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Valhalla 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in economics in continental europe, huge public university but internationally not very well known I'd say.
Undergrad GPA: 3.72/4 (using WES-conversion table), top 5% in my university
Type of Grad: MA Economics (I'm currently in the second year)
Grad GPA: 3.77/4 until now
GRE: 790 Q, 600 V, 4.5 AWA
Math Courses:
(900f those courses were not required in the economics-track (BA and MA) but I did those courses additionally as offered by the math department for math-students)
UG-Level: Mathematics I,II, III (dealing basically with integral calculus, differential equation systems, vector calculus...), Real analysis I, II, III, Functional Analysis I, II, Probability theory I,II,III, Linear Algebra I, II, III, Topology I, II, Differential Topology, Measure Theory, Optimization Theory,
Graduate Level: Real Analysis, Topology, Linear Algebra, Operator Theory, Recursive Methods/ Dynamic programming, Statistics I (using Casella and Berger), Statistics II (using Davidson's Stochastic limit theory)
Econ Courses: That's just an endless list... but some highlights:
UG Level: Micro I,II,III, Macro I,II,III, Game theory I, II, Evolutionary Game Theory, Cooperative Game Theory, Industrial Organization I, II, International Trade I, II, III, Monetary Economics I, II, ...
Graduate level: Micro I,II, (using MWG) Macro I,II, (using Ljungquvist and Sargent/ Stokey and Lucas), General Equilibrium Theory, Incomplete markets, Asset pricing, Public choice theory, Auction theory, Game theory, Voting theory, Industrial Organization
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ profs, 2 are well known
Teaching Experience: TA UG Level for elementary economics, TA Graduate level in math and macro
Awards: 2 merit based awards from my UG - university, scholarship from my graduate institution, award from our central bank for my diploma thesis,
Research Interests: Micro-theory
SOP: talked about personal interests/ hobbys and connected it with some papers I read... but I don't think someone cared about it
Schools I applied to:
NW
UPenn
UCSD
Tilburg
UIUC
JHU
Purdue
U Arizona
BC
UC Davis
Toronto
IUB
RESULTS:
Acceptances:
UPenn (nada $)
Tilburg ($)
UIUC ($$)
U Arizona ($$)
BC ($$)
IUB ($$)
UC Davis (?)
Rejections:
NW... (I'm still shocked)
Pending:
Toronto, Purdue, JHU, UCSD
What would you have done differently?
A lot! I wouldn't underestimate me anymore and I would apply for some top ten universities. My tip: aim as high as possible otherwise you get a lot of acceptances from middle-ranked universities and what can you buy with that?

mamama 2008:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Engineering-best university in my country
Undergrad GPA: 3.31/4.00
Grad GPA: 3.7/4.00 same university economics department
GRE: 800q, 400v, 3.5w
Math Courses: Calculus I,II linear algebra, differential eq. real analysis
Econ Courses: master courses and many micro courses
Letters of Recommendation: from economics department/ applied to some without master thesis advisors letter of recommendation
Research Experience: 2 years, a published article in native language and 2 ongoing
Teaching Experience: TA for a couple semesters in UG and G
Research Interests: micro,io
SOP: standard
RESULTS:
Attending: Austin
Acceptances: Austin ($$), Boston College ($$), Duke ($$), Rochester ($$), Rutgers ($$), UIUC ($$),Pompeu Fabra($$), Tinbergen ($$), Tilburg($$), Wisconsin Madison
Rejects: Upenn,Nyu,Columbia,NW
What would you have done differently? have chose another university for master

verio16 2009:
Type of Undergrad: BA (Honours) Economics from University of Delhi, India
Undergrad GPA: The university does not have a GPA system. My aggregate over 3 years is 72.4% (60 0s 1st division, the highest grade), roughly in the top 5 percentile(out of around 1000 students) in the university and ranked 3rd in college
GRE: Q800, V610, AWA 4.5
Math Courses:
Linear Algebra,multi variate Calculus, Constrained optimization(covered in a single course titled Mathematical methods for economics)
Reference books -Knut Sydsaeter and Peter J. Hammond, Mathematics for Economic Analysis and Alpha C. Chiang, Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics
Statistics
Distribution, probability, regression,hypothesis testing (covered under statistical methods for economics)
Reference books - P.H. Karmel and M. Polasek, Applied Statistics for Economists and M.R. Spiegel, Theory and Problems of Statistics
Also had an Econometrics paper
A.S. Goldberger (1998), Introductory Econometrics
Econ Courses: Principles of economics, Micro, Advanced Micro (game theory), macro, development theory, money, public economics, economy state and society, other courses specific to the Indian Economy
Other Courses: Formal Logic (Others of hardly any importance)
Letters of Recommendation: From my college professors, but i doubt any of them are internationally recognised (potentially a serious hurdle)
Research Experience: Worked as an intern with an NGO for 2 months, was RA for a paper that later got published. Worked for 6 months in the research wing of Watson Wyatt Worldwide(consultancy).
Teaching Experience: NIL
Research Interests: Macroeconomic modelling
Other: Good bunch of extracurricular s (I dont really know if it matters though)
Results
Acceptances: Warwick (Msc), Bocconi (Msc, $$), Tilburg (Msc, $?)
Pending: Tinbergen, Paris school of economics, UCL
What would you have done differently? should have taken the GRE earlier. Missed a lot of deadlines and sent in hurriedly assembled application.
Would have been more careful about being on good terms with my professors during my unergrad.

