Duke, Cornell, and Northwestern

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have a feeling this might belong in the 'Transfer Students' section on CC, but I'll post here anyway.</p>

<p>I'm currently a freshman in the college at Georgetown University. I'm considering transferring out now that I'm four months in, and I don't really like it. Plus, I ruled out foreign service and government relatively quickly, so I won't be pursuing any major that capitalizes on Georgetown's biggest strengths.</p>

<p>I am fairly sure I want to do something along the lines of Economics and Mathematics. Any insight or two cents on these three schools?: Duke, Cornell, Northwestern.</p>

<p>Specifically, I'm looking for information on the rigor and promise of each academic program, job prospects, what you can do with a degree in Econ, classes, prestige, difficulty, whatever you find appropriate, etc.</p>

<p>Which would you pick (if you hypothetically could choose from these three) and why? Anything at all about the schools overall would be super helpful. </p>

<p>Thanks a lot!</p>

2

<p>Well, in case you would decide to change your mind again, Cornell would be a good pick because you could transfer between the schools itself.</p>

<p>Why don't you like Georgetown? I mean, you could always switch schools and your major. Maybe you can choose your schools that way - Cornell is in the middle of nowhere, whereas Gtown's near DC. Duke is also in a small town setting. Northwestern is near Chicago, if I'm not mistaken. Do you care about any of that?</p>

3

<p>Honestly, not really.</p>

<p>Washington, D.C. is awesome. No denying that. I've been to the Smithsonian a few times and the Philips Art Collection for a class assignment. The area is nice, and Georgetown is renowned for its many shops and restaurants on M Street. Inauguration is just around the corner, and being in the nation's capital is awesome for political junkies.</p>

<p>But really, I only escape campus maybe once every three weeks (going to the basketball games in Verizon Center and using D.C. metro does not count). Losing D.C. wouldn't matter a whole lot because it's a very very small part of my college experience. Most kids stay within "the Georgetown bubble" for a long time before venturing out into D.C., and even then, it's not like we spend most of our week there. I spend virtually all my time on campus, anyway. Georgetown is isolated from many of the hot spots and features of D.C., and we have to take a bus and then the metro to access many of these places. It's not necessarily within a moment's reach.</p>

<p>Likewise, I don't think a whole lot of Northwestern kids head off to Chicago every weekend (excuse me if I'm wrong) but they stay on campus instead are participate in events in Evanston.</p>

<p>As for Cornell, I think I'm pretty set on Econ major and Math minor in CAS. If things change (that's if I end up getting accepted and matriculating), I could possibly do PAM in HumEc. I've been looking into that as well.</p>

<p>I'm not switching schools at Georgetown. I'm not doing nursing. I don't want to do foreign service and follow the super specific curriculum that has little room for electives I don't like the business school in general. College is good.</p>

4

<p>The most math-oriented econ program in the country might be Northwestern. Do their Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences program.</p>

<p>The econ programs at Nwestern and Gtown are like polar opposites...one is very policy-oriented, the other very technical.</p>

5

<p>OK - that's fine. If you're not picky about any of that, I too would pick Northwestern.</p>

<p>Maybe a polar opposite is what you need.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for the advice, guys. I definitely don't want to do any policy or government related economics here at Georgetown. People here are big on political economy and international economy/ international political enemy in the School of Foreign Service.</p>

<p>Northwestern is a great choice. Do you guys know anything specifically about Cornell and Duke's programs? I know Duke offers an AB and a BS in Economics with the latter more focused on mathematics.</p>

7

<p>Economics is the most popular major at Cornell in the College of Arts and Sciences They offer two courses designed to provide undergraduates with research experience under the supervision of a faculty member. The econ department has a program in Washington, DC. The department offers opportunities for double majors, dual degrees, study abroad, and interdisciplinary study. Here is a link to placement information for econ graduates. It looks like a dual major with econ and comp sci pays big bucks.</p>

<p>Cornell</a> University Website Template - Two Column</p>

<p>There is a separate department of Labor Economics in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.</p>

8

<p>55k starting, meaning, right after undergraduate?</p>

<p>That's pretty good, lol.</p>

9

<p>northwestern has an awesome econ dept</p>

10

<p>Thanks again for the helpful input, guys.</p>

<p>I'm only a freshman at Georgetown, so in the grand scheme of things I probably know little about what the future holds compared to upperclassmen and graduate students. I have a 3.934 GPA for the first semester here, and I see myself doing well next semester as well. Do you think I should give this up and start anew at another university, or would this be a bad decision? I do want to transfer, but there are some drawbacks.</p>

<p>I can only transfer if the financial aid I receive from the aforementioned universities (should they accept me) comes reasonably close to the scholarship money I got from Georgetown. If I get sufficient money, I might be packing my bags. I hear financial aid for transfers is usually cut short.</p>

<p>How would you say Georgetown's Economics major/ department stack up against Cornell, Northwestern, and Duke? I've only taken intro classes and have some knowledge with the upper level classes but no actual experience with them or research background.</p>

<p>Thanks again for your help!</p>

11

<p>Among the four schools listed, Northwestern University has the best economics dept. The MMSS program at Northwestern may be just what you are seeking.</p>

12

<p>Okay, thanks.</p>

<p>Do you know anything about Duke's Econ program or the selectivity of the MMSS program?</p>

13

<p>sophomore admission for MMSS may only be available to NU freshmen to apply. u have to check with NU on this. it's a fab program for somone that loves math and econ.</p>

14

<p>At the undergraduate level, I don't think there is much of a difference in the economics and math programs at Cornell, Northwestern, or Duke. Cornell makes it pretty easy to double major econ with either math or computer science, both of which are very well taught majors at Cornell.</p>

