Best place to go to university in USA? (Esp. California)

[partygirluk]

So I want to do postgrad in the States. Want to go to a good uni, but there are plenty of them. So, assuming I just want to go to one of the best 20 or so schools in the U.S, where is best to live?

I'm very tempted by California as AFAIK it is very multicultural, has an amazing climate, and lots of girls walking around in tank tops. It also has 4 of the top 15 schools in the U.S for Economics postgrad (Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley, San Diego). I don't really know much about the advantages of San Diego v. LA v. San Fransisco v. whatever.

What are the various +s and -s of each option?

[istewart]

Despite how gay the Red Sox are I looked at a ton of schools in Boston. It looked like a great place to go to school.

[NLSoldier]

By San Diego do you mean USD or UCSD?

[partygirluk]

UCSD

[Asufiji2004]

no stay away

[NLSoldier]

Weak sauce. You should check out USD. Amazing campus with amazingly good looking women. Pretty good school as well.

[partygirluk]

FWIW this is the ranking from www.phds.org (http://www.phds.org) based purely on quality of teaching

1. Massachusetts Inst of Technology
2. Princeton University
3. University of Chicago
4. Stanford University
5. Harvard University
6. University of Minnesota
7. University of California-Berkeley
8. Northwestern University
9. Yale University
10. University of Rochester
11. University of Pennsylvania
12. Univ of California-San Diego
13. California Institute Technology
14. University of Wisconsin-Madison
15. University of Michigan
16. Univ of California-Los Angeles
17. Columbia University
18. Brown University
19. Cornell University
20. Duke University

[tbach24]

Boston would be my choice, but I'm a bit biased. The only real con I could think of is that it gets cold in the winter and I HATE COLD

[jason_t]

[ QUOTE ]
Boston would be my choice, but I'm a bit biased. The only real con I could think of is that it gets cold in the winter and I HATE COLD

[/ QUOTE ]

Another con: East Coast girls = meh.

[tbach24]

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[ QUOTE ]
Boston would be my choice, but I'm a bit biased. The only real con I could think of is that it gets cold in the winter and I HATE COLD

[/ QUOTE ]

Another con: East Coast girls = meh.

[/ QUOTE ]

True, at least in the northeast. I was in FLA and the girls there were generally good looking. I get back home and see a bunch of pale bitches. Damn. Even worse, I go back to school and there are no girls!!1

[jason_t]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Boston would be my choice, but I'm a bit biased. The only real con I could think of is that it gets cold in the winter and I HATE COLD

[/ QUOTE ]

Another con: East Coast girls = meh.

[/ QUOTE ]

True, at least in the northeast. I was in FLA and the girls there were generally good looking. I get back home and see a bunch of pale bitches. Damn. Even worse, I go back to school and there are no girls!!1

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I should have clarified and said Northeast. There are some fine girls further south for sure, and even in Virginia.

[kenberman]

location should really only be an issue for you if you are debating 2 equal (or close to equal) schools.

For instance, if you are debating whether or not to go to Stanford or MIT, well, you'll probably be good at both places, and location preference becomes a factor.

If you only get into Stanford and Boston College (unlikely, I know) location should really not be a large factor. BC is a good school, but it's not Stanford.

Ditto for MIT/Harvard vs a good but not great West Coast school.

[sfer]

For every big-time research university in the US, there is a big difference between graduate and undergraduate education. As an undergrad at Berkeley, you will not be sitting in lectures with Nobel Laureates. This is not to say that undergrad profs there aren't good at what they do, but don't put too much credence into rankings like this.

[Schneids]

[ QUOTE ]

6. University of Minnesota

[/ QUOTE ]


Look up any publication that makes "most liveable places in america" lists and you'll find Minnesota at the top.

[JTG51]

[ QUOTE ]
Boston would be my choice, but I'm a bit biased. The only real con I could think of is that it gets cold in the winter and I HATE COLD

[/ QUOTE ]

That's a pretty big con. The weather in LA or SD is about a million times nicer than Boston. Maybe more.

[SomethingClever]

Location-wise, it's hard to beat Pepperdine.

