Econ PhD Addmissions Advice

<p>Hello All, </p>

<p>First I would like to thank anyone who reads this, and more so for those who respond. I have always wanted to finish my PhD in Economics and have decided to do so next year! I have been spending a lot of time looking at schools and was wondering if people could offer advice (just based on my GPA, GREs, and where I attended school) if the schools I have picked are out of my league, or if I have good shots at these. Also, should I be looking at lower or higher ranked schools? Thanks in advance and here we go:</p>

<p>Undergrad: SUNY Albany – BS Mathematics – GPA 3.4
Grad1: University of Nevada, Las Vegas – MA Math – GPA 3.8
Grad2: SUNY Albany – MA Economics – GPA 3.8</p>

<p>Yup, no Ivy League, just some smaller state schools.</p>

<p>GRE scores:
Verbal: 500
Quant: 750
Writing: 4.5</p>

<p>Dream schools (AKA my really long shots):
University of Virginia
Cornell</p>

<p>Schools I would like to apply to, but not sure where I stand for admissions:
Stony Brook University (SUNY)
SUNY Buffalo
Syracuse University
Rutgers</p>

<p>Schools I think I would ‘locks’ for (hopefully!)
SUNY Albany
CUNY Graduate Center</p>

<p>Obviously I would love to attend UVA or Cornell, but I realize my scores just are not there (hey, we were all 18 and stupid once, right!). My realistic top 3 would be Syracuse, Rutgers, or Stony Brook. What do others think? Shooting too high, too low, or just about right?</p>

<p>Also, not sure if this is relevant, but are admission standards different (lower or higher) for domestic applicants over international, or are the standards simply the same?</p>

<p>Thanks in Advance!</p>

<p>Matt</p>