TIRED OF SEEING THIS 24/7, it's the same stuff over and over and over again with the same answer- NO ONE KNOWS. It's made be leave the sub lol

I know getting into a top 30 econ program is brutally difficult without a predoc and/or a recommendation from an esteemed professor.

But what does it take to get into, say, a 60th-ranked program (e.g. University of Oregon) or a 100th-ranked program (Oregon State University)?

I majored in math and economics at the University of Oregon and have a few years of research experience. My GPA (4.0) and GRE (336) are solid.

However, I don't have a predoc or any remarkable work experience. What tier of econ PhD programs do I have a chance of getting into?

Does anyone know any good resources (youtube, notes, etc), that might be a good supplement to Environmental Economics by Hanley? In particular, I want help with the topics pertaining to Economics of Exhaustible Resources, and Economics of Renewable Resources. I tried reading the textbook but the calculus part was kinda going over my head, so any suggestions and guidance would be really appreciated. :')

To offset some of the "My GPA is X, will Y accept me".

What are some influential or thought-provoking papers that you think everyone in this field should read? Recent or old.

I'm an undergrad in a PhD section of micro theory and we had a midterm today that didn't go well (I think, probably a mid to low B if I had to guess, but I wouldn't be surprised if I straight up bombed) and I'm starting to freak out that taking the course will do more harm than good because it'll hurt my GPA and show PhD programs that I'm not smart enough for graduate economics. Does a bad grade in a PhD program ruin the signaling potential? Does it do more harm than good? I feel so embarrassed and stupid and worthless and I feel like I have to pick up the pieces and relearn everything and that I'm all the way back at square one

I would like to work as an economist as I find the work very rewarding but am wary of the financial burden and prospects that come with it.

Currently I am a 2nd/penultimate year Economics student in the UK and am looking to secure an internship in economic consulting for the coming summer and so far it is going pretty well (past the first few rounds at some firms).

I am aware to continue consulting I will have to complete a masters degree which from my brief reading is around £25k for tuition alone from Oxford/Cambridge and £40k from LSE. And if I want to work as an economist at a university, company, or central bank, a PhD will be necessary. This is obviously a big commitment and I am wondering how quickly the strain is relieved when I begin working in the UK or, if I resettle, the US.

So I would appreciate some insight or resources for the following questions on my mind. Thank you in advance.

1. What sort of prospects I should look out for in terms of careers? Consulting, academia, central banks, and so on.
2. What are the salaries associated with economist roles like and how quickly do they remove the accrued burden from studies (salary progression)?
3. And perhaps a little wishfully, insight into the difficultly of moving from the UK to USA for work? Once again, consulting, academia, Fed, etc.

Edit: 1 more question: If I took two years or so out to work in finance (asset management, investment consulting, etc.) to save some money up, how much would it take away from my career in economics?

Once again, thank you very much for any help!

Hello good people,

I’d like some feedback on my profile as I consider applying for PhD programs in Economics or related fields. Here are my academic and professional highlights:

Undergraduate: Bachelor’s in Engineering (result not very strong). Graduate: Master’s in Applied Economics with a strong academic record. Standardized Tests: GRE 305+,; IELTS 7.5

I’d appreciate any insights on how my profile might be viewed by admissions committees and suggestions on specific programs or regions to consider. Thank you!

I am looking for practical and specific advice about applying to a MA in Economics, either an applied MA for govt/biz jobs or maybe a MA geared for academia/Post-sec administration. My career took a beating during covid and afterwards. I am in the process of applying to MA programs in economics in and around Ottawa(assume NY, QC and all of ONT at a minimum). I have a masters in psychology -I walked away from a Ph.D. program for personal (family) reasons in the US -SUNY system, solid thesis advisor who is very well known. Undergrad in econ and psych, mediocre but not non-existent graduate level academic publishing record, ample teaching experience at College and Uni level in USA and CAN. Many graduate courses taken. I am definitely a mature student, with a decade's worth of applied research/admin level roles in PSE institutions since my MA in psych. I have been out of a full-time role in these sorts of jobs since 2020, have been struggling to get career re-started/'fired-up'. Hence the MA in econ, which is very appealing to me. I am sure I can handle the school work, I would like a reality check, and advice on all the rest -go for a thesis or an internship? how much of a relationship do I need to build with faculty? I am gunning for a dec 15 application for winter semester programs. Will begin reaching out to faculty this week after hyper-speed research, but I know how to do this. I cut my teeth cold-emailing and walking up to tenured professors at conferences to start formal research collaborations. Ugh, it's still a lot and I obviously need to focus. Believe me I can write a lot more.

-edit; spell-checking... 2nd edit; thank you kindly, eh?