miaataro 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad/Grad: BSc in Economics (minors in Mathematics, Statistics and Business Studies) and MSc in Economics (+ a still unfinished MSc in Statistics) from an unknown university in Finland.
Undergrad/Grad GPA: Overall 4.90, Econ 4.94, Math 4.83, Stat 4.94 (on a scale of 1-5)
GRE: 800Q, 390V, 4AWA
TOEFL: 111 (29R, 30L, 23S, 29W)
Math Courses: Unfortunately, they don't have illustrative names. I tooks a course sequence for a minor in math that dealt with the basic areas (linear algebra, differential calculus, integral calculus, real analysis, etc.) in more of an applied fashion.
Stat Courses: A lot. Mathematical Statistics 1 & 2 and Probability Calculus A & B + courses in time series analysis, survival models, mixed models, regression models, multivariate statistics, stochastic simulation, computational statistics, bayesian statistics, robust and nonparametric methods etc.
Econ Courses: A lot. Intermediate and advanced level courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, mathematical economics and econometrics + courses in labour economics, regional economics, microeconometrics, applied econometrics, game theory etc. I also took the econometrics core course in the Finnish Doctoral Program in Economics during the ongoing academic year.
Letters of Recommendation: 2 economics professors and a statistics professor from my university and a research director from an economics research institute. I guess they all know me quite well and believe in me, so their letters should have been good in that sense. None of them were well-known, however (but apparently they had some important connections after all).
Research Experience: BSc and MSc theses in economics, RA for one of my economics professors for 7 months, two last summers as a research trainee in an economics research institute, two last falls as an assistant researcher in an economics research institute, a researcher in an economics research institute from January onwards.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Econometrics and empirical/applied microeconomics
SOP: Nothing spectacular. Tried to emphasize my research experience and convince the reader that my educational background in economics, mathematic and statistics is strong enough, I guess.
RESULTS:
Acceptances: MIT, Tinbergen, LSE MSc EME (Research), Tilburg MPhil (2nd year), Uppsala (it was never official, though, as I withdraw my application)
Waitlists: -
Rejections: Princeton, UC Berkeley, Northwestern, U Michigan, UCL MSc
What would you have done differently? Absolutely nothing. I'm still amazed by my outcomes and really happy that I listened to my recommenders advice to try my luck with some of the top US schools. It definitely paid off...

chestnut.cc 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergraduate: BA Economics from a Top 10 college in my country (south east Asia) with math and stat minors
Undergraduate GPA: Currently (Final Year) 84%. We don't use the GPA system so I'm unsure of how much that translates to. It's similar to a UK percentage system though
Type of Graduate: NA
Graduate GPA: NA
GRE: 760V, 800Q, 5.5 AWA
TOEFL: 119
Math Courses: Three Year long Industrial Mathematics courses. Audited Real Analysis, Linear Algebra of the more rigorous sort.
Statistics Courses: Three Year long Applied Statistics courses.
Economics Courses: Economics Specials I II III IV. Basically intermediate micro, macro, international trade, history of economic thought, monetary, development economics.
Letters of Recommendation: Head of Department, Senior Lecturer, no one known, will serve my purposes.
Research Experience: NA
Teaching Experience: NA
Research Interests: Political Economy, Game Theory, Mechanism Design, Micro theory.
SOP: Short, Simple, just tried to signal course content, courses audited, interests.
Applied to: LSE, Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Toulouse, UPF BGSE, Tilburg, Erasmus Mundus
Acceptances: LSE EME(2 yr), Toulouse M1, UPF, Tilburg (MPhil), Erasmus Mundus MMEF1, Cambridge PG Dip (Econ)
Rejections: Oxford, UCL, Erasmus Mundus QEM
Attending: LSE

LouisBD 2009:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: M.A. Economics B.A. Communication studies
Msc. Mathematical economics and econometric methods (highest honors expected)
Undergrad GPA: ?
GRE: 800 Q, 610 V, 4.5 AWA
Math Courses: analysis I-III, linear algebra, applied linear algebra, probability theory, dfferential- and integral theory, stat courses....
Econ Courses (PhD-level): micro II (MWG), micro III (MWG), econometric models
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): a lot
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation:
1 from full prof, well known, cambridge connected should be very good if not excellent
1 from young assistant professor, just good I guess
Research Experience: master thesis (highest honors)
Teaching Experience: private teacher (do not know if this counts)
Research Interests: theoreticaleconometrics, empirical asset pricing, behavioral finance, macro-finance, microeconometrics (to soon to decide?)
SOP: not very special
Concerns:
I am only looking for an offer with funding and I do not aim at a very broad range of schools. Very mixed background. Study results were rather low in my early days. GRE verbal and GRE AWA are not that impressive.
Other:
Applying to: Tilburg (M.Phil 2nd year econometrics track)
Results:
Accepted:
Rejected:
Pending:

leguan 2009:
Institution: UPF
Program: MSc
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Full Tuition Waiver & TA
Notification date: February 5
Notified through: E-Mail
Comments: Tons of luck, mostly with my recommenders.
And thanks to Italos for this thread.

Econ_ 2009:
Institution: Stockholm School of Economics
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: ~15k eur
Notification date: 2/25
Institution: Tilburg University
Program: MPhil 2nd year
Decision: Accepted
Funding: not yet decided
Notification date: 2/25 email

