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It's Basic Supply and Demand, Bro

Economics

The "Chicago Boys" Free Market Fan Club

The spiritual home of "Freshwater" economics. They love rational expectations, worship at the altar of Milton Friedman, and firmly believe that most government intervention is a well-intentioned mistake.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL 548 5% 63% / 37% 24% $158,769 —
2 Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh, PA 47 11% 55% / 45% 28% $135,109 —
3 George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
Fairfax, VA 76 72% 75% / 25% 13% $92,354 —
4 Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Stanford, CA 109 4% 51% / 49% 20% $131,586 —
5 Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
Evanston, IL 241 7% 61% / 39% 16% $126,908 —
6 University of Rochester
Rochester, NY
Rochester, NY 59 33% 64% / 36% 51% $95,283 —

The "Saltwater" Keynesian Minions

The coastal elites who believe markets are inherently flawed and the government should occasionally do something about it. High prestige, heavily theoretical, and very likely to produce a Treasury Secretary or Fed Chair.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Cambridge, MA 242 3% 64% / 36% 16% $149,306 —
2 Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
Princeton, NJ 124 4% 62% / 38% 17% — —
3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Cambridge, MA 6 5% 50% / 50% 0% — —
4 Brown University
Providence, RI
Providence, RI 213 5% 66% / 34% 15% $111,194 —
5 Columbia University
New York, NY
New York, NY 277 4% 65% / 35% 29% $124,443 —
6 University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Berkeley, CA 631 11% 53% / 47% 29% $111,182 —
7 University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia, PA 161 4% 63% / 37% 19% $155,343 —
8 Yale University
New Haven, CT
New Haven, CT 165 4% 65% / 35% 18% $126,126 —

Math Masochists & Stata Sorcerers

These programs are practically applied math degrees in a trench coat. If you don't dream in calculus and breathe heavy econometrics, you will not survive here.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena, CA — 3% — — — —
2 Duke University
Durham, NC
Durham, NC 168 5% 61% / 39% 10% $166,349 —
3 Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA 46 15% 61% / 39% 15% — —
4 Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD
Baltimore, MD 42 5% 69% / 31% 19% $136,937 —
5 New York University
New York, NY
New York, NY — 8% — — — —
6 Rice University
Houston, TX
Houston, TX 48 8% 60% / 40% 23% $108,070 —
7 University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA
La Jolla, CA 225 24% 72% / 28% 40% $109,004 —
8 University of Texas at Dallas
Dallas, TX
Dallas, TX 48 72% 75% / 25% 2% $73,399 —

Capitol Hill Policy Wonks

Beltway-adjacent programs where everyone is interning at a think tank, the CBO, or the World Bank. Half the class is actually secretly a double major in International Relations.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 American University
Washington, DC
Washington, DC 52 66% 63% / 37% 42% $87,106 —
2 George Washington University
Washington, DC
Washington, DC 63 28% 51% / 49% 25% $94,893 —
3 Georgetown University
Washington, DC
Washington, DC 138 9% 47% / 53% 43% $94,403 —
4 Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
Syracuse, NY 176 35% 72% / 28% 49% $76,274 —
5 Tufts University
Medford, MA
Medford, MA 148 10% 66% / 34% 22% $116,781 —
6 University of Maryland, College Park
College Park, MD
College Park, MD 250 42% 70% / 30% 6% $83,555 —
7 University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
Charlottesville, VA 260 13% 69% / 31% 9% $94,991 —

I Actually Wanted to do Finance

Elite private schools where the Economics major is essentially a massive pipeline to Wall Street investment banking, mostly because the school doesn't offer undergrad business or it's too hard to get into.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA
Chestnut Hill, MA 331 14% 67% / 33% 17% $104,420 —
2 Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
Ithaca, NY 145 7% 67% / 33% 24% $120,062 —
3 Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
Hanover, NH 163 5% 63% / 37% 15% $145,995 —
4 Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA 73 11% 56% / 44% 33% $107,869 —
5 Fordham University
Bronx, NY
Bronx, NY 93 25% 59% / 41% 10% $95,181 —
6 Indiana University - Bloomington
Bloomington, IN
Bloomington, IN 62 72% 76% / 24% 21% $94,115 —
7 Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX
Dallas, TX 172 22% 72% / 28% 5% $99,925 —
8 University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN
Notre Dame, IN 157 9% 61% / 39% 8% $130,714 —
9 University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA 198 9% 62% / 38% 33% $85,380 —
10 Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Nashville, TN 229 4% 66% / 34% 16% $138,117 —
11 Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC
Winston-Salem, NC 122 15% 76% / 24% 7% $116,496 —
12 Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO
Saint Louis, MO 129 8% 73% / 27% 8% $86,172 —

