<p>I am extremely interested in studying Economics, and was accepted to these schools. I am undecided on which school to attend this fall. Can any of you give me any advice on each of these, especially on graduate school placement? Thanks!</p>
<p>I would suggest Davidson or Emory.</p>
<p>I was an Econ major at BC (admittedly many years ago). I have seen several kids asking questions about econ vs. business and which school for econ, etc. I think the first question is why economics in the first place? I went econ because at BC it’s in the College of Arts & Sciences not in the School of Management and I wanted a business-type degree. It is a rigorous curriculum focused mostly on theory for undergraduate work including statistical analysis and modeling. For me, a degree from SOM would have been more suitable but transferring into SOM from A&S was (and is) very difficult at BC. </p>
<p>So, if you’re studying economics for UG and will go on to study economics at the post graduate level, the Honors Program at BC is extremely well respected. In fact, I have met several kids who got into Cornell and other Ivies and did not get into BC. It’s extraordinarily competitive this year. Congratulations to you! </p>
<p>I don’t know if the other schools have Colleges of business and where those majors are but if you are interested in business, I would recommend a program that is oriented less toward theory (which, in my opinion, Economics is) and more toward practical, like Finance, Marketing, etc. Or even English or History. Economics from BC looked great on my resume but I have never used it in my business career. I have used the skills I learned from the Accounting classes I took however (as out-of-major electives).</p>
<p>at W&M, Econ is not in the business school.</p>
<p>I assume you’ve seen this page? </p>
<p>[William</a> & Mary -*Interested in an Econ PhD?](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/as/economics/currentstudents/econphd/index.php]William”>Interested in a PhD in Economics? | William & Mary)</p>
<p>There are some links at the bottom of that page that has some good advice regarding getting prepared for graduate school. </p>
<p>Sounds to me like you have some very good choices of schools - all are well-respected, all offer sound liberal arts educations, (not sure Emory would describe itself as a “liberal arts college”, but that’s not a dig - it’s a very well-respected school), and all will prepare you well for graduate school. </p>
<p>So, if i were in your shoes, I’d probably not concern myself with the “economics” aspect of the school as much as finding the best fit - financially and socially. There’s a pretty big difference between, say, Chestnut Hill, MA, and Oxford, GA. If you want to dig into it a bit deeper, you might want to visit each school’s Econ pages, and have a look at the Econ major course requirements and catalog, and compare the offerings/electives, and see if they map to your interest. W&M, for example, tends to have a focus on international economics, public policy, and health.</p>
<p>Here’s the link to W&M’s ECON Major handbook: <a href=“http://www.wm.edu/as/economics/documents/handbook_2011.pdf[/url]”>http://www.wm.edu/as/economics/documents/handbook_2011.pdf</a></p>
<p>I think this bears reading - for example, there’s mention of the ability to take graduate-level courses in public policy. </p>
<p>You might also be interested in this:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.vanderbilt.edu/econ/wparchive/workpaper/vu06-w11.pdf[/url]”>http://www.vanderbilt.edu/econ/wparchive/workpaper/vu06-w11.pdf</a></p>
<p>The one thing that I’d have found particularly tempting was the St. Andrews JDP program for ECON, but I think that option is no longer available to you.</p>
<p>Friend was W&M econ major who went to Yale for PhD. He was very well prepared. Issue here is more size, setting, and weather than quality. They are all peers of each other.</p>
<p>I was facing a similar decision last year – BC vs. W&M for Econ. I grew up in the shadow of BC’s campus, so I was very attached to the school, but I ended up choosing W&M primarily because of money. I loved the fact that at BC, Econ could be through either Carroll (the Management school) or Arts & Sciences – I got into CSOM so I had the option. At W&M, Econ is only offered through A&S, but I am very happy that is the case rather than it only being through Mason (the business school). So far, I have been pleased with the Econ professors and I am excited to be able to take interesting, specific higher-level courses as soon as next year. At BC, I met with a couple professors, and I enjoyed the sample lectures. It did seem like they let personal bias seep into their teachings a bit, though.</p>
<p>I for one don’t really care about graduate school placement – I felt comfortable that either school would more than adequately prepare me if I decide to go to grad school, and I would much rather have an enriching undergrad experience than worry about grad school for 4 years, and I don’t regret it at all. Besides, don’t underestimate the possibility that you might change your mind about studying Econ – go somewhere you’ll be happy no matter what. In the big picture, I think W&M and BC are very similar minus the whole Jesuit vs Public thing, and I think you would love either one. They are both academically strong across the board and provide an engaging, fun experience. For Econ, I can only vouch for W&M, but it seems to be a very strong department. We have a wall of business cards of Econ alums and they are from a very impressive and diverse array of fields.</p>
<p>So I’m admittedly biased, but I would easily choose BC or W&M over the other two. I love it here at W&M, and that being said, I would probably be at BC and loving that if it weren’t for money. If you have any questions let me know.</p>
<p>Edit: I forgot to mention I was also considering Carnegie Mellon in addition to these two. Their econ major (IIRC) was like BC in that it could be through the business school or Social Sciences, and it seemed much more results-oriented and mathematical as opposed to theoretical, if that makes sense.</p>