daniel.k 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top Brazilian BA Econ
Undergrad GPA: 8.4/10 (2nd in my cohort so far - graduating in June)
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: 800Q, 460V, 3.5AWA (Toefl 113)
Math Courses: Calculus I & II, Mathematical Econ I & II, currently auditing Linear Algebra, Stat I & II, Econometrics I, II & III (A's or A+)
Econ Courses: many, Micro I & II, Game theory, Info & Corporate Governance, Macro I & II, Monetary Econ, Economic history, Brazilian Econ history I & II, Financial Math, International econ, Institutional Econ, Development
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: Very good, I guess. One got his PhD at UCLA (my thesis supervisor) and the other did his Post Doc at LSE (did pretty well in his class and kept in touch since then)
Research Experience: Currently writing undergrad thesis
Teaching Experience:
Research Interests: Development, Info, IO, Financial Econ (Corporate Governance)
SOP: Standard, I suppose.
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: LSE MSc Econ, Tilburg MSc Econ, Barcelona GSE MSc Econ (half TAship), Toulouse M2 Eco-Math, CEMFI Masters ($$)
Waitlists: None
Rejections: None
Pending: None
What would you have done differently? At the beginning I care nothing about grades. The first year is supposed to be the easiest at my uni and I didn't take advantage of that. Had no idea I'd be willing to get a masters or PhD. It's particularly easy/simple to take more math because math courses are offered by another department and I wouldn't get fully accredited for that. Anyway, should have taken more. At least Linear Algebra and maybe Analysis. Other than that, I think it's almost impossible to go straight from undergrad to top PhD's coming from a Uni which is outside the Europe-US axis. Most of the people from Brazil that go to top PhD's did their masters at a top school at home.

Cartman84 2010:
I made some slight changes in my profile (that is I tried to convert my grades to GPA used by the US universities and explained in further detail my Maths - I was kind of freshman-to-the-forum when posting my profile)
Type of Undergrad: MA (top grade/summa cum laude) in Econometrics from the top Polish business schol, BA (expected June 2010) in Maths, Warsaw University
Undergrad GPA: 4.7/5.5 (this is extremely hard to get on Econometrics, like 3,9 - 3,95/4 GPA) at my MA program, excellent grade on my thesis, rather poor grades at Maths (I study and work part-time as a freelancer so it's hard to be the top student now, GPA like 3,0/4 but I got very good grades on courses that are most closely related to economics)
Grad GPA: I did a 5 year program, consider it equivalent to Undergrad and some Grad courses too
GRE: V-530, Q-790, A-4.0(I think I was too nervous and solved some problems too fast, better use time they give you in 100%)
TOEFL: 112
Math Courses: Linear algebra, Calculus I-IV, Topology, ODE, Probability Theory I-II, Abstract Algebra, Control Theory, Time Series, Measure Theory, Functional Analysis, Computational Maths I-II, Complex Analysis, Statistics I-II, - mostly C and B but I consider the program very demanding as for a BA level, due to the reform of Polish university education system some of them is on the grad level
Econ Courses: Macro (4 semesters), Micro (3 semesters), Econometrics (lots of small lectures, let's say Theory and Applied with good understanding), Growth Theory, Game Theory I-II, Public Finance Theory, Monetary Policy, Mechanism Design
Other Courses: C++,
Letters of Recommendation: One from Economics Professor affiliated at one of the top10 US universities (get to know him during his lectures in Poland), one from my MA thesis supervisor (that's a really great letter, he recommended succesfuly some students to the top US and Europe programs), one from Maths Professor (PhD NYU, currently at Warsaw University, published in top Maths journals)
Research Experience: worked 2 years as a research economist, did some policy analyses for various Polish government agencies, also one paper for OECD/World Bank on pension funds performance; now working for a financial risk consultancy - mostly forecasting and programming
Teaching Experience: 4 years of TA - macro and micro for undergrads (started during my MA program)
Research Interests: Macroeconomics, focus on pension systems, DSGE models, exchange rates
statement of purpose: I aimed at presenting how professional and educational experience made me prepared well for the program, focus on strong mathematical background and teaching experience
Other: 26yr old male, Polish nationality
Concerns: late application to UMN, late reference letters
Applying to: UMN, Tinbergen, Tilburg, Stockholm Uni, Stockholm Sch. of Econ., Goethe, Universidad Carlos 3 Madrid, EUI Florence
RESULTS:
Acceptances: UMN, TI, Tilburg, SU, SSE, Goethe, EUI
Waitlists:
Rejections: UC3M (withdrawn application after being admitted to UMN, never really wanted to go there)
What would you have done differently? Nothing, I guess. Maybe if I had different preferences I would have speeded up my TOEFL/GRE and applied to some more US programs

hunecon 2010:
PROFILE: Economics, small European country
Type of Undergrad: 5-year degree (actually BA+MA with IO major)
Undergrad GPA: about 4.3 on a 1-5 scale (no official GPA system)
GRE: Q800/V380/A3
TOEFL:100
Math Courses: Real Analysis I-II, Linear Algebra I-II, Probability Theory, Differential Equations, Operational Research, Statistics I-III.
Econ Courses: A lot.
Other Courses: A lot, mostly in other social sciences and informatics.
Letters of Recommendation: Not well-known, bot strong letters from professors of my program.
Research Experience: Several student paper, two of them won first prize.
Teaching Experience: One year (game theory, quantitative methods) for graduate students.
Research Interests: Game theory, IO.
SOP: Standard, but strong.
Acceptences: Tilburg ($), TSE, UAB
Reject: Tinbergen
Withdrawn: UC3, UAB, Alicante, CEU
What would you have done differently? Well, I am satisfied with my result, my only concern is the low funding. Maybe I should have got better grades. The bologna system was introduced after I started my studies, I was stucked there for five years. Actually, in most of the last three years I hardly got strong economics courses, transferring for a much stronger university may have been better after the first three years. But I enjoyed these years and I will never regret to spend them with my friends. I will have enough things to do later during PhD, after all

