jaqunc11

I'll be going to the Harris School of Public Policy and plan to take a whole bunch of classes at the econ dept, so i would like to get to know you all too. I also just started looking for housing and am starting to stress about it actually. I'm in Chapel Hill, NC right now and things are obviously very small-town. WHen you add that to the fact that i actually spent all three yrs of my undergrad conveniently living in the dorms, i have no experience whatsoever with finding an apartment..and that makes me nervous. I really dont want to live in university provided housing anymore. The current students i talked to said that most do end up living in grad student housing but they usually move out after the first year to apartments nearby. Also, one girl said its quite random whether you get assigned one of the nicer grad housing options or the sucky ones..and they have both. I get the impression that availability is not a problem at all. Given that more than 2/3rds of chicago's student body is grad students, the university has made good efforts to secure a lot of apartment buildings all over campus so that there is ample housing. Also, because its chicago, there are a lot of high-rise apartment buildings all around campus in the hyde park area and around. I searched craigslist and i saw quite a few decent apartment options nearby.

Chicago Harris School - development econ, intl policy I feel like an outsider...an aspiring economist not going to an econ dept for grad school

Does anybody know when the econ dept's math camp starts? I'm in the public policy program but will be taking the micro sequence in the econ dept and have been told to attend math camp at the dept too.

yeah ill be finishing up college in 3 yrs when i graduate in a month now and got into the place i wanted to go to. and i had way less math than you did.

UNC does not have many international econ people either. I think UNC only has Conway left as the intl/trade guy.. and i dont know about econometrics

while some people might find themselves in a situation where there is a slight tradeoff in doing what they love and making more money, i don't think pursuing a career for the love of the field and with some appreciation for the money you will make thru it is problematic at all. the two reasons for choosing that field are compatible, need not be considered mutually exclusive, and both provide incentives for rational people. Of course, we can also argue normatively about which factors/incentives should play the more dominant role in choosing to do an econ phd but that doesnt alter the fact that both are incentives that all of us respond to but attach different weights to individually.

im definitely taking a break after all the past summers spent doing 'productive' things like research, internships, summer school etc. i also spent the last few yrs slaving away in order to finish a four-yr undergrad degree in three yrs need a breaaaaaakkk..altho i need to find something fun to do. i think we need to start a thread called 'fun things to do over the summer before grad school' :)

anybody getting there 8 pm-ish on the 29th?

congrats to you too, cali_love!! Its great to know somebody else is in my position with similar interests and school choices too. I'm talking to a lot of my professors right now although i think i should prolly contact the public policy professors at my school and see what they think too hehe.

Thanks for all the input everybody! In line with most posts, i am leaning toward michigan rather than wisconsin just coz michigan seems a better match interests wise. also, it doesnt hurt that michigan is much closer to the significant other while wisconsin is not. interestingly, chicago and michigan are equidistant from him!..so much for that being the deciding factor! From what i know about faculty and their research interests it seems that mich and chicago are both great fits. It seems like the key issue then becomes whether the marginal benefit of an econ phd over a public policy phd exceeds the marginal cost of no funding...and im referring specifically to the advantage of econ over public policy only in landing policy-related jobs in IGOs like WB, UN here. lets assume my interests will remain the same over the next five years and i will not come out with a burning desire to teach or join an economic consulting firm to make $$$. I must point out that funding for the first year is an issue for me especially since im international and would need to show mich or wisc a guarantee of funds before they issue me visa documents. plus theres the issue of it being hard to take out loans as an international student anyway...there are no other outside sources i would be eligible for, thru my home government or otherwise. also, i think im relatively risk averse when it comes to financing my education with loans.. so any thoughts on whether "the marginal benefit of an econ phd over a public policy phd exceeds the marginal cost of no funding"?

i found this on the fed board's website. i guess i conflated the census bureau's policies to include the Fed too....or something :wacko: Do you employ noncitizens? The Board will hire any qualified person who is a United States citizen or who is not a citizen but meets the requirements of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). As required by law, the Board will not hire any person who is unable to satisfy the requirements identified in IRCA. In addition, citizens and nationals of the United States will receive preference in employment over equally qualified persons who are not citizens or nationals of the United States.

i do believe you cant work at the fed if you're not a US citizen...but zeira's comment abt OPT or CPT allowing those on F-1 to work off campus stands true

Coz many folks seemed to be doing it, I thought i'd also ask everybody to pitch in their :2cents: about what would be an optimal school choice for me. Ive been accepted into michigan and wisconsin econ and the uchicago public policy phd program..only the last one includes funding. My research interests include development issues of all stripes, mostly economics of the family, household decision-making, labor/gender econ, demographics/population etc. I've dabbled in microfinance and credit/child labor and gender issues in my past research projects but am pretty open (and undecided really) as to what i want to do in the future. Im interested in a policy research career at some international organization or maybe a think tank..right now i think i prefer something like the UN/world bank over think tanks but that may change. i really enjoy doing research (thats the reason we're all here and going thru this right?) but i dont really aspire having a position in academia. I know that pursuing a public policy phd as opposed to an econ phd seriously limits one's chances in academia but does anybody know about any such bias/preference for econ phds in the policy field? is a public policy phd rigorous enuff for the kind of work required in those positions or is the research agenda constricted by not having taken the math at the sophistication level of an econ phd? any thoughts would be appreciated :)

can anybody explain the pros and cons of getting a J-1 versus an F-1? im confused..uchicago tells its students that its upto them to decide ultimately and that they cannot make any recommendations

i havent heard anything either and havent contacted them either. but im guessing that even if we're all still being considered, actual chances of getting in would be quite slim