<p>hi i am considering an econ major and was wondering which program people would consider the better. i have been reading a bit online and most say uchicago, but my question (and really my decision) is what are the opportunities coming out of columbia vs. uchicago in terms of internships? which do you think would have the better program?</p>
<p>What type of Internships? Chicago tends to feed into think-tanks, Columbia is more corporate. Both will get you where you want. Both are equals in terms of getting into graduate school. What are you looking for?</p>
<p><em>shakes fist at sky</em> John Maynard KEYNES!!!</p>
<p>yea im looking into more corporate type jobs. wallstreet investment banking appeals to me as well as academia type things too. but mostly wallstreet. </p>
<p>oversimplisitistic? whhaaaa…?</p>
<p>Curse you milton friedman!</p>
<p>If you’re interested in Wall Street/finance Columbia is going to be stronger, Wall Street doesn’t care about econ dept rankings. Its all about being a historical feeder.</p>
<p>I think it will depend more on you, in terms of getting a Wall St. job, than the “connections” from Chicago or Columbia. So why not pick which college feels better to you. There is a huge difference between the feel of the two campuses.</p>
<p>As an econ major who chose Columbia over Chicago, I feel I may be able to help you out here. If you’re interested in economics from a solely academic standpoint, I would recommend Chicago, as they have arguably the best economics department in the nation; if you’re planning to get a PhD, this is an especially great place to go. Your desire to get internships, and especially on Wall Street, however, makes me think that Columbia is the better option for you. Many econ majors here get internships during the school year, in addition to summer internships. These internships take place downtown, often even on Wall St itself.</p>
<p>I should add that I ultimately ended up choosing Columbia over Chicago based largely on my preference for New York over Chicago. Academically, the schools themselves are fairly similar with their respective cores, so that was kind of moot, and I also felt like I could fit in well with either school’s student population. I had no idea what I was majoring in when I entered college, so location really became the tiebreaker. In other words, weigh factors carefully and see what matters to you. If you’re dead set on econ and working on Wall St, the choice is pretty clear, I think.</p>
<p>I would normally say Columbia but considering your econ major, I think I would recommend UChicago. I think that although UChicago is certainly more rigorous than Columbia and perhaps less prestigious, it has one of the top (if not the top) econ programs in the nation. With a econ degree from UChicago, you’ll have a great chance of being hired by some Wall Stree company.</p>
<p>GoldOwl: this is a perception, but not a fact.</p>
<p>a) UChicago is not necessarily more rigorous for undergraduates. I say this because though more work is asked of students, less knowledge is actually accrued. There is only so much you can learn in 10 weeks. Other quarter schools handle quarter life with better pedagogical values.</p>
<p>b) Columbia has a very strong economics department as well, but it also has a lot more direct and clear linkages to Wall Street. Chicago does very well with Chicago offices of X, Y bank, but that also has a provinciality about it. It is harder to crack into actual Wall Street offices.</p>
<p>C) Economics is good at Chicago, but the likelihood is you will not take a course with most of the well known laureates. Undergraduates I know at Chicago because it is such a large major (far far far and away larger than any other major at the school) it is hard to actually take the benefit that one might assume would come from studying here. That and the school is (though changing) unapologetically geared toward graduate studies. There is a kind of trickle-down effect, but it has not as of yet turned the corner (we might say) and become fully and truly undergraduate focused.</p>
<p>I attend UChicago as a graduate student.</p>
<p>For Econ I would say UChicago, though Columbia is also strong in this department, you should probably go by your own personal fit.</p>
<p>Personally I would say UChicago since you’re studying econ and want a good placement on Wall Street. My cousin interns at Goldman Sachs and he says that UChicago is very well represented in the field. </p>
<p>UChicago has such a well-known reputation in the fields of business and law and their econ field is top-notch (like most schools of its caliber). I think you should choose based off of personal fit (which I think Columbia would lose to any school).</p>
<p>alwaysstressed: your statement seems to be quite the flame. My step-cousin’s half sister tells me that Columbia is very well represented at every bulge bracket bank.</p>
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<p>1) Columbia has a phenomenal econ department, ask anyone who is doing a PhD or teaches Econ at a top school, they’ll tell you Columbia is easily a top 10 school (these days bordering on top 5) even if US News ranks it lower.</p>
<p>2) The strength of the Econ department is cool to know about and helps for doing amazing research, but has very little bearing on undergraduate education. People get a rigorous Econ education at Swarthmore or Williams, neither of which is anywhere on any econ ranking. </p>
<p>3) Ask anyone whether Columbia undergrad or Chicago undergrad places better on wall street and the answer will pretty much always be Columbia (Unless you go to or have a strong affiliation to U Chicago). At Goldman, Morgan, Barcap (at least) Columbia is a 3rd most represented school after Penn and Harvard. It’s probably top 5/6 at worst in every single bulge bracket bank. Uchicago’s grade deflation hurts them for recruiting and the nerdy / “where fun goes to die” personality also hurts them. Wall street is a fairly fraternal, collegial, competitive place which is why schools like Dartmouth place very well. UChicago makes a lot of sense for an academic person who is passionate about research or wants to pursue a PhD, but even here I’m not sure what advantages it offers over Columbia.</p>
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<p>Not a flame, I never said that Columbia isn’t well represented. The point of my post was to correct your false statement.</p>
<p>Anyway, to the OP, just go visit! I’m sure you’ll be able to tell on your own.</p>
<p>“I think you should choose based off of personal fit (which I think Columbia would lose to any school).”</p>
<p>this statement makes no sense. columbia is obviously a fit for those who choose to go there</p>
<p>well let’s use facts then: your friend is at GS, in what division? in what office? gs has dozens of global offices.</p>
<p>uchicago does very well at chicago offices of banks, very well. but this is from undergraduates who are at uchicago, not from your friend, they feel at a disadvantage when wanting to crack into wall street. minimal internship offers, few job offers to move to new york, not many firms recruit on campus. and knowing the office here (and the fact you can see who is coming and recruiting and who is not) i can affirm this with accuracy.</p>
<p>and the flame comment was in reference to what joso picks up as well: ANY school? so a choice between University of Phoenix and Columbia based on fit? i mean sure we could make up an argument and say that the potential for another school to be a fit is always a possibility, but that logic extends to every university prestigious or not. very few universities in the world compare to columbia in terms of most quality indicators. at that point it becomes a matter of fit and finances.</p>
<p>I’m in the exact same dilemma as the OP. Can anyone tell me some of the major differences between the “vibe” and feel of Chicago and Columbia? Also is it a lot harder to get A’s at Chicago (like will I have to work a lot longer and harder)?</p>
<p>dtot: feel free to pm me. i go to graduate school at chicago, and went to undergrad at columbia. it is quite hard to keep up with grades at chicago, deflation is real.</p>