Schools for economics majors NOT business or finance

[Anonymous]

My sophomore is just beginning to think about college. He's interested in majoring in economics but he has no interest in business. What schools have strong econ departments focusing on using econ to answer policy questions, not prepare students for business, finance, or consulting jobs?

He thinks he's interested in small to midsize schools in suburbs or college towns (not urban).

[Anonymous]

Williams, or really any of the NESCACs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Williams, or really any of the NESCACs

OP. Based on my 30 year old knowledge of Williams, I think of them as having a lot of kids who want to go to McKinsey, etc. Maybe that has changed.

[Anonymous]

I went to Wesleyan and took about six Econ classes there. This was a couple decades ago, but I really liked the Econ department. My impression is that it continues to be strong.

[Anonymous]

Penn State

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Williams, or really any of the NESCACs

OP. Based on my 30 year old knowledge of Williams, I think of them as having a lot of kids who want to go to McKinsey, etc. Maybe that has changed.

PP. That is where a lot of Williams econ students go upon graduation, but my sense is the classes aren't geared to that -- the education seems still very much an intellectual deep dive into economic theory and analysis.

[Anonymous]

Strangely enough, you probably want to look at top programs at schools that have an undergraduate business program.

Only reason I say this is that Economics is basically the thing closest to Finance at SLACs and most Ivy schools (Penn excepted).

Many of the Econ majors at these schools are gunning for Wall Street, consulting, etc. At colleges where you can actually major in Finance, seems like the kids are more interested in pursuits outside of the Wall Street and consulting world.

[Anonymous]

Agree with NESCACs. Williams does have a funnel to the street but the others don’t really. Wesleyan and Tufts are both v good in Econ.

[Anonymous]

Most econ programs that are not in a business school are oriented toward policy. The econ major is not designed to prepare students for business or finance jobs. However, many econ majors would like to get those jobs and so take courses outside of economics, for example in finance and accounting. A student that really wants to get into policy should take math as an undergraduate and then apply to graduate programs in economics.

[Anonymous]

Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (a Chicago suburb) has about 8,000 undergraduates and is a powerhouse in economics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sophomore is just beginning to think about college. He's interested in majoring in economics but he has no interest in business. What schools have strong econ departments focusing on using econ to answer policy questions, not prepare students for business, finance, or consulting jobs?

He thinks he's interested in small to midsize schools in suburbs or college towns (not urban).

Two choices: The Republican Party or the Democratic Party.

[Anonymous]

OP: There is no such school at the undergraduate level, but all undergraduate econ programs offer courses on policy.

[Anonymous]

Pretty much any liberal arts college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Strangely enough, you probably want to look at top programs at schools that have an undergraduate business program.

Only reason I say this is that Economics is basically the thing closest to Finance at SLACs and most Ivy schools (Penn excepted).

Many of the Econ majors at these schools are gunning for Wall Street, consulting, etc. At colleges where you can actually major in Finance, seems like the kids are more interested in pursuits outside of the Wall Street and consulting world.

I agree with this general perspective. Pure Economics is a substitute for a business major (not just Finance) at many good schools. This phenomenon is briefly referred to in the early part of the autobiographical "Liar's Poker" by Michael Lewis (the Moneyball author).

For Public Policy oriented economics, you could look for a PPE major (Political Science, Philosophy, and Economics). There were a few threads on here earlier this spring about exploring PPE. You could also look at dual majoring in Political Science and Economics. Or you could look for an undergrad Public Administration or Urban Planning degree. It would help if your child could identify what areas of policy are of interest. Use the federal government cabinet departments as a proxy for content areas to review this together. Some specificity is recommended to pick a suitable program.

Here are some suggestions for you to review that are not pure Econ but might be interesting. These recos are based on what my child was considering and are not tied to rankings.

Cornell (ILR or Jeb Brooks Public Policy)
Michigan (Economics, Ford Public Policy)
Michigan State (Urban Planning)
Indiana University (O'Neill School)
Pitt (PPE/Honors, guaranteed GSPIA)

Good luck finding the right school!

[Anonymous]

Cambridge University, which has a strong econ with a math aspect. You will need five APs with a 5, pass the TMUA math test enough to get an interview and then perform well on the interview.