College Choice for Economics/undecided

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi, please suggest colleges that match? :D</p>

<ul>
<li>Interests: economics, but unsure; may be economics and something else (that is doable right?) </li>
<li>Open to both normal colleges and LACs</li>
<li>Setting: urban/suburban</li>
<li>Preferred teaching methods: those that emphasize on discussions and actions(?) I feel like lectures are not that important as you can usually learn from textbooks<em>personal opinions</em></li>
<li>I think discussions and researches/internships are more important</li>
<li>Class size: no specific preference</li>
<li>Financial aids: would be a big plus </li>
</ul>

<p>Personal info:
- International: Asian (Thailand)
- Taking a gap year (but taking classes at faculty of engineering in a top national university)
- middle-class </p>

<p>Stats:
GPA: 3.9 / 4.0 unweighted
SATI: 2290 CR 760, MA 740, WR 790
SATII: will take in Oct</p>

<p>Classes: most rigorous that is offered in school
(Thai system is divided into 3 programs: Languages, Math and Languages, and Math and Sciences- i take math and sci which is most rigorous)</p>

<p>Awards:
-Some debate awards, highest being semi-finalist in national intervarsity competition (they allowed high schoolers to participate as well) </p>

<ul>
<li>Thailand representative for Asian Science Camp 2011 (you sit through lectures from leading scientists in the camp and propose a research project idea at the end)</li>
</ul>

<p>-English Language Awards:
4th place: National English Competition
some other minor awards</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Thailand's representative for AEEP camp 2008, Korea (a camp which experiments on activity-based learning)</p></li>
<li><p>Partial merit scholarship from high school for 4 consecutive years</p></li>
<li><p>Participated in a school play </p></li>
</ul>

<p>Work Experience:</p>

<p>-Spent my summers at Dad's office since grade 7
working on odd jobs: writing emails, filling out English documents, etc. </p>

<ul>
<li>Internship at a local magazine for teens as English translator, contributing writer</li>
</ul>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<ul>
<li>Debate Club: founding member, debate and adjudicate</li>
<li>Librivox: record audiobooks </li>
<li>Microfinance project: just started volunteering, hoping to go on field visits to see how I can help the borrowers </li>
<li>Volunteer English Teaching: at first at my dad's office: failed :(
but planning to volunteer in less-fortunate part of Bangkok (fingers crossed!)</li>
<li>High School writing club: contributed to school's annual writing publication, helped to edit works</li>
</ul>

<p>It's long, but please please help?</p>

2

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<p>LACs are perfectly normal colleges :)</p>

<p>Have a look a these two lists of schools, which are relatively generous with aid to internationals (and notice how many of them are LACs):</p>

<p>[Top</a> 6 Need-blind Colleges in US for International Students - Desperate Guide: Undergraduate College Financial Aid, Scholarship](<a href=“http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-6-need-blind-colleges-in-us-for-international-students]Top”>http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-6-need-blind-colleges-in-us-for-international-students)
[Top</a> 25 Financial Aid Colleges in US for International Students (Need-aware) - Desperate Guide: Undergraduate College Financial Aid, Scholarship](<a href=“http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware]Top”>http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware)</p>

<p>You could start by checking out the following (listed from more to less selective, approximately):</p>

<p>Stanford, Princeton, Harvard
Amherst, Williams, Pomona
Bowdoin, Middlebury
Colgate, Hamilton, Macalester
Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Bryn Mawr (women only) </p>

<p>I especially recommend Stanford, Pomona, and Amherst. All 3 are excellent schools; Stanford and Pomona have milder climates than the others; Pomona and Amherst belong to multi-college consortiums (which make more courses available than you’d get at other LACs).</p>

3

<p>The top economics programs will emphasize math; look for schools where the intermediate (sophomore / junior level) microeconomics course has a prerequisite of sophomore level math like multivariable calculus. Economics graduate schools prefer applicants with strong math backgrounds.</p>

4

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</p>

<p>U sure some schools won’t make you apply as a transfer?</p>

5

<p>With an interest in econ, I would add Claremont McKenna College, which is in the Claremont Consortium with Pomona.</p>

