I will add my introduction to the list.  I just heard about this list
and registered today and it seems like it has the potential to be a
fertile ground for exchanging ideas.  If nothing else, maybe we'll
feel better knowing there are others out there struggling to learn
(while at the same enjoying the struggle) one of these "quantitative
social sciences."

My name is Sanjay Chugh, and I'm a first-year Ph.D. student in
economics at the University of Pennsylvania.  Yes, it has been quite
a struggle all year just to keep up - and yes, it's the intense
mathematics which makes it so difficult.  And to the person who asked
if she could handle both a full-time job AND going to econ grad
school (sorry, I've forgotten who that was right now) - that seems
impossibly ambitious.  I guess I should only speak for myself, but
econ grad school IS a full-time job.  I easily study 45-55 hours per
week - and that does not count the 15 or so hours of classroom time
per week.

I won't go into all my interests in econ etc. just yet - unless there
arises a demand for it.  :)  Instead, I'll leave with my
economics/social science thought of the day (Maybe I can turn that
into a regular feature?  Again, I suppose I will consider demand - or
anti-demand as the case may be....):

          Why is everything in economics so linear?

Not that I even understand how to solve all these linear models - but
don't we really need to consider more nonlinear models?

Well, I hope to have a meaningful discourse with you all.  In the
meantime, take care,

Sanjay

I'll second Jeff Beatty's howdy-do from the Midwest -- mostly because I'm being
teased for not letting go of my West Coast "hey" and " 'sup".

I'm Sarah Stucky -- a first year grad student at Northwestern University.  I'm
currently struggling with understanding the methodological distinction between
the comparative and political economy major fields -- but am finding some
resolution with the methods people, at least for now.

My undergraduate degree is in Political Science, though I created some
consternation in my non-empirical PoliSci department by also completing an
Economics core with an emphasis on Development Economics and Econometrics.

I would suggest that I have a specialty -- though I think it is more appropriate
to call it a guiding interest in the first year of graduate study (specialty
being reserved for the Nth year) -- for IPE concentrating in Latin America. 
Needless to say, my favorite phrase is rapidly becoming "given ideal data..."

It's nice to meet all of you -- in the bizarre "meeting" that occurs over the
mailing list.  I wish good luck to all those awaiting those acceptance letters
-- the only thing more painful than the application process.

--
Sarah Stucky
Graduate Student
Department of Political Science
Northwestern University
s-stucky@...

I know Colorado State has distance learning in Statistics, not sure about
Biostatistics.
Try:

http://www.stat.colostate.edu/courses.htm

Christy

Is anyone aware of any good quality, legitimate "distance learning"
degree-granting programs in biostatistics?

Thanks,
SR Millis

Hi Kathleen,

If you go to CUNY, I'd say work with Mike Grossman.  All/Most of his
students end up getting decent jobs.  His thing is Health economics though.
I don't know how they do in international economics, although CUNY is part
of the NY doctoral consortium, where you can also take classes at Columbia
and NYU.

Obviously, for International Columbia and NYU are better in addition to
being better overall programs.  NYU is pretty strong in Macro.  As to Soviet
transitional,  Wassily Leontieff still has docotal students and may be a
great resource to draw from , whether or not you work with him.  He's 96?

I think the Faculty/Student interaction is better at NYU but this is just my
impression from a few visits.  At Columbia, I get the feeling that the
professors are too busy to spend too much time on the students (outside
consulting etc.).  Just my opinion though.  NYU has a higher percentage of
foreign students if it matters.  The Village rocks, but this doesn't matter
too much if they don't give you money.

I don't like the NEW school that much.  What reputation it has is afterglow
from the past when they were decent.  I would pick CUNY over them.

There is something to be said for work.  It is good to be exposed to the
work world because you might decide that it isn't so bad.  Now, working and
taking classes blow.  But, if they are asking 40-45 hours, which is really
pretty reasonable it won't be that bad.  You have to be careful of times
where things pop up at work, it might be useful to clarify this before you
start.  You could also do the MA at NYU which is a benefit, since it is
their dime.

Don't do a PHD and work, if that is an option you are considering.  Both
your work and PHD will suffer along with your nerves.
Oh, yeah, those that work for Grossman can usually score a research position
at the NBER.   NBER is right next door to CUNY at present.

Elvin
-----Original Message-----
From: Kathleen Quigley <kquigley@...>
To: EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com <EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com>
Date: Tuesday, March 28, 2000 11:13 AM
Subject: Re: Greetings!


>From: Kathleen Quigley <kquigley@...>
>
>Hi everyone!!
>
>I'm new to this list.  I'm currently finishing up my undergraduate degree
>(I graduate on May 20th! I'm counting down the days!!).  I'll be receiving
>a double degree in Economics and Business Administration.  I am also
>receiving responses back from graduate programs.  I've applied to a couple
>of MA programs and 1 PhD program (all in Economics).  I was accepted to
>CUNY's PhD program and New School for Social Research's MA program.  I am
>still waiting to hear from NYU.
>
>I want to concentrate on International Economics and Macro-monetary
>policy.  I am particularly interested in the transitional economies of the
>former Soviet Union.
>
>I was hoping to get a little advice....
>
>My goal is to do policy research and analysis either for the public sector
>or the private sector.  I am getting a lot of mixed responses in terms of
>New School's reputation, some people say it's a great program and others
>say that it is not very highly regarded.  Do any of you have any insights
>into their program or into CUNY or NYU?
>
>Also, I was offered a job with a bank in the area.  Part of the benefits
>package includes full tuition payments including books for any graduate
>program I am enrolled in. Considering the fact that the salary is
>competitive for the area, this is considerably better than any financial
>aid offer I've gotten thus far.  However, this would mean that I would
>have to work 40-45 hours a week in addition to starting my first year of
>grad school (a year that is commonly referred to as Hell).  I could attend
>the MA programs part time (2 classes a semester), but the PhD program at
>CUNY is full time (a minimum of 3 classes a semester), would I be getting
>in way over my head if I take the job?  Has anyone worked in addition to
>getting their graduate degree?
>
>I'm really confused and I would really appreciate any advice anyone could
>give.
>
>Thanks!! :)
>--Katie
>
>Kathleen Quigley
>Bryant College
>kquigley@...
>
>
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Good friends, school spirit, hair-dos you'd like to forget.
>Classmates.com has them all. And with 4.4 million alumni already
>registered, there's a good chance you'll find your friends here:
>http://click.egroups.com/1/2622/6/_/_/_/954259997/
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>EcFinMatStGradSchool-unsubscribe@onelist.com
>
>
>
>

