<p>I'm kind of stuck as to which major to apply to - trying to figure it out so i can shape my college app well!</p>
<p>So anyways, here are my ECs:</p>
<p>ECs:</p>
<p>-CEO of online businesses
-Several websites and startups
-Ebay business
-Make thousands a year from the above
-Chief Technology Officer/Secretary/Team Leader for Science For Youth (organization teaching kids science - seminars usually have 50+ people attending)
-Varsity Track 4 years (time good enough for top 20-30 in D3 and top 40-50 in D2)
-California Scholarship Federation Life Time Member</p>
<p>Pretty much.... they seem like business ecs. Problem is... I'm not a memorization kind of kid. I can analyze things and think and solve problems, but I can't memorize stuff. My ap history and bio grades are so much lower than my ap chem and math grades. Even my regular history grade pales in comparison to the other 2.</p>
<p>CompSci seems like less memorization, not to mention business involves a lot of history and politics right?</p>
<p>But... the ECs are to try to stir the adcoms eyes away from my gpa/rank... if i applied for compsci, would my ecs even hold any weight?</p>
<p>Or is business less memorization than what I'm imagining?</p>
<p>I'm...stuck haha ^^; Any advice would be great.</p>
<p>I’m a social person though… the idea of not talking for an extended period of time is painful…like sitting in front of a computer with no social interactions for 10 hours a day ;_; I can’t keep my mouth shut for more than 5 minutes. </p>
<p>The idea of memorizing line after line in a history textbook is painful.</p>
<p>I’m really split. I guess I’ll deal with one of them . Honestly though, I think i’d go with the one that can get me into a more prestigious college… prestige doesn’t matter past ucla though P: but… then there’s the other thing about not being allowed to apply to business school o-O</p>
<p>A business degree does not involve history or politics or any more memorization than any other degree (at least not in the universities in which I’ve taught). Sure some involves memorization but a lot of it is analysis, quantitative (ie. finance or accounting problems) or qualitative (ie. analyzing a business case). I also think getting a degree in comp sci does not mean sitting behind a computer for 10 hrs a day. Keep in mind many people start out in more technical positions (from either degree) but if they are half decent at that level, they are usually moved into managing other people and projects. </p>
<p>I think you should avoid trying to base your decision upon what you ‘imagine’ a particular degrees and occupations are like (based on almost no information), and invest time in reading about these majors and particular occupations that emerge from them. </p>
<p>Focus on what you might enjoy as a career, and what you might be good at (given your strengths), and what kinds of colleges you would enjoy and grow the most from; rather than being constrained by what you’ve done so far, or what might get you into a ‘prestigious college’.</p>
<p>If you do go to university unsure, you can start taking the freshman and sophomore courses that fulfill requirements for both majors and then decide later.</p>
<p>The [UC</a> Berkeley career center](<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm]UC”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm) surveys graduates about their immediate post-graduation activities (employed, graduate school, unemployed, other). If you scroll down the page for each major, you can see employers and job titles reported by that major’s graduates, as well as graduate schools and majors reported by those who went to graduate school.</p>
<p>Note that Berkeley has a Computer Science major in its College of Letters and Science and an Electrical Engineering and Computer Science major in its College of Engineering, although the activities of recent graduates are not that much different between the two.</p>
<p>I have done research, which is why I heard it was a lot of memorization. I suppose it’s also my parents describing the jobs to me - they’re quite pushy</p>
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<p>For the prestige issue… it’s a big issue. I’m simply unable to go to college if it’s not prestigious. I make a lot of money but not enough to cover $30k a year. Our family is not low income, and I’d really like to not graduate in debt from student loans. As for what I would enjoy and be good at… i thought about it, and I think both equally in all honesty. That’s why I’m so torn…=/</p>
<p>I’d love to think I’d be better at business, but to be honest you do need to keep up with history and politics, as they can affect the stock prices (I’ve been playing around with the stock market) . I love the idea of business, but I become absorbed when playing around with my websites and technology. </p>
<p>And I forgot to mention this but I plan to double major or at least minor in one of them…so really, what I apply to won’t matter essentially. I just have to get into college ^^;</p>
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<p>Do I apply undecided then? Although that’s not the best idea in my case since I have such focused ECs… >.>; Not sure that will look too good. I definitely want to study both though, as said above :-)</p>
