There are actually two essays:
the first we are to describe our personal "journey" as to why we want to get a phD in econ:
I began my college education in the fall of 2003 with the plan of majoring in Business Finance. However, my experience with economics courses and professors in my first year at Wayne State were an epiphany to the decision I was to make later that year. I found myself deeply fascinated by this social science called economics. The only previous experience I had with the subject consisted of an eight-week unit in my eighth grade civics class, but I recall loving every class and found the subject matter intriguing. So when I entered college and was really exposed to economics on a deeper level, I was captivated. My favorite class was econometrics, as I also enjoy math and the thought of applying mathematics with economic theories was of great interest to me.
These past four years of college I have also worked full-time at Whole Foods Market. My experience as a store buyer at Whole Foods Market has also let to my own personal experimentations with consumer choice. How I have chosen to arrange products on the shelf, sale items, and specialty items at eye-level does indeed affect consumers and their purchasing decisions. Merchandising, product mix, special pricing, and current consumer trends: all these factors and more contribute to my daily "research" of consumer behavior. I am consistently checking movement reports on which products sell and which do not, arranging and re-arranging shelves and product to maximize efficiency and sales while keeping within the company's standards of merchandising. This experience as a buyer has proved very rewarding and interesting because I am able to experience and test, first-hand, theories that I have studied in the classroom. The experience also proved rewarding as I wrote my thesis for the honors program at Wayne using information that I obtained while working for Whole Foods. I am eagerly looking forward to more research opportunities and being able to apply theories in a more personal way as I feel it provides a connection to all the studying of theories and principles I've been doing the past four years. I look forward to a rewarding and fulfilling education opportunity in the PhD program at the University of Michigan.
The second we are to describe any research and/or other work that would make a good candidate for their program:
I began my college education in the fall of 2003 with the plan of majoring in Business Finance. However, my experience with economics courses and professors in my first year at Wayne State were an epiphany to the decision I was to make later that year. I found myself deeply fascinated by this social science called economics. The only previous experience I had with the subject consisted of an eight-week unit in my eighth grade civics class, but I recall loving every class and found the subject matter intriguing. So when I entered college and was really exposed to economics on a deeper level, I was captivated. My favorite class was econometrics, as I also enjoy math and the thought of applying mathematics with economic theories was of great interest to me.
These past four years of college I have also worked full-time at Whole Foods Market. My experience as a store buyer at Whole Foods Market has also let to my own personal experimentations with consumer choice. How I have chosen to arrange products on the shelf, sale items, and specialty items at eye-level does indeed affect consumers and their purchasing decisions. Merchandising, product mix, special pricing, and current consumer trends: all these factors and more contribute to my daily "research" of consumer behavior. I am consistently checking movement reports on which products sell and which do not, arranging and re-arranging shelves and product to maximize efficiency and sales while keeping within the company's standards of merchandising. This experience as a buyer has proved very rewarding and interesting because I am able to experience and test, first-hand, theories that I have studied in the classroom. The experience also proved rewarding as I wrote my thesis for the honors program at Wayne using information that I obtained while working for Whole Foods. I am eagerly looking forward to more research opportunities and being able to apply theories in a more personal way as I feel it provides a connection to all the studying of theories and principles I've been doing the past four years. I look forward to a rewarding and fulfilling education opportunity in the PhD program at the University of Michigan.
the first we are to describe our personal "journey" as to why we want to get a phD in econ:
I began my college education in the fall of 2003 with the plan of majoring in Business Finance. However, my experience with economics courses and professors in my first year at Wayne State were an epiphany to the decision I was to make later that year. I found myself deeply fascinated by this social science called economics. The only previous experience I had with the subject consisted of an eight-week unit in my eighth grade civics class, but I recall loving every class and found the subject matter intriguing. So when I entered college and was really exposed to economics on a deeper level, I was captivated. My favorite class was econometrics, as I also enjoy math and the thought of applying mathematics with economic theories was of great interest to me.
These past four years of college I have also worked full-time at Whole Foods Market. My experience as a store buyer at Whole Foods Market has also let to my own personal experimentations with consumer choice. How I have chosen to arrange products on the shelf, sale items, and specialty items at eye-level does indeed affect consumers and their purchasing decisions. Merchandising, product mix, special pricing, and current consumer trends: all these factors and more contribute to my daily "research" of consumer behavior. I am consistently checking movement reports on which products sell and which do not, arranging and re-arranging shelves and product to maximize efficiency and sales while keeping within the company's standards of merchandising. This experience as a buyer has proved very rewarding and interesting because I am able to experience and test, first-hand, theories that I have studied in the classroom. The experience also proved rewarding as I wrote my thesis for the honors program at Wayne using information that I obtained while working for Whole Foods. I am eagerly looking forward to more research opportunities and being able to apply theories in a more personal way as I feel it provides a connection to all the studying of theories and principles I've been doing the past four years. I look forward to a rewarding and fulfilling education opportunity in the PhD program at the University of Michigan.
The second we are to describe any research and/or other work that would make a good candidate for their program:
I began my college education in the fall of 2003 with the plan of majoring in Business Finance. However, my experience with economics courses and professors in my first year at Wayne State were an epiphany to the decision I was to make later that year. I found myself deeply fascinated by this social science called economics. The only previous experience I had with the subject consisted of an eight-week unit in my eighth grade civics class, but I recall loving every class and found the subject matter intriguing. So when I entered college and was really exposed to economics on a deeper level, I was captivated. My favorite class was econometrics, as I also enjoy math and the thought of applying mathematics with economic theories was of great interest to me.
These past four years of college I have also worked full-time at Whole Foods Market. My experience as a store buyer at Whole Foods Market has also let to my own personal experimentations with consumer choice. How I have chosen to arrange products on the shelf, sale items, and specialty items at eye-level does indeed affect consumers and their purchasing decisions. Merchandising, product mix, special pricing, and current consumer trends: all these factors and more contribute to my daily "research" of consumer behavior. I am consistently checking movement reports on which products sell and which do not, arranging and re-arranging shelves and product to maximize efficiency and sales while keeping within the company's standards of merchandising. This experience as a buyer has proved very rewarding and interesting because I am able to experience and test, first-hand, theories that I have studied in the classroom. The experience also proved rewarding as I wrote my thesis for the honors program at Wayne using information that I obtained while working for Whole Foods. I am eagerly looking forward to more research opportunities and being able to apply theories in a more personal way as I feel it provides a connection to all the studying of theories and principles I've been doing the past four years. I look forward to a rewarding and fulfilling education opportunity in the PhD program at the University of Michigan.
