Getting a dual degree in four years

[WillJ]

Funny thing is Washington U is like in the top 20 schools and rising every year . I'm also planning to getting a dual degree, International Business and something else, I don't know what.

Top 10 now, actually.

(although I'm skeptical that the U.S. News and World Report rankings actually mean much of anything)

 

[blackheart]

Top 10 now, actually.

(although I'm skeptical that the U.S. News and World Report rankings actually mean much of anything)

It's pretty high up there in other reviews too. But reviews don't mean squat if the school doesn't fit for you.

 

[WillJ]

It's pretty high up there in other reviews too.

Yeah, I guess in addition I meant any U.S. News and World Report-ish rankings. They try to rank the quality of schools, which can only objectively be done by looking at indirect factors: selectivity, average test scores, retention rates, endowment, etc. While these do work somewhat (and I don't think they should just be ignored), they're not anywhere near a perfect measure. What they do is comparable to measuring the quality of a wine by the average income of its purchasers.

But reviews don't mean squat if the school doesn't fit for you.

Yep.

 

[SonicX]

In Belgium, combining different degrees is only possible after you've finished your first bachelor degree.

 

[Dida]

Right now, it is ranked higher than such big names like:
Northwestern, Cornell, Brown, Chicago, and UC-Berkley.

but not many people know it as a top school, certainly not perceived to be in the league of schools like those I cited above.

If I am given the same offer to go to University of Chicago, or Washington U in SL, I will definitedly go Chicago.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Duke's Fuqua School of Business is for graduate work. Primarily MBA and executive programs. Given the schools you mentioned, WU, Duke, WF, UVA and UNC, Duke is probably the most selective with out of state UNC next. Go for the school that fits the environment you want.

 

[SeleucusNicator]

But why would one want to do the BA+MA thing?

For me, its simply a love of the subject type thing. I'd love to do graduate-level work in International Relations Theory, but the economics of getting a PhD there simply don't work out for me. Getting a one-year MA lets me do that, then quickly go on to some more profitable form of graduate school.

 

[SeleucusNicator]

Also, the thing about the rankings is that they are easily manipulated by schools. That's because part of what goes into the rankings is the percentage of applicants accepted -- the lower that is, the higher you will be ranked.

Most schools accept only x number of students per year; that's tied to the number of freshmen their housing can hold. So if they get more applicants, they become more "selective" and their ranking rises. A school can easily up their ranking by raising the number of applicants, which they do through more vigorous advertising. A number actually send out brochures and "we're interested in you" type things to students they know they'll reject, because they want them to apply and therefore increase the "selectiveness" of their school.

 

[Flak]

It's a lot easier to get a second degree if it's related because so many courses overlap in qualificatioins. I knew a guy who combined Music (performing arts degree) and Engineering Physics. That added about a year and a half. I myself added a Math degree to Electrical Engineering. No problem really. It added the equivalent of maybe a semester extra math classes. And I like math so...

 

[SonicX]

For me, its simply a love of the subject type thing. I'd love to do graduate-level work in International Relations Theory, but the economics of getting a PhD there simply don't work out for me. Getting a one-year MA lets me do that, then quickly go on to some more profitable form of graduate school.

Is it that rare to do a Masters degree after Bacherlors degree over there ? Over here it's normal, and a lot of students go for a second masters degree as well.
A plain bachelor's degree is close to uselss.

 

[Dida]

I agree. If you really want a good job and respect from folks, you need more than just bachelor. MD, JD, PhD are preferred, but Master should put you one step ahead of the rest. the reason is college edu. is so wide spread today, every useless slug can have a shot at a bachelor degree, it really doesn't say much, unless you went to an expensive good private school, and did extraordinarily well.

 

[luiz]

If I really wanted to, I could also graduate in Mathematic and Statistics, in 5 years (I'm already graduating on Industrial Engineering, which covers most credits of Math and Statistics). In 5 and a half yeard I could graduate in all of those plus Economics, in other words I would end the Uni with 4 diplomas.

