. Decision: Admitted (off the waitlist). Funding: FF + 28k. Notification date: March 14. Notified through: Phone call, then e-mail. Posted on GC: No. Comments: Great! But now I’m having even more conflict deciding where to go. Not to complain anyway. I think I’d be declining UCLA this week.
Rejects:
    Rejections: MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Chicago, Stanford GSB.
  • Institution: Yale. Economics PhD. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification date: February 22. Notified through: E-mail to check website. Posted on GC: No. Comments: If it wasnt for Kellogg, I would have shot myself after failing this one. Disappointed as f*ck.
  • Institution: Stanford GSB. Economic Analysis and Policy. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification date: February 23. Notified through: E-mail to check website. Posted on GC: No. Comments: Well
  • Institution: UChicago. Econ PhD. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification Date: February 29. Notified Through: E-mail. Posted on GC: No. Comments: I didn't want to go there anyway... but a bit disappointed 'cause it was a little unexpected.
  • Institution: MIT. Economics. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification Date: February 29. Notified Through: E-mail to check website. Posted on GC: No. Comments: Even though it was expected, I'm still disappointed. Especially with the use of the word "elsewhere".
  • Institution: Stanford. Economics. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification Date: March 2. Notified Through: E-mail to check website (around half an hour before my letter was available on the website). Posted on GC: No. Comments: This one hurts. Especially considering the failure in their information system.
  • Institution: Princeton University. Economics PhD. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification Date: March 8. Notified Through: E-mail. Posted on GC: No. Comments: So frustrated.
  • Institution: Harvard. Economics. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification date: March 22. Notified through: Mail. Posted on GC: No. Comments: Letter dated March 9. Not a rough letter anyway. With this, I'm definitely done.
Waitlists:
    waitlist). All fully-funded with stipend, luckily. Waitlists: Caltech.
  • Institution: Caltech. Social Science PhD. Decision: Waitlisted. Funding: Notification date: February 6. Notified through: E-mail. Posted on GC: No. Comments: By April 1st you shall hear from us either way. It wasnt a nice start.

michicon 2012:
Have benefitted a lot from this forum, finally time to contribute
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top-10 Liberal Arts College, BA in Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.4/4.0, Major GPA 3.5/4.0
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 166Q, 151V, 4.5 AW
Math Courses: Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, Math Models
Econ Courses: Micro Theory, Macro Theory, Econ Stats, Regression, Applied Econometrics, Econ Development, Public Finance
Other Courses: Some Sociology courses
Letters of Recommendation: Should have been pretty strong, fairly well known economists in their fields. Have publications in the pipeline with all of them
Research Experience: Honors in undergraduate thesis, three papers in the works, (almost) three years of full time RA experience in development economics, one summer of research internship.
Teaching Experience: TA/grader for undergraduate regression class
Research Interests: Development (Health, Education, Migration), Labor, Public Finance
SOP: Fairly standard. Talked about field experience from a developing country
Other: A fair bit of volunteer experience
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Michigan ($, attending), BU ($ 2nd year onwards, declined)
Waitlists: Maryland (rejected)
Rejections: Chicago, Northwestern, Harvard, Princeton, NYU, Columbia, Berkeley ARE, LSE, Brown, Duke
Pending: None
What would you have done differently?
I wished I realized earlier in my undergrad that I wanted to do a PhD. Until junior year, I thought I wanted to be a development practitioner and not a researcher. Would have worked much harder and taken more Math courses. Given my credentials, I aimed a bit too high, but then I was betting on a strong set of LoRs. Fortunately, it paid off.
Advice for future applicants with similar profile(s): Get an RA job for a few years, work hard and get some solid recommendations out of it
Accepts:
    Acceptances: Michigan ($, attending), BU ($ 2nd year onwards, declined)
Rejects:
    rejected) Rejections: Chicago, Northwestern, Harvard, Princeton, NYU, Columbia, Berkeley ARE, LSE, Brown, Duke
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Maryland (

TA89 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Dual Major in Economics/Mathematics from Top 10 liberal arts college. Transfer from a top public after one year, Summer Coursework at an ivy, top 15 national university, and another top public.
