Hi! I want to pursue a career in Marketing. I have been accepted to some universities, but with different majors. I don’t know which one to choose.
I have been accepted to:
-UC Davis: Economics (minor in Communications)
-UC Santa Barbara: Economics (minor Communications)
-UC Irvine: Quantitative Economics
-Cal Poly San Luis Obispo: Business Administration with Marketing Concentration
Still waiting on a decision from UC Berkeley (but I doubt I’ll get in)
Which major is best for a career in Marketing (both economics and creative sides)? Which college? A school with a great reputation and strong program for my intended major is really important to me.
Any advice or comments are greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Take note: I am not too knowledgeable about communications specifically, so I can’t speak to that. But, I do have some general input.
When you graduate, it will not be the name of the major that sticks out so much for employers, but the relevant coursework (and outside experiences) to the positions you want. So, in the long term, the title won’t be as important as the courses you take. I might look over the major requirements at these schools for the programs you intend to go into and see which schools offer the greatest number of relevant courses, the most interesting sounding courses, etc. That should narrow your preferences down a little.
I would also look at department websites for these schools to find out what opportunities current students have landed in the workforce (as jobs or internships), as well as to what extent clubs and volunteer experience related to your field are present at the university. For instance, if one of the schools has a marketing club that has good funding and would give you opportunities to experience marketing in practice, I’d be impressed.
Also, look into some of the marketing/communications/economics/business administration professors at these schools. What schools did they go to? What are their specialties? Have they had any unique experiences? What do students have to say about them? Professors will not only be the ones writing recs for you, but they also shape the content you learn, and in many ways influence how proficient you will be in your field. I’m sure all of these schools have good professors, but do look into the specific departments a bit to see where you might best fit. For example, if UC Irvine has no courses related to marketing, no professor with a specialty/focus/interest in marketing, and no marketing clubs, I’d avoid it, even though Quantitative Economics might be really strong there.
Finally, no matter how sure you are of your major, people to adjust things once they get to university and start taking more classes relevant to their intended majors. So, look at these schools holistically. If you prefer everything about school A more than school B EXCEPT the marketing aspect, you might be better off at school A.
Best of luck to you!
@cecil95 Thank you so much! This really helps! You rock! 
I will definitely do my research!
In your case, UCD, UCI, and UCSB are the best choices, especially if you can take a few statistics classes. They’ll prepare you well for a career in marketing (which relies heavily on statistics as well as communication and economics). The broader majors should help you. Look at what each major requires, which one would allow you most easily to add a couple statistics classes (unless they’re already built-in - in most cases you’ll have 2 quarters of it, taking 3-4 would be better).