Applying to Phd in Economics, Need Some Advice

[tribesdude]

Hello everyone! I am thinking of applying to Phd Economics programs this coming December, and would ideally like to start a program in 2015. I have done some reading on this, but have seen some, I guess "conflicting views" and I would like to clarify that, as well as get an assessment of my chances in getting into a program. 

 

So a bit about me, I did my undergrad in Canada in Commerce (Finance specialization) and now am doing a Master of Public Policy at Georgetown. However, I do not know if my math preparation will be strong enough by the time I apply. In my undergrad I took: Calc I, Calc II, Business Stats, Discrete Math (CS course but was largely based around boolean logic and Discrete Math), and a ton (6-8) of econ courses (Including Intro to Micro, Intro to Macro, International Trade, Intermediate Macro, and etc). In Graduate School, by the time I apply will have taken (Intermediate Micro, Public Finance, and Quantitative Methods 1, 2 and 3, by Quantitative Methods I mean 1 was pretty much probability and statistics, so z-score, t-test, etc, Quant 2 is Regressions and we use Stata all the time, Quant 3, dont know what it will entail yet).

 

Anyway, would I need to take anymore math courses or do you think this is enough to get me through admissions? Because I can if need be, but would rather not since there are so many other courses I am interested in.

 

The second I had was related to the research proposal. I have heard it both ways, meaning some people saying be more open ended while other saying be very specific. Would like to have some clarification on this. 

 

Next thing (and I realize this is too early to say), but what would you say my chances would be in getting into such a program? My undergrad GPA was a 3.5x and right now I am sitting at a 3.8 for my Master's (granted Masters GPA's are fairly inflated), and I have a GRE score (am planning on retaking it) of Q160, V160, AW 5, would like to get something close to 168 for Quant). Worked for a year as a Research Assistant. 

 

Planning on applying to: UofT, UBC, Queens University, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon, UMich, UNC-CH, and Duke. 

 

Thank you very much for your help!

Edited March 14, 2014 by tribesdude

[tribesdude]

Hate to be the guy who bumps,but bump! Would greatly appreciate some insight from you guys who have a lot of experience in this area.