__________________________________________
NetZero - Defenders of the Free World
Get your FREE Internet Access and Email at
http://www.netzero.net/download/index.html

Hello,
I am finishing up my second year at Temple in Statistics.  I opted to
work while going to grad. school. My first year was hellish, I
started out working full time, and taking two classes.  I completed
one course and took an incomplete in the other.  My advice is that it
depends on your working enviroment.  At that time I had a job were my
department was over-worked, so all day was rushing and pressure.  So
after those days going home to do homework, espcially theortical, was
not fun.  But since then I took another job, working 20 hours a week
(fortunately I make a very decent amount of money in these twenty
hours), I have plenty of times for classes.  This semester I am
taking two classes, and sitting in on a third, plus getting ready for
my theoretical qualifying exam.  In two years, and a slow start (the
inc.) I am three classes away from my MS and am thinking about taking
some PhD classes, before I go back to working full time.
I love it because I think the programming (SAS) and work experience
are more beneficial to my area of work anyway.  Are you in a rush to
get your degree or is it better to have both experience and degree?
Christy



--- In EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com, Kathleen Quigley
<kquigley@b...> wrote:
> Hi everyone!!
>
> I'm new to this list.  I'm currently finishing up my undergraduate
degree
> (I graduate on May 20th! I'm counting down the days!!).  I'll be
receiving
> a double degree in Economics and Business Administration.  I am also
> receiving responses back from graduate programs.  I've applied to a
couple
> of MA programs and 1 PhD program (all in Economics).  I was
accepted to
> CUNY's PhD program and New School for Social Research's MA program.
  I am
> still waiting to hear from NYU.
>
> I want to concentrate on International Economics and Macro-monetary
> policy.  I am particularly interested in the transitional economies
of the
> former Soviet Union.
>
> I was hoping to get a little advice....
>
> My goal is to do policy research and analysis either for the public
sector
> or the private sector.  I am getting a lot of mixed responses in
terms of
> New School's reputation, some people say it's a great program and
others
> say that it is not very highly regarded.  Do any of you have any
insights
> into their program or into CUNY or NYU?
>
> Also, I was offered a job with a bank in the area.  Part of the
benefits
> package includes full tuition payments including books for any
graduate
> program I am enrolled in. Considering the fact that the salary is
> competitive for the area, this is considerably better than any
financial
> aid offer I've gotten thus far.  However, this would mean that I
would
> have to work 40-45 hours a week in addition to starting my first
year of
> grad school (a year that is commonly referred to as Hell).  I could
attend
> the MA programs part time (2 classes a semester), but the PhD
program at
> CUNY is full time (a minimum of 3 classes a semester), would I be
getting
> in way over my head if I take the job?  Has anyone worked in
addition to
> getting their graduate degree?
>
> I'm really confused and I would really appreciate any advice anyone
could
> give.
>
> Thanks!! :)
> --Katie
>
> Kathleen Quigley
> Bryant College
> kquigley@...

Hi everyone!!

I'm new to this list.  I'm currently finishing up my undergraduate degree
(I graduate on May 20th! I'm counting down the days!!).  I'll be receiving
a double degree in Economics and Business Administration.  I am also
receiving responses back from graduate programs.  I've applied to a couple
of MA programs and 1 PhD program (all in Economics).  I was accepted to
CUNY's PhD program and New School for Social Research's MA program.  I am
still waiting to hear from NYU.

I want to concentrate on International Economics and Macro-monetary
policy.  I am particularly interested in the transitional economies of the
former Soviet Union.

I was hoping to get a little advice....

My goal is to do policy research and analysis either for the public sector
or the private sector.  I am getting a lot of mixed responses in terms of
New School's reputation, some people say it's a great program and others
say that it is not very highly regarded.  Do any of you have any insights
into their program or into CUNY or NYU?

Also, I was offered a job with a bank in the area.  Part of the benefits
package includes full tuition payments including books for any graduate
program I am enrolled in. Considering the fact that the salary is
competitive for the area, this is considerably better than any financial
aid offer I've gotten thus far.  However, this would mean that I would
have to work 40-45 hours a week in addition to starting my first year of
grad school (a year that is commonly referred to as Hell).  I could attend
the MA programs part time (2 classes a semester), but the PhD program at
CUNY is full time (a minimum of 3 classes a semester), would I be getting
in way over my head if I take the job?  Has anyone worked in addition to
getting their graduate degree?

I'm really confused and I would really appreciate any advice anyone could
give.

Thanks!! :)
--Katie

Kathleen Quigley
Bryant College
kquigley@...

Greetings from West Virginia!  My name is Michael Lanstrum and I am the
Math & Science Specialist at Salem-Teikyo University's Student Support
Services program.  In addition to taking the occasional graduate course,
I am also interested  in applied mathematics  and  mathematics
education.   Another area  of interest is  Women  in
Mathematics.  I am looking forward to some interesting discussions.

