<p>hi,guys, this my first thread here!I am an undergraduate and applying for int’l transfer in the coming semester, majored in Economics.</p>
<p>Now I have received the offer from the University of Kansas, but another two-- Michigan State University and Case Western Reserve University hasn’t come out yet. I am so worried these days for both the chance of admitted by MSU and CWRU and the selection of these three universites.</p>
<p>I will persue a Ph.D. then,trying a better place , or get two years of working experience in financial market first.</p>
<p>How did you choose these three universities to apply to?</p>
<p>What were you told about the academic programs at each of them?</p>
<p>If you are interested in a Ph.D., do you have any information about placement into Ph.D. programs from each of these universities?</p>
<p>What would your real cost of attendance be at each university? Do not forget to include transportation to and from the university, and local transportation while studying at the university. Will you live off campus, or on campus? If you will be off campus, is the cost of living in one city significantly less than in another? Is the weather different enough that you would need a winter wardrobe at one university but not at another? </p>
<p>What information do you have about support systems for international students at each university? Does one have a more helpful international student office than another?</p>
<p>Have you asked your questions at the International Forum? Someone there might have good ideas for you.</p>
<p>To be sure, the University of Kansas and Michigan State are solid schools. But speaking in broad strokes I would go with Case Western Reserve hands down.</p>
<p>USNWR Overall University Rankings; Case = 41, Mich State = 71
The Times World University Rankings; Case = 85, Mich State = 159
The Economist Intelligence Unit World MBA Rankings; Case = 97, Mich State = Unranked</p>
<p>I’m sure we could throw rankings back and forth for each institution, but to clarify, my personal opinion it is that Case is a much better University overall. Further, I think Case is a better choice if you are looking for a spring-board into a Business/Finance/Econ PhD. </p>
<p>The Financial Times ranks Universities based on their business PhD programs. To my knowledge, the Financial Times is the only publication that offers a credible business PhD program ranking. Here, they rank Case a respectable 56 (above Yale, Oxford and a number of others) in the world where Michigan State is not even ranked in the top 100.</p>
<p>Take a second and read chenyitristan’s post, GoBlue81</p>
<p>He’s looking to enter a PhD Program, not an MBA program. You dont need an MBA to enter a PhD program. And furthermore, this is precisely the point of not getting into a rankings debate; for every ranking publication promoting University XYZ over University ABC I can probably find another ranking espousing the exact opposite.</p>
<p>In my experience, earning your Bachelors from a University with a strong brand and a solid reputation for producing top-quality PhD students is looked upon much more favorably by PhD admissions councils than earning your Bachelors from a University without such strengths. I say this because I recently went through the PhD application process and my opinion (emphasis here; my opinion) is that Case Western is by far the better choice out of the schools you listed.</p>
<p>Um… I was under the impression that the OP is transferring (probably as a junior) to the Economics department (not business) of one of these schools. When you are a junior, your departmental reputation is important if you are interested in pursuing graduate studies. Hence my comparison of the Econ ranking of the three schools. And I know that MSU has a good Econ department.</p>
<p>What is the reputation of the Econ department at CWRU? I have no idea but may be you can tell us about it.</p>
<p>such an debate…
Finally I got the admission from Case and decide to go there.
Thanks for your positive comment on Case,which is a great inspiration to my decision.</p>
<p>Firstly, I think you made a very good decision by choosing Case Western. During the PhD application process, Im sure that the caliber of your undergraduate institution will add tremendous value to your application.</p>
<p>Ill do my best to offer you some advice on how to prepare your application for a PhD. And Im happy to comment on the reputation of the Case econ department.</p>
<p>Im currently in a Management PhD program. So Im not particularly familiar with the giants within the economics arena. However I do know of a number of very highly regarded economists at Case. James Rebitzer is a highly regarded organizational economist and Scott Shane is about as big as it gets in entrepreneurship economics.</p>
<p>If you are serious about entering an Econ PhD program, you should start to think about what areas within economics interest you the most. Are you interested in financial economics? international economics? behavioral economics? etc. </p>
<p>The reason for this is that when you apply for a PhD program, you are applying as much to be mentored by one or two faculty members as you are to be accepted by the University. If you know what area of research interests you, you can research the top scholars in that area and apply to the Universities where they work. Because you typically must articulate your research interests in the form of a statement of purpose within the application, knowing a good amount about your area of interest will impress the faculty members that review your application.</p>
<p>On a general note, take as many statistical, quantitative and analytical thinking classes as you can. Economics is heavily entrenched in the maths. PhD programs also like it when applicants have a bit of research experience. So talk to your professors at Case to see if they can get you into a summer research internship or something. Further, talk to your professors about your research interests. Ask them to comment on what Universities are most highly regarded in your chosen area of interest.</p>
<p>I simply say “lots of thanks” to your suggestion,due to my poor English.</p>
<p>I may transfer into the junior year, I expect a lot of things to do in the coming two years in Case. Firstly are a lot of required courses such as Intermediate Micro/Macro, required electives in different areas and some college core courses.
Also, as you mentioned, maths courses are key to Ph.D. application. And, I am also trying to connect with professors for research assitant opportunity. And GRE will cost a lot of time.
I expect a hard time in Case… </p>
<p>In addition, I wanna exchange some opinions with u from my current perspective.
Honestly, I don’t expect a college professor job in future, instead I wanna get a job in a research institution or even private sector.
And for the Case Econ department, it’s pretty small. Only 13 professors and no more than 100 undergrads. I think smaller is better ,to some extent, more opportunities of indivadual tutoring.
You know, mind will change, anyway, it’s my opinion by far.</p>
<p>With regard to your PhD application, I would caution you against stating that you were interested in entering anything but academia upon graduating with your PhD. If you say that you’re interested in working in the private sector, theres a chance that youll get a response from the PhD admittance council stating “you should apply for a Masters in Economics, not a Doctorate”. This is because a Masters degree is generally considered to provide a sufficient level of education for private practice. The PhD teaches students to conduct theoretical research in one specific area whilst providing a general level of knowledge on a discipline. But the theoretical research part is unnecessary if you just want to practice the discipline. </p>
<p>You may want to consider going the Masters rout if this is your ultimate goal. However, as far as earnings potential is concerned, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has reported that average starting academic salaries for new PhDs in economics is around $70,000 for a 9 month academic year (roughly $85,000 for a full year). Im not sure what the average starting salary is for people with a Masters in Economics, but keep in mind that spending a longer time in school for a PhD (4 years) versus earning a Masters (2 years) will have a substantial effect on the net present value of each investment.</p>
<p>When preparing for a PhD, small academic department versus big academic department doesnt really matter. What does matter is the quality of the faculty within the department. Fortunately, I believe you are in outstanding company at Case Western Reserve.</p>