Hello
My daughter has got admits from
UChicago
Brown
Dartmouth
Berkeley
She’s interested in pursuing Economics with environmental/sustainability options if available.
UChicago would have been the obvious choice but she’s afraid of the academic rigor, future grad prospects and lack of social life.
Can anyone advise on which university to pick of the above ones.
She also has acceptance from
UCLA
Carnegie Mellon
NYU
BU
And few other UCs
But not considering those
TIA
I would pick Brown. She’ll have a great college experience and still be very competitive in the job market when she graduates.
I would say Brown because of the college experience, but while all of those schools have great academics and reputations, they are all very unique and different in their social scenes. I would say visit if possible and talk to current students to see which is the best fit for her. Congrats on all those great options. Good luck!
@hemshil I d say Brown too. Great social life, it is in a mid-sized city, there is a lot of grade inflation and has super good placement to grad schools. She is gonna have a great undergrad experience, work hard but not kill herself, and will have great job/grad school prospects.
The best economists on the planet inhabit u of c. It’s probably not as fun as Brown. Brown is a really cool mix of students and has the open curriculum. That’s appealing to me.
But pure Econ chops and Nobel type profs it’s u of c.
As someone who exercises at the Nelson Center student gym at Brown. They are pretty happy bunch too. That means a lot to me.
It depends on your child and goals. Nobel prize or professor type. U of c. Private equity it would be brown. If she wanted Wall Street, I would look more closely at NYU if she got into Stern. If it’s for the BA Econ path. I would stay with u of c or brown.
Best overall for vibe outcomes and reputation I would choose brown. But it is pretty liberal FYI. But that’s pretty much in line with all the kids I know. Lol.
Good luck and congrats.
Thank you so much for taking time to reply.
While she’s a very sincere and on top of things person, she is good with small amount of social life (doesn’t need loads of it.) Another thing, being from Hong Kong she’s not used to extreme cold (minor point but mentioning)
She’s ready to work hard and give her best, though not wanting to kill herself lol…
Thanks again…
Any more advise from others…is welcome
Thanks!
Chicago has higher math intensity than most colleges, requiring math beyond single variable calculus. Brown and Dartmouth require single variable calculus. Berkeley has two options of intermediate economics and econometrics, with one requiring single variable calculus and the other requiring multivariable calculus and linear algebra.
Students who want to go on to PhD study in economics are recommended to take math and statistics beyond that (e.g. real analysis, proof-based linear algebra, probability theory, etc.).
How much the student likes math could matter in which is the better academic fit.
Berkeley also has an environmental economics and policy (EEP) major. At Berkeley, both the economics and L&S EEP majors have GPA requirements in the prerequisites to declare the major (3.0 for economics, 2.7 for L&S EEP).
Are you California residents, originally from Hong Kong? Or is she an international student?
I agree that Brown looks the most appealing of her private U’s. She doesn’t sound like someone who would enjoy the social scene or the weather at Dartmouth. And she doesn’t sound like she craves the intensity of UChicago (or, again, the weather). Brown offers the flexibility of the open curriculum - she should have no trouble blending econ and environmental studies in a way that would be similar to UCB’s EEP program, if she would like to - and a great work-life balance. And yes, there’s winter, but it’s not that bad.
UCB is terrific and does have great programs for her interests. It just goes with the territory that there will be more competition for resources there than at Brown. If the cost at UCB is 50% of what you’d pay for Brown, then that tradeoff could be considered more than fair - you’re not sacrificing fundamental quality, just choosing a situation where getting the most out of that quality may require a little more grit. If you’d be paying the full non-resident cost for UCB… I’d go with Brown and let her spend her grit on the extras rather than on the basics.
Being from HK, she will fit culturally and weather-wise at Berkeley way way better than at Brown or Dartmouth or UofC. Not even close. Berkeley has the highest rank for Economics out of all the schools you listed (based on US News) and very few business schools if any will beat Haas.
