Not sure where to go from here

[sirandrew]

Hey everyone, I just finished my second year at college, and am looking to apply for grad schools for econ come fall (I skipped a year).

First off, here is a summary of my profile:

School: Loyola University, New Orleans (honors program)

GPA: 3.96 cumulative, 4.0 in major (economics)

GRE: Not taken yet, but I am good at standardized tests (I got a 2200 on the SAT), so I am expecting 99th percentile or close to it.

I have taken a whole bunch of the school's most difficult econ courses (econometrics and the like) and got A's.

I have almost no math classes, however. I have taken stats, econometrics, and calc I, and I will be taking Calc II next semester, and then hopefully Calc III, differential equations, linear algebra, and maybe one more next year.

I have no formal research experience (as a research assistant), but I have done a few 20-30 page econ research papers (one of which was very econometrics heavy). I am also going to be writing my senior thesis, which I have high hopes for.

I am pretty confident that my letters will be great. One benefit of being at a small liberal arts school is that I am really close with my professors.

I have an internship at Merrill Lynch this summer. Also, I have been given the position of President of the school's econ club (which is a pretty big and important club on campus), but I may step down since I will have to take like 25 hours next semester (which, I believe, is unprecedented at the school).

If I had one more year of undergrad, I think I would be better prepared for getting into a great university (I am hoping for t10 if possible). As it stands, I don't think I have the math classes or enough published material. My grades, LOR, GRE, etc might suffice.

So, my question to you guys is what I should do now. Do I have any chance of getting into a top grad program (I know application success is kind of random). Should I apply for a master's program (They seem to be easier to get into) and then go to grad (remembering that money is a pretty big restraint), or should I go to a state school and take a whole bunch of math classes while working a (hopefully) econ related job?

Thanks a ton everyone, I am pretty confused as to what path I should take from here.

[aberrant]

I think you should post your questions here:

http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/34-economics/