FuyuhikoSomeno

PROFILE
Type of Undergrad Institution:  International university
Major(s)/Minor(s): Economics
Undergrad GPA:  3.7 
Type of Grad:  European university
Grad GPA:  4.00
GRE:   168 Q, 165 V, 5.5 AW
Any Special Courses: Lots of statistics and econometrics courses. 
Teaching Experience: Worked as a TA for two courses last year.
 
RESULTS (PHD)
Acceptances (all $$): NYU, Duke, Yale, Rochester
Waitlists: UChicago, WUSTL
Rejections: Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, UCSD, Cornell, Georgetown, Michigan
Going to: Still don't know
LESSONS LEARNED
1. Take the GRE if you want to do quantitative research. Getting a good quant score will be good for your chances, and it is still a requirement for some good quant-oriented programs (e.g. Rochester). 
2. Fit matters. I applied to some places where my fit was very bad, and they all rejected me. Interestingly, fit was a far better predictor of where I got acceptances than ranking. 
3. Work on your SOP early. It is much more time-consuming than it seems. I left it for the last moment and it was very stressful. Also, ask your POIs and any academically-oriented friends you have to read it. The input from these people can be extremely valuable. 
4. If you are still an undergrad, also consider getting an M.A. before applying. 
5. I did not contact any POIs before applying, so I think it makes little difference overall. If you have a good reason to contact them, it may be useful, but I would advise against contacting POIs just because you feel pressured to.
Always happy to connect with future applicants.

 

Claiming a Harvard Government waitlist in CP.

Claiming a Harvard Government waitlist in CP.

Claiming a Harvard Government waitlist in CP.

Claiming a Harvard Government waitlist in CP.

Claiming a Harvard Government waitlist in CP.

Claiming a Harvard Government waitlist in CP.

Claiming a Harvard Government waitlist in CP.

Claiming a Harvard Government waitlist in CP.

Claiming a Harvard Government waitlist in CP.

Claiming a Harvard Government waitlist in CP.

Is anyone claiming the MIT acceptances?

Got a Yale reject! Surprisingly not upset  I won’t be waiting on anymore applications. I’ll be accepting USC’s offer!! 

Did anyone contact MIT or Stanford about the timeline?

Claiming a Cornell waitlist in CP! Received quite a nice personal-sounding message from the DGS saying they had a pool of 559 applicants this year of 'unprecedented quality'.
1a/3w/4r/5p

Good luck next week everyone.

This cycle isn't over for me yet, but I just want to say how thankful I am for this little corner of gradcafe. You have been so positive and supportive, providing advice to others on how to strengthen applications, gain more theoretical/methods knowledge, and helping some nurse their rejection(s). I know gradcafe can sometimes be a bitter and anxiety-inducing space, but you've made it a wonderful part of my application journey this year -- thank you! ☺️

Can anyone claim the MIT rejection?
 

Just got an offer from UCLA! Apparently UC's just love sending out their decisions in the dead of night lol. IR Subfield
I'm so excited I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep any time soon but I hope you all wake up to good news ❤️
 

It absolutely would NOT hurt to reach out if you're waitlisted. Your prof is right. I've been waitlisted in past cycles and in my experience, the department is just as excited about you joining as they are about the people who they admitted outright. The fact is that there are only a few funded positions and many more qualified applicants. The decisions between admits and waitlists can be extremely arbitrary and subjective. So don't feel like you are putting pressure on them or complicating things. 

Hey guys,
 
So I got waitlisted at my top choice and one of my recommenders, a veteran prof. at a competitive department, asked if I had reached out to the program yet. He then said it shouldn't hurt to email the DGS, mention how excited I am about the possibility of attending and ask when final decisions will be made. I'm a little worried about doing this because I don't want to seem like I'm putting pressure on them, and, to complicate matters, the DGS is also the prof. I would want to work with in the first place. Would this be too awkward? Have any of the wailisted people here reached out to their respective departments?
 
Thanks in advance!

I got waitlisted at Princeton, and I'm scheduled to meet the director of my program for a brief chat. I think you should definitely schedule a meeting with the DGS (assuming they don't reach out to you first) -- the probability you'll be offered a place is not zero, and the fact that you weren't rejected indicates that the department thought you were a worthy applicant! Definitely listen to your recommender on this!

Congrats on getting waitlisted at your top choice!
I haven't been waitlisted anywhere but I did some research online in preparation for the possibility. The consensus seems to be that expressing enthusiasm and interest and seeking to connect with faculty you might be working with is a good strategy from trying to get off the list. For what its worth, I have multiple friends in top programs who pursued this approach and were successful . I actually think it falls well that the DGS would be your potential advisor as it makes it less awkward trying to connect with faculty as a waitlisted student.
Also, think of it this way: you could be taken off the waitlist at almost the last minute, and if you haven't connected with profs by then, how will you evaluate the option?
Just my two cents.

One of the POIs I have known now for a while told me that they received ~600 applications (last year was 300-350) and have cut down their cohort from 22 to 8. So yes that's like an 83% reduction in the chance of getting into Chicago. It's nuts.

I don’t know what’s going on in your life to make you like this, but I’m quite happy with mine. I’ll certainly stay on this forum to remind people not to listen to the likes of you