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It's Basic Supply and Demand, Bro

Economics

The "Chicago Boys" Free Market Fan Club

The spiritual home of "Freshwater" economics. They love rational expectations, worship at the altar of Milton Friedman, and firmly believe that most government intervention is a well-intentioned mistake.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employ
1 U. of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL 548 5% 63% / 37% 24% $157,181 100 96% —
2 Carnegie Mellon
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh, PA 47 11% 55% / 45% 28% $132,407 99 94% —
3 George Mason
Fairfax, VA
Fairfax, VA 76 72% 75% / 25% 13% $81,731 88 85% —
4 Stanford
Palo Alto, CA
Palo Alto, CA 109 4% 51% / 49% 20% $148,692 100 91% —
5 Northwestern
Evanston, IL
Evanston, IL 241 7% 61% / 39% 16% $125,639 99 94% —
6 U. of Rochester
Rochester, NY
Rochester, NY 59 41% 64% / 36% 51% $102,906 94 92% —

The "Saltwater" Keynesian Minions

The coastal elites who believe markets are inherently flawed and the government should occasionally do something about it. High prestige, heavily theoretical, and very likely to produce a Treasury Secretary or Fed Chair.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employ
1 Harvard
Cambridge, MA
Cambridge, MA 242 3% 64% / 36% 16% $161,251 100 97% —
2 Princeton
Princeton, NJ
Princeton, NJ 124 4% 62% / 38% 17% $157,548 100 98% —
3 MIT
Cambridge, MA
Cambridge, MA 6 5% 50% / 50% 0% $148,349 100 — —
4 Brown
Providence, RI
Providence, RI 174 5% 64% / 36% 13% $112,306 97 96% —
5 Columbia
New York, NY
New York, NY 277 4% 65% / 35% 29% $134,398 99 90% —
6 U. of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Berkeley, CA 631 11% 53% / 47% 29% $125,636 99 93% —
7 U. of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia, PA 174 5% 63% / 37% 18% $153,669 100 95% —
8 Yale
New Haven, CT
New Haven, CT 176 4% 66% / 34% 16% $139,939 99 91% —

Math Masochists & Stata Sorcerers

These programs are practically applied math degrees in a trench coat. If you don't dream in calculus and breathe heavy econometrics, you will not survive here.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employ
1 Caltech
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena, CA — 4% — — — — — —
2 Duke
Durham, NC
Durham, NC 168 5% 61% / 39% 10% $171,986 100 95% —
3 Georgia Tech
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA 46 13% 61% / 39% 15% $115,501 99 — —
4 Johns Hopkins
Baltimore, MD
Baltimore, MD 42 6% 69% / 31% 19% $145,452 100 92% —
5 New York University
New York, NY
New York, NY — 9% — — — — — —
6 Rice
Houston, TX
Houston, TX 48 8% 60% / 40% 23% $104,828 95 92% —
7 U. of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA
La Jolla, CA 225 29% 72% / 28% 40% $84,118 85 90% —
8 U. of Texas at Dallas
Dallas, TX
Dallas, TX 48 72% 75% / 25% 2% $71,197 76 93% —

Capitol Hill Policy Wonks

Beltway-adjacent programs where everyone is interning at a think tank, the CBO, or the World Bank. Half the class is actually secretly a double major in International Relations.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employ
1 American University
Washington, DC
Washington, DC 52 66% 63% / 37% 42% $77,219 76 90% —
2 George Washington
Washington, DC
Washington, DC 63 47% 51% / 49% 25% $104,484 95 90% —
3 Georgetown
Washington, DC
Washington, DC 138 14% 47% / 53% 43% $116,619 98 88% —
4 Syracuse
Syracuse, NY
Syracuse, NY 176 35% 72% / 28% 49% $82,376 80 100% —
5 Tufts
Medford, MA
Medford, MA 148 10% 66% / 34% 22% $126,124 99 97% —
6 U. of Maryland, College Park
College Park, MD
College Park, MD 250 45% 70% / 30% 6% $86,897 91 93% —
7 U. of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
Charlottesville, VA 260 12% 69% / 31% 9% $95,941 91 95% —

