If I want to go to an elite MBA school such as Harvard or Wharton is it better to major in Econ or Business? Also, should I apply right after undergraduate or go to the workforce first?
–One major isn’t necessarily better than another. What are your school options? What are the net costs? Where would you be happiest? What kind of job would you like out of undergrad?
–Wait until you’re 35+ and give yourself the chance of saving $100K+ by having your company sponsor you. The top MBA programs prefer work/management experience, anyway.
I have Northwestern, USC with a half scholarship, UCLA with a decent scholarship, and Notre Dame in the business school @Dunboyne
No specific major is needed. Get good work experience.
I don’t really think picking econ or a business major really matters as much as getting a very high gpa and scores. You have a tough choice on picking those schools, but reputation wise for business Northwestern or Notre Dame may have the slight edge. Do consider USC tho, because that slight edge may not be worth paying double.
I would pick between Northwest, ND and USC. Eliminate Ucla, as the others are better for econ/business major.
All very good options, academically. What is the net cost comparison between USC and UCLA?
Im not sure about the costs yet because I just sent in my parent’s official taxes, but UCLA would be about 18k/yr they said. So would it be easier to get a high GPA as an econ or business admin major? Also, what school would be easier to get a high GPA? I hear that USC has grade inflation…
Are NWU and UND full price, or are you expecting need-based aid?
All are probably tough to get a high GPA, but I think your right, USC is probably the easiest.
I am expecting aid because my parents are divorced and my mom is stay at home and she is the custodial parent
Many private schools with good financial aid will base it off of both of your parents’ households’ income and wealth.
Your father’s income would be taken into account, as well as any other step parent’s.
Stricto sensu, top MBA programs prefer you NOT come from a business school*… with one caveat: if you attended a top program (ie., Wharton, Stern, McKenna, Mendoza…) ie., if you had the equivalent of a liberal arts and business major, with preferably strong quantitative skills.
So, in your case, Notre Dame Business school would work, as would Northwestern (since they offer Liberal arts majors with prestigious business certificates added-on.)
The MBA program is a program for professionals. You need 2-5 years of work experience to be eligible to apply.
(* At Harvard, 50 to 55% applications come from business majors but only 25% slots go to them; Stanford is pretty clear: while 45-50% applications come from business majors, they admit only 12-15% business majors. For those, school name matters.)
It’s hard to decide between programs without the net costs and without understanding your family’s financial health. NWU and UND could end up costing you $20,000 more per year over USC and $35,000 more per year over UCLA. That’s a lot of savings for someone who has his eyes on an MBA.
I see from another thread that your long-term goals are CEO or Hedge Fund Manager. The time horizon for jobs like that is 25 years plus, should you be so inclined and so fortunate. A top MBA is a reasonable middle step, but there are a thousand things that can get in the way of a broad plan like that. You have to get in on the ground floor somewhere.
You might be better off at UCLA and adding some highly useful quantitative skills with a math/applied math/stats major or minor, saving a satchel full of money, then trying to get the jump on some investing/money management experience by prudently investing some of the coin you’ve saved. Lots of people would say that’s crazy, better to invest it in the “best” undergrad degree and let the prestige of the school (hopefully) provide you with a shortcut. Well, the point is, UCLA isn’t exactly a school full of barmies. Plus, you dream of managing billions of dollars of other people’s money one day, so why not start with $25,000 of your own to learn some risk management?
The other three schools are great options too, but I don’t think you can say, definitively, that one path is going to get you onto that gravy train any quicker. You have 4 very good options at the moment. For me, net cost would be a large factor, considering the quality of the schools involved and your long-term goals.
UCLA: 18k, Northwestern: 24k, USC: 41k @Dunboyne @SternBusiness @ucbalumnus @MYOS1634
Why don’t you focus on the next few years, for now? Those are all great schools, and I can’t imagine that MBA programs (should you choose that route, down the road) would have a meaningful preference for one over the other.
If it were me I would go with Northwestern. NU makes the most sense financially, and allows you opportunities when you graduate on the West and East coast.
I would go with Northwestern - it’s only 6k more than UCLA and its opportunities for economics are stellar, and the opportunities on either coast are superb.
Agreeing with SternBusiness & MYOS1634: NU > UCLA; the other is too expensive & doesn’t add enough extra value.
It looks like you’re down to two great options, but I agree, NU is worth $6K more than UCLA.