<p>Just moving the discussion to a dedicated thread... Really appreciate any (further) feedback on economics at Swarthmore. Any aspects would How comprehensive it is, how good the professors, how difficult the classes, what is the typical career path for economics major, etc.</p>
<p>…anyone…?</p>
<p>My perspective is dated, as I graduated from Swarthmore with an econ honors major in the 1970s. I have met and talked with Swarthmore econ profs in the last few years and know a bit about what some econ grads do.</p>
<p>1) Swarthmore’s econ department has a long track record of having econ majors go to very good econ graduate schools for PhDs.</p>
<p>2) That said, the conventional wisdom is that if you want to get a PhD in econ, you are better off majoring in math and minoring in econ.</p>
<p>3) Until recently, Swarthmore’s department did not require much (or any?) math to graduate with an econ major. Clearly, though, if you are serious about studying economics with an eye to grad school you will take a lot of math in addition to your econ classes. Multi-variable calc, linear algebra, statistics are all pretty necessary for serious economics. Some folks add real analysis, but IMO that is overkill.</p>
<p>4) That said, most Swarthmore econ majors do not go on for a PhD in econ. Some do policy analysis (think tanks, lobbying groups, congressional staff). Some go on to get law degrees. Some go in to management consulting or general business.</p>
<p>As to how hard an econ major is, my somewhat dated perspective would be that if you take all the math you should as an econ major (preferably econ honors with a math minor) it will be a challenging degree but by no means either the most or least challenging major at Swarthmore.</p>
<p>Thanks, this is very helpful. I am interested in finance aspects of economics, so math comes pretty natural. Have not seen that many finance-specific courses, but as I understood from another thread you can take specialized classes at Wharton.</p>
<p>Check this link out for an idea of the post-grad plans of Econ majors from 2004-11. The Economics majors info starts on page 10.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/administration/careerservices/Post-Graduation%20Plans%20by%20Major%202004-2011.pdf[/url]”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/administration/careerservices/Post-Graduation%20Plans%20by%20Major%202004-2011.pdf</a></p>
<p>Thanks - very interesting. So many people went to the FED! Are they actively recruiting on campus? Very few are on Wall Street…Although for Wall Street econ major is probably not the best education anyway.</p>
<p>Yes, the Fed recruits on campus. But note that the Fed is very hit or miss for jobs: Some people like what they’re doing but others <strong>really hate it.</strong> I think the university research gigs are better, w/r/t/ free classes and the environment. :)</p>
<p>Yes, don’t think I would want to work for the Fed. Is any private sector financial recruiting happening?</p>
<p>Definitely, but not like that you might imagine happening at the Ivies. [I’m now working and studying at a top ivy and their job site is <strong>WAY</strong> bigger than that of Swarthmore. However, it’s hard to know how size of the job site correlates with student success in securing these jobs.] </p>
<p>Note carefully that this is not to say Swatties have trouble finding jobs post graduation, especially if they’ve studied math / econ. Most private sector firms that recruit at Swat are those of quant research; in particular, econ consulting firms love Swat-grads. </p>
<p>Finally note that financial sector recruiting is down across all campuses (I think Goldman passed on even Wharton this year). Nevertheless, some students still make it into finance by securing summer internships. It’s harder to do this at Swat than at an Ivy (especially those in cities, that facilitate easy in-semester internships), but it’s possible. Also, note that the vibe of Swarthmore is <em>very</em> different than that of the Ivies. This means that the lack of recruiting at Swat may indicate recruiters impression of students as being uninterested in finance (most Swatties have no interest in it); not that students are incapable.</p>
<p>I see. I would be definitly very interested in intership opportunities. I worked for a top asset mgmt shop last summer, I would like to continue it while in college, and I saw college interns there are coming from places like Wharton and NYU Stern. I don’t think I want to go to a biz school as an undegrad, but would like to have a good chances to get an internship (and eventually an job at the fin sector (not nessesary a “Wall Street” capital market type. but something quantative). I know quite a few guys from NYU Stern who finish their four years with a firm offer from some top shops in the industry - does it happen in Swarthmore? I understand that majority of Swat students do not care about this path, but say among those who are math/econ centric.</p>
