Need for Math to Study Econ – Excellent Description – But…

The post, http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/the-complete-guide-to-getting-into-an-economics-phd-program/278773/#comments , in The Atlantic gives a careful description of how much math is needed in econimics, except for one flaw.  The authors conflate “course” with “content”.  I discussed that in my comment, which I copied below.  Still, I think it is an excellent and enlightening article. ” I am a math professor who […]

High Unemployment for Recent Grads in Info Systems, Comp. Sci., and Engineering

Today’s USA Today has a good article on unemployment for recent grads. (http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2013/07/30/tech-job-unemployment/2595669/) I commented with my views. “After spending over a quarter of a century as a college professor, this does not surprise me. It does sadden me.  We are seeing the observations of Clark Kerr (“…This shift from academic merit to student consumerism […]

Dartmouth Also Has a 3-2 Program. How Does It Compare to Wash.U. and Columbia?.

Here are the differences that stand out to me. (1) Dartmouth has a list of 19 schools that it participates with.  Wash. U.’s list has 86 and Columbia’s has 102. (2) Unlike Wash. U. and Columbia, Dartmouth doesn’t seem to guarantee admission.  Wash. U. and Columbia appear to guarantee admission to students with a specified […]

Washington University Engineering Says Northwest Missouri’s Calculus and Physics is “Equivalent” to Theirs

There is an article in today’s NY Times that mentions Randolph College and some of the problems they, and others, are having filling freshman slots.  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/26/education/in-a-recovering-economy-a-decline-in-college-enrollment.html?pagewanted=all I commented and will include that at the bottom of this post.  But first this. Randolph College is one of the schools affiliated with Washington University’s 3-2 Engineering Program.  […]

Columbia University – Another 3-2 Program Like Wash. U.’s?

Maybe.  I won’t make this post long.  I will just give the links. Here is the link to the list of affiliate schools for Columbia: http://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/combined_plan_affiliates_2012-13.pdf Here is the link to the program “guarenteed admissions” information: http://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/apply/combined-plan In a later post, I will explain why I think it matters and why I think these programs may be just money […]

Want to be an Engineering Major at an “Elite” School But Your ACT Composite is 25? Washington University in St. Louis Has a Special Program For You.

First, about the program. This is from Wash. U.’s website: “…Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) cooperates with a select [itlalics added for emphasis] group of affiliated colleges and universities to offer the opportunity to earn a liberal arts degree (from their current school) and an undergraduate engineering degree (from WUSTL). Participants are undergraduate students […]

What the Engineering School at Washington University in St. Louis Wants You to Know – And What It DOESN’T Want You To Know

They want you to know: that “…the average SAT verbal and math scores … for admitted undergraduate students…” in 2013 was Math 762, Verbal 722.  Here is the link to the Engineering School’s Spring 2013 issue of Engineering Momentum, a magazine that they publishe. http://engineering.wustl.edu/contentfiles/marketing/Engineering%20Momentum%20Spring%202013.pdf (Go to page 3, the “At A Glance” page and […]

Students: Understand the difference between Oranges and Apples when picking a school

Let’s compare the Math SAT scores from Washington University in St. Louis School of Engineering, MIT and Carnegie-Mellon’s Engineering and Computer Science. MIT’s admitted middle 50% is 740 to 800.  The average for those admitted who enroll is 765. Carnegie-Mellon’s middle 50% for those who enroll is 740 to 800 for Engineering and 780 to 800 for […]

Comment on another of Jordan Weissmann’s posts in the Atlantic

I commented on http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/03/the-miserable-odds-of-a-poor-student-graduating-from-college-in-2-graphs/274250/#comments I wanted to note differences between schools.  Here is a copy of my comment, but there are also some resonses on the site.  Anyway, here is the copy. “Unfortunately, gross statistics can be misleading in the case of higher education. This can be especially true for low-income students who are most […]