Michael Lanstrum
Math & Science Specialist
Student Support Services
Salem-Teikyo University
223 W Main, PO Box 500
Salem, WV  26426

Hello all,

I am another nth year grad student, in econ at Univ. of Washington. I think
there are two of us nth years here now. :)

I wish you all well in the application process.  I went through it twice
<groan>. I started at Univ. of Maryland at College Park. Having failed my
first year comprehensive exams, I re-applied to graduate programs and went
to UW.

It's funny how your emails conjure up those months I spent putting together
my applications as well as my first year of graduate level classes. It seems
very long ago, especially since the day-to-day grind of researching a
dissertation, punctuated by exciting moments, is so unlike that intense
sprint to decode masses of technical material and do well on written exams.
It's enough to make me nostalgic for those days, and Tang for one - who is
taking some of the same first year courses at UMCP -- will think I am nuts!

Are there any other list-members with spouses or children out there? That
adds a dimension to grad school, particularly during the first year of
courses, when you are much closer to your classmates than to your spouse.

Best,

Avery Ke

Hi all,

I've applied to two M.Sc. programs in Community Health and Epidemiology for
the coming year. With a BA in Economics (Concordia University, Montreal
1980) and MLS (Master of Library Science (University of Western Ontario,
London 1981) I've been working off and on in libraries and museums. Library
opporunities are rather limited where I live, so I decided it's time to do
something different. Epidemiology seems like the perfect match for me--I
can't believe I didn't think of it sooner.

Letters of acceptance will be out within the next month, and if I'm lucky
I'll be part of this list for the next few years.

Suzanna Keller
suzanna@...
Kingston, Ontario, Canada

nothing there!

Hi all !

My name is Glauber Fonseca I am brazilian and 26 years-old. I am graduated in
Mechanical Engineering (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ) and
Business Administration (Fluminense Federal University - UFF), both in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil.
Nowadays I work for Bozano, Simonsen Bank as a Information/Risk Analyst where I
am responsible for developing Predictive statistic models for: Credit, Sales,
Retention, Fraud, Collection, etc. I use Logistic Regression, Survival Analysis,
Discriminant Analysis, among others.
I am interested in doing a Master in Decision Sciences (using Statistics) or in
Finance. I am looking foward to do the Master in the USA or England. Do you know
any institution where I could apply for a studentship ?

Best Regards,

Glauber Fonseca

As we say out here in the U.S. Midwest, howdy-doo, everybody.

My name is Jeff Beatty.  I'm an Nth year PhD student in political
science at what we here in Columbus affectionately refer to as THE
Ohio State University.

Yes, surprisingly enough to some, political science is a more
quantitative field than people think.  It is true that statistical
and mathematical techniques do not yet have the wide usage or
unquestioned respectability that they have in other social science
fields; nevertheless, we are becoming a more "data-rich" field all
the time, and some of us less-than-completely-reconstructed
positivist dinosaurs still retain our hopes.

My specialty is international relations, and specifically
international political economy, the subfield that specializes in the
study of the interaction between international politics (balances of
power, international organizations, foreign policies of governments),
and international economics (international trade and finance, etc.,
for those to whom the meaning is not self-evident).  Naturally, I've
had to read and study a lot of economics, and for this reason, I've
been drawn further and further into mathematical techniques, as
opposed to statistical techniques, over time.

My dissertation concerns lobbies, political institutions, and
international economic competitiveness.

I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you, and look forward
to hearing from you.

--
Jeffrey L. Beatty
Doctoral Student
Department of Political Science
The Ohio State University
2140 Derby Hall
154 North Oval Mall
Columbus, Ohio 43210

(o) 614/292-2880
(h) 614/688-0567

Email:  Beatty.4@...
__________________________________________________
_______________________
"_Sapere aude_--'have courage to use your own reason'--this is the
motto
of enlightenment."  Immanuel Kant, "What Is Enlightenment?"

Greetings.

My name is Julian and I have joined this forum to see what it's like after
reading Robyn's announcement in the sci.econ newsgroup.

I graduated from the University of Alberta, in Canada, in 1993 with a B.A.
(specialising in Economics, and International Relations). In 1995/96 I went
to the University of Liverpool (in England) to do an M.A. in Macroeconomics.
However, after 9 months taught, I failed the exams (which were heavily
math-based) and was unable to go on to the dissertation.

Since then, I am still interested in economics but am working now (and not
in the field) rather than studying. I live in England and am trying to
improve my math, stats, econ, etc., for another attempt at post-grad work in
the future when I can afford it! My main interests have been international
economics and rational expectations (math difficulties here). Good luck to
all of you in your chosen endeavours, and keep going!
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

The Chronicle of Higher Education is sponsoring an online discussion this
week on the working hours of teaching assistants -- and whether they should
be set by union contracts or at the discretion of faculty members. An
article in the new issue of The Chronicle examines the contract
negotiations between a union representing teaching assistants and the
University of California. In those negotiations, a key dispute has been the
working hours of teaching assistants, with the university insisting that
this is an academic matter that should be decided by the faculty members
who supervise graduate students. The Chronicle invites members of this list
to read the article and join the discussion at:

http://chronicle.com/colloquy/2000/ta/ta.htm

Scott Jaschik
Editor
The Chronicle of Higher Education

>From: s.p.schurr@...
>Reply-To: EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com
>To: EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com
>Subject: [EcFinMatStGradSchool] Hi everyone
>Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2000 22:51:55 -0000
>
>Hi, I'm Simon Schurr. I just finished my undergrad degree majoring in
>Math at Massey University in New Zealand. I've been accepted by 5
>Math and Applied Math departments for the upcoming fall semester.
>My undergrad GPA is 4.0, and my GRE scores are Q=800, A=760, V=470,
>Math subject test=990.
>I've had offers from the Universities of Arizona, Colorado (Boulder),
>Maryland (College Park), Wisconsin (Madison), and Brown. My main
>interests are in Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computation. It
>seems that Brown and Maryland have quite a few people in these areas.
>Does anyone have any thoughts on the Math/Applied Math departments at
>these schools?

