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full rank · 03-28-2008, 06:51 PM

I was just wondering if the guys who attended Columbia's visiting day have heard something interesting, or have some impressions to share.
Thanks!!!!

stupidolive · 03-28-2008, 08:03 PM

No one wants to write anything? Personally, I had a fun time with the group who came to visit

Professors seem to be very friendly and encouraging. Students are encouraged to do RA job especially when you only need to do TA for 1 year. They don't seem to weed out people but beginning last year, I think the program set a higher standard in certs and fields. They said the placement this year and before was not great but they believe that the group in job market next year has very strong candidates. They also continue to make offers and expect some good news. The macro group is strengthened. As you guys know, a few years ago, a lot of new faculty came and so the program is expected to be on the rise. The students said that they are happy, and the association of econ grad students organizes quite a lot of events. There are workshops/colloquia everyday. Students are encouraged to work together also. Besides that, there are informal discussion among students on their research. you can take/audit classes in Math/statistics, and people have taken macro class in NYU from Tom Sargent, econometrics from Greene. That sounds cool for me

The negative thing is that it's in NYC. So the workspace is small. The office for grad student is very small and you don't expect to have your own cubicle until 3rd year typically. The computer lab is BAD and it is expected to be upgraded. There is no common lounge and the department is trying to get another floor in the building so we'll see in a year or so... That's what the students told me when we asked for the thing that they don't like the most about the department
Aside from all these things, I like the main campus

stupidolive · 03-28-2008, 08:06 PM

econphilomath and polka should add something?

we were treated pretty nicely in the Open house except that New York tour (personally for me

)

ekonomiks · 03-28-2008, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stupidolive

The negative thing is that it's in NYC. So the workspace is small and you don't expect to have your own cubicle until 3rd year typically.

PhD students at NYU get their own offices (not cubicles) from the first year.

stupidolive · 03-28-2008, 08:24 PM

Well I just meant they blamed NYC for the fact that students do not have offices. But I wonder how NYU manages to do that when they have like 100 students in a PhD program like Econ.

fp3690 · 03-29-2008, 02:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stupidolive

Well I just meant they blamed NYC for the fact that students do not have offices. But I wonder how NYU manages to do that when they have like 100 students in a PhD program like Econ.

They have waaay more money.

Golden Rule · 03-29-2008, 03:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fp3690

They have waaay more money.

Really? Columbia University has a far larger endowment than NYU does, though I believe NYU spends a larger share of its endowment than Columbia does. I have no idea how they stand in relative spending on their graduate schools or the econ depts, which I suppose is more relevant.

And I don't know why space in Morningside Heights would be harder to come by than space in Greenwich Village. But Columbia's expansion into the Manhattanville neighborhood of Harlem should alleviate some of the college/GSAS space constraints, though certainly nothing that's going to help anyone in the near future.

econphilomath · 03-30-2008, 04:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stupidolive

econphilomath and polka should add something?

we were treated pretty nicely in the Open house except that New York tour (personally for me

)

Man my feet still hurt from that 2-hour tour of central park!

So while in general Columbia was pretty cool, I got blisters!!

I got the feeling things are getting a whole lot better at Columbia and they had pretty good excuses for there bad placements last year. (bad as in people making ridiculous money in industry)

I asked a professor there what the worse thing about Columbia was, and he responded that it was their history/reputation but that it was changing, and I believe it. I got a pretty good vibe from students but the fly-out was not stellar in the organization since we had little face time with profs. I did leave with the feeling that Columbia has a few strengths that are competitive even with the Cambridge schools (monetary because of Woodford and friends/henchmen) but across the board it is not that great comparded to some of the top 5 programs. I like some development guys there too.

Housing (BIG PLUS) is really close to the campus (across the street!) and I really loved the neighborhood. I could definitly spend 5 years in NYC at Columbia's subsidized housing!! As for details, for 1000/1500 you can get a 1/2 bedroom apartment with varinging room sizes but most are pretty ample if you ask me. Also unlike some NYU deals, housing is assured for 5 years...or so I was told.

Also you can make 10k extra in the summer doing ra work as a friend in 3rd year has been doing so the stipend of 25k ends up at 35k working through the summer.

All in all, I think its a risky project but it might turn out to be pretty interesting and fulliling to be a part of a new project ! Plus more than one person will go there for NYC.

Also I had never been to NYC but it is very nice and very not nice at the same time. Columbia is in the nice....

Golden Rule · 03-30-2008, 07:01 AM

Re: placements, I'd also note that next year's class on the market is really the first to reap the full benefits of the year they made 7 senior hires. (those in their 5th year would have been 2nd years when those people came on). Obviously that changed the whole landscape of the department. In addition, the department has done a lot more within the last year or two to create a better research environment for students in providing a wider variety of colloquium for student presentations. I have to believe this'll help a great deal. Before that my understanding is the dept. didn't provide nearly enough structure for students beyond year two. All this contributed to pretty small class on the market this year. I think these are better excuses than $.

