Wellesley vs U Chicago for Economics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Need to consider which school more likely to exist in 50 years. Lots of SLACs struggling.

Wellesley has the 30th largest endowment in the country; it's not Hampshire. I think it'll be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Need to consider which school more likely to exist in 50 years. Lots of SLACs struggling.

The idiots have arrived.

[Anonymous]

Remember that there’s a big difference between choosing an undergrad and a graduate school. For graduate, you go to the best department that you can get into. But for undergrad you consider the whole school experience. And also the very likely possibility that somebody will change their major times Agree with everyone above who has said these are very different schools with very different student experiences. Your kid should check out both and see which feels like a better fit for her.

[Anonymous]

I strongly recommend you visit and go with the school environment that your daughter feels is the right fit for her.

FWIW, I majored in Economics at Wellesley back in the day. It was and is a great department, and there are many opportunities for majors to work with professors. I went on to get my Master’s and Ph.D.in Economics at an Ivy, and my best friend there had done her undergrad work in Economics at Chicago. She loved being at a big university, but her experience was consistent with the “where fun goes to die” reputation. It was intense.

Congratulations to your daughter and good luck!

[Anonymous]

DD was rejected by both these schools!! OP, please share the stats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What would they like to do with the degree?
Chicago's grad programs would be top 5 but as an undergrad school, it just doesn't have the same reputation even with all the policies to maximize USNWR rankings over the last 20 years.
Also, this is one of the first times I've seen someone who has Chicago and other options. Congratulations on getting in RD! They wait-list and pressure to commit and encourage ED about as much as any other place. Are you still waiting on other schools too?

Does Chicago have a huge WL?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD was rejected by both these schools!! OP, please share the stats.

OP here. Sorry to hear about your DCs outcomes at these schools and trust/hope that she will have great news in the coming weeks! Stats: Top 10 percent of class in top DC private (guessing). 1580, Strong but non-standard ECs at the national/international level. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I strongly recommend you visit and go with the school environment that your daughter feels is the right fit for her.

FWIW, I majored in Economics at Wellesley back in the day. It was and is a great department, and there are many opportunities for majors to work with professors. I went on to get my Master’s and Ph.D.in Economics at an Ivy, and my best friend there had done her undergrad work in Economics at Chicago. She loved being at a big university, but her experience was consistent with the “where fun goes to die” reputation. It was intense.

Congratulations to your daughter and good luck!

Thanks! Was your undergrad experience roughly in the last decade or so or prior to that?

[Anonymous]

My niece graduated as an Economics and Statistics major from UChicago in 2018 (I think; could've been 2016). She undoubtedly got a very good education there and is doing very well professionally, but said that the quarter system makes life very difficult, and called the curriculum "arbitrarily difficult". You really have to be willing to work hard for the grades. This is not to say she didn't have any fun at all, she did. And she made some amazing friends that she has traveled the world with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think U Chicago produces more Nobel prize winners. Wellesley can be easily confused with Wesleyan; their names sound similar.

UChicago does produce Nobel Prize winners but most of them associated with the university didn't go there. Of those who did, many went for grad school rather than undergrad: https://www.uchicago.edu/en/who-we-are/global-impact/accolades/nobel-laureates

Those are fake awards cuz look how these nobel laureates mismanaged UChicago endowment. Arguably, Chicago is known for its economics. Yet, Uchicago is cash strapped. Go figure.

One of the PP said, "Wellesley can be easily confused with Wesleyan; their names sound similar." U of Chicago can be confused with many other provincial city universitirs - U of Dayton, U of Potomac, U of Chesapeake Bay. U of Chicago can be easily confused with U of Hildago; their names rhyme together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I strongly recommend you visit and go with the school environment that your daughter feels is the right fit for her.

FWIW, I majored in Economics at Wellesley back in the day. It was and is a great department, and there are many opportunities for majors to work with professors. I went on to get my Master’s and Ph.D.in Economics at an Ivy, and my best friend there had done her undergrad work in Economics at Chicago. She loved being at a big university, but her experience was consistent with the “where fun goes to die” reputation. It was intense.

Congratulations to your daughter and good luck!

Thanks! Was your undergrad experience roughly in the last decade or so or prior to that?

I graduated from Wellesley this century but not in the last ten years. I do have a niece who has attended in the last decade, and we shared a fairly similar college experience at the heart of it all, despite the almost 20 year difference.

I loved the place, and it was the right place for me to land at 18. My niece would say the same. There is a real community at Wellesley, and I enjoyed majoring in Economics (not my intention when I arrived — was planning on majoring in Physics, but that is another story) while at the same time being able to take a variety of other classes. I took and Art history class that changed the way I look at art, learned a third language, and did research with a science professor. That is the beauty of a liberal arts college. In addition, my professors at Wellesley were excellent teachers. I appreciate their talents all the more now that I am a college professor myself. My niece majored in biology and music. She is in med school now and has told me how much she appreciated being able to take a wide variety of courses while still being prepared for med school.

Like I said, my grad school friend liked her U Chicago days, although she would be the first to tell you that they were intense. Wellesley and U Chicago are pretty different places. I imagine that a visit to each will move the dial in a direction for your daughter. It’s a great choice to have!

[Anonymous]

First, congrats to your daughter on two fine choices. Assuming that your family can afford to send her for campus visits (and that there isn't a huge discrepancy in affordability between the two schools), she should visit both of them and then make her decision based upon lived experience.

Yes, Chicago has a renowned Econ department. So does Wellesley. But I would argue that anyone choosing a school based upon perceived opportunities should attempt to discern whether they're skewed towards any particular subset. Wellesley, more than any other school, is a pipeline for women whose ambition is to succeed on Wall Street or in academia as high ranking economists. How many Wall Street offers to Chicago alums went to men versus women?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think U Chicago produces more Nobel prize winners. Wellesley can be easily confused with Wesleyan; their names sound similar.

They do not get confused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC into both. I know that UChicago has a super stellar rep for economics. But, attention to undergrads is reportedly poor. Wellesley OTOH seems very strong in its pedagogy. Anyone with kids/experience in these schools able to offer any insight?

The trick is to place into ECON 20010 as a freshman via a 5 in micro (and do well by knowing both actual microeconomics [via MIT OCW or another rigorous source] and basic optimization (which might require a bit of self studying)). This puts the student on track to take graduate courses before they graduate, which is where they can get the resources. Obviously this requires being an exceptional (or at least ambitious) student, and if you're worried about DC getting "lost in the crowd", then choose Wellesley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Undergraduate economics is an easy major at any university, so other aspects should determine which college to go. My kid turned down sports recruit offers from liberal arts schools that are better than or on par with Wellesley to go to UChicago, unlikely to major in Econ.

Undergraduate economics can be easy if the student wants it to be. It can also be very, very challenging - see above