Hi Simon,

You're probably looking for more specific info, but... I know that the math
programs at Maryland and Wisconson, and the applied math program at Brown
are quite highly regarded.  I don't think I've ever heard anything about
Colorado or Arizona.

>I've read many times that the grading of grad courses is
>significantly different to that of undergrad courses. Can someone who
>is currently at grad school explain how?

It probably depends on what school you go to, but I think a C+ is generally
considered to be a failing grade in a graduate course.  As for how many
students get A's, and what your grade is based on, it really varies.  I've
had classes where just showing up for class meant an A, and classes where
missing one problem on one exam meant the difference between an A and a B,
classes where homework determined half of your grade, and classes where the
professor never even looked at the homework you turned in.

My advice is to forget about grades altogether as soon as you start grad
school.  At least in pure math, as long as your work is acceptable, the
grades don't mean anything and don't matter, i.e. no one is ever going to
care whether you got an A+ or an A-.

>I'm fortunate to have got some very good fellowship offers which
>don't require any teaching in my first year, although I was thinking
>of teaching anyway, and getting an extra TA salary. It's interesting
>to read about the people who are saying that their first year at grad
>school was "pure hell" (or something along those lines), and this has
>made me think twice about taking on a teaching load in my first year.
>Any advice?

This is a tough decision.  Although TAing can be very time consuming, it is
a nice opportunity to do something that you're good at.  When you're
struggling with ridiculously hard homework problems and feeling like a
mathematical idiot, it can be nice to take some time out to help your
calculus students, who think you're really smart.  On the other hand, I've
opted NOT to TA 3 out of my 4 semesters, just because there have been so
many classes I've wanted to take.  There's also the fact that grading can be
so incredibly frustrating.  Honestly, though, I don't feel that my first
semester was made any less hellish by my not having a teaching load; I don't
think my TAing classmates were any more stressed out than I was.

Good luck with your decisions!

Reba
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

Hi everyone. My name is Jessica Percodani and I will be graduating from
Montclair State University in New Jersey this May with an honors bachelors
degree in psychology. I applied to twelve clinical psychology doctoral
programs and got accepted to my first choice school, Chestnut Hill College in
Philadelphia. I'm still waiting to hear from at least six programs. I got
rejected from three, and I turned down interviews at two others because I was
already accepted to my first choice. I didn't notify the other schools (even
though I know you're supposed to) because I am curious to see what their
responses will be and I still may consider attending two of them in
particular. I look forward to seeing what all of your experiences are with
the graduate school process.

Hi, I'm Simon Schurr. I just finished my undergrad degree majoring in
Math at Massey University in New Zealand. I've been accepted by 5
Math and Applied Math departments for the upcoming fall semester.
My undergrad GPA is 4.0, and my GRE scores are Q=800, A=760, V=470,
Math subject test=990.
I've had offers from the Universities of Arizona, Colorado (Boulder),
Maryland (College Park), Wisconsin (Madison), and Brown. My main
interests are in Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computation. It
seems that Brown and Maryland have quite a few people in these areas.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the Math/Applied Math departments at
these schools?

I've read many times that the grading of grad courses is
significantly different to that of undergrad courses. Can someone who
is currently at grad school explain how?

I'm fortunate to have got some very good fellowship offers which
don't require any teaching in my first year, although I was thinking
of teaching anyway, and getting an extra TA salary. It's interesting
to read about the people who are saying that their first year at grad
school was "pure hell" (or something along those lines), and this has
made me think twice about taking on a teaching load in my first year.
Any advice?

Regards,
Simon Schurr

Hi, all,
I am a new member on this list. By the request of Robyn, I will be
glad to introduce myself to the list. My name is Xiaoyu Tang. I am
from China. Now I am the first year student in department of
agricultural economics at University of Maryland at College Park.
Before I transferred to UMCP, I was a student at dept. of econ at
Virginia Tech for two years. Before I joined the dept. of AREC at
UMCP, I thought I was pretty well prepared for the first-year
program. Actually it turned out be more difficult than my
expectation. Sometimes I worried too much. I want to get a
lot of things done at the same time. But generally it ended up that I
stress myself too much. Hopefully things will be better after the
first year. Hope everybody else enjoy their lives.
Best. Tang

The following is the message I received from Robyn:
Hi,
  My name is Robyn and I am heading off to do graduate work in
Econ (and hopefully also in mathematical stats) at Cornell next
year.  I've started this list in hopes that it will grow into an active
entity by the end of the year.  Right now, I'm still in the process of
building a membership base,
and I'm interested in knowing something about the people who join.
  Would you mind telling me a little about yourself?


You can either repond directly to me, or introduce yourself to the
list by sending a message to:

EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com

I look forward to hearing from you!

Robyn

I am Yolanda from UT El Paso.
For what I read a lot of you are in economics.
Is anybody in Stats?
I am finishing my master's in stats, and next Fall
I am going to Texas A&M to continue with the Ph.D.
for those of you that are in your first year, and feel the pressure,
just don't give up, it's hard, but once you are done with the first
year, everything will be better.
Ah! and if you need some help with S-Plus, just email me!

Hi,

My name is Sophie Bellegarde. I already introduced myself to Robyn.
I am a first year PhD student from Sorbonne University in Paris.
I am working on market microstructure and, more precisely, on liquidity on
the Paris Bourse.

I agree with you Reba and Toan : for research on economics or finance, you
must have quantitative skills. And of course have a perfect knowledge of
Gauss, Splus and so on.... And sometimes it is not easy! I hope that this
mailing list will help us (especially in mathematics and statistics).
In france, the courses are really theorical (at the University ). But we do
not practice these theories! So now, it is difficult for me.... I have only
3 years!

