Graduate economics programs

<p>From what I’ve heard graduate schools prefer to see demonstration of high level math skills even over research. But, how important is gpa in econ courses? </p>

<p>I was flipping through a course catalog today for their econ Ph.D program, and it said that in addition to demonstration of mathematical skills they want to see economic classes, “with distinction,” or something like that.</p>

<p>What do they mean by this? Do they want to see straight As? As and Bs? Mostly As with a few Bs? I’m not sure what they mean by “distinction.”</p>

<p>buhp please. Is Yale's grad school worth the $40,000 or so they ask to int'l students? Also, what jobs can you get in the US with a masters? Oh, before I forget, do admission officers prefer math over theory or not? Thanks.</p>

<p>P.S.: My core curriculum requires me to take Calc. I and II, and Calc. III is offered as an elective, with many theoretical classes, such as adv. economic history and stuff. I suck at maths and I'm much better at theorical classes, but I'm willing to take Calc. III if it improves my chances... I'm definitely not sure to get an A though. What should I do? And if you guys have any comments or any piece of advice for me (I go to the Sorbonne) please enlighten me because I'm still a freshman but I know from past experiences that the sooner I start thinking about this, the better. Thank you.</p>

<p>Thanks for hijacking my thread.</p>

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From what I’ve heard graduate schools prefer to see demonstration of high level math skills even over research.

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</p>

<p>Well, I don't know about that. Strong math skills are indeed very important, but more important than research potential? I think that's too strong of a statement. </p>

<p>I would probably place math skills in secondary importance to research. It may be a close 2nd, but it's still 2nd. Research potential is ultimately the most important attribute you can present. Just because you're a math whiz doesn't mean that you can do good research. </p>

<p>
[quote]
But, how important is gpa in econ courses? </p>

<p>I was flipping through a course catalog today for their econ Ph.D program, and it said that in addition to demonstration of mathematical skills they want to see economic classes, “with distinction,” or something like that.</p>

<p>What do they mean by this? Do they want to see straight As? As and Bs? Mostly As with a few Bs? I’m not sure what they mean by “distinction.”

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Well, obviously this depends on a number of factors, so there is no one straight answer. It depends on the difficulty of the school, and on the difficulty of the specific courses you took. An undergrad who took lots of tough grad level Econ courses at MIT will be able to get away with a lower GPA than a guy who took easy lower-level Econ classes at an easy school.</p>

<p>The reason why I'm asking is because before I wanted to major in econ I took an introductory micro class, it was at a cc and since my major wasn't econ I slacked off and got a B. I'm not planning on making a habit of it, but are one or two Bs perfectly ok?</p>

<p>Well, yeah, don't make a habit of it. I'd say that most people applying to top econ grad schools, if they majored in econ, have an in-major GPA of at *least *3.8. 4.0's are not uncommon. That being said, a B in your principles class will hardly doom you. There are plenty of other courses for that. ;)</p>

<p>Well, I assumed that most people wouldn't have 4.0's, but I was wondering if their GPA was brought down by A-'s or B+'s or if it really matters what grade brought it down...not sure if that makes sense, but it sounded ok in my head.</p>

<p>Sure. It certainly matters which course it was in. They'd rather see that B in your first course than in an intermediate or advanced theory course. Plus they understand its your first year, etc. Some/many schools will focus solely on your last four or five semesters worth of work.</p>

<p>By "distinction" the catalog may have meant one of two things: 1 - many depts offer departmental honors, or 2 - they are looking for you to take the harder classes. Beyond the intermediate level theory courses, there are generally only a handful of econ classes that carry any weight (game theory, industrial organization, econometrics to name a few).</p>

<p>Sorry for the hijack.</p>

<p>
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Sorry for the hijack.

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lol no prob. I was just joking.</p>

<p>theghostofsnappy, thank you for the info... very helpful.</p>