WashU VS. Berkeley VS. NYU

gogogobears
Sat, 09 May 2009 22:12:51 +0000

Hey, folks~ I am an economics major,junior transfer student, and I just got into UC Berkeley,Washington Unversity in St. Louis. Still waiting for NYU, but hopefully I’ll get in.

However, I really have a hard time deciding which one to go:

Berkeley does have a great reputation not only in the United States, but also in the whole world. San Francisco and the Bay Area also provide me with an unparallel opportunity in terms of internships or finding a job. Moreover, if I just look at the ranking for economics major, then I believe only Harvard, MIT, Princeton, and UChicago are better than Berkeley. That ranking, however, is actually for grad school. (But its undergrad economics program is also recognized as one of the best in the nation).

In the USNews Best College Ranking, WashU is ranked higher than Berkeley. Though rankings are subjective, WashU’s higher ranking in the USNews does have a reason. I feel like as a private university, WashU’s small class size, the close relationship with professors, the undergraduate research opportunities, as well as its flexibility (i.e. double-major, joint studies, etc) might be a good choice to prepare me to go to grad school. However, its economics program is just so so. And not so many people know the name, a lot of times, when I told them I got into washu, they were thinking about GWU or UW. What’s worse, it is located in St. Louis, a middle of nowhere.

NYU also has a solid econ program, and it is in NEW YORK CITYYYY! But I feel like for the school as a whole, NYU is not at the same level as berkeley and washu.

What do you think are the most important features I should consider for an education at the undergraduate level? Which one will better prepare me to go to grad school in economics? (PS, $$$$ is not important)

Thank you so much! Really need some inside help!