Northwestern MMSS vs. UChicago Economics

misterrr · 04-07-2008, 07:42 PM

Which one should I choose?
I love both schools, however both are very different. In addition, Northwestern's MMSS Program and its new Financial Economics Certificate program is soo selective and respected, however Chicago's Economics Department is world-renowned. If you were me, and you were very concerned about job placement following college, which would you choose?

MMSS + Kellogg Financial Economics Certificate vs. Chicago's Economics???

beefs · 04-07-2008, 07:51 PM

I think job placement is practically the same from both schools. It probably comes down to fit. I'm obvoiusly biased but I'm choosing UChicago over two other excellent schools mainly because of its econ program and fit.

cory123 · 04-07-2008, 08:43 PM

i'd go MMSS. if i have my facts right, they only accept 20-30 students? you're golden

ace009711 · 04-07-2008, 08:54 PM

i'd go with mmss as well, its a pretty unique program, and as cory123 said, is fairly selective

beefs · 04-07-2008, 08:56 PM

Yea, I went on the website and the program looks good. I think it comes down to fit, though. I don't see the career options after either undergrad being very different.

ace009711 · 04-07-2008, 08:58 PM

yea, mmss may be my personal preference. you can't go wrong either way

beefs · 04-07-2008, 08:59 PM

Though from your previous posts, I see you really like Northwestern and have been waiting to get in for the longest time. If Northwestern is the kind of school ya dig, I recommend you go there, or visit UChicago and make sure you like it. They are VERY different.

CNI · 04-07-2008, 09:21 PM

Be careful to judge off of selectivity of the program, as personally, I don't really know how selective it was. Honestly, I got into the program, and I have no clue how. I'm not trying to fish for compliments, but my essay/handwriting was horrible, I never checked my grammar, and I submitted the application the day it was due. I'm not great in math, and I definitely did not make a 5 on the Calc AP. They required applicants to take the AP Calc exam prior too applying, so that might've cut down a lot of potential applicants' hopes. They might only accept 30 people, but I'm guessing that they only have like 60 people apply in the first place, so I really don't know how competitive it is.

So, I agree with beefs and would just urge you to go where you feel you fit in best.

ace009711 · 04-07-2008, 09:26 PM

um, i didn't take the ap exam, and i got in...but yea, i said it was "fairly selective." and its definetely a prestigious program, which is likely equal to a uchicago econ degree. i've heard it gets a lot more competitive as more people find out about it and apply for sophomre entry

CNI · 04-07-2008, 09:35 PM

Really? I thought that we had to since they asked for the score. Oh well, congratulations to you anyways

ace009711 · 04-07-2008, 09:36 PM

yea, idk, i just said, n/a...i didn't know it was a requirement if it was, lol. glad i got in tho.

unalove · 04-07-2008, 09:53 PM

misterrr, I don't know the exact program at NU, but you have to consider Chicago as a whole before considering NU's specialized program.

If you are intent on studying finance/business/mathy stuff and want to focus your energies in that particular direction more than anything else, go with NU.

If you want to receive a bang-up liberal arts education through the Core Curriculum while taking economics classes, go with Chicago.

Remember that Chicagoans, econ majors and not, are split over how they want to "use" their degree. There are a good number of econ majors who are studying econ because it's there and it's interesting, and they don't intend on going into business, but rather grad school, or an entirely unrelated field.

Sam Lee · 04-08-2008, 12:08 AM

MMSS is a one of a kind program and the decision should be all about whether you are interested in that special curriculum or not.

That said, I want to say something about its selectivity. The admit rate among NU admits seems to be fairly high. I usally don't see a lot of NU admits geting rejected. But that doesn't mean the caliber of MMSS students isn't high. http://www.mmss.northwestern.edu/alu...letter2006.pdf shows that the average SAT was ~1460. This letter was written in October 2006 and therefore, the score should be the average of MMSS students entering between 2003 through 2006. NU's SAT has increased by more than 20 points since 2006 and even more since 2003; so the average SAT of MMSS students is probably close to 1500 these days. It's not a terribly selective program in the sense that the pool seems to be rather self-selected but you will definitely be surrounded by a small group of pretty smart peers and you will be challenged by the rigor of the program.

misterrr · 04-08-2008, 04:52 AM

WOW.... thanks so much you guys.

meow360 · 04-08-2008, 05:40 PM

I applied to Northwestern last year for engineering (Applied Mathematics). After being accepted, I decided that engineering wasn't for me. I asked if I could switch into MMSS, and they had no problem accommodating me. After all was said and done, I decided to go to UChicago because I thought MMSS didn't emphasize math enough among various other reasons. Now I'm at UChicago studying econ/math and doing great. I also loved both schools and would probably be perfectly happy if I were at NU right now. Just relax and I'm sure you'll end up making the right decision.