Brown if cost is not an issue and the best weather (berkeley) is not critical. U. chicago is “where fun goes to die”
She loves math
She’s an American born of Indian ethnicity, brought up in America, India & HK…
She’s an international applicant
@hemshil “She loves Math”
National rankings for applied math;
USNWR
College Factual
Chronicle of Higher Ed (Doc Prog)
Niche
College Transitions
At Brown many of the applied math and economics classes are integrated and taught at an accelerated pace by faculty in residence (not TAs). You can find numerous examples in the course book.
The flexible curriculum ensures all of the students in these “honors” classes are in attendance based on desire and interest (not core requirements). The flexibility of the grading system ensures students push themselves intellectually without fear of GPA deflation. Stated differently the students at Brown are able to select classes based upon intellectual curiosity (not mandated to), are surrounded in the classroom by students of a like mindset, and only feel challenged by the subject matter (instead of pressured to get grades).
Congratulations on some great choices. You really can’t go wrong but I would recommend Brown based on your criteria.
@hemshil the Asian student population at UC-Berkeley approaches 50%, while the other schools on your list are closer to 10%. The average temperature every day at Berkeley is between 10 to 25 degrees Celsius. Rarely goes below 8 degrees. Its proximity to Silicon Valley and research and tech is unrivaled anywhere else in this world. Of the top 10 tech companies in the world as determined by Forbes Magazine, 5 have headquarters that are within a 1 hour drive from Berkeley- Apple, Google, Facebook, Intel and Oracle. Three others - Amazon, Samsung and Microsoft also have large research and development staff here. This list doesn’t even begin to list the hundreds of other successful mid-sized companies and startups.
107 Nobel Prize winners from UC-Berkeley, including 20 for Economics. (University of Chicago has 98, 29 for Economics). Brown has 8 Nobel Prize winners. (You get your own lifetime parking space at Berkeley for winning a Nobel Prize haha).
7 Field Award for Mathematics winners from UC-Berkeley, tied for 4th amongst all universities in the world. Only Harvard and Princeton are ahead of Berkeley in the US.
“107 Nobel Prize winners from UC-Berkeley, including 20 for Economics. (University of Chicago has 98, 29 for Economics). Brown has 8 Nobel Prize winners.”
How frequently do these award winners teach classes at Cal and how big are the lecture halls?
“the Asian student population at UC-Berkeley approaches 50%,”
Schools in HK are 100% Asian but she opted for a US school. I am sure she will be comfortable at any or all of the schools from a diversity standpoint.
They are all great schools. Once again good luck.
Virtually all students with money from HK will opt to study overseas. It’s very much ingrained into the culture. There’s a very common Cantonese term for it.
Whether she’s comfortable with diversity or not is just a guess on your part.
@ProfessorPlum168 Sarcasm is very much ingrained in my culture… that’s what I was displaying.
When you say “Whether she’s comfortable with diversity or not is just a guess on your part.”
It is a speculation that you initiated not me I just responded. I wouldn’t however patronize someone by suggesting they travel thousands of miles to emerse themselves in their local home country culture. I give people the benefit of a doubt when I assume they are seeking the cultural diversity and experience that US schools offer. Ironic that you are suggesting the lack of diversity at Cal should serve as a selling point. Would you conversely suggest against attending Cal if you desire a diverse non “Asian” dominated (your stat at 50% not mine) college experience?
Cal does not lack in diversity, it is 75% non-white. The other schools lack in diversity. Let’s get things straight. Everything I have said is 100% fact. I haven’t initiated anything, the original poster mentioned about comfort level.
Not looking to debate, but everything is not 100% fact. The comment that the Asian population is closer to 10% at all the other options is just false. Asian students (from the US) make up 23% of those accepted in 2018 at UChicago. Additionally, 15% of the class is international and - while I don’t have the breakdown - I believe a not insignificant portion of those are also Asian. So, likely closer to 30% than 10% at UChicago. Not sure if that is a consideration or not for OP’s daughter but, while there may be a larger population of Asians at Cal, it is not as extreme a difference as implied.