Undergrad GPA: 3.85 (Math: 3.90, Economics: 3.85)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q:780 V:570 AWA:6.0 (second attempt)
Math Courses: Calculus I (A+), Calculus II (B+), Calculus III (A), Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A-), Introduction to Analysis (A), Analysis & Optimization (A), Probability (Fall 2011), Principles of Real Analysis I (Fall 2011)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Advanced Microeconomics I (A), Advanced Microeconomics II (A): The first semester course used MWG and covered consumer theory/producer theory/GE topics. The second semester course used half the class to cover Gibbons' Game Theory, and the second half covered Contract Theory using Bolton and Dewatripont, as well as Berkeley lecture notes. Both were Ph.D. level courses.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Principles of Microeconomics (A), Principles of Macroeconomics (A), Experimental Economics (B+), Intermediate Microeconomics (A-), Intermediate Macroeconomics (A-), Economics Statistics (A), Econometrics (A-), International Trade (A),
Other Courses: Not sure what to say here, but I took a year of Chinese (A/A), and a Philosophy Seminar/Tutorial double course (A-/A-)
Letters of Recommendation:
1. Adviser. TA'd his UG Advanced Microeconomics class. I will be doing my thesis under him and have spent this summer working on a research project for him.
2. Advanced Microeconomics I-II Professor. Took both my Ph.D. Micro classes and have discussed my graduate school plans with him.
3. Analysis Professor: I took intro Analysis and Principles of Real Analysis I with him.
All should have been very good.
Research Experience: Summer research project in Health Economics for adviser. Will continue this project as my senior thesis. The plan is to submit as a co-author.
Teaching Experience: TA'd undergraduate Advanced Microeconomics.
Research Interests: Micro Theory, International Trade, Applied Micro (very open)
SOP: I haven't written in yet, but will be good.
Concerns: Typical concerns of a liberal arts applicant. Not really sure what to think or expect.
Other: Again, not really sure what to put here. Unlikely it's relevant, but President of Model UN for two years, and lots of Model UN awards.
RESULTS:
Accepted: Duke Fuqua School of Business: Decision Sciences ($$$), Wisconsin ($$), Cornell ($$$), WUSTL ($$$), UT-Austin (?), LSE MsC Econ (-)
Waitlists: Michigan (high on WL, but withdrew), UCLA (rejected), Penn (rejected), UVA (withdrew)
Rejected: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Stanford GSB, Chicago, Yale, Northwestern MEDS, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, UCSD, Duke Econ, Brown, LSE MsC EME
Attending: Duke Fuqua School of Business: Decision Sciences
What would you have done differently?
Nothing. I could not be happier with the way the process turned out. I am so fortunate to have been presented with so many great offers. Thanks TM for all the guidance along the way.
Accepts:
    Accepted: Duke Fuqua School of Business: Decision Sciences ($$$), Wisconsin ($$), Cornell ($$$), WUSTL ($$$), UT-Austin (?), LSE MsC Econ (-)
  • Institution: LSE MSc Economics Decision: Accepted (Conditional) Funding: - Notification date: 2/10/2012 Notified through: Email/Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Good to know I'll be going to Grad school!
  • Institution: Washington University in St. Louis Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship: (Tuition Waiver/Fellowship (24K for first year)) Notification Date:2/15/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: Absolutely ecstatic...I love WUSTL!
  • Institution: Duke, Fuqua School of Business Decision Sciences PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Standard Fuqua Package (to be decided) Notification Date: Feb. 21 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Incredible program, and one of my top choices. I feel like I'm dreaming.
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship (20K 1st year, TA/RA years 2-4) Notification date: 2/22/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: This is very unexpected as I didn't have my application in by the funding deadline. I would have been happy with one funded offer, and I am extremely fortunate to have what I have so early.
  • Institution: UT-Austin Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Not as of now, since they think I'll get a better offer. Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Austin is an awesome city!
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 5 Years (Amount TBA) Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: A great option to have! First ivy league acceptance!
