Economics at NU vs. undergrad Business Schools

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
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<p>Hello there! I've basically decided that I would like to go into finance and accounting or business administration. Like many others in this forum, I'm a Wharton rejectee and so I'm faced with taking an econ degree from an amazing school NU or taking a business degree from either Berkeley (works same as UMich, juniors apply for business school) or Georgetown (lowwwww ranking in US news).</p>

<p>The problem lies with an econ degree. Although there are several courses in finance and accounting, they all seem very theory based. the business schools, on the other hand, have about 10 courses on finance and accounting.</p>

<p>I really want to come to NU, but getting an econ degree instead of a business degree is kind of freaking me out. Any opinions?</p>

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<p>cleverthinkin,</p>

<p>In most cases, majoring in a certain subject in any reputable tier1/tier2 schools won't be a big problem. You'll generally get the same quality education and you'll have just as good a chance for grad schools and internships (granted you work hard and do well in your university). However that is not the case for business. For undergrad business, it is important to look for strong programs. Thereby, I think you should possibly cut Georgetown from your list (I'm not sure how it's econ program is, but you did say that you wanted to major in business and you said this school was low in ranking for it). </p>

<p>As for Northwestern vs. Berkeley:</p>

<p>1) Economics programs in both of these schools are well reputed and are extremely strong. You will have great opportunities from both of these schools (if you do well and all). </p>

<p>Berkeley seems to have a one up, though, because you still have a chance to apply to Haas (a very good West Coast business school). Since business is what you want to do, you'll have the best of both worlds at Berkeley. If you apply to Haas and get in as a junior, you'll be in a great business school. Or you can end up majoring in economics in a university that is very strong in the field. </p>

<p>Northwestern doesn't have a undergrad business program, but it does have a good economics program. If you are keen on going through an undergrad business program, then I would opt for Berkeley. </p>

<p>Other important points:</p>

<p>Where do you want to work? Berkeley Haas degrees will give you better opportunities in the West Coast, where Berkeley is looked upon more favorably.</p>

<p>NU's econ program will give you more opportunities in Chicago and NY (students here get internships to both cities). Is there where you'd rather work?</p>

<p>Think about the location factor.</p>

<p>Another thing:</p>

<p>Are you instate Berkeley? Cost factor may be better there. As an NU student from Cali (and who would have gone to Berkeley if I didn't get into HPME here), I don't think NU is really worth the cost. True Berkeley has more people or whatever, but I think it is a more practical choice. I think NU can be just as competitive of a school, too. </p>

<p>Why pay 40k a year for an econ degree from NU when you get either an econ degree or business degree from Berkeley for less than 20k a year. Both programs have nearly the same reputation (depending on the coast).</p>

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<p>cleverthinkin</p>

<p>You should go to UMich forum and ask Alexandre. He seems pretty knowledgable about biz-field. Just copy and paste what you said here.</p>

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<p>had same dilemna umich vs northwestern.. decided on northwestern cause there no doubt about getting into econ like there is at umich over getting into the biz school (ross). also northwestern is better overall</p>

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<p>Cleverthinkin, IBs recruit as many Econ majors as Business majors. The school you go to is actually more important than your major. And the three schools you are looking into are major IB hunting grounds. I personally recommend you major in Economics anyway. Business is not as versatile or as respected as Economics. At any rate, it does not matter which you major in, and in the case of the schools you are looking at, any of them will serve you well if IB is your chosen profession. I would go for personal fit...reputationally and academically, all three are excellent.</p>

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<p>I am in the same boat. I was rejected from Wharton and want to do business. I plan on doing Econ at NU (it's between NU and Umich for me too); they also have a cool Business Institutions Program you can minor in that kind of promotes this "looking at business through the context of a larger world" that I think is neat.</p>

<p>Someone else there told me to consider a dual major between econ and the LOC program. The LOC program is at the School of Education and Social Policy, and sounds really interesting too, so I'm going to inquire about that when I visit. It has to do with how organizations respond to changes like new technology and other stimuli. It also has a required internship before graduation, so it forces you to go out and get a job- which for me, is perfect, because I procrastinate like whoa. Overall NU sounds like it has some really great opportunities, and being near Chicago just adds to that.</p>

<p>It's a lot harder to do business Undergrad, which is why Wharton was so awesome. So I'm just going to use UG to explore and expand my interests, and then concentrate more on business/marketing in grad school. I know a lot of people don't recommend attending the same school Grad as UG, but Kellogg has an amazing business reputation and I've heard of people going there who went to NU as a UG. So it's still possible.</p>

<p>Good luck :)</p>

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<p>Hmm, I had the same dilemma. fellow wharton rejectee, too! (deferred ED... :( )haha..</p>

<p>I ended up choosing NYU Stern School of Business over NU and over UMich. It was a hard choice, but after talking to students and profs from all 3 schools, I decided that Stern was the best choice. I would have tons of resources/opportunities for internship/jobs (on wall street! hehe), and since I have wanted to go into business since I was little, I didn't want to have to go through 4 years of boring econ just to get an OK job and then finally go to grad school for business (where you actually don't learn thhaatt much. it's more for networking) ... hmm.. besides, Stern has amazing finance and intl business depts. A prof at NYU said that getting an econ degree won't get you much unless you get a PhD in it... he said that going to stern would give you a super jump start. (of he was biased, but still, he's knowledgeable about these things). </p>

<p>I guess the question I have for you is.. why would you have chosen Wharton over NU? (I certainly would have) but ... what is it about wharton? merely the name? the prestige? the business school learning experience? why not just go to a different (and well respected) university and b-school then? When I asked myself those questions, I realized that I really did want to go to a b-school, although turning down northwestern was hard. </p>

<p>Whichever school you end up choosing, I'm sure you'll have a great experience.</p>

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<p>I agree, ichi. I only wanted to go to Wharton because I loved business and didn't want to have to deal with Grad school. But after visiting/researching NU, I am happier with the ultimate outcome. I want to take the next 4 years to learn a lot and broaden my horizons, and then go to a great Grad school and settle down on business. But NU seems great for learning about a whole lot of things undergrad.</p>

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<p>from what i understand, wharton is full of a bunch of not fun rich kids who just want to get richer... it seems there absolutely no school spirit there.... then again it remains the best undergrad business school... but i dont think its worth it.... NU seems to be if not the best at everything , a very well rounded compromise... and chances are you meet the kelllogg adcoms and give them a check lol so ur all set for grad school...</p>

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<p>Well first of all the NYU professor told you what you want to hear: he's trying to sell you on his school. Everyone knows that an economics major opens up the same opportunities in business as a business degree would AND many more areas that a business degree can't (i.e. law).</p>

<p>And whether you go to Wharton or Stern you will most likely have to go back to business school. If by Wall Street you mean Investment Banking then you will DEFINITELY have to go back to business school because they only take about 5-10 analysts with only undergraduate experience and move them up to associates. Otherwise, you need an MBA.</p>