Which colleges have good Econ programs?

<p>Hey! I am a sophomore in high school. Currently, I am trying to find a college that has a good Econ program. After doing some basic research online by looking at schools in cities I am interested in I could not find ones that I knew seemed a fit. Currently I live in AK which kind of prohibits me from visiting any campuses any time soon.</p>

<p>So you have some ideas for what schools might accept me here is some general info. Keep in mind that I am a sophomore.</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0
SAT/PSAT: "not taken yet"
AP classes: Macro Econ (will take test) (next year: Calc AC, USH, Micro Econ, Stat, Gov)</p>

<p>EC's: 120 hours at Anchorage Youth Court Bar association helping in the juvenile justice system, Academic Decathlon on my 2nd year, Volunteer at First Lego Leauge, Cross country skiing 2 years, 10 years of Piano, and about another 100 hours doing volunteer work at my church.</p>

<p>(This is the start of my Sophomore year, and I will do more by senior.)</p>

<p>I really want to go to a school in an urban or semi-urban city. I like schools with historic campuses along with medium to large student bodies. And Econ should be one of the school's best programs.</p>

<p>I understand my question is ambiguous. However, even if you could shout out some interesting schools I would be appreciative. Thanks</p>

<p>You have lots of time, and a lot will turn on your ECs and your standardized test score. Having said that, the schools in urban areas that are strong in economics: MIT, Chicago, the urban Ivies, UCB, UCLA, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin. All of these schools wills have connections to Wall Street, altho the UCs and Big Tens might be weaker. Among smaller schools, Swarthmore and Claremont McKenna are close to major cities and very good. Obviously, you have your work cut out for you if you want to go to any of these schools. The SAT/ACT is going to be of great importance, as are your ECs at most of them.</p>

<p>Are you looking more at pre-PhD or pre-professional post-graduation goals?</p>

<p>Pre-PhD goals would favor schools with strong offerings in math and statistics and those which offer or require economics courses which are heavier in math (using math more advanced than frosh calculus).</p>

<p>For Econ if you are interested in Macro, you should be aware that schools fall into different camps. Some have called this the saltwater vs. freshwater divide. I’m guessing Wikipedia will give you a good overview of that, though perhaps biased depending on who edited it last. My recollecting is that U of Chicago is tops in the freshwater school of thought and Princeton and a few others head up the saltwater end. </p>

<p>If you are in Econ for pre-law or pre-MBA, the two camps probably don’t matter that much.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for your helpful comments. In Regards to the schools you listed I “think” I will have my work cutout for awhile if I want to get in. I I do intend to go on after my bachelors to get something along the lines of an MBA or JD. It just depends on what interests me the most at that point. Which is a different discussion. I guess all I can do is study hard, get good grades, and volunteer my time for EC’s a find meaningful. </p>