Harris School

[mppfall2010]

Besides some comments about waiting for applications, I haven't heard much recent discussion of the University of Chicago's Harris School. I know a decent amount about it (social policy strength, econ & stat heavy, ivory tower, etc) but can anyone provide any more insight into the program? Such as internship opportunities, research centers, professor-student interaction, job placement, electives? The program doesn't seem to require a masters thesis - how is this perceived after the program? For someone who did not receive funding, is it worth the debt? My inclination is yes, it is - but with how delayed their admissions process was and how unresponsive their office seems to be to emails and questions, I am having trouble justifying it now.

Would love a little insight into the program. Especially for those considering going and debating between other schools... why are you considering Chicago over other schools and vice versa?

Thanks.

[s33]

Besides some comments about waiting for applications, I haven't heard much recent discussion of the University of Chicago's Harris School. I know a decent amount about it (social policy strength, econ & stat heavy, ivory tower, etc) but can anyone provide any more insight into the program? Such as internship opportunities, research centers, professor-student interaction, job placement, electives? The program doesn't seem to require a masters thesis - how is this perceived after the program? For someone who did not receive funding, is it worth the debt? My inclination is yes, it is - but with how delayed their admissions process was and how unresponsive their office seems to be to emails and questions, I am having trouble justifying it now.

Would love a little insight into the program. Especially for those considering going and debating between other schools... why are you considering Chicago over other schools and vice versa?

Thanks.

Harris grad here. My experience at Harris was a good one. Probably the quickest way to gain insights into Harris is to view two threads from last year, entitled 1) "Harris vs. Ford" (simply enter this into the search engine) and 2) "Answering questions about Harris". If, after reading these threads you have further questions, feel free to send me a PM.

Edited April 8, 2010 by s33

[mppfall2010]

@ s33: WOW these boards are a wealth of information. thanks for posting those! i will be sure to read through them carefully... my questions aren't too specific so i'm sure they have been answered in the past.

may i ask - since you are now a grad, and i presume those posts were written while you were still in school and perhaps had a slightly different perspective - if you had to do it again, would you still choose harris over other schools you were debating? what are you doing now, after graduation and do you feel like career services placed you well for internships and your current job? the reason i ask is because i am currently debating between harris (a school i very much want to go) and another comparable school that has excellent placement and career services attention according to current and past students of the program. besides the more quant focus at harris, i can't find too many other differences (at least when relative to my interests).

with regards to the DC network - i'm sure the chicago name carries enough clout from here to timbuktu. so that doesn't concern me. do you feel as though classes were very region-specific? (ie. focused on chicago/midwest, etc). for example nyu has a very NYC focus. duke has a very north carolina focus in terms of practical experience. GSPP is a very cali-focused school. but i know harvard (for example) is not. so i'm wondering where chicago lies on the spectrum.

and lastly - i am fairly strong in econ (albeit a lot of my undergrad classes were more qualitative than heavy heavy econometrics and quant) and decent in introductory calc and stats. i tend to disparage my quantitative abilities but relatively speaking, when compared to students who have never had an econ class before, never had a stats class before, etc etc - do you think harris would be particularly challenging? do you think the math camp would be necessary to attend (i'm more than willing to attend it if need be - just want to make sure i won't be sitting there idly watching my august slip by...)

thanks!

[s33]

@ s33: WOW these boards are a wealth of information. thanks for posting those! i will be sure to read through them carefully... my questions aren't too specific so i'm sure they have been answered in the past.

may i ask - since you are now a grad, and i presume those posts were written while you were still in school and perhaps had a slightly different perspective - if you had to do it again, would you still choose harris over other schools you were debating? what are you doing now, after graduation and do you feel like career services placed you well for internships and your current job? the reason i ask is because i am currently debating between harris (a school i very much want to go) and another comparable school that has excellent placement and career services attention according to current and past students of the program. besides the more quant focus at harris, i can't find too many other differences (at least when relative to my interests).

with regards to the DC network - i'm sure the chicago name carries enough clout from here to timbuktu. so that doesn't concern me. do you feel as though classes were very region-specific? (ie. focused on chicago/midwest, etc). for example nyu has a very NYC focus. duke has a very north carolina focus in terms of practical experience. GSPP is a very cali-focused school. but i know harvard (for example) is not. so i'm wondering where chicago lies on the spectrum.

and lastly - i am fairly strong in econ (albeit a lot of my undergrad classes were more qualitative than heavy heavy econometrics and quant) and decent in introductory calc and stats. i tend to disparage my quantitative abilities but relatively speaking, when compared to students who have never had an econ class before, never had a stats class before, etc etc - do you think harris would be particularly challenging? do you think the math camp would be necessary to attend (i'm more than willing to attend it if need be - just want to make sure i won't be sitting there idly watching my august slip by...)

thanks!

Sorry for not responding sooner- I lost track of this thread. On career matters, I am not the best person to ask, as I attended Harris on a professional leave of absence (which meant that I was not in the job market). My impression is that Harris has a pretty broad reach, due partly to it being part of the University of Chicago. It is certainly not a 'regional' school.

As for the quantitative component, there is no reason for you to be 'bored'. If you like, you could take the advanced stats sequence, which I'm told is very challenging. That stated, I would still recommend that you attend math camp, because it is a good 'warmup' for the first quarter, and will also help ensure that you pass the (mandatory) math placement exam.

Good luck with your decision. I have no regrets about attending Harris, although I am aware that there are other good choices. I found the curriculum very much to my liking, and the faculty are superb. Harris is a particularly good choice for those with an academic or research bent.