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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 Earnings ROI Employ
1 U. of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL 653 5% 58% / 42% 23% $155,845 100 96% —
2 Carnegie Mellon
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh, PA 49 11% 71% / 29% 29% $132,550 99 94% —
3 George Mason
Fairfax, VA
Fairfax, VA 82 72% 71% / 29% 15% — 85 — —
4 Stanford
Palo Alto, CA
Palo Alto, CA 112 4% 69% / 31% 17% $133,104 99 91% —
5 Northwestern
Evanston, IL
Evanston, IL 277 7% 61% / 39% 15% $124,571 99 94% —
6 U. of Rochester
Rochester, NY
Rochester, NY 91 42% 65% / 35% 47% $100,522 92 92% —

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 Earnings ROI Employ
1 Harvard
Cambridge, MA
Cambridge, MA 278 4% 63% / 37% 19% $150,856 100 97% —
2 Princeton
Princeton, NJ
Princeton, NJ 122 4% 70% / 30% 16% $148,504 100 98% —
3 MIT
Cambridge, MA
Cambridge, MA 7 5% 29% / 71% 0% $143,572 100 — —
4 Brown
Providence, RI
Providence, RI 223 6% 58% / 42% 15% $108,798 95 96% —
5 Columbia
New York, NY
New York, NY 343 4% 60% / 40% 33% $123,655 99 90% —
6 U. of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Berkeley, CA 741 11% 55% / 45% 29% $109,912 98 93% —
7 U. of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia, PA 170 5% 66% / 34% 16% $150,102 100 95% —
8 Yale
New Haven, CT
New Haven, CT 209 3% 59% / 41% 24% $132,927 99 91% —

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 Earnings ROI Employ
1 Caltech
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena, CA — 4% — — — — — —
2 Duke
Durham, NC
Durham, NC 192 5% 64% / 36% 13% $176,442 100 95% —
3 Georgia Tech
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA 54 13% 72% / 28% 13% $121,931 99 — —
4 Johns Hopkins
Baltimore, MD
Baltimore, MD 64 6% 56% / 44% 23% $139,531 99 92% —
5 New York University
New York, NY
New York, NY 496 9% 52% / 48% 56% — — — —
6 Rice
Houston, TX
Houston, TX 70 8% 44% / 56% 29% $106,469 95 92% —
7 U. of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA
La Jolla, CA 207 29% 68% / 32% 38% $74,809 74 90% —
8 U. of Texas at Dallas
Dallas, TX
Dallas, TX 46 72% 67% / 33% 11% $70,981 75 93% —

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 Earnings ROI Employ
1 American University
Washington, DC
Washington, DC 41 66% 66% / 34% 17% $74,044 69 90% —
2 George Washington
Washington, DC
Washington, DC 72 47% 54% / 46% 13% $100,188 92 90% —
3 Georgetown
Washington, DC
Washington, DC 185 14% 56% / 44% 35% $111,824 97 88% —
4 Syracuse
Syracuse, NY
Syracuse, NY 192 35% 74% / 26% 35% $80,883 77 100% —
5 Tufts
Medford, MA
Medford, MA 163 11% 65% / 35% 20% $117,994 98 97% —
6 U. of Maryland, College Park
College Park, MD
College Park, MD 254 45% 67% / 33% 6% $81,638 86 93% —
7 U. of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
Charlottesville, VA 343 13% 66% / 34% 7% $94,683 89 95% —

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 Earnings ROI Employ
1 Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA
Chestnut Hill, MA 338 13% 58% / 42% 14% $105,504 94 96% —
2 Cornell
Ithaca, NY
Ithaca, NY 166 8% 57% / 43% 21% $123,578 98 93% —
3 Dartmouth
Hanover, NH
Hanover, NH 128 6% 68% / 32% 21% $145,995 100 95% —
4 Emory
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA 80 10% 65% / 35% 36% $107,194 95 93% —
5 Fordham
Bronx, NY
Bronx, NY 86 47% 49% / 51% 13% $82,817 80 91% —
6 Indiana
Bloomington, IN
Bloomington, IN 73 76% 71% / 29% 22% $88,762 90 95% —
7 Southern Methodist
Dallas, TX
Dallas, TX 255 48% 73% / 27% 4% $96,625 88 95% —
8 U. of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN
Notre Dame, IN 130 9% 63% / 37% 8% $125,858 99 96% —
9 U. of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA 277 11% 72% / 28% 31% $85,558 80 93% —
10 Vanderbilt
Nashville, TN
Nashville, TN 203 5% 66% / 34% 18% $135,682 99 96% —
11 Wake Forest
Winston-Salem, NC
Winston-Salem, NC 129 18% 68% / 32% 11% $114,177 97 96% —
12 Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO
Saint Louis, MO 150 12% 67% / 33% 10% $103,947 93 100% —

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 Earnings ROI Employ
1 Auburn
Auburn, AL
Auburn, AL 34 47% 76% / 24% 9% $75,480 81 94% —
2 Colorado State University - Fort Collins
Fort Collins, CO
Fort Collins, CO 89 82% 75% / 25% 8% $68,861 75 93% —
3 Iowa State
Ames, IA
Ames, IA 19 85% 63% / 37% 16% $92,567 94 97% —
4 Michigan State
East Lansing, MI
East Lansing, MI 288 83% 80% / 20% 15% $81,477 83 96% —
5 North Carolina State
Raleigh, NC
Raleigh, NC 76 40% 75% / 25% 13% $82,960 88 96% —
6 Oklahoma State
Stillwater, OK
Stillwater, OK 9 68% 56% / 44% 0% $77,923 86 — —
7 Oregon State
Corvallis, OR
Corvallis, OR 63 75% 71% / 29% 6% $73,167 80 94% —
8 Pennsylvania State
University Park, PA
University Park, PA 307 55% 75% / 25% 31% $90,939 92 92% —
9 Purdue
West Lafayette, IN
West Lafayette, IN 140 43% 71% / 29% 31% $84,483 89 100% —
10 Texas A&M University - College Station
College Station, TX
College Station, TX 323 52% 69% / 31% 1% $84,473 88 97% —
11 U. of California, Davis
Davis, CA
Davis, CA 960 46% 58% / 42% 32% $77,687 80 97% —
12 Washington State
Pullman, WA
Pullman, WA 44 75% 64% / 36% 5% $90,025 95 98% —