Edit: Didn't notice you're looking at grad schools. I know they have Law at Pepperdine, but I'm not sure what else in the way of grad programs.

http://bschool.pepperdine.edu/images/newevents/presskit/Pepperdine_University.jpg

[gumpzilla]

The list posted is almost certainly not an undergraduate ranking, but specifically a ranking of the reptuation of various economics Ph.D. programs. MIT being near the top there is a giveaway.

[kenberman]

FYP /images/graemlins/wink.gif
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6. University of Minnesota

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Look up any publication that makes "most liveable places in america for Eskimo's" lists and you'll find Minnesota at the top.

[/ QUOTE ]

[partygirluk]

[ QUOTE ]
The list posted is almost certainly not an undergraduate ranking, but specifically a ranking of the reptuation of various economics Ph.D. programs. MIT being near the top there is a giveaway.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, it is specifically for PhDs.

[boedeker]

UGA

[Matt Flynn]

Boston blows weather-wise. Maxim described the women there as "orc-like." I did five years. Yeah it's got the Sox and some other good features (including the best sports section of any newspaper in the country), but you would have to really like slush, hate good food, and be a serious Catholic to prefer that over California. The collective culture there is definitely a plus, although if you are from the South or West it all seems very rude for the first few months til you realize everyone just hassles each other. The biggest proponents of Boston are those who are from there and haven't lived in the better places, or people who visited in late May or late September.

Stanford cannot be beat. After that UCSD for living. San Francisco is great but Berkeley is very crowded and too big for most people. Berkeley has the best cheap food and the crunchiest student body of the ones you listed.

my 2 cents.

Matt

[mmbt0ne]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">En réponse à:</font><hr />
UGA

[/ QUOTE ]

bwahahahahahahahahaha

[partygirluk]

[ QUOTE ]
Boston blows weather-wise. Maxim described the women there as "orc-like." I did five years. Yeah it's got the Sox and some other good features (including the best sports section of any newspaper in the country), but you would have to really like slush, hate good food, and be a serious Catholic to prefer that over California. The collective culture there is definitely a plus, although if you are from the South or West it all seems very rude for the first few months til you realize everyone just hassles each other. The biggest proponents of Boston are those who are from there and haven't lived in the better places, or people who visited in late May or late September.

Stanford cannot be beat. After that UCSD for living. San Francisco is great but Berkeley is very crowded and too big for most people. Berkeley has the best cheap food and the crunchiest student body of the ones you listed.

my 2 cents.

Matt

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks. Boston sounds a bit like Great Britain.

[JaBlue]

[ QUOTE ]
Weak sauce. You should check out USD. Amazing campus with amazingly good looking women. Pretty good school as well.

[/ QUOTE ]

don't listen to this. USD is a terrible school compared to UCSD and they're close enough by that it really doesn't matter where you go if you just wanna meet hot chicks.

[sfer]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks. Boston sounds a bit like Great Britain.

[/ QUOTE ]

England has more overbites.

[thatpfunk]

[ QUOTE ]

don't listen to this. USD is a terrible school compared to UCSD and they're close enough by that it really doesn't matter where you go if you just wanna meet hot chicks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Everyone I know that has gone to UCSD under or post grad hates the school. They like the location etc, but think the school is miserable.

JustinA may be able to give the best opinion since he goes there (undergrad though), so...

[partygirluk]

I'll list a few priorities. They are roughly in order or importance to me.

1) Quality of the uni. I want to enhance my chances of a career in academia, learn from brilliant minds, be around smart people. It is also important that I can find a supervisor in an area of interest to me.

2) The students. I want to meet interesting, smart, open minded and diverse people. Don't want too many bible bashers.

3) Opportunities to indulge in my interests, and take up new ones. One thing that appeals to me about CA is that I am a keen boxing fan, and lots of the top bouts are either there or in Vegas. I also like poker, bridge, backgammon etc. Would like to experience new cultures, so CA again appeals to me as it borders Mexico. Nice variety of restaurants is good. I am not a big nightclubber so that doesn't really bother me. Nice live music places (Jazz, Indie, Classical) would be cool.

4) Climate. I fkn hate the English climate. I want blue skies with a big round yellow thing visible in the middle of it. I want to be able to play tennis on most days of the year, rather than the exception. Being able to go for a walk at 21:00 without having to put on 20 layers of clothing would also be very nice.

Probably lots of other things I forgot to mention too.

Thanks, some good replies so far.

