Am I out of the running? (Econ PhD question)

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi! I'm a sophomore at a top 10 undergrad that DOES NOT have a grad econ program, but still has a very strong econ department. I have great relationships with profs and am one of the few majors who actually wants to get a PhD (everyone else is going into ibanking/consulting.) Also, I'm deciding between a number of career paths right now so I'm just trying to see whether I have chances in each of them (Econ PhD, the solid parent-supported choice, and journalism, a weird personal passion, being the two top contenders).</p>

<p>However, I BOMBED this term. A B- in Econometrics (median was a B) and B in Public Economics (median was a B+). Other than that, I've been getting all A's in my Econ/Math classes and hope to continue (especially with the honors levels of Econometrics and Public). This term truly doesn't reflect how I've done in econ classes in other terms, but I'm not sure how this blight will affect me. I'm also involved in research with two very enthusiastic profs, and will hopefully do thesis work with either of them.</p>

<p>All else held in optimism, should I start filling out my McDonald's application? </p>

<p>Also, if there's anything I could do to somewhat remedy these issues, I'd appreciate any tips.</p>

2

<p>Calm down hahaha, a few grades won’t hurt you!
My transcript has 4 withdraws and I have a 3.15 GPA yet I STILL got an invite to Duke Genetics Ph.D. interview weekend. My experience and recommendations really pulled me through. Although I realize I haven’t been accepted, I think they looked beyond my lackluster performance in school and focused on my 3 years of experience and the summer fellowship I received. Clearly they see something promising in me.</p>

<p>I realize its not the same as econ, but clearly grades and classes are not everything. If you are still worried, just do well on the GRE and don’t worry about it. I scored very well on my GRE so it sort of mitigated the horribleness of my grades.</p>

<p>You are fine!</p>