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Duke MA & Living in Durham - questions!!!


pch

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Hi there! I am considering accepting an offer from Duke. But before I do so, I'd like to learn as much as possible about the city and the program, especially that I've heard and read some scary stories about Durham.

 

How much is an acceptable amount of money to live in Durham? I do not plan on having a car, I am totally happy to use a bicycle as long as there are not too many hills on the way. I'd prefer to live no more than 2 miles from campus (and grocery shops!) but a more walking distance is preferable, as I've heard public transportation is not that developed (is that right?). I do not mind a place of lower standard but a must for me is to have my own room. I totally do not mind sharing a 2 or 3 bedroom house/apartment and do not need to have my own bathroom although this would be preferred. I am rather indifferent between furnished/not furnished but probably semi-furnished would be best. Given those criteria, is it possible to find a room for 400$ (utilities included!)? If not, how much would do? Are prices usually stated including utilities or not? If not, roughly how much would it cost (internet/water/electricity/gas/ whatever else there is to pay for)

Is 800 or 1000$ per month enough to live on? (transportation/food/accommodation/other daily expenses)

How much does food cost? Would this differ if I would cook most/some meals at home?

 

Do students usually purchase their own textbooks or are the libraries well equipped?

 

If you happen to know something about the MA program in particular, would you please share your thoughts, give some hints, etc.?

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I'll answer in between your text:

 

Hi there! I am considering accepting an offer from Duke. But before I do so, I'd like to learn as much as possible about the city and the program, especially that I've heard and read some scary stories about Durham.

 

How much is an acceptable amount of money to live in Durham?Durham is pretty cheap. I have excellent living conditions, with a room-mate, all utilities included for $500. Beer is around $3. Dinner on campus for $6-12, dinner off campus for $10-20. Plus lots of cheap fast food. I do not plan on having a car, I am totally happy to use a bicycle as long as there are not too many hills on the way. I'd prefer to live no more than 2 miles from campus (and grocery shops!) Personally I think the best location is around "Trinity Heights" which is the area north of east campus. Don't go too far north though (i.e. not north of Guess Road). I live in this area, and it's excellent. The more north you go the lower the income level of your neighbors, but it's still very safe. but a more walking distance is preferable, as I've heard public transportation is not that developed (is that right?) Public transportation is developed, but it's very slow and limited to certain times. It's difficult to plan around. I know some people living between Duke Forest and the Durham Freeway who used the bus regularly. I do not mind a place of lower standard but a must for me is to have my own room.Who would share a bedroom? Some people I know have what I'd call "acceptably low standard" and share with 1-3 room mates, at LaSalle street, and they pay around $400. I totally do not mind sharing a 2 or 3 bedroom house/apartment and do not need to have my own bathroom although this would be preferred. I am rather indifferent between furnished/not furnished but probably semi-furnished would be best. Given those criteria, is it possible to find a room for 400$ (utilities included! Yes it is. Most likely you'd be looking at $350-650 and utilities not included. If not, how much would do? Are prices usually stated including utilities or not? No. If not, roughly how much would it cost (internet/water/electricity/gas/ whatever else there is to pay for)Electricity $90 winter months, $60 in summer, water+trash = $40. So you are looking at $100-$150 for basic utilities. Then add $20 or so for internet. But thats divided by the number of people you live with. Usually I hear people with 1-2 room mates paying around $50.

Is 800 or 1000$ per month enough to live on If you mean after rent, yes. I know people who don't feel they suffer at all who get by on about $800 per month. (transportation/food/accommodation/other daily expenses)

How much does food cost? I mentioned this already. But a solid dinner at the Penn Pavilion is around $7.50 with/without a drink included (varies). You'll pay about the same for lunch if you eat a nice baguette at Au Bon Pain or something from Panda Express. Would this differ if I would cook most/some meals at home?Yeah, the prices above are beyond some people's budget, and they cook their own food. The MA/PhD program has a fridge in the economics building for this purpose!! here you can store your home-made meals throughout the day.

