[经济学] Advice from Current Economics PhD Students to Prospective Ones [复制链接]

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发表于 2005-8-30 15:47:31 |只看该作者 |倒序浏览

Advice from Current Economics PhD Students to Prospective Ones

http://www.chrissilvey.com/advice.html

Although the previous two article (How Many Article, Set Apart Article) based on the letter I wrote to current PhD students, this summer, have covered a great deal of the ground in this article, I thought it would be useful to include the answers to my final question for anyone who is interested. The question I asked to all of the economics PhD students I could find in the top 50 programs in the US was:

If you could give any advice to an undergraduate student of economics about the process of being accepted to graduate school, what would you say?

If you could give any advice to an undergraduate student of economics about the process of gaining acceptance to graduate school, what would you say?

Most of the answers I received back covered the same ground as on the previous two questions. Below is a short summary of the most common answers…

Take lots and lots of math.
Get solid letters of recommendation, if possible from respected and well known researchers or professors.
Do research, as an undergrad if possible.
Finally, relax and only pursue a PhD if you truly have a deep seated interest in the field of economics.

Instead of rewriting a long summary of what the PhD students wrote me I thought I would just post some of the better responses here for you to review.

If anyone has anything interesting to add, please e-mail me, if it is interesting I will post it along with the others.

Below are some responses from current PhD students…

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Talk to graduate students, visit schools, and try to figure out what you want out of economics (and life). From what I can see, schools are very different - find the right one for you. I was caught up in trying to get the school with the best academic reputation. This was not the right track for me. Sometimes the best does not mean the best for you. - U.Mass -

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Double major in mathematics, period. Take as many graduate level courses your senior year as you can (I don't know if they offer courses at your university, but I took several master's econ classes as an undergrad). The most important master's class to take would be econometrics. Trust me, it's nothing like what you see in undergrad.

Grad school is harder than you think it will be. I can't speak for other places, but I will say this about Chicago: expect to come in completely under prepared as an American. There is simply no way that you will have the same background as your foreign peers who come from rigorous master's programs. If you want to be treated well, don't come to Chicago. It is brutal, and it is the hardest of the top programs (I have compared my experience with friends at Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, etc.). Despite the fact that grad school will be the hardest thing you ever do, don't buy into everything they teach you; some of this stuff is WRONG and it's your job as an economist to eventually refute bad theory. Expect your profs to be brilliant researchers but horrible teachers--I mean even worse than your worst undergrad profs.

Go to the school that offers you the best fellowship. Consider getting your masters at the LSE or Oxford first--it would really make your PhD experience easier. In the end, you'll be a fine economist regardless of which of the top schools you attend. What matters most is YOU, not what school you go to. You'll probably get pretty disenchanted with the ivory tower mentally of most of your professors anyway. - U.Chicago -

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The more math classes, the better. - UC Davis -

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A lot has been said & done already. Study for your GREs because they're very important -- get multiple computer practice exams. Take courses & obtain research experience that you think will prepare you well for grad school. This might include graduate economics classes, or finding some offbeat & compelling research topic for an undergrad paper. Or maybe just trying to fill some deficiencies in your mathematics training (like, e.g., if you haven't taken multivariable calc & linear algebra). I think the econ courses are better preparation than are the more sophisticated math courses, but probability & math stat can be really useful.

Other than that, I'd say try to relax about the whole process. There's not much that you can do at this point -- so a lot of the exercise is just coping w/ the stress & the uncertainty. Brace yourself for the possibility that things could be very disappointing but try to remain upbeat. - U.Chicago -

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Get some real work experience before you go to graduate school, even, at the bare minimum, summer internships. Graduate school is a job - it's got the proving grounds, the trials and tribulations, the politics, the solo or team projects, etc. It's so important to have a sense of living in the real world and to get your priorities straight before you let yourself and your ideas be put through such rigorous "training." I've seen a few people get so caught up in their own little minute area of concentration that they forget the big picture, both personally and professionally. You need to be able to treat grad school like job, albeit a demanding one. It really helps to have outside interests, etc. to spend time away from the dept on and keep yourself from getting burnt out. - Duke -

