synthxdill

The UCD placements have generally been to better departments, though I don't mean to disparage UW. Their placements are fine. This year's placements contain a few quite good tenure tracks, though it is early and not my place to disclose them yet. Coincidentally, one that you cite for UW is a placement for UCD this year.

It's rare (as of my time at UCD) that ongoing students with good progress don't get funding via TAship or RAship. I've known a few first year students that TAed outside of the department, but generally second year and beyond it is easy enough to get funding. There is an internal ranking system, but in my experience that has mostly effected getting my preferred TA sections.

No there is no difference to anyone outside of the program, or in the program really - honestly no one cares unless it effects funding rankings or something like that. At my school you get bonus points in rankings for TA / RA preferences for the year following the exams.

At my institution, the exams are skewed toward "impossible to get 100% in allotted time unless next Samuelson", so generally people barely pass and a "good" score as defined by the department is quite rare (though my year, there were 2 "good" exams in micro), and scores above that one are simply not given. The program makes you always feel like you could be doing much better, but really they are just hard on you so you feel that way even if you are doing very well. This is an institutional philosophy that seems to work well for us.

This guy is pretty funny. Solid break from grading to read this thread. Glad he didn't get banned, this performance is outstanding.

Self Motivate now. Now I tell you! While there's hope for you yet!

I should say Tulane sends folks to spectacular schools, my inability to crack the top 20 is because I'm not so glamorous, personally. :p

I would think the long term benefits of attending OSU over Rice are positive, but the magnitude is uncertain. In the near term, Rice is an awesome, resource-rich school in a thriving city while OSU is in Columbus Ohio. If you like the program at Rice, it's an easy decision IMO.

Public is still a strength at Davis, though international micro would be the strongest selling point. For instance, see Miller, Stevens, Page, Peri, Center for Poverty Research, and so on. We are also capable in IO on the empirical end. We have a large contingency of micro theorists of whom I know nothing about other than they have made the first year micro sequence memorable and challenging. EDIT: Nashville is going to be the most exciting city to live in, if that's something you are looking for. On the other hand, Davis will dominate in climate and geography. There are mountains to the east and west, San Francisco / Bay Area is a short drive, and the Davis Arboretum that stretches across the south side of campus and the town.

Don't know about this guaranteed funding year 2-5 at Boulder. When I visited, it seemed funding was quite scarce and competitive, actually. I believe they said in my letter it was guaranteed if you have 3.5+ GPA, but when I talked to students, reality seemed a bit different. And it's not like a 3.5 is a walk in the park.

WUSTL is quite good in macro, I believe. Austin, OSU, and WUSTL compare favorably in terms of rankings and placement. Pitt is a great school (GO TO THE VISIT DAY!), but they are seriously lacking macro faculty. I would say the other schools dominate Pitt outright, but I would say from personal experience, having visited both Pitt and UT Austin, I would much prefer Pitt. I didn't get the sense I would enjoy being at UT Austin. Of course, this is my personal opinion. PM me if you have questions about Pitt or Austin, I don't too much about OSU or WUSTL beyond what anyone else would know. EDIT: Should add - don't forget to factor in not having to teach in the first year at Pitt - being able to focus first year courses is a huge advantage. The stipend : cost of living ratio there is pretty sweet.

solid dose of diff eqs in macro at Davis, though nothing complicated.

it's definitely true that most of the users of this forum have the mindset of "top 30 or bust." We think of Economics as prestigious and competitive (correctly) and so breaking into the top 30, and especially top 10, is seen as highly commendable. Folks coming to the forum with the goal of getting into a phd program, no matter what rank, are not seen as accomplishing as much as others even if they meet their goal exactly. I'm not saying that's ideal, but it certainly seems to be the way it goes here.

Power move by TAMU to have a visit day this early. I bet they really invest in their grad students. Would be easy to be impressed / fall in puppy love this early.

Davis is not particularly pricey, provided you have time to find a good deal on housing. The cup doth not overfloweth, but it doth not run dry.