Can anyone help?? I still haven't decided engineering, business, or arts & science!

College Search & Selection
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<p>The title says all. I am a senior whose still having trouble where I should apply; school of engineering, school of arts & science, or school of business for those applicable. So here's the dilemma.</p>

<p>My dream is to become a prominent investor at Wall Street or get recruited from companies like JP Morgan. Clearly, a major in business seems to suit me best. To be honest however, I don't have the so-called 'driving passion' to become one. I'm simply very interested in that field since I witnessed first hand from my father's occupation as a business manager.</p>

<p>But in the long term, I plan to pursue a MBA degree and thus a business degree in undergrad seems rather needless. Instead, I can concentrate on something I enjoy alternatively such as pure mathematics or economics, in which case, college of arts & science would be a better match. I truly do enjoy studying abstract theories of pure math, although I'm not the brightest in that area (4 in AIME). The only reason that might hinder me from declaring pure math as my major would be that there is no 'vision' (i.e. available jobs) after graduation and that I fear I wouldn't be able to compete with the brilliant mathematicians in college.</p>

<p>Then again, throughout high school, my primary interest lied in areas pertaining to science. And I must admit, my mind is much more analytically oriented than composing creative writings. I mainly enjoyed classes in modern physics and general chemistry. A degree in engineering (with perhaps a minor in math) would open up a much wider range of possible occupations after graduation, although I do plan to continue 'till grad school. Judging from my courses and extracurricular records, there is little doubt that I'm a much stronger applicant for school of engineering.</p>

<p>This is far too hard of a judgement for a 17 year old to make. Or perhaps I'm just not mature and knowledgeable enough to decide. With exception to a handful of colleges, I'm aware that a transfer to different departments within the college is extremely hard. The colleges I'm mainly focusing at are Penn, Northwestern, Columbia, and Duke.</p>

<p>Can anyone lend me an advice?
I truly, honestly, would appreciate all thoughts and opinions.</p>

<p>ps. I really apologize if this post sounded like a gradiloquent brag about myself. I didn't intend to write in such tone (this indicates something about my writing ability, doesn't it...)</p>

<p>Thanks again for even reading this rent of a 17 year old.</p>

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<p>I think that you shouldn't apply to a school of engineering solely because you feel you are a stronger applicant for that than for a school of business or arts and science. If you plan on doing an MBA, get a bachelors in a major that you love. Do what you know you will not complain about when it comes to homework and tests. Then get a job in the business side of that industry for a few years before your MBA. </p>

<p>Also, if you are unsure about what you want to do now, I would not recommend enigineering. The core is very strong and if you change your mind on what you would like to major in, you dont have many other options. At least in arts and sciences you can change to philosophy from math.</p>

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<p>Um... why not apply to Penn? Great math, good economics, good engineering, good college of arts and science stuff, and well, Wharton.</p>

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<p>thanks for the light-speed replies! karen. I forgot to mention that aside from business, I'd like to major in artificial intelligence/computer science and hopefully somehow combine the robotics career with business. thanks for the reply. </p>

<p>and illinois_kid. yes, I am applying to penn! it is one of my dream schools :)</p>

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<p>ideuler, your plight is not at all unusual for a 17 year old and in my opinion actually a healthy and positive outlook. </p>

<p>Undergraduate engineering and business maybe direct routes to career placement, but there is a lot more to college than vocational school. At the schools that you are interested in you will have the opportunity to receive a wonderful liberal arts education. You will be encouraged to expand your horizons, to experiment in fields that you know nothing about, to push your comfort zone. In otherwords to learn to THINK, learn to analyze, learn to articulate. Don’t underestimate the value of such an education in the work place, in business or any other field.</p>

<p>I have nothing against engineering as a field of study, but it sounds like you’re not ready to make such a serious commitment. I also have nothing against business school but I would agree with your assessment that a degree in something like economics or math followed by an MBA (with some real life experience in the middle) would be preferable.</p>

<p>My advice is to calm down on the career front and get excited on the education front. </p>

<p>PS, I hope you have a safety or two along with those super-selectives.</p>

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<p>Check out Michigan-Ann Arbor. It has top 5 undergraduate Engineering and Business programs and excellent Arts and Science offerings, particularly in the Social Sciences, Mathematics and Physics. At Michigan, transfering from Engineering to Arts and Sciences is automatic, whereas transfering from Arts and Sciences to Engineering, although common and relatively easy, isn't automatic. So I recommend you apply to the CoE. Michigan's B-School (Ross) has historically been accessible only to students already enrolled at the University. However, this has changed as of last year and Ross now "preadmits" close to 100 freshmen applicants each year. Those lucky few are pretty much guaranteed a spot at Ross once they have completed the pre-requisite courses satisfactorily. Those who aren't as luck can apply again once at the University. Typically, students who maintain 3.6+ GPAs at Michigan stand a decent chance.</p>

<p>JP Morgan, and all other exclusive IBs and MCs consider Michigan a major hunting ground for undergraduate talent. Anywhere from 25-40 (roughly half of them from the B-School the other half fro the CoE and the college of LSA) undergraduate students join JP Mogran as full-time Analysts annually. Almost as many end up at Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and UBS. Other IBs that recruit heavily at Michigan are Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Lazard, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgran Stanley and BNP Parisbas. Those 10+ IBs combined hire well over 100 Michigan undergrads annually. MCs like Bain, BCG, Booz Allen, McKinsey and Mercer all recruit undergrads at Michigan too. Finally, many large manufacturing companies, like Amgen, Boeing, Daimler Chrysler, Ford, GE, GM, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg, Lockheed Martin, Medtronic, Microsoft and Pfizer activelly recruit undergrads on campus. Opportunities for internships at those companies are just as common.</p>

<p>Other universities (other than the ones you mentioned above) I recommend you look into are Carnegie Mellon, Chicago, Cornell, MIT and UVa.</p>

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<p>thank you so much! yes, michigan is definately one of my top choice schools. I'll be applying very soon for rolling admission before the seats get taken! It's great news to hear that rejectees for Ross are re-considered for other departments of michigan. I've been pondering whether I should take the risk and apply to Ross or 'safely' apply to LSA before. It's a rare find to have excellence throughout all department areas. I wish I could be a michigan resident and receive FA! Cornell, MIT, CMU, and Chicago are all included on my list : ) </p>

<p>momrath. I definately agree with your point about "learning to think, learning to analyze, and learning to articulate" thanks for the advice. one of the things i regret about high school is that I've focused far too much on what I think colleges want from me. I was simply a grade grubber who neglected everything else but the letter grade 'A,' and someone who reluctantly joined clubs that I don't take interest in vague hopes that colleges will be impressed. I wish I could've taken more time to sit back, relax, and read more books to increase my thinking capacity, or utilized that time to experiment with my social skills. I hope I can make up for all these experiences once I'm in college.</p>

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<p>There is no risk in applying to Ross now. You must first be admitted into the college of LSA before you are considered for Ross "preadmit" status. And applying for "preadmit" does not hurt your chances if you reapply once at the University. So you really lose nothing. </p>

<p>If you are considering MIT seriously, I assume you have very strong credentials (top 1% class rank, close to 4.0 GPA and 1500+ SAT/34+ ACT). If that's the case, you should have a shot at some merit scholarship money (as little as $5,000/year and as much as $25,000/year), so don't give up on getting some money.</p>

<p>And do not regret having approached your high school education clinically. High school is intended to teach students the basics. University is where you are supposed to broaden your horizons. You will have 4 years to do so in college.</p>

<p>Good luck and keep us posted.</p>