igotshoe

Heres some random resources from their website. Dig around to see if you can find stuff. Index of /files

beer and pizza is the common one at my school.

I think its tacky, but everyone has their own personal style and I wont hate on you for it.

It is a bit ridiculous that you cant deal with this on your own, but one tip of advice is to make sure it has an internet browser (preferably 3G capacity).

go to the philly museum of art if you get a little free time. picasso, pissarro, van gogh, monet, manet, and a cezanne special exhibit. just got back from there this week, enjoy the upenn visit!

i vote duke, excellent placement recently and good research connections.

its not terribly hard to figure out some people based on the info they put on here. it took me maybe 30-45 minutes to find out jeeves real name after he mentioned where he went to school. as a rule just dont post anything online that you dont want attached to your name.

I agree a full profile would be better to evaluate your situation. However, I do not believe that MS in Math is strictly preferred over MS in Stat, as it depends on your specific interests in economics. I am looking to pursue a MS in Stat eventually because my interests are in asset pricing and econometrics, so my coursework would be highly beneficial in the long run. Also keep in mind that some MS programs have a flexible curriculum that allows for econ/stat/math courses to be taken (possibly at PhD level). Get a full profile on here and we can help more.

I voraciously read newspapers/news articles. As in I monitor the news constantly while I'm awake.

From second hand info, I've heard that they come the week of 23rd.

You are aware that Columbia is in NYC and cost of living is very high there as well? I would choose Stanford because of brand name and the tremendous flexibility of the curriculum.

Cornell actually has a very cool environment. Ithaca is a trendy/hipster type of town with a great variety of food and some pretty solid bars. Winters are kind of rough, but nothing that cant be handled with some good shoes and a jacket. I would say go to Cornell without a doubt!

I wouldnt count on transferring upwards. Since you are admitted, send some emails to professors you are interested in working with and get a better feel for the programs.

If you are looking into finance you will be a Quant, which is a field dominated by Math/Physics/EE/Stat/Econ/Finance PhDs. No prior experience is necessary and you can intern during the summers you are in the PhD program. Thats most likely how you will line a private sector job up.

CFA is a professional designation directed at the investment management field, not of much benefit in academia and I would say next to nothing for admissions. I think your time would be better spent doing other things as the self study takes roughly 6 months of prep time per test (3 tests). My recommendation is to not even bother.