Best colleges for math and economics

College Search & Selection
101

<p>Josh, I'm not considering LACs. </p>

<p>I did seperate NU and Chicago from Duke and Brown, because I think the latter two are a bit stronger than the former two which is why they make my top 10. Michigan and Berkely are weaker than all 4 for undergrad but still top 20.</p>

<p>I agree that the differences are small, but there are still differences. Which is why Dartmouth, Duke, Columbia, Penn, and Brown stand above UMich or Berk (I notice no one is advocating UVA, which is just as good as UMich and Berk for undergrad and is also a public school...weird).</p>

102

<p>UVa does not compare to UCB and UM for overall university strength. It is more of a niche school that does attract good undergrad students. They are trying to change that and compete as a top research university but they have a ways to go to approach UCB and UM.</p>

103

<p>Barrons - I agree, Mich and UCB are tops for grad strength, I just meant they have similar undergrads. For undergrad, Mich UCB and UVA are awesome schools and I believe the top 3 publics.</p>

104

<p>I prefer the term overall strength because I believe being a major research center does positively impact the undergrad students in many ways.</p>

105

<p>
[quote]
So NYU is a top 10 school?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>No, actually my point was that NYU has an awful alum giving rate which reflects the quality of undergraduate education that many students feel they've received. Obviously happier, more successful students should be more inclined to give back to their alma mater.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Again, at what point?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>On this one I'm referring specifically to the % of classes with over X amount of students, % with under X amount. If 30% of a school's classes have over 200 students in them, that should effect the quality of the education for a considerable amount of students at some point in their education.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I’d like you to know that the reason why I have done that was because I noticed that there’s a seeming blunder in every paragraph in your post and I can’t help but to refute them one by one.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>HAHA! Well, it's just as tough for me, especially when your paragraphs are spread out over 4 posts, but I manage. ;)</p>

106

<p>No, 30% is not my benchmark/borderline. It was a hypothetical number. Regardless, if there is a large difference between two schools being compared (in this case Columbia and Michigan) then it says something about the learning environment a student will most likely find themselves a part of. The only data I have pertaining to this is from USNews 2006:</p>

<p>% of classes with 50 or more -
Columbia 8%
Michigan 16%</p>

<p>% of classes with 20 or less -
Columbia 72%
Michigan 43%</p>

<p>
[quote]
And may I remind you that the caliber of faculty at Berkeley is better than Columbia.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Without data, that's opinion. And more importantly, that depends on the subject matter you're referring to.</p>

107

<p>Joshua, you are absolutely ridiculous. I laughed a little bit at the above post (#147). Everything I write is based on objective stats - obviously this reflects my personal views, but atleast its an educated opinion backed up by real information (publicly available too...in case you don't believe me about certain things).</p>

<p>"You're giving me an impression that your list was just based on what you feel towards those schools, plus I don’t forget that you said you are biased against public schools. "</p>

<ul>
<li>No, the list is based off of the following: SAT scores, National Merit Scholars, feeding rates into professional schools, and a combination of the US News and THES rankings. This list is objective.
I'm biased against public schools because they perform worse in all of the categories.</li>
</ul>

<p>"Certainly, the presidents of universities and colleges in America would disagree with you – check US News."</p>

<ul>
<li>I did check US News. US News has Penn, Duke, Columbia, Dartmouth and Brown all ahead of Michigan and Berkeley. Oops, maybe you made a typo - otherwise you just don't make sense. </li>
</ul>

<p>" And since you cannot prove their differences, I would now conclude that your list means nothing but only your personal list. "</p>

<ul>
<li>Its my personal list? Obviously, I wrote the list, I believe in it, and in fact I chose my own undergrad using it.
But its based off of objective factors - The differences are in the average SAT scores of the students, number of National Merit Scholars, number of students being sent to top 15 professional schools...other things....These are all objective factors! Not just opinions.</li>
</ul>

<p>"Please learn to do some balancing on things next time. That would make your views objective."</p>

<p>My entire argument is based off of objective data such as SAT scores, scholars, and feeder rates!</p>

<p>What the deal is, Joshua?</p>