<p>I am interested in doing Economics / Political Science, and I was wondering what you guys thought about these two schools in that regard? One thing that concerns me at MIT is that 95% don't do social science/humanities... any views on that? Thanks</p>
<p>bump.................</p>
<p>yes, MIT is prominent for engineering/science. for econ/pol columbia is by far the better school</p>
<p>Actually, MIT has one the best econ departments in the country. There might be a real advantage there to majoring in something that 95% of the undergrads do not, vs being among the hordes in the two largest undergrad majors at Columbia. You might get more interaction with professors and chances to do research at MIT in those departments, if that's what you're after. </p>
<p>Just in terms of reputation, Columbia poli sci is excellent, and econ good and getting better. I don't think that distinction is enough on which to base a decision.</p>
<p>But beyond that, there are such large differences in the cultures of the schools and the students they attract. What kind of student body do you want to be part of? What kind of curriculum do you want? What kind of conversations do you want to hear taking place around you, what kind of things do you think are fun to do? You should definitely spend time at both places if you can.</p>
<p>Columbia's recently hired some top-notch economics professors. I read an article a while ago about how Columbia used to be in the "big five" for econ (along with Chicago, Harvard, Princeton, Yale), but was knocked out a couple of decades ago into a pretty much undistinguished department. The addition of these professors is speculated to bring Columbia back to "top-ten" caliber.</p>