hermionecatnip

Hi all, I'd really appreciate it if you could help evaluate my profile for a PhD in Economics. The schools I am planning to apply are top tier, and I have been worrying not having enough safety schools. Undergrad institute: UCLA, but non-US citizen Undergraduate Majors: Financial Actuarial Math, with a minor in French Undergraduate GPA: 3.80 overall, 3.73 major GRE: V161 Q170 AW 4.0 (worried about AW, retaking it in a week) Quant course works: 2 Multivariable calculus classes, 2 linear algebra classes, differential equation, real analysis, 2 probability theory classes, loss models(statitsics-heavy) (I'm a bit worried about a B and a B+ in two of these classes, also there are several A-'s) Other certifications: passed 4 SOA actuarial exams. I'm hoping that they will tell my quant abilities. Not sure whether they could compensate for my B and B+ in math. Research: 2 research in econ department, one in exchange rate and another in financial market (about 6 months each). Paper on exchange rate ready for submission. Relevant internship experience: actuarial internship with California Department of Insurance (mostly statistics and finance) LOR: research advisor (who also taught my econometrics and economic forecasting classes), faculty advisor for internship(who is my statistics professor), and a math professor with whom I took two math classes related to statistical modeling. Current school list: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, UPenn, UChicago, Stanford, Duke, Brown, WashU Any feedback will be appreciated. Should I set my target lower? Any program recommendations?