<p>I'd be interested if someone could give me the pros and cons for the following major combinations (I am a freshman at Emory w/ currently a 4.0):
1. BBA and Chemistry
2. Economics and Chemistry
3. BBA and a joint Econ/Math Major
Assuming I would do well in any of those combinations and that I have an equal interest in each one, what are your thoughts as to which would be best in terms of job placement (finance related) and grad school placement (most likely a MBA).</p>
<p>econ/math imo</p>
<p>majoring in chem is hard......
that's why not many people do it.. haha.</p>
<p>Hard is good, no? Clearly finance and chemistry are hardly related... but coming from Emory and not HYP, wouldn't it help to distinguish myself with something like an Econ/ Chem double major?</p>
<p>if you want a job that is finance related.. i'd say your best bet is to go with #3, BBA and a joint Econ/Math Major.</p>
<p>you should definitely major in business because you will have more resources available (such as career counseling, etc) compared to the arts and sciences school at emory.</p>
<p>I would go with number 3 or just double major in econ/math or what you should also consider is BBA and double in political sci or if offered political economics, that would be a lethal combo.</p>
<p>I would advise disregarding Pre-medwannabe. BBA+Political Economics offers no real edge in business world. Econ/math is undoubtedly the way to go. If you can get 4.0 in econ/math from Emory, doors will open.</p>
<p>Yea I'd go with Econ/math as well.</p>
<p>BBA + Political economics = Consulting Wonderland. Econ/Math would be better for IB.</p>
<p>Jkh411,</p>
<p>Assuming that your academic interests are indeed equal across the board, and assuming that you are most interested in a finance-related position in the future, I would advise you to focus on either Economics and/or if you wish, apply to Goizueta for your junior/senior years and get your BBA, with or without joint or minor in Economics. If you truly have an interest in Chemistry, pursue it by taking classes, but a joint major with Chem is simply a very tough path, and it will take away from time/energy you can apply to other academic riches that exist at Emory. Unless you know that your specific aim is to work within a given industry (i.e., pharmaceuticals), it would not matter much unless your unsaid motive is to maintain an option for future R&D positions, in which case, you would likely want to pursue an M.S. as well.</p>
<p>To offer some bona fides, I have a daughter who is also at Emory, so Im familiar with the academic programs and the B-School. As well, Ive also spent the past 30+ years in the business world, with half this time spent within both financial services organizations as well as a well-known pharmaceutical/biotech company. Presently, I work with a range of companies across a breadth of industries in executive staffing, including C-level and senior financial/technology positions. </p>
<p>In all candor, I think hiring executives who are looking to fill financial positions look for evidence of solid financial concepts, but not necessarily a business, finance or accounting degree. At Goizueta, if you are able to be admitted there for your junior year, I think the approach they take to exposing students to broad concepts of business is really excellent. It would prepare you well for anything in the business world and give you exposure to selected areas of concentration, if that is what interests you. My own bias, and I dont think Im alone in this, is that an Economics degree is fundamentally the best preparation for business. It gives you a lot of options, and opens your mind to the perspectives of what business is about.</p>
<p>Singularly, the quality that probably makes the difference more often than not is excellent communication skills (both verbal and written). At the onset of your career, you will be evaluated based on your potential. Five years into your work life, you will be evaluated based on your performance on the job. Another five years hence, and you will be assessed via your track record of tangible results and their impact on the companies youve worked for. And not so surprisingly, employers will take on the viewpoint of what have you done for me lately? Your concern about how your Emory degree looks compared to a degree from HYP is unnecessary. The recruiters that show up at Goizueta are often the same ones who visit HYP. Its still early, so the best thing you can do now is to educate yourself broadly, maintain your curious nature (so that youre always asking questions and thinking about how things can be better), and constantly seek to improve your communication abilities. When the time comes that you interview with a recruiter, if youve been diligent at Emory, you should be fine.</p>
<p>BTW, I think the BBA program at Goizueta is a good alternative to getting an MBA immediately, which I do not recommend. A good career path is to work for 2-3 years following graduation before applying to a top business school. Those early years offer opportunities to truly understand the experiential side of the business world (which only occasionally resembles The Office on TV ;) ). Itll be an introduction to building a business case, implementing best practices or continuous process improvement, or applying business process re-engineering, working cross-functionally, etc. After being inundated with these notions, you can go into an MBA program and invent your own terms. ;)</p>
<p>take a look at the admissions process at emory, if the b-school is harder to get into (versus the liberal arts school/sciences school for the chemistry/economics major) then do the BBA. it's really as simple as that.</p>
<p>when it comes down to recruiting they will see who is in the b-school and will most likely figure they're smarter because they went through a tougher admissions process.</p>
<p>obviously a really strong economics GPA can offset that, but really why go through all the trouble</p>