GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL RESOURCES

The economics major is excellent preparation for many graduate and professional programs. Economics alumni enroll in PhD economics programs, law school, medical school, Masters of Business Administration programs and more.

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM GRAD STUDENTS

How do I figure out if grad school is for me?

Graduate school develops analytical skills and helps students learn to conduct independent research. Most graduates get jobs in academia, and some end up in private and state research institutions. (Placement results can be found here: http://www.econ.wisc.edu/grad/placement.html).

Because of its specifics, graduate school requires certain personal qualities. Throughout the program one has to do a lot of tedious work, so one should be patient and not expect the results to show up right away. But no matter what one’s personality is, it is perfectly fine to try and see how things go.

Another take on this:

Start with some introspection about the tasks you like to do and the jobs that include those tasks. Grad school and life as an economist both include complex problem solving with logic, persuasive writing and speaking, and meticulous computer programming. Find out how the pecuniary and nonpecuniary benefits (pretty good salaries, sometimes travel and flexible schedules, etc.) of being an economist compare to that of other jobs with similar tasks. It will be tough to find jobs at which the level of skill, autonomy, and creativity in these tasks is the same blend as in economics. To reach this level of sophistication, a longish period of investment in education is required. There are nonpecuniary costs during this time: difficulty of material, perseverance, perhaps living somewhere you wouldn't otherwise choose. And there may be large pecuniary opportunity costs, depending on the counterfactual job you would seek.

To really hone in on the expected benefit-cost, you might want to have some idea of your likelihood of being admitted to certain schools and eventually certain jobs. This is where the pitfalls of advice come in. Good ideas: talk to your professors about where you might fit in. Study hard at what you most enjoy, and prep for the GRE (it's middle school math after all). Stick to learning best practices for preparing your app. Bad idea: take to heart all the overly specific advice you can find on the internet. As it is not tailored to your particular goals and abilities, such advice is much less valuable than your professors'. If you are at the stage of applying to grad school, invariably you will read that X will never be happy or succeed as an economist and you have already done X. You will rightly not let this discourage you, but it will bother you when you face challenges later. It sucks to feel suboptimal. Instead try to approach this career fresh and open-minded. Feel how you feel about the challenges you face, and find where you fit in.

What schools should I apply to? What resources are available to help figure this out?

Since applying to school is costly (around $100 per application) it is important to carefully choose schools to apply to. First of all, talk to the professors in the Economics department of your university, they would be a great source of information about different programs. Second, learn about school rankings from sources like US News or Econphd.net. A large list of rankings can be found here http://www.aeaweb.org/gradstudents/Rankings.php, but keep in mind that schools have different rankings in the different fields.

The application strategy depends on whether you’re a strong candidate and whether you have a specific field in mind. Your economics professors and undergraduate advisors might help you evaluate your chances of getting into top schools. If you think your chances are pretty high and you know what you’ll be doing, apply to top 20 schools in your field. If you don’t have a preference over fields, apply to the top 20 schools according to the general rankings. If you’re not a strong candidate, choose some programs from top 10 list, some ranked between 11 and 20, and some from 21 to 40.

Most candidates apply to 6-15 programs. It is fine not to have a favorite field when applying, in fact a lot of people change their mind while in the program. Last piece of advice: never apply to a school you will not be willing to go to if accepted.

How do I get recommendations?

Most schools require 3 recommendation letters. Although it’s tempting to ask professors with best reputation to write a letter for you, the best letters are from people who know you well. In the first place, it’s your undergraduate thesis advisor. Then it’s professors you did research or TAed for. In the end, it’s professors who taught classes you did well in. If you did internships, your can ask your supervisor - as long as your job had something to do with economics.

Should I work before grad school? Pros and cons for Econ Ph.D.s

If you’re determined to go to graduate school, there is no need to take time off to work. If you’re not so sure about doing research, getting a job will let you understand what your outside options are and allow you to save some money. Usually people with work experience know better what skills and knowledge they need to obtain, but the first year in a graduate program is a lot like college, and some people have hard time getting back to studying.

What do I write for a grad school essay?

It seems that the essays are amongst the less important components of the application, even though they take lots of time and effort to write. The best strategy is to be clear and precise about why you want to pursue a graduate degree in Economics and how you would fit in the graduate school. The worst strategy is to write praise about the program.

A successful essay should address three questions: why you are a strong candidate, why you want to be in the program, and what you plan on doing with your degree. Any research ideas or experience would strengthen your essay tremendously.

What's the deal with GREs?

Taking GRE is required by most universities. It tests you basic math skills, critical thinking, and academic writing ability. The format of the test was altered slightly in 2011, which makes our observations less relevant, but we believe general trends remain the same. It’s preferable to have a perfect or almost perfect math score (780-800) and at least 4.0 for writing. Retake the test if the scores are lower than that.

A lot of schools will let you submit scores for GMAT, GRE subject tests, or some other standardized tests. Taking GMAT might be helpful, since it’s quantitative part is very similar to that of GRE.

Do I need to know any professors? Do I need to do research?

Knowing professors in the program and doing research might certainly be helpful, but it’s not a necessary condition for graduate school. At the time of applying, it is almost impossible to know who your graduate advisor (even potential) would be. Again, having nice research ideas at that stage would help tremendously.

What are the deadlines?

Most schools in the US accept applications till November and December and make decisions by March.

What kind of grades do I need to get into grad school?

Of course, it’s preferable to have A’s and AB’s in your econ and math classes, but it also matters what level classes you’ve taken. Some students take the first year graduate econ classes in their last year in college. Surprisingly enough, in the first two years of the program your math background would matter much more than your econ background.

The best way to prepare for the math intensive first year of grad school is to have completed enough math for an undergraduate math degree. At minimum, you should have completed the 3 semester calculus sequence (221,222,234), as well as advanced calculus (521). Ideally, you would complete 522 as well as 1 or 2 other math classes that the professors can help you choose depending on your interests.

2012 Economics Senior Class Gift