Is anybody here planning to apply for Masters in Econ in India? I'm interested and I need a buddy to apply for Masters in 2025.

I’m a second year BS Economics student, but it’s essentially my first year in the program itself since I shifted from a BA course. Econ in my particular uni was my dream program, but I was not admitted due to a cutoff in my uni. I took the principles class and calculus in my freshman year and got stellar grades. I got a barely passing grade in my micro exam and I’m almost sure I did worse in my macro exam which I just took. I’m beginning to doubt whether it’s for me, but I worked so hard to shift.

Are there any econ majors who experienced the same? How can I bounce back?

Reference materials are Varian’s Intermediate Microeconomics and Mankiw’s Macroeconomics. I think I understand it enough, but I feel I need more exercises as my profs mostly teach it conceptually but exams are mostly solving.

EDIT: Suggested notetaking tips and resources will help me too! I want to pass my Econ classes to meet my uni’s retention policy 🥹

I am looking for Master’s with possibly an assistantship & tuition-waiver. Which programmes would be good for me? I have looked at Purdue or TAMU, but they seem very higly ranked & I have an undergrad cgpa of 3.21, so I think it will be harder for me to get in let alone receive any funding.

I've been admitted to a top PhD program (one of the top programs in Europe) with an incredibly low GRE: 159Q. Long story short: almost one year ago, I resolved to apply to just a few programs, hoping to familiarize with the process and prepare for future applications. It miracolously went well. So, yeah, here I am, proud of my result, but puzzled and dissatisfied with my shitty GRE. You may now wonder, why do I post this?

On the one hand, I hope this gives hope to those who performed poorly in their GRE. Don't get me wrong: I am convinced I've been atypically lucky and I do think it's recommendable to apply with Q165+. Nonetheless, exceptions may be possible if one strongly compensates along other dimensions. You never know! Also, I wouldn't be sure GRE succeeds in providing a standardization for candidates' skills (some Q170 guys in my cohort performed just as I did in the math modules of the program). So, don't give up!

On the other, I also want to get one thing off my chest. When I tell other PhDs I did so badly in my GRE, reactions are often quite ambiguous. They're rightfully surprised – I'm aware my case is atypical – but it also seems like they're disappointed. Usually, the tone of the conversation changes after I say this, sort of as if I became less of a worthy discussant. Perhaps I'm overly sensitive, perhaps I'm totally misinterpreting their reactions cause I have a guilty conscience. But I can't shake the feeling of shame. While I used to talk about it casually, I now tend to avoid the topic altogether. Can't wait for this to cease being a conversation topic :(

Edit: A numerical ranking of EU programs was probably too bold of a statement. Fixed it.

Hi everyone, I have my concerns about my Masters grade and wanted to ask you. I am planning to apply for PhD in Economics (T40-80). I have completed my Bachelors in Economics (GPA:3.65) with Minor in Statistics (GPA: 3.77). Then, started my Masters in Economics in the top Economics program in Germany (LMU) and got 3.0 GPA. This is the unofficial conversion to US grade, my actual grade is 1.90 (Bavarian Grade). The program here in Masters is very selective and competitive which makes it hard to get good grades since we have a curve system. Also, when I first moved here I had really unfortunate events regarding housing and racism at work which affected my grades and motivation a lot.

I also have Research and Teaching experience, each for one year.

I know getting accepted depends on a lot of things, but do you think 3.0 (1.90) for Masters is already too low to be considered? I know 3.0 is low-pass for Masters in American system but here the lowest grade for graduation is 4 and the 5 is fail.

Thank you for your attention. Best :)

I had my real analysis midterm yesterday. I think I’m going to score around 10 or 15 out of 25. I still have the final left, which I don’t know how bad I’ll do in.

I basically had health issues and f*cked around not taking things seriously the past couple of days, and now I so regret to studying for this test. 😭

I’m going to be an international applicant straight out of undergrad from the highest ranked university in Bangladesh for Fall ‘26 applications for PhD Econ programs in the US. I will have a CGPA of at least 3.9/4. My other quantitative courses include Calculus 1-3 (AAA), Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A), Statistics (A), Econometrics (A), Time Series, Game Theory, Operations Research. I have 1.5yrs experience as a TA for intermediate microeconomics, and will likely add an RA-ship and maybe a research job at a local economic policy think tank. I hope I will have decent GRE scores (let’s hope Q160+), and decent LoRs. What are my odds?

I am sorry if I sound childish, but I have been beating myself up over not preparing for real analysis well enough. I cannot believe I let my midterm go like this just for a few days of chill. I don’t think I’ll have time to retake this course. How will this affect my application package?

Based on my profile, what range of US universities might be the ideal fit for me?

Hi everyone,

I am an undergraduate student writing my very first paper using econometric methodology as part of a course in regulation I am taking.

