<p>Exactly, that's why I fulfilled my economics requirements with courses that related to my interest in refugee studies. I don't think I need to focus solely on economics for an entire year though to be a better IR student/scholar.</p>
<p>3 course in economics surely isn't 'focusing solely on economics for an entire year' unless you're planning on earning 3 credits a year.</p>
<p>Microeconomics and macroeconomics should be a part of any core curriculum (maybe we could wipe out utopian socialism and other forms of stupidity within a few years!). Penn's IR adds international economics on top of that as a mandatory part of the IR curriculum, which makes sense to me.</p>
<p>The requirements at Tufts's IR program were micro, macro, and an upper-level international economics course -- at a minimum.</p>
<p>Anyway I wasn't saying three courses is focusing solely on econ for a year -- if you re-read my post you'll see I don't think that's necessary for every IR student. I didn't think it was for me and I'm glad of it in retrospect.</p>
<p>Just finished junior year public high school in the Midwest. Have taken 1-1/2 years Mandarin and 1 year economics at public university (Caucasian male) and did very well at regional Chinese speech competition. Will have 1 more year Mandarin when graduate HS. Involved in some local volunteer work. GPA 3.85, ACT composite 28, SAT reading 730, writing 640, math lower. Strong athletics but don't intend to compete varsity in college. Strong leadership and debate skills. Excellent teacher recommendations. Very interested in IR and Asian Studies, maybe Middle East also. Have visited several New England, Pacific Northwest, and upper Midwest schools.</p>
<p>What are the odds of getting into:
Tufts
Dartmouth
Cornell
Brown
JHU
Macalester</p>
<p>Thanks for any input or suggestions for other schools anywhere.</p>
<p>william and mary has an excellent English dept</p>
<p>lolabelle,</p>
<p>I still don't see how you can't find it of interest to you. If you're in refugee studies it's of the utmost interest to you. It should be the WORLD to you.</p>
<p>Careful dude. If you have a 3.85 uw GPA, and pretty good SATs and extracurriculars, Tufts and JHU are by no means safeties for you. I'd say they're matches or even reaches. All the best.</p>
<p>UCLAri -- I'm backing you up here. I'm one of those people (like you, maybe) that thinks economics is perhaps the most flexible, applicable major. Everything -- and I mean everything, no exception -- ties back into economics. After all: what isn't part of a trend or pattern? what can't be quantified or predicted? and what doesn't have self-interest as a motivation? Economists don't just work with interest rates and inflation and the reserve requirement -- they can discern more about romance and crime and international affairs than almost anyone else. </p>
<p>Sorry if I got off-topic, but I <3 Friedman. Anyhow, I don't see how you can be an expert in, basically, "poor, disadvantaged children who lack homes" without getting into opportunity cost, sustainable development, or human capital.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I don't see how you can be an expert in, basically, "poor, disadvantaged children who lack homes" without getting into opportunity cost, sustainable development, or human capital.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Easy, just take a stroll over to the following departments:</p>
<p>-Anthropology
-Women's Studies
-Sociology
-Ethnic Studies</p>
<p>These "angry studies" (as one CC'er put it) people can and will go on and on about this without once mentioning any economic theory..or anything else that might make sense, or be emprically defensible ;)</p>
<p>Yes, those fields all have a relation to refugee studies -- but to be an EXPERT, the top of your field, who must know about all aspects of an issue, you must know a few statistics. I'm not discounting the value of culture and humanities. But you're wrong if you say the quantifiable has no place in the subject.</p>
<p>I never said the quantifiable has no place in IR. I am glad I took 4 courses in economics -- I am glad it's a required part of the IR curriculum. However, my emphasis and interests lied in the study of political science, history, etc. My point was that i don't agree that every IR student must specialize in economics.</p>