Sophie Bellegarde
(please, sorry for my "english" which, as you can see, is not fluent!!!!!) :)

Hi all,
I am a new member of the list. I am a first year PhD student from New
York University. Well here is my profile:
B.Economics: Edith Cowan University, Australia.
MA: Development Studies - Institute of Social Studies, Netherlands.
First year PhD student: Economics - New York University
GPA: equivalen to A in both previous degrees.
GRE: Don't laugh
Verbal: 410
Analytical: 600
Quantitative: 780

I just got this message this morning, well right at the time I am in
the abyss of sadness and disappointment.
My first year is as hell as Reba wrote. I also wish that I could have
been warned.
I got my MA in Development studies from a Netherland program before
coming here. The courses were mainly verbal and used very few
quantitative skills.
Coming to NYU, it was a total shock for me. I suffered from begining
to now. Well, I did lose my scholarship but the pressure was high.
The professors are too boring. The textbooks, well, they never use.
And worse, my maths background is definitely not for PhD in Economics
at NYU. So most of the time, I struggle to survive and not to get any
grades lower than B so that I can keep my scholarship. I am not
enjoying it at all.
Most of my peers here are well prepared. They know maths, know
programming language, which save you lot of time... Most of them come
from the same countries so they always can a circle. I feel like
alone all the time.

My previous study did not help much in the first year. Maybe It would
be helpful in the 2nd year. But first I got to pass the core.
When I read Reba's message It is really a consolation to me. Well, at
least, I am not the only one.
So my advice to anyone aspiring to do PhD in Economics at top schools:
take as much maths as you can in your undegrad. years. Specifically:
Topology, Real Analysis, Dynamic stochastic programming, and Advanced
Linear Algebra. Learn: MathLab or Gauss before. And finally, always
choose a school which has students coming from your country or at
least your region.
Toan Nguyen


--- In EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com, "Reba Schuller"
<reba_schuller@h...> wrote:
> Hi, all.
>
> I'm a Ph.D. student in mathematics at Cornell.  (See you in the
fall,
> Robyn!)   My thesis will probably be in logic/theory of computing,
hopefully
> with an algebraic twist.  I'm also doing an M.S. in computer
science.
>
> As an undergraduate, I was a math major at Grinnell College.  Since
we all
> seem to be sharing our numbers...
>
> undergraduate GPA: 3.89
> GRE:
> General:
>     V: 600  Q: 730  A: 740
> Subject test in Mathematics:
>     940
>
> My first year of grad school was pure hell, and I wish I had been
warned.
> Not that I wouldn't have gone through with it--it just would have
been nice
> to know what to expect.  All my professors told me that I was really
> well-prepared, but I wasn't.  I was at a huge disadvantage, coming
from a
> small school, where all the advanced courses I took were as
independent
> studies.  This in no way prepared me for classes where the
professor didn't
> speak English and didn't speak audibly anyway, and stood directly
in front
> of everything he wrote on the board in his illegible scrawl, and
didn't
> prepare his lectures before presenting them, and, worst of all,
didn't
> follow a textbook so that you might have some chance of finding out
what was
> going on.  I also wasn't enjoying the material that I did
understand.  To
> make matters worse, most of my peers didn't seem to be having any
trouble at
> all, so I felt very alone.  (I later found out that many of them
had taken
> similar courses before, and, in fact, they weren't enjoying it
either.)  I
> was also used to having professors who were enthusiastic about math
and
> treated me as an equal, while my new professors seemed to be trying
to
> convince us that math was boring and trivial, and they wouldn't
even say
> hello to me if we passed in the hallway.  My new advisor actually
refused to
> shake my hand when we met.
>
> Hope I haven't terrified anyone...It does get better.  Once I got
past the
> required courses, I found many decent professors.  And after you
prove that
> you're worthy of their time, and let them know that you're
interested in the
> same areas they are, they're much more likely to treat you like a
human
> being.  (And I do think that's really sad, but it's better than six
years of
> being treated like you don't exist.)  I also found myself actually
> interested in some of my courses and excited about math again.
>
> Well, good luck to the aspiring grad students out there.  It's
likely that
> your first year will be a much better experience than mine was, and
if not,
> just keep in mind that things will get better.
>
> BTW, Elvin--how many schools did you apply to?  It's hard believe
that a
> large number of schools would count the opinion of one bad
recommender.
> Very scary.
>
> Reba

----- Original Message -----

From: Elvin Wong

To: EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com

Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2000 2:50 AM

Subject: Re: [EcFinMatStGradSchool] Re: Welcome to EcFinMatStGradSchool!

From: "Elvin Wong" <eywong@...>

Reba,

From what I know of undergrad math classes taken at places from Columbia to
Rutgers to no-name, prep for grad study varies widely.

Columbia's is the most theoretical by far since "all" of their normal math
majors are prepared to do graduate work.  This level of abstraction tends to
scare off a lot who would have otherwise been Math majors though so only the
cream remains, so maybe not a fair representation.  Proofs abound in classes
and on tests.

Rutgers students, if they intend to become Math PHD's have to get
departmental permission to take special reserved year-long Algebra and
Analysis classes.  Do to the size of the talent pool Rutgers draws from and
this filter mentioned above, these students are fairly well -prepared.

No-name, In my experience woefully prepared.  They will be in for a large
shock, one that even well-prepared students have when they move up.  Not
many proofs in class and none to almost none on the tests!  In fairness, the
major goal is not to prepare students for Math grad school, but say for
industry and teaching for example.  But then again, I ran into an excellent
professor here (at no-name) that has been better than at the other two
places by far.

Elvin

----- Original Message -----

From: Robyn Miller

To: EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com

Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2000 12:28 AM

Subject: [EcFinMatStGradSchool] Re: Welcome to EcFinMatStGradSchool!