kammulm 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.Sc. at top German econ department
Undergrad GPA: 1.5 (1.0 is best, 4.0 is worst passing grade)
Type of Grad: some masters courses at Copenhagen University
Grad GPA: 12/12
GRE: Q: 800, V:500, AWA:3.5
Math Courses: Analysis (1.3), Linear Algebra (1.3),Mathematics for Economists (Dynamic Programing, optimal control theory and comparative statics) (1.7), Topology and differential equations (1.0), Statistics (1.3) and Econometrics (1.7)
Econ Courses: M.Sc. Game theory (1.0), B.Sc. Contract Theory (1.7), M.Sc.Contract Theory (1.0), M.Sc. Behavioral Economics )1.0), Economic Policy (1.3), Public Finance (1.3), Macro I+II (1.3), Micro I+II (1.3), Trade Theory(1.7)
Letters of Recommendation: one stellar from a prof I RAed with, the rest solid but not outstanding
Research Experience: Research Assistant in Economic Policy for 4 months with focus on fiscal multipliers
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Institutional economics and behavioral Economics in combination with economic policy
SOP: nothing special
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Tilburg (MRes), Tinbergen (Mphil)
Waitlists:
Rejections:
Pending:
What would you have done differently? I would have submitted my applications earlier to be eligible for scholarships.

sappy 2010: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BSc (hons) Theoretical Physics from a top 10 university in the U.K (all Physics modules and some masters courses as well)
Undergrad GPA: high 2:2 (According to my uni it converts to a B in GPA terms) Type of Grad: MSc Economics from same university as undergrad
Grad GPA: Merit (According to my uni it converts to a A- in GPA terms)
GRE: V-440, Q-790, A-5.0
Math Courses: Advanced intergration and differention, real analysis , Matrix Algrebra, Tensors and Econometrics (done during MSc)
Econ Courses:Graduate: Macro, Micro, Econometrics, Game Theory and Industrial Organisation, Growth and Development, Experimental Economics
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: One from Theoretical Physicist that will be postive, two from Economics Professors (one graduated from Oxford and the other from Bonn), the Oxford one should be very positive because he wanted me to stay at the uni i did my masters in to do my phd and the other was my dissertation supervisor and i got a good mark for it.
Research Experience: Dissertations for both degrees, their combined marks would give me a 1st (GPA Phys: 4, GPA Econ:3.9)
Teaching Experience: Private tutoring for Physics and Maths at College level
Research Interests:Game Theory and Experimental Economics
statement of purpose: Just about how i enjoy applying maths to problems, a little on some economic experiments i ran during the year and how i want to get a bigger exposure to Economics
Other: 23yr old male who is also British
Concerns: I applied to a lot of high places last year with limited success (waitlisted at UBC, Boston U and Cornell. But eventually didn't get in). So now i'm concerned because it's been a year out with no more experience bar private tutoring.
Applying to: Tilburg, Tinbergen, SSE, PSE, TSE, BSE (Berlin), Bonn, Mannheim, Autonoma Barcelona, PSU, OSU, Maryland, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, UCSB, Indiana, Purdue, Virginia

sergyu 2010: PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: 5-year degree East European Public University
Undergrad GPA: approximetaly 4.3 on a 1-5 scale (actually no idea)
Type of Grad: My degree is a BA+MA, no separate grad. school
GRE: 800Q, 380V, 3.0AWA
TOEFL: 100
Math Courses: Real Analysis I-II, Linear Algebra Math I-II, Probability Theory, Optimization Theory, Differential equations, Graph theory
Econ Courses: A lot.
Other Courses: Mostly in other social sciences (incl. pol. science).
Letters of Recommendation: 2 econ professors (game theory, not so well known)
Research Experience: Student papers, 2 of them won first prize.
Teaching Experience: Game theory, Quantitative methods (graduate level)
Research Interests: Game theory, IO
statement of purpose: Standard format, two pages
Concerns: Not the best grades, relatively unkown university.
Other: Waiting sucks.
Applying to: Toulouse, Tilburg, UAB, UC3, Alicante, Tinbergen, CEU
Accepted: Toulouse (M1, funding March 22), Tilburg (MR1, funding mid Feb.)
Waiting for: the others

verio16 2010:
Institution: Tinbergen Institute
Program: M.Phil Economics
Decision:Accepted
Funding: Full Funding (Tuition + Living expenses + health insurance)
Notification date: 5/03/2010
Notified through:Personal e-mail
Institution: Tilburg University (CentER)
Program: RM1 Economics
Decision:Accepted
Funding: Wait-listed for funding
Notification date: 5/03/2010
Notified through:Personal e-mail

troll2 2011:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BSc Economics from a swedish uni.
Undergrad GPA: we don't calculate gpa over here
GRE: 790/490/4.0
Math Courses: One var calculus, Multivar calculus, Linear Algebra, Maths for econ
Econ Courses: Intermediate micro/econometrics/macro, labor, game theory, IO, environ. econ
Letters of Recommendation: Thesis advisor (unkown), Political Science prof at UCSD (somewhat known)
Research Experience: Mandatory BSc thesis
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: No idea
SOP: Who reads them anyways?
RESULTS:
Acceptances: LSE (MSc EME), Barcelona GSE (MSc Econ), Tilburg (Msc Econ)
Waitlists: Cambridge (MPhil Econ)
Rejections: N/A
Pending: SSE (MSc Econ)

