Northwestern vs. UMich

[Milkshakes]

I've been admitted into a couple of econ PhD programs and the two I am considering are Northwestern and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. I'm having a hard time deciding which one to pick.
Northwestern is strong in metrics and things like industrial organization, which is interesting to me, but labor, which is another area Im thinking of specializing in, is particularly good at Michigan. Also, I guess Northwestern is a bit more prestigious, overall.
A source of concern is that Northwestern has 3 prelims (metrics, in addition to the usual 3) and 2 need to be passed in June to get a TAship, while Michigan, like most schools, has 2. Seems like a risky venture.
Finally, I actually confirmed my acceptance at Michigan, since I assumed that Northwestern didn't admit, as I didn't hear from them until 2 days ago. Then, on the same day that I accept Michigan, Northwestern tells me I got in. I'd feel bad telling Michigan NO only a few days I said YES...
Any thoughts on all those things? Comments are much appreciated!

[jeeves0923]

I wouldn't worry so much about the extra prelim. They've accepted you because they think you can pass.

Visit both. Go where you will do your best work.

[Antonio]

Personally giving my interests I would prefer NWU.
However, I want you to know something: just two days ago, the 2 of April, I wrote to Igal Hendel that I declined their offer. Immediately you got in!
This sounds a bit messy to me.....did they tell you before that you were in some kind of wait-list?

[Milkshakes]

Originally Posted by Antonio

Personally giving my interests I would prefer NWU.
However, I want you to know something: just two days ago, the 2 of April, I wrote to Igal Hendel that I declined their offer. Immediately you got in!
This sounds a bit messy to me.....did they tell you before that you were in some kind of wait-list?

No, actually I found I got in on April 1st

[binky]

Originally Posted by Antonio

However, I want you to know something: just two days ago, the 2 of April, I wrote to Igal Hendel that I declined their offer. Immediately you got in!
This sounds a bit messy to me.....did they tell you before that you were in some kind of wait-list?

Why does it seem messy that another person is admitted once a spot is freed up? Seems rather logical to me.

[Stuy]

Is the financial situation equal in both places?

[asquare]

I'm at U-Mich, so I may be biased. However, here's my advice:
1) Visit both schools. If that's not possible, talk to faculty on the phone. It's important to get a sense of how you would interact with faculty and other students, and to decide which department is a better fit for your interests and style of learning.
2) If you want to do IO or metrics, NW is inarguably better. For labor, I think U-Mich is better. We have a strong group of junior and senior labor faculty, and students doing labor continue to place well upon graduation.
3) Don't choose a school because of the prelim schedule or number of exams. In the end, the prelims are not the most important part of graduate school. They are a hurdle you have to get past, but your research, and therefore the ability of the department to mentor your research, matter a lot more.
4) You can change your decision until April 15. It won't make you popular, necessarily, but every department wants students to come because they've chosen to be there, not because they feel "trapped" by a decision made with incomplete information.

Good luck!

[Thesus]

Before April 15th, they won't actually act on the fact you said yes to Michigan - nothing you say is set in stone until that fated date.

Even if it would be a secretarial hassle on their end, don't feel bad about it - this is something that could change your life one way or the other.

[Chicunomics]

Originally Posted by Milkshakes

I've been admitted into a couple of econ PhD programs and the two I am considering are Northwestern and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. I'm having a hard time deciding which one to pick.
Northwestern is strong in metrics and things like industrial organization, which is interesting to me, but labor, which is another area Im thinking of specializing in, is particularly good at Michigan. Also, I guess Northwestern is a bit more prestigious, overall.
A source of concern is that Northwestern has 3 prelims (metrics, in addition to the usual 3) and 2 need to be passed in June to get a TAship, while Michigan, like most schools, has 2. Seems like a risky venture.
Finally, I actually confirmed my acceptance at Michigan, since I assumed that Northwestern didn't admit, as I didn't hear from them until 2 days ago. Then, on the same day that I accept Michigan, Northwestern tells me I got in. I'd feel bad telling Michigan NO only a few days I said YES...
Any thoughts on all those things? Comments are much appreciated!

Given what I know about Northwestern's admissions so far, I'm assuming that you don't have funding at Northwestern for the first year. If you have funding for the first year at Michigan, I think the department is strong enough that you should seriously be considering that. However, if funding is not an issue, consider that Northwestern's placements in its strong areas like theory, metrics, and IO would blow Michigan's out of the water (on average...there was a Michigan placement to Harvard in IO last year!)

That said, Northwestern has more holes, in terms of fields, than the average top 10 university. If you are not sure about what you want to do, and especially if labor and public finance could be something you'd be interested in, then Michigan does deserve more attention.

The first-time fail rate is something that has also concerned me in the past, and I'm not sure exactly how funding depends on that, and how many people fail only 1 exam, but at least, despite that fail rate, only 2 or so people are leaving the program every year because of it. And like jeeves says, they wouldn't have admitted you if they expected that you would fail!

[ekonomiks]

Any decision made before April 15 is not binding, according to a resolution passed by the Council of Graduate Schools, of which U Mich is a member.