U of Michigan, NYU & Duke

[z_zhen]

Hey guys,

I'm really confused abt making a choice among these three schools. I got admitted by the MA programs NYU, waitlisted by Duke's master's program and still waiting to hear from U of Michigan (the Ann Arbor one).

I'm an international student and hope I can get some job or internship opportunities after graduation. NYU gains more strength in this aspect because of its location. But Duke is a such recognized school, even though its economics specific ranking (according to USNEWS) is slightly under U of Michigan and NYU. U Michigan has a reputable program of applied economics, specialized in field of financial economics. And I suppose Michigan is a nice place and live in.

Additionally, NYU is really expensive and so is living in NYC. Recently, I've heard people talking something bad abt NYU's MA program, like they admitted too many students each year and MA and the Ph.D program are so separate that some prof. of MA are even hired outside the economics department...blah blah blah... Doubt the reliability of these, have you ever know something more detailed about this program?

Now I have a little preference for NYU and not sure whether there's still need to wait for Duke and U Michigan and whether NYU is worth attending. Do you guys have any suggestions?

Thanks very much! : )