[JMP300z]

[ QUOTE ]
UGA

[/ QUOTE ]

Go dawgs...100 percent.
Lots of girls, lots of bars, good sports, warm.

-JMP

[istewart]

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I want to meet interesting, smart, open minded and diverse people.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good luck with that one /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[PhatTBoll]

[ QUOTE ]
10. University of Rochester

[/ QUOTE ]

I have to question any list that puts Rochester at number 10 in anything, let alone quality of phd programs.

[thatpfunk]

After looking at your priorities I think you should focuse on schools in LA. Check out UCLA and USC programs, they seem to be what you are looking for.

LA is a very "interesting" place; probably a cool experience for a European.

[banditbdl]

Based on your priorities I would say Cali is your best bet. I've never lived there only visited, but based on the time I spent there I would say San Francisco and San Diego above LA. LA just rubs me completely the wrong way, sure the whether is beautiful everyday but the city itself is ugly as far as I'm concerned. I would think San Fran would be your best bet.

That said, given that you posted the rankings and you put school prestige at the top of the list you might consider giving No. 6 Minnesota a look. We're pretty liberal, I can't remember the last time we voted for a Republican for president. (Although we have been sliding toward the middle in recent years.) The girls are surprisingly good-looking, not California or Southern Belle hot I guess, but certainly significantly hotter than East Coast or other Midwest girls. The potential dealbreaker of course with Minnesota is the cold. We do not, I repeat do NOT have any English type weather. What we do have though is one hellaciously cold winter that lasts a solid 4-5 months accompanied by about 4-5 months where temps are consistently 17-18 degrees celsius plus and another few months where its plenty nice enough for me to golf. Also, Minneapolis/St. Paul has a nice card room with everyone 18+ able to play and plenty of overly loose and overly passive hold em players. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

San Fran is probably you're best bet, but judging from your list I'd give Minnesota a look.

[CheckFold]

I went to grad school at Penn and it was a great experience. I live in San Diego now and my ex is a current phD student at UCSD so I have a decent basis to compare and can easily say Philly is a much better place to be a grad student. Very accessible city, not ridiculously expensive, lots of culture, etc... If weather is a top priority, it's not the greatest, not as brutal as Boston though.

[banditbdl]

[ QUOTE ]
UGA

[/ QUOTE ]

One problem...

64. University of Georgia

By the way, the SEC managed to sneak one school into the Top 40 with Florida slipping in at number 39. Hooray, SEC!!!

[slickpoppa]

Before coming to the states, stop using the term "uni," unless you want to get a lot of funny looks.

[DeezNuts]

I'm from the Midwest(MN, cold as hell), went to HS in LA, went to undergrad at Berkeley, and now live in basically downtown LA for the past 6 yrs. So I've hit the places you are thinking about and have experienced the cold. Yes, it does suck.

Easily I think the best option for you given all the conditions you have listed is Berkeley. If you can get into Stanford, that would place second. San Diego is one of the nicest cities in the US to live, but not diverse enough for your interests, most parts scream "suburbs". Same goes for the Palo Alto region(Stanford), although you would be at one of the top institutions in the world, the male-female ration in Silicon Valley is horrendous and every other person you meet will be associated with technology.

Berkeley has the best of all worlds, isn't a big "nightclub" scene, is one of the most diverse campuses in the nation, and has some of the top graduate programs in the nation. It gets cold there, but never snows and has a great university "feel" to it. It's one of those cities where people are playing the games you mention outside many of the coffee shops. And of course, SF is only a short hop across the Bay Bridge. I think this choice is easy.

Anyone that is giving non-Cali answers should leave the thread immediately. MN, GA? Obviously you have not left those states and lived in Cali for an extended period. I doubt you would have gone back.

DN

[Corey]

I just finished my B.A. in economics from UCSD. My direct experience with the grad department is based solely on interactions with teaching assistants and one undergrad/graduate mixed seminar.

I'm sure you know that within any "good" department, there are some that are "better" in certain subject areas. UCSD's econ department has found a niche at the foreground of econometric theory. Engle and Granger picked up the Nobel Prize a couple of years ago (The ARCH test is the only “winning” concept that I am familiar with). Hal White (who is still there) is being considered for a future prize as well.

