naturally_curious

So far I've heard the following assertions : 1. Top private (Duke) is slightly harder and goes into more depth than good state school (Purdue) in biology 2. Top private is ridiculously harder than community college (many community college students don't care) 3. Harvard is harder than MIT So my question is : how does the difficulty of the course of study vary depending on college rank? Is Harvard always and everywhere harder in most if not all courses relative to the same courses at other institutions? I've noticed that for math, a community college would have linear algebra and calculus as the final courses in the department, whereas both would be first year courses in an ivy league college. How much variation is there between say, Duke and Harvard -- I'm guessing the difference is smaller compared to 1 or 2, but I've seen people argue that Harvard is harder than MIT, so I'm confused.

I'm an economics major who, six years into the job world, is still interested in cognitive science and linguistics, and to a lesser extent, computer science. I read up on Steven Pinker even before going to college, being somewhere in the middle of Asia and in a non-English speaking environment. Alas, since I wanted something that guaranteed a job, I took up economics. I'd never imagined the day that statistics, computer science, and cognitive science would bring about the next revolution akin to the computer revolution. So in the mid to long term I'm thinking of taking up computer science only, or in tandem with some form of cognitive science. The problem is my training -- the following courses definitely display I was interested in something related to cognitive science but I could not bring my focus onto it. Introduction to Neuroscience (Neuroscience), Brain Damage and the Mind (Psychology), Social Psychology (Psychology), Personality (Psychology), Theory of Organizational Dynamics (Sociology), Philosophy of Language (Philosophy), Logic (Philosophy), Epistemology (Philosophy), Introduction to Econometrics (Economics), Econometrics I (Economics), Art in Antiquity (Archaeology), Mediterranean Bronze Age (Archaeology) My everyday daydreams include : 1. I want to draw a map of the brain ! (has this already been done?) 2. I want to understand how thinking is done on a neurological basis. 3. I want to re-program myself... P.S. Meanwhile, I'm also applying to top 10 MBA programs(got waitlisted to one) and to McBain consulting jobs, but anyways.

I stayed up all night before the exam since I had to take the train to another city to the test center. My prep was reviewing the GRE vocab only once or twice; I still finished 30 minutes early and got a 166/165 which is 97th percentile and 91th percentile, respectively? But I can do better definitely. I aim for UK PhD econ programs, should I retake? More details -- Why am I so fixated on the GRE? Because I have nothing else going for me. I have a BA from an Ivy League, am a current MSc student at a UK top 3-5 economics department(arguably). I also have 4.5 years of work experience at a central bank, some of which involved economics research and lots of reading academic papers. However I have NO math credits at undergrad and my GPA is unbearably low(if it were high I think I'd be at t14 law instead). I also got interviews from the likes of INSEAD but MBA seemed risky since my previous experience won't help at all in changing industries, which increase the risk that I will get a crappy job after MBA substantially. Seriously, should I retake? I'm going for Cambridge, UCL, Essex, York and so forth. I might try later after working a few more years. I'm shunning the other top3(Oxford, LSE, Warwick) because they're either too long or too hard to get into or both. I want to work in policy or economic consulting, not academia so I don't want to lose too much time researching and publishing. Hopefully Cambridge would consider me...

My problem is not only that my GPA is sub 3.0(but almost 3.0, but still thanks to school policy only; I have an 'almost' double major in econ and philosophy; one course less in philosophy), but also that that I only have about 100 grand of savings (will probably be around 170 grand by the time I enter some MBA program) which will not be enough in and of itself to fund my education -- unless I go to INSEAD or IE or IESE, (INSEAD I'm considering, but the internship isn't properly there for a successful career change) So in the hopes of getting the same effect out of my education yet costing me half the money, I'm looking into DBA programs as well. Also since economic consulting specifically favors Ph.Ds I would spend half the time on getting a Ph.D. for a DBA and get a job at NERA or Bates White and so forth. Is this a good strategy to pursue or should I stick to getting an MBA despite the cost? I can ask my parents to pay but I've been feeling awfully guilty and anxious about my previous expensive college education and my current inability to make enough money to do the cost justice, so I feel uneasy to ask for their help again, without the sure prospects. They aren't rich but they are solidly upper middle class, so about 100 grand wouldn't be impossible to dole for my final education. Otherwise I need to take out loans which sounds like a huge risk -- what if I can't get a 200 grand job out of an MBA? ps I'm targeting Duke, Cornell, Anderson, Ross, and Carnegie Mellon. Above that I think it's almost impossible.

Dear Gradcafe users, Thank you for taking the time to read my post. Please give me any advice on what to do : I have a B.A. from an Ivy/US News top 20 institution, and I have four years of work experience in a foreign company that has many US Phd and MBAs in it. My work experience is mostly in literature summary, data organization and research, and administrative work. I have a diagnostic GMAT score of 710, which can be improved substantially. I'm torn between doing an MBA and a DBA(doctor of business admin), but while I think my experience and GMAT will be good enough for a top20 MBA, my GPA is not good enough for admission into a DBA program. I am taking extra classes through the LSE external program. But I feel I need extra classes : my option is to either take grad level classes here in my home country, or move into the US and take a stepping-stone course(i.e. NW post-bacc in accounting or Columbia post-bacc in economics) to go directly into the course that I want. I am growing tired of working since advancement requires a higher degree anyway and I have neither the money nor the GPA credentials to get me into the program I want. I would preferably like to work for an economic or management consultancy after an MBA or a DBA, so which course of action(i.e. taking post-bacc or taking classes here) should be more fail-proof? Expert advice is highly needed. Thank you!