the_asker

Chalk one up for my list of Columbia "cons". Haha, just kidding. Thanks, Karina. Now I know where the OP finally went. This is such a tough decision to make...

Wow, this is some great stuff I'm happy to hear about since I didn't make either fly-out. Golden Rule: Great! That clears up a lot of questions I had in mind about Woodford and the Finance group. I guess the only thing I'm wondering about now is how Berkeley and Columbia compare in Finance at this point. Any thoughts? econphilomath: Thanks for all that recent info. In fact I am very much into the macro fields, which does make the choice far from easy for me.

Yep, those videos will certainly make my list of Berkeley "pros".

Thanks for the candor, Golden Rule. Is Woodford really available to work with? The "better place overall" argument could very well win me over in the end, but I will definitely take a closer look at those names you mentioned. Also, do you know of any current student who chose Columbia over Berkeley? I also notice that there is no "Finance" heading when the faculty are grouped by field on the website. What does this mean? It would be great to hear from a current Berkeley student as well. (And we all know who she is...)

Bumping this thread for any new insight you guys might have. I'm facing the same choice as the OP did last year, except that at Columbia I'd have full funding and at Berkeley I'd be funding (at least) my first year with an external scholarship. I don't have well-formed research interests at this point. What should I do?

The reason I'm asking is that I've been accepted with partial funding to my target school, and will only be able to go if I receive external funding. The decision on an outside scholarship I applied to will most likely be in past the 15th, which of course is after the deadline to take my place at another school that offered me full funding. I'm considering asking for an extension, but I hesitate to do this because the usual channels (i.e. online confirmation) will probably be cut off on the 15th and I'm paranoid about missing vital information.

TruDog--Thanks a lot. I've certainly been asking around like crazy. I just never really anticipated that this process could last beyond the 15th! YE--Sorry for being crabby. I so don't wanna be that sort of humorless economist. LuckyKid--You're right. But I assume the situation is the same with respect to the departments regardless of my reasons?

Really? Thanks, that's comforting news. Is it just me or were the first two replies totally un-funny? Maybe it's just my anxiety that's sapping my humor. Or maybe they are just annoying.

I know it is looked down upon, but are there any real penalties for letting go of previously confirmed offers a few days after April 15? Alternatively, do schools permit extensions on the deadline?

While we are on the topic, maybe you guys also have some ideas on what types of economists make the most money from non-academic jobs.

Is the effect that big? Is it generally the case that the WB would be more interested in development people, the IMF in macro people, etc? What place do microeconomists have outside academia? Just getting my backup plans in order here. I suppose since more than 50% of econ PhDs wind up in non-academic positions there shouldn't be a shortage of data points. What I am really looking for is a list of viable non-academic options for each field.

Institution: Northwestern Program: PhD Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: ? Notified through: Website Might I just interject that this thread is now the most viewed ever!

Don't be cruel! Not all of us can be admissions sophisticates. :p

Me too!

Could it be that NWU is already done with its rejections? I am quite excited!