Hello!
I have almost completed my application for Maryland but I really am unsure as to what to put as a selected major. What are the pros and cons of the finance and economics departments? Is one better than the other? Say I select economics. Would I not be able to change to finance since finance is in the business school? Thank you for the help! I have found that the Maryland website is very confusing and does not provide as much information as other college websites.
Economics is in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and it is not a LEP. Here is a link to more information.
Finance is in the Smith School of Business and it is a LEP, probably the most competitive one at UMD. Here is a link to more info.
http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/faculty-research/academic-departments/finance
Switching from Economics to Finance would involve an internal transfer into a competitive LEP, Not necessarily a sure thing.
So, to add on to what SoofDad is pointing out, it is better to apply to finance since it is harder to get into the school of business (Smith). Therefore, if you can get in as an incoming freshman, you will have more options available to you and then you can always switch out later if you prefer econ. So, you don’t need to decide just yet…apply for the most competitive now and see what happens.
I have sooooo many friends who have kids that didn’t apply to business school because they weren’t sure initially and then later on regretted it because by the end of senior year, they realized they did really want it after all. A lot of times, the regret came after admissions came out and they attended admitted student’s day and saw what Smith has to offer…
Thank you so much for that information! I am definitely applying finance with economics as alternate now.