Quant Course Recommendations

[yoh_rrg]

Hello!  I have been wanting to go for an MPP program for a while now but keep putting it off because I feel I won't be competitive enough without any significant quant coursework when I was in undergraduate.  This spring I want to change that by taking an online course or two in stats/economics so I can finally apply next fall!  I looked through posts to get an idea how people were taking these courses and it looks like some were going through UCLA's extension program, but it looks like those courses were in the $800+ range which seems really steep, especially when I could take courses at my community college for $160 each.  

I guess I am just thinking that if I am really wanting to make myself more competitive, the local classes might not have that effect and maybe I ought to just fork over the big bucks for a course through the more well-known and respected school.  I also worry that the courses at my community college aren't that rigorous, and I could probably get just as much out of an edX or coursera online course.  But if I ought to do it through one of the big extension programs, are there any others besides UCLA's that I should consider?  Any advice would be much appreciated!

[coasts]

Oh, I don't know that admissions committees would think less of a community college than one offered by a university online. I took a statistics class online through UC Berkeley Extension (think price range was also $800ish) but it was very un-rigorous, so the name means nothing. Might be worth calling to ask what programs think. I think UT Austin has much cheaper online classes. 

[beefmaster]

I did mine through UCSD and it has been a pretty good experience. 

[yoh_rrg]

@coasts Thanks for your reply-- I guess I just assumed they would be more challenging and worthwhile but I definitely don't want to pay $800 just to say I took something if it means nothing.  I'll just have to do more research.

[Connie @ TheArtofApplying]

On 12/5/2016 at 5:45 AM, yoh_rrg said:

Hello!  I have been wanting to go for an MPP program for a while now but keep putting it off because I feel I won't be competitive enough without any significant quant coursework when I was in undergraduate.  This spring I want to change that by taking an online course or two in stats/economics so I can finally apply next fall!  I looked through posts to get an idea how people were taking these courses and it looks like some were going through UCLA's extension program, but it looks like those courses were in the $800+ range which seems really steep, especially when I could take courses at my community college for $160 each.  

I guess I am just thinking that if I am really wanting to make myself more competitive, the local classes might not have that effect and maybe I ought to just fork over the big bucks for a course through the more well-known and respected school.  I also worry that the courses at my community college aren't that rigorous, and I could probably get just as much out of an edX or coursera online course.  But if I ought to do it through one of the big extension programs, are there any others besides UCLA's that I should consider?  Any advice would be much appreciated!

@yoh_rrg: Great idea to take these micro and stats courses! Community college courses will do fine, as long as it’s an accredited community college, and these are course-bearing courses for which you can receive a transcript. This is a better course of action than edX or Coursera, as admissions offices have not yet provided a consistent statement on how they view these courses in admissions. As long as you earn a B+ or better in these courses, having taken them will enhance your candidacy. 

When it comes to course rigor, definitely don’t count out less prestigious-sounding schools or community colleges. The course content is usually the same, especially since they are such basic, intro-level courses. In fact, many professors (adjunct or otherwise) from four-year universities work at community colleges for extra money! What varies is how much the class or professor might demand from you. No matter what’s asked of you, put serious effort into understanding and retaining the material, and not only will you get a good grade, but you will build a real foundation for tackling more complicated material when you actually get to grad school. 

If you want to learn about other extension programs, one good way is to reach out to a few top schools on your list, and ask them what institutions they tend to accept for distance-learning or online-learning pre-requisite classes. Many schools tend to keep their own lists of approved schools.