Master’s Program Virtual Visit A Success
On Friday, April 24, Bart Lipman, Karen Rodi and Hsueh-Ling Huynh hosted a Virtual Visit for students admitted to the Economics Master’s Program this fall.
Over 50 students from all over the world registered for the session, most of them were 12-14.5 hours away in China or India. This is our third year staging the MA virtual visit, so we were old hands at Zoom long before it became cool. After a short presentation about the excellence of the economics faculty and unique qualities of our master’s programs, we were joined by MA alumni leader Kelly Colden (BA/MA 2014, Global Account Finance Advisor at Ernst & Young in Boston) and GEA representative Danielle Aron (MAGDE expected 2021). There are no better ambassadors for the master’s program. Despite a bit of awkwardness for many participants, the atmosphere of the meeting was active and enthusiastic. Many questions were raised and addressed – about academics, research opportunities and career prospects, social and intellectual climate, life in Boston, and administrative issues. In particular, the audience was interested in the effectiveness of online teaching, and the possibility of deferring their admission to Spring 2021 should the global pandemic or its aftermath prevent them from joining the program in Fall 2020.
They left the meeting reassured. During the presentation Bart showed an aerial photograph of the BU campus in which people can be seen on Marsh Plaza. We look forward to the next Virtual Visit on May 8.
As the present crisis runs its course, the volume of MA applications we reviewed this year and the number of admission acceptances we have received to date stand defiantly at record highs.