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bertthepuppy · 07-10-2008, 08:53 PM

I live in Pittsburgh right now and RA for a professor at Pitt, so I am very familiar with Duquesne as an undergrad institution. In Pittsburgh at least, a lot of locals attend because it is a Catholic school and a "safety school," particularly for those who do not want to leave home and do not get accepted at Carnegie Mellon or Pitt. However, since you are an international student you may be regarded higher than domestic students from the same institution, and your excellent undergrad transcript will also help your admission results.

The only major question that immediately drew my attention is that I've never seen a linear algebra class that also covered differential equations. Was this a year long class? Does Duquesne offer an additional linear algebra course to supplement this because I can't imagine covering all the material in a half a semester.

I would agree with mosfro that you should add Pitt or PSU to your list of schools. Best of luck!

treblekicker · 07-10-2008, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertthepuppy

The only major question that immediately drew my attention is that I've never seen a linear algebra class that also covered differential equations. Was this a year long class? Does Duquesne offer an additional linear algebra course to supplement this because I can't imagine covering all the material in a half a semester.

My university (private school in PA) offers such a course. It is a semester long course. It has an applied focus and it uses some diff eq & linear algebra text for engineers-- there are a few of them out there. I never took the course (took both subjects separately). Most of my engineering friends that have taken it hate it.

Karina 07 · 07-10-2008, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by treblekicker

My university (private school in PA) offers such a course. It is a semester long course.

I also took one.

rvalchev · 07-10-2008, 11:18 PM

UPenn and PSU are great tips. Actually I have been thinking the same thing myself. In fact, I am thinking about dropping Berkeley and Stanford altogether and adding UPenn and PSU instead. So it would both be more local and also i will scale down a little bit on the TOP10 schools.

I was just listing the name of the class, but really it should be called Linear Algebra. I think we had a total of 2 weeks going over very basic linear differential equations. So yeah, I basically count it as Linear Algebra only.

A question for bertthepuppy. Could you share any impressions you have about Pitt? I am a little ambivalent on it for two reasons. First, their mathematical disciplines in general are good, but their website did not display any particular strenght/focus on econometrics which is one thing I am looking at. Secondly, Pitt, at least on the undergraduate level, has a pretty gloomy reputation at least in our part of town heh

Do you guys think U of Pitt would be a sensible replacement to say U Washington, if I wanted to do any of the following: Econometrics, Macro, Financial and lately i am thinking may be micro or game theory or something in the lines.

asianeconomist · 07-11-2008, 04:56 AM

I cannot comment on others but U Pitt is supposed to be strong in Experimental. I am not exactly sure that whether you can replace WUSTL with it.

bertthepuppy · 07-11-2008, 02:00 PM

When I talked with the grad director of Pitt about a year ago he said their strong suits were Experimental and Econometrics. The grad director has changed since then though. I know at an undergrad level their economics department is very rigorous. It might be a good safety school for you, despite the rivalry.

Maybe you can take Ph.D. Micro or Macro fall semester at Pitt through the Consortium if your schedule isn't too crazy already. That would give you a little insight into their program and boost your application credentials. I don't know much about U of Washington, so you'll have to turn to someone else for that.

rvalchev · 07-11-2008, 02:48 PM

Did you go visit Pitt and that's how you talked to the grad director? Because I was considering taking a stroll over there. Since there's both Pitt and CMU at less than a 5 minute drive down the same road I figured visiting their departments one day would carry a very small marginal cost.

07-10-2008, 08:53 PM	#11 (permalink)
bertthepuppy Going to be a Badger Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 249	I live in Pittsburgh right now and RA for a professor at Pitt, so I am very familiar with Duquesne as an undergrad institution. In Pittsburgh at least, a lot of locals attend because it is a Catholic school and a "safety school," particularly for those who do not want to leave home and do not get accepted at Carnegie Mellon or Pitt. However, since you are an international student you may be regarded higher than domestic students from the same institution, and your excellent undergrad transcript will also help your admission results. The only major question that immediately drew my attention is that I've never seen a linear algebra class that also covered differential equations. Was this a year long class? Does Duquesne offer an additional linear algebra course to supplement this because I can't imagine covering all the material in a half a semester. I would agree with mosfro that you should add Pitt or PSU to your list of schools. Best of luck! _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ Attending: Wisconsin-Madison

07-11-2008, 02:00 PM	#16 (permalink)
bertthepuppy Going to be a Badger Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 249	When I talked with the grad director of Pitt about a year ago he said their strong suits were Experimental and Econometrics. The grad director has changed since then though. I know at an undergrad level their economics department is very rigorous. It might be a good safety school for you, despite the rivalry. Maybe you can take Ph.D. Micro or Macro fall semester at Pitt through the Consortium if your schedule isn't too crazy already. That would give you a little insight into their program and boost your application credentials. I don't know much about U of Washington, so you'll have to turn to someone else for that. _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ Attending: Wisconsin-Madison

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07-10-2008, 11:18 PM	#14 (permalink)
rvalchev Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 24	UPenn and PSU are great tips. Actually I have been thinking the same thing myself. In fact, I am thinking about dropping Berkeley and Stanford altogether and adding UPenn and PSU instead. So it would both be more local and also i will scale down a little bit on the TOP10 schools. I was just listing the name of the class, but really it should be called Linear Algebra. I think we had a total of 2 weeks going over very basic linear differential equations. So yeah, I basically count it as Linear Algebra only. A question for bertthepuppy. Could you share any impressions you have about Pitt? I am a little ambivalent on it for two reasons. First, their mathematical disciplines in general are good, but their website did not display any particular strenght/focus on econometrics which is one thing I am looking at. Secondly, Pitt, at least on the undergraduate level, has a pretty gloomy reputation at least in our part of town heh Do you guys think U of Pitt would be a sensible replacement to say U Washington, if I wanted to do any of the following: Econometrics, Macro, Financial and lately i am thinking may be micro or game theory or something in the lines.

07-11-2008, 04:56 AM	#15 (permalink)
asianeconomist Loving the game Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 1,017	I cannot comment on others but U Pitt is supposed to be strong in Experimental. I am not exactly sure that whether you can replace WUSTL with it.

07-11-2008, 02:48 PM	#17 (permalink)
rvalchev Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 24	Did you go visit Pitt and that's how you talked to the grad director? Because I was considering taking a stroll over there. Since there's both Pitt and CMU at less than a 5 minute drive down the same road I figured visiting their departments one day would carry a very small marginal cost.

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