High GRE - alright GPA - economics PhD?

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi, </p>

<p>I have a 3.36 from a top Canadian university and gre score of 160V and 168Q with AW 4. I also have a masters in public policy from a good Canadian university. I have worked in a policy & research unit as a policy analyst in the Canadian federal government for two years and coauthored a paper. I have a lot of research and some TAing experience. </p>

<p>My undergrad was not in economics or math. Right now I'm taking the math and economics courses that most economics school expect to see on an application and I have gotten A+ on these courses and continue to do in them. I have strong LORs (I'm coauthoring a paper with a professor). I also have a kind of a specific research interest which I will explain briefly in my SOP. </p>

<p>Given all of this, do you think I have a chance at the top 20 in the US for economics?</p>

<p>The courses that I have taken and will be taking are as follows:
- Cal I and II (A)
- Linear algebra (A+)
Now I'm taking
- Cal III
- probability (I'm on track to get As in both)
And next semester I'm taking
- Real analysis
- Intro to topology
- Ordinary diffretiational equations.</p>

2

<p>If you have the prerequisites for economics, the fact that your undergrad major wasn’t in economics will be less important - although it’ll be better if it was a social science degree like sociology or something related to economics. But you have an MPP, which although it isn’t exactly econ is related as well.</p>

<p>I do think you have a chance at the top 20 in econ. You should apply. But you should definitely also apply to the next tier - even the most competitive applicants apply to some less competitive schools as well.</p>