MSc Economics: UC3M vs Barcelona GSE

[Vinci]

Hello,

 

I have been admitted to the MSc Economics at Barcelona GSE and UC3M. Both are one-year long courses.

 

Issue: I got no funding. And Barcelona costs twice as much as UC3M. I know Barcelona GSE is generally seen "better" than UC3M, hence why I want to know how much better Barcelona is than UC3M and whether such prestige gap is worth paying twice as much.

 

Interests: Econometrics and Macroeconomics.

 

Which course would you opt for if you were in my position? Which is a better option if I decide to apply for a PhD in the future? Which is one is better for the private sector?

 

Thanks in advance

Edited May 10, 2020 by Vinci

[dogbones]

Have you checked the placements at both of the masters? That would probably answer how much “better” one is than the other... but I think both are reputable globally.

[Vinci]

Hey, yes, I've checked :) I just wanted to get the opinion of people from this forum.

 

Thanks!

[tutonic]

If you're unsure if you want to do a PhD, then you should look at industry placements for both programmes. If you have decided to pursue a PhD, then maybe consider taking the advanced track at BGSE. The reason for this is because the Advanced track at BGSE is tough (since it is essentially PhD coursework), and so it's borderline meaningless to suffer through it if you're not planning to do a PhD.

[ahududu]

Honestly, even just normal track is hard enough and known by the schools and because of that it still gives you the opportunity to enter top 10 PhD Econ programme in US. Taking advanced track at BGSE would place you either MIT or Harvard.

PS I mean by taking is getting very good grades etc.

[tutonic]

Honestly, even just normal track is hard enough and known by the schools and because of that it still gives you the opportunity to enter top 10 PhD Econ programme in US. Taking advanced track at BGSE would place you either MIT or Harvard.

PS I mean by taking is getting very good grades etc.

 

This is completely false. Over the past 3 years (17 to 19), the highest that students from BGSE placed were 1 in Princeton, 1 in Columbia, 1 in Minnesota, 1 in Boston U, 1 in UCL and 1 in LBS. That's actually not that great of a placement history, considering how large the incoming class is each year. The majority of students end up staying at UAB or UPF.

[ahududu]

My friend is currently doing his masters in BGSE and his friend who is also doing his masters in there got into Columbia, by only taking normal track courses. While my sample size is extremely limited, I was only pointing out the fact that it is certainly "doable".

[tutonic]

There's a difference between what's feasible and what's possible. While it's entirely possible that a star candidate that went through BGSE can get into Harvard or MIT, it's certain not feasible to expect as much, given the placement data of the past 3 years. The complete placement list for the past 3 years is available online if you Google for it.

 

As always, it's better to err on being a tad pessimistic/prudent than being overly optimistic. If you apply to lower-than-expected range of schools, you'll definitely get a few admits, while the same definitely can't be said if you're overly optimistic about your profile.