From: "Robyn Miller" <rlmmhc00@...>

Hi Reba,

So glad you've taken the intiative to go ahead and introduce yourself.  So
far not too many have ventured forward in similarly fearless fashion....

Your experience at Cornell is obviously of a great deal of interest to me.
I am hoping to complete a minor concentration in math or mathematical stats
while at Cornell so your impressions of these departments/fields really do
interest me.  I also will be entering grad school in a rather technical
discipline, having received my undergraduate degree from a small,
liberal-arts college.  Right now I am carrying 10 of my 18 advanced math
units as independent studies!  I love working independently, but this type
of thing can spoil a person a little bit.

Do you know anything about Cornell's Econ Dept, by any chance?  Also, do you
know if the Grad School lives up to its PR in the sense of
encouraging/facilitating cross-disciplinary study (ie. pulling coursework
from other departments into you academic program, getting faculty from other
departments on your dissertation committee etc.)

I am very interested in your experience, and would value anything you are
willing to share.  Thanks for joining the group and participating!

Robyn

P.S.  Do you have any hints about finding housing in Ithaca?  I'm looking
for a 1-2BR in a quiet area.  The only hitch is that I have a 6lb toy poodle
(Hercule Poirot) and he occassionally howls when leave him by himself, which
means that I'll probably need a place with very few immediate neighbors.
Ideas?

Reba,

From what I know of undergrad math classes taken at places from Columbia to
Rutgers to no-name, prep for grad study varies widely.

Columbia's is the most theoretical by far since "all" of their normal math
majors are prepared to do graduate work.  This level of abstraction tends to
scare off a lot who would have otherwise been Math majors though so only the
cream remains, so maybe not a fair representation.  Proofs abound in classes
and on tests.

Rutgers students, if they intend to become Math PHD's have to get
departmental permission to take special reserved year-long Algebra and
Analysis classes.  Do to the size of the talent pool Rutgers draws from and
this filter mentioned above, these students are fairly well -prepared.

No-name, In my experience woefully prepared.  They will be in for a large
shock, one that even well-prepared students have when they move up.  Not
many proofs in class and none to almost none on the tests!  In fairness, the
major goal is not to prepare students for Math grad school, but say for
industry and teaching for example.  But then again, I ran into an excellent
professor here (at no-name) that has been better than at the other two
places by far.

Elvin
-----Original Message-----
From: Reba Schuller <reba_schuller@...>
To: EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com <EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com>
Date: Sunday, March 26, 2000 12:30 AM
Subject: [EcFinMatStGradSchool] Re: Welcome to EcFinMatStGradSchool!


>From: "Reba Schuller" <reba_schuller@...>
>
>Hi, all.
>
>I'm a Ph.D. student in mathematics at Cornell.  (See you in the fall,
>Robyn!)   My thesis will probably be in logic/theory of computing,
hopefully
>with an algebraic twist.  I'm also doing an M.S. in computer science.
>
>As an undergraduate, I was a math major at Grinnell College.  Since we all
>seem to be sharing our numbers...
>
>undergraduate GPA: 3.89
>GRE:
>General:
>    V: 600  Q: 730  A: 740
>Subject test in Mathematics:
>    940
>
>My first year of grad school was pure hell, and I wish I had been warned.
>Not that I wouldn't have gone through with it--it just would have been nice
>to know what to expect.  All my professors told me that I was really
>well-prepared, but I wasn't.  I was at a huge disadvantage, coming from a
>small school, where all the advanced courses I took were as independent
>studies.  This in no way prepared me for classes where the professor didn't
>speak English and didn't speak audibly anyway, and stood directly in front
>of everything he wrote on the board in his illegible scrawl, and didn't
>prepare his lectures before presenting them, and, worst of all, didn't
>follow a textbook so that you might have some chance of finding out what
was
>going on.  I also wasn't enjoying the material that I did understand.  To
>make matters worse, most of my peers didn't seem to be having any trouble
at
>all, so I felt very alone.  (I later found out that many of them had taken
>similar courses before, and, in fact, they weren't enjoying it either.)  I
>was also used to having professors who were enthusiastic about math and
>treated me as an equal, while my new professors seemed to be trying to
>convince us that math was boring and trivial, and they wouldn't even say
>hello to me if we passed in the hallway.  My new advisor actually refused
to
>shake my hand when we met.
>
>Hope I haven't terrified anyone...It does get better.  Once I got past the
>required courses, I found many decent professors.  And after you prove that
>you're worthy of their time, and let them know that you're interested in
the
>same areas they are, they're much more likely to treat you like a human
>being.  (And I do think that's really sad, but it's better than six years
of
>being treated like you don't exist.)  I also found myself actually
>interested in some of my courses and excited about math again.
>
>Well, good luck to the aspiring grad students out there.  It's likely that
>your first year will be a much better experience than mine was, and if not,
>just keep in mind that things will get better.
>
>BTW, Elvin--how many schools did you apply to?  It's hard believe that a
>large number of schools would count the opinion of one bad recommender.
>Very scary.
>
>Reba
>
>
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Get paid for the stuff you know!
>Get answers for the stuff you don’t. And get $10 to spend on the site!
>http://click.egroups.com/1/2595/6/_/_/_/954048615/
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>EcFinMatStGradSchool-unsubscribe@onelist.com
>
>
>
>

__________________________________________
NetZero - Defenders of the Free World
Get your FREE Internet Access and Email at
http://www.netzero.net/download/index.html

Hi Reba,

So glad you've taken the intiative to go ahead and introduce yourself.  So
far not too many have ventured forward in similarly fearless fashion....