<p>Well, if I were you I’d start out in CS. I too could not memorize and it definitely makes a difference to avoid those ‘hard’ classes and take ‘easier’ classes. For the vast majority, CS would be far harder than history, etc. For people who have trouble memorizing, history is hard. You’ll distinguish yourself with the CS degree. In any case, CS majors can go into management, sales, business, etc. so you’ll have a lot of flexibility.</p>
<p>I think majoring in business as an undergrad is generally a bad idea. I’d go in with the idea of majoring in CS. You may, however, find that it’s a lot harder and less fun than you thought, it is not a major for everyone. There are great prospects for CS majors and it certainly won’t hurt you to know some CS even if you (like over 50% of college students) end up changing majors.</p>
<p>You have to check each college or university. Some will admit all or most freshmen undeclared, to declare their major around junior year (in some cases, majors may be more popular than the number of students that they can handle, so one has to apply to declare such a major). In some other cases, you are admitted as a freshman already declared.</p>
<p>For example, at UC Berkeley, those intending to go into the Business Administration major typically apply to the College of Letters and Science, where all students start undeclared. They then apply to declare the Business Administration major in the School of Business after taking the prerequisite courses (this major is impacted, so meeting the stated prerequisites is no guarantee of being able to declare the major – obviously, higher grades mean better chance of acceptance).</p>
<p>Students intending to go into Computer Science can either enter the College of Letters and Science undeclared and declare the major (L&S CS) after taking the prerequisite courses (currently, this major is not impacted), or enter the College of Engineering declared as an Electrical Engineering and Computer Science major (EECS). Note that freshman admissions standards may differ between the College of Letters and Science and the College of Engineering.</p>
<p>I’d suggest looking into the Computer Information Systems (CIS) major. This is mostly a business degree with courses in management, accounting, finance, marketing, etc., along with perhaps a few computer science and CIS-specific courses.</p>
<p>If you still wanted the hard-core math courses, you could go for an MSCS afterwards.</p>
<p>One note about going undeclared - many schools have major-specific scholarships which the undeclared student wouldn’t be eligible for.</p>
<p>You can major in Business without having to focus on stock prices! There is a lot more to Business Administration than Finance. Within finance, there is a lot more than understanding stock prices. </p>
<p>If you are not interested in keeping up with politics and government and you believe that is critical to playing the market… then don’t play the market. You can get involved in Business in many other ways.</p>
<p>I suggest you apply to the combined CS/Business degree program at USC Viterbi Engineering. If you decide you are more CS, you can switch to pure CS. If you like CS-Business combo, you can continue with this major. If you decide you are more business oriented, you can then apply to Marshall Business. Viterbi is a wonderful Engineering school.</p>
<p>Yes, being in business, sure you SHOULD be up on current events and world politics, but that has nothing whatsoever to do with taking history and politics courses. I WISH business students cared about these things, but sadly they are probably those least likely to read the news on campus or take such courses as electives. </p>
<p>You really do not sound like you’ve done your homework. Researched where exactly? The information you get is only as good as its sources. </p>
<p>And I do not understand what ‘prestige’ and ‘paying for college’ have to do with one another. Is it your parents will only pay for a particular college? If so, let them decide what you should major in since control and uncertainty reduction sounds very important to them.</p>
<p>FWIW, you sound like a very typical business school student, from the type of parents you have, to your need for resume prestige, and the instrumental vs. intellectual focus on your future education.</p>
<p>What colleges do you have in mind? As others have said, it can make a difference in what majors are available (some don’t have a UG ‘business major’ for example) and some colleges require one to declare a CS major up front and be admitted to the college of engineering which might have a higher level of admissions requirements than for the college of letters and sciences at the same U. Also, CS majors typically need to start right in taking courses within that major since it’s a ‘full’ major requiring a lot of classes to be taken - more than many other majors.</p>
. Honestly though, I think i’d go with the one that can get me into a more prestigious college… prestige doesn’t matter past ucla though P: but… then there’s the other thing about not being allowed to apply to business school o-O</p>
I just have to get into college ^^;</p>