Cambridge vs. LSE vs. Columbia

The Econ courses at LSE are also very mathematical but your correct maths content isn't the be all end all.

Greg mankew (Famous economist) has an interesting post on this http://gregmankiw.blogspot.co.uk/2006/09/why-aspiring-economists-need-math.html

Why would going to LSE or columbia be a regret? It sounds like you've bought too much oxbridge hot air

QS university rankings Economics:

LSE 5th
Columbia 10th
Cambridge 11th

https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2017/economics-econometrics

IDEAS/RePEc (St Louis Fed run) rankings:
LSE - 7th
Coulumbia - 12th
Cambridge - 16th

https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.inst.students.html

If you have a first choice uni in the UK and you end up going to your second choice you are bound to slightly regret it, no? I don't think I'm buying Oxbridge hot air, I could say the same to you with your ranking obsession (which is where people's Oxbridge obsessions comes from anyway).

Whilst this is true, there is a lot of sensationalisation in the media about the extend of these parties. Cambridge is also well known for dorm parties and college parties. In the US since you can't legally drink until 21 this can start to become challenging and actually leads to people looking for other ways to have fun (drugs ect.) so the cultural is actually different.

In regards to making friends, you choose your group and there are lots of people who don't like going clubbing or drinking so this won't be a problem wherever you go

Oh yeah I forgot to mention in potential careers that I am also interested in going into politics. As I said in the OP, if I go to the US I may minor in politics. I have a vision of myself as the first female chancellor

As a point of interest currently LSE are in the process of setting up a year abroad with Columbia (one already exists with Berkeley and Science Po)

Yeah I don't think it's party every night or anything. It's that in the UK, esp. London, people will be going out to clubs and I won't be able to take part, which will be slightly isolating and I would feel sad because I would really want to go! I'm not so sure about just having friends who don't like to drink or party because I still want to do those things, just I can't go to a club. I prefer the american college culture over going out. Like I'd rather have a sesh with a bunch of people from my dorms than go to the clubs or just 'hanging out'. I agree the situation in Cambridge is better than in LSE (mainly bc of the lack of clubs in Cambridge tbh).

Nigerian politics perhaps?

But seriously congrats on all your offers and I hope you enjoy wherever it is you end up at

Lool probably not - too much corruption! And thank you I hope the best for you too!

Though, seriously thanks so much for all the advice Ive received so far! I'm actually receiving more university decisions next week which could potentially throw this whole thing in the air (though I highly doubt i'll get any more offers) but i probably shouldn't count my chickens before they've hatched or whatever. Anyway right now I think Cambridge is my 1st choice but I'm not 100% on it. Columbia vs LSE is all up in the air.

Did u apply to any other US unis

Yeah, Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford but I can say with 99.9% certainty I have been rejected.

Congrats!
I'd say uk is better for undergrad if you know what you want to do. In the US, the first year you do a lot of different courses and specialise in one or two majors in the second year. Cambridge is an amazing university obviously so I wouldn't give that up unless I got Harvard or Princeton

I'd take the safe option and choose Cambridge. As for the age part, I don't think it matters as much. You can still make friends wthrough societies without going to clubs and bars, it's just a bit harder from what I've heard.

Personally I'll be firming LSE for maths and economics but the thing about lse that some people don't like is that people are quite focused on getting into investment banking or other finance careers and devote a lot of their time to social activities relating to this. At Cambridge, you'll find people more interested in the subject overall whereas lse just happens to be more careers focused in terms of students. Some people find that sort of student annoying

Congrats!
I'd say uk is better for undergrad if you know what you want to do. In the US, the first year you do a lot of different courses and specialise in one or two majors in the second year. Cambridge is an amazing university obviously so I wouldn't give that up unless I got Harvard or Princeton

I'd take the safe option and choose Cambridge. As for the age part, I don't think it matters as much. You can still make friends wthrough societies without going to clubs and bars, it's just a bit harder from what I've heard.

Personally I'll be firming LSE for maths and economics but the thing about lse that some people don't like is that people are quite focused on getting into investment banking or other finance careers and devote a lot of their time to social activities relating to this. At Cambridge, you'll find people more interested in the subject overall whereas lse just happens to be more careers focused in terms of students. Some people find that sort of student annoying

Columbia have given me a grant of $55k, but I will need to pay the excess fees and living costs myself (estimated at $25k). Financially, it would be a struggle, but I should not graduate with any debt

Go to Cambridge, then go to Grad school in the US. Obviously Columbia is Ivy league and there's that, but the reputation of Cambridge is unrivalled by anywhere outside of H/Y/P/S in the US. Plus the actual learning experience through tutorials is so unique of Oxbridge, where you can really gain a rigorous understanding of a subject as an undergraduate, whereas with Columbia you'll likely be spending most of your time in lectures for Econ and won't receive quite as much of an undergraduate focus imo.

Obviously there are some pluses of Columbia. Firstly NYC as a location is great, and the Core Curriculum seems nice. But you have to ask yourself whether the expense is really worth it, when arguably your career prospects and education will be identical/superior at Cambridge.

Now, you mentioned that you're unlikely to get into Harvard and the other ivies on Thursday, but to be honest if you've got into all of these places I don't doubt you will probably get into one. If the argument is Cambridge vs somewhere like Harvard or Princeton then I would be more inclined to choose the US, expenses notwithstanding.

you need a uk masters for us grad school if ur uk so not as easy as u make it sound.