That's the stuff any recruiter will tell you. Like the rest of UCSD, the 10-15 econ grad students I interacted with were a mixed bunch. Overall, they seemed to be less wound up that the Science and Engineering grad student who are notorious for their over-the-top treatment of every little detail. Because so much of the school revolves around its engineering and science achievements, the negative demeanor of these departments often permeates the rest of the school.

As for the notion that people are unhappy who go to UCSD, it is very easy to get caught up in the grind. This is not unusual for a top-flight school and I don't understand why people complain. UCSD is a top school placed in the city where the average 18-25 population could care less about education and it’s from this stark contrast where the notion that UCSD is boring came from.

PM me if you have any more specific questions I may be able to answer

[DeezNuts]

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UCSD is a top school placed in the city where the average 18-25 population could care less about education and it’s from this stark contrast where the notion that UCSD is boring came from.

[/ QUOTE ]

From what I understand, it is "boring" because it is in La Jolla, which is basically a very quiet city where the average age of its citizens is &gt; 50 yrs old.

DN

[thatpfunk]

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UCSD is a top school placed in the city where the average 18-25 population could care less about education and it’s from this stark contrast where the notion that UCSD is boring came from.

[/ QUOTE ]

Letting education rule your life 24/7 is where the notion came from.

There is a fine line between enjoying life and valuing your education. There is a reason that UCSD gets the rap it does.

[jdl22]

what's your area of interest?

Also, are you really good enough to get accepted to top 5 programs? Seems unlikely given that you aren't familiar with the schools already to some extent, and you care a lot about region which is normally not a relevant factor unless you are indifferent between departments.

[gumpzilla]

[ QUOTE ]

Seems unlikely given that you aren't familiar with the schools already to some extent, and you care a lot about region which is normally not a relevant factor unless you are indifferent between departments.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this last bit is far more common than you might think.

[Corey]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
UCSD is a top school placed in the city where the average 18-25 population could care less about education and it’s from this stark contrast where the notion that UCSD is boring came from.

[/ QUOTE ]

From what I understand, it is "boring" because it is in La Jolla, which is basically a very quiet city where the average age of its citizens is &gt; 50 yrs old.

DN

[/ QUOTE ]

UCSD isn't in "La Jolla" as it is perceived, that of rich old white people driving exotics. Most of the school's nearby housing is in what can be termed "UTC Area." It is still mostly older people and no real college life is in the area. There is also very little greek life. However, you're in San Diego and you have to try really hard to not find something to do on any given night.

[Corey]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
UCSD is a top school placed in the city where the average 18-25 population could care less about education and it’s from this stark contrast where the notion that UCSD is boring came from.

[/ QUOTE ]

Letting education rule your life 24/7 is where the notion came from.

There is a fine line between enjoying life and valuing your education. There is a reason that UCSD gets the rap it does.

[/ QUOTE ]

I will say again this repuation comes mostly from the Science and Engineering departments. The econ grad students I have interacted with at UCSD were, for the most part, very atypical of that attitude.

[partygirluk]

I think I am good enough to have a change of getting into one of the top 5 unis. If I applied to everyone of the the top dozen, it would be very unlikely that I get into none. I have good academic results thus far, and will have good references.

Yes, the academic program is the most important factor. But I will be living near the uni for 6 years. Thus the quality of the city is massively important to me. It is like going for a job - there are many factors to consider - how far it will advance my career, how good my quality of life will be, how near my family will I be (the biggest downside of Cali) etc.

[edtost]

also, keep in mind that, when reading people's opinions of where they went to school, undergrads and grad students often have very different experiences at the same institution.

[purnell]

Yes.

[Flushed]

Whatever you do, do NOT come to Princeton under any circumstances. Ever. Not even if they throw in a good salary, a BMW, and a few cheerleaders. Just don't do it.

I'm actually starting my Ph.D. at Penn in September. The school/city do not seem completely horrendous, but, let's face it: it ain't CA.

- Tash

[midas]

If you get into Harvard - you go to Harvard. If you get into Stanford you go to Stanford. If you get into MIT you go there (geek central). Other than that, go West young man. If you get into a combination of the above - you're a genius and probably shouldn't be wasting your time on these boards!!!

