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Princeton vrs Berkeley


spike

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Hello dear urchers,

 

I have offers from Princeton and Berkeley and I am trying to make a decision! My interests are trade, macro and firm dynamics. The financial package at Princeton is considerably better than at Berkeley. Apart of this, I think both programs are very even in most respects. Can you please give me some opinions? Thank you!

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I would go to Berkeley. I hate the east coast. I hate it here. I want to go to California and enjoy sunshine and pleasant people again.

 

Realistically, you should go to Princeton. It is a splendid program. It is just located in new jersey, and the surrounding area is awful.

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Something to keep in mind that hasn't been discussed here in great length is that private schools in the tier of Princeton tend to have considerably more financial resources available to them than public schools. This matters for grad student QOL: stipends, quantity of TA work needed from grad students, resources for travel to conferences and other research-related expenditures, etc.
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  • 2 weeks later...
Somehow it looks like Princeton's placement has not been as good as expected in the last few years. What do you think??

 

Insider here.

1) macro/trade group is one of the strongest and consistently places top 10/20 even this year that was rough for macro. (Columbia, NYU, Feds, etc)

 

2) Esteban does this stuff (as do many others) and was chosen best adviser this last year. Quality advising matters folks.

 

3) just hired Gianluca Violante (senior, NYU), Ben Moll stayed (senior, decline NYU) and Gregor Yarosh from Stanford just signed on. Tons of other macro and trade faculty to choose from as well.

 

4) If you like firm dynamics, the IO group (now 6 professors deep, one of the biggest) is also a resource so that macro-IO studying firm investment/dynamics is feasible.

 

Without saying anything bad about Berkeley because its a great place, I think given your interests, the difference between Berkeley and Princeton is at its biggest and favors Princeton.

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Really tough choice. All the Berkeley alums and current students I've spoken to absolutely loved their experience there. It's one of the most nurturing programs. I'm under the impression that Princeton is a bit less warm but with more star faculty. I think the value-add could be potentially higher in Berkeley. (Just one data point, but Berkeley has two people on the Restud tour this year: Restud Tour | The Review of Economic Studies).

 

Obviously, you have advice from more informed posters than me above, but if money weren't a concern and I didn't have strong interests in any particular field, I would go with Berkeley. Also, it's a much cooler area IMO.

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Given the poster had asked about macro-firm dynamics, seems Berkely placements or Restud Tour candidates in Labor or Public are not as relevant. Macro placements at Princeton go to top 10 all the time. Berkeley places labor and public students well but does not really even produce macro. Each place has their specialization and you could say Esteban and Richard Rogerson are the macro equivalent to David Card and Emmanuel Saez of Labor/Public in terms of advising.

 

As a side note NCox berkeley grad doing public-household finance and is one on the tour is going to Princeton.

 

As a second side note, Berkeley has a certain vibe that is cool for sure. Its close to SF as well. Princeton is more chill and compact but close to NYC so has a decent mix with something for everyone as well.

 

As a third side note, IMHO people way over estimate home much the coolness of the area will matter. You will be studying 24/7 for multiple years so maybe work hard now and then get a job at a cool place 😉

 

Really tough choice. All the Berkeley alums and current students I've spoken to absolutely loved their experience there. It's one of the most nurturing programs. I'm under the impression that Princeton is a bit less warm but with more star faculty. I think the value-add could be potentially higher in Berkeley. (Just one data point, but Berkeley has two people on the Restud tour this year: Restud Tour | The Review of Economic Studies).

 

Obviously, you have advice from more informed posters than me above, but if money weren't a concern and I didn't have strong interests in any particular field, I would go with Berkeley. Also, it's a much cooler area IMO.

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^^ totally agree with you that conditional on OP's interests and funding, Princeton may be the way to go.

 

My point was that if I was a malleable sponge that could choose a dissertation based on a school's strengths and had no financial constraints, I would go to Berkeley given this choice. Again, this is my perception of the school's outstanding culture but still excellent placements after speaking with many people.

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