<p>I know this has been posted before, but I want a fresh look since things change all the time. Assume decent stats in that it is reasonable for me to apply to all schools. I have a temporary list, but Id like some feedback from you all.</p>
<p>Im looking for colleges with a good economics program. I hope to major in economics as an undergraduate and then pursue law school. Im looking for schools across the spectrum (safety, match, reach).</p>
<p>Id like to stay in the New England/eastern coast or in the California area perhaps. Schools should be in/near cities and not rural, but not too urban either. School size does not matter as long as they are not very small.</p>
<p>Keep in mind job opportunities, percentage of students who are accepted into law schools, etc. If possible, could admits/current students of schools post some information, special stories, or perks of each school? That would be great as well. Thank you so much in advance.</p>
<p>Almost anywhere. No seriously, economics is such a popular concentration that every school has a good department.</p>
<p>Naturally the very top schools have the very best economic programs in terms of famous proffs:
University of Chicago - bastion of conservatism, so if you’re feeling fiscally conservative and love Milton Friedman, this should be your dream school. Most likely they have the most Nobel Laureates in their econ department of any college
Princeton - quite a few gov appointments lately so they are a top school for moderate econ. Bernanke (Fed chairman) came from Princeton, Paul Krugman, famed NYTimes columnist and recent Nobel winner, currently teaches, and Alan Krueger recently got picked for Asst Secretary of Economics at the Treasury.
Harvard - of course. Among other luminaries, Mankiw teaches there, who wrote the definitive intro and intermediate level economic textbooks that every AP Econ student should be familiar (and was Bush’s Chief Economic Adviser), and Larry Summers is technically on the faculty, although he is the former president of harvard and currently the man who has Obama’s ear most on economic matters.
UCBerkeley - they too have a top school, and Obama’s CEA pick (Romer) came from there.</p>
<p>But the above list is just for the research power-houses, and is mainly based on how famous the teachers are. Other top schools with that same ranking system are MIT and Stanford, and perhaps UTAustin. Oh, and Cambridge and the London School of Economics. University of Kansas also has a superb economics program and is a bastion of liberal economics, but most people don’t tend to go there.</p>
<p>But as you can probably tell, this doesn’t really matter at all for undergraduates anyway. Go wherever the hell you want, a school’s typical prestige usually correlates well with their economics program.</p>
<p>I’m a first year student at the University of Chicago planning to do pretty much the same thing–econ undergrad, then law school. The econ program here is FABULOUS. For serious.</p>
<p>The list isn’t entirely accurate, it might be old. If you look at newer statistics, you will find that NYU is ranked within top 5 to top 10, trust me. And it is both CAS and Stern combined. I am majoring in International Economics, so I would know. </p>
<p>NYU does not beat University of Chicago, but it is still very competitive.</p>
<p>That’s what I’ve heard in the past, so NYU definitely is on my list. I’ve looked into the departments and did some research on the school, and I think I would love to attend if I’m lucky to be accepted. My only problem with it is that it doesn’t really have a campus, although it is located in a great city.</p>
<p>While the NRC rankings are useful as a data point, realize they are solely focused on PhD granting institutions. That leaves a great number of very good schools out of those rankings.</p>