Master in Economics - Georgetown or Europe?

[Visiblehand]

I recently got admitted into two programs with a full tuition waiver: Bocconi's M.Sc. in Economics and in Georgetown's M.A. in Applied Economics. Naturally, GU's housing and other costs would be much higher than Bocconi's (only 3-5k a year), and Bocconi is in top 5 European economics schools (Oxbridge and LSE are the only ones ranked higher, UCL is pretty-much leveled). Also, Bocconi is in top 16-17 econ schools in the world. Georgetown's economics ranking is much lower, but it seems to me it's a brand and quite a name... Since I intend to get a job, preferably in Europe, after my master's, what should I choose? (I already have a B.A. in economics from a U.S. school)

[Paper Moon]

I'm not an expert, but it seems like the brand of Georgetown won't matter much if you want to work in Europe, where they will presumably know about Bocconi. Plus, you'll actually be in Europe and be able to network with people there. It's ranked higher, and you'd be saving money by going to Bocconi. It sounds like Bocconi would be the best option for you in terms of job, money, and rank. (And, personally, I think living in Italy would be amazing).

The only reason that I would say you might want to choose Georgetown is if the Applied Economics program is significantly different than the Economics program, or perhaps if your first language isn't English and you want to improve by being in a place where English is the native language (I can understand that, because that's one of my motivations for wanting to study in France--- to improve my language skills).

But if I were in your situation, based on the information that you gave alone, I would go with Bocconi.

 

Good luck with whichever program you choose!