<p>how are these schools for econ and international relations (i know JHU and tufts are among the top schools for int'l relations. but what about the others?)?</p>
<p>BC and lehigh both have great Undergrad biz schools...does that mean they'll have great econ as well? i was checking some old threads regarding econ. and BC never gets mentioned while BU gets attention a lot.</p>
<p>For econ:
1. JHU
2. Tufts
3. Lehigh or BC</p>
<p>It seems that Baltimore is not very safe,huh?? does it count?</p>
<p>I would suggest also evaluating American and Georgetown.</p>
<p>I'll never understand what motivates trolls. Hopkins may be in Baltimore, but it is also rated (by Readers Digest) as the safest campus in America. The Homewood campus (which is where all undergraduates except for Peabody's music students and nursing students are based) is adjacent to the nicest neighborhood in the city. </p>
<p>Hopkins, along with Tufts, Princeton, Columbia and Georgetown--are the best schools for international studies. American and George Washington--while IMHO not up to the five schools I first mentioned-- are also strong in this speciality. </p>
<p>Lehigh and BC--while both good schools--are not known for international studies. Because the field has become increasingly popular--many schools have programs--but it takes a lot of resources to have a top notch program due to the interdisciplinary nature of the field.</p>
<p>Regarding economics, this brings up a frequently discussed topic on collegeconfidential: just how important is the quality of one UNDERGRAD specific department vs. the overall quality and atmosphere at a college. Unless it's a very unusual department like the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown or ceramic engineering at that school in New York, you're almost always better off to go with the overall school, cuz you might change majors, you'll take a lot of classes outside that major, at the undergrad level the overall quality won't be much different (especially at highly rated schools like the ones you mentioned, especially in a subject as common as economics), and the long-term effect on your career or grad school possibilities won't be much. Those 4 schools are all respected and none will get doors much wider open than the others. But they are significantly different in atmosphere and location. A lot of people would recommend basing your opinion on those things rather than the quality of just the econ depts. </p>
<p>For a field like Int'l Relations the department would be more of a concern, however, as they aren't as evenly matched as econ depts.</p>