 

Do students usually purchase their own textbooks or are the libraries well equipped? Libraries are fairly well equipped. If you're early you can borrow a book for the semester. A lot of students have questionably legal resources where they find most of the textbooks online. Just ask the international students and they will know about this. Also you can buy books from previous students.. or in some cases professors provide so good notes that you don't need a textbook at all. Textbooks won't hurt your budget. The absolute max per semester is $200-300. More realistically you can get away with spending $100 or even $50 per semester.

 

If you happen to know something about the MA program in particular, would you please share your thoughts, give some hints, etc.just I know just about anything there is to know about it, but my opportunity cost is high.

 

 

You said you heard 'scary stories' about Durham..I just asked some current students, and no one knows about any other MA students who have been robbed or in any other way felt threatened. However, I know of quite a few cases of stolen bikes. The problem with the bikes were that they did not use heavy-duty U-Locks. I also know of one student who got her laptop stolen at the library at Duke. However, laptops get stolen at all schools. I frequently left my laptop around duke's libraries and it never got stolen. Take some effort to conceal it. And use a bad-*** $40 lock for your bike, and it will be safe. I biked a lot and nothing ever happened to my bike due to my secure lock.

 

Now the more scary stuff. There are a few armed robberies that have occurred around campus. Usually around midnight. I have never heard that they've gone bad though. I.e. they stick a gun in your face, and you give them your valuables, and everything works out nicely. Remember though, I never know of anyone in the program who experienced this. The best solution to avoid this is not to travel alone when it's dark on the outskirts of campus (campus is huge) or downtown. (I travel alone at dark all the time, no problem, but I'm not that scared). This problem can be solved by (1) biking fairly fast and having a lot of flashy lights on your bike, or (2) using Duke's Safe Ride Car / Van service. Check the Van service limits and try to find a place to live WITHIN these limits. Then you can get a free Ride home at night, every night. A lot of my friends would use this service regularly.

 

So if you familiarize yourself with the steps you can take to stay safe, safety really isn't an issue. Most universities in downtown areas have safety issues. Also there are certain places you should not live, since they are less secure than others. i.e. some apartment complexes. I don't remember the names of them right now, but there should be resources available online that lists this. or you could contact the MA program assistant or Duke PD.

 

You also should come here in person while looking for an apartment if you can. I did that, and asked around where it was safe to live. Some places cars got broken into a few times ever year, but in other neighborhoods (i.e. 4-7 blocks north of east campus car robberies were unheard of).. Go see a place and ask neighbors. I also asked Duke PD or other police officers I came across.

 

So this covers fiscal and safety issues related to Duke. When it comes to the program itself it's very flexible. I would say that your success, either if you want to go into academics or industry, is extremely dependent on your own effort. If you do well, network with professors, and plan strategically, it can be a gateway to great industry jobs or excellent academic placements. If you don't really put in a solid effort or act strategic (i.e. for academic placements that would relate to getting good RA jobs etc) you won't do all that well. Now it's hard to be more specific here since I don't know your background or your goals.

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Cerealist, thanks a lot for your reply, that's really helpful!

To clarify, I meant 800 or 1000$ per month including rent. I know this will not be a lot (especially 800$ !!!), but I am ready to be sparing and am quite aware that it will mean I will not be able to afford many many things. Unfortunately, I will need to finance myself out of pocket as I am not eligible for any loans in the US so this is not a choice.

 

Regarding safety, reports of gun point robberies are actually the thing that got me a little worried, together with some general reports of extensive gang activity in Durham. While I know how to behave myself in rougher parts of a town, guns are just not something I am in any capacity familiar with as we can;t even have them in my country. So I'd rather avoid places where this may happen. Other sort of crimes I think I know how to prevent from happening, as much as one can prevent them.

 

I wouldn't want to keep asking you thousands of questions, so perhaps I'll ask about just one more thing: how does it work with getting a TA/RA? From what I know, most students get one only after the 1st semester, but is it relatively easy? I've read there are different types of those RA/TAs and some pay roughly 1000 $ per month while others only 600$, is this correct? Is it also possible to work over the summer, but full time? If so, do many students do that? Roughly how much does it pay?