Your experience at Cornell is obviously of a great deal of interest to me.
I am hoping to complete a minor concentration in math or mathematical stats
while at Cornell so your impressions of these departments/fields really do
interest me.  I also will be entering grad school in a rather technical
discipline, having received my undergraduate degree from a small,
liberal-arts college.  Right now I am carrying 10 of my 18 advanced math
units as independent studies!  I love working independently, but this type
of thing can spoil a person a little bit.

Do you know anything about Cornell's Econ Dept, by any chance?  Also, do you
know if the Grad School lives up to its PR in the sense of
encouraging/facilitating cross-disciplinary study (ie. pulling coursework
from other departments into you academic program, getting faculty from other
departments on your dissertation committee etc.)

I am very interested in your experience, and would value anything you are
willing to share.  Thanks for joining the group and participating!

Robyn

P.S.  Do you have any hints about finding housing in Ithaca?  I'm looking
for a 1-2BR in a quiet area.  The only hitch is that I have a 6lb toy poodle
(Hercule Poirot) and he occassionally howls when leave him by himself, which
means that I'll probably need a place with very few immediate neighbors.
Ideas?


-----Original Message-----
From: Reba Schuller <reba_schuller@...>
To: EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com <EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com>
Date: Sunday, March 26, 2000 12:30 AM
Subject: [EcFinMatStGradSchool] Re: Welcome to EcFinMatStGradSchool!


>From: "Reba Schuller" <reba_schuller@...>
>
>Hi, all.
>
>I'm a Ph.D. student in mathematics at Cornell.  (See you in the fall,
>Robyn!)   My thesis will probably be in logic/theory of computing,
hopefully
>with an algebraic twist.  I'm also doing an M.S. in computer science.
>
>As an undergraduate, I was a math major at Grinnell College.  Since we all
>seem to be sharing our numbers...
>
>undergraduate GPA: 3.89
>GRE:
>General:
>    V: 600  Q: 730  A: 740
>Subject test in Mathematics:
>    940
>
>My first year of grad school was pure hell, and I wish I had been warned.
>Not that I wouldn't have gone through with it--it just would have been nice
>to know what to expect.  All my professors told me that I was really
>well-prepared, but I wasn't.  I was at a huge disadvantage, coming from a
>small school, where all the advanced courses I took were as independent
>studies.  This in no way prepared me for classes where the professor didn't
>speak English and didn't speak audibly anyway, and stood directly in front
>of everything he wrote on the board in his illegible scrawl, and didn't
>prepare his lectures before presenting them, and, worst of all, didn't
>follow a textbook so that you might have some chance of finding out what
was
>going on.  I also wasn't enjoying the material that I did understand.  To
>make matters worse, most of my peers didn't seem to be having any trouble
at
>all, so I felt very alone.  (I later found out that many of them had taken
>similar courses before, and, in fact, they weren't enjoying it either.)  I
>was also used to having professors who were enthusiastic about math and
>treated me as an equal, while my new professors seemed to be trying to
>convince us that math was boring and trivial, and they wouldn't even say
>hello to me if we passed in the hallway.  My new advisor actually refused
to
>shake my hand when we met.
>
>Hope I haven't terrified anyone...It does get better.  Once I got past the
>required courses, I found many decent professors.  And after you prove that
>you're worthy of their time, and let them know that you're interested in
the
>same areas they are, they're much more likely to treat you like a human
>being.  (And I do think that's really sad, but it's better than six years
of
>being treated like you don't exist.)  I also found myself actually
>interested in some of my courses and excited about math again.
>
>Well, good luck to the aspiring grad students out there.  It's likely that
>your first year will be a much better experience than mine was, and if not,
>just keep in mind that things will get better.
>
>BTW, Elvin--how many schools did you apply to?  It's hard believe that a
>large number of schools would count the opinion of one bad recommender.
>Very scary.
>
>Reba
>
>
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Get paid for the stuff you know!
>Get answers for the stuff you don’t. And get $10 to spend on the site!
>http://click.egroups.com/1/2595/6/_/_/_/954048615/
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>EcFinMatStGradSchool-unsubscribe@onelist.com
>
>
>
>

Hi, all.

I'm a Ph.D. student in mathematics at Cornell.  (See you in the fall,
Robyn!)   My thesis will probably be in logic/theory of computing, hopefully
with an algebraic twist.  I'm also doing an M.S. in computer science.

As an undergraduate, I was a math major at Grinnell College.  Since we all
seem to be sharing our numbers...

undergraduate GPA: 3.89
GRE:
General:
     V: 600  Q: 730  A: 740
Subject test in Mathematics:
     940

My first year of grad school was pure hell, and I wish I had been warned.
Not that I wouldn't have gone through with it--it just would have been nice
to know what to expect.  All my professors told me that I was really
well-prepared, but I wasn't.  I was at a huge disadvantage, coming from a
small school, where all the advanced courses I took were as independent
studies.  This in no way prepared me for classes where the professor didn't
speak English and didn't speak audibly anyway, and stood directly in front
of everything he wrote on the board in his illegible scrawl, and didn't
prepare his lectures before presenting them, and, worst of all, didn't
follow a textbook so that you might have some chance of finding out what was
going on.  I also wasn't enjoying the material that I did understand.  To
make matters worse, most of my peers didn't seem to be having any trouble at
all, so I felt very alone.  (I later found out that many of them had taken
similar courses before, and, in fact, they weren't enjoying it either.)  I
was also used to having professors who were enthusiastic about math and
treated me as an equal, while my new professors seemed to be trying to
convince us that math was boring and trivial, and they wouldn't even say
hello to me if we passed in the hallway.  My new advisor actually refused to
shake my hand when we met.

Hope I haven't terrified anyone...It does get better.  Once I got past the
required courses, I found many decent professors.  And after you prove that
you're worthy of their time, and let them know that you're interested in the
same areas they are, they're much more likely to treat you like a human
being.  (And I do think that's really sad, but it's better than six years of
being treated like you don't exist.)  I also found myself actually
interested in some of my courses and excited about math again.