I Actually Wanted to do Finance

Elite private schools where the Economics major is essentially a massive pipeline to Wall Street investment banking, mostly because the school doesn't offer undergrad business or it's too hard to get into.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employ
1 Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA
Chestnut Hill, MA 331 13% 67% / 33% 17% $112,774 97 96% —
2 Cornell
Ithaca, NY
Ithaca, NY 145 8% 67% / 33% 24% $129,667 99 93% —
3 Dartmouth
Hanover, NH
Hanover, NH 163 6% 63% / 37% 15% $153,295 100 95% —
4 Emory
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA 73 12% 56% / 44% 33% $105,421 95 93% —
5 Fordham
Bronx, NY
Bronx, NY 93 47% 59% / 41% 10% $90,012 87 91% —
6 Indiana
Bloomington, IN
Bloomington, IN 62 76% 76% / 24% 21% $86,586 89 95% —
7 Southern Methodist
Dallas, TX
Dallas, TX 172 48% 72% / 28% 5% $96,927 89 95% —
8 U. of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN
Notre Dame, IN 157 9% 61% / 39% 8% $120,257 98 96% —
9 U. of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA 198 12% 62% / 38% 33% $96,479 89 93% —
10 Vanderbilt
Nashville, TN
Nashville, TN 229 4% 66% / 34% 16% $128,449 99 96% —
11 Wake Forest
Winston-Salem, NC
Winston-Salem, NC 122 18% 76% / 24% 7% $109,506 95 96% —
12 Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO
Saint Louis, MO 129 12% 73% / 27% 8% $101,231 79 100% —

The Aggie-Econ & Applied Regressions Guild

Massive land-grant universities with historically powerhouse agricultural economics, resource econ, and applied micro programs. You will run regressions on corn yields, labor markets, and energy grids.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employ
1 Auburn
Auburn, AL
Auburn, AL 35 47% 83% / 17% 17% $71,165 77 94% —
2 Colorado State University - Fort Collins
Fort Collins, CO
Fort Collins, CO 76 82% 70% / 30% 7% $69,679 78 93% —
3 Iowa State
Ames, IA
Ames, IA 22 85% 86% / 14% 9% $84,486 90 96% —
4 Michigan State
East Lansing, MI
East Lansing, MI 234 83% 81% / 19% 21% $81,373 84 96% —
5 North Carolina State
Raleigh, NC
Raleigh, NC 96 40% 72% / 28% 6% $80,674 88 96% —
6 Oklahoma State
Stillwater, OK
Stillwater, OK 3 68% 67% / 33% 33% $70,344 80 — —
7 Oregon State
Corvallis, OR
Corvallis, OR 66 75% 80% / 20% 8% $76,531 84 94% —
8 Pennsylvania State
University Park, PA
University Park, PA 355 55% 76% / 24% 38% $87,517 91 92% —
9 Purdue
West Lafayette, IN
West Lafayette, IN 135 43% 64% / 36% 40% $81,285 88 100% —
10 Texas A&M University - College Station
College Station, TX
College Station, TX 367 52% 76% / 24% 1% $80,293 86 97% —
11 U. of California, Davis
Davis, CA
Davis, CA 877 44% 56% / 44% 29% $85,388 88 96% —
12 Washington State
Pullman, WA
Pullman, WA 50 75% 86% / 14% 8% $90,097 95 98% —

Mega-Macro State Factories

Massive public universities churning out thousands of econ grads a year. They have excellent faculties, huge intro lectures, and your TA will probably be the one actually teaching you micro theory.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employ
1 Ohio State
Columbus, OH
Columbus, OH 184 49% 76% / 24% 29% $72,851 76 96% —
2 U. of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA
Irvine, CA 873 29% 57% / 43% 44% $73,937 77 92% —
3 UCLA
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA 738 9% 55% / 45% 18% $100,784 96 94% —
4 U. of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA
Santa Barbara, CA 669 38% 63% / 37% 16% $107,918 98 93% —
5 U. of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, CO
Boulder, CO 188 71% 87% / 13% 6% $79,838 84 93% —
6 U. of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Gainesville, FL 280 23% 66% / 34% 8% $79,677 89 96% —
7 U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
Champaign, IL 366 37% 50% / 25% 23% $90,604 92 92% —
8 U. of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI
Ann Arbor, MI 651 16% 66% / 34% 21% $108,627 96 90% —
9 U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
Chapel Hill, NC 349 17% 71% / 29% 13% $96,785 95 95% —
10 U. of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
Austin, TX 383 22% 63% / 37% 11% $97,244 95 91% —
11 U. of Washington
Seattle, WA
Seattle, WA 241 42% 51% / 49% 53% $92,399 94 89% —
12 U. of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI
Madison, WI 431 41% 72% / 28% 22% $84,958 87 96% —

Urban Economists & Regional Anchors

Solid programs situated in or near major cities, providing great pipelines to local corporate finance, consulting, and data analytics gigs. Less ideological warfare, more "let's get a job."

