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.

P.S. Posted this in the grad school applications board, but I was redirected here.

[jeffster]

I think you'll find the advice to this sort of question is always "more math." If you can get through the math classes you listed, plus real analysis, you'll be in great shape. In fact, getting good grades in those classes will be more important than anything else you might do, so if you think you'll need to limit other activities to do good in those, do that. If you're a math wiz and workaholic rolled up in one and thus are confident you'll succeed in these classes, then worry about other things.

Definitely do not waste time on any more undergrad econ courses - if you've met the requirements to graduate and have done well in them, that's the best you need. Instead either see if the department will let you take a graduate econ course, or take a quant-heavy stats course. The only problem with these two is that you will actually need much of the math that you'll be taking before you can do them. I think if you get through multi-variable calc though, you should have enough knowledge to start on them. But again, these are a lower priority than doing well in those math classes.

When I asked my professors about getting a MA in econ before applying to a PhD, I received mixed replies. It certainly wont hurt, but will it help enough to be worth the extra 1-2 years? Most seemed to think not, unless you're getting into a top econ MA program, like Harvard or LSE. But you don't actually have to decide on this before you apply - put out some apps to the PhD programs you are interested in (make sure you research what schools actually specialize in the field you want to study, and have faculty you want to work with, so you can tell them why you are interested in their school beyond "you guys are ranked so high!"), then put out a couple MA apps as well, then review your options when you get your replies.

So to summarize: take math classes through real analysis, and do well on them. Don't take any more econ undergrad classes than you need to graduate. After that you're dealing with icing on the cake, but if you have room for it you could try for a stats course or a grad-level econ course if the department will let you.

Good luck

[finance89]

Like the previous poster said, math, math, and more math! Especially a proof based course...

Also, try to post here and you might get more advice