Now it's hard to be more specific here since I don't know your background or your goals.

Well, my goal is to get into a top 20 econ PhD program. I have some deficiencies in my profile that I would like to make up for, do things like taking some more math, get some good recommendation letters, have some RA experience.

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Cerealist, thanks a lot for your reply, that's really helpful!

To clarify, I meant 800 or 1000$ per month including rent. I know this will not be a lot (especially 800$ !!!), but I am ready to be sparing and am quite aware that it will mean I will not be able to afford many many things. Unfortunately, I will need to finance myself out of pocket as I am not eligible for any loans in the US so this is not a choice.

 

Regarding safety, reports of gun point robberies are actually the thing that got me a little worried, together with some general reports of extensive gang activity in Durham.
I'm here right now, and I had no idea of extensive gang activity. I don't really think it's much different from other universities in cities with a large lower-income population.
While I know how to behave myself in rougher parts of a town, guns are just not something I am in any capacity familiar with as we can;t even have them in my country
America has lots of guns. Get used to it.
So I'd rather avoid places where this may happen.
Thats difficult..
Other sort of crimes I think I know how to prevent from happening, as much as one can prevent them.
You shouldn't expect to be robbed, but pretend as if it may happen. i.e. always carry cash, so in case you get robbed the robber is happy.

 

I wouldn't want to keep asking you thousands of questions, so perhaps I'll ask about just one more thing:
Yes don't ask me thousands. I will only answer 244.
how does it work with getting a TA/RA?
Many ways.. there's a new deal with the SSRI that gives a lot of MA students RA jobs. They offer good $$$ for sure. But you should also make sure that it provides you with the necessary faculty interaction that will provide you with a solid letter of recommendation (IF you want to do a PhD!).. If you end up RA'ing with say a PhD grad student as your supervisor, it's not necessarily very valuable for your purposes. To get into a top school you'll probably need personal letters from respected professors vouching for you -- something that comes from personal interaction with that faculty member. That's why a good strategy is to PROACTIVELY reach out to professors whose research interest you and try to find RA work with them. You'll need to show some enthusiasm and skill to succeed in this. It's easier to find work with empirical guys, and then you'll want to know a bit about STATA and MatLab. Possibly also SQL for Data work. For Theorists you might be able to get a job doing lit reviews or proofing their algebra. But mostly count on people needing help with empirical work (theorists might occasionally want to do empirical stuff).
From what I know, most students get one only after the 1st semester, but is it relatively easy?
It depends on you… It's not very smart to get a job the first semester, since you will most likely get blown away by the coursework, and you need to be able to focus on school. If you have RA/TA on the side while struggling with classes you might be in over your head.
I've read there are different types of those RA/TAs and some pay roughly 1000 $ per month while others only 600$, is this correctng about
Yes.. I think there are some SSRI RA gigs that pay $4000 per semester, requiring about 10hrs of work per week. Also most TA jobs pay $4000 per semester and require 5-15 hours of work per week. Some of these TA jobs can be fairly easy and add a lot of $$$ to your income. Some Schools under Duke have bad TA pays though, watch out for that. i.e. they pay you an hourly wage barely above $10. But there are ways around this. Usually you'll get the solid $4k per semester. For RA jobs you can have an hourly wage of $11.50 to $14.50 an hour. In some cases there's a fixed pay for the whole semester (more lucrative).
Is it also possible to work over the summer,
Yes
but full time?
Yes 39.9 hrs per week.
If so, do many students do that?
A few
Roughly how much does it pay?
There are different pay scales.. The 'worst' one is the $11.50 an hour. So if you work 40 hrs (when there are no classes, during classes VISA requirements cap you to 19.9 if international) you can make like $450. You lose around $90 in taxes, so thats $440 extra per week that you can bankroll. Remember that you might get better jobs than that though. Schools and departments pay differently.

 

Now it's hard to be more specific here since I don't know your background or your goals.