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employ
1 Arizona State
Tempe, AZ
Tempe, AZ 142 88% 70% / 30% 23% $74,452 84 90% —
2 Boston University
Boston, MA
Boston, MA 291 11% 59% / 41% 56% $90,098 86 96% —
3 CUNY City
New York, NY
New York, NY 99 42% 65% / 35% 4% $65,099 82 88% —
4 Florida International
Miami, FL
Miami, FL 154 42% 68% / 32% 9% $75,402 89 89% —
5 Georgia State
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA 75 58% 56% / 44% 8% $72,816 84 90% —
6 Northeastern
Boston, MA
Boston, MA 195 24% 58% / 42% 35% $98,280 92 93% —
7 Temple
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia, PA 51 72% 57% / 43% 10% $74,509 81 91% —
8 Tulane
New Orleans, LA
New Orleans, LA 85 15% 49% / 51% 5% $81,944 68 95% —
9 U. of Central Florida
Orlando, FL
Orlando, FL 111 43% 73% / 27% 10% $76,099 89 90% —
10 U. of Connecticut
Storrs, CT
Storrs, CT 410 54% 72% / 28% 30% $80,530 86 96% —
11 U. of Houston
Houston, TX
Houston, TX 124 66% 69% / 31% 10% $74,425 87 88% —
12 U. of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL 51 79% 63% / 37% 8% $75,992 86 86% —
13 U. of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
Coral Gables, FL 105 17% 80% / 20% 27% $68,154 56 95% —
14 U. of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh, PA 163 59% 65% / 35% 13% $73,651 79 96% —
15 U. of South Florida
Tampa, FL
Tampa, FL 226 35% 75% / 25% 19% $63,195 79 93% —

Comparative Advantage State Anchors

Dependable state flagships and regional staples where you'll get a solid grounding in supply and demand without the elite pretense. Great for local government jobs, regional banking, or general business prep.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employ
1 U. of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL
Tuscaloosa, AL 94 75% 61% / 39% 0% $74,361 81 — —
2 Baylor
Waco, TX
Waco, TX 42 52% 67% / 33% 5% $80,966 80 — —
3 Florida State
Tallahassee, FL
Tallahassee, FL 202 20% 79% / 21% 1% $73,771 88 93% —
4 Lincoln
Lincoln University, PA
Lincoln University, PA — 80% — — — — — —
5 Louisiana State
Baton Rouge, LA
Baton Rouge, LA 13 71% 85% / 15% 8% $73,446 82 — —
6 Texas Tech
Lubbock, TX
Lubbock, TX 60 69% 72% / 28% 3% $69,569 82 95% —
7 U. of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA
Riverside, CA 310 86% 67% / 33% 19% $66,935 67 92% —
8 U. of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz, CA 130 73% 69% / 31% 22% $88,583 91 95% —
9 U. of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Iowa City, IA 79 83% 77% / 23% 16% $79,242 86 98% —
10 U. of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
Lawrence, KS 37 88% 62% / 38% 14% $77,286 85 98% —
11 U. of Kentucky
Lexington, KY
Lexington, KY 31 90% 81% / 19% 3% $62,787 63 91% —
12 U. of Missouri
Columbia, MO
Columbia, MO 149 77% 77% / 23% 0% $73,165 80 92% —
13 U. of Oklahoma - Norman
Norman, OK
Norman, OK 52 72% 67% / 33% 13% $76,015 85 78% —
14 U. of Oregon
Eugene, OR
Eugene, OR 119 78% 78% / 22% 14% $77,115 83 92% —
15 U. of South Carolina
Columbia, SC
Columbia, SC 100 55% 73% / 27% 5% $80,884 82 97% —
16 U. of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
Salt Lake City, UT 203 82% 74% / 26% 4% $80,323 88 96% —
17 Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
Blacksburg, VA 109 55% 69% / 31% 5% $86,760 92 97% —