Please help me solve my luxurious dilemma

[triple_sec]

Guys, I went through every ranking I know of, consulted this and other forums thoroughly, flew out for two visit days, talked to many faculties. April 15 is approaching, but I am still not fully decided. I have gotten offers from (in alphabetic order) Northwestern, NYU, UC Berkeley, Yale; and I am on the wait list of Princeton. (I already declined Duke and the UPenn wait list.) I am aware that many might be envious of me but I cannot help being overwhelmed with my choice set.

 

Therefore, I would like to resort to the "wisdom of the public." I deliberately do not disclose here my interests and other (geographic, monetary, etc.) preferences (those interested may find them in the profiles thread) so that I do not influence your opinion. My simple question is: Should you be in my situation, which option would you choose? Please use the poll attached to this thread. Many, many thanks in advance.

[walt526]

Well I applied to Northwestern and UC Berkeley, but not to the others. Partly because I knew that any Top 10 school was a longshot and partly because I really didn't want to wind up a super-elite school Northeast; I just don't like being around that type of culture, particularly Princeton or Yale (NYU might be different, but I didn't want to live in NYC either, so I never really gave it a lot of thought). Not to say that those aren't great schools, but I thought that NWU and UCB would be better choices for me.

 

So if I had your choice set, I'd be looking at NWU or UCB and would probably choose UCB because of:

(a) geography (proximity to family and my wife could have potentially kept her job in Sacramento);

(b) I think that they are slightly stronger in areas that interest me as well as have more of a presence in areas that don't currently interest me (should my interests change).

 

But it's possible that I would have liked the atmosphere of NWU better had I visited, I really don't know.

[triple_sec]

Thank you for the answer, walt526! Actually, diversity of faculty interest and strength is also an aspect for me as my interests have seemed to be changing quite dynamically over my studies so far. As for geography and the possible repulsiveness of the elite Ivy League feeling, I can't really say much. The visit days I flew out to last week was my first time ever in the US, so I must rely on anecdotal evidence (e.g. "Chicago winter kills," "California summer is chilly," "New England is rainy," etc. :-)).

[in_limbo]

firstly congratulations on these great admits! Honestly, you cant go wrong with any of these

 

Here's how I would go about it. I'm interested in macro(particularly theory) and so I would eliminate Berkeley and Princeton. Now we're down to NWU NYU and Yale. Personally, I wouldn't want to live in NY so that's out.

So its a toss up between Yale and NWU. NWU definitely has some great macro people but Yale has made some fantastic hires recently (Gosolov and Tsyvinski) and they really do have a generous stipend. Both have had great placements. And so from here, after visiting I would go with my gut.

 

hope that helps some :)

[econsailorgirl]

I have a feeling that soliciting opinions on this forum will not solve your dilemma; in fact, getting more information could just make things worse. Although you seem to want to keep your personal preference information from coloring others' opinions, that seems to me to be the exact information that will lead you to a decision. Does the department feel like a place you'd like to spend the next 5 years? What kind of weather do you like? If all of those schools are equally interesting to you academically, don't get stuck in the "ranking" rut. Quality of life is important too.

[Gecko]

Depends on your research interests~ ;)

[triple_sec]

Thanks, in_limbo! Honestly, it's a bit surprising to me that you dismiss Berkeley and Princeton readily if it comes to macro theory. What about DeLong, Obstfeld, and D. Romer (OK, the latter is on leave)? And Blinder, Kehoe, Rossi-Hansberg, Sims? Or are you talking about public finance (and in this light, the recent Yale hires are indeed very, very impressive)?

[Pedxs]

I just choose according to prestige.

 

Princeton>Yale>Berkeley>Northwestern>NYU

 

How is the funding situation.

[triple_sec]

I have a feeling that soliciting opinions on this forum will not solve your dilemma; in fact, getting more information could just make things worse. Although you seem to want to keep your personal preference information from coloring others' opinions, that seems to me to be the exact information that will lead you to a decision. Does the department feel like a place you'd like to spend the next 5 years? What kind of weather do you like? If all of those schools are equally interesting to you academically, don't get stuck in the "ranking" rut. Quality of life is important too.

 

I know that the final decision is up to me. But that's the point. (And the same goes for Gecko's, righteous, comment.) I have gone through the mental process of taking into account everything you mentioned here and I'm still kind of stuck. I just want to learn where the "median guy" would go in my situation based on their idiosyncrasies, which is also an additional aspect I would like to weigh, since it tells something about the general appeal of each place. And I trust the public (especially that consisting of guys browsing this forum) more than any of the rankings. That's why I really appreciate your voice, guys. :-)

[triple_sec]

I just choose according to prestige.

 

Princeton>Yale>Berkeley>Northwestern>NYU

 

How is the funding situation.

 

The funding looks like, in that order, $26k, $37k, $23k, $21k, $23k, approximately per year.

[JBDonges]

Solely based on location I would choose UCB or NYU...

