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Hello! New user here. I'm an applicant from the USA who wants to pursue a masters in economics before (likely) pursuing a PhD in economics after completion. I don't have an undergraduate background in economics (information tech), and therefore I saw a masters as a good intermediary step. I was accepted to Boston University's MA in economics and Barcelona GSE's masters in economics. These are both my top two choices in schools. My strategy is to complete either program to the best of my ability, then pursue a research related position in back in the US. Based off of both websites, either schools has decent placement in both academic and non-academic areas. Here are my pros and cons for both: BGSE: Pros: Cheaper, depth and breadth of courses Cons: Not close to any major cities BU: Pros: Reputation of US uni, located in a major US city Cons: Price, course options are fairly standard and dry Where I received most placement information: Alumni Career Paths: Economics | Barcelona Graduate School of Economics Outcomes Your master’s degree comes with a side of the world | Economics BU isn't as transparent, however their welcome webinar provided some clue as to how well they place at least in the private sector. BGSE's website puts a favorable light on their program, but there is some bias obviously on how well they rate themselves. Any feedback is appreciated. Thank you!

Hello all First time poster here. This forum has been crushing my dreams for the past month, so I figured I should at least post something as well. I am currently a sophomore double majoring in math and economics at a mid sized, un-ranked, non-econ-PhD, public university. Lately, I have been considering obtaining a PhD after graduation (ideally at a T10 to T30). Also, given the fact that my school is un-ranked, I've been considering transferring (to CU Boulder to be specific). I'm wondering if this is worth it or not. I'll list some pros and cons just to give an idea of how I currently feel about doing this. Pros: -Better ranking -Tuition is likely the same as where I'm at right now -Better connections/ opportunity for research Cons: -Throw away the relationships I have with my current professors (which are all very good) -Dealing with the bullshit of transferring -CU Boulder's undergrad program still isn't ranked that high. Not sure if it would really impact my profile that much. -CU Boulder is much larger than my current school. I probably wouldn't have close relations with my professors as I do now. I don't want to get into my current profile, but I am qualified for much more selective schools and was accepted to a couple decent colleges out of high school; I just have a hard time justifying paying the amount they were asking for tuition (I think undergrad degrees are currently very over valued), even after some substantial scholarships. Obviously, there is no way to value these pros and cons, so its hard for me to judge this decision. I guess this comes down to how much institution rank is weighted in the application process relative to other factors. Any advice would be very helpful.