Goal: Economics PhD candidate, highest ranking school possible, but I’ll take what I get
Current Situation
3rd year working on Bachelors of Economics, Bachelors of History, and Mathematics minor
Tennessee Technological University: best engineering school in the state, but nobodies in economics
Cumulative GPA: 3.62
Economics GPA: 3.29
Math GPA: 4.00, but that means nothing, since I’ve only finished one math class so far
Member of Beta Gamma Sigma, Omicron Delta Epsilon, and the school Honors Program
Supportive faculty, modest research experience with them but not enough to actually have my name on something
Goals
Can get Cumulative GPA up to a maximum of 3.83
Can get Economics GPA up to a maximum of 3.55, but it’ll probably end up a 3.45
Taking ten more Math classes, not a “Math person,” but I seem to actually enjoy Calculus and have been doing fine so far
Calculus I - Probability and Statistics I
Calculus II - Probability and Statistics II
Calculus III - Introduction to Concepts of Mathematics
Advanced Calculus I - Differential Equations
Numerical Analysis I - Introduction to Linear Algebra
Intend to graduate with Honors
Intend to do an Honors Thesis on a topic in economic history
Strengths
Generally good at economics
Seem to be good at mathematics (didn’t like it in high school)
Some natural curiosity
Very large base of knowledge (for a typical undergrad)
Excellent writing abilities
Weaknesses
Lazy, never had to lift a finger to be an AB student, and it’s starting to cost me
Apprehensive about being a full-time researcher
I’m confused that you only took one math in two years. Are you in Calc 1 or finished it and in Calc 2? For PhD in Econ, you will need classes in quantitative economics as undergrad including econometrics. I’m not sure how you finish that math sequence in two years.
Look up Econ PhDs and see what schools are looking for in competitive applicants. Good luck.
You can take extra Econ classes to bring up Econ GPA.
I didn’t have a clue I needed the extra math until the start of my third year. I thought a Bachelors in Economics would prepare me for a Masters, and then a Masters would prepare me for a PhD, and so on. It also turned out that the Business Calculus Econ majors are encouraged to take doesn’t count as a prerequisite for any of the upper division math.
If I drop my History major, I can fit the Math into just two years, but I expect to stay for five years total. Most of my undergraduate college is paid for by scholarships, though I’ll need to replace them for about the last three semesters. I made an A in Business Calculus and have an A in Calculus I at the moment. Had some other math, but it was all AP or Dual Enrollment back when I was in high school.
The Economics major includes eleven classes, and I only have four left. There’s really no more I can take, either.
As
Honors Principles of Microeconomics
Honors Intermediate Microeconomics
Honors Labor Economics
Bs
Principles of Macroeconomics
Intermediate Macroeconomics
Business Statistics I
Cs
Money and Banking
Remaining
Econometrics (currently A)
Economic Growth and Development (currently B)
International Trade and Finance
Natural Resource Economics
EDIT: As for why I made the particular grades I did, it mostly comes down to laziness (never studying for tests) and the professors. In general, I think I could have gotten As in any of the courses, but it’s too late now and my advisor has told me that he doesn’t think it’s worth redoing any classes.