Rejects:
    rejected), Penn (rejected), UVA (withdrew) Rejected: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Stanford GSB, Chicago, Yale, Northwestern MEDS, Columbia, NYU, Caltech, UCSD, Duke Econ, Brown, LSE MsC EME
  • Institution: LSE MSc EME Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 1/16/2012 Notified through: E-mail/Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Was counting on this as a "safety" of sorts, so I feel this doesn't bode well for my chances for the rest of my applications.
  • Institution: Northwestern MEDS Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Online status change without an e-mail warning. Posted on GC: no Comments: No big deal, Fuqua made me happy yesterday!
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: Oh well, moving on.
  • Institution: Stanford GSB EAP PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 02/23 Notified through: checked website Posted on GC: Comments:
  • Institution: Caltech Social Science Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: I really liked Caltech but life goes on.
  • Institution: UChicago Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 2/29/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Berkeley Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/1/12 Notified Through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Would've been nice if they had rejected me with everyone else last week instead of making me wait it out.
Waitlists:
    Waitlists: Michigan (high on WL, but withdrew), UCLA (
  • Institution: Penn Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: - Notification date: 2/28/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Bummer
  • Institution: University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: 18K stipend + health/dental insurance Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Read it as an accept at first...-_- But "short list" it seems.

roadvirusss 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 5 Liberal Arts College
Majors: BA Math, BA Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.94/4
GRE: 800Q, 610 V, 6.0 AW
Math Courses: Linear Algebra (A-), Vector Calculus (A), Cryptography (A-), Combinatorics (A), Intro to Analysis (A), Differential Equations (A), Real Analysis I (A-), Real Analysis II (A), Probability Theory (A), Statistical Theory (A), Complex Analysis (A), Abstract Algebra I (A), Operations Research (A), Topology (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Macro (A-), Intro Micro (A), Empirical Methods (A), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), International (A), Energy Economics (A), Econometrics (A), Game Theory (A), Advanced Micro (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Econometrics I (A-)
Research Experience: Departmental honors for theses in both majors; Math thesis will be published. Did econ and math research during undergrad summers.
Research Interests: Applied Micro, IO
SOP: Spent no time on fluff; focused on a particular project.
Letters of recommendation: Four active Harvard PhD economists.
Concerns: Did poorly when I applied two years ago (Profiles and Results 2010).
Work Experience: Two years working as an RA at a top 5.
Results:
Accepted: Princeton, Northwestern, Chicago Booth, Columbia, UCLA, UCSD, Wisconsin, Duke
Waitlists (all declined): Penn (vh), NYU, Michigan
Rejected: Wharton (Interviewed), Yale, Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, GSB, Chicago, Stern, HBS, Cornell
Never Heard from: UW
Attending: Princeton
What would you have done differently?
Nothing. I was very well informed about the process this time around. I'm definitely happy with my results, and in the end the decision between Princeton and Northwestern was a tough one. It was odd that the only Top 7 I got into was the one worst in IO even though my SOP was spent entirely on an IO topic. My decision to take two years off was in the end vindicated, even though I largely slacked off during this time and at one point almost gave up on the PhD route. I can't help but be an advocate of the liberal arts college -> RA -> PhD route, as the improvement in rec letters alone earned me a jump from the top 25 to the top 5.
Accepts:
    Accepted: Princeton, Northwestern, Chicago Booth, Columbia, UCLA, UCSD, Wisconsin, Duke
  • Institution: Booth Econ Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 35k Notification Date: 2/23/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Shocked!
  • Institution: Duke Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 19k Notification Date: 2/28/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Columbia Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 26.5k Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: UCLA Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: I need to ask for it? Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Withdrawn
  • Institution: Northwestern Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 22k Notification Date: 3/5/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Wow!
  • Institution: Princeton Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 30k Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Absolutely stunned.
  • Institution: UCSD Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: 19k Notification Date: 3/14/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Declined
Rejects:
    Rejected: Wharton (Interviewed), Yale, Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, GSB, Chicago, Stern, HBS, Cornell
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/17/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford GSB Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/23/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Berkeley Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Disappointed...
