Business or Engineering Major for Math Whiz

College Search & Selection
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<p>Does anyone have any advice on selecting between these two majors? My son is gifted in math, always taken accelerated math courses and done well. He just got his SATs back and got an 800 in Math. Many people have suggested he go into engineering, but he has no experience or exposure into the various types of engineering. He's not the kind of person who takes things apart and puts them back together, and he uses computers but doesn't write programs or create web sites. Instead, he is a sports nut and reviews, analyzes and memorizes sports statistics and can report on slugging percentages, on base averages, draft choices, etc. He's also done very well in his Honors Physics class with a 97 average. </p>

<p>This summer he's taking a one week course at Bentley College called Wall Street 101 to learn the basics of Finance and see if this interests him. Is anyone aware of any similar programs for engineering to expose students to the various disciplines to see if he's interested? </p>

<p>When going through the application process next fall he may apply to several schools that offer both engineering and business, so he might possibly be able to explore both options at that time. Lehigh, for example, allows students to take courses from both their engineering and business schools. But ideally he'd like to test drive the majors before applying. Any suggestions?</p>

<p>BTW, CR=600 and Writing=590. He's being tutored in these two and plans to retake in May. Also taking the ACT on 4/12. Bottom line: Very strong in Math, not going to be suited for a small liberal arts college majoring in Psychology or Journalism.</p>

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<p>Your son sounds like a good candidate to major in engineering and minor in business. Add in an MBA and he'll be ready to quickly climb the corporate ladder.</p>

3

<p>Given what you've posted, i'm not sure your son would be too interested in business.
Business doesn't involve very much math. At my school (UC Berkeley) business majors are only required to take a single semester of calculus. Business also involves a substantial amount of writing and a great deal of leadership (not sure if he's involved in any leadership, if he is, perhaps he'll like business). I worry that the curriculum doesn't have enough math and emphasizes things your son isn't interested in.</p>

<p>Since he likes math so much, why not consider an applied math major? It seems like he'd be right at home there, and employment really isn't as bad as you think.</p>

<p>If you want to go for engineering, consider a mechanical engineering program. It's a really broad field with an emphasis on physics (which your son seems to like). A lot of my friends are majoring in it.</p>

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<p>If he plans to go into Wall Street for like Hedgefunding and the like (the big $$ stuff) then a degree in math and a few economics courses will make him more qualified than 90% hum-type majors. Once you get into the swing of things, its your ability to think right that counts, not specific info.</p>