swotai

Hi,
I'm new to this forum, but anyways i need some help regarding grad schools.

I'm looking into applying for Econ PhD programs.

I'm a recent graduate from UCSD majoring in Economics/management science. My undergraduate gpa is 3.767 (major gpa is 4.0, but sucked at history). I have done honors thesis and got A+ and presented result at research conference at school. So far I can get 2 with-depth rec. letter from my professor (I probably will need 1 more), and I have taken GRE with Q800 V550 and still waiting for my W scores.

I have a few questions:

Is 550 a low-ish score for a social science field like Economics?

Should I decide on my field of study sooner (i.e. which particular aspect in economics I wanna study)?

My professor told me to apply broadly, but surely I wanna avoid those that i shouldnt even dream of going into. I'm wondering given my scores and gpa, which school would i stand a chance? My family is a low income family and I would really want to control some cost.
I would really love to go to stanford or berkeley since I live in the bay area. Are these school within my reach? The school's website and anecdotal accounts all point at different directions and I'm confused.

About the third rec. letter, one of the professor who is willing to write me a letter suggested me to seek one from classes which i got an A+ from (I got 10 of them). However since I have moved already to another city, I guess not being able to talk to them face to face is really my disadvantage, and my emails are repeatedly ignored. Is there any other way I can get a good rec letter?

swotai

are my questions invalid? if yes, how?

Momwaitingfornew

No one has answered because no one can answer what schools you should apply to. Choose them not only for reputation but also for a match to your interests. Students considering graduate school need to do a lot of research on their own, and part of that is determining which programs interest you.

If your professor recommends that you apply broadly, do that. As for funding, look into the program websites to see which offer financial support and how much. Many PhD programs fully support their students with tuition waivers, TA/RA jobs, and scholarships.

swotai

Thanks a lot.!