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<p>Many of them would be realistic safety schools, but a few would be match schools with slightly cheaper sticker prices than the private alternatives. So if it’s an “intellectual safety” you want, strike the most selective state schools from that set. Among the remainder, many factors could differentiate them. One is cost. Another is the relative math-focus discussed above. Another one, which hasn’t been mentioned yet, is the availability of internship opportunities. This can be very important if you plan to work immediately after college. UMCP has advantages here due to its DC-area location (with opportunities to intern in government agencies, think tanks, or banking/finance).</p>
<p>You should be able to find your tribe at any large school, but you may need to develop a thicker skin for at least the year or two you’d be in a dorm at a big state school, if it bothers you to be around kids who are more interested in drinking and partying than you are. Even at some very selective schools, econ may attract many of the kinds of characters you’re trying to avoid.
[Economics</a>, the gut major | The Economist](<a href=“http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2007/01/economics_the_gut_major]Economics”>Economics, the gut major)</p>
<p>Have you considered majoring in math and minoring in econ? Also investigate substance-free dorms and honors college options. In some honors college programs, you live among the regular riff-raff. In others, they put you in a high tower surrounded by a moat and guarded by dragons.</p>