I think whichever prof. said "history/reputation" is the worst thing about Columbia gave a silly answer. Seriously? Lots of places would love to have Columbia's history. 4 Nobel prizes, beyond that Milton Friedman, Jacob Mincer, John Bates Clark, Lancaster... c'mon. So I assume what was meant was recent history/reputation, which wasn't so great, but I don't think that matters too much. I don't think people care too much about what Columbia was like 5-10 years ago, and people are quick to recognize when a place is changing. Anyone who is saying "reputation" is still a problem is using it as an excuse. Reputation will change when the output changes.

I stand by the previous posts in the thread that space is the worst thing about Columbia, and I feel like I've been waiting for the extra floor on SIPA to open up for a while. It's not just about student space (nice libraries and apartments make up for this), but workspace near faculty and common space to share with faculty beyond just colloquia and seminars. It just makes it harder to chat up faculty in an informal setting. So with all due respect to whichever prof. you spoke with, space is definitely the correct answer to that question.

Good luck with whatever you all decide.

stupidolive · 03-30-2008, 07:06 AM

oops, econphilomath, you like Yale more

wondering how many of you guys who I met would actually enroll into the program

03-28-2008, 06:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
full rank Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 14	Impressions about Columbia's fly-out? I was just wondering if the guys who attended Columbia's visiting day have heard something interesting, or have some impressions to share. Thanks!!!!

03-28-2008, 08:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
stupidolive aja aja fighting Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 446	No one wants to write anything? Personally, I had a fun time with the group who came to visit Professors seem to be very friendly and encouraging. Students are encouraged to do RA job especially when you only need to do TA for 1 year. They don't seem to weed out people but beginning last year, I think the program set a higher standard in certs and fields. They said the placement this year and before was not great but they believe that the group in job market next year has very strong candidates. They also continue to make offers and expect some good news. The macro group is strengthened. As you guys know, a few years ago, a lot of new faculty came and so the program is expected to be on the rise. The students said that they are happy, and the association of econ grad students organizes quite a lot of events. There are workshops/colloquia everyday. Students are encouraged to work together also. Besides that, there are informal discussion among students on their research. you can take/audit classes in Math/statistics, and people have taken macro class in NYU from Tom Sargent, econometrics from Greene. That sounds cool for me The negative thing is that it's in NYC. So the workspace is small. The office for grad student is very small and you don't expect to have your own cubicle until 3rd year typically. The computer lab is BAD and it is expected to be upgraded. There is no common lounge and the department is trying to get another floor in the building so we'll see in a year or so... That's what the students told me when we asked for the thing that they don't like the most about the department Aside from all these things, I like the main campus _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams -Eleanor Roosevelt Last edited by stupidolive : 03-28-2008 at 08:41 PM.

03-28-2008, 08:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
stupidolive aja aja fighting Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 446	econphilomath and polka should add something? we were treated pretty nicely in the Open house except that New York tour (personally for me ) _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams -Eleanor Roosevelt

03-28-2008, 08:24 PM	#5 (permalink)
stupidolive aja aja fighting Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 446	Well I just meant they blamed NYC for the fact that students do not have offices. But I wonder how NYU manages to do that when they have like 100 students in a PhD program like Econ. _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams -Eleanor Roosevelt

03-30-2008, 07:06 AM	#10 (permalink)
stupidolive aja aja fighting Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 446	oops, econphilomath, you like Yale more wondering how many of you guys who I met would actually enroll into the program _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams -Eleanor Roosevelt

03-30-2008, 07:01 AM	#9 (permalink)
Golden Rule TestMagic Guru-in-Training Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 547	Re: placements, I'd also note that next year's class on the market is really the first to reap the full benefits of the year they made 7 senior hires. (those in their 5th year would have been 2nd years when those people came on). Obviously that changed the whole landscape of the department. In addition, the department has done a lot more within the last year or two to create a better research environment for students in providing a wider variety of colloquium for student presentations. I have to believe this'll help a great deal. Before that my understanding is the dept. didn't provide nearly enough structure for students beyond year two. All this contributed to pretty small class on the market this year. I think these are better excuses than $. I think whichever prof. said "history/reputation" is the worst thing about Columbia gave a silly answer. Seriously? Lots of places would love to have Columbia's history. 4 Nobel prizes, beyond that Milton Friedman, Jacob Mincer, John Bates Clark, Lancaster... c'mon. So I assume what was meant was recent history/reputation, which wasn't so great, but I don't think that matters too much. I don't think people care too much about what Columbia was like 5-10 years ago, and people are quick to recognize when a place is changing. Anyone who is saying "reputation" is still a problem is using it as an excuse. Reputation will change when the output changes. I stand by the previous posts in the thread that space is the worst thing about Columbia, and I feel like I've been waiting for the extra floor on SIPA to open up for a while. It's not just about student space (nice libraries and apartments make up for this), but workspace near faculty and common space to share with faculty beyond just colloquia and seminars. It just makes it harder to chat up faculty in an informal setting. So with all due respect to whichever prof. you spoke with, space is definitely the correct answer to that question. Good luck with whatever you all decide.

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