[groo]

Not sure how the Universities rank, but both major schools in Arizona (Univesity of Arizona and Arizona State University) meet your other criteria nicely. I'd give the edge to the University of Arizona, Tucson is a smaller more lively and livable town. Also Arizona tends to be more affordable to live in than California.

[touchfaith]

Santa Clara University

...and it's not even close.

[partygirluk]

What is so bad about Princeton?

[Flushed]

1) Let me put it this way, I live with two post-docs. One of them recently got his Ph.D. in Boston (yeah, the land of hellish climate and women of questionable attractiveness) and he WANTS TO GO BACK! He takes trips there at least every other week (there's motivation considering that it's 6 hour trip). Bear in mind, this is an attractive, well-adjusted, social guy; he has friends here. He just hates it. The other morning he complained that he woke up before his alarm at 7 AM b/c out of sheer boredom he fell asleep at 11. We had a respectful moment of silence.


2) Seriously, Princeton is a pretty, small town and not bad for undergraduates. Undergrads have their own social structure and their own bar-type places (i.e. eating clubs). Grad students/post-docs, on the other hand, have only one real bar to go to. And it's pretty bad. There's only about five restaurants and they get old quickly; the closest big movie theater is a drive (you better have a car). There are no museums, opera houses, galleries, or any other cultural venues to speak of. The cost of living is close to that of Boston or another city. Atlantic City is an hour and a half away (too far to drive on a regular basis if you're going to do legitimate work here); NYC is a little over an hour by train (also a bit far). The climate is unpredictable and often uncomfortable (too humid in the summer and cold/windy in the winter).

Bottom line: if you care about your quality of life as much as you do about academics, Princeton is not the right choice for graduate/post graduate work. I'm guilty of academic arrogance as much as the next person, but it's not worth throwing six years of your life away being miserable; especially if being unhappy interferes with your ability to work.

- Natasha
If you have specific questions, I'm all ears.

[J.A.Sucker]

If you're going to a top-flight grad school looking to find mad hotties, you're in for a world of hurt. That's not to say that you can't find hot chicks out there, but your priorities are shifted in grad school a lot from undergrad. Stanford is a great place to be - great weather, poker nearby, good food, and a great golf course. I have been here awhile and I like it still.

Harvard and MIT are both cold. I'd go to Harvard over MIT in a landslide. The kids at MIT are just miserable. I've never really been sure why, but it seems to be ingrained in the culture there that you just basically go suicidal for your entire time there in grad school. Harvard's slightly better, but not by much. Stanford has just as much pressure, but the grad students can have a little fun. Maybe it's the palm trees.

Berkeley is a great place, too. I'd also consider going there. The town is a college town, unlike Palo Alto which isn't. The chicks are hotter in Berkeley than in Palo Alto, too, and there's more good, cheap food to be found. In fact, nothing's cheap in Palo Alto.

UCLA is the nuts. It's one of the few schools where I'd take a prof job. Westwood has more tight, tanned, ladies than you can find outside of Cheetah's. In fact, some probably dance at Cheetah's - paying their way through school /images/graemlins/wink.gif

UCSD is in La Jolla, and the weather there is second to none. I think you get discount greens fees at Torrey Pines, and this course is probably a bit better than the Stanford course (though close). La Jolla is still cheaper to live than Palo Alto, and it's right on the damned beach. If you like fish tacos, go here.

Basically, the problem is that you often have to have the decisions made for you. Apply to all of these places and see where you get in. Then, visit the places. For Chem, they flew you out to all of them and wined and dined you. For Econ, I don't know if they do this. You'll know where you want to go. I chose Stanford over every place in the world, but you may have different priorities.

[Flushed]

[ QUOTE ]
For Chem, they flew you out to all of them and wined and dined you. For Econ, I don't know if they do this.

[/ QUOTE ]

Any program that does not fly you out and wine &amp; dine you is suspect. If they don't have enough funding to fly you out then they don't have enough funding, period. Of course, this depends on where you live: if you're outside the continental US, then they may not fly you out.

[Sponger15SB]

So you're interested in economics?

http://www.econ.ucsb.edu/nobel/
/images/graemlins/grin.gif


Seriously though, since you're looking at schools like Stanford, UCLA, Berkely, and San Diego, we're much too dumb for you.

