Does the strength of the program matter at the undergraduate level? (JHU/UCB Econ)

College Search & Selection
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<p>I'm deciding between Johns Hopkins and Berkeley, and I'm becoming more and more confused and indecisive everyday. I'm planning to double major in economics and applied math, in the hopes of attending a top Ph.D. economics program after. </p>

<p>Many people are telling me to go to UCB because it has an incredibly strong and prestigious economics program, that easily tops Hopkins'. Is this something that I should consider when choosing my undergraduate school? Other people have told me that there is pretty much no difference in the quality of the program at the undergraduate level. Would graduate schools care? Is there an actual difference in quality of education? </p>

<p>The situation becomes more complicated (in a happy way) because I was selected for the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship at Hopkins, a $10,000 research grant to work on a project of my choice with a faculty member that goes to around 15-20 members of each class. I doubt UCB would be able to offer this kind of guarantee of research funding to me. Research is really important to me because it is not only a big part of grad admissions, but also because I have a project in mind that I am very interested in. </p>

<p>I think that there are pros and cons in terms of student life for each school, that make them pretty even (Berkeley is gigantic and I originally wanted to go to a small school, Hopkins' location is not as great as Berkeley's). Right now I'm focusing on the academic value of each school. </p>

<p>I am unable to visit either schools before having to decide. Costs are not an issue. I love both so this is very difficult for me. My parents are telling me to just go wherever I want to. I don't know anybody at Hopkins or Berkeley. Does anybody have any advice?</p>

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<p>I truly don’t think it makes that much difference when you are comparing JHU and Berkeley economics. Most ratings have to do with the graduate departments. That grant you got from Hopkins will probably provide you more direct opportunity than competing with everyone at Berkeley for anything like that. Hopkins’ location is not a problem IMO, either. though I guess the Oakland area around Berkeley is a college student’s Mecca. Honestly, I would go to JHU and eye Berkeley for grad school prospects. I think you personally will get more with that grant and smaller dept at JHU.</p>

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<p>For this specific situation, take a look at the course catalogs and see which school offers intermediate microeconomics, intermediate macroeconomics, and econometrics courses with higher math prerequisites. These courses (along with advanced math courses) will be better preparation for going on to PhD programs in economics.</p>