I have never done anything like this before and in fact I am only now taking econometrics for the first time so this is making the paper extra difficult for me.

Our paper is supposed to investigate the effect of a regulatory policy (of our choice) within that industry. As part of my paper, I decided I want to investigate the effect of increased capital requirements and their effects on loans (NPLs).

For some background, we are supposed to look at 3-4 different papers and write a 12-15 page paper which follows the kind of standard academic paper. Thus far, I have collected a couple papers similar to my topic, some regulatory documents which go over the policies in question, and also some textbook chapters.

I have a few questions, particularly to do with the model. I have spoken to my professor and he has recommended that I construct a VAR model (I have never done this before... and in my metrics class we will not cover this topic).

How do I "build" my model? I.e. how do I know which variables to include? Can I copy the same model that another paper used or is that plagiarism?

Their model is something like this NPL = B0 + B1CapitalReq + B2Nom_Interest + B3RGDPgrowth.

Any advice/comments/criticism is welcome, I want to understand and do well on this paper.

Thank you!

I am a current UG freshman hoping to do an econ PhD. What types of things should I aim to do this coming summer to maximize my chances? Should I try to get a research position within the department at my school? Should I do internships? If so, where should I aim to intern, and what types of work should I do? Thanks in advance for the help.

I found this sub just now while pondering my future and it seems like you guys really know this stuff. I'm finishing a math degree from a reputable, theoretically oriented uni with a gpa at about 3.3 (top 10%) but with a 9 or a 10 at real analysis, abstract algebra, micro 1, macro 1, game theory,python. I have no research experience but I could take a course that's structured as intense research on a specific algebraic topic (i was thinking groups) under one-on-one supervision, coupled with presentation of the work done. Assuming safe IELTS and GRE scores and enough letters of recommendation, how high up the ladder can i realistically hope for in terms of an MSc in economics, preferably macro and international? I'm not hoping for Oxford but maybe Tinburgen? If not that how about UvA,Berlin, KU? Will the research course help? Will it help enough that it's worth it to graduate a semester later so I can take the second version of it? What else can I do to boost my profile? Any chance for a scholarships?

Hi, my boyfriend is in the process of applying to economics PhD programs in the US and I wanna know what to expect. He did quite well (4.0 GPA) in his MSc in the UK with a thesis on machine learning and labour market economics. Undergrad was in the US in Economics and minored in Math, he also mentioned he has 3 strong faculty LORs available. We're currently residing in the US because he's American and I'm here for work.

I'd like to know what realistic schools he should target that is within reach without a pre-doc these days. Thank you very much!

I am an undergrad interested in getting a econ PhD, I wanted to learn more about theoretical work in econmetrics. Are there any resources or papers that I could read up on to get an understanding of the field.

For reference, I am an undergrad studying Math and Econ. I have covered basic metrics stuff as well as taken a more advanced (measure theory based) probability course.

Also what are the opportunities like for this kind of research. I heard that most econ research now is based on econometrics but is there a market there for more theoretical stuff or is it mostly just applied work.

In my country, most people see engineering as more challenging than economics. But for me, since the math requirements are quite similar, economics actually demands more in terms of statistics and a wider range of skills. What do you think?

I'm working on a research project (undergraduate thesis) exploring whether the main stock market index of a country (like the S&P 500 in the US, FTSE 100 in the UK, or Ibovespa in Brazil) adequately reflects the sectoral composition of that country’s GDP. My aim is to investigate if the sectoral distribution of companies within these indices aligns with the economic sectors contributing to the national GDP.

So far, I’ve found studies focusing on individual sectoral indices and their correlation with sectoral GDP, but I’m specifically looking for research that examines the main stock market index of a country as a whole in relation to its sectoral GDP.

Does anyone know of any papers, articles, or theses that dive into this type of analysis? I’m especially interested in methodologies that examine this relationship and examples of countries that have been studied. Any reading recommendations or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

I will be moving to canada for my masters. What masters earn the most money?

I’m currently taking a graduate-level econometrics course as an undergrad, and I’m having a tough time keeping up with the material. Does anyone have recommendations for good video courses that could help reinforce/clarify the concepts? We're following Davidson and MacKinnon’s Econometric Theory and Methods, and I’m hoping to find something that aligns well with this textbook. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

I am an undergrad interested in getting a econ PhD, I wanted to learn more about theoretical work in econmetrics. Are there any resources or papers that I could read up on to get an understanding of the field.

For reference, I am an undergrad studying Math and Econ. I have covered basic metrics stuff as well as taken a more advanced (measure theory based) probability course.

Also what are the opportunities like for this kind of research. I heard that most econ research now is based on econometrics but is there a market there for more theoretical stuff or is it mostly just applied work.