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A lot of people told me to apply to the place w/ the best overall program & ignore considerations of field. I think this is a very good idea. I had some ideas about fields that interested me, & I'm really glad that I didn't act on those, b/c I feel like the main learning experiences I've had here were (1) the core curriculum in the 1st year, (2) attending seminars & acquiring a taste for economics. And I think having an advisor in a very similar field as you isn't necessarily that useful. - U.Chicago -

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I'd say, "Talk all the math you can possibly fit into your schedule. Taking real analysis might seem pointless, but it will help you immensely. You can pick up the economics as you go along, but you can't learn the math and still keep up." I'd also say that "the making of an economist" book is, from what I've read, a pretty good indication about the level of work you'll be having. I thought it would be time consuming but it was 10 times worse than I expected. Oh yeah, the other thing I would say is that getting accepted somewhere isn't the challenge...finishing is the challenge. When you're looking at a school, ask (or find out on your own) how many people return for their second year, third year, what percentage of people actually graduate with a PhD...I'll bet most places the number is below 30%...that's something to keep in mind. - U.Virginia -

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My best advice for someone considering a PhD is to think really hard whether you want it. The PhD program is a long and hard process, and you have to really be completely passionate about it. My experience is that it includes tons of lonely hours in front of a computer, a lot of bumps along the way (people don't buy your theories; you have to revise your work over and over). The exciting thing is that you learn new things and new theories that allow you to look at the world in a different lens and having people around you that discusses your work and help you develop.

I would not recommend getting a PhD for someone who is not interested to become a Professor or a researcher. The investment is huge and the opportunity cost his high. The private sector doesn't normally reward PhD since during the years you spent on a PhD you missed the opportunity to gain professional experience in the private sector. However, If you want to be a university Prof. that is definitely the right path. If you don't, I believe that other graduate degrees such as masters degrees would be just as helpful to climb ladders in the world. They are normally shorter and easier.

If you still decided that you want it, go for it. Get the best recommendation you can, score very high on your GRE and write a good statement of purpose - Harvard -

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Be patient. The acceptance process is random. The Quan GRE has lots of geometry, so brush up on it. (Why grad schools pay so much attention to this score is a bit of a mystery to me. The math on the GRE has little to do with what a person sees in grad school. I think that the analytical portion of the GRE is more predictive of success as a grad student because even though the subject matter is far removed from economics, at least it tests reasoning skills, which are very important to a good researcher.) - U.Virginia -

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First, be sure that you want to do it......grad school is a long term commitment, it is going to be your life most likely, so you have to be certain that it is what you want....if you are sure about this, learn as much math and statistics as you can......so you can devote your time in grad school to learn the economic intuition which is the hard part.......

good luck in your endeavor......hope to see you around in a couple of years.....(nah, by then I hope that my dissertation is finished....hehehehehhe) - U.Chicago -

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This is all very interesting, but there are many things about grad school you need to know about. First, about me: I was three years into the PhD program at UT when I decided that economics was a fruitless pursuit and decided to go to law school. I am much happier for it (so this is a warning).

First, for the number of schools to apply to: if you have a 3.5 from a Cal State in CA and a low 700 on the quantitative, there isn't much to distinguish you from everyone else applying. Second, it is easy to pick the school that is right for you: the highest ranked school you can get into. If you don't get into a top 35 program, you are completely wasting your time. If you don't get into a top 25 program, you may get a job, but not a great job. And if you don't get into a top 10 to top 15, getting an academic job is EXTREMELY difficult.

When I was a TA, I'd have undergraduates ask me the same question: what should I do to go to grad school? My answer was always the same, CHANGE YOUR MAJOR TO MATH! Looking at the courses you are interested in, most of them are a waste of time.

My grad cohort started with probably 32 people and by the time I left, there was probably 12. There were two deciding facts: first, those who knew what they were getting into and second, those who had the mathematical training. I cannot emphasis this enough: "academic" economics has NOTHING to do with business or politics; instead, it is considered by many to be the number applied math field. If I hadn't gotten a BA in math, I'd have been screwed myself. (Little side note: the most successful guy in my cohort never took an economics class before coming to grad school, had a Masters in Physics and came from a family of famous physicists).