Well, my goal is to get into a top 20 econ PhD program. I have some deficiencies in my profile that I would like to make up for, do things like taking some more math, get some good recommendation letters, have some RA experience.

 

So you want to get into the top 20s. That should always be doable. The MA program has a lot of flexibility and you will be surrounded by a lot of opportunities to do RA work.

 

If you want to break into the top 10, you will want to make sure that you GRE is decent BEFORE you enter the MA program. You don't want to waste time on that once you are here. I had Q164 which I think was borderline, but got me into T10 finance programs. I think Q164 will get you past the GRE filter at most Top10 schools, but maybe not all. A Q166 should make you feel very safe. Verbal.. Don't know.. at least 50th percentile. AW? 3.5 is the absolute bare minimum if the department cares about AW. if they dont, well then they don't. 4.0 is maybe enough. 4.5 is safe… Don't end up going to Duke and having to retake the GRE while there.. thats a waste of time, as I said. For the 10-20 range.. you might even get away with Q160 or above, and worse Verbal and AW scores.

 

On the math side, you want to take real analysis (advanced calc or basic analysis I) fairly quick if you haven't taken it already.If you already have real analysis you don't necessarily have to take more math. Your first semester you will likely take (but don't necessarily have to) Microeconomics your first semester. Either PhD or Micro. These are both really useful courses, but both can be very hard if you haven't had proof-writing or real analysis experience before. So I strongly urge you to take some time to get a grasp of this before starting, if you can! I don't know who will be teaching it, either Krishna or Yildirim; but I would consider e-mailing them in advance asking for some pointers on how to prepare. A lot of kids struggle their first months because they can't properly write or read a proper proof. This is something you have to know, since we're not in undergrad anymore, and the program is way more rigorous than say a european biz school curriculum.

 

Alright, I hope I didn't scare you. The program is great, but demands a lot from you, and it is nice to be somewhat prepared. I owe a lot to the program, and I know that it can certainly work wonders for you. If you want me to clarify anything just let me know.

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Hi, I just got accepted to MA Economics at Duke and I am debating between going to duke or UBC in canada (they give me scholarship + TA worth $15,000). It would cost lots of money to go to Duke (especially when they dont promise any financial aid and TAs+RAs job probably wont be a big offset to the tuition) and I want to get a job after finishing the MA. Since I dont plan to pursue Phd in Econ can you guys comment on the job placement at Duke. Thanks.
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Hi, I just got accepted to MA Economics at Duke and I am debating between going to duke or UBC in canada (they give me scholarship + TA worth $15,000). It would cost lots of money to go to Duke (especially when they dont promise any financial aid and TAs+RAs job probably wont be a big offset to the tuition) and I want to get a job after finishing the MA. Since I dont plan to pursue Phd in Econ can you guys comment on the job placement at Duke. Thanks.

 

Yes Duke is very expensive, and the UBC deal seems to be pretty good. Duke industry placements are what I'd call up and coming. People recognize the Duke name, and they know that you come out of it with solid technical skills. However, very few firms (and none of the big ibanks etc) specifically target Duke MA students for positions. I think this is about to change somewhat, since the program is more and more often getting contacted by recruiters for various think tanks, banks etc who are interested in Duke MA Econ students. So in general at Duke you won't be targeted by say Morgan Stanley or McKinsey, which you definitely would be if you were taking a Masters in Economics at London School of Economics. I don't know what it's like at UBC though. I can't even place UBC on a map, since I never would consider living in Canada. No offense. But it's Canada. I do however suspect that UBC Masters students may be targeted. As far as I know Masters are more recognized in Canada than in the US.

 

I commented on this before once, how as an MA student in the US you are generally hard to 'box' by the recruiters. You are too tech savvy for an undergrad, but lack the experience of an MBA. Now I think Duke is a great program, but I'm really not sure that it would dominate UBC. Especially with the big difference in cost, even though Durham is really cheap.

