piffle_dragon Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I have no clue... My primary interest is growth...but I have lots of secondary interests that would fit well at both schools (mech design, macro, trade, pottery...). I know I shouldn't even be really thinking about this until the visits...but I'm too impatient to wait that long. So, I'm curious to hear about culture, attrition rates, access to profs, placements, etc. Of course lots of this I can see...but despite the economist in me I find anecdotes oh so satusfying... :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnStreetEcon Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I have no clue... My primary interest is growth...but I have lots of secondary interests that would fit well at both schools (mech design, macro, trade, pottery...). I know I shouldn't even be really thinking about this until the visits...but I'm too impatient to wait that long. So, I'm curious to hear about culture, attrition rates, access to profs, placements, etc. Of course lots of this I can see...but despite the economist in me I find anecdotes oh so satusfying... :rolleyes: Wow, lots of discussion about Stanford on the boards. I don't really want to get drawn into comparing schools - but I will say that among all the places being compared, you just cannot go wrong. Just breathe and pick, you will be happy and have the chance to do great work at all those places I posted some thoughts on Stanford in a thread entitled 'Stanford wave of rejects' or something like that. As I mentioned, the atmosphere is pretty great, especially among students. To quickly reply to some questions I was asked: I don't think anyone has failed out of Stanford recently. Someone might have left last year before comps to go to law school or something. Last year a fair number of people failed the spring metrics comp on the first try, and a smaller number failed micro or macro. The fall comps are easier and everyone passed on the second try. (I think) Professor seeem really approachable. In fact my classmate just ditched me to go to Monika Piazzesi & Martin Schneider's place for pizza and drinks. Assigning students first year advisors helps bridge the gap between faculty and students. Grades at Stanford are just on the standard A scale. Relative in the sense that doing better than the average means you get a good grade. But no one pays attention to them. They are just a way for professor to signal if you should be worried about the comp (getting a B or lower). Unfortunately, I need to get back to work. Midterms are coming and I wasted 2 hours discussing calibration vs estimation with some classmates. Progress, don't regress! Later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ak3 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I think the best way to answer this question would be to compare their two rejection letters. And - what do you know - I have two fresh ones right here! Let's compare: Berkeley: Dear Applicant: I regret to inform you that you have not been accepted for admission to the Ph.D. program in Economics at the University of California Berkeley. This is your official notification. After reviewing your materials the admissions committee was unable to recommend you for selection into the program. The Department can only admit a limited number of students and receives a very large number of applications. We have to turn down many qualified candidates who may be capable of excellent achievement. We will keep your 2009-2010 application materials on file for 2-years; however, you will need to submit another Graduate Admissions application for the 2010-2011 or 2011-2012 academic years. Despite this outcome, I hope that you are able to pursue your studies elsewhere, and wish you well in your career plans. Regards, ... Stanford: I regret to inform you that you were not admitted to our graduate program in Economics. A formal decision letter is being mailed. We received applications from many more qualified candidates than we can accept given our financial resources and space restrictions. Consequently, many strong candidates had to be turned down. While we cannot respond to each applicant individually about the strengths and weaknesses of their application, you may find it helpful to know that the successful applicants had perfect or near perfect scores on the GRE, impeccable letters of recommendation, extremely high grades - especially in math and economic courses, and demonstrated evidence of research ability. The committee also took into account the calibre of the undergraduate and/or graduate institutions attended. Applicants are also compared against the pool of other applicants applying in the same year. This year we had approximately 800 applications, but we were only able to offer admission to 72 applicants. I hope that this feedback is informative. Berkeley - brief, to the point, and they do not boast. Berkeley won't hold your hand, you have to figure it out for your self. Also note - they ca Stanford - SOOO like stanford to post their stats in a rejection letter! This is just like the newsletter they send to their alumns, which brags about how many students they had to reject each year. If they truly had a grade A program, they would not need to rely on stats. Finally - let's compare the last sentence. At least Berkeley tries to be geniunelly consoling. Stanford's "I hope this feedback is informative." What the f*** is that? Sorry, that was neither informative or helpful. Thanks again. (Full disclosure - this is a Cal graduate talking) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagicianGirl Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 You should definitely attend flyouts.. Stanford and Berkeley have very different surrounding environments.. Pal Alto is more clean and upscale, while you see bums everywhere on the streets in Berkeley.. Being liberal comes with a price, I guess... Faculties at Berkeley are wonderful. But I assume you shouldn't expect any less from Stanford? Also, definitely weigh in your interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonio Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 You should definitely attend flyouts.. Stanford and Berkeley have very different surrounding environments.. Pal Alto is more clean and upscale, while you see bums everywhere on the streets in