<p>Hi everyone! I’m a rising senior who is pretty set on Alabama (provided scholarships work out), and I’m definitely stressing about what to major in. While I realize you don’t have to declare right away, I’m going in with a significant amount of ap credits, so I’ll probably end up with most of my classes my freshman year dealing directly with my chosen major.
So basically, I’m asking at Alabama specifically, as well as with an eye on future jobs, which of these plans sounds best?</p>
<ul>
<li>Marketing/Advertising Double Major</li>
<li>^ either one of those with Statistics or Psychology replacing the other</li>
<li>University Scholars Program under Communications (is this too general of a major…? If I choose this program, it’s only for the majors listed on their website, correct)?</li>
<li>Any other program I may be unaware of that seems fitting</li>
</ul>
<p>Which programs is Alabama strongest in? How is the University Scholars program? Which of these appears to be the strongest option for someone looking for a job in the future?</p>
<p>Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Hi and Welcome!</p>
<p>Having a Stats background is always good to have. I’m not sure where Stats is at Bama. Is it in the Math dept or B-school? or both? Is it a track? </p>
<p>**Any department that offers a graduate program may, with the approval of the dean of the Graduate School, participate in the University Scholars Program. **The following programs currently are approved to participate in the University Scholars Program:</p>
<p>Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics
Applied Statistics
Finance
Biological Sciences
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Communication Studies
Computer Science
Consumer Sciences
Economics (College of Commerce and Business Administration)
Economics (College of Arts and Sciences)
English
Electrical and Computer Engineering
French
Geography
German
Health Studies (Sports Medicine Concentration)
Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management (Food and Nutrition Concentration)
Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
Operations Management
Physics and Astronomy</p>
<p>I think Stats is in both schools. It is a track in Math. My D is considering it (as a math track). It is also a math minor. </p>
<p>OP, I hate to see you stressed about this when you haven’t even started your senior year of high school! That said, you are smart to think ahead. Coming in with lots of AP credits is great but there are some things to think about including whether or not you want to graduate early. I don’t want to hijack your thread going into them, but my D came in with a lot of AP credits and it’s raised some issues that we are trying to sort out. So it is smart to plan ahead but don’t forget to relax and enjoy your last high school year!</p>
<p>What do you think you’d like to do after college? What are you interested in? Where do your strengths lie? Are you thinking of Marketing/Advertising because you want that as your career?</p>
<p>What problems were there with the AP credits lattelady? I’d hate to take all these tests without getting credit or something… & most of my senior year will already be dedicated to college planning and apps/scholarship applications/Ap classes/work anyway :
& Beth’s mom, I’m not quite sure. Advertising and Marketing are my top choices currently solely because they’re the only ones that sound interesting yet actually yield jobs. After college, I would want to work somewhere with a little creativity at least, but I’m pretty open to a lot. As for strengths, I’m pretty much equal across the board, not a fan of physics or high levels of calc, but that’s about it.</p>
<p>What problems were there with the AP credits lattelady? I’d hate to take all these tests without getting credit or something</p>
<p>I don’t think Lattelady’s D is having problems getting credits. Bama is super generous with AP Credits.</p>
<p><a href=“http://courseleaf.ua.edu/introduction/academicpolicies/creditbyexamination/#advancedplacementaptext[/url]”>http://courseleaf.ua.edu/introduction/academicpolicies/creditbyexamination/#advancedplacementaptext</a></p>
<p>It’s not that there are problems with the credits. It’s just that D will be starting her second year of college with 90+ credits. She doesn’t really want to graduate early. She is currently double majoring with the intent of double minoring but is seriously considering dropping one of the majors down to a minor, which she will probably have completed with her summer session abroad next month. And one of the reasons she is considering dropping that major is (in my opinion) because she jumped right into upper level courses in it and it’s been very time consuming and stressful. I think doing that has taken some of the joy and passion away that she has held for that subject. </p>
<p>We aren’t sure how many minors/majors one can have. That is part of what we need to find out. We assumed she could double major/double minor (she had yet to declare her second minor but is already taking classes in it) but then recently saw something that led us to believe you cannot double major/double minor. So these are the issues I’m referring to. We thought it was great to come in with so many hours, and it is, but it does present some issues. If D does drop the second major, she will probably look into the University Scholars Program in her remaining major. </p>
<p>You are being proactive in forward thinking (just don’t forget to enjoy your senior year!).</p>
<p>lattelady: Your D can have two minors. She can have two majors. My son has a friend who had one major and four minors. My son had two majors and two minors.</p>
<p>momreads, that is encouraging. </p>
<p>This is what we read that gave us pause:</p>
<p>"Double Majors
A student may major in two subjects with the following provisions:</p>
<p>If the two majors lead to different degrees offered in the College of Arts and Sciences (BA, BFA, BM, BS or one of the designated degrees) or in another UA division, the student chooses which one of the degrees to receive.
