Econ phd what schools to apply to

[SMH]

Hi 

I live in DC currently working as an RA at the IMF. Hoping to apply for phd econ next fall. 

Im not sure what type of schools to apply to in order to give myself a realistic chance. I have 92 percentile GRE quant and am considering retaking it. 

I have one master's in econ from johns hopkins (3.78 gpa) and another from my home country. My undergrad was in business so Im not the conventional econ/math applicant so I definitely dont expect to get into a top 15 ranked school. Any advice what sort of schools I should look into ?

 

Thanks.

 

SMH 

[jane111]

I think you can get accepted by top-tier schools (including top 15 ranked school) using your master degree and current job experience. 

working as a RA in international institution should be impressive. 

good luck

[unknown16]

SMH, your RA experience would be pretty useful in application, especially if you have built a close relationship with some economist(s) and can get strong, personal letters of recommendation. In that case, top 15 should be possible, conditional on your other preparation. I think one important factor is math - did you do much math in your undergrad and masters, and how well did you do? Regardless of your credentials, it is always a good idea to apply widely across the ranking if you're not a "perfect" candidate. 

[SMH]

Thanks a lot. So I did a good bit of math during both my masters. Not a lot in my undergrad - which is basically my main concern. Will be sitting for the GRE later this year. 

Thanks a lot for the suggestions - I will definitely apply to a wide range of schools. 

 

[Malthusian]

Do you want to live in the DC area or are you OK moving about? Your work experience will definitely add a lot of bonus points to your application.

[SMH]

Hi Malthusian

I think I would move out of DC (way too expensive). I'm glad the general consensus is that the work exp will help. My main concern is that my undergrad isnt the econ/math track which most graduates appear to have. Most of the calc/algebra/stat/econometrics I did were during my master's , both at JHU and back home, but I wonder because of the relatively less math intensive undergrad should I look mostly at mid-tier schools? 

 

Thanks 

[kd7432]

34 minutes ago, SMH said:

Hi Malthusian

I think I would move out of DC (way too expensive). I'm glad the general consensus is that the work exp will help. My main concern is that my undergrad isnt the econ/math track which most graduates appear to have. Most of the calc/algebra/stat/econometrics I did were during my master's , both at JHU and back home, but I wonder because of the relatively less math intensive undergrad should I look mostly at mid-tier schools? 

 

Thanks 

As long as you have done the math courses during your masters it doesn't matter if you did or didn't do them in the undergrad. 

[Imrul]

Sharjil Bhai,

I did mine from NSU. I have a specialization in Econometrics with 4 courses. Also, quit my job in last september to take 2 courses in Calculus and 1 courses in Linear Algebra in NSU. I had a chance to get a evaluation of my profile from a Top 5 school. Not someone from the Admission Committee but he was the director of Undergrad Study. He said, I lack the courses in "Advanced Math, Advanced Stat and Advanced Econometrics" - without explanation. But other faculty from the same university said, advanced math = real analysis, advanced stat = mathematical stat (the one with calculus and axiomatic approach). No explanation on what they meant by "advanced econometrics". But the most important feedback was, they best way to show your Math/Stat ability is not through coursework but via research work (written example). It doesn't even have to be published.  Bets of luck with GRE and admission season. Hopefully i will apply in Fall 2018.

Imrul