<p>which school has a better undergraduate economics program?</p>
<p>Chicago, hands down.</p>
<p>Definitely Chicago</p>
<p>Top 5 vs Top 10--not that big a difference for an undergrad. I'd rather go to the one I liked better for other reasons.</p>
<p>They're pretty close. I would go with Chicago if you want to go on to grad school in economics and Northwestern if you want to switch to the business side.</p>
<p>I wouldnt go to either of them for the better undergrad department, as both are excellent. I would go where I liked more between these two.</p>
<p>It is my understanding that UChic would probably be more cerebral/intellectual whereas Northwestern would have a more preprofessional atmosphere. Overall, though, they're both AWSOME schools and you can't go wrong with either one.</p>
<p>It really depends on the type of person - they are rather different atmospheres. One of many examples is that Chicago has almost no frat life, while it exists in abundance at Northwestern.</p>
<p>uc_benz hit the nail on the head....</p>
<p>All of the above are correct. For reference, my spouse is a Northwestern alum, I'm a UC alum, and my D is a first year there.</p>
<p>Both are excellent academically, but completely different in terms of atmosphere, kinds of students attending, academic focus and so forth. As a result, it is hard for me to imagine a student being happy at both. I think most will have a clear preference one way or another.</p>
<p>So, let's compare:</p>
<p>Atmosphere:
- U. Chicago. Cerebral egghead. A few male frats off campus with lousy parties. Division three sports. Entertainment for first years centers around residence hall, with plenty to do.<br>
- Northwestern. Big Ten sports. Greek all the way - best housing on campus is for greeks. Kids look like a J. Crew catalog page.</p>
<p>Academics.
- Chicago. Grad school all the way, but it does send its share to law/med/bus school. No real fine arts (but a top ranked music department, strictly theory, no performance) Focus is humanities (outstanding), social and natural sciences (also tops). Med school right on campus, so good bio jobs. Lots of undergrad contact with grad students.
- Northwestern. Excellent music, theater and other fine arts departments. Good engineering. Med school downtown (long subway ride from Evanston) so bio is weaker. Heavy pre-professional atmosphere, but kids do go to grad school</p>
<p>Location:
Chicago: Urban oasis. South side of Chicago is rapidly gentrifying and FAR safer than even ten years ago. Hyde Park is a jewel within relatively unattractive surroundings, but downtown is a short train ride or bus ride away.
Evanston: Inner surburban all the way. Most consider NWU's Evanston location to be a plus. Good rapid transit access to downtown Chicago, but it can be a longish ride.</p>
<p>Both are good...but I give the nod to U of C. Both in academia and wall st., U of C econ. impresses people like very few others.</p>
<p>I would go to whatever atmosphere I liked more.</p>
<p>You cannot go wrong with either. And they are so different, it should be easy to pick between the two. I love both schools myself, but I prefer Chicago a tiny bit more. Both are awesome in Economics and both are awesome overall. Do well at either shcool, and you can pretty much write your own check!</p>
<p>In the US News GRADUATE rankings, Northwestern was ranked higher in only one economics specialty: Industrial Organization. In all other GRADUATE areas, Chicago was slightly higher. Could that have any bearing on an undergraduate's choice? I tend to agree that the differences are small and choice should be based on factors other than the quality of the economics program. But, maybe, I would give the quality edge to N'western if the undergrad's interest was industrial organization. Just a thought.</p>
<p>The importance of graduate departmental rankings on undergrad education is debatable, and very institution dependent. A top faculty in a top ranked department can open doors for grad school for an undergrad who catches the eye. But, that's pretty rare at the top departments, as their focus is so heavily on grad students and external consulting. </p>
<p>There are a lot of posts on these boards of the "top department for" nature. Most are sadly misdirected, as excellence in grad programs does not necessarily translate to excellence in undergrad programs. More importantly, the USNWR rankings have their own weaknesses.</p>
<p>i say go uchicago. have you seen their coat of arms? a phoenix? now thats awesome. yay for nerds!</p>
<p>haha! Now that's UC spirit :)</p>
<p>I say go to either, whichever one you like more. Newmassdad is absolutely right, many of these "best dept for" threads are misdirected.</p>
<p>I personally would go to NU in a heartbeat. Normal people, a sprawling campus, and a great social scene would sway me over Chicago in a nanosecond.</p>