eds 2011:
PROFILE
Type of Undergrad: South Italian University. Graduate in 2004.Major in Economics
Undergrad GPA: 110/110 cum laude (say equivalent to 4 )
Type of Grad: MSc in economics form a top 5 UK department in 2007,
Grad GPA: Master 90+%,
GRE: 800Q, 590V, 3.0AWA. I will be retaking it next month. Do not consider this result when evaluating my profile.
Math Courses: (UG)General Mathematics, Financial Mathematics, Linear Algebra, Real Analysis Multivariable Analysis(should be calculus) , Statistics I and I. ‐ All equivalent to A's or A+.
Math Courses: (Master): introductory to math and stats 90%+
Econ Courses (masters-level): Micro, Macro, monetary economics ,international monetary economics, Econometrics ,Trade theory All 90%+
Econ Courses (PhD level) About 13 course in macro fields with famous profs at PhD level. All passed with As
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro and Macro Theory, Labor, International economics, monetary economics, Industrial econ. Development economics, economic history, History of economic thought theory, econometrics, Public economics, Regional Economics, Applied economics, Economic Policy‐ All equivalent to A's or A+
Other Courses: Summer school at UPF
Letters of Recommendation: ) 1 stellar letters from a NYU PhD undergraduate thesis supervisor well connected 2) Form a guy with PhD Michigan well known in his field. I got A in his graduate course. I am now looking for the third letter.
Research Experience: A working paper in progress with one of my a letter of recommendation writers and we are talking to start working on a paper with my second letter of recommendation writer. Not sure If I will have something concrete by December 2010 . I won special merit from the evaluation committee for the quality of my u/g thesis work, presentation skills and academic performance. I also won the prize for the best u/g thesis for that year. My MSc thesis was marked (90%+) as the best among MSc students in my year. Visitor Researcher at a well know institute .Visitor Scholar at a top 20 US department (research only) for fall 2009. I have served as a visitor scholar at the research division of the ECB
Teaching Experience: TA for intro to micro (In the USA) and for Monetary economics
Research Interests: Monetary economics , International macro, .
SOP: Should be strong.
Concerns: AGE!!!! I am, currently 33. I will been turned 34 and a half by fall 2011 .. I need to get new letters of recommendation from people I currently work with . I cannot ask for a letter from my MSc because of other personal reasons nor from the US department.
Other: Applying for the usual fellowships.
Applying to: In many programs. In the US and Europe. Suggestions are welcome !

alb 2011:
Institution: LSE
Program: MSc in Economics (Research)
Decision: Unconditional offer
Funding: No Graduate Support Scheme Award, others pending
Notification date: 2/24/2011
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: I'm shaking.

INTJ 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: State school with no PhD program - Econ/Finance
Undergrad GPA: 3.82
Type of Grad: MS. Economics at same school as Undergrad; MS Math at a top 50 Math dept.
Grad GPA: 3.79/ 3.62
GRE: 780 Q 590 V 4.5 W
Math Courses: Linear Algebra (A), DiffEq (B+), Analysis I, II (A,A) Number Theory (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Probability (B), Statistical Theory (B), Applied Stats II (A), Game Theory (B), Grad Analysis (fall 2011), Grad Probability (fall 2011), Grad Linear Inference (fall 2011)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Master's level: Micro I, II (A-, A), Macro (B+), Econometrics I, II (A, A), Math for Economics (A-)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): pretty much all of them
Other Courses:
Letters of Recommendation: one from Thesis adviser, one from econometrics professor, one from a math professor. All should be solid.
Research Experience: Master's Thesis
Teaching Experience: TA for Econ and Math
Research Interests: economic theory, behavioral, the theory side of IO
SOP: Short and straightforward. Talk about my research interests and ideas.
Concerns: Unknown school, B's in Stat courses. Hopefully, I can remedy those with A's in grad courses.
Other:
Applying to: some in top 20, some in top 50, a couple outside the US.

pavlemihajlovic 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Unknown Easter-European University, Economics (major: Economic Analysis and Policy - EAP)
Undergrad GPA: 9,23 (scale 5 to 10) best at my major; top 5 0n Faculty generation
Type Grad: Master in Economic Analysis and Policy (M.A.)
Grad GPA: n/a
GRE: 168 Q ; 151 V ; 4.0 AW
Quantitative courses: Mathematics (Intermediate Calculus, Linear Algebra and Analysis, Probability), Mathematical-Economic Models, Statistics, Econometrics, Econometric Methods and Models - all 10s (A)
Econ courses (grad level): Micro Analysis (Advanced level), Macro Analysis (Intermediate level), Labor, International Finance, Economics of Regulation, Public Choice, Institutional Economics - all 10s
Econ courses (undergrad): Principles of Economics (10), Price Theory (Intermediate Micro) (9), Monetary (10), International (10), Industrial Organization (8), Public Finance (8), Contemporary Economic Systems (10), Transitional Economics (8), Austrian Economics (10), Institutional Economics (10), Public Choice (10), Agrarian Economics (10),
Other courses: Financial Accounting, Business Finance, Strategic Management, Business Organization, Marketing Research
TOEFL: R30, L29, S29, W24 (total score 112)
Letters of Recommendation: Three professors, two faculty one from additional one year multidisciplinary program (graduation paper mentor). All exceptionally written. All prominent professors in the country not known abroad.
Research Experience: Very Little , 2 months - but wrote good scientific paper (uploaded to adcom as writing sample) on economic freedom index and growth - panel data econometrics
Teaching Experience: 1 semester TA for International Economics,
Interests: Monetary Economics, International Finance
SOP: two pages, motivation for Ph.D. seems to me well written
Concerns: Unknown referrers. Unknown university. SOP might not suit every application perfectly
Applying to: Tilburg (M.Res.), Tinbergen Institute (M.Phil.), GSEFM Frankfurt (Ph.D.), Touluse (M2), Maybe applying: CEMFI, Bonn,
Admitted: BGSE (no $ - but applied without GRE, maybe that was the thing)

