That’s a good question, given how competitive it seems to have gotten and how little math preparation I had. Just this year we saw a 20% increase in applications to the U of C program (my colleagues blamed me for all the extra work that made, saying it was a Freakonomics effect).
The question of whether I could get into grad school today is being debated in the following thread.
I think the answer is that MIT and/or Harvard might still take a chance on me today, but not the other top places including the University of Chicago. At U of C, my application would be thrown out before ever getting to a faculty member, just as would have been the case 15 years ago.
I am lucky that MIT was willing to roll the dice.
and 
. You can also watch it on 
Well, to support your colleagues’ claim, Freakonomics was the primary reason I applied to Chicago. (Though the writing sample almost scared me away!)
Well, to support your colleagues’ claim, Freakonomics was the primary reason I applied to Chicago. (Though the writing sample almost scared me away!)
Isn’t uchicago asking quite a lot to expect both strong math preparation and a twenty-page writing sample?
I think most of its own econ undergrads would have trouble meeting that requirement. I graduated from the uchicago math/econ program and don’t recall writing anything longer than ten pages.
Is the faculty also upset about the Friedman and Becker effects?
Isn’t uchicago asking quite a lot to expect both strong math preparation and a twenty-page writing sample?
I think most of its own econ undergrads would have trouble meeting that requirement. I graduated from the uchicago math/econ program and don’t recall writing anything longer than ten pages.
Is the faculty also upset about the Friedman and Becker effects?
Could you enlighten us outsiders on what it takes to get into grad school in econ? Grades, test scores, majors?
Could you enlighten us outsiders on what it takes to get into grad school in econ? Grades, test scores, majors?
To be a shoe-in at a top school, you’ll probably need a high GPA (> 3.7), high GRE (800Q or maybe slightly less), good math prep (coursework in real analysis a must, functional analysis or metric spaces even better), three good letters of recommendation from economists, and proven research experience.
I’d say it’s pretty competitive. I had the GPA, GRE, and math prep, plus unrelated (math) research experience and just two letters of recommendation from economists, and I went 1 for 10.
I think that’s maybe a little too competitive.
To be a shoe-in at a top school, you’ll probably need a high GPA (> 3.7), high GRE (800Q or maybe slightly less), good math prep (coursework in real analysis a must, functional analysis or metric spaces even better), three good letters of recommendation from economists, and proven research experience.
I’d say it’s pretty competitive. I had the GPA, GRE, and math prep, plus unrelated (math) research experience and just two letters of recommendation from economists, and I went 1 for 10.
I think that’s maybe a little too competitive.