[in_limbo]

Thanks, in_limbo! Honestly, it's a bit surprising to me that you dismiss Berkeley and Princeton readily if it comes to macro theory. What about DeLong, Obstfeld, and D. Romer (OK, the latter is on leave)? And Blinder, Kehoe, Rossi-Hansberg, Sims? Or are you talking about public finance (and in this light, the recent Yale hires are indeed very, very impressive)?

 

I should have been more specific- my interests do lie in intersection of macro theory and public finance (Ramsey taxation and such) and DSGE models which might explain my previous post better. Your right though, both Berkeley and Princeton do have great macroeconomists but as far as I can tell folks like DeLong and Blinder haven't been doing much in the area of theory recently (they definitely have in the past)- I could be wrong though! I had forgotten that Kehoe had recently moved and he's obviously very good. Sims is fantastic as well. Again, none of these places are weak in any field of Economics, it's just that Yale and NWU align better with my interests.

[triple_sec]

I should have been more specific- my interests do lie in intersection of macro theory and public finance (Ramsey taxation and such) and DSGE models which might explain my previous post better. Your right though, both Berkeley and Princeton do have great macroeconomists but as far as I can tell folks like DeLong and Blinder haven't been doing much in the area of theory recently (they definitely have in the past)- I could be wrong though! I had forgotten that Kehoe had recently moved and he's obviously very good. Sims is fantastic as well. Again, none of these places are weak in any field of Economics, it's just that Yale and NWU align better with my interests.

 

Yes, I agree. I heard that Yale used to be notoriously weak at public finance. Luckily, not any more. :-)

[amber4e86]

Out of these schools, I only applied to NYU because I have always wanted to live in NYC. All of these programs are so highly ranked that you can't possibly make the wrong decision no matter which one you pick. Congrats!

[triple_sec]

Out of these schools, I only applied to NYU because I have always wanted to live in NYC. All of these programs are so highly ranked that you can't possibly make the wrong decision no matter which one you pick. Congrats!

 

Thanks, amber4e86! Indeed, NYC is a great place to live. Actually, a friend of mine lives in D.C. and told me that it's like NYC in small—in case you go to AU. :-)

[amber4e86]

Lol, thanks. But I do think that location is extremely important, esp. when your choices are between many well-recognized programs. In only 4 months of living in NYC I made more connections with people that have influenced my life positively than I did over 5 years of living in the US. The jobs are more and... well, let's just say that the city is fabulous and inspiring in many ways.

[piffle_dragon]

Beware, P. Kehoe is notorious for not wanting to work with students. Also, I would substitute Gorodnichenko for Delong at Berkeley (and include Gourinchas). While Delong is wicked smart, Gorodnichenko is going to be huge and is more productive these days. Check out his webpage.

[triple_sec]

Lol, thanks. But I do think that location is extremely important, esp. when your choices are between many well-recognized programs. In only 4 months of living in NYC I made more connections with people that have influenced my life positively than I did over 5 years of living in the US. The jobs are more and... well, let's just say that the city is fabulous and inspiring in many ways.

 

Indeed, it's a great city. I fell in love with it in 3 days I spent there. :-)

[triple_sec]

Beware, P. Kehoe is notorious for not wanting to work with students. Also, I would substitute Gorodnichenko for Delong at Berkeley (and include Gourinchas). While Delong is wicked smart, Gorodnichenko is going to be huge and is more productive these days. Check out his webpage.

 

Thanks, piffle_dragon. Yes, I had been previously warned not to get too excited about the "big names" as some of them are "above dealing with graduate students" and inaccessible. (I also gave a name to this illusion: the "Krugman phenomenon" :-)). I will go through the profiles of also the relatively less well known professors—I would probably end up with being supervised by one of them anywhere. Anyway, thank you for the advice. :-)

[econ2012]

Berkeley. Edited April 7, 2010 by econ2012
T

[Mark_B]

As much as the choice between NYU, NWU, Berkeley, Yale and (perhaps) Princeton is like having to choose one (and only one) of Elle Macpherson, Cindy Crawford, Michelle Pfeiffer, etc, for a dinner date - I find it difficult to believe there isn't one institution that just isn't quite to your liking as the others.

[triple_sec]

Berkeley.

 

Concise. Thanks, econ2012. :-)

[triple_sec]

As much as the choice between NYU, NWU, Berkeley, Yale and (perhaps) Princeton is like having to choose one (and only one) of Elle Macpherson, Cindy Crawford, Michelle Pfeiffer, etc, for a dinner date - I find it difficult to believe there isn't one institution that just isn't quite to your liking as the others.

 

Haha, great simile. :-D Actually, I do already have a preference but I wanted to listen your opinions, guys, too.

[scienceofsleep200]

Princeton and if not Berkeley/Yale IMO. Princeton macro placements are pretty ok in the last 5-6 years (Chicago x2, Yale, Columbia, Northwestern, Duke, LSE, Toronto, BU, UCLA, UC Irvine, UCSD x2, Pompu Fabra, Rutgers, Texas A&M, NY Fed x2, Fed Board, World Bank). I think the micro guys placed a little better on average, but it's pretty good either way.

[piffle_dragon]

Cindy Crawford.