kt253

We used Atack's book in my undergrad american economic history class. It has a nice balance of historical data, discussion, and relevant economic models. Edit for link: http://www.amazon.com/New-Economic-View-American-History/dp/0393963152

I'm going to buck the trend and say Georgetown, based only on your interest in Macro. Funding matters quite a bit, and I don't think JHU has a clear edge over Georgetown for the private/government jobs that you're shooting for. Now if you think your interests may change, I'd change that recommendation to Austin. It's a great school but its relative strengths are in micro fields.

I am just posting to say that I agree with this sentiment completely. Don't miss your friend's wedding for math camp - missing a few classes of math camp is very trivial compared to attending and participating in your friend's wedding.

Whoa deja-vu. This may be of some interest - (possibly) some faculty weighing in on the same issue. helicopter parents « Economics Job Market Rumors

I definitely agree that loans are an option. My post was just meant to caution against excessive optimism when deciding whether or not to get a loan for the first year.

The problem with this comparison is that those schools don't have prelims to get through (I don't think). You just pay, do well enough in your classes, and then graduate. No one can genuinely expect to breeze through prelims (one could simply fail due to having a couple of bad days), so you have to ask yourself if, worst case scenario, a $55k master's (potentially more if you must stay another semester or two before receiving a master's) would be worth it.

I think it means $30k - $40k range.

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Hulk86 got nominated and chosen for a university fellowship, and those decisions happen relatively early. Last year, regular TA offers followed a couple weeks afterward.

When I visited last year, I was told that they had a target class size of around 10-12.

Lily714, I think your list of ag econ programs looks pretty good. I honestly think you could shoot a bit higher on the straight econ PhD side of things. I don't think your undergrad institution or letters will hurt you at all (except maybe for top 15-20 schools). In fact, even if your letter writers are relatively unknown, if they all sing your praises, the admissions committees will take notice and give weight to that. I came from a well-known but not well-reputed state school with relatively unknown letter writers, and was offered admission at MSU, UIUC, Vanderbilt, and more. Don't be afraid to shoot a bit higher - one of my biggest regrets from last year's application cycle is that I applied to too many lower-ranked programs and not enough reach/mid-tier schools. I was worried about precisely the same things you are. One school you may want to look at adding to your list is Michigan State (both econ and ag econ). From what I've seen, the ag econ program here seems pretty strong and there are a few people doing environmental econ as well. Hope this helps and good luck with everything! Edit: You also have a good amount of math, which will bode well for you. You should also discount the hype that having taken RA and having a grade in it before sending applications is crucial. It won't hurt you that much (if at all) at schools ranked 20-30 and below.

He's actually a professor emeritus at GMU and "advisory general director" of the Center for Study of Public Choice. He's hardly active from what I hear, and you can't expect to work with him if you go to GMU.

That list seems pretty good to me. You may also want to consider Vanderbilt for law & econ and history. They're quite strong in these two areas.

As a minor point of correction, it's West Virginia University. The public choice professors there are Russell Sobel, and Roger Congleton (recently hired BB&T Chair who came from GMU) as of this fall. Andrew Young is also there, who may be considered Austrian but also does lots of mainstream work. Overall, though, the department is pretty mainstream. Suffolk seems decent too, but it's still a very new program. Ben Powell is there, not sure of anyone else, and the Beacon Hill Institute is there if you'd be interested in doing some work with them. I'm surprised no one mentioned this already, but Florida State is another great place to check out. They have Randall Holcombe, James Gwartney, Bruce Benson, and more, and plenty of mainstream people as well, along with a strong experimental program. I'd say FSU and WVU would be the best out of the schools known for having a free-market bent yet still providing a well-rounded education. Steevomtnbiker, I realize you didn't really ask for the information regarding whether the departments have a mainstream aspect to them, but I think this aspect is important to take into consideration. There are pros as well as cons that come along with attending a notoriously heterodox program such as GMU. If I'm not mistaken, the schools OneArmedEcon mentioned in his second post are heterodox programs with a left bent (not sure about Utah, Riverside, or Missouri, KC). This may or may not matter to you, but I just figured I'd point it out. Also, I second his recommendation of UC Irvine for public choice.