Boston University vs University of Rochester for economics: which is better for an undergrad student?

The biggest practical tradeoff is scale and setting versus a smaller, more individualized academic experience. Boston University gives you a larger economics department in a major city, with easier access to internships during the school year and stronger day-to-day proximity to finance, consulting, and policy organizations. The University of Rochester offers a more intimate academic environment, a very analytically oriented economics program, and a campus culture that tends to be especially strong for students who like theory, quantitative work, and close faculty interaction.

For economics specifically, Rochester has a long-standing reputation for being unusually rigorous in microeconomics, formal modeling, and related quantitative social science. Its economics department is often especially appealing to students considering research, graduate school, or a more math-heavy version of the major. The smaller undergraduate population can also make it easier to build relationships with professors and get involved in research earlier.

BU, though, has real advantages for many undergrads that are not just about name recognition. Its economics program is well established, the course selection is broad, and being in Boston matters a lot if you want internships while classes are in session. That can be especially useful for students interested in applied economics, business-adjacent paths, public policy, or careers where location and networking start paying off before senior year.

If the question is which school is more highly regarded specifically for undergraduate economics strength, Rochester often gets the edge among people who care most about the academic rigor of the discipline itself. If the question is which school may create more practical undergrad opportunities around economics because of location and scale, BU is very compelling.

For pure economics as an academic major, I would lean Rochester. For economics combined with internship access, urban professional exposure, and a broader pre-professional environment, BU can be the more useful choice.