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/5/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution:NYU Stern - Econ Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notified: 3/12 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Wharton Applied Economics PhD Decision: Rejected (Interviewed) Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/16/2012 Notified Through: E-mail to check website. Posted to GC: No Comments: Didn't take it as a good sign that my interviewer never got back to me with the follow-up emails he promised. My results have had a pretty high variance so far.
  • Institution: Cornell Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 4/4/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: NSF waiting list?
Waitlists:
    Waitlists (all declined): Penn (vh), NYU, Michigan
  • Institution: Penn Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification Date: 2/24/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Waitlist Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/6/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Waitlist size is "in the tens."
  • Institution: Michigan Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: N/A Notified: 3/13/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments:

econcr 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. in Economics at a large LA University
Undergrad GPA: 3.8 (First in my class)
Type of Grad: -
Grad GPA: -
GRE: Q: 800, V: 450, AW: 3.0
Math Courses: Math for economics I-IV (A). Calc. I-III (A+,A,A+), Algebra (A-), Probabilities (A+).
Econ Courses (grad-level): -.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I-IV (A, A+, A+, A). Macro I-IV (A, A, A+, A). International economics I-II (A+, A). Development Economics (A+). Monetary Theory (A-)
Other Courses: -
Letters of Recommendation: VERY strong. Two well-known (in the USA) economists (Berkeley and UPenn).One well-known (but only in my country) economist (UCLA).
Research Experience: 2 years as a R.A.
Teaching Experience: 3 years as T.A.
Research Interests: International economics, Macroeconomics.
SOP: Decent.
Other: 3 published co-authored paper. One of them published for the Center for Latin American Monetary Studies.
Results:
Accepted: UPenn, Maryland ($$$), Oxford, CEMFI ($$$)
Waitlisted: Penn State (declined)
Rejected: Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern, Columbia, UCLA, Michigan, Toronto
Attending: CEMFI
What I would have done differently?
I think that never had taken grad level courses in my live is what hurt me the most. From UMDs flyout I learned that nowadays more and more people are doing a masters degree before their PhDs. Besides that I think the poor reputation of my school hurts me too. So, I consider that if do a masters I would have more chances at the Top10. Because of that, I accepted CEMFIs offer.
Accepts:
    Accepted: UPenn, Maryland ($$$), Oxford, CEMFI ($$$)
  • Institution: CEMFI Master in Economics and Finance Decision: Accepted Funding: 10 K euros per academic year + full waiver of the tuition fees + health insurance Notification date: 2/24/12 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: no Comments: Nice!!
  • Institution: University of Maryland, College Park Economics Decision: Admitted Funding: TA/RA 19.5K-4 years. Waitlist for first year fellowship Notification Date: March 2 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Oxford Economics MPhil Decision: Accepted Funding: Nope Notification date: 03.14.2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: No money, no deal :S
  • Institution: UPenn Economics PhD Decision: Admitted off the waitlist Funding: First year unfunded Notification date: 4/02/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: Mmm....
Rejects:
    Rejected: Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, Northwestern, Columbia, UCLA, Michigan, Toronto
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments: Sad but expected
  • Institution: UC-Berkeley Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: 2 emails!!!! -.- Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Northwestern Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Checked website Posted on GC: No Comments: Running out of patience :S
  • Institution: UCLA Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: NA Notification Date: 03/02/12 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Bye, bye California
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notified: 3/13 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Expected
  • Institution: Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/16/12 Notified through: E-mail Comments: Seems I'll probably be accepting UMD's offer.
  • Institution: Harvard. Economics. Decision: Rejected. Funding: Notification date: March 23. Notified through: Mail. Posted on GC: No. Comments: Letter dated March 9.
  • Institution: Toronto MA Doctoral Stream Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 3/28/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:
    Waitlisted: Penn State (declined)

vcb 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.Sc. in Economics in one of the best universities in a small EU country
Undergrad GPA: 3.7
Type of Grad: research masters in economics in the same university
Grad GPA: 3.7
GRE: Q: 170, V: 159, AW: 4.5
Math Courses: Calculus I and II, Linear Algebra, Mathematics I and II, Advanced Mathematics, Probabilities, Statistics
Econ Courses (grad-level): - Microeconomics, Microeconomic Theory I and II, Game Theory I and II, Macroeconomics, Macroeconomic Theory, Macro Theory I and II, Development Economics, Tools for Applied Policy Analysis.