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 Earnings ROI Employ
1 Ohio State
Columbus, OH
Columbus, OH 233 49% 67% / 33% 41% $75,745 78 96% —
2 U. of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA
Irvine, CA 620 29% 59% / 41% 35% $65,292 59 92% —
3 UCLA
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA 772 9% 58% / 42% 16% $88,967 89 94% —
4 U. of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA
Santa Barbara, CA 703 38% 62% / 38% 17% $97,303 94 93% —
5 U. of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, CO
Boulder, CO 204 71% 83% / 17% 5% $77,368 81 93% —
6 U. of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Gainesville, FL 294 20% 62% / 38% 6% $79,386 88 96% —
7 U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
Champaign, IL 317 37% 76% / 24% 34% $93,663 93 92% —
8 U. of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI
Ann Arbor, MI 608 16% 65% / 35% 13% $107,930 95 90% —
9 U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
Chapel Hill, NC 383 17% 65% / 35% 12% $98,108 95 95% —
10 U. of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
Austin, TX 488 22% 64% / 36% 10% $98,540 95 91% —
11 U. of Washington
Seattle, WA
Seattle, WA 236 42% 60% / 40% 52% $83,948 88 89% —
12 U. of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI
Madison, WI 539 41% 74% / 26% 25% $86,585 88 96% —

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 Earnings ROI Employ
1 Arizona State
Tempe, AZ
Tempe, AZ 133 88% 71% / 29% 17% $73,068 81 90% —
2 Boston University
Boston, MA
Boston, MA 360 13% 58% / 42% 50% $84,763 80 96% —
3 CUNY City
New York, NY
New York, NY 122 42% 70% / 30% 7% $59,674 75 88% —
4 Florida International
Miami, FL
Miami, FL 149 42% 77% / 23% 13% $69,127 83 89% —
5 Georgia State
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA 84 58% 57% / 43% 8% $73,616 84 90% —
6 Northeastern
Boston, MA
Boston, MA 252 22% 58% / 42% 42% $91,944 87 93% —
7 Temple
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia, PA 39 72% 74% / 26% 10% $73,480 79 91% —
8 Tulane
New Orleans, LA
New Orleans, LA 102 14% 45% / 55% 7% $87,424 79 95% —
9 U. of Central Florida
Orlando, FL
Orlando, FL 81 43% 80% / 20% 14% $74,176 86 90% —
10 U. of Connecticut
Storrs, CT
Storrs, CT 444 54% 74% / 26% 18% $77,977 83 96% —
11 U. of Houston
Houston, TX
Houston, TX 150 76% 63% / 37% 9% $75,761 86 88% —
12 U. of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL 71 76% 66% / 34% 18% $75,109 84 86% —
13 U. of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
Coral Gables, FL 120 17% 74% / 26% 24% $62,482 37 95% —
14 U. of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh, PA 174 59% 69% / 31% 13% $73,730 78 96% —
15 U. of South Florida
Tampa, FL
Tampa, FL 208 41% 77% / 23% 25% $61,687 76 93% —

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 Earnings ROI Employ
1 U. of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL
Tuscaloosa, AL 94 71% 67% / 33% 0% $79,245 85 — —
2 Baylor
Waco, TX
Waco, TX 38 52% 63% / 37% 11% $83,945 82 — —
3 Florida State
Tallahassee, FL
Tallahassee, FL 211 20% 74% / 26% 5% $74,547 87 93% —
4 Lincoln
Lincoln University, PA
Lincoln University, PA — 80% — — — — — —
5 Louisiana State
Baton Rouge, LA
Baton Rouge, LA 21 71% 71% / 29% 0% $81,306 87 — —
6 Texas Tech
Lubbock, TX
Lubbock, TX 42 69% 67% / 33% 5% $72,949 84 95% —
7 U. of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA
Riverside, CA 374 86% 69% / 31% 12% $61,005 52 92% —
8 U. of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz, CA 101 82% 68% / 32% 11% $79,484 83 95% —
9 U. of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Iowa City, IA 71 80% 70% / 30% 1% $83,061 88 98% —
10 U. of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
Lawrence, KS 40 93% 80% / 20% 23% $85,758 90 98% —
11 U. of Kentucky
Lexington, KY
Lexington, KY 31 90% 74% / 26% 10% $68,516 72 91% —
12 U. of Missouri
Columbia, MO
Columbia, MO 148 77% 59% / 41% 1% $77,166 82 92% —
13 U. of Oklahoma - Norman
Norman, OK
Norman, OK 43 72% 84% / 16% 5% $82,705 89 78% —
14 U. of Oregon
Eugene, OR
Eugene, OR 109 87% 76% / 24% 5% $73,888 78 92% —
15 U. of South Carolina
Columbia, SC
Columbia, SC 81 55% 77% / 23% 2% $83,778 88 97% —
16 U. of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
Salt Lake City, UT 207 82% 74% / 26% 5% $80,984 88 96% —
17 Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
Blacksburg, VA 114 55% 73% / 27% 4% $87,833 92 97% —