avr2012

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Johns Hopkins University
Previous Degrees and GPAs: BA Economics, Philosophy, GPA: 3.99 (PBK, Dean's List)
GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 770 V, 720 Q (can't do math on a computer)
Previous Work Experience Straight from undergrad, but about 9 months of paid economic consulting/research assistant work
Math/Econ Background: More econ than I can keep track of, Single/Multivariate Calculus, Linear Algebra, Prob/Stat & Econometrics, Logic
Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): Spanish since grade school.
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MA-IR/MPP
Long Term Professional Goals: International economic policy for a few years (WB or Treasury), transition into political risk analysis, private sector consulting
Schools Applied to & Results:
Applied: Fletcher, SAIS, Georgetown MSFS, HKS, WWS, Yale Jackson, SIPA
Admitted: Fletcher, SAIS, HKS
Ultimate Decision & Why: SAIS. Best placement for the institutions/firms I want to work for, high level of economics content, strong faculty in IPE. SAIS just about fits my interests perfectly. And I'll always to be loyal to JHU.
Advice for Future Applicants:
Start planning early. I knew I wanted to do a graduate program going into my sophomore year. And I knew that my top choice was SAIS. Many of the academic and extracurricular decisions I made from that point on were focused on getting myself into SAIS and programs of comparable quality. I wouldn't look at my experience as typical for someone applying straight out of their undergraduate institution--I had a number of advantages, including the fact that I already go to Hopkins and had Hopkins faculty/alumni as recommenders.

Don't skimp on quantitative courses. Math is an important vehicle for understanding economics, which in turn is essential for understanding foreign affairs, but it's also an important academic credential. It serves as a signal that you can think logically and carefully.

I can only speak to 2):

Your intuition about professors' reluctance to allow policy-degree students into graduate level economics courses is correct, at least at my university and based on anecdotal evidence from students at top 20 economics programs. In general, however, this reluctance won't translate into an outright refusal to allow you to take the class, but you usually need to show the particular professor that you've had a sufficient math background to at least pass the course.


For preparation:

Econometrics: Peter Kennedy - A Guide to Econometrics (most grad students swear by this).

Micro I: Just take Analysis. Think about going through Rosenlicht (Intro to Analysis). I wouldn't try and self-teach yourself PhD level micro. Also, most math camps at top programs are just an analysis course for those who haven't had it.

Macro I: Advanced Macroeconomics - Romer

Most of these courses are designed to train you to think like research economists, not policymakers. In general, they're going to be far beyond anything you would ever do in policy work, which is the reason that policy schools don't bother going into PhD level territory.

In at SAIS. First choice. Incredible feeling.

I don't know that characterizing SAIS (or SIPA, or similar schools that bill themselves as such) as "very, very quant-focused" is quite correct. For most of the students who attend SAIS and programs like SAIS (those from a typical political science, history, or international affairs background), the economics coursework will be more 'quantitative' than their previous coursework in the sense that it requires a bit more analytical thinking, the ability to read empirical papers, graphical/algebraic analysis, and occasionally some basic calculus. But you won't see much by way of multivariate calculus, real analysis, differential equations, or mathematical statistics at these schools, in part because policy analysis doesn't really require these tools (with the exception of maybe mathematical stats). At most, at least with respect to SAIS, you might encounter some linear algebra in the second- and third-semester Econometrics sequence, but my understanding from the students I know there is that these courses rarely have sufficient enrollment/interest to be offered. In any case, the goal of these courses is not to make you an econometrician, but simply to enable you to read (intelligently) work that uses econometric methods.

In short, with your MS in statistics, the IR brand of 'quantitative' schools may not offer what you are looking for (i.e. you'll already have had most/all of the material). I would definitely look more closely at a PhD in economics, if you are interested in doing more advanced statistical work. A master's in economics would also be decent, but you should understand that MAs in economics in the U.S. (with the exception of the programs at Duke and NYU) are not that well respected (or rigorous).