<p>Only a few math/econ guys do it. Most of my friends were honors econ/math people, most of whom were only interested in PhD study; certainly not (silly) finance. ;D Indeed, I know a few people from my year doing it. So, yes, it does happen. </p>
<p>But the advantage goes to people at Wharton/NYU, even though Swat is “better” than NYU, and tends to have more industrious students than Wharton. [This is only true by anecdote, but I hear about a new anecdote (e.g., off hand comment of Penn prof to Swat student, etc., ) about once every two months.]</p>
<p>Got it. I guess “better” depends on your utility function, but I see what you mean. Not to say it helps my dillema, but I still have 3 days to decide :)</p>
<p>Between what schools are you deciding?</p>
<p>Stern, Boston College, Villanova Biz in this category.</p>
<p>Perhaps as you know, Swarthmore easily outranks all of these schools. While Stern and BC might get you better connections immediately out of college, I imagine that grad school admissions (B-school?) treat Swat students better. Also, the vibes of the schools are very different: BC and Stern are <em>very</em> preprofessional with only subpopulations of nerdy kids, where their nerdiness is usually hidden, it seems. Swat is, as the saying goes, more ‘intellectual’ in the sense that students are talking about their classes or other interesting things constantly. </p>
<p>Did you visit Swat? Did you like it? I think you can throw out Villanova Biz: Even if they’re giving you lots of money consider the expected value: Even with a large future discount rate, I’d be surprised if you found that payout from a Villanova educ exceeds that of a Swat student with majors in econ/math/stat. Of course, this doesn’t matter if you’re liquidity constrained. However, thanks to Obama even if you need to take out loans you’ll be paying rates slightly higher than 30-year t-bills, so the liquidity constraint shouldn’t be binding.</p>
<p>I adored my time at Swat. It was really grueling (by my design, I suppose) academically and socially, but immensely rewarding. </p>
<p>Finally, as an aspiring economist/quant, the notion of attending a business oriented school seems completely ridiculous to me, so be sure to discount my “advice” accordingly. :)</p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>
<p>Yes, my real choice by now is Swat (1) and Stern (2). BC probably would be a better fit socially (I am at a sports-crazy Catholic high school), but I’d like to stay in PA/NY area. Stern just looks very BORING, and kids are seems to be even more obsessed with grades than in Swat; although some professors are really good. The advantage of Stern is that pretty much everyone’s a double-major there (low major credit requirements), so I could take say Math major at the Courant, but yes I am not that interested in an “under-MBA” generally speaking.</p>
<p>Hmm…</p>
<p>I guess I don’t understand the Stern benefit: Swat’s non-honors econ major requirement is a paltry 8 credits (1 credit = 1 course). So being a double major at Swat is easy. Indeed, if you can load up on courses at Courant, that’d be pretty sick. Swat has a stat guy who’s pretty interested in Maths Finance, so you could probably hang out with him if you wanted to do that. </p>
<p>Haha - I think the choice is obvious, but my posterior is different than yours… haha.</p>
<p>Yes, I must admit the choice seems pretty obvious. I did visit Swat several times since I’ve been accepted and really liked it. I attended an entry-level Econ class I found it very entertaining and not way challenging. I liked the kids I met with (was kind of concerned about too much activism, but the stereotype seems to be somewhat overblown if I can judge by the kids I’ve met). I guess my biggest issue remains a career path - I don’t really picture myself going straight through PhD, rather want some decent balance of practice and academia, and the Swat seems to me more like a PhD pool feeder.</p>
<p>Def. I too was concerned about the ostensible liberalism at the college, but it wasn’t too bad (in fact, I started to appreciate it by the end). </p>
<p>Only the Honors Econ kids do the PhD track. Most of the department is not honors, and sends kids to consulting / finance / elsewhere. Indeed, it’ll be easier to get into finance from these other schools, but particularly if you already have connections in finance, you need not feel like you need the school’s connections, because once in the door I imagine Swat sells better than NYU.</p>
<p>Finally, recall that you can take classes at Wharton. :)</p>