<p>So, I was going through the various colleges that Im planning to apply to and somehow Swarthmore doesnt seem to have as many opportunities for on-campus reseacrh vis-a-vis others like upenn which have a devoted Institute (PIER) and even Macalester which has Bureau of Economic Studies. </p>
<p>So have I managed to overlook something or is this the actual scenario?</p>
<p>[Swarthmore</a> College :: Economics :: Student Research](<a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/academics/economics/student-research.xml]Swarthmore”>Student Research :: Economics :: Swarthmore College)</p>
<p><em>Real</em> econ research tends not to take place at liberal arts colleges. This is fine because the education at Swat is good. [Side note: The student who aspires to do econ research, however, is usually best served majoring in math with electives in microeconomics, CS, and econometrics.] Relative other LACs, Swarthmore is not exceeded in economics –– at all ––*I’ve interacted with students from all top LACs and it seems that Swat offers the most comprehensive econ program. Most students who want to do econ research apply for summer research jobs at business schools, med schools, or law schools with profs who think about empirical problems. Swarthmore students tend to do summer research at DC think tanks or top business schools (not econ departments because business schools tend to have more money). </p>
<p>My friends and I did summer work at Wharton and Chicago, for instance.</p>
<p>So if you want to do research at the institution at which you matriculate, you should aim for a university with a top econ program like Harvard, Princeton, Wharton, Chicago, MIT. Otherwise, I imagine you’re best off at Swat.</p>