Any of those choices would be fine, however I'd avoid schools in LA cause living in LA sucks

[partygirluk]

Thanks Natasha. Have you ever been to Cambridge UK? Your description of Princeton sounds somewhat similar, and in Cambridge some people see it as a small city with 2 crappy nightclubs full of boffins, and others see it as a quaint and wonderful place. Is it the same for Princeton?

Thanks.

[RicktheRuler]

UCLA or Berkeley. Stay away from the East Coast if you like nice people, good food, good weather etc.

Youre welcome.

[partygirluk]

Seriously, it should be expected that they fly me from London to California, put me up and pay my expenses? This would be a 4 figure outlay for them. I don't think this is considered normal practice over here. I was planning a trip to Vegas and California to check the places out, now sounds like it is unnecessary.

Wow.

[J.A.Sucker]

Like I said originally, it depends. First of all, you need to be ACCEPTED. Second, this policy depends on the department. For sciences, you are a slave to them for five to six years. Thus, they have a huge incentive to get you there and to make sure you want to stay there. For non-sciences, they don't even pay you, so they may not care. For econ, I don't know. If you don't have anyone to ask this question to, then you don't have a good enough reference to get you in, anyway. Seriously.

As for the total cost, it may be capped at some number for the airline ticket (700 bucks, maybe), and for foreign students they may ask you to coordinate several schools, which isn't really that hard. I know I spent tons of money on those trips - great bottles of booze, top-notch hotels (though you may want to stay with students, and I did this too), and top restaurants. It was a good time, plus you really learn about the schools, prof's and people. Very worthwhile.

[Michael Davis]

Sucker, your info on this stuff is usually spot on, but we studying humanities do get paid, just less.

-Michael

[J.A.Sucker]

I know people who have spent time at both, and they all liked Cambridge better.

Princeton has some strange quirks about it, and it's a small town. It's not really a huge research institution, either, outside of a couple of departments. Go West, young man.

[partygirluk]

[ QUOTE ]
If you don't have anyone to ask this question to, then you don't have a good enough reference to get you in, anyway. Seriously.

[/ QUOTE ]

Would this include lecturers at my undergrad institution?

[J.A.Sucker]

For TA, though, right? It's a little different. Plus, you have to pay tuition, right? Science folk don't, though we really don't take classes beyond the first year or so. Yeah, but I'm probably wrong, since I haven't started hanging out with the Women's Studies chicks yet /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[FishNChips]

You will not find better weather than UCSD. I suspect the women at UCLA will be slightly better, but not by much.

You seem to have the academic research covered, just thot I'd toss in my 2 cnts. I live in SD and WILL NOT move EVER - weather is absolutely perfect. UCSD is in LaJolla, but people that go there live all over SD county so you can find a place you like and just commute to school (assuming you have a car?).

FishNChips

[istewart]

Princeton is a pretty bad place to be in my opinion, as far as towns/cities go.

[Michael Davis]

"For TA, though, right? It's a little different. Plus, you have to pay tuition, right? Science folk don't, though we really don't take classes beyond the first year or so."

Yes and no. If you're a good candidate there are all kinds of fellowships. Every one in my department got a one year fellowship and at least one year of TAing. I have a dissertation year fellowship. And nobody has to pay his tuition.

Women's Studies chicks are psycho. Non-Women's Studies chicks who study women's issues rock. That is all.

-Michael

[Flushed]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks Natasha. Have you ever been to Cambridge UK? Your description of Princeton sounds somewhat similar, and in Cambridge some people see it as a small city with 2 crappy nightclubs full of boffins, and others see it as a quaint and wonderful place. Is it the same for Princeton?

Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, one of my best friends from high school is getting her Ph.D. there in Biochem or something like that. I forget which college/house (or whatever you call those places) she's in. I haven't visited her yet, but I probably will this summer.

In any case, from what I can tell, Cambridge is similar to Princeton. If you know great people, you're ok; if you're on your own, then there's not much to amuse yourself with. My friend basically drinks, smokes, and plays poker with her friends in the evening, which is funny considering that she doesn't smoke, like beer, or play cards. Essentially, you'd do the same thing here, except that fewer people smoke, the beer is awful, there are no places to drink, and very few grad students play poker.

P.S. what's a boffin?

[istewart]

Flushed when are you coming to Penn? What area of study?