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I-III, Macro I-III, Global Economy, Information and Games, European Economic Policy, Comparative Political Economics
Other Courses: -
Letters of Recommendation: Should be strong.
Research Experience: R.A. for 3 professors.
Teaching Experience: 3 years as T.A.
Research Interests: "Applied" Macroeconomics, Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Debt Management and Internacional Finance (pretty much open to everything).
SOP: Standard.
Other: -
Results:
Accepted: Duke ($), Rochester($$), LSE (EME Program, no funding)
Waitlisted: JHU (declined)
Rejected: Harvard, MIT, NYU, Chicago, Northwestern, Yale, Michigan
Attending: Duke!
What I would have done differently?
I would have taken a B.Sc. in Mathematics and I would have gone for a masters in economics (research track) in a major european program such as the Barcelona GSE or LSE.
Accepts:
    Accepted: Duke ($), Rochester($$), LSE (EME Program, no funding)
Rejects:
    Rejected: Harvard, MIT, NYU, Chicago, Northwestern, Yale, Michigan
Waitlists:
    Waitlisted: JHU (declined)

whatdoido 2012:
I think its time to start the Roll Call for 2012. After reading last year's roll call introduction, it seems as though it is easiest for untitled to scrape the profiles for analysis if all three sections of the GRE are reported here, and the GPA is reported as first on a 4-point scale, and then in your native scale. So, let's get it going, here's the template.
EDIT: Also, let's do our best to keep this thread clean of everything except profiles.
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad:
Undergrad GPA:
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE:
Math Courses:
Econ Courses (grad-level):
Econ Courses (undergrad-level):
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation:
Research Experience:
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests:
SOP:
Concerns:
Other:
Applying to:
Accepts:
  • Institution: BU Economics Phd Decision: Accepted Funding: Years 2-5 Notification date: 03.14.2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: UBC MA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ~11K + partial tuition waiver Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Comments:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: $36K, They're paying me NOT to go, Notification date: 2.22.2012 Notified through: Checked website after posts here. Posted on GC: no Comments: Hey, it sucks, but what can you do! On to the next one!
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Rejection Funding: NA Notification date: 2-24-2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Sad, I thought I had a good shot here.
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notified: 3/13 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/15/12 Notified through: email to check website Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: UMich Economics PhD Decision: rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 03/15/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/15/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted to GC: No
  • Institution: NYU Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: Notification Date: 3/21/2012 Notified Through: E-mail Posted to GC: nope Comments:
  • Institution: Queen's MA Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: n/a Notification date: 4/2/12 Notified through: email Posted on GC: No Comments: Apparently I was on an unofficial waitlist.
  • Institution: University of Toronto Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 5/4/12 Notified through: email Comments:
Waitlists:
  • Institution: University Of Minnesota Econ PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/1/12 Notified Through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: At least its not a rejection.
  • Institution: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Decision: Honorable Mention Funding: No Notification date: 3/30 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments:

smartcookie 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in Quantitative Economics (summa cum laude) with minors in Mathematics and Political Science from a large state university (top 100 university)
Undergrad GPA: 3.7 (overall), 3.9 (econ), 3.5 (math)
Type of Grad: PhD- and MA-level non-degree-seeking coursework
Grad GPA: 3.7
GRE: Q800/V570/A5.5
Math Courses: Calc I, II, and III, Linear Algebra, Probability Theory, Statistics, Abstract Math, Real Analysis; 1 semester of MA-level Statistics (Casella and Berger) for credit (A-)
Econ Courses (grad-level): PhD-level Microeconomic Theory (MasColell, Whinston and Green) for credit (A-)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Micro and Macro, Intermediate Micro and Macro, International Finance, International Trade, Development Economics, Mathematics for Economists, Econometrics (I & II), Honors Thesis Seminar (I & II)
Other Courses: lots of Political Science (honors) and Spanish
Letters of Recommendation:
