Fringman

Hi all Next year I will graduate from UPF Econ, which means I will be applying to master programs in just a couple months. My aim is to continue my education and eventually get into a decent PhD program, either in continental EU or in the UK -- I'm not too optimistic about my chances at the top US ones, and even then, there are additional costs of moving to another continent for that long. That said, I would not rule out getting into industry should a good opportunity come down the line. This kind of makes BGSE MSc Econ an obvious choice for me, yet from reading in forums and talking to some alumni who ended up going elsewhere for their masters (UCL, TSE) I don't see the decision as clear-cut as it seems on paper. For one, the comments and information that I have read of the program has been rather contradictory so far: opinions range from very satisfied with the course and its rigour -- which some compared to LSE EME -- to very disappointed. My impression is that going for the advanced track is risky and failing to place among the best of the class will hurt your chances to be admitted in doctoral programs. However, there is seemingly little value in worrying about this as I assume not doing the advanced track guarantees that you won't get there either. Interestingly, I noticed that students on the 'applied' masters held higher opinions of their courses than their counterparts in Econ. Another point that makes me hesitate is the reputation aspect. While the school regularly manages to place their stars into top US programs (I know a recent case of a student who went to MIT) I don't know that much about the average student. For example, they do not require the GRE and have accepted students with Q scores on the 70 percentile range, which is quite low. It seems to me that despite the rigour of the program, the BGSE brand is not as well known as other competitor institutions offering similar programs. Provided I am able to get admitted and ignoring the funding aspect (for now), I get the impression that attending the likes of Oxford MPhil or Bocconi ESS might offer a better safety net in case I change my mind about pursuing a PhD. Hence, I wanted to know about alumni and current students at BGSE. What were your impressions? Do you regret studying there? How about placements in PhD programs in Europe and industry? Thanks!