Erasmus and Exchange programs but considering the opportunity costs of such activities , I decided to complete my bachelor within the regular time interval as I thought that I will be spending my life in the countries where students temporarily visit by means of these education programs .
What are your favorite courses , and why ?
Gülnihal : The most joyful courses I had were Introduction to Research Methods II ( ECON106 ) and Introduction to Econometrics II ( ECON 302 ). Because the lecturers whom I have taken these two at that time have presented the synthesis of the courses ’ bo th theory and practical aspects perfectly and ensured us to benefit from the courses , their aims and methods .
Other than these departmental must courses , elective French 201 , 202 , 204 and 206 were my favorites thanks to my keen interest in foreign language acquisition .
Oğuzhan : Advanced Calculus and Real Analysis courses I took from the Math Department gave me invaluable opinions and reshaped the way my brain works . The course , Economics of Gro wth and Development offered by Ilhan Can Ozen , enabled me to learn the economics discipline rigorously for the first time ; hence I give a great deal of importance to this course among the others . I liked joining the Macroeconomics course give by Ebru Voyvoda , and International Economic taught by Erol Taymaz introduced me the economic modell ing .
What are your suggestions for freshmen of METU Econ ?
Gülnihal : My first advice is to keep their GPA ’ s as high as possible in the first two years so as to be able to attend Erasmus Exchange Programs . These are amazing experiences and programs that expand the one ’ s vision and horizon .
Then it is vital for them to find the areas , which they have , the most interest and appetite and participate a number of p rojects , conferences and studies . This is because they will contribute to their networks . Students should take the advice of the academicians in our department about their research interests .
Other than that , I advise that students should not become obsessed with this internship thing . I can say that instead of being an unhappy intern in irrelevant places just for the sake of filling their resumes , searching for companies and organizations that match their interests and being a strong intern who can strengthen their networks there is my foremost piece of advice about this issue .
Moreover , if they want to be in an academic career path , finishing the required both national and international examinations and passing them with required scores is very crucial so as not to create a situation in which they find themselves , unfortunately , not being able to go to the top schools even if they are accepted because of missing scholarship and application deadlines etc . just like me ! �
I believe that everything will be so good for METU Economics students if they do their best .
These are my first pieces of advice which I can think of at first glance , but I would like to mention that if any student want s to contact me about these issues , they can reach me any time and I will be glad to have a conversation with them !
Oğuzhan : Self diligence is the most important thing for the economics freshman . They should study regularly without missing classes . They should follo w the economics discipline not only from classes or textbooks but also from the books and articles put forward by economists . Taking classes from Math Department will also enable them to learn the basics behind the economic theories .
Oğuzhan , yo u received acceptance for Ph . D in Economics with full scholarship fro m the University of Rochester in the USA and you are going to start this program in August . In your opinion , what is the main reason behind your acceptance as a full scholarship student ? Do you have any suggestions for your friends that are planning to apply master programs in abroad ?
Oğuzhan : Having a CGPA above 3 . 80 is a necessary but not a sufficient condition . I was mostly engaged in taking advanced courses fro m mathematics department as the Econ Graduate Programs , especially in USA , have a curriculum in which courses are instructed with ad vanced and heavy mathematical tools . Hence , top universities in US generally evaluates the applicants in terms of their mathematical backgrounds , for which must math courses offered by Econ undergraduate programs nearly mean nothing . Taking such courses I think played the biggest role increasing my chance for acceptance to USA . I also took my reference
16 Department of Economics Newsletter