Hey guys, first of all heres my profile and criteria:
I’m a prospective international student currently in his senior year. I don’t quite know my GPA, but its not high enough and haven’t been consistent enough for top universities like Ivy League, Chicago etc(top 10-15), I’m sure.
My SAT score is currently 1970, but I plan to take it again and based on my mock tests should be upwards of 2200(hopefully)
I’m NOT looking favourably towards schools in the Midwest.
My ethnicity is Chinese, but I dont care too much for school’s foreign student %
Following is my shortlist:
UC Berkeley
UCLA
UCSD
UC Davis
UC Irvine
USC
Boston University
Penn State
U Michigan Ann Arbor
NYU
Are there any other colleges on the West coast with top 30 Econ program, and on the East coast in the NJ, Pennsylvania,NY area that I should add to my list? Of course, range of colleges is subject to my SAT scores, my school scores were pretty high in my Junior year and Sophomore year.
Would be pleased to answer any question, and would really appreciate help. Thanks!
P.S: Also, what are some good safety schools,i.e, decent program and higher admission rate. Currently, UC Davis and Penn State are my safety schools.
what are your course selections and extra curricular activities? Just from your current SAT score, Berkeley UCLA UCSD USC UMich NYU are all out of reach or a high reach for you. Boston U, Davis, and Irvine are reaches for you, and Penn State is your only target.
Michigan is in the Midwest. And for international applicants, Berkeley and Michigan are likely to be high reaches as they have similar admissions standards as the Ivy League (for international applicants).
I think a great option for international students in the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Again, it is Midwestern, but with more reasonable admissions standards.
You’re completely right, with my current SATs those are out of my reach. However, I am taking it again in November, and based on current tests(Barrons,CollegeBoard) im expecting to get in excess of 2200.
To answer your question, my activities include basketball, MUN, table tennis, chess, singing for the school choir, drama and theatre, science exhibitions(yes, I do that even as business student). Of those, basketball, MUN, drama and Science exhibitions are inter school level; rest are intra school.
These lists will help you confirm some of your current choices and will give you ideas for further research. At least a few of these schools will match your other criteria, including reasonable prospects for admissibility. The positive aspect of your current 1970 SAT score is that it indicates you are qualified to do the work at almost all US colleges.
Top Economics Programs, Based on Faculty Publishing
At Undergraduate Focused Colleges
Williams
Wellesley
Middlebury
Hamilton
Claremont McKenna
Colgate
Vassar
Holy Cross
Richmond
Lafayette
Bates
Macalaster
Bowdoin
US Naval Academy (included for accuracy)
Trinity (CT)
At Universities
Harvard
MIT
UC-Berkeley
Princeton
Chicago
Stanford
Columbia
NYU
Yale
Brown
Michigan
Boston U
Penn
Northwestern
UC-San Diego
(Lists represent the top 15 institutions in their categories from Ideas. See the original source, available online, for an explanation of the limitations of the analysis.)
In terms of excellent economics programs generally, I would add Cornell, Brandeis and Duke.
Wesleyan (CT) was mistakenly omitted from the above. The highly-regarded school belongs between Middlebury and Hamilton.
The proper spelling for the excellent school in Minnesota is Macalester.
A few colleges have a relationship with a Harvard Business School online initiative, if this interests you. From WGBH News: “HBS . . . has reached agreements with five elite liberal arts colleges . . . [Hamilton, Williams, Wellesley Grinnell and Carleton.] The business school had previously formed a partnership with Amherst College, and the online program is already available to Harvard undergraduates.”
Milton Friedman did his undergrad work at Rutgers. Let that sink in.
Wasn’t Rutgers a contender to Princeton in the past, though?
Well they were always separated by the Ivy Barrier, if you will. At that time they were still both highly regarded, and Friedman was a genius ahead of his time. I don’t see why the Econ department would’ve tanked since then, though.
I feel that the ‘Ivy League’ construct probably was not nearly as much a ‘barrier’ then as it now: mostly an athletic league then? So it probably had different effects in terms of attracting top professors and such.
The Ivy League did not exist when Friedman attended Rutgers (BA, 1932). However, Princeton was known as part of the “Big Three” (with Harvard and Yale) at that time, at least partly in recognition of the school’s early strength in football.
For theoretical and ideological balance: John Kenneth Galbraith did his undergraduate work at Ontario Agricultural College (a school associated with the University of Toronto).
Also during Friedman’s time it had just become Princeton University about 20-30 years prior, as it was previously “The College of New Jersey” (for which there now is a university named). Two of his professors also taught about how economics could end the Great Depression, and they were prominent economists as well. I think it was more so what he made of it later on.
Both universities make and attract top professors, but I’d argue Princeton would be ahead of Rutgers in that aspect. I’ve noticed that engineering professors like to be closer to Silicon Valley because of them teaching exceptional students as well as being able to take part in industry themselves.
If you’re really looking for a real hardcore Econ program, go for UChicago. Chicago School economics (pioneered there) is the real stuff as far as that is concerned. If you could get in, you’re blessed. It’s a reach, though.
Um, I doubt that OP is looking into UChicago.
In any case, it would be useful to see what the average economics major from a certain school ends up doing after graduation than fixating on one school’s one alum, like merc81 suggested. The University of Maryland–College Park is actually well known for its graduate economics program, for instance, as is UMinn-Twin cities–perhaps that quality trickles into their undergraduate programs? If nothing else, their TAs will probably have an excellent grasp on the material because they entered the program through a highly selective process.
@merc81 thank you very much, thats a long list worth researching, though i would frankly admit unis like harvard are out of my grasp lest i get 2400 in my SATs. Thanks a lot people, a few more suggestions would help immensely 
Is cost a factor?
Many public universities (including Berkeley and Michigan) do not offer financial aid to international students.
Many small liberal arts colleges (like the “undergraduate focused colleges” listed in post #4) are relatively generous with aid to internationals.
http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware
(some of the numbers may be a couple years out of date; it is not an exhaustive list).
I’m pretty sure I don’t fall under need-based category, if that what you’re asking. And merit based is based on application anyhow, am I wrong?
Do you want more math in your economics courses for better pre-PhD preparation?
If so, look more closely at UCB, UCSD, UCI, and UCSC. At the other end of the scale, Penn State is lighter than most in math intensity. Check math prerequisites for intermediate economics courses.
I’m asking whether your family can afford the likely net cost to attend the universities on your list.
Merit aid is based on the qualifications of the applicant, relative to the qualifications of other admitted applicants. Some of the schools on your list do not grant merit aid (or do not grant it to internationals).