1. Department chair and honors thesis advisor;
2. PhD-level Microeconomic Theory professor;
3. Current employer (prominent health economist).
Research Experience: Senior honors thesis (summa cum laude), 6 m as an undergraduate RA for NBER project, 3 yr as Senior Research Assistant for the federal government, and 1.5 yr as Research Associate for health economics think tank
Teaching Experience: undergraduate tutor in Economics and Mathematics
Research Interests: Applied micro with an emphasis on behavioral economics, health & nutrition, and agricultural economics
SOP: need to write my SOP
Concerns: I graduated from university 4 years ago and will be somewhat older (27) than most applicants; relatively low GRE Verbal score; could have taken a few more math courses (Topology, Differential Equations, Number Theory, etc.)
Other: Economics publications (including some under review at peer-reviewed journals)
Applying to: Yale, Stanford, Berkeley & Berkeley ARE, Harvard, Cornell, Maryland, Michigan, Johns Hopkins, Chicago, and others (likely 15-18 programs)
Accepts:
  • Institution: University of Colorado at Boulder Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: TA + fellowship, tuition, and health insurance Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Home sweet home!
  • Institution: Cornell Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: "Five-year financial aid package" Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: YIPPEEE!!!
Rejects:
  • Institution: MIT Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified Through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Stanford Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified Through: Webpage Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Duke Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified Through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: Comments: I expected this after not being invited for an interview, but it hurts nonetheless.
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin Economics PhD Decision: Rejection Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/7/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Expected
  • Institution: Princeton University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Harvard Health Policy, Economics Phd Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: University of Maryland Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified Through: Website (testudo.umd.edu) Posted on GC: No Comments:
  • Institution: Michigan Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Noticiation Date: 3/15/2012 Notified Through: email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Harvard Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/16/2012 Notified Through: Mail Posted to GC: No
  • Institution: Boston University Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: Brown Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified Through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: No
  • Institution: University of California at Berkeley Agricultural and Resource Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: 3/20/2012 Notified Through: Email to check webpage Posted on GC: No
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health Health Economics Decision: Waitlisted Funding: n/a Notification Date: Posted to application portal 2/10/2012 Notified through: Application portal Posted on GC: No Comments: I am disappointed, but I know that the department has funding for only two PhD students.
  • Institution: University of Chicago Economics PhD Decision: Waitlisted Funding: NA Notification date: 2/29/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: "In a normal year, I would be offering you admission and financial aid at this time. Due to the economic realities of the current year, however, we must place you on a short wait list." Thank goodness for some good news!

UWGrad09 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BMATH from Top Math University in Canada, Minor in Economics
Undergrad GPA: 3.6 (Roughly since they grade on a percentage basis)
Type of Grad: Masters at Top 5 Canadian School
Grad GPA: A
GRE: 800Q, 540V, 4.0 AW
Math Courses: Calculus I,II,III,IV; Algebra; Linear Alebra I,II; Probability; Statistics; Differential Equations; Introduction to Combinatorics; Applied Real Analysis; Applied Complex Analysis; Introduction to Computational Mathematics; Linear Optimization; Mathematics of Finance; Corporate Finance; Introduction to Actuarial Mathematics; Introduction to Casualty Insurance
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I,II (PhD Level) Macro I,II (PhD Level) Econometrics I,II; Health Economics; Topics in Public Economics
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I,II,III,IV; Macro I,II,II; Public Economics:Expenditure; International Economics; Econometrics I
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation:
1) PhD Princeton - VERY Strong - Taught Public Course in Grad School and am currently working for as an RA for the year between my Masters and my PhD
2) PhD Toronto - Strong - Taught first grad level Micro and he requested me to TA a class for him the following Spring
3) PhD U British Columbia - Strong - Took Micro IV with him in undergrad and got a 99%, and I know him very well
Research Experience: One semester as an RA for Chair of the Department as well as currently doing a 1-year RA/Data Technician job at the University
Teaching Experience: Taught a tutorial during Masters but none other than that
Research Interests: Public, Micro Theory
SOP: Standard
Concerns: Was super lazy in years 2&3 of undergrad, so some of my courses have low 70's grades
Other: I'm planning on staying in Canada, unless there's an offer from one of the top US schools (hence my bizarre looking list of applying to)
Applying to: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, U Toronto, U British Columbia, McMaster
Accepts:
Rejects:
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments: Not a surprise
  • Institution: Princeton Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: N/A Notification date: 3/8/2012 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes
  • Institution: Harvard Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification date: 03/21/12 Notified through: Mail Posted on GC: Yes Comments:
  • Institution: University of British Columbia Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 4/17/12 Notified through: email Comments:
  • Institution: University of Toronto Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: --- Notification date: 5/4/12 Notified through: email Comments: Took them long enough
Waitlists:

lessgiraffe 2012:
Institution: Vanderbilt
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N.A.
