For the HBS 2+2 MBA program, which undergrad major will be better between finance and human resource management? Or undergraduate major won’t make any difference?
Won’t make a difference.
Do not major in Human Resources. Just don’t.
I’ve worked in HR for large corporations for most of my career (35+ years). Major in Psych, major in history, major in statistics (all of which are useful for HR).
HBS states they are looking for analytical rigor for the 2/2 program- which is not a degree in HR. Study philosophy, political science, urban planning- really any intellectual discipline. You can get a SHRM certification down the road if you really love HR, you don’t need a degree in it…
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Agreed - much of HR today is outsourced and automated.
Study what you want for you, for life but not in hopes of getting into a specific grad school.
HBS kids will eat an HR kid for lunch.
HBS doesn’t even have an HR section (the sections are: Accounting and Management; Business, Government & the International Economy; Entrepreneurial Management; Finance; General Management; Marketing; Negotiation, Organizations & Markets; Organizational Behavior (which does have a class in “Managing Human Capital”); Strategy; and Technology & Ops Management).
If you really are an HR person- and there is nothing wrong with that! - the 2+2 program is probably not a good fit for you.
What about if I major in marketing for my undergrad?
You could major in marketing, graphic design, journalism, or a social science.
Major in what you want. But get some quant background.
In general, marketing is a fluff major…at the undergrad and grad level (where my MBA is focused on).
You don’t need a marketing degree to get a marketing job.
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In all caps:
MAJOR IN SOMETHING IN WHICH YOU HAVE GENUINE INTEREST!
You got into some pretty great colleges as a CC transfer, so I get why you are gunning for HBS. BUT: HBS is not a magic ticket to some parallel universe where you will be instantly successful and the sun always shines.
Follow your real interests. See where that takes you. You have to actually live the life you are building.
Guaranteed admissions programs look really shiny from the outside- but they are not always the best path. For example, if you really are a marketing person, you may well prefer one of the 7 MBA programs that are ranked better than Harvard for Marketing in MBA programs.
If you can get into Columbia from Community College you can get into HBS the usual way- if that is what you want at the time.
OP, you should apply for HBS Summer Venture to get some exposure to HBS and 2+2. HBS 2+2 is for students who know they eventually want an MBA and have a compelling reason why. There are other early admissions MBA programs, mostly at the top business schools. My DD applied to both 2+2 and Stanford. She was accepted to both and ultimately chose Stanford for fit reasons, including strength in her focus area. She majored in accounting and a foreign language. That said, getting in as a business major is a real uphill battle as they are trying to get STEM majors mostly. Really, major in whatever you want understanding that it’s extremely difficult and any business major makes it even more difficult.
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