Well, good luck to the aspiring grad students out there.  It's likely that
your first year will be a much better experience than mine was, and if not,
just keep in mind that things will get better.

BTW, Elvin--how many schools did you apply to?  It's hard believe that a
large number of schools would count the opinion of one bad recommender.
Very scary.

Reba

-----Original Message-----
From: Robyn Miller <rlmmhc00@...>
To: EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com <EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com>
Date: Friday, March 24, 2000 6:56 PM
Subject: Re: [EcFinMatStGradSchool] Re: Welcome to EcFinMatStGradSchool!

From: "Robyn Miller" <rlmmhc00@...>

Wait a second....You are "EW" from the PR message board, right?  I didn't want to assume this to be the case, but just noticed that EW's "Plan B" looks alot like Elvin Wong's.  And since I now know that you are *the* EW, I also know that what's messing up your admissions prospects is the letter of a single, vicious recommender!  I circumvented this problem only narrowly by more-or-less interrogating one of my professors.  He was one of those who seemed ready to nominate me for the Nobel Prize 50% of the time and full of unspecified complaints and doubts the other 50%  There was something that just didn't "feel right" about our conversation regarding recommendations, and his assurances of a strong letter felt a bit hollow and unconvincing.  I do not know with certainty that he would have "shanked [me] from behind,"  but it seemed a likely enough prospect that I decided against using his recommendation (he had taken it upon himself to submit one on my behalf anyway). 

 

With everything else in your application so incredibly strong, it is really shocking that the opinion of this one man (whose veiw of you was so clearly disconnected from your actual achievements & aptitudes) should be weighted so heavily by ad-coms.  I just don't get it!  Yours is definitely a case that would give nighmares to any prospective grad student entering the application process.

 

What are your goals, by the way?  Would you be happy with an MA in Math Finance, or do you have a strong preference for an academic career?

 

If the latter is the case, you may just be delaying the inevitable by going for the MA.  On the other hand, an MA in Math Finance would be awesome insurance against the vagueries of the academic job-market!

 

Your,

Robyn ("ME")

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Robyn Miller <rlmmhc00@...>
To: Elvin Wong <eywong@...>
Cc: EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com <EcFinMatStGradSchool@onelist.com>
Date: Friday, March 24, 2000 6:26 PM
Subject: [EcFinMatStGradSchool] Re: Welcome to EcFinMatStGradSchool!

From: "Robyn Miller" <rlmmhc00@...>

Hi Elvin,

 

Yup, I am stating this coming Fall.  Your background and stats are really amazing, I am having a hard time imagining how you would face much difficulty in the admissions process!

 

My background and stats are much more modest:

 

I'm a double major in Mathematics and Statisitics (minor in Economics).  My GPA is 3.85 at the moment.  Should go up a bit by the end of this semester though.  GRE-wise I pretty much flopped:  Verbal=720, Quant=720, Analytical=650.  I got pretty paralyzed with anxiety during the exam and could barely focus on what I was doing.  Retaking made little sense though, as this would probably have happened the second time around as well.

 

I've taken graduate Economics and graduate Mathematics courses, and done reasonably well in them -- and additionally am blessed with the enthusiastic support of a number of solid economists, mathematicians and statisticians.

 

I'm hoping to continue studying both Econ and Math (including math stat) at Cornell, with an eye toward bringing novel and more sophisticated types of math to bear on complex economic and socioeconomic phenomena.  I'm particularly interested in nuancing the traditional axiomatic/game-theoretic view of individual decision-making and in more effectively capturing the relationship between micro-level decision-making processes and the aggregate/macro-level economic environment.  I see this as a bidirectional relationship, of course -- and would love to get better understand its underlying machinery.

 

Anyway, that's my story for the moment.  Do you have *any* idea what might be hindering you in the admissions process?  Your background and numbers are incredible.  I cannot imagine why you have not been offered serious funding to study at a major department!

 

Yours,

Robyn

 

Robyn Miller (Class of 2000)
Dept. of Mathematics & Statistics 
Mount Holyoke College
South Hadley, MA 01075

-----Original Message-----
From: Elvin Wong <eywong@...>
To: Robyn Miller <rlmmhc00@...>
Date: Friday, March 24, 2000 5:23 PM
Subject: Re: Welcome to EcFinMatStGradSchool!

Hey Robyn,

 

Are you starting Fall 2000?

 

I am a returning grad student, from 8 years of management consulting.  I am also doing, or planning to do economics. Currently, I go unloved by adcom committees.

 

Undergrad: Economics/English double, 3.5

MBA finance

finishing MA econ (all at Rutgers)

American student

V800 M790 A 760 (obviously worth the paper they are written on)

 

I took a boatload of math courses, Calc I-IV, Honor Calc III and IV (rigourous multi-variable calc and lin algebra), Prob and Stat,  Real Analysis, currently finishing Complex Analysis and Abstract Algebra.  IF I hang around to give it another shot I will probably take PHD math courses next year and finish up the MA in econ.

 

Then again I might just do a mathematical finance MA and cut my losses.

 

What's your background?

 

Elvin Wong

-----Original Message-----
From: Robyn Miller <rlmmhc00@...>
To: eywong@... <eywong@...>
Date: Friday, March 24, 2000 9:50 AM
Subject: Welcome to EcFinMatStGradSchool!

Hi,

 

My name is Robyn and I am heading off to do graduate work in Econ (and hopefully also in mathematical stats) at Cornell next year.  I've started this list in hopes that it will grow into an active entity by the end of the year.  Right now, I'm still in the process of building a membership base, and I'm interested in knowing something about the people who join.  Would you mind telling me a little about yourself?

 

Robyn

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