<p>sakky, while your info on HBS and Harvard opportunities is basically true, I’m afraid you make it sound a little bit too easy. I assume you are referring to the Business economics program, which is 33K plus fellowships and TA positions and what not. But you have to realize that most PhD programs are not that ‘lucrative’. Indeed, the BizEc people are treated a bit better than other PhD students, because their opportunity cost in order obtain a PhD is so high (they could be consultants, investment bankers,work for a hedge fund, etc) Clearly, this year and this economy is not the best example of that opportunity cost, but still, if one is able to get into the Business Economics program at HBS, they are also probably quite able to get a fairly lucrative job, even in this economy. I guess my point is that this specific PhD program is highly competitive, and that one has to be well-qualified to enter it. </p>
<p>Second point, you mention the Harvard housing system and the idea of a resident tutor. These houses receive circa 400 applicants for 3-5 resident tutor positions each year. Again, very qualified, personable people, with lots of life experiences. A few I interviewed were Rhodes Scholars, MdPhd students willing to serve as pre-med advisors (a lot of work actually!), people who had many years of experience working for non profit organizations, etc. Moreover, besides it being competitive, there are many people that would rather not live with undergrads during their graduate career, so this option is not for everyone. </p>
<p>However, I will have to agree with you that if the choice presents itself (choosing to do a PhD at the Ec. dept or at the business school), I’d probably choose, the B-school track</p>