** A minor is not required, but one minor may be specified. Double minors are not permitted in combination with double majors.**"</p>
<p>It’s from the Arts and Sciences info so it probably relates to it in particular. We just noticed it a couple of weeks ago and haven’t followed up on it yet. And if she does keep her second major, she will probably actually get two different degrees: a BS and a BA (so maybe it wouldn’t apply). But if she drops the second major to a minor, she will probably seek to have three minors. She needs to get with an advisor, but your words are promising in that area. </p>
<p>Here’s where we read it: </p>
<p>[Multiple</a> Degrees and Multiple Majors < The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://courseleaf.ua.edu/introduction/academicpolicies/multipledegrees/#secondbachelorsdegreetext]Multiple”>http://courseleaf.ua.edu/introduction/academicpolicies/multipledegrees/#secondbachelorsdegreetext)</p>
<p>UA discontinued its undergraduate statistics major many years ago. The mathematical statistics track for the A&S mathematics major focuses more on classes taught by math department faculty while statistics classes are taught by C&BA faculty.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the College of Arts and Sciences tends to have more restrictive rules on counting courses towards multiple requirements.</p>
<p>What do you want to do for a career. I’m quite familiar with the programs at UA which would prepare one for a career in marketing analytics. If you chose that path, I would suggest majoring in marketing with some quantitative aspect, such as the mathematics major offered by the business school, but primary taught by math department (A&S) faculty and seeing if you can get into the MBA program in analytics through the program for talented C&BA undergraduates. Note that the BS/MBA program includes a few extra classes exclusive to those in that dual degree program, which might not work for your degree progression. I have not heard if UA will be allowing undergraduate students to enter the MBA program as dual degree students without having to be in a more structured program like STEM MBA or its version for C&BA students as one of the main benefits of the University Scholars Program is that participants complete the same degree requirements as students directly enrolled in the masters program(s).</p>
<p>SEA_tide : Thanks for the info! I’m definitely interested in marketing analytics, but I’m unfamiliar with the undergraduate MBA program. Could you expand upon this please?
Also, since you’re familiar with the marketing major, could you answer some questions about which classes I’d end up taking freshman year? I feel like I’d test out of most of them, which is part of the reason I want to be on an accelerated track - I think I’d be on a good path for it. I will likely have gotten the required scores for credit in:</p>
<ul>
<li>Ap Human Geography</li>
<li>Ap Art History (I got a 4, will this count as one Fine Arts requirement or two based on the fact it is the equivalent of two classes on their chart)</li>
<li>Ap European History</li>
<li>Ap Calc AB (will this satisfy math 112 and 121)?</li>
<li>Ap Language and Composition (or if I don’t get a three, I will take Ap Literature) (what requirements will this cover)?</li>
<li>Ap Psych</li>
<li>Ap Stats</li>
<li>Ap Macro Econ (worth retaking)?</li>
<li>Ap bio (how many