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Berkeley (very low funding) Vs Columbia (high funding) Vs LSE (decent funded)


deconomics

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I one of those was fortunate enough to get some good offers but I have no idea how to decide between them. I get the impression that out of that three Berkeley is by a margin the highest ranked department but I only got partial funding during the first year and you have to pay 'nonresident supplementary tuition' as an international student which means I'd be broke the whole time I was there. On the other hand Columbia, whilst lower ranked has offered me a much more favourable fellowship. Does the ranking even matter for much? I'm struggling to get a straight answer to that. Also, how does LSE rank compared to those two?

 

Apologies if this is a stupid question or annoys people who didn't get offers from one of those places. Any info/advice would be hugely appreciated.

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I'd take Columbia>LSE>>>Berkeley in this situation, unconditional on research interests. Berkeley and Columbia both offer very good training (probably both top 5 in that regard - Berkeley is strong at everything outside of theory), but that difference in funding equals a lot of valuable time in your grad school career.
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If you feel like you would definitely go to Berkeley with more funding, you could tell them, explain your situation, that funding is an issue (find out more about the nonresident tuition as well). Do they give you funding after year 1? Do your other offers require you to TA less?

It might be that they are able to give you the funding or pay the tuition if that's all that's keeping you away. I wouldn't ask for that though unless you are prepared to take the improved offer.

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In Columbia you'll still get people like Urquiola and Naidu who both happen to be Berkeley products and can give you the whole reduced-form/IV experience in public finance and labor. I really don't think there's enough difference in faculty or training between these two places, in any field, that warrants being nearly broke as a grad student.

 

Keep in mind that Berkeley is doing this to you not because they're more selective, but because they're genuinely broke (there's another thread today with a student facing the same decision with UCLA). This is not likely to get better within the next five years, so faculty retainment is a question as well.

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In Columbia you'll still get people like Urquiola and Naidu who both happen to be Berkeley products and can give you the whole reduced-form/IV experience in public finance and labor. I really don't think there's enough difference in faculty or training between these two places, in any field, that warrants being nearly broke as a grad student.

 

Keep in mind that Berkeley is doing this to you not because they're more selective, but because they're genuinely broke (there's another thread today with a student facing the same decision with UCLA). This is not likely to get better within the next five years, so faculty retainment is a question as well.

 

I'd say Berkeley has done a good job in keeping their seniors during the past few years. And with the improvement of economy in California (or the States as a whole), the darkest hour has passed and faculty retainment may not be a huge problem, at least not the deal-breaker.

 

Back to OP's question, I'd go to the visit day to all three before I make a decision. You might get some fundings from Berkeley if you have some actual face time with people there. Besides, grad school isn't all about rankings, there are other factors that comes into your utility function.

Edited by illogic
correct grammar
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Cheers for the advice everyone. I think my best bet is Columbia at the moment (although LSE has the advantage of being in my home country so it's a tough choice). Will update with info on where I end up in the end.

 

I would say LSE>Columbia, and forget about Berkley. But then again, if you have more funding from Columbia after adjusting for cost of living, then you can't go wrong choosing it.

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