<p>Hey, so I currently go to a community college in N. Va and have the opportunity to transfer to either UVa or GMU (George Mason University). I'm interested in majoring in Economics with a minor in either env. science or international relations.
Now, I know UVa is a fantastic school with an extremely rigorous academic program and is ranked as the second best public school in the nation, however Mason is fairly well known for its econ program and would mean saving my parents about 10k on tuition and room and board. Money isn't the biggest issue, but it is one to be considered. Although going to UVa might offer better prospects when it comes to landing a job right out of my undergrad, I do plan on getting my masters, and I've heard that when applying to grad school the school you received your undergrad from is not given as much emphasis as your GPA is.</p>
<p>Any and all opinions would be great, I'd really love to hear from those of you have had experience with at least one of these schools, preferably with the econ programs.
(although all opinions are welcome)</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>UVA does have the prestige, but is also known for tough grading. The advantage of GMU you’ll have are the industry connections that can land you internships/jobs while you’re still in school. In my first semester of grad school at GMU, I got hired at a dream job halfway through the semester, and started to commute between work and school. There’s not a whole lot of schools you can do this. A classmate of mine (an undergrad taking a grad class) is working part time at a local firm and studying at the same time, so if you want real world experience opportunities, you have to be in the local DC area or another major metro area.</p>
<p>Funny story about that job I landed was I initially wanted to work in my professor’s lab and he didn’t have any openings and I kept pestering him about finding me a position in his lab. Finally, he told me to go apply to a local company that he had lots of connections with and told me I’d do much more interesting work there, and get paid way more than he could afford to pay me, gave me a great reference that got me to the top of the candidate list and was reporting for work three weeks later :-D</p>
<p>I’m a senior econ major at GMU. Are there any fields that you’re particularly interested in? GMU is well known for public choice, law, and Austrian, but not so much econometrics/math econ, financial, development, international, and other more standard fields. If you’re more interested in these UVA would be the better option. I can’t really tell you much about env/international relations. </p>
<p>Being closer to D.C won’t guarantee you anything. It would be an advantage if you’re looking to work during the fall and spring. UVA has a very strong network (Wall Street firms recruit there), while GMU is still building theirs. If you do well, chances are you won’t have much trouble finding a summer internship if you use the resources at your disposal there.</p>
<p>I’ve enjoyed studying at GMU though, there are many top-notch econ professors here and plenty of ways to get involved. Several of my econ friends who already graduated landed nice jobs.</p>