<p>Generally people who are pre-business are simultaneously taking the pre-requisites for another major (since econ only has one additional pre-req than business - Econ 100/101 A/B - students are virtually automatically on-tack to have econ as a back-up as well). If they don’t get in, they defer to their fall-back major. If they do get in, some double-major.</p>
<p>The economics program and the business program are different - it’s hard to directly compare how well they prepare you for things like job placement. The business program is more practical in subject matter and, generally, students do the ABCs (accounting, investment banking, consulting). Econ is more theoretical (and, at the 101 level, more quantitative) - instead of considering a businessperson’s perspective directly, you consider assumptions and implications of economic models. Econ naturally prepares students for graduate school, economics consulting, and some realms of economic law. </p>
<p>However, econ students can most definitely pursue careers in finance, for example, by enrolling in Haas finance and accounting courses (although they must do so with lower registration priority). Those that invest the effort to pursue the ABCs frequently land jobs. In Haas, because the education is more directly suited to those careers, they have a somewhat easier time landing those jobs. However, there are no boundaries or objective ways to capture the true difference each actual major has on job placement.</p>
<p>Same with Haas - it depends on how much effort you invest. It’s definitely competitive, but if you put in the time to get a competitive GPA (not that it’s easy) and push yourself in terms of extracirriculars (including over the summer), you should have a good shot at Haas.</p>