Berkeley.. Being liberal comes with a price, I guess... Faculties at Berkeley are wonderful. But I assume you shouldn't expect any less from Stanford? Also, definitely weigh in your interest. That's true. But Berkeley it's much closer to San Francisco. Also, Berkeley has a very live and active cultural/political environment - if you care - whereas people told me that in Stanford there is nothing but the campus - I also heard their campus is so big that you would need a car in order to go to one place from another still inside the campus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unitroot Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Berkeley's and Stanford's placements are posted online. Both tend to place the top quarter of their class very well. Since you're interested in economic growth, you should take into account that Stanford has Paul Romer and Chad Jones is moving there this year (business school I think) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 haha, when was the last paper that Romer has published? He seems pretty inactive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
economics Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 hm... having growth as an interest puts you into an awkward position - no one really focuses on growth other than a few people (weil, barro, romer)... so there isn't really a econ-of-growth powerhouse anywhere? but berkeley doesn't seem to be a good place for growth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piffle_dragon Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 Thanks! Excellent feedback from everyone, more or less confirming my indecisiveness. I guess it will have to come down to the visits. Berkeley does sound like it would be a much more interesting place to live...but is that a good thing or a bad thing while doing one's phd?!? Also, how serious is the risk that, if one goes to Berkeley, one could find his or her faculty adviser teaching at a new school... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp3690 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Harvard is. Aghion is pretty much the forefront now. Sala-i-Martin too. Also, which Romer are you talking about, David or Paul? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Rule Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 There's no such thing as a good place for growth, except maybe if you're doing growth and institutions stuff with Acemoglu at MIT like Melissa Dell, who is a 2nd-year there (see the paper they have together in the AEJ: Macro). But at least Chad Jones actually publishes still. Paul Romer is now irrelevant. But who knows how much Jones will be involved in the intellectual life of the Stanford Econ grad program while at Stanford GSB. You'll have to find that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Rule Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Sala-i-Martin too. He has maybe 1 QJE publcation in the last 5 years. He's been much more involved with extracurricular activities than with research, it's fair to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerter Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 There's no such thing as a good place for growth, except maybe if you're doing growth and institutions stuff with Acemoglu at MIT like Melissa Dell, who is a 2nd-year there (see the paper they have together in the AEJ: Macro). Is that the technology, human capital and institutions paper? Any good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp3690 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 He has maybe 1 QJE publcation in the last 5 years. He's been much more involved with extracurricular activities than with research, it's fair to say. I know. I'm doing my homework on it as we speak! But this comes with being involved in football management. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcamilo Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 There's some growth people in Berklee too, Edward Miguel and another professor there wrote an interesting book on growth: Amazon.com: Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence, and the Poverty of Nations: Raymond Fisman, Edward Miguel: Books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennisboy85 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I just checked that girls CV that you mentioned, Goldenrule. Wow, I mean wow. Here is the link if anyone is interested: http://econ-www.mit.edu/files/3715 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piffle_dragon Posted March 11, 2009 Author Share Posted March 11, 2009 Christ. Did she have to be a great athlete in addition to being brilliant?!! Hopefully, she is quite ugly.... ;) What if i wanted to do development...does that make it an easier decision? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysorelboots Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Well ladies and gents... choosing between Stanford and Berkeley... is, well, what I call a "high quality problem". It kinda reminds me about the time I went to Iceland (before the economic crisis). Plainly stated, you will find some of the most beautiful women in the world there, mostly organic. They are nice, sweet, genuine and actually interested in Americans and people from the Western Hemisphere. And... if you happen to have brown skin or exotic features, you are like a God there. So... the Stanford vs Berkeley standoff kinda reminds me of rolling into my first bar in Reykevik and having to chose between the 6'0'' blonde, blue-eyed gal who still holds the national high school record in the long jump or... the super cute, petite brunette who had just returned from touring with Coldplay... as the band groupie. DUDE, YOU CAN'T GO WRONG. ROLL THE DICE! :tup::tup::tup::tup: PS - loved all your responses by the way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF_Haole Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 She's also blind, apparently: USATODAY.com - 2005 College Academic All-Stars First Team Damn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OtraDimensión Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 The website says she came to my country to help poor women... Dude that girl is amazing... A wonderful human being... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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