LSE Econometrics?

[jshyam22]

Hi!

 

I graduated with an Integrated masters in engineering 6 months ago from one of the top schools in India and currently work with a bulge bracket investment bank as an analyst. As an engineering grad, this is my first exposure to banking/economics. Of late, I've developed a lot of interest in economics in general and would like to pursue a graduate course in econometrics, in particular. The program at LSE seems interesting. Few questions:

 

Is a bachelors in economics essential? Apart from LSE, what other schools globally are reputed for this field? And given my profile, what are the chances of getting in (assuming I apply for Spring 2014 - too late? LSE seems to follow the rolling admissions procedure)

 

Relevant details:

GPA: 3.50/4.00. Yet to take the GRE, I've done quite a few courses in math at uni (including multi-dimensional calculus, advanced probability and statistics, stochastic process, linear algebra, complex analysis)

 

Any advice in this regard is highly appreciated!!!

 

Cheers!

Edited January 3, 2014 by jshyam22

[argo360]

I'm surprised no one responded to this topic, I'm interested in other people's opinion as well.

 

I did a bachelor in Economics in McGill, and there is a difference between theoretical econometrics and applied econometrics. Since you are an engineering grad I'm going to assume you are particularly adapted to doing math, especially linear algebra, so I would personally suggest just go ahead and do a specialization in the specific field of Econ you are interested in. If you want to work in a bank, there's international econ/financial econ, all of which requires a solid macroeconomics knowledge base. 

 

I always thought of economics as building a pyramid, and most universities require you to have Micro, Macro, and Stat (econometrics) to even qualify for a Master's application, and then you branch off and chose your specialization once you got these under your belt.

 

As far as I know, LSE also provides basic macro/micro courses for those who are doing their master's regardless of your specialization, these are listed under required courses. But since you do not have these basics, which took us about 3 years to learn, you'd have to just work a bit harder to understand and memorize the concepts. I applied for LSE in Nov. and they just got back to me with an admission, so I hope you'd be able to catch the October semester. I don't think they worry too much about GRE unless you get below the 85th percentile for math, it might be a bit problematic.

 

Also, (just the pet peeve I learned from my professors, feel free to ignore the rest of the sentence...) economics is not just about money, and banking. If you are interested in the financial sector then it's better to do a finance degree, which is more practical. Economics is more about welfare and how to view the market from a macro/systematic point of view that encompasses not just funds but also people's behaviours and how it affect their well-being overall. I feel like this is an understanding that develops with time and the variety of courses you encounter in this field.

 

I don't know how to recommend other universities to you since I'm not sure which field of economics you plan to get into. A very obvious choice is MIT. UBC also offers great applied econometrics training as well as Berkeley. There are some Yale open courses you can look through to get a basic idea of what academic econ is like.

 

Hope this helps!

[jshyam22]

Oops, weirdly enough, I didn't realise for so long that there was a reply on the thread. Thanks a ton for taking the time, argo360!! And congrats on your admit

 

I decided to wait it out at the job and apply for Fall 2015, instead. And you're right; I'm more interested in the math/applications of math that the field provides. And yes, I would be applying to programs specializing in finance as well. And thus the countdown to the admission deadlines begins again!!!

 

Cheers!