<p>The MMSS program at Northwestern is very good -- definitely the best applied math program at the three schools -- but it is a selective program and I'm not certain how it would work for transfers.</p>

15

<p>MMSS at Northwestern is good but really selective. Duke's econ is top notch as well. Rice is not as well known as these other schools, but has Mathematical Economic Analysis as a major, which is probably better for you when you factor in NW's MMSS selectivity. Kind of hard to determine from the MMSS website exactly what math you do (What exactly is Accelerated Math for MMSS students, can any NWers help?) Seems a little strange that under FAQ's that they have a question about "Is it possible to meet students outside the MMSS program?" (Like what do they do, lock you in a tower with the other 39 kids and do quantitative research in social sciences?)</p>

16

<p>I happen to be applying to all three of these schools (and Georgetown, go figure)...AND I'm a prospective econ major, AND I've done a lot of research, so I can tell you a lot.</p>

<p>Georgetown is, as I said earlier, one of the most policy-oriented econ programs out there. The focus is less on math and the nitty-gritty and more on practical applications. However, there's A LOT of really cool specific classes </p>

<p>FOR EXAMPLE: typical classes include "Economic Development in Southeast Asia", "Economic Issues of Social Reform", and "Assessing US and Japan Foreign Relations"</p>

<p>Northwestern is a polar opposite. Very mathy and very few super-specific "niche" classes...a solid, pure, no-frills econ program that I've heard is very rigorous. Over the past 2 years Northwestern's econ dept. has only offered about 40 classes (compared with nearly 80 for Duke) because you won't find super-specific classes offered...NWestern considers them frivolous</p>

<p>FOR EXAMPLE: Northwestern offers a class in "Econometrics" AND a separate class in "Mathematical Economics"...and no class is more specific/niche-y than "Economics of Nonprofit Organizations"</p>

<p>Duke is in the middle of the spectrum between left- and right-brained apporaches. Two things that set Duke apart are the super-vamped research initiative and also the ridiculous amount of courses Duke's econ dept. offers (alluded to above). Some are really neat, some seem too specific and niche-y to be useful. The major's core is pretty rigid and stacked...there's a lot of classes you have to take to get your degree, making this second to only Nwestern in perceived rigor.</p>

<p>FOR EXAMPLE: Courses include "Economics, Society, and Morality in the 18th Century", "Term Structure of Credit Risk", "Microfinance"</p>

<p>Cornell is also a bit like Duke in that there's LOADS of classes, though I find the selections at Cornell to be more relevant than those offered at Duke. If you're into it, there's a lot of agricultural, resource, and environmental economics at Cornell. Pretty math-y, more so than Duke and Georgetown, but less so than Nwestern.</p>

<p>FOR EXAMPLE: Classes offered include "Industrial Organization I" AND "Industrial Organization II", "Income Distribution", "Game Theory" AND "Game Theoretic Methods"</p>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>

17

<p>Sounds legit, 2-iron.</p>

<p>If I end up at Cornell, I might want to take some ILR or HumEc classes relating to Economics in addition to the standard courses in CAS.</p>

<p>I'm not sure if I'll be eligible or even able to get into MMSS at Northwestern, but I'm going to assume its Economics and Math classes are stellar nonetheless (outisde the program).</p>

<p>On a completely different note, I'd like to emphasize another one of Georgetown's drawbacks: weakness in the sciences. I know that I'm hammered home my interest in Economics and Math, but I'm still interested in some natural sciences as possible minors or classes I should simply take to further my education.</p>

<p>Georgetown offers majors in biology, chemistry, and physics, but it's difficult to just leap right into the curriculum. There's one science building on campus...and most people tell me there's not much to draw from the sciences beyond introductory and pre-med courses.</p>

<p>So...discuss! (I know Northwestern is great at chemistry and Duke/Cornell are excellent at biology, what else?)</p>

18

<p>Well, 20 freshman and 20 sophmores are admitted into MMSS annually. If you apply by the deadline (I think March 1), you have a shot.</p>

<p>All three econ programs are excellent, just different. I would recommend Nwestern, but mainly because of nonacademic reasons (I love Chicago, Evanston, the campus, the people). Northwestern is my second choice, only behind Princeton...and given how hard it is to make Princeton, it's fairly likely I will be in Evanston next September.</p>

<p>Sciences...can't help you a lot there. Hard sciences are not appealing to me.</p>

19

<p>That's all right. Bump.</p>

20

<p>westsidewolf,</p>

<p>Rice's "Mathemtical Economic Analysis" is nothing more than a prepackaged salad mix.<br>
Mathematical</a> Economics Major - Undergraduate Studies - Economics Department, Rice University shows the requirement. Every school would have Calculus (math department), Probability and Statistics (stats department), Numerical Methods, and Numercal Analysis (applied math department).<br>
So you can create that curriculum in just about any school when you pick couple classes from math, couple from applied math, and couple from stats. The difference is Rice just pick them for you and give the package a label. Some schools give it different names like "mathematical economics"...etc. But they are all just the same thing with little substance (real integration) but fancy and misleading names. You are not going to do any "economic analysis" when you are taking "numerical methods" or "probability and stats". What schools like Rice do is almost like having you take some history and some Chinese classes and then calling it "Chinese history". That's why many schools don't bother to have it because it's lame and misleading. I want to point this out because people can get fooled and then later realize it's not what they expected.</p>

<p>On the other hand, MMSS is the one that truly integrates math with social sciences. All the classes taken by MMSS students are tailor made for MMSS. That's why you can't tell what kind of math they are taking by just looking at the course titles.</p>