<p>Hello!
Over the past few weeks I’ve been accepted to NYU(CAS), UCLA, and UVA, and right now I am having such a hard time deciding on which school I should attend!!
I plan on being an econ major, and am thinking of going to graduate school eventually, so it is kind of important that I maintain good grades.
Although I am leaning a bit more towards NYU because of what the city offers, I wanted to know if there were some other things that I should consider, for example, are any of the schools known for giving especially tough grades?
And will it especially make me a weak candidate for internships for being a CAS econ major rather than a Stern student?
I also want to participate in undergraduate research if it is possible, and which school has the most resources for that? I know that UC Berkeley has a lot of research opportunities because someone I know went there told me, so are UC schools better in that aspect?
A few people have mentioned good weather as a reason for choosing UCLA, but I am used to all kinds of weather and don’t especially count weather as an important factor.
Academic prestige-wise, what school do you think is the best?? Sorry for asking so many questions 
It’s just so difficult choosing the right school for me! Please help me reach a good decision.</p>
<p>(1) As far as the difficult of a school. In 2002 the average GPA at NYU was a 3.41; (not sure how it is now though, it may very well be more difficult as the school has been more difficult to gain acceptance into, as well as the fact that NYU has been trying to improve its overall academic reputation) UVa’s average GPA was 3.213 in 2006. UCLA was 3.22 in 2008.</p>
<p>(2) NYU is #12 in the country for economics, UCLA is #14, UVa is #18.</p>
<p>(3) CAS Econ and Stern Econ are, as far as my understanding goes, very different in that they approach the subject in different ways. CAS Econ is very much theory, whereas Stern appears to be more applied. </p>
<p>(4) You won’t be at a terrible disadvantage not coming from Stern. Remember, NYU is one of the country’s top schools and people know that - especially in NYC. I’ve beaten Columbia students out for internship positions in some very prestigious places. </p>
<p>(5) The UC’s are good for research. However, keep in mind that the State of CA has, as of late, been making budget cuts to the entire UC system. People haven’t been able to graduate on time, research has slowed down, etc. NYU, being a private school, has had no such problems. In fact, NYU’s yearly budget is about $500 million dollars MORE than UC - Berkeley. Unfortunately, I cannot find any reliable sources currently for UCLA’s budget.</p>
<p>(6) Typically people see the academic prestige of these schools to be UCLA → UVa → NYU. However, given NYU’s strength in economics, it’s by no means a ‘weak’ school.</p>