hanson@econ.berkeley.edu (Robin Hanson) writes:
> Original Subject: Help me choose: GMU econ vs. UCB info
> OK, I don't actually have a UCB offer. But I have an offer from
> George Mason econ dept. which will expire tomorrow (Wed) ~3pm,
> an hour after I'm scheduled to hear the faculty vote at UC
> Berkeley info dept. on me vs. my one competitor. Since I won't
> have time to consult folks then, I'm asking you my advisors now
> for advise on which to choose should I get a choice. (My other
> possibilities, Naval Postgrad Sch & U Arizona, won't decide
> soon enough to matter.)
I wish I knew enough about these schools to give good advice. I'm
having enough trouble picking a graduate school.
A couple of observations:
GMU seems much more a traditional academic setting. The "products"
listed on the faculty pages focus on books and academic acheivements
like honors and editorships. I note you have a longer list of interesting
people there, which is not surprising given that the faculty is larger.
Eyeballing
the faculty list, it looks more prestigious.
I'd say GMU is more about "explaining".
UCB SIMS seems almost like a corporate research lab - the "products"
listed on the faculty pages focus more on actual systems and algorithms in
use (although not to the exclusion of more traditional academic analyses).
The field is newer (duh!) and more closely tied to an industry, so I'd guess
the long-term opportunities for funding and advancement are superior.
I'd say SIMS is more about "doing".
Right now I'm finding myself drawn to experimental work and I personally would
be more interested in UCB SIMS. What I've seen of your web papers and
discussions seems more theoretically and academically oriented, so it seems
better suited to GMU. However, I suspect my sample of your work is biased
towards more academic/educational stuff simply because that's more suited
to list discussions.
I'd rather live in the Bay Area than DC; DC is largely about government while
the Bay Area has a combination of academics and business I find most
congenial. But I'm not you.
P.S. Really, I don't think you could go wrong with either. What a nice
dilemma!
Received on Tue Feb 16 18:20:00 1999
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