My GPA is underwhelming- but I graduated already so there’s little I can do about it.
My GRE scores are also underwhelming- but I’m planning on retaking them with a stronger focus on the math/quantitative section.
I would like to pursue a masters degree in economics but I understand that my 150Q is well-below par.
I believe that I can score at least a 155 with adequate studying.
I underestimated the section the first time because the problems are so easy to solve but I did not understand that it’s the time-constraints that end up getting you.
Do I have a chance of being admitted to Stony Brook, Rutgers, or CUNY? The top 50-100 campuses.
My ultimate desire is to matriculate to a Ph.D program if I do well enough but I’m shooting for M.As at this point.
If I can’t be admitted to an economics graduate program to a top 50-100 school then how about political science or sociology?
I’d prefer economics because it’s an academic discipline that pays off financially very well but my GRE scores incline me towards the less math-focused social sciences.
I can’t really comment on your chances of getting into a mid- to low-ranked economics PhD program, although my guess is that with your current GPA and even projected 155Q that they wouldn’t be good.
However, I will say that you simply can’t select any social science to get a PhD in. You have to have a certain level of pre-grad preparation in that area - a sociology PhD program is going to prefer the equivalent of an undergraduate major’s worth of preparation in that field, and same with political science. If you have very little to no classwork in either, you are unlikely to get admitted. If you have no research experience in either, you are also unlikely to get admitted. Political science also has the potential to be fairly quantitatively-oriented, although you need less pure math and more statistics and probability.
The other thing is that you don’t want any old PhD. You pursue a PhD because you want a specific type of job in a specific field - so you want to be an economist teaching economics at a university and doing economics research, or maybe doing economic modeling at a private corporation or government agency or something. Why do you want a PhD? What is your end goal?
can you comment on my chances of getting into a masters degree program, then?
I’m sure you can get into a Masters program but it might be in a school that does not have a PhD program. If you do well there, getting a high GPA and doing research, you could then move into a PhD program if that is still your goal. However, it is not clear that you have the right motivation or direction for graduate school. Perhaps you would be better off working for a few years and then returning for a graduate degree with a clear focus and strong motivation. You will surely do better academically then.
I’m passionate about political economy- I’m a frequent reader of ‘The Economist’, ‘American Interest’, and ‘The Independent Review’.
I’ve read ‘The Wealth of Nations’ & ‘The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money’ among other classics.
Advanced math courses frighten me.
The areas of economics that fascinate me are the less math-intensive ones that overlap with topics in political science and sociology.
That is why political science and sociology are my alternatives to economics for a masters program in Graduate School.
I’d like to know what my chances are for being admitted to an M.A/M.S program in Stony Brook/Rutgers/CUNY (top 100 campuses).
All those campuses have Ph.D programs but the rules for matriculation (from masters to Ph.D) are very nuanced.