<p>I am a Freshman at USC in the College of Letters Arts & Sciences, I am an Economics major and am planning on doing minors in French and Advertising. I was also planning on spending a year abroad with a study program somewhere in Europe. I believe my GPA is somewhere around a 3.5 right now, it's not the end of the semester yet so it may change, but I think that's where I will end up. So there's the background.</p>
<p>My predicament is that I feel if I major in economics there are other schools that have stronger programs than USC. Also, I am already missing the feel of a walkable city like New York/Chicago/Boston. I have enjoyed USC so far but I am not sure I want to spend the next 4 years of my life in LA (or 3 years minus the year abroad). Keep in mind that when I was applying for universities last year one of my main requirements was that it was in a major city, so the location was (and still is) very important for me.</p>
<p>Which schools in NY/Chicago/Boston have the best Economics departments in your opinion, and which ones do you think I would be able to transfer into/how hard will it be for me to transfer into if I apply for my sophomore year? Sorry I know it's a bit of a long post but there you go!</p>
<p>It's possible, but highly unlikely. Where are your HS stats?! What school do you want to apply to? That stuff key, considering you'll only have a semester under your belt. You should also do some research to find out what would be the best university FOR YOU and which one offers a good study abroad program.</p>
<p>Oh sorry, I guess it would be good to state that "USC" is University of Southern California, not South Carolina. hah I guess that would've been good to state right off the bat.</p>
<p>I was a very good HS student. I got mostly A's all 4 years and a few B's, I did 2 AP's and got 5's on both of them, and I also lived abroad in England and received the IB Diploma with an overall score of 38. I also got a 2190 on my SATs.</p>
<p>I was thinking like I said of only schools in NY, Chicago or Boston. So from what I've been researching, the schools that are supposedly "the best" that I would consider applying to are MIT, Uni of Chicago, Northwestern, Columbia, and NYU.</p>
<p>I never applied to any of them besides NYU, which I was accepted into, but again, I'm not quite sure how good the Economics program at NYU is and I don't want to take a step down/to the side, if I can go to a better school I'd like to try to.</p>
<p>Okay, first off... You've added another condition. You won't location and a top econ program. It's good that you're looking at city schools, because they often have strong programs. </p>
<p>But you will waste your time applying to UChicago, MIT, and probably Columbia. Your College GPA of 3.5 for one semester just won't cut it. You'll probably need to apply during your sophomore year, unless you simply want to check NYU again. </p>
<p>As far as I know, NYU has a good econ program, and would suit your strong desire for city life. Plus, you'll probably get in without a problem.</p>
<p>So you mean I would probably have a better chance applying in as a Junior? Or do you mean transfer in the Spring semester of my Sophomore year? Just want to clarify.</p>
<p>And if my GPA wont cut it but I still want to try applying for the fall semester of my Sophomore year what do I need? Any ideas?</p>
<p>Shoot for a 3.6-3.8 Cumulative GPA. Spring Transfer of Sophomore year or Fall transfer for Junior year. Either way will give a track record in college for transferring.</p>
<p>Ok. Well I actually looked it up and right now, once again it's not the end of the semester yet but it's pretty close, I've got a 3.8, a lot higher than I thought. Don't know if that changes your advice at all, but there it is. Thanks for the responses though.</p>