When to start

The earliest deadlines are usually around the end of November/early December. The latest deadlines are usually around the middle of January. Once you are sure of applying to Ph.D. programs in PubPol/Economics, you should start preparing for the GRE around June-July.  A sample breakdown of the months leading up-to the deadlines:

1. June- GRE prep, university shortlist

2. July- GRE prep, university shortlist, finalize letter writers

3. August-GRE prep, coffee chats (with people who applied before)

4. September- GRE, SOP and other application materials, collect all transcripts (unofficial works) 

5. October- IELTS/TOEFL (dont forget this), SOP and other application materials

6. November- Finalize SOP and other application materials

7. December- Apply

How to shortlist universities

Things to focus on when shortlisting universities:

1. Faculty research (alignment with your interest)

2. Job placements (academia vs industry)

3. Location

4. Program enivornment

Instead of focusing on rankings, we should focus more on the actual research that is taking place at a university. Look through the university website+faculty website to know how much they are publishing and where they are publishing. Are they publishing in good journals? Since you are at this stage I am assuming you know which journals are good for Economics/Policy research. Find faculty with whom your research interest aligns. It does not have to overlap entirely, but it has to be in the same field.

Job placements will only be important if you intend to stay back in America. A department is as strong as its placements; hence, check to see where recent graduates are going after completion of their Ph.D. Is there a mix of industry + academia placements? A one-sided academia placements might indicate that they wont "support" you opting to work in the industry after your Ph.D. 

(3) and (4) are very important since it will affect your mental health. At the end of the day, we need a good support system to get through a Ph.D. I mostly applied to universities that are close to my partner. Hence, when you are looking at universities, try and see where you will be happier. It might be at a university that has good weather year-long, or a university that is close to your family/friends/partner. Its a 5-6 year commitment. Think things through! 

How many to apply to

This section will be a shock to many (assuming many ppl are reading this). It is advised you apply to at least 15 universities. And if you can afford it, please apply to more. Even after a top GRE score, great RA experiences, and solid math courses, luck plays a very big part in applications. Admission committees change every year and there is a great deal of subjectivity they bring with them. Thus, the more universities you apply to, the greater your chances of landing a funded position.

I am very active on Twitter and have friends who applied for Fall'24. There are people who applied to 30+ universities and got accepted to only ONE program. These are people who did a US undergrad, RA'd with a professor who teaches at a top-5 university, has a good GRE but still were not able to get into a program they wanted.

So please, spread out your options (a few high-reach schools, a lot of mid-range ones, and a few safety schools). I applied to 11, and I wish I applied to more.

The cost

It is expensive to apply. West Coast schools charge roughly $155 for the applications while East Coast ones are roughly $90-100. However, some universities offer fee waivers if you attend informational seminars (be sure to check them early around August-September). Also, reach out to graduate program coordinators for a waiver based on financial need. I realized this too late in the cycle to try!

It costs $35 to send GRE scores electronically to each of your universities, and $50 to reschedule a GRE test. I had to take it twice and reschedule it once. 

Overall, be prepared to shell out upwards of BDT 250,000. As you can see, applying to 11 schools cost me BDT 210,000. I used Magoosh for a month and gregmat for 2 months. In hindsight, if I were to apply again, I would apply to 20 schools at least. 

I am not including the psychological cost of applying since you as a prospective Ph.D student have decided that mental peace is not a priority for you.