 

So you should ask Duke about recent placements (this is not properly listed on the website), and compare them to recent placements by UBC. Specifically you want to know if you are targeted by recruiters at UBC, if you are -- this is golden. You don't have to explain your education to them, they'll already know and want you. At Duke recruiters generally will come for either undergraduate juniors or MBA students, and as an MA student you kind of have to fit into one of these categories.

 

So to summarize. As with academic placements, the industry placements vary a lot at Duke. I know a bunch of people who got their dream jobs, and some people struggling to find a good job. There might be less variance around the median placement at a place like UBC… even though the medians may be similar.

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I was just a little concerned because I think none of the cities where I've lived so far had those 'bad' neighborhoods so safety of the area wasn't a criterion when looking for accommodation. Walking alone at night also never was an issue. But you put my mind to rest, I will not worry about that.

 

It's good to hear about abundant RA/TA opportunities. As you've mentioned, I really hope to gain some experience working for a prof and as a bonus earn some $$ to help me pay for my living.

 

If you want to break into the top 10, you will want to make sure that you GRE is decent BEFORE you enter the MA program. You don't want to waste time on that once you are here. I had Q164 which I think was borderline, but got me into T10 finance programs. I think Q164 will get you past the GRE filter at most Top10 schools, but maybe not all. A Q166 should make you feel very safe. Verbal.. Don't know.. at least 50th percentile. AW? 3.5 is the absolute bare minimum if the department cares about AW. if they dont, well then they don't. 4.0 is maybe enough. 4.5 is safe… Don't end up going to Duke and having to retake the GRE while there.. thats a waste of time, as I said. For the 10-20 range.. you might even get away with Q160 or above, and worse Verbal and AW scores.

I got a decent GRE score already, 169 in Q and 160 in V. My AW score is a little low, 3.5 but I really hope schools will give me a break since I'm not a native English speaker. It would feel like a waste of time to retake GRE just to improve the AW score.

 

On the math side, you want to take real analysis (advanced calc or basic analysis I) fairly quick if you haven't taken it already.If you already have real analysis you don't necessarily have to take more math. Your first semester you will likely take (but don't necessarily have to) Microeconomics your first semester. Either PhD or Micro. These are both really useful courses, but both can be very hard if you haven't had proof-writing or real analysis experience before. So I strongly urge you to take some time to get a grasp of this before starting, if you can! I don't know who will be teaching it, either Krishna or Yildirim; but I would consider e-mailing them in advance asking for some pointers on how to prepare. A lot of kids struggle their first months because they can't properly write or read a proper proof. This is something you have to know, since we're not in undergrad anymore, and the program is way more rigorous than say a european biz school curriculum.

 

Alright, I hope I didn't scare you. The program is great, but demands a lot from you, and it is nice to be somewhat prepared. I owe a lot to the program, and I know that it can certainly work wonders for you. If you want me to clarify anything just let me know.

 

Thanks for the advice. I definitely will take real analysis as I didn't do it in undergrad. I may take some other courses from the math department as well but not sure which ones yet. I am already reading through Simon and Blume to get some prep and refresh material from undergrad before coming to Duke (if I decide to come, I am still not 100% sure, but the generous tuition fee waiver I was offered makes this a very attractive choice) and might pick up a more advanced textbook later if time allows. It sounds like a good idea to contact the profs before coming to Duke, I might do that.

 

Do you think there are any professors who's letters of recommendation may carry particularly more weight in applying to PhD programs later on? Of course, I know that first and foremost the prof must know me well for the LOR to be good, but perhaps some profs are better connected than others?

 

Is the summer semester (a third semester) an interesting option? I could not find a lot of info on it. Are there even any courses offered over the summer?

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pch, are your from europe? if so, why duke > bcn? I don't think duke is better than bcn for phd placement (actually, the opposite), and i'm not sure bcn would be more expensive than duke (how much does the GSE master cost? did they offer you some funding?).

two good options anyway, you'll be fine at both schools.

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pch, are your from europe? if so, why duke > bcn? I don't think duke is better than bcn for phd placement (actually, the opposite), and i'm not sure bcn would be more expensive than duke (how much does the GSE master cost? did they offer you some funding?).

two good options anyway, you'll be fine at both schools.

