<p>Firstly, I'd like to thank anyone who offers advice.</p>
<p>I know little of what I want to do or study. I don't wish to study the sciences, math or arts as I'm neither passionate nor talented in those disciplines. I want to be in a career/industry where I can comfortably make a lot of money (My family's poor.) I'm keen on entering the banking/finance/consultancy industry or something entrepreneurial subsequently.</p>
<p>I'm inclined towards a business or economics degree. Some contend that an undergraduate business degree is not useful and can be acquired later in one's career. Moreover, they argue that an Economics degree develops one's critical thinking and analytical skills and is looked upon more favorably by companies.</p>
<p>I'm stupid. All my life, I've worked harder than others and still get poorer grades. I'm sick of studying subjects which I'm neither interested about nor good in. I've never studied Economics nor Business subjects previously. But I know I'd prefer to study a subject that is directly applicable to my career as I've noticed I grasp subjects better when they are related to the "real-world" and less abstract. I suck at tests and exams but do better in projects. I've heard that Economics can involve a lot of math which is my Achilles' heel.</p>
<p>I understand that there will be lots of work in college and I'm willing to face that. However, I want to be in a school where it's not all about academics and competition for the best jobs. I want to try so many new things and meet new people in college. I don't wish to spend all my time studying. </p>
<p>I'm current looking to study Economics at Northwestern and Duke. For Berkeley and Michigan, I'm thinking of entering their respective business schools while I'm there. Lastly, I'm considering Cornell's Applied Economics and Management program. All look like solid choices.</p>
<p>I know it's difficult to make a comparison, but in your opinion, which would be a better fit for me?</p>
<p>(first of all, how could you be stupid…look at your college choices!) that being said, I say Cornell AEM without question. Reason is, AEM people notoriously don’t have as much work as the rest of the campus and dont have to stress out about their classes, but theyre in a number 4 ranked national undergrad business program and they do really well after grad. Sounds like you really don’t want to be completely run down and stressed out by your classes in college (totally understandable), and Cornell AEM can give you success and keep you less stressed out. And I would think the AEM major is more of a real world application and not so abstract from what I’ve heard about it. But anyway, you will not spend all your time studying if you do AEM at Cornell…and you will have time to party and let loose. If it tells you anything, they put a good portion of the athletes in AEM </p>
<p>However…AEM is a unique program. The other programs you’re looking at will probably be A LOT of work and will have you pretty stressed out. And what you’re saying about math being a big part of economics seems to be true. I know someone here who is weak at math and wanted to do an econ major. She’s pretty stressed about it and is second-guessing the decision. And I think the business programs at Berkeley and Michigan have the potential to be even more stressful. Sounds like AEM will be exactly what you want. </p>
<p>(By the way, I’m transferring out of Cornell based on personal preferences…so this is not a biased response like some responses you may get on this board )</p>
<p>This is a tough and sensitive topic that pertains to many students trying to plan a future successful career (and their definition of success means making a lot of money). I understand your situation, and I know it sounds clich</p>
<p>Something I learned about grades - which will not be acknowledged on this forum obsessed with test averages and such - is that most education (especially through high school and early college) is geared to serve memorization and regurgitation rather than foster genuine analytical intelligence. </p>
<p>Those who master regurgitation - or are trained to master that - excel, are deemed “smart”, and are admitted to the best schools in the country. I saw it happen time and time again. Those who have creative minds - as you seem to have - are made to feel inferior or, as you think, stupid. Even though I intellectually tested in, I had to drop out of an AP Honors History class freshman year of high school because I could not just regurgitate endless facts. The teacher told my dad she was sad to see me go. I was the only one in the whole class who could think for myself.</p>
<p>So, try branching out into more creative or philosophical interests. You clearly have a strong mind, based on what you wrote. The educational system might be what is stupid. That’s how it was for me. It was not until my junior year of college that I learned this, selected a style of classes with no testing and all writing / analyzing, and realized, “holy crap, I’m smart!” I suspect you’re in the same boat.</p>
<p>Also - I wouldn’t say, “I’m poor. I want to make money.” as the basis for your path. If you find something for which you are passionate, you will find it much easier to make money than simply a field where a lot of people make a lot of money. Those people are cutthroat and work endless hours to make that money. There’s not a lot of creativity to it either. Even with a degree, if you do not have that instinct you won’t make a lot. </p>
<p>Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself, so we can help you find programs that fit your needs. You didn’t include any of your current interests, extra-curricula activities, employment experience, grades, scores, etc.</p>
<p>Thank you for that frank, unbiased response. Cornell’s AEM program has seen a meteoric rise in the BusinessWeek rankings (although rankings only count so much.) I have to admit that I’m very attracted to the program. I’ve looked at the distribution requirements. One still has to fulfill Math and Science; Science due to CALS’s requirements but it looks minimal and I should be able to handle it. </p>
<p>I’ve gone through the Cornell forums and many students outside of AEM program comment that the program is easier to do well in and that the bulk of students in the program are athletes. The only weak point of the AEM program I can think of (and I’m trying hard here) may be its relatively small alumni as the program is relatively new.</p>