The Aggie-Econ & Applied Regressions Guild

Massive land-grant universities with historically powerhouse agricultural economics, resource econ, and applied micro programs. You will run regressions on corn yields, labor markets, and energy grids.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 Auburn University
Auburn, AL
Auburn, AL 35 47% 83% / 17% 17% — —
2 Colorado State University - Fort Collins
Fort Collins, CO
Fort Collins, CO 76 82% 70% / 30% 7% $68,989 —
3 Iowa State University
Ames, IA
Ames, IA 22 85% 86% / 14% 9% $91,245 —
4 Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
East Lansing, MI 234 65% 81% / 19% 21% $86,567 —
5 North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC
Raleigh, NC 96 40% 72% / 28% 6% $85,823 —
6 Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK
Stillwater, OK 3 55% 67% / 33% 33% — —
7 Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR
Corvallis, OR 66 75% 80% / 20% 8% $72,887 —
8 Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA
University Park, PA 355 55% 76% / 24% 38% $89,303 —
9 Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN
West Lafayette, IN 135 50% 64% / 36% 40% $88,353 —
10 Texas A&M University - College Station
College Station, TX
College Station, TX 367 47% 76% / 24% 1% $82,776 —
11 University of California, Davis
Davis, CA
Davis, CA 877 37% 56% / 44% 29% $76,601 —
12 Washington State University
Pullman, WA
Pullman, WA 50 75% 86% / 14% 8% $82,658 —

Mega-Macro State Factories

Massive public universities churning out thousands of econ grads a year. They have excellent faculties, huge intro lectures, and your TA will probably be the one actually teaching you micro theory.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
Columbus, OH 184 53% 76% / 24% 29% $79,186 —
2 University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA
Irvine, CA 873 21% 57% / 43% 44% $65,431 —
3 University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA 738 9% 55% / 45% 18% $89,189 —
4 University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA
Santa Barbara, CA 669 26% 63% / 37% 16% $95,529 —
5 University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, CO
Boulder, CO 188 75% 87% / 13% 6% $82,875 —
6 University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Gainesville, FL 280 23% 66% / 34% 8% $76,612 —
7 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
Champaign, IL 366 43% 50% / 25% 23% $92,112 —
8 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI
Ann Arbor, MI 681 15% 65% / 35% 21% $115,561 —
9 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
Chapel Hill, NC 349 16% 71% / 29% 13% $102,963 —
10 University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
Austin, TX 383 25% 63% / 37% 11% $101,010 —
11 University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Seattle, WA 241 44% 51% / 49% 53% $84,770 —
12 University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI
Madison, WI 536 43% 71% / 29% 18% $104,292 —

Urban Economists & Regional Anchors

Solid programs situated in or near major cities, providing great pipelines to local corporate finance, consulting, and data analytics gigs. Less ideological warfare, more "let's get a job."

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ
Tempe, AZ 142 88% 70% / 30% 23% $73,715 —
2 Boston University
Boston, MA
Boston, MA 291 13% 59% / 41% 56% $82,369 —
3 CUNY City College
New York, NY
New York, NY 99 42% 65% / 35% 4% $60,277 —
4 Florida International University
Miami, FL
Miami, FL 154 42% 68% / 32% 9% $72,502 —
5 Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA 75 58% 56% / 44% 8% $75,068 —
6 Northeastern University
Boston, MA
Boston, MA 195 5% 58% / 42% 35% $91,000 —
7 Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia, PA 51 55% 57% / 43% 10% $76,030 —
8 Tulane University
New Orleans, LA
New Orleans, LA 85 8% 49% / 51% 5% $93,119 —
9 University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL
Orlando, FL 111 25% 73% / 27% 10% $74,657 —
10 University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT
Storrs, CT 410 49% 72% / 28% 30% $77,433 —
11 University of Houston
Houston, TX
Houston, TX 124 55% 69% / 31% 10% $76,727 —
12 University of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL 51 55% 63% / 37% 8% $76,760 —
13 University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
Coral Gables, FL 105 17% 80% / 20% 27% $65,533 —
14 University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh, PA 163 45% 65% / 35% 13% $75,154 —
15 University of South Florida
Tampa, FL
Tampa, FL 226 35% 75% / 25% 19% $60,764 —

Comparative Advantage State Anchors

Dependable state flagships and regional staples where you'll get a solid grounding in supply and demand without the elite pretense. Great for local government jobs, regional banking, or general business prep.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL
Tuscaloosa, AL 94 75% 61% / 39% 0% — —
2 Baylor University
Waco, TX
Waco, TX 42 51% 67% / 33% 5% — —
3 Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
Tallahassee, FL 202 23% 79% / 21% 1% $70,934 —
4 Lincoln University
Lincoln University, PA
Lincoln University, PA — 70% — — — —
5 Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA
Baton Rouge, LA 13 72% 85% / 15% 8% — —
6 Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX
Lubbock, TX 60 55% 72% / 28% 3% $71,721 —
7 University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA
Riverside, CA 310 66% 67% / 33% 19% $59,235 —
8 University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz, CA 130 47% 69% / 31% 22% $77,768 —
9 University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Iowa City, IA 79 83% 77% / 23% 16% $89,036 —
10 University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
Lawrence, KS 37 88% 62% / 38% 14% $85,873 —
11 University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY
Lexington, KY 31 90% 81% / 19% 3% $69,181 —
12 University of Missouri
Columbia, MO
Columbia, MO 149 72% 77% / 23% 0% $79,527 —
13 University of Oklahoma - Norman
Norman, OK
Norman, OK 52 72% 67% / 33% 13% $86,381 —
14 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR
Eugene, OR 119 78% 78% / 22% 14% $73,443 —
15 University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC
Columbia, SC 100 55% 73% / 27% 5% $86,972 —
16 University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
Salt Lake City, UT 203 82% 74% / 26% 4% $84,551 —
17 Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
Blacksburg, VA 109 42% 69% / 31% 5% $85,901 —