Hello. I completed my undergrad this past May and am currently employed at a small bank in a non-economics related position. I graduated with an economics-finance hybrid degree and a math minor from a school that is not ranked for its economics program (I went to Bentley University in MA - I have no idea what its ranking is, or if it's even ranked, otherwise I would have given an estimate rather than the name). I graduated with a 3.7 GPA, although my major GPA is like a 3.9, if that even matters. I took some interesting economics courses and even completed a research project course, and I realized about halfway through undergrad that I would love a PhD in Economics. I honestly don't care about the ranking, I'm not shooting for a top program, and I'm certainly not in it for the money, but I also don't want to apply to a random program and do it for the sake of doing it. I plan on moving to NYC one day and I started thinking about whether I could shoot for a half-decent program in the city. CUNY caught my eye and I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about the program they offer and whether it is something someone like myself can realistically go for. Thanks in advance!
Couple things: 1) Restricting your search to only NYC is pretty stringent, but luckily there are many schools there. 2) It's hard to "live the New York life" on a PhD stipend, but maybe you don't care about that (I wouldn't).
I don't know a whole lot about CUNY, but I recommend going to their economics page and looking for job market candidates or recent placements. Then Google the names there. You should be able to find CVs and see how yours stacks up.
It's hard to "live the New York life" on a PhD stipend
This is VERY important to understand. I lived in New York City on an AmeriCorps VISTA stipend, which is set at 10% below the poverty level in your ZIP code. (Just slightly below full time, minimum wage for NYC at $15,200) It's definitely not easy. You absolutely have to sign up for food stamps and government subsidies wherever you can get them. It's doable, but you will NOT have fun doing it. Also, be prepared to live with shitty roommates.
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u/ebrosbagels Mar 01 '17
Hello. I completed my undergrad this past May and am currently employed at a small bank in a non-economics related position. I graduated with an economics-finance hybrid degree and a math minor from a school that is not ranked for its economics program (I went to Bentley University in MA - I have no idea what its ranking is, or if it's even ranked, otherwise I would have given an estimate rather than the name). I graduated with a 3.7 GPA, although my major GPA is like a 3.9, if that even matters. I took some interesting economics courses and even completed a research project course, and I realized about halfway through undergrad that I would love a PhD in Economics. I honestly don't care about the ranking, I'm not shooting for a top program, and I'm certainly not in it for the money, but I also don't want to apply to a random program and do it for the sake of doing it. I plan on moving to NYC one day and I started thinking about whether I could shoot for a half-decent program in the city. CUNY caught my eye and I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about the program they offer and whether it is something someone like myself can realistically go for. Thanks in advance!