 

Yes, I am from Europe. The thing is, Duke just offered me an 80% tuition fee waiver which would leave me paying roughly 12000 $ for tuition for 1.5 years, that's roughly 8500 Euro. BGSE gave me 50% tuition fee waiver, so that leaves me with 7000 Euro for tuition. However, Duke also offers TA/RA opportunities so in the financial sense it dominates BGSE, as living costs would be more or less comparable (at last as much as I can estimate them at this moment). I cannot take any loans in Spain just like in the US. I also look forward to do RA for academic reasons. I don't like the BGSE program being rushed over 9 months, especially that I won't be able to apply for doing PhD next year anyway. On the other hand, BGSE has more faculty in whose work I am interested but I figured at BGSE i won't have the flexibility to take their courses if following phd track anyway, so the only chance would be to get one of them as thesis advisor. That is still nice, but makes it less attractive than I initially thought.

 

I am still waiting for Bocconi ESS to get back to me. I haven't got an acceptance from Bocconi (yet) and even if I do, I do not know if I get a tuition fee waiver. But if they will give me a tuition waiver, I will consider it very seriously over Duke. Unfortunately, money will be the deciding factor but as you've mentioned, either of the schools is good and I'll be happy wherever I go.

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I think RA positions are there at BGSE as well, you just need to ask. Also, expect to spend 2 years in BCN if you decide to go, first one of MSc and second of RA / preparation of apps.

People from BCN master tend to very successful when applying for Ph.D's in the US. But I don't know much about Duke in this respect.

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Answering:

 

Thanks for the advice. I definitely will take real analysis as I didn't do it in undergrad. I may take some other courses from the math department as well but not sure which ones yet. I am already reading through Simon and Blume to get some prep and refresh material from undergrad before coming to Duke (if I decide to come, I am still not 100% sure, but the generous tuition fee waiver I was offered makes this a very attractive choice) and might pick up a more advanced textbook later if time allows Simon and blume has a lot of useful maths, but what I know it's not proof heavy. What you need to rehearse is your analytical proof-writing and logic skills. Never mind Simon and Blume and pick up a good Intro Proofs or Intro Analysis book. Thats whats going to be the challenge the first semester. I don't think Simon and Blume will explain how you can show that if a_n converges to b and b_n converges to b, and a_n > b_n for all n=1,2,3…, then a>=b, and it may be the case that a=b. These are the kinds of problems you may face. It sounds like a good idea to contact the profs before coming to Duke, I might do that. ​Just don't ask questions that you could have figured out by yourself!

 

Do you think there are any professors who's letters of recommendation may carry particularly more weight in applying to PhD programs later on? Haha, yes of course. Of course, I know that first and foremost the prof must know me well for the letter of recommendation to be good This is true. also you should ask the professor directly if he is comfortable recommending you strongly to the range of programs you are targeting. If the Prof thinks you are a 15-25 applicant, but you ask him to recommend you to the top 10 range, he might be hesitant in his writing, which may be bad. but perhaps some profs are better connected than others?Yes of course, the connections of the faculty vary tremendously. In the end, what you want is that the profs on the adcom knows and or respects the person who wrote your LOR. Often their repec ranking or the quality of the journals they publish in may be an indicator of this. You could also look at where they've been before, who they co-author with, etc.

 

Is the summer semester (a third semester) an interesting option?Well I assume you want to do 1.5 years or 2 years. So in that summer in between you can take some courses like MA Adv Macro, MA Finance theory, PhD Real analysis for Econ, and some other stuff. Ideally you'd spend your summer doing research for a professor, doing supervised research or interning at something like the fed. I could not find a lot of info on it. Are there even any courses offered over the summer Yes as I just wrote.. But if you take classes you can only work (get paid for) 19.9 hrs per week. If you don't take classes you can work (get paid for) 39.9.

