Charles Lyu

Last year I was placed "very high" on the wl by Upenn but got rejected at the last second.....

One is Suphanit Piyapromdees and the other is Serafin Grundl. It's a strong cohort. I heard a guy has got offer from Cambridge and another person has offer from UCL.

UCSD still has a very strong metrics group. It also has decent applied micro faculty.

I think both of them have good faculty in metrics. Wisc is much better in labor and international finance while UCLA is better in macro. Though Wisc's past placements are not good, they produce two super stars this year. However, LA is a much nicer place. Hope this helps.

Thank you. The faculty at Wisc is strong absolutely! But I lack information about their training and the environment. Actually I have heard something negative about their training and that some professors do not care students much. However, what I heard about training and environment at UCSD is all positive.

A person I know was confronted with the same problem and she finally chose Penn. If I were you, I would choose Penn.

Thanks a lot. I guess the training is not affected much by their financial problems. I know several people who graduate this year as well as a first-year PHD. They all tell me good things about this program. Moreover, since the economy is recovering, the situation can not be worse. Hope the dept can hire more seniors, especially in macro...

Thank you for your information! Could you please tell me more about the good things?

Yes, I think I can bear the weather there. You can not imagine how cold it is in my hometown and there is no heating installation! But I like the sunshine and beatutiful sea in San Diego. They are very appealing!

Thank you very much for your advice. Could you please say more about the value added with training at Wisc? Actually I have heard that some people on the demand side of job market think students from Wisc are not well-prepared compared to those from UCSD. I believe the faculty at Wisc is strong, but I would like to know more about the training I can get.

Hi everyone, Now I have to make a decision between these two schools. Both are good so it is a hard decision. Wisc guarantees my funding for the first four years (TA). UCSD guarantees my funding for the last four years(TA). However, UCSD is now considering augmenting my funding package and most students can work as Summer RA in the first two summers with a salary of $4000 in each summer. My interests are metrics, macro and finance, and I do not like micro theory. But I am an undergraduate student now and many people tell me that it is likely to change interests in the first year. It seems Wisc is rising. They hired Randy Wright, Dean Corbae, Sorensen, Hendricks. They also have Durlauf, West, Hansen and Engle.... I guess Wisc is strong in Labor, IO, macro, international and metrics. However, I heard that the program is very tough, and Madison is very cold in winter...Moreover, the placements in recent years seems not that good. UCSD's metrics is very good, though White passed away and Guggenberger is leaving. I think I can receive rigorous training in metrics there. For finance, there is Allan Timmermann; for empirical macro, they have Jim Hamilton and Valerie Ramey...Many Econ PHD students at UCSD say that the program is very good, the environment is friendly and they are satisfied with life there. However, it seems UCSD is trapped in financial problems, and it doesn't hire any seniors.....Moreover, Macro at UCSD is also weaker than Wisc. I would appreciate it very much if you could provide some information or give me some advice. Thank you!