I want to major in economics and maybe take a few classes in finance and public policy, but the deciding factor is definitely economics. I understand that tufts has the better location, and Colgate has a gorgeous campus and tufts is more “quirky”. Those factors won’t matter towards my decision, unless the location of Colgate is a major hindrance in terms of internships and job opportunities. Could anyone provide some insight into that?
Also, I want to go to a top grad school. How do both of these place into schools like Harvard, uchicago and penn? I believe tufts is more prestigious overall(?) but is more known for its engineering programs so I’m skeptical about the funding for econ and strength of the department. Colgate is more exclusively focused on econ
Also, I’d eventually like to work in finance in NYC. Which school is the best bet for that? Does your undergrad institution even matter in that case, if you go to grad school? And, if I choose not to go to grad school, which school will give me better shots on Wall Street?
By “grad school” do you mean an Econ PhD or an MBA?
If it’s an Econ PhD, then you want a very mathy econ with some cs undergrad econ program which points to Tuffs.
For an MBA, you don’t need econ undergrad.
Mathy econ helps for finance on the analytic/quant/high frequency trading side of finance.
On the consulting/Ibank side, it doesn’t hurt to have - it’ll help you put pretty charts in your presentations, but it doesn’t matter as much.
Just want a Wall Street job out of college? Fordham, St Johns, and Baruch each probably place more kids on Wall Street than Colgate and Tufts combined.
In addition to an Econ major, Colgate also has a Mathematical Economics major. I think it was called econometrics but isn’t listed that way on the website anymore. I also think Colgate has an extremely strong alumni network and Econ is their top major so don’t think that the location is a hinderance in terms of internships and jobs!
Have you visited either one? While there may be some similarities in the academics, the vibe, size, and setting couldn’t be more different. There is a difference in the feeling at a D3 NESCAC school and a school with D1 athletics. It’s not just “quirky” or a pretty campus - it’s 3,000 students vs 10,000, a few minutes by train to a major city or an hour to an airport that still won’t get you anywhere. You also need to think about what you want from your college experience. BTW we visited both and D20 was just accepted ED to Colgate and plans to study Econ, too.
Just to clarify, if you were hoping to take some finance courses in undergrad, that’s not possible at Tufts and Colgate, which do not offer them (Tufts might offer one intro-type course in the summer, but that appears to be all). Neither of them have an undergrad business program, which is where you’d typically find finance courses. (This is not to say that you need such courses to go to Wall St, just that you mentioned it in your OP.)
If your are interested in a more finance approach to Econ, you may want to check out Colby College. At 2,000 students, it is a bit smaller than either Colgate (about 3,000 students) or Tufts (about 5,600 students) and the location is very rural, but it offers an Economics major with a concentration in financial markets. Students who choose that route take finance and accounting classes. Good Luck!
I’m uncertain regarding these particular schools, but courses in topics such as corporate finance, financial economics, international finance and financial econometrics can be found within at least some liberal arts college economics programs.