[Flushed]

[ QUOTE ]
For TA, though, right? It's a little different. Plus, you have to pay tuition, right? Science folk don't, though we really don't take classes beyond the first year or so. Yeah, but I'm probably wrong, since I haven't started hanging out with the Women's Studies chicks yet /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm in social psychology and I will get paid. Does that mean I can start calling what I do "science" /images/graemlins/wink.gif?

[partygirluk]

Just looked at Berkeley's program and it is just what I am looking for. They offer fields in both political economy + psychology and economics and I have that feeling I have only ever had before when meeting a very special woman.

/images/graemlins/heart.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif

[partygirluk]

Boffin (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=boffin)

[JaBlue]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

don't listen to this. USD is a terrible school compared to UCSD and they're close enough by that it really doesn't matter where you go if you just wanna meet hot chicks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Everyone I know that has gone to UCSD under or post grad hates the school. They like the location etc, but think the school is miserable.

JustinA may be able to give the best opinion since he goes there (undergrad though), so...

[/ QUOTE ]

Everybody I know is the opposite. They loved the school. If you're looking to just coast through the 4 years, yeah, you should probably go to USD. If you want a good education then UCSD is obviously the choice.

[SackUp]

Berkeley is full of [censored] Hippies too though. If that is your thing and you are ultra liberal then it is a great place. One walk down Telegraph and I was out. SD is off the hook. I'm going to Law school down here and it is the greatest place on Earth. UCSD is a great school. The people on the campus may not be the best from what I've heard, but the party scene is like 5 mins away. You are 5 mins from PB and 10 from Downtown. And you could live in one of those areas and just make the drive to UCSD if you wanted.

UCLA wouldn't be a bad call either. LA life is a bit different but I would take it over SF anyday. I would see where you get into first and then visit each place if possible. That would be your best bet.

[Flushed]

I'm coming to Penn's Psychology department in August/September. I will also work at the Asch Center; unclear who my adviser is still (picking people is fun).

Are you from Philly? If you anything about the layout of the city can you tell where the cool places to live are (within the stipend constraints)? By tell me, I mean PM me.

- Natasha

[partygirluk]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm coming to Penn's Psychology department in August/September. I will also work at the Asch Center; unclear who my adviser is still (picking people is fun).

Are you from Philly? If you anything about the layout of the city can you tell where the cool places to live are (within the stipend constraints)? By tell me, I mean PM me.

- Natasha

[/ QUOTE ]

Is that the same Asch who pioneered study into peer pressure? I read about some of his studies, they fascinated me and tempted me into a psychology degree, but I got turned off by the psyhiological side.

[Flushed]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm coming to Penn's Psychology department in August/September. I will also work at the Asch Center; unclear who my adviser is still (picking people is fun).

Are you from Philly? If you anything about the layout of the city can you tell where the cool places to live are (within the stipend constraints)? By tell me, I mean PM me.

- Natasha

[/ QUOTE ]

Is that the same Asch who pioneered study into peer pressure? I read about some of his studies, they fascinated me and tempted me into a psychology degree, but I got turned off by the psyhiological side.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah. Asch did the neat "line" studies about normative influence. Penn now has a muliti-disciplinary center in his name to study ethnopolitical conflict, terrorism, etc.

If you get a chance to take a few social or cognitive psych courses, they are pretty cool. It's sort of like formalized intuitive knowledge. And you get to play fun tricks on your friends, if you want to be a tool.

- Natasha

[Eurotrash]

[ QUOTE ]
If you anything about the layout of the city can you tell where the cool places to live are (within the stipend constraints)? By tell me, I mean PM me.
- Natasha

[/ QUOTE ]


I would imagine that istewart's knowledge of living arrangements in the area doesn't extend much past the Quad. Might want to check with somebody else. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[Degen]

If you are 18-25 then UCSB is your only stop.

There is no place on earth like Isla Vista.
There is no place on earth like Isla Vista.
There is no place on earth like Isla Vista.


Andre

[Analyst]

[ QUOTE ]
Santa Clara University

...and it's not even close.

[/ QUOTE ]

1. SCU does not have a Ph.D. program in economics.
2. With no disrespect to the faculty, especially Prof. Belotti, even if SCU had a graduate economics program it would not rank in the top 20 - and it's not even close.

[jason_t]

[ QUOTE ]
Princeton is a pretty bad place to be in my opinion, as far as towns/cities go.

