What tier Econ Master's program am I looking at?

[eb125]

I know, I know: "call the admissions people at the schools you're interested in and ask them!" I will. But you people on here have quite a bit of knowledge, and I'd like to hear your thoughts.

 

The good:

I graduated in 2012 from Duke with a BS in Economics & a BA in Environmental Policy. I wrote a thesis that was awarded high honors in economics & was selected for a symposium and publication in a campus journal. Through this work, I know that I will have excellent recommendations. I also plan to do extremely well on the GRE (my practice tests have been going well, I test well in general, and I am willing to re-take if I'm not at 162 (quant) and 158 (verbal)). I'm also currently working as an economics consultant for an energy efficiency start-up, which is highly relevant to what I'd like to continue doing.

 

The bad:

3.38 GPA. So that's that.

 

Dream schools:

LSE

NYU

 

...they both say they require 3.5 GPAs. What does this mean?

 

Of course I'm fine with any other tier one or two schools, but just how low do I need to drop my expectations? What is the best school that I could call a safety? What's a fair shot for someone with these stats?

 

 

Thanks so much - good luck to everyone who's hearing back right now!