Notification Date: 2/10/2012
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Comments: -
Accepts:
Rejects:
  • Institution: Vanderbilt Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/10/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of Virginia Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/17/2012 Notified through: E-mail to check application status Posted on GC: No Comments: E-mail sent at 12:44 a.m. U.S. central
  • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/24/2012 Notified through: E-mail to check Web site Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: California Institute of Technology Ph.D. Social Science Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/24/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of Chicago Booth School of Business Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/28/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of Chicago Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Northwestern University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 2/29/2012 Notified through: Application Web site Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Duke University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified through: E-mail to check Web site Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of California, Los Angeles Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/2/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of Minnesota Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/5/2012 Notified through: Checked Web site Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/7/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Johns Hopkins University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/7/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of Texas at Austin Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/8/2012 Notified through: E-mail to check Web site Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: University of California, San Diego Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/9/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/12/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Boston University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comments: -
  • Institution: Harvard University Ph.D. Business Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/19/2012 Notified through: Post mail Posted on GC: No Comments: Letter dated 3/9/2012
  • Institution: The Ohio State University Ph.D. Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: N.A. Notification Date: 3/20/2012 Notified through: Checked Web site Posted on GC: No Comments: -
Waitlists:


Waitlists:

chechyccc 2012:
Institution: Harvard Kennedy School
Program: PhD in Public Policy
Decision: Wait-listed No.1
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/16/2012
Notified through: E-mail
Posted on GC: No
Comment: Hopefully!
Accepts:
  • Institution: UPenn Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: 1st year fellowship waitlisted Notification 2/24/12 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: yes Comments:
  • Institution: Harvard Kennedy School Public Policy Decision: Accepted Funding: Full funding Notification date: 4.2.2012 Notified through: email Posted on GC: yes Comments: Got off the wait list!
Rejects:
  • Institution: Yale Econ PhD Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 02/22/2012 Notified through: Email to check website Posted on GC: No Comments: 1st rejection. Guess my research interest does not quite match theirs; it took me a hard time indicating who I would like to work with in my personal statement. Anyway I got wait-listed no.1 at Harvard Kennedy School, where my research interests are a better fit. Yet 8 more economics to go.
  • Institution: MIT Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: NA Notification Date: February 29 Notified Through: Email to check website Posted on GC: yes Comments:
Waitlists:
  • Institution: Harvard Kennedy School Public Policy Decision: Wait-listed No.1 Funding: N/A Notification date: 02/16/2012 Notified through: E-mail Posted on GC: No Comment: Hopefully!
  • Institution: Harvard Ph.D. Economics Decision: Wait listed Funding: N/A Notification Date: 3/1/2012 Notified through: postal Posted on GC: yes Comments:
Admit summary statistics:
As submitted and recoreded from Test Magic:
There were 5 accepted out of 31 applicants.Of those accepted, average GPA was 3.98, average GREQ was 796.7.
From the Department webpage in 2010 (please send me a link if this is wrong!)
2008-2009: Number of Applications Received: 790; Number Admitted: 35; GRE Scores (Admitted Applicants); Quantitative: 770-800; Average: 797; Analytical: 3.5-6; Average: 5.0
(Source)

Links:
Test Magic Econ Forums
econphd.econwiki.com
Last Updated: 14:58:10, Fri May 11, 2012