[/ QUOTE ]

However, if you somehow end up in New Jersey, Princeton is a fine place to be.

[istewart]

If you end up going to school in New Jersey, obviously. But you really shouldn't want to do that.

[jason_t]

[ QUOTE ]
If you end up going to school in New Jersey, obviously. But you really shouldn't want to do that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Correct.

[istewart]

EuroTrash you're my stalker.

[MortalNuts]

Hi --

How competitive is economics, job-wise? By this, I mean are there 10 PhDs for every faculty job, or 100, or 1000? Are you even interested in academia? The more competitive the field, the more you may want to bias your search towards the most highly-regarded places (or at least to places that have one or two really world-class people that you have a realistic chance of working with). I'm not talking about going to Stanford because it's number 4 instead of Berkeley because it's number 7 or something; that kind of precision is silly in this context. But if the field is extremely competitive, you may need to stay within the top 10 or 15 to have any realistic hope of getting a job afterwards. Talk to your profs about this.

As for everything else, I pretty much agree with everything Sucker posted. Apply to everywhere in the top 20 that sounds interesting; see where you get in. Visit everywhere that admits you; in physical science departments this is always paid for, but even if that's not the case in economics, you should still visit everywhere. Usually, when you do this, one or two places will really resonate with you in a way that the others don't.

Ultimately, you'll want to grill students and faculty at these places to find out how you "click" with the department as a whole. Are there good advisors? Are you given latitude in determining research projects? Are you well-funded? How's the teaching? What do you do for fun? Etc, etc. Find out where recent graduates of the program have gone -- the odds of you doing better than their most successful grad of the last 5 years are pretty poor, no matter how good you are.

But all of this comes much later, after you actually get in to any of these places. I don't mean that as a crack at you at all; just telling you that it's really not worth worrying too much about this stuff until you are admitted.

good luck.

later,

mn

[Eurotrash]

[ QUOTE ]
EuroTrash you're my stalker.

[/ QUOTE ]


explain? I not stalking anybody. I made that statement based purely on stuff I've seen you post in various forums here; it's not like you've been trying to hide where you go to school/live.

[jdl22]

I'm not trying to be a dick here, but just let you know about the process. Most top schools get well over 1000 applicants for usually 20-30 spots. Most all of these applicants have very high grade point averages, very high GRE scores, and good letters. What sets you apart?

In my case I thought I would have an outside chance at top ten schools outside the top five, a reasonable chance at the top twenty and an excellent chance below that. I had a crappy GPA (3.35/4) but my math prep was far above average (I was a math major, had taken advanced courses in topology and real analysis). I also had excellent letters including a one from a professor with several publications in top journals (AER etc) and had done research with him, and two from professors I had taken classes from that were normally just for grad students. I also got an 800 on the quantitative section of the GRE, which isn't very hard to do but is one of the things they look at. Due to my research interest I was most interested in Cal Tech (one of the fifteen or so schools in the top ten), Virginia (20s), Wisconsin (somewhere in the teens probably) and Pitt (low 30s or 40s). I also applied to Michigan, Duke, Maryland, Carnegie Mellon, and Texas. I got flat rejections from Michigan and Maryland, made the waiting list but got rejected from Cal Tech, Duke and CMU, got accepted without funding at Virginia, Texas, and Wisconsin and got funding only at Pitt.

Hopefully you find the information useful.

[partygirluk]

OK. I have to go to the doctors now, so I won't list my qualifications in full. But I got offered a masters place at Camrbidge, UK. They had a similar application ratio to what you mention. I think if Cambridge would offer me a postgrad place, then it is not ludicrous to think I have a chance of getting into an elite American university.

[diddle]

UCSD is a commuter school. Most people drive to school.

There is nothing fun to do at the school itself. Parties etc are all off campus.

UCSD is lame. San diego is not.

I would not go to school at UCSD, but I would live in San Diego.

[jdl22]

Fair enough. Just wanted to let you know the process since basically everybody overestimates the probability of getting in to top schools.

[augie00]

You need to come to beautiful Peoria, Illinois for Bradley University. Once you come to Peoria, you never want to leave. Ever. You're instantly converted to a townie. The transition is easier if you grow a mullet now, and knock a few of your teeth out before you get here.