<p>I was admitted to GW via EDI and I enrolled in CCAS as an economics major. I was wondering if anyone knows about GW's econ program and its reputation. Thanks.</p>
<p>Hey, I’m an econ major in the business school, and my friend is an econ major too, except in ccas. And what we both agree is that the econ program here isn’t that great; it’s mediocre. GW is definitely not known for economics, but rather international affairs. Anyway, what I hate about the program is that there’s hardly any research opportunities for this field. Most of the research funding/fellowships are for science and engineering majors. The econ courses are also kind of bland and generic in my opinion. Also, when I compared the same econ classes with the ones my friends are taking in other universities, it seems that our econ classes are less rigorous and not very challenging.
Depending on which degree you’re pursuing, B.S is more math based and B.A isn’t.</p>
<p>@esthetique </p>
<p>Thanks for your reply. I’m currently planning on majoring in econ but I’m particularly interested in GW’s B.A. in Econ/MPP (Masters in Public Policy) program. After this I hope to go to law school. I know this is a while out and my goals may change later on, but as of now I don’t plan on continuing econ into grad school. Do you believe that the econ program is adequate enough to provide me with a decent foundation (logical analysis/critical thinking skills) to build upon in law school? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not only studying econ to enter into law school, I am genuinely interested in the subject. Also have your heard anything good or bad about the Econ/MPP route?</p>
<p>I think that route will prepare you for law school in terms of skills and academics. It should help you do well on the LSATs because econ really broadens your mind. Unfortunately, I have not heard that much about this route. Commonly, ppl do the B.A/Masters econ program not the econ/mpp one. But I think it’s still a good route for you. I suggest that you ask the law forum because I’m not the best person to give you advice about law school. I only know that GPA and LSATs are the biggest factors in getting into law school haha. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>it’s also important to note that what you think you want to do at 17 might very well be different than what you want to do when you’re 22 and graduate. especially since the legal market is awful right now and looks to be staying that way.</p>
<p>Dang, I’m disappointed by esthetique’s comment. I too am an Econ major. However, like GWAlum said, who knows if I’ll stick with Econ. That’s why I’m choosing GW, because if I decide not to do Econ, GW is a good choice for political science. Still, I am interested in Econ and am disappointed that their program is weak.</p>
<p>College, You need to be careful re: letting one or two individuals impact your own decision re: majors. Esthetique’s experience may be different from others particularly since this individual has made it clear that they have one foot out the door and are trying to transfer out of GW! Perhaps you should try to connect directly with a faculty and/or administrator from the Economics department with your concerns then make your own judgements. Remember many of the posts on this board are biased opinions coming from 18-20 year olds who have their own unique expectations. I was in your shoes nearly 4 years ago and now am ready to graduate from GW with a business degree. Yes, I do have a job offer and loved the vibrant environment at GW. I will truly miss it :(</p>
<p>Haha MsBC, clearly you have stalked me. 
I can see why you would think that I am biased. However, your assumption is that I’m just criticizing GW in general. But in actuality, I believe that my account holds more truth than bias because I’m talking about the program itself rather than the school. If you asked me if GW itself is reputable and good or not, then yes I would be biased. But I gave valid answers and support on why my econ friend and I think it’s a mediocre program.</p>
<p>If my transferring is being taken into account here, I will say that the econ program is one of the major reasons. Like I said, there are hardly any research opportunities for econ majors and I had really hoped to get some. Additionally, it’s hard to get involved in econ ecs on campus. For example, they only have one econ honors society, and they’re pretty inactive given that they don’t even promote themselves very much. Our econ courses are pretty lax in comparison with other universities’. I know because I’ve seen the work that my non GW friends do in their econ courses. If you want concrete facts, just look at rankings. Most surveys rank econ at GW on the lower side. I honestly wouldn’t try to call the department to ask about their reputation. It’s rude. Plus it’ll be biased since they’re the ones teaching it. I think it’s better to only ask about the logistics like what are the requirements and what you can do with econ. On a positive note, although the econ professors are not nobel prize winners, they really care about you and make sure that you understand the concepts. </p>
<p>While GW’s econ program is mediocre, I don’t think you should worry about reputation too much. Unless you graduated with a UChicago econ degree, employers generally don’t care where you’ve gotten your econ degree. I’m transferring not because of the reputation, but because I wanted a bit more challenge with econ. Sorry for the long post. But I’m just trying to give you an unbiased observation of the ECON PROGRAM, and in no way am I bashing GW itself.</p>
<p>[Since</a> slump, economics majors increase - The GW Hatchet](<a href=“http://www.gwhatchet.com/2012/03/29/since-slump-economics-majors-increase/]Since”>http://www.gwhatchet.com/2012/03/29/since-slump-economics-majors-increase/)</p>
<p>^ Haha that is so true.</p>