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ctown2009 2010:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. in Psuedo-Econ at Cornell
Undergrad GPA: 3.87
Type of Grad: Master's Applied Statistics Cornell
Grad GPA: N/A at admission time; a couple of schools saw a low 3's GPA because of one bizarre grade
GRE: 800Q, 680V, 5.0 AWA
Math Courses: Calc I-II (HS), Multivar Calc (B), Linear Alg (A), Analysis (A), Linear Optimization (B), Stochastic Calc (spring semester)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): A bunch all in micro and applied micro, econometrics, stats, all A's
Econ Courses (PhD): Econometrics I & II (B+'s), Cross-Sectional Econometrics (A-), Micro I (B), Micro II (spring semester)
Letters of Recommendation: 3 which I think were all strong
Research Experience: A lot: summer intern at a think tank, RA for well-known behavioral economist and a well-known public finance prof, senior thesis, co-authored paper submitted to a good journal
Teaching Experience: TA 1 class, not too demanding
Research Interests: Empirical micro, IO, law & econ, regulation, a little public finance
Statement of Purpose: Does it really matter
Work Experience: Good Econ consulting firm for about a year
Applying to: Chicago, Columbia, Wharton Applied Econ, Michigan Business Econ, NYU, Berkeley Haas BPP, Harvard Kennedy, Yale, Duke, Maryland, Brown, JHU...not Cornell
Other: Very uncertain given my hybrid degree from a top school and mixed grades in the toughest classes, but I challenged myself and took the hardest ones
RESULTS:
Attending: Michigan Business Econ PhD ($$$)
Acceptances: Michigan Business Econ PhD ($$$)
Waitlist: JHU, Wharton
Rejections: everywhere else, only surprised about Berkeley and bummed about Wharton, dream school was Chicago
What would you have done differently?
Hmm, not too much, I did well in my undergrad classes and put myself thru the grinder once I realized I wanted to try for the PhD. I should have taken more diverse econ courses, especially theory, but it was tough given time constraints. Should've done more reading outside the classroom on cutting edge research instead of the articles from the 1960's we read in class. I should have had at least one rec with a big Prof from the Econ department, that's my biggest regret. Happy to go to UMich fully funded as it's a great research fit. Hopefully future TM applicants will find this thread as useful as I've found previous versions.