SO... looking at your math selection, you are taking the BARE minimum (and I mean the BARE minimum). If you want to go to a real grad school, you need to add the following math courses:

Differential Equations
Real Analysis
Advanced Calculus
More Probability/Statistics
As for the application itself, don't spend hours and hours on it. But don't make the same mistake I did: on my first round, I said I was interested in economic history. What a mistake! Economics programs have no interest in these people. Next time, I said I was interested in game theory and experimental economics and got into all the schools I had been rejected from the year before. Of course, the irony is that almost all undergrads have no idea what grad school is like and have even less idea of what economists actually do. What undergrads are taught is almost entirely pedagogical (for example, no serious grad program use Keynesian economics, but every undergrad program does, because it is simple with little math).

Be sure this is what you want to do. If you are still sure you want to do this, the best thing I can recommend is take those math classes NOW! During 2002 - 2003 finish your calc sequence, finish taking the intermediate theory courses, and whatever math/stats course you can (but don't kill yourself). Then, in 2003 - 2004, take some of econ department's grad courses. If you can only take one, take Micro Theory I.

If you have tons of math and some grad classes under you belt, this will definitely help your prospects of getting into a good grad program.

If you don't, and are still convinced this is what you want to do, don't despair. I knew people who would get their masters at a school like SFSU and then start again at a good program. - U.Texas -

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Don't be shy. First, get to know economists at your University--become a research assistant. It is especially good if they take an interest in you and your success. Second, get the best training you can, including as much math as you can take, especially stat and probability theory. Third, apply to the top schools and have your professors contact people personally. Fourth, consider working for one or two years out of undergrad at an economic consulting firm or the Fed. You'll get to see economists in action, gain RA skills that are valued in graduate school, and make sure you want to become an economist. - U.Chicago -

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It's kind of a random thing so one shouldn't take it *too* seriously. Work hard on getting the best GRE scores possible, on getting good letters of rec. and on taking classes that will indicate a good technical background. All the rest will take care of itself. The statement is not too important - admissions committees barely read them. A bad statement will hurt you, a good one won't make much of a difference. - U. Michigan -

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Get research experience as an undergrad. It will not only help you get into grad school, but it will help you know whether you're going to like grad school or not, because once you're in grad school, research is the only criterion on which you're evaluated. - Harvard -

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Suck up to your undergrad profs (and coordinate with them) so that they'll write you good recommendation letters for the schools you want. Make sure they know what you want to do, too. Personal connections with your faculty and theirs are invaluable. Write a nice little undergrad thesis in economics if you're a gunner. - UCSD -

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Works as a research assistant for a professor, ideally a big-name professors. Go to a different school to work as a research assistant, say at Harvard Business School or the Kennedy School at Harvard. Try to get an impressive recommendation letter this way, i.e. from someone the profession knows and respects. - Harvard -

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Take as much math as possible and get good grades in math courses. Try to establish a good relationship with at least two professors in your undergrad econ department and work as a research assistant if you can. Finally, it is best to be a well-rounded person, no matter where you go, so pursue other interests that you love-- don't shut yourself in the library, talking about nothing except the fed funds rate and the Laffer Curve! If you have no outside interests, grad school will burn you out quickly. - Johns Hopkins U. -

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Well the obvious answer is "Math, Math Math, learn that language well", but beyond that pace yourself, a PhD is just a first step, but it is an important one, and it takes longer than you will easily appreciate. If you take care of yourself, do your best to pragmatically move forward each day, and have patience with your self and the program you are in you will do very well. If you look for difficulty and for problems with {yourself, your advisors, your department, the profession, academic learning, etc.}, you will easily find them, but suffer as a result. Being an Academic does not make you responsible to have the right answer to any research question you are interested in as you ask it, it makes you responsible for wanting to learn about the phenomena that led to your question, and for improving understanding of the problem within the profession- most of the time this leads to a great answer, sometimes you learn things much more important than what you set out to learn, but sometimes you discover that the question its self was too big, or too small and then you are learning how to ask better questions. That requires great personal responsibility, and a willingness to let go of a lot of pride- it is a big deal to remember from day to day. - Berkeley -

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