Economics vs. Finance Major

Graduate School Business School - MBA
1

<p>I haven't gotten back my admissions results from UF yet, but I am 99% sure I will get in come February. I am having trouble between deciding to get a BA in Economics (with math minor) or BS in Finance.</p>

<p>My goal after college is to become a financial advisor, investment banker, financial officer, or anything related. I also want to get an MBA from the best school possible. I am also very interested in doing personal investing in the stock market; furthermore, I want to pick the major that will help me with this.</p>

<p>I am going to UF purely to save money for future costs of education and so I have more money to invest early.</p>

<p>My reasons for each are following:</p>

<p>Economics with math minor
Pros
-I love economics
-Potentially easier to earn a high GPA than in finance
-Economics is versatile and good for anything
-Economics will allow me to minor in math, which looks good on resumes and applications.
-Game theory is always good to know
-Economics has many business applications</p>

<p>Cons
-A math minor may be challenging and hurt my GPA (Diff equations, linear algebra, analytic calculus, and function work is required). But if I do not get the math minor, my value will go down the hole.
-Economics is perhaps not directly related to investing and finance.</p>

<p>Finance
Pros
-Useful degree in investing and many terms
-Directly related the career I want (economics is too; however, less than finance is)
-I like it and it will help me personally with lots of things</p>

<p>Cons
-Technically a business major, which I do not like.
-Might be challenging and GPA will be hard to get
-Finance majors are extremely common</p>

<p>After these thoughts, here are my real questions:</p>

<p>At UF,</p>

<p>~Which is considered and easier major, economics with math minor or finance? Not so I can slack, but so I can help myself get into business school.</p>

<p>~How challenging is a math minor to earn?</p>

<p>~Which would help me land better jobs (before I get the MBA)?</p>

<p>~What is the general impression of each major on campus?</p>

<p>~Is financial accounting harder than the math classes that deal with trig?</p>

<p>~I know finance gets a bad reputation, but how well does the major actually fare overall?</p>

<p>~Which major would top MBA programs look at more favorably?</p>

<p>~Which major will prepare me for the GMAT?</p>

<p>~Which would you do? BA Economics, Math minor or BSBA Finance?</p>

<p>~It seems that historically many famous investors majored in economics, does this mean that it is better?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>What about a double major in finance and economics ?</p>

3

<p>Go with finance. MBA programs tend to favor economics major very very slightly but the main factor for admissions will be the type of job you get, and I GUARANTEE you will get a better job with a finance major at UF. Double major if you can, otherwise go finance.</p>

4

<p>Actually there’re more economics majors than finance majors, because most top schools don’t have a finance major.</p>

5

<p>That’s true but those schools are of the Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, etc. so those people can get jobs in I-Banking no matter what their major is. For a state school (albeit a good one) major is much more important, which is why I’d go with finance. Just my opinion though.</p>

6

<p>Do you think top B-schools favor double majors ?I am considering doing a double major in Economics and Business administration.</p>

7

<p>Econ and BA overlap too much. I personally would major in either one and double in another field that I’m interested in as well. It also gives you an edge regarding a certain field. eg. IT, Energy…</p>

8

<p>From the looks of it seems that a double major in finance and econ is impossible. Well, unless they’re both in the business college.</p>

<p>[Double</a> Major / Dual Degree | Academic Advising Center | University of Florida](<a href=“http://www.advising.ufl.edu/information/dd.html]Double”>http://www.advising.ufl.edu/information/dd.html)</p>

9

<p>This is such a hard question to answer. </p>

<p>Basically you have to figure out if the benefit an economics degree vs. the work experience of a finance degree and see which would play a more important role.</p>

<p>While work experience is extremely important, many sites show that liberal arts majors, which I am assuming includes economics, make up the largest chunk of the class. A BA in economics will probably not give as good work experience though. So you should decide which you could get a better GPA in. And it seems like economics would.</p>

10

<p>Major in econ, minor in finance. Thats what i’m doing. This way you get the liberal education of econ along with the technical jargon you’ll need to go into business.</p>

<p>Also, its debatable whether finance or econ is harder. I’m a senior and in my opinion, econ is much harder than finance or business in general. The reason is because of calculus which will especially play a role if you were getting a BS in econ.</p>

11

<p>A BS in econ would be MUCH better than a BA</p>

12

<p>Would you consider doing a degree in economics and then go on to do a one-year Master of Finance?</p>

13

<p>An Eco major usually requires only Calculus I, which is not that hard, I mean, derivatives and integrals are not hard at all. However, in order to fully understand Econometrics and intermediate/advanced microeconomics, it is advisable to also take Calculus II , which can be a bit more challenging . Anyways, top B-schools are not like law schools, which require you to have a stellar GPA of 3.80+ in order to have decent chances of getting in.</p>

14

<p>I am in a similar situation. I am a graduating senior my major is finance and I have 3 minors; Business administration, Communication studies, and Sociology. I go to LSU and they do not allow a double major in the college of business. I have to graduate with one and then reapply to get the other… BUt to answer your question Finance Vs. Econ really depends on what you are good at and how much risk you are willing to take if in fact your GPA does go down. I am good at Calculus but I suck in accounting. My Finance curriculum includes a lot of both in fact I am on my 6th accounting class this semester. Econ has Just as much calculus, maybe more but only requires two accounting classes. I started out as an econ major and changed but in my opinion I would suck it up and major in finance and minor in math. If you are worried about your GPA then consider spreading your cousre work out another semester or year. ALso, another possible option is the Finance masters. At lsu the masters program is 10 months and offers you the option to minor in math. So if you speak with your advisor and explain your situation you may be able to start your math minor during your undergrad and complete it once you start your masters in finance. As for the MBA, wait until you get a Job and prove your worth to that company and they will usually pay at least a percentage of it. Good luck man!</p>

15

<p>Another bonus for the masters in finance. Once you finish you have taken all of the necessary classes in most states to take the CPA exam and the CFA exam. I actually did not have any desire to get my asters in finance but it leaves you with a lot of options!!!</p>