Ondrej 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Econ Theory, best school in the country, but the country is unknown :-) (CEE region)
Undergrad GPA: N/A (top 10 %)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q 170 V 151 AWA 4.0
Math Courses: Mathematics I-IV (partly analysis, linear algebra, integrals, diff equations, ...; all A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Applied Econometrics (yet to finish)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro I-II (A, A), Micro I-II (pass, B), Macro I-II (pass, A), Statistics (A), Advanced Statistics (A), Econometrics I-II (A, A), Theory of Regulation (B), Financial Accounting (A), Game Theory (A), European Economic Integration (A), Accounting I-II (pass, A)
Other Courses: not worth mentioning probably
Letters of Recommendation: (full) professor of econometrics and advanced statistics, not known internationally; young assistant professor of statistics and econometrics
Research Experience: none
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: micro, econometrics, mathematical economics
SOP: Normal
Concerns: Not great recommendations, kinda sucky grades in the first year
Other:
Applying to: LSE MSc EME, LSE MSc Econ, Tilburg MSc Econometrics, Tilburg MRes Econometrics, Amsterdam MSc Econometrics, Amsterdam MSc Economics, Cambridge MPhil Economics

Euro 2012:
Institution: Tilburg
Program: MRes
Decision: Accepted
Funding: Waitlisted
Notification date: Mar 14
Notified through: email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Yeey! Perfect program for me!
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: 'Will let me know'.. Waitlisted?
Notification date: Feb 29
Notified through: email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Childcare will be a problem for students like me with young children
Institution: TSE
Program: M2 ecomath
Decision: Accepted
Funding: no mention
Notification date: Feb 16
Notified through: email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: hmmm. Will have to compete to stay for PhD. I'm tired of competition now.
Institution: Oxford
Program: MPhil
Decision: Rejected
Funding: 'scholarship application won't be considered'
Notification date: Mar 16
Notified through: email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Almost glad it rejected me. Would have been tough choice between Tilburg and Oxford.

artuj 2010:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: 4-year B.A. Economics from Best Lithuanian University
Undergrad GPA: 8,9/10 (10 excellent, 9 very good, 8 good, 7 satisfactory) (my results gradually improved since my first year in university)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: 800Q, 340V, 3.0AWA (TOEFL iBT 113)
Math Courses: Advanced Mathematics (7) (linear algebra, matrix, vector spaces, differential calculus, integrals, differential equations), Optimization Methods (8), Operation Research (10), Quantitative Analysis of Economics (9), Business Mathematics (1.0 German)
Econ Courses (Undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro I-II (9,8), Intermediate Macro I-II (8,9), Public Economics (8), Economics of Social Security (8), Money and Credit (9), Higher Microeconomics (9), International Economics (9), Macroeconomic Models (10, State Economic Policy (10), Industrial Organization (9), Theory of Economic Growth (10), Game Theory (spring), Comparative Economics (10)
Statistics Courses: Statistics (8), Economic Statistics (excellent), Econometrics I-II (10,10)
Other Non credit courses (all spring semester): Higher Macroeconomics, Mathematical Analysis, Probability Theory, Time Series Econometrics with R, Mathematics for Economics Analysis, Asymptotic Statistics(PhD level)
Letters of Recommendation: None of them known outside the country
Research Experience:
Nothing special except of econometric research related with stock markets
Teaching Experience: TA during seminars of Econometrics for undergraduates ( Eviews software, GLS, Time Series)
Research Interests: Economic of Education, Health, Social Security, Public Economics, Labour Economics
Statement of purpose: concentrated over my interests and explained my skills in econ and math courses
Concerns: Quality of my school, my low GRE verbal/writing scores. Not excellent results within some modules. Exchange semester in University of Applied Sciences in Germany (I got excellent-very good results there). Many business related modules (most of them from first and second year)
Applying to: Mphil Tinbergen, Mphil Tilburg
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Tinbergen Institute ($$$)
Rejections: Tilburg RM1
What would you have done differently? Nothing
Attending:
Tinbergen Institute

zurich_econ 2010:
PROFILE:
Degrees Licentiate (=MA+BA) in economics, summa cum laude, GPA 5.8/6; B.Sc. math, GPA 5.7/6 both from large Swiss university
GRE: First go: 770Q 510V 5.5 AWA, Second go: 800Q 610V 4.5AWA
TOEFL 119
Math Courses: Analysis I-III (equivalent to real analysis, plus measure theory, integration on manifolds etc.) linear algebra I-II, abstract algebra, probability theory, measure theoretic probability theory, differential geometry (fall), topology (fall), functional analysis (fall)
Econ Courses: Micro I-IV (III and IV used Jehle/Reny and MWG), Macro I-IV (III used Obstfeld/Rogoff, IV used Romer), Growth and distribution theory, public economics, money and credit, monetary economics, behavioral economics, behavioral macroeconomics, behavioral finance (used Shleifer), experimental economics, statistics, econometrics (used Wooldridge), analysis of microdata, mathematical statistics and time series analysis, environmental economics, microeconomic theory of the firm, topics in international finance, finance and the macroeconomy, business economics.
Other Courses: Motivational psychology, psychology of perception, social psychology I-II, social neuroscience
Letters of Recommendation: 1 famous econ, 1 well known econ, 1 less well known econ, one math
Research Experience: RAing for 2 years, two theses (developped a game theoretic model in each of them)
Teaching Experience: Teaching exercise classes in undergrad micro, undergrad macro, public economics
Research Interests: Micro, behavioral, game theory, experimental, public econ
Other Fulbright
Concerns Adcoms not knowing how to interpret Swiss grades, relatively unknown university (though we got a handful of visiting profs from the top 5 every year here), the IIE handling some of my applications (but I'll be happy if they assessed my chances correctly!), ...and of course the insane competition
Applying to Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Chicago, NYU, NWU, Caltech, Cornell, CMU SDS, LSE, Oxford, UCL, Zurich (so much for the hypothesis that we international applicants choose our safeties at home)
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Yale, Stanford, NYU, Berkeley, Chicago, Caltech, Northwestern, Oxford (PhD, PRS), UCL (PhD), all with good or great funding
Waitlists: None (great!)
Rejections: Cornell, Tilburg, Harvard
Pending: LSE, Carnegie Mellon SDS
What would you have done differently? Not much, really. Maybe I should have applied to Princeton, but I certainly can't complain! I think two things boosted my application: 1. The fact that I showed commitment by getting a BS in maths after finishing my MA in econ to do econ theory, and 2. the fact that I did independent research for my MA-thesis and spent sufficient time and energy on it to impress my advisor

