Top US Universities for undergraduate Economics - Page 2

RML · 11-04-2009, 08:09 AM

^ top IBanks do recruit at all the schools I've listed, aside from more than 20 or so others. But if getting into IB is your main motivation and you decide to attend Berkeley, I suggest you go for Haas.

interestingguy · 11-04-2009, 10:57 AM

Quote:

I get a little frustrated because it creates inaccurate, misleading elitism

Pot, meet kettle...

IBclass06 · 11-04-2009, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwu

RML, if you're not going to bother including Minnesota and Michigan, then don't bother including Berkeley.

Kwu is correct that any "top 10" list excluding Minnesota is suspect.

Universities that are ranked top 10 by both USNWR and the NRC

Harvard University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Northwestern University
Princeton University
Stanford University
University of California-Berkeley
University of Chicago
University of Minnesota
University of Pennsylvania
Yale University

Universities that are ranked top 15 by both USNWR and the NRC

Columbia University
University of California-Los Angeles
University of Michigan
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Universities that are ranked top 20 by both USNWR and the NRC

California Institute of Technology
Cornell University
New York University
University of California-San Diego

Universities that are ranked top 25 by both USNWR and the NRC

Boston University
Brown University
Duke University
University of Maryland-College Park
University of Rochester

IBclass06 · 11-04-2009, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bitturiju

Well, I would definitely want to enter a prestigious university. I want to enter Investment Banking...which universities do top notch Investment Banks such as Goldman Sachs recruit individuals from?

Keep in mind that IB recruiting is only loosely connected with the strength of the business or economics program at a given university.

Although one could argue endlessly over the precise groupings, it generally goes something like this...

Tier 1: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Wharton

Tier 2: Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Penn, Yale

Tier 3: Brown, Chicago, Cornell, Georgetown, Michigan Ross, Northwestern, NYU Stern, UCB Haas, UVA

Tier 4: CMU, Rice, UCLA, others

kwu · 11-04-2009, 01:17 PM

RML, you're delusional if you're under the impression that the collective undergraduate student body at Berkeley is comparable to that of Oxford or Cambridge, given the rigorous selectivity of the latter institutions

Faculty strength and achievement is certainly a factor that contributes significantly to the prestige of a school, but one has to take into account that the chief responsibility of state schools at the undergraduate level is to serve the residents of that state. Therefore, there will be a critical mass of extraordinarily talented students, but a vast majority of the students will not be quite so extraordinary, to put it gently. The enormous discrepancy between the majority and minority makes it difficult to collectively deem Berkeley's undergraduate schools prestigious.

The institution, taken as a whole, is exceedingly venerable and impressive, but I would find it adorable if the typical undergraduate at the College of Letters and Science were to try to ride off the prestige of Berkeley's tip-top graduate programs, Haas, and the College of Engineering.

There are adherents browsing these fora who would argue passionately that Michigan is a prestigious school, Minnesota not as many. And, if one argues as you do that a state school like Berkeley is as prestigious as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Chicago, etc., I find it hard to believe why one would conveniently omit Michigan, a similarly reputable and outstanding institution.

Sure, you can accuse me of elitism, but I'm just trying to call you out on your own.

UCBChemEGrad · 11-04-2009, 05:07 PM

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And, if one argues as you do that a state school like Berkeley is as prestigious as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Chicago, etc., I find it hard to believe why one would conveniently omit Michigan, a similarly reputable and outstanding institution.

~2,000 academics collectively rate Berkeley's undergraduate academic programs squarely among the schools you list (just below HYPSM, and above Chicago and Caltech to be exact).

Michigan is a top-tier university as well, but it historically doesn't have the same academic prestige level as Berkeley across all academic disciplines.

And yes, PA score compensates for undergrad selectivity....IF Berkeley were as small and selective for its undergrads as the elite privates, its PA would be higher.

Coolbrezze · 11-04-2009, 06:29 PM

Minnesota, usually seen as having a top ten economics program is also the most affordable out of all the others highly ranked in that field.

LakeSuperior · 11-04-2009, 10:14 PM

Minnesota's economics program is it's standout in liberal arts and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a top econ program for 14K OOS tuition... and it's the top ranked dept in the Big Ten for econ... I'm just saying.

Go Gophers!

cbreeze · 11-04-2009, 11:35 PM

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There is a dramatic drop in Peer Assessment scores between Northwestern and UPenn.

1. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern
2. Penn, Columbia, Minnesota, NYU, Michigan ... etc.

Graduate school rankings are indicators of the strength of the undergraduate program.

I want to remind you that the OP is asking about undergrad economics programs. In addition, I also want to remind you that the ONLY degree that undergrad Wharton confers is an economics degree. I don't think ANYONE disputes that Wharton is stronger than Northwestern in terms of its economics degree.

Sam Lee · 11-05-2009, 12:49 AM

^I don't think the OP is asking about undergrad economics programs that require only 2 economics courses.

cbreeze · 11-05-2009, 01:37 AM

Economics is a broad term.

Sam Lee · 11-05-2009, 02:46 AM

^how broad? to the point that "business" and "economics" are interchangable? IMO, wharton just uses a wrong title, perhaps because Penn tries to fit in the rest of the Ivy that have always shunned the business major.

aabbcc1789 · 11-05-2009, 02:47 AM

"I don't think ANYONE disputes that Wharton is stronger than Northwestern in terms of its economics degree."

anyone? really? lol...

RML · 11-05-2009, 05:29 AM

IBclass06,
I wasn't questioning Minnesota being one of the top schools for economics. I was questioning kwu's statement that Berkeley and Michigan cannot be prestigious because they are state schools. That's just wrong.

Quote:

RML, you're delusional if you're under the impression that the collective undergraduate student body at Berkeley is comparable to that of Oxford or Cambridge, given the rigorous selectivity of the latter institutions.

Kwu,
I'm a Cambridge product so I know Cambridge more than you do. I spent 3 years at Girton College and I loved it there. But I wouldn't say it's superior to Berkeley, or our undergrad student body is superior to Berkeley's. 99% of Berkeley students were from their top 10% in high school and that's hard to beat for any school. I would say that the undergrad student bodies of both schools are superb. I cannot say one is better than the other. It's hard to make a conclusive statement about this since we don't have basis to determine the IQ level of the students of both schools. Cambridge draws students from England which has a population of 60M (more of less) whilst Berkeley draws students from California which has a population close to 50M, that's aside of course from some applicants from around the world but which count a lot fewer.

I reacted to your statement because you said this: Yes, all three are state schools, and therefore none of their undergraduate colleges are prestigious.

Now, if you read that statement again, you're clearly saying that State Schools cannot be prestigious. Is my interpretation of your statement correct? If not, please correct me. If yes, then you're wrong.

UCBChemEGrad · 11-05-2009, 10:18 AM

Quote:

California which has a population close to 50M

close to 37M