<p>I know my Thread Title suggests that I'm looking at all three schools equally, but I'll be honest, I'm leaning toward UCLA. I love Westwood; I have friends already attending; I'm in the honors program; and I'm absolutely in love with the social, laid-back attitude of the students there. </p>
<p>However, my dad - a UCB graduate - would like to see me at his alma mater; my mom, who lived in the Midwest for many years, thinks I'd be absolutely dumb not to go to Northwestern. Which leaves me right here, with a conflicting set of priorities. I can see their concerns, too. I know UCLA doesn't exactly have the Economics reputation associated with UCB or Northwestern. Would that hurt me in the long run? I'm willing to sacrifice Westwood if UCB or Northwestern would significantly increase my chances of job opportunities and a good MBA program.</p>
<p>To anyone with ties to UCLA, I ask, have you ever felt that another school could've provided you with greater job opportunity? </p>
<p>To all the UCBers and Northwesterners, I ask, how are the student bodies? Does the more competitive nature of these schools tend to hurt the social scene? </p>
<p>Northwestern has a good deal LESS overt competition among students than you tend to find among similarly top-ranked colleges out east and this is a big plus for the school. The stellar econ dept at WCAS with Kellogg's certificate programs in the background make for great training. Recruitment by top firms is all you could hope for.</p>
<p>However, UCLA Honors is no slouch. If it's a place you love, follow your heart. I strongly doubt you'll be significantly impacting future job opportunities. If you haven't visited NU and your mother wants to foot the bill for a flight to Chicago, go and enjoy a spring weekend by the Northwestern lakefront and convince yourself (and your parents) that you've made a fully informed decision.</p>
<p>First of all congrats, nice choices. Berkeley is the first choice here by far. Then UCLA-NU is a toss up. Personally, I would choose UCLA over NU based on location, weather, and quality of life. Given that you are in honors at UCLA you might lean in that direction (opportunity for smaller classes, sections taught by professors and usually not TA's and PRIORITY ENROLLMENT which is huge on our campus.)</p>
<p>Berkeley >>> NU for econ? Really? I hope you were saying that cos you assumed NU would cost a lot more. Otherwise, you are losing your credibility here. NU is one of the best places to study econ and NU has never finished outside of top-3 in College Fed Challenge. Berkeley is probably great too but when both econ departments are top-ranked (graduate), saying one is "simply better" than another is ridiculous especially at the undergrad level.</p>