Good economics schools?

<p>Hello I am currently a Penn State Honors student and am looking to transfer between sophomore and junior year. My major is currently economics and I would like to pursue an economics degree at another college. I feel that I have very good reasons for transferring. I have a 3.8+ gpa and a lot of good e.c.'s (internships, research etc.). What are some schools with high ranking undergrad econ programs? The schools I have on my list right now are Upenn, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, William and Mary, NYU, UC Berkeley and UCLA. I am specifically interested in sustainability and resource economics as well. Thanks for your time and thoughts.</p>

<p>Can you afford the OOS cost for UCLA and Berkeley? If not, I’d cross them both of your list. Same For W&M. The others probably have better aid, but may be very competitive, especially for transfers. </p>

<p>Why do you want to leave Penn state if you don’t mind my asking.</p>

<p>Well there economics degree is offered through the liberal arts program. It is taught as lecture based study and the other schools I have listed offer case study which is a better way in my opinion to learn because you have to apply what you are learning in real scenarios. Also yes I can afford pretty much anywhere along with grad school. (not boasting or bragging but I come from a pretty wealthy family) Penn state’s econ degree doesn’t have any concentrations as far as sustainability and resource economics go. I just feel like these schools would open more doors for me in the future in what I would like to do. Also a week before I left for college I was diagnosed with some pretty serious health problems and all of these schools except William and Mary and the UC’s are closer to home than Penn State. I also would like to be in a city which most of these schools are.</p>

<p>Well you might have a fair shot of being admitted to the UCs and W&M. My advice is apply, and let admissions decisions narrow down where you might possibly transfer. After that you can ask about more specific questions about econ. programs between university x and y.</p>

<p>Thanks for your input and thoughts. I agree with you about the UCs and W&M as well. The other schools will most likely be crapshoots. I heard that Cornell does accept a decent amount of transfer though so maybe I will have a shot there.</p>

<p>Have you checked the net price calculators for each school and found out whether they would be affordable?</p>

<p>Pretty sure that the core courses in economics at most schools, including those you listed, are typical lecture / discussion based courses covering foundational knowledge and skills of the subject (intermediate microeconomics, intermediate macroeconomics, econometrics), though elective courses may have case studies (though still in a lecture / discussion course format).</p>

<p>Variations between economics major bachelor’s degree programs generally come down to:</p>

<p>a. How much math is used in the core major courses. More math courses and math-heavy economics courses is preferred if you want to go on to an economics PhD program.
b. What type of upper division economics electives are offered.</p>

<p>You need to check the catalogs and schedules to see how they fit your interests.</p>

<p>Okay thanks for your advice</p>

<p>Why do you want to transfer ?</p>

<p>Also I know that Penn uses case study a lot because I was just there a few weeks ago. Cornell and Hopkins also do I am pretty sure, just not as much as Penn. The others I am not 100% sure about but I would imagine Berkeley and NYU do sometimes as well. Also I do not have a price limit really. I can pretty much afford to go anywhere my last two years even without financial aid.</p>

<p>@Xtremepower the reasons are listed 2 comments down.</p>

<p>bump bumpity</p>