dbags

Thank you everyone for your comments, I feel this was a really fruitful discussion. It's not about a scare attack, its more about the ideology of a place. Like even if homosexuality is criminalized where I come from, it doesn't mean my ideas of liberalism or the tolerance for violence is significantly different from yours. So what scares you, scares me! :cyclops:

Thanks for all the replies, don't reply now! I have picked Boston and rejected everything else :D

@hyrum I do want to live in a good city. These are the days of my youth, and must not be wasted! @foodforthought Too much bias, too little objectivity is making every technique fail! :(

Hahaha! Yes that indeed was to collect some data. Wisdom of the crowds. I just posted a new more informative thread regarding my decision process. Please see and comment :eager:

I have finally shortlisted OSU, UVA and BC out of all my offers. To be honest I am strongly leaning towards Boston College at this point in time. I am considering the following factors, let me know what do you guys feel and if I am missing out on something. Also I am an international students, and hence I don't have a enough information about these schools and all my information comes from not very reliable sources, so any help would be extremely appreciated. Pros of BC over OSU and UVA Location : Being in Boston may have some positive externalities and spill overs in form of attending seminars etc at Harvard, MIT and BU. Placements: I feel that the 2016 placements at BC were exceptional. They had 7 students on the job market, out of which 6 got an academic job and 4 of these are in the US. The top two academic placements of this year were - UCLA Business School and Rice University. While, Virginia had 10 students on the job market out of which 7 have been placed yet. But only one academic placement which was for a Chinese student in China. OSU hasn't released 2016 placements yet. Fit: My research interest are development economics, labor economics (discrimination by gender and race), political economy and a bit of applied micro theory. I don't know much about OSU except that they are traditionally good with experimental and behavioral economics, which continues to be a strength. UVA seems to be hiring more development/labor people but looks like their strength still lies in trade/IO. BC has been traditionally good with macro/financial markets kind of stuff but has lately been hiring people in development/labor. They hired Claudia Olivetti from BU in 2015, who is a very good labor person and seems like a perfect fit for me. BC also has some good people doing micro theory, which is also true for OSU. But this whole fit thing still seems like a grey area. Cons of BC over OSU and UVA Ranking: According to Usnews BC is 32, OSU is 27 and UVA is 30. Funding: Funding at BC ($21,800) is considerably lower than funding at OSU ($24,800) and UVA ($24,000) considering Boston is super expensive as compared to Charlottesville or Columbus. While I don't mind the lower funding per say, but I don't want to starve and die! MISC: Seems like BC is a Jesuit Catholic University, I am not pretty sure where they stand on LGTB rights etc, something that does concern me. On the other hand OSU seems like a super LGTB friendly place to be at. But I believe Boston as a city would be more liberal vs Columbus. This is a personal choice and doesn't matter much in the end, but if I have an option of considering it, then why not. Thanks in advance, for all the valuable feedback that I am about to get!

I am losing it too trying to pick a school. I rejected MSU yesterday, it was pretty sad. I am still confused between Ohio State and Boston College. But I am leaning towards Boston College due to the location factors even though Ohio is slightly up the ranking on Usnews (27 vs 32). Also I will end up being poor in Boston and way richer in Ohio!

Neeeed more votesss!

In a hypothetical situation if you were choosing between these four colleges, which one would you pick? Also mention why, in the posts. EDIT: Field of Interests: development, labor (in particular discrimination by race, caste and gender) and bit of applied micro

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I was on the road for a past couple of days with no stable internet connection and hence had disappeared. I rejected my GW funded offer a week ago. I rejected UMD-AREC and Arizona State today. Also, I got an offer from Boston College last week. While I am excited about the aspects of living in Boston but with the 21k they are giving me, I feel I might not be able to survive. Anyone has any insights on BC and cost of living in the Boston area?

@chirr They took a senior from my school last year, whose profile I think is comparable to me. Also they sent an offer to my friend this year, he rejected it as soon as he got it though. So I don't know how true is the thing about international students. Also I thought the pattern is that they keep rolling out decisions till mid-april? Or is it something else?

Also just noticed, my acceptance says the following - You have been selected to receive an award of merit-based financial assistance. Details will be sent shortly by email to the address you provided on your application.

@barista1234 But it's in Boston! I think my current leaning towards MSU is already making me dread all the cold and dead that awaits me in East Lansing!

I'd say 4. I also got accepted at GW and rejected at UCSD. Also a quick update on Boston College - They are having some internal troubles and financial issues. The department wants to send out more admits but the Graduate school is creating a mess. Once the mess is clean, they will hopefully make more offers or not. Is anyone else here waiting for UBC?

Also, I sent links and asked one of my Profs to eyeball the placements for both the places and tell me which one is a better and he declared OSU as the winner! He isn't really a talker, else I would just ask him why does he feel so. But seems like I am missing something. And regarding the foreign students, we really don't know if they choose to go back or they have to go back as they don't make the cut for the US Job market.