<p>What is the best Ivy League School for studying economics / political science / public policy?</p>
<p>i am guessing, but Columbia…?</p>
<p>Columbia, Harvard and Yale all come to mind for me. Depends on what kind of environment you want. There is no better economic and financial center than NYC and Wall Street though.</p>
<p>Princeton University. They have a strong economics department and the renowned Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs where you’ll get to take public policy courses. Their politics dept. is also quite strong and is a popular major.</p>
<p>PrincetonU</p>
<p>Bear in mind economics can, sadly, be an ideologically-driven discipline, with some professors more interested in creating a rationale for their policy views than in teaching positive economics (positive in this sense means objective). I would go to GMU or University of Chicago. I would not go to an elitist east coast school for economics.</p>
<p>I’m getting to where I’m losing lots of respect for the so-called saltwater school economists, even ones I used to respect (like Larry Summers). Any economist who can say with a straight face that the financial sector, or the economy as a whole, has been unregulated or laissez-faire for the past thirty years and wants to blame our recession on this myth of a libertarian revolution during the 80s is just a hack who ignores the facts.</p>
<p>The point of this thread is…?</p>
<p>Many of the schools mentioned on this thread are renowned for economics and public policy. Regardless if you choose Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, etc, you are getting a truly superb education on the subjects. Unless you intend on strictly going into Investment banking (or another equally prestige-obsessed field), I don’t see the point. And if you do want to go into IB, Wharton (U-Penn) or Harvard would be my suggestions.</p>
<p>Do your own research, decide what school(s) you like, and apply. Go beyond “the best school in ____ subject” </p>
<p>Also realize that many highly qualified students apply to all of the schools I mentioned and are accepted to none. Unfortunate, yes, but it is reality.</p>
<p>All of them, of course some use different names for the pol sci/public policy major.</p>
<p>I wanted the same thing when I applied! Fortunately, Wharton has a concentration called Business Econ and Public Policy. U get a great business education (probably the best in the country) and u get policy a well. It’s a pretty neat combination. That said, I would check into Princeton Woodrow Wilson School as well… Ik ur just a hs studen but try to decide whether you want theoretical econ or business econ. If u want theory, really consider Princeton. If u want business, u gotta go Wharton.</p>
<p>FYI I go to Wharton. It may not have been the best fit for me (I want a more theoretical basis) but there’s tons of kids at W who r into Business & Policy… Lol half the class want to be the next President. Anther big benefit is that W focuses on practice, not theory, which is important for policy. If u wanna be a politician or a policy analyst, it’s nice to have the grounded business background so that u can make decisions that make financial sense. I’ve heard awesome things about Woodywoo but some say its too distant from practice. Either way, Woodywoo or Wharton, you’re gunna be just fine (;</p>
<p>^ Of course, separate and apart from Wharton, Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences has a more traditional (i.e., more theoretical) Economics Department that is consistently ranked among the top 10 in the country.</p>