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Actually, they've told me they do not ever offer RA positions to Master students and were also unwilling to give me a TA (maybe because I don't speak Spanish, who knows). Spending 2 years in BCN would definitely make this program much more expensive than Duke, so I don't think this is an option for me for financial reasons alone. I think I'll be fine with Duke. The program seems very nice and offers at least everything that Barcelona offers. It is mathematically rigorous (and Duke math department is ranked at least as high as its econ department), allows you to take PhD level courses, has plenty of opportunities to work with professors, assigns every student a mentor to come up with what's the best curriculum to follow. As a bonus, I get an award (the tuition waiver I got is the 2014 Duke Economics Scholar Award as they called it) that I can put on my CV ;)

I also think it is difficult to directly compare placements between Barcelona and Duke because people who go to Duke must have 4 years of university so these are people who could directly try to apply to PhD if they wanted to, whereas in Barcelona I assume most people have had 3 years. This means that to objectively compare the programs, one would need to see what sort of an improvement in their perspectives do Duke Master students get vs. the improvement that Barcelona GSE students get (as in, they could have been equally successful with a different Master) rather than compare pure outcomes. Anyhow, Duke placements seem very decent and I wouldn't say their 2013 placements (Duke University | Economics: Placement) are worse than Barcelona's (http://www.barcelonagse.eu/tmp/pdf/placement13econ.pdf). However, one very attractive thing about Barcelona is the possibility to progress to UPF PhD program which in itself is a very decent program.

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Yes, I am from Europe. The thing is, Duke just offered me an 80% tuition fee waiver which would leave me paying roughly 12000 $ for tuition for 1.5 years, that's roughly 8500 Euro. BGSE gave me 50% tuition fee waiver, so that leaves me with 7000 Euro for tuition. However, Duke also offers TA/RA opportunities so in the financial sense it dominates BGSE, as living costs would be more or less comparable (at last as much as I can estimate them at this moment). I cannot take any loans in Spain just like in the US. I also look forward to do RA for academic reasons. I don't like the BGSE program being rushed over 9 months, especially that I won't be able to apply for doing PhD next year anyway. On the other hand, BGSE has more faculty in whose work I am interested but I figured at BGSE i won't have the flexibility to take their courses if following phd track anyway, so the only chance would be to get one of them as thesis advisor. That is still nice, but makes it less attractive than I initially thought.

 

I am still waiting for Bocconi ESS to get back to me. I haven't got an acceptance from Bocconi (yet) and even if I do, I do not know if I get a tuition fee waiver. But if they will give me a tuition waiver, I will consider it very seriously over Duke. Unfortunately, money will be the deciding factor but as you've mentioned, either of the schools is good and I'll be happy wherever I go.

 

 

I'm from Europe and chose duke > BGSE. I didn't know that people tended to stay back for another year doing RA work etc, if this is the case then it makes the program a better competitor for Duke's program. Duke's program gives you quite a bit of time and flexibility, if used wisely it can really get you places.

 

If you want to get into a Business School PhD Duke >> BGSE due to Fuqua. If you want to do Econ, then I don't think there's any strict domination.

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Anyhow, Duke placements seem very decent and I wouldn't say their 2013 placements (Duke University | Economics: Placement) are worse than Barcelona's (http://www.barcelonagse.eu/tmp/pdf/placement13econ.pdf). However, one very attractive thing about Barcelona is the possibility to progress to UPF PhD program which in itself is a very decent program.

 

Don't worry about getting into UPF Ph.D., you'll achieve that at both programs. Honestly, as BGSE is mentioned here whenever people ask for suggestion I thought BGSE placements for doctoral study were MUCH better! I can count at least 3 master programs in Europe who place at least 5 (and often many more) people into T10 programs.

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  • 3 weeks later...

hello!

 

I am also accepted to MA Economics program and as international student I am concerned with housing issue. I am more inclined to off-campus housing as it seems to be a lot cheaper than dormitory.

I have been browsing through duke list, but most of listings are for summer sublet. Will more housing listings appear as academic year ends?

What tips you can give in housing search issue?

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