That would mean sacrificing most if not all my free time, which is a cost that I'm not willing to pay. Furthermore people who graduate in IE in my Uni have access to excellent jobs anyway.

You should carefully weight the cost and benefit of doing this.

 

[Dida]

staying in school can mean fun. especially if you take it easy and spread out the course load.

 

[blackheart]

staying in school can mean fun. especially if you take it easy and spread out the course load.

Yea but it costs more money

 

[WillJ]

@luiz and blackheart: Yep, if I do this, I'll have to face either less money in my wallet, less free time, or a combination of both.

If I went to the University of Alabama (which isn't that unlikely), I'd almost certainly do this, as the tuition is very digestible, and so I could stay for 5 or 6 years and have a good time. But if I go to one of these private schools I've mentioned, I'll have to seriously think through this. (And if I go to UVA, I'll have to find a way to establish Virginia residency. )

Right now, it is ranked higher than such big names like:
Northwestern, Cornell, Brown, Chicago, and UC-Berkley.

but not many people know it as a top school, certainly not perceived to be in the league of schools like those I cited above.

If I am given the same offer to go to University of Chicago, or Washington U in SL, I will definitedly go Chicago.

Chicago's another school I'm considering (Brown even moreso, although I didn't list it earlier because it doesn't have a business program and so isn't related to this thread), although it seems almost as bad in this respect. It's possibly the hardest school in the country (it is the place where fun goes to die, after all ) and will provide you with possibly the greatest education (especially for an econ major like me), and it's damn expensive, but it's thought of as second-rate in comparison to the Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, et al. Some even confuse it with the University of Illinois at Chicago. Or am I wrong here?

Duke's Fuqua School of Business is for graduate work. Primarily MBA and executive programs. Given the schools you mentioned, WU, Duke, WF, UVA and UNC, Duke is probably the most selective with out of state UNC next. Go for the school that fits the environment you want.

Actually, UNC out-of-state is the most competitive of them. And although it seems like a good school, I'd have to say it's not as good of a match as some of the other schools that I'd without a doubt get accepted into if I got accepted into it (namely the others in my little list here).

For me, its simply a love of the subject type thing. I'd love to do graduate-level work in International Relations Theory, but the economics of getting a PhD there simply don't work out for me. Getting a one-year MA lets me do that, then quickly go on to some more profitable form of graduate school.

Makes sense.

 

[Dida]

Univ of Chicago is in similar rank as NYU I guess. My uncle went to Brown for his undergrad, and NYU from his MD, didn't look like Brown was very difficult. But Chicago is a very strong school, good econ department.

 

[SeleucusNicator]

Chicago's another school I'm considering (Brown even moreso, although I didn't list it earlier because it doesn't have a business program and so isn't related to this thread), although it seems almost as bad in this respect. It's possibly the hardest school in the country (it is the place where fun goes to die, after all ) and will provide you with possibly the greatest education (especially for an econ major like me), and it's damn expensive, but it's thought of as second-rate in comparison to the Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, et al. Some even confuse it with the University of Illinois at Chicago. Or am I wrong here?

Yeah, we get absolutely no street cred.

If you're looking for a school that passes what I call the "man on the bus test" (that is, if a random guy on a bus asks you where you go to school, and you answer truthfully, will he be impressed) then stay away from Chicago.

 

[WillJ]

Yeah, we get absolutely no street cred.

If you're looking for a school that passes what I call the "man on the bus test" (that is, if a random guy on a bus asks you where you go to school, and you answer truthfully, will he be impressed) then stay away from Chicago.

Indeed, hehe. But passing the "man on the bus test" isn't terribly important to me. Or else I wouldn't be interested in Wash U.

What are much more important are the "man at the graduate school test" and the "potential boss test." And while graduate school admissions people practically have orgasms at the thought of U of Chicago applicants (or so I hear), I fear some employers might not be the same.