Need to re-take macroecon?

[outofspace]

I'm trying to decide whether I should re-take macroeconomics online now or just take it later if I happen to get into Georgetown. I took macroeconomics in university around ten years ago and got a B- (), which is unfortunately lower than the B that Georgetown requires. I haven't seen any grade requirements for other schools and hope you all will let me know if I've just missed them, but regardless, would taking the course now up my chances of being accepted at all? Considering all the expense involved in applying to schools, I'd prefer to save money wherever possible at this point. Thanks!

Edited September 22, 2014 by outofspace

[Gov2School]

While impossible to know for sure of course, I doubt re-taking Macro will make much of a difference in whether you're accepted or not.  Maybe it would if you were just finishing undergrad, but since you have 10 years of work experience, they're going to be more focused on that than your grades.  Plus a B minus is pretty close to the required threshold.   What they may do (this happened to me) was after accepting you, include in your acceptance letter that you have to take a Macro course and get a B or better prior to the start of fall semester, but at least at that point you know you're in the school and the money won't be a waste.  

[outofspace]

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. Considering my weak background in quant. courses, do you think taking a Statistics course or the like instead would provide much of a boost? Like I said, I'd prefer to save money wherever possible but also want to give myself the best chance possible of getting into a good school with funding funding (i.e., I don't mind spending money now to save money).

[Gov2School]

It's really hard to say (especially regarding how it impacts funding, which I think is essentially impossible to predict).  I did decide to take stats course the fall that I applied.  I got into all the programs I applied to, but I don't know if the stats course made the difference.   I also had lackluster GRE quant scores, so that made me feel like it was extra important that I have the additional math course. A lot of schools want you to list out specifically what math and econ courses you've taken and I didn't want to have NOTHING to put on that list, so I opted for the stats course.  Plus, beyond applying, I knew I was going to have to do stats whereever I went, and I wanted to know a little less than nothing. But ultimately I think that had less of an impact than my work experience, which was very relevant to what I wanted to study, and the fact that I had a very clear sense of why I was applying and what I wanted to get out of my programs, which I think came through in my SOP. I don't think the stats course hurt at all, but i couldn't tell you how much it helped. 

[outofspace]

Thanks. That was my thought process in regard to the stats course as well. That is, I'm going to have to take it anyway regardless of where I go, so I might as well get started with it now. I am still hoping that my work experience will give me a boost if I can come up with a good narrative for my statements of purpose, but also figure a good grade in a quant. course like stats might dispel any concerns adcomms might have about my math ability due to my previous grades.

 

Can I ask what kind of institution you took your course through, by the way?

Edited September 24, 2014 by outofspace

[Gov2School]

I took mine at a community college in my area, which offers a lot of courses for working professionals.  Most of the other people in my class were also looking at grad school applications and were taking the course for the same reason. 

[outofspace]

Cool, thanks for taking the time to help. Really appreciate it!