<p>I’ll take your word that MSU econ is good, but their course offerings seem… limited. No economic history or game theory? That makes me sad… :(</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If you’re not from California, you will find admissions to Berkeley reach. It’s admissions are somewhat unstable. No one can really say for sure what its admissions criteria really are for OOS and international students.</p>
<p>boed74 has been going around CC and endorsing his school MSU…</p>
<p>I am not endorsing anything. I am trying to help people to consider the University that I know the most. Also, if you go to the beginning of this thread, RML already has MSU on the list.</p>
<p>Now, I would like add that the Department of Economics at MSU is stronger in Macro than Micro, but many of those aspects like game theory are covered from Intro to Advanced courses. Also, research opportunities for undergrad allow students to get involve in studying those dynamic economic courses.</p>
<p>I considered MSU because it’s economics department is quite strong apparently and it’s also a target/safety school. It also has great school spirit from what I understand since its a Big Ten school. Now I made some changes to the original list:</p>
<p>Safety Schools
- Michigan State University</p>
<p>Target Schools
- Occidental College
- University of California – Berkeley
- University of Texas – Austin
- University of Wisconsin – Madison </p>
<p>Reach Schools
- Bowdoin College
- Brown University
- Claremont McKenna College
- Duke University
- Pomona College
- Stanford University</p>
<p>Now the only doubts I have are Occidental, Bowdoin and UT-Austin. I’m not sure if I should apply to them. Does anyone has some first-hand experiences with these schools or could give me some advice in regards to their econ departments? I also removed Yale because its a far far reach and I already have quite a few far reaches on the list, e.g Stanford. I also removed UMich because I already selected MSU in the state of Michigan and I wanted to be able to fit as many schools from different states as possible (with the exception of California which is well-represented in my list). Or do you think it would be better to leave UMichigan in my list and remove Bowdoin College and Occidental?</p>
<p>^ How do you differentiate “Target Schools” from “Reach Schools”?</p>
<p>I think Reach Schools are schools that he thinks he may have difficulty getting into and Target schools are schools that he likes and should probably be accepted to.</p>
<p>^ That’s what I thought from the beginning. Anyway, how are schools like Bowdoin and Pomona “reach” schools and Berkeley isn’t when he’s from Michigan, an OOS applicant to Cal? I was just trying to warn him that OOS students applying to Cal won’t be as easy as IS students.</p>
<p>well I don’t think he understands that yet, if he lived in California, it would be a target school but he’s from Michigan so it would definitely be a reach school</p>
<p>Madison is a great choice. It is in an amazing city (very similar to Austin except for the weather) and has a top 15 economics program. I am pretty sure I am going to go there for econ in two years. The only thing that sucks is the weather, but you’re from Michigan so you’ll be used to it.</p>
<p>First off I’m not from Michigan. I’m an international student. I’m sorry if I misled you people thinking I’m from Michigan. Secondly, I differentiated the schools based on their admittance rate and SAT score ranges. The SAT score range posted for Berkeley is within my SAT score range, therefore I included it in my ‘target school’ section. I’m guessing its a low reach/high target school.</p>
<p>bdude, all of the schools in the UC system are near impossible to get into if you are an international or out-of-state student. There are plenty of smart students in California and the purpose of the UC system is to educate the residents of the state. Think of applying to UC-Berkeley from out-of-state like applying to an ivy league school.</p>
<p>Bdude: if you’re international for Berkeley, you have to be above their 75% percentile SAT score and GPA to even be considered for admissions. Yeah, it’s that tough.</p>
<p>I’m 100 points below their 75th percentile from the 2400 composite score. Well, Berkeley is worth a shot. Do you guys think that as an international student it would be better to apply to larger, renowned universities as opposed to liberal arts colleges? Basically I want a college that is surrounded by a good/awesome college town, has a diverse student body, and will not only be recognizable (at least nationally in the States) but will also give me a solid education in economics. I’ve included LACs like CMC, Pomona and Occidental, but that is because I’ve read that they are diverse, that they are close to ‘civilization’ as opposed to ‘middle-of-nowhere’ and are strong in economics. Are there any other LACs you know that fit this bill? Also, will I feel like a number at these larger universities, or as you progress, do classes get smaller, and you get a chance to interact with your professors?</p>
<p>well it depends, if you are planning on working overseas, a larger “reputable” university may be better, however if you are planning on working in the US, all types of colleges work.</p>
<p>There is no clear winner between Pomona and CMC in terms of politics and economics departments. These majors are more popular at CMC, but equally strong at Pomona as well.</p>
<p>bdude, about a decade ago (8 years ag0 to be exact), I applied to cal as an international. My GPAs and SAT scores were impressive. But I was turned down. I got into Columbia, Duke, Bowdoin, Mudd, UPenn, Rice among others. I was also admitted to Cambridge, Warwick in the UK. I was denied at MIT. I finally chose to matriculate at Girton College, Cambridge. </p>
<p>All I’m saying is be careful with your Cal application. Their admissions are quite tricky. No assurances despite the applicants’ impressive stats. You cannot treat Cal as a “match” if you’re international despite your sterling academic credentials.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice RML. I’ll treat Berkeley as a reach. I, too, have a spot at Warwick but I’m treating it as a fall back in case I don’t get accepted into a US uni.</p>
<p>Like anyone, I feel compelled to pimp my own school, but even more so when it actually seems to meet your criteria 
Apply to Penn!</p>
<ul>
<li><p>good economics department
One of the world’s best. With the possible exception of Stanford, Penn’s economics department is better than those of any school you’ve listed</p></li>
<li><p>located close to medium-sized or large city that offers many off-campus activities, especially a lively music scene, e.g. Austin and Nashville (I don’t want to go to a college in the middle of nowhere)
Philadelphia fits that, and has plenty of music. It’s also a <2hr drive/train to NYC or DC</p></li>
<li><p>preferably good weather (some schools in the list are an exception to the rule, like UW-Madison and Bowdoin but I’ve decided they had other things going for them)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Ehh, well it’s better than Yale’s</p>
<ul>
<li>preferably close student-teacher interaction, at least once you begin to specialize</li>
</ul>
<p>I certainly had that</p>
<ul>
<li>strong school spirit and pride</li>
</ul>
<p>Penn has plenty of this. Unique in having a very strong on-campus community despite being in one of America’s biggest cities.</p>
<ul>
<li>preferably close to beach or ocean as I’ve lived close to the beach all my life, e.g. UMiami, UCSB </li>
</ul>
<p>Well you could make a day trip/weekend trip to the beaches in New Jersey and Delaware…woo boardwalks! :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the recommendation ilovebagels! Actually, UPenn was one of the very first universities that I considered, but was worried about the safety of its campus. Do you fell safe at the university? How is the surrounding area? I heard it’s pretty rough.</p>
<p>Any of you guys ever used the Princeton Review’s ‘Best Fit College Search’? How accurate do you think it is? I used it today and came up with a relatively different list. The percentage in the brackets is how well the school fits me according to Princeton Review. </p>
<p>Safety Schools
Michigan State University (78%)</p>
<p>Match Schools
American University (75%)
Northeastern University (72%)
Occidental College (72%)
University of Miami (85%)
University of Wisconsin Madison (73%)</p>
<p>Reach Schools
Carleton College (69%)
Macalester College (69%)
Tufts University (78%)
University of Michigan (80%)
Villanova University (77%)
Whitman College (82%)</p>
<p>Does anyone know how religious Villanova actually is?</p>