Graduate School Admission Results

To those flexing their publications. This tells us nothing about the strength of your profile. Publications and a dime a dozen these days, good publications are not. If you really wanted to signal the strength of your profile the most helpful thing would be to mention who your recommenders are. But nobody is gonna do that on an online anonymous toxic forum, are they?

TPB: Could anyone elaborate on what operations interviews are like (behavioral/technical)? How do you prepare, etc.

For people who have interviews, what is the dynamic like with your POI post interview? Should I be reaching out?

Does anyone know what time the portal changes? Does it refresh at midnight?

Why is it so difficult this year? Is it because of enrollment reduction or some other issue?

To the follow-ups, could you please state your background of whether domestic or international applicants? Many thanks!

Has anyone reached out to any programs about admissions timelines this admit season? If so, would you mind sharing which universities and what their expected timelines were? TIA!

TPB. While the GRE might be optional, you should still submit your results as they may provide a positive signal. From my experience, strong recommendation letters from people who can actually assess your capabilities are the real key for a successful application. However, sending an additional signal with a 170Q GRE shouldn't hurt at all.

Is anyone else applying for F21 extremely stressful? I have been kicking my own butt for the past 2 years to get into a good program and this is the year where I am applying again, now covid happens. I just took the GRE with 170Q and all the damn schools are now making it optional. Is this going to be a bloodbath??? How do I cope with this?

Yes, many from different countries will not be able to go there because of US travel ban. South asian people will be added to that list as its codiv cases are rising!

TPB: That is not 100% true, but improving your scores will help your application. If you can afford it, I suggest you take the GRE a second time. If you can't afford it or get a lower/same score the second time around, you'll still find good universities that accept students with scores lower than 165 (just a few I know: University of Tennessee and University of Houston - I have a couple of friends who got in and had scores lower than 165).

TPB: If you're planning to apply again, please ensure that that GRE Quant score is at least 165. There's a common understanding that most Econ PhD programs consider only those applicants with a minimum GRE Quant score cut-off. This may not be true everywhere, and could be a coincidence, but this is what us commonly understood about PhD admissions in general. Best of Luck, and Cheers! :)

TPB. Application to any Econ / Appl. Econ / Ag. Econ PhD program is a stressful process by itself. Several different platforms, way too much time gone into filling forms and wiriting essays, and a lot of money may be spent in the process. Further stress may come if you have close friends and/or colleagues getting admitted, and you somehow feel "left behind"... But still, you shouldn't decline on your aspiration! Not everyone wants to purposely get themselves into such a rigorous deal as a PhD, so you have won a big first step by setting up your mind to go for it. Now, based on my experience (I have scores quite similar to yours, and got admitted this year--but was rejected last year) I could only give you these recommendations: [1] Choose well the universities you are willing to apply: Sometimes we wish for admission to a "dream school," but you might as well wonder whether it is a good fit for you aspirations as a future researcher. Beyond your interests, look for a place where you will receive attention and time from your professors, and where you are likely to receive funding. A PhD is essentially work and demands a lot of time and effort; you should be awarded for it. [2] Despite many others differ from me about this, and without trying to be repetitive, you should really prioritize the programs you are going to apply. From the first pool of programs you chose, make sure you have five of them where most of your effort will go to. It's better to make solid applications for a limited number programs were you see real odds of both getting admitted and growing as a researcher. This will help you to dedicate enough time to prepare your essays and make a robust case of what you can wait from each program, and on what can you bring there. [3] Try and evaluate the real quality of you recommendation letters. Make sure that those recommending you can provide both a good and thorough description of you abilities. It takes more than a "big name" for a recommendation letter--it's better to have someone who can give insights on your potential based on detailed knowledge of your work, instead of someone who is known as a good researcher but that may give a mediocre letter (at the eyes of an admission committee). [4] Build new abilities in the meantime, and make an effort to improve your profile based on your rejections. There is a lot of randomness in admission, but you can learn from those getting admitted or ending their first year in those universities where you are planning to (re)apply. Check their CVs when possible, and see what can you improve in your formation to increase you chances of getting admitted. It's though and takes time, but you end up improving yourself in any case. [5] Make the best to not to compare yourself to others. This is discouraging in many cases, and it's unfair with yourself. Your process is yours only, and you should not measure your achievements as relative to others since they are most likely not comparable to you. [6] Finally, do your best to make your applications early and at the same time whenever possible. After that, just disconnect from it and take a vacation. We focus so much on the admission process, that we leave aside many things that are truly important, and start to stress unnecessarily way before results start to come out. At the end of the day it's worth remembering that the PhD will be roughly 5~6 period, so it's not a matter only of education but also a life changing decision. Don't rush it. I know these are not quite ortodox suggestions, but I found them to be helpful for me. Hopefully this will help you to keep going for it, and hopefully getting the expected result.

Can anyone help me. It is now for two years that I am applying and getting all reject. My toefl score is 105 and gre is 162 quant and 152 verbal and 4 in AWA. My target is top 70 us universities. Is it my low gre quant score that cause me to be rejected from top 70. For the coming year I wanna apply again. If any one can comment on reasons of being rejected it helps a alot. Thanks.

Just a heads up for these schools (so far), they just announced that there will be no in person classes this fall. All classes are to be online. Wrap your melons around that.

I'm not able to understand why do so many people want to just go to the US by taking god knows how much amounts of loans. I did my undergrad from the most prestigious college in my country in a good department of engineering with a great GPA. I know I can make it big by securing a job in top firms (if that is what everyone aspires), but the tuition and all expenses just for 2 years in the US scare the shit out of me. I want to be happy, not just in terms of money but by the work which I do. Is it worth it? Is it what you want? Ask yourself this question before leaving.

Okay, Boomer.

This school has so much funding from the Chinese CCP, at least in STEM. Getting a PhD here is going to ruin your academic reputation. Beware.

How are everyones programs managing the possible shift to tele-ed due to possible COVID-19 closures in the fall?

Does anyone have an idea whether the schools will be open in August - September? Maybe some news about distance learning??