petecheese 2011:
Type of Undergrad: BA in Business Finance. Top Univ in middle east
Undergrad GPA: 82/100 (3.4/4.0)
Type of Grad: M.A. in Economics from same university
Grad GPA: 91/100 (4.0/4.0)
GRE: 780Q 470V 4.0AW
Math Courses: Calc 1 (AP), Calc 2 (AP), Calc 3 (98/100), Linear Algebra (87/100), ODE (83/100), Econ Stats (80/100)
Econ Courses: Intermediate micro (87), Intermediate macro (99), Econometrics (80). Lots of grad courses (Micro, Macro, econometrics, monetary, etc...) Almost all 90+
Other Courses: A lot of finance courses (although lost interest in finance as field of study but had them from Ugrad)
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from professor and chair, PHD York (Really good letter), 1 from assistant prof, PHD Princeton (Very enthusiastic), 1 from assistant professor PHD Toulouse (standard), 1 from visiting professor (Should be good)
Research Experience: RA for about a year. Recent conference presentation in Poland (awaiting scientific board for publication in conference proceedings)
Teaching Experience: GA/TA for 2 years (undergrad and grad econometrics)
Research Interests: Development, Applied micro (empirical mostly), and applied econometrics
Concerns: Low Ugrad GPA, No proof based math courses, semi unknown school
RESULTS:
Attending: Texas A&M (TAMU)
Acceptances: Iowa State, Virginia Tech, BGSE (UPF), Tinbergen, Uconn
Rejections: UIUC, PSU, Wisconsin-madison, Rice, Toronto (doctoral Stream), Tilburg, Arizona, BC, UNC (initially wait listed)
Comments:
Honestly, i was really happy with my results and quite surprised. I had a weak-average Undergrad performance to make up, and come from a relatively unknown Middle Eastern school.
I think what did it for me was LORS. I cannot emphasize how important LORs are, and how important it is to build good relations with professors (RA, TA, visit office hours and talk about research, etc...).
Also for some smaller programs (specifically Vtech if anyone is ever interested in that school ), i think what got me in was my SOP. Very tailored to their school. I think people underestimate the role of the SOP. Outside of the top 10, i think it can be a very useful tool and should be taken seriously (ofcourse this does not apply to all schools outside the top10, but for some of the smaller programs, "fit" is very important.
In the end, Thank GOD this whole process is done, and i am more than happy to attend TAMU , although the location i am not so ecstatic about :P.

Gouverneur 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Economics, minor in Mathematics (Rutgers: >50 econ department)
Undergrad GPA: 2.9 (cumulative of four colleges); 3.7 (school I will graduate from)
Type of Grad:
Grad GPA:
GRE: 161Q, 159V, 4.0AW
Math Courses: Calc I-III, Intro Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Intro to Proofs, Probability Theory, (Abstract) Linear Algebra, Intro Real Analysis
Econ Courses: Intro/Intermediate Micro/Macro, Econometrics, Industrial Organization, Financial Economics, Market Discipline, Development, Game Theory
Other Courses: intro stats
Letters of Recommendation: All 3 from econ professors who I took 1-2 classes with
Research Experience: none
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: game theory, io, labor, development
SOP: brief
Other:
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Warwick, Oregon, Western Ontario ($), Cornell ($$)
Waitlists: Washington
Rejections: Tilburg, Queen's, Cemfi
Attending: Cornell
What would you have done differently?
For undergrad studies, not failing out of college twice would've been better. Also, it would've been nice to have taken more than two econ classes before the spring semester of my junior year. For the application process, I should've applied to more schools. But I am very pleased with the school I will be attending.

MaxUnited 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BSc in international economics from relatively well-known Russian university (top-10 in the country, probably top-5)
Undergrad GPA: 3,8/4 (US scale) 4,8/5 (Russian scale)
Type of Grad: -
Grad GPA: -
GRE: Q 790 V 450 AWA 3.5
Math Courses: Calculus, Linear Algebra, Probability, Statistics (all 5/5)
Econ Courses (grad-level): -
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro (5/5), Intermediate Macro (4/5), History of Economic Thought (4/5), Economics of the Firm (5/5), Econometrics (5/5), International Economics (5/5), Money and Banking (5/5). Still have to pass several finance courses.
Other Courses: lots of not-so-necessary, but obligatory stuff
Letters of Recommendation: 2 from professors unknown outside the country, I believe
Research Experience: none, except for course works
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: behavioral finance, public finance (but really open at this stage)
SOP: nothing special
Concerns: scores not great, unknown professors, lack of economics/finance courses, no real research experience
Other: -
Applying to: Tinbergen (MPhil), Tilburg (MRes), GSEFM Frankfurt (MSQE) finance tracks.