<p>^Just want to point out that Cornell does offer bio/chem/physics courses that are designed for non-majors so they won’t be as intense.</p>
<p>While AEM itself is still fairly new, there is the alumni network from when AEM used to be the Agricultural Business major. But don’t worry, many firms recruit AEM students and the career development office will assist you in finding summer internships. You won’t be left hanging :-)</p>
<p>And…I agree with the other posters. You aren’t stupid. You know what you want and you were able to articulate that well. Spend your summer getting some sort of business experience or do some other activity that demonstrates o the colleges you apply to that you are a “hands on” person. Good luck!</p>
<p>Hey dewdrop - I don’t know how bad he is in math/science. The kid I am referring to who transferred to CAS took something like “Why is the sky blue” as a physical science requirement and struggled :)</p>
<p>The business major started to broaden the focus of ag business towards business management in the 1960s. Before it was called AEM it was called ARME (the kids pronounced it “army)” which stood for Agricultural, Resource and Managerial Economics. It was only called ARME for about 7 years. This program had more name changes than I could recite! The name changed to AEM in 2000, it became accredited in 2002. I’m sure they would be happy to change the name again - if a donor comes through with a naming gift!! </p>
<p>The alum network is strong and connected. I am part of that network and I am proud to say we hire a lot of Cornellians - from many majors including AEM, but not limited to AEM. I do look to see that the student challenged himself/herself though, regardless.</p>
<p>no probs antwerp…yeah im not sure what the math/science requirements are, but i know the math/science requirements for CAS can be easily BSed and gotten out of the way. i know plenty of people in “math for poets” kinda classes. they write essays instead of doing math problems…its pretty funny. but yeah, you’ll probably run into those requirements wherever you go…probably Brown is the only place that really lets you avoid the subjects youre bad at lol</p>
<p>“Hey dewdrop - I don’t know how bad he is in math/science. The kid I am referring to who transferred to CAS took something like “Why is the sky blue” as a physical science requirement and struggled”</p>
<p>In my time at Cornell (early 1970s), it was called Ag Ec, for Agricultural Economics, but everyone understood that it was possible to structure that major in such a way that it constituted an undergraduate business program, with no agriculture content whatsoever. In fact, one of the things that everyone at Cornell (but practically nobody from outside the campus) understood was that it was possible to graduate from the agriculture college in several different majors in which it was never necessary to have the slightest acquaintance with agriculture (Communications and Biology were among the others).</p>
<p>The equivalent of AEM has been around much longer than the formal, officially recognized program has existed.</p>
<p>Marion… so true. You have to be immersed in the culture of Cornell to understand the nuance of AEM! I think if/when it gets named and it becomes the “XYZ business program” at Cornell University, it will be better for branding and marketing purposes (like Haas, Wharton, Ross, etc.). It’s too bad that Johnson didn’t name the undergraduate business program as well.</p>
<p>@Tahoe, thank you for the comprehensive replies. </p>
<p>As someone who has entered the workforce, you have the gift of experience that I lack, which I will take many years to acquire. I believe you’re right. Regardless of which school and program I enter in, I should eventually end in the same place. It is just that at such a stage in my life, every single decision seems to have the potential to make seismic shifts in my life.</p>
<p>I’ve looked at the distribution requirements on the AEM major. There are some basic classes on Quantitative Methods, but beyond that, the other classes seem less focused on Mathematics are more on concept and theory. Am I right? </p>
<p>"I understand your situation, and I know it sounds clich</p>
<p>Just look at all the majors in the Ag and Life Sciences school and it becomes evident very quickly that perhaps the school is a little misnamed. Everything from sociology to engineering is in there.</p>
<p>Antwerp: I’m not an academic advisor, so you should probably call Cornell with specific curriculum questions… However, I can tell you that you have to choose at least one of 10 areas of specialization in the AEM program. My hunch is that you are interested in Applied Economics or Finance but you might be better off concentrating on Marketing and Entrepreneurship. I also don’t know where your weakness is in math… but you cannot get around taking some level of economics, stat, accounting, etc. You might be able to place out of Calc, depending on your AP score or your placement exam. To understand the markets you need math. Also, in any business school, they will look at your SAT math scores pretty closely.</p>
<p>Also, as an employer in the finance industry, I can tell you that I would look at your transcript to see that you have challenged yourself and not taken the minimum AEM requirements. If you were applying for a marketing position, I obviously wouldn’t necessarily care that that challenge came from quantitative studies…</p>
<p>P.S. Antwerp - I took some time to look at your other posts, and since you seem interested in learning more about Duke’s Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, you might want to learn more about Cornell’s PAM (Policy & Management) Department in the College of Human Ecology. [Human</a> Ecology-Policy Analysis and Management-Home](<a href=“http://www.human.cornell.edu/che/PAM/index.cfm]Human”>http://www.human.cornell.edu/che/PAM/index.cfm)</p>
<p>I believe Cornell’s AEM program requires a year of biology. This due to the fact that it began as an agribusiness degree. That said, AEM does have the reputation as a relatively easy major, appropriate for fun-loving fraternity guys.</p>
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