Irrational

Maybe you can take a look at other decent Master's programs that do not cost 12k EUR, e.g. in France, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia.

I agree, a "methodology of economics" course would be an important component of the economics undergraduate curriculum. I am happy to tell you that such a module is actually offered at my home university. From personal conversations, it seems the most common complaint of an undergrdaute economics student is the lack of realism. And without understanding how models work and the role of "assumptions vs. predictions", students understandbly get frustated quickly. Hence, this is not only an issue about philosophy of science but moreover about the motivation and happiness of students. How does the economics student feel lacking any intellectual tools to defend himself against society's mockery of economists believing humans to be emotionless machines, not predicting any crises, ... ?

This gives me the chance to post an excellent showcase of how economics (or its methodology) can learn from philosophy. Interestingly, Friedman confounded distinct types of assumptions in his original article leading him to the "false" conclusion of "the more significant the theory, the more unrealistic the assumptions." The following article written in a precise manner that I presume is characteristic for the philosophical profession, elaborates. http://wiki.helsinki.fi/download/attachments/65148549/%27UNREAL+ASSUMPTIONS%27+IN+ECONOMIC+THEORY_+THE+F-TWIST+UNTWISTED..pdf

Institution: University of Toronto Program: MA Economics (Doctoral stream) Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 05/05/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:

Institution: University College London Program: MSc Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: no Notification date: 04/26/2011 Notified through: snail mail Posted on GC: no Comments: It is conditional on finishing my Bachelors with minimum 1.5/5.0.

Note, though, that the last year of European high school (at least in Germany) is equivalent to first year of US-bachelors (at least mathematically speaking). Thus, this should not make a too big difference intself. It does make a difference through the longer exposure to an academic environment facilitating more research etc.

Institution: London School of Economics and Political Science Program: MSc Economics and Philosophy Decision: Accepted Funding: no, will not apply for funding. Notification date: 04/19/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: It is conditional on finishing my Bachelors with minimum 2.2/5.0. This was my second preference after the EME. They asked me via e-mail to shortly state the reasons for my interest into the program, since my SOP did not mention any philosophy.

Institution: Queen's University Program: Master of Arts Economics Decision: Rejected Funding: - Notification date: 04/13/2011 Notified through: e-mail after I inquired about my application status Posted on GC: no Comments: I guess they have only very few places for international students. Maybe, I should've said in the application, that I do not require funding.

Institution: University of Cambridge Program: MPhil in Economic Research Decision: Accepted Funding: no Notification date: 03/31/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: It is conditional on finishing my Bachelors with minimum 1.5/5.0. This was the same for Oxford, might be interesting for future applications from my country who consider applying to Oxbridge.

Institution: Boston University Program: Master of Arts in Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Nope Notification date: 03/23/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments:

Institution: University of British Columbia Program: MA Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: TA (10,914$) and possibly reduced tuition fees Notification date: 03/17/2011 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: -

Given your research interest, it seems that Frankfurt fits you best. From what I hear the other three programs are especially strong in micro/metrics. Have a look at the faculty that does finance/macro. Frankfurt has Inderst, Faia, Fuchs-Schündeln and Fratzscher is also giving phd courses. Frankfurt is also (one of) the financial centers of Europe, so this possibly improves job opportunities in the private (financial) sector.

Given your confidence in your mathematical abilities and assuming that you do enjoy the math, EME seems to be the better choice. I don't think that the additional intution of an Oxford MPhil to EME (if there is any at all) outweighs the reputation and rigor benefits of the latter program. Maybe an interesting idea might be to ask, whether you can take some math courses as Oxford? I do not know, whether this is a good signal, but it might be. (Can somebody comment on this?)

If I were in your situation, topologist, I would probably go for Oxford. Maybe following questions help you How good does your research interest fit to the department's strenghts? How important is leisure time? (I heard that EME is the most time consuming econ Master) Locational Preferences? What kind of campus spirit do you prefer? Where will you perform the best and (thus) be able to interact with professors the most? My feeling says, that performing good in the MPhil is somehow easier than EME. The latter might the dominating choice, if you are really into mathematical econ/metrics/theory. I hope this somehow helps, but please bear in mind, that I have never been to either of these institutions. Edit: Just saw you are Math major. Any ideas already, what kind of fields you interested in?

econchef, congrats to your admit! Just out of curiosity: Where are you leaning at the moment, now with Princeton on the table?