6

<p>Thank you for all of the replies! :smiley: </p>

<p>@ al6200: well that has been my concern too. But having read “Ask the Dean” and talked to my counselors, all of them said it’s ok. Anyhow, I’m not sure if my university grades will matter to the application at all, seeing that they might not be out in time for submission. (my school follows US’s schedule) </p>

<p>any other suggestions? Most of the suggested schools seem to be in the reach range for me.
Could you suggest some safeties?</p>

7

<p>If you’re looking for fantastic Economics and discussion-based learning, I would highly recommend the U of Chicago. There are so many projects floating around, it’s easy to get involved in econ research from your first year. We also have a fundamental Core Curriculum where you break out the classics from Socrates to Smith for discussion-only classes. Unfortunately, from what I hear our international financial aid can be spotty, but I would still invite you to apply! :)</p>

8

<p>Harvard, Yale, Princeton, U Chic, Stanford, Columbia, UPenn, Northwestern, NYU, UCB</p>

9

<p>

</p>

<p>It’s not spotty; it’s just extremely hard to obtain. UChi’s acceptance rate for aid-seeking internationals is in the single digits as it only offers aid to ~20-50 people per year. Out of, who knows, 1,500+ applicants? It’s one of the hardest schools to get into for internationals who need aid.</p>

10

<p>Wesleyan offers scholarships to students from Asian countries specifically. Most of the colleges listed above are wonderful but offer little, if any, merit money.</p>

11

<p>I can’t discern your gender but if you’re female, Smith is a good choice as it has an excellent economics department and the STRIDE scholarship for high-achievers such as yourself. Good luck.</p>

12

<p>

</p>

<p>That’s interesting. When I was in college (a VERY long time ago), econ was the most common refuge for the would-be math majors who got weeded out by first semester calc. </p>

<p>Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using CC App</p>

13

<p>

If you require financial aid, you must have a safety in Thailand. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I read on CC that it’s somewhere around 4% for aid-seeking internationals.</p>

<p>

[Freeman</a> Asian Scholars Program, Admission - Wesleyan University](<a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/international_students/freeman.html]Freeman”>http://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/international_students/freeman.html)</p>

14

<p>Thank you for additional answers :)</p>

<p>Yes I’m female. But I have been to both coed and all-female and and prefer the former. But again, may be I will apply to Smith.</p>

<p>I am interested in U of C as well. </p>

<p>And I do have a safety in Thailand (engineering) which I don’t actually like but if I really need to I think I can pull through the four years.</p>

<p>Although financial aid is a big plus, it is definitely not the only deciding factor. I just feel that it would better if I can rely as little as possible on my parents. They are very understanding and all but it just feels uncomfortable to keep asking for money hahah…</p>

15

<p>

</p>

<p>If you want to go to graduate school in economics, you generally need to take at least to sophomore level math, possibly more. For example:</p>

<p>[Preparation[/url</a>]
[url=<a href=“http://economics.uchicago.edu/graduate_apply.shtml]University”>http://economics.uchicago.edu/graduate_apply.shtml]University</a> of Chicago: Department of Economics](<a href=“http://www.econ.berkeley.edu/econ/grad/preparation.shtml]Preparation[/url”>http://www.econ.berkeley.edu/econ/grad/preparation.shtml)</p>

<p>However, at many schools, the undergraduate economics major is less mathematical, typically needing only freshman calculus and introductory statistics. Some schools (e.g. Berkeley) offer both a “more math” and a “less math” version of the major.</p>

16

<p>The ones mentioned so far are all excellent schools. Based on your profile, I think you should add Chapman University to your list as well. Chapman should either be a match or a safety for you. They have an excellent Economics program with a Nobel Laureate as their professor. Chapman is a mid-size Liberal Arts University located in Orange County, California with nice weather and location. They seek diversity so you’ll have a better chance of getting in. Hope this helps and best of luck.</p>

17

<p>I certainly understand the concerns about financial aid. I was one of the lucky ones for whom financial aid made the choice easier rather than harder. Anyhow, I would you to broaden your search; if you’re aiming at academia in Economics, it can be more helpful to develop strong relationships with faculty and/or advisors than be lost in the sea of a more ‘brand-name’ Economics department. John List did his undergrad at the U of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and his graduate study at Wyoming, and look where he is now.</p>

18

<p>A bunch of the smaller schools like Swarthmore, Carleton, Amherst, etc all have great programs.</p>