Am I in good shape for graduate school?

collegemom3717
Wed, 13 May 2020 09:15:56 +0000

I don’t have any experience in the Econ field, but I do have a PhD in a social science, and a fair amount of experience with social and physical science PhDs. You are obviously a strong student, so here are some thoughts / queries that might be useful:

1. will you have enough time to take enough high-level math, beyond the minimum required for your major?

2. can you get research experience in the Econ dept of your university? Can they help you line up something for next summer? Those LORs are a huge variable.

3. It seems…unlikely…that at this stage you know enough about the different PhD programs to know which ones will be the best for you and your research interests. Spend the next year figuring out what your real research interests are- you will spend 5-7 years becoming an expert in it and it is a lot happier experience if it is genuinely interesting to you! It is also key to writing a convincing Statement of Purpose.

4. Be prepared to broaden your reach. Princeton has something like a 2% acceptance rate.