Ondrej 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Econ Theory, best school in the country, but the country is unknown :-) (CEE region)
Undergrad GPA: N/A (top 10 %)
Type of Grad: N/A
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q 170 V 151 AWA 4.0
Math Courses: Mathematics I-IV (partly analysis, linear algebra, integrals, diff equations, ...; all A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Applied Econometrics (yet to finish)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro I-II (A, A), Micro I-II (pass, B), Macro I-II (pass, A), Statistics (A), Advanced Statistics (A), Econometrics I-II (A, A), Theory of Regulation (B), Financial Accounting (A), Game Theory (A), European Economic Integration (A), Accounting I-II (pass, A)
Other Courses: not worth mentioning probably
Letters of Recommendation: (full) professor of econometrics and advanced statistics, not known internationally; young assistant professor of statistics and econometrics
Research Experience: none
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: micro, econometrics, mathematical economics
SOP: Normal
Concerns: Not great recommendations, kinda sucky grades in the first year
Other:
Applying to: LSE MSc EME, LSE MSc Econ, Tilburg MSc Econometrics, Tilburg MRes Econometrics, Amsterdam MSc Econometrics, Amsterdam MSc Economics, Cambridge MPhil Economics

GAmbler29 2012:
Institution: UVA
Program: PhD Economics
Decision: Rejected
Funding: N/A
Notification Date: 2.09.2012
Notified through: email to check web
Posted on GC: No
Comments: what went wrong?

Fohlen 2012:
Institution: Maastricht University
Program: Research Master in Economics
Decision: Accepted
Funding: not sure
Notification date: 2/24/12
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: no
Comments: Glad, but I don't know what to think about the program...

LoS 2011:
PROFILE
Type of Undergrad: Best school of business in Poland (but an American citizen)
Undergrad GPA: 3.37/4.0 in conversion, though it's not that simple
Type of Grad: Master's at the same school, exchange semester in Tilburg
Grad GPA: 3.30/4.0 at home school, 7.8/10 at UvT
GRE: 800Q, 610V, 4.5AW
Math Courses: Multiple courses in calculus, mathematical analysis, linear algebra, probability, statistics - though some dispersion in grades
Econ Courses (grad-level): advanced macroeconomics (comparable to US grad courses), bayesian econometrics, field econ classes (labor, public sector, development, institutional)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): multiple intermediate courses in micro and macro, mathematical economics, game theory.
Other Courses: lots of econometrics (did major both in grad and undergrad), retirement and life cycle economics at Tilburg
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Polish profs, 2 phds, one phd from Tilburg
Research Experience: bachelor's thesis, RAed for over 1 year at a large Embassy
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: empirical work, econometrics both at micro and macro level, also development and environment
SOP: standard I think, maybe a little chaotic but revealing passion and interests
Concerns: no outstanding or internationally renowned LORs, dispersion in grades, maybe too wide research interests
RESULTS:
Acceptances: Tinbergen ($$), EUI Florence ($$), Minnesota (TA, from waitlist), Tilburg, QEM
Waitlists: Minnesota (admitted April 11th)
Rejections: Columbia, NYU, Northwestern, Maryland, RA positions at FRB and JPAL
What would you have done differently?
As you can easily notice, I cracked practically everything in Europe, but I was pretty unsuccessful in the US. I think what I lacked was one strong letter of recommendation from somebody in a good standing on the other side of the ocean.

3yellowroses 2011:
I'm an international applicant that has been lurking around. Time to disclose my results:
Accepted:
Institution: American University
Program: Phd Economics
Decision: Rejection
Funding: will be notified mid march.
Notification date: 9 March 2011
Notified through: e-mail
Posted on GF: No
Comments:
Waitlisted:
Institution: Tilburg University
Program: Research Master, Economics
Decision: Waitlisted. will hear from them in mid april
Funding: there's a chance to get a TA if admitted
Notification date: 14 March 2011
Notified through: e-mail
Posted on GF: No
Comments:
Institution: Cambridge University
Program: DPhil Economics
Decision: Waitlisted. will hear from them in mid april
Funding: haven't heard a word
Notification date: 10 Feb 2011
Notified through: e-mail
Posted on GF: No
Comments:
Rejections: NYU, Columbia, Berkeley, MIT, Brown, Maryland, Tinbergen, Oxford.
Haven't heard of: Umass, Cornell, WUSTL, Michigan State, Paris School of Economics, Bonn GSE, LSE (Econ & Phil Msc)

darcular21 2012:
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Unknown China University, BBM in Logistics Management, BA in Finance
Undergrad GPA: 3.74(LM)/3.85(Finance)/4.00(Full Mark)
Type of Grad: UK good econ school
Grad GPA: N/A
GRE: Q168 V150 AW4.0
Math Courses: Calculus I (C) Calculus II (A) Linear Algebra (C) Probability (A) Statistics (A) Operational Research (A)
Econ Courses (grad-level): micro, macro, metrics(90 mid-term), maths, IO, game theory, empirical methods
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro(A) Macro(A) Metrics(B) International Trade(A) International Finance(B for major and A for minor)
Other Courses: regular finance courses
Letters of Recommendation: one from UK metrics professor (IDEAS 6%), one from China LM professor (unknown), all should be positive
Research Experience: Chinese National Contest of Logistics Design (can be ignored)
Teaching Experience: no
Research Interests: IO, law and economics, finance
SOP: regular, mentioned the reserach currently doing
Concerns: Low GRE Verbal, unknown letter of recommendation, unknown undergraduate, lack of econ background
Other:
Applying to: Tinbergen, Tilburg, UC3M, UAB, BONN, Mannheim, Bocconi, Frankfurt

wright 2012:
Institution: UVa
Program: Econ. Ph.D
Decision: Rejection
Funding: N/A
Notification date: 02/16/2012
Notified through: Email to check web
Posted on GC: No
Comment: Expected but still feeling sad...

alee 2012:
Institution: Tilburg University
Program: Research Master in Economics
Decision: Waitlisted
Funding: N/A
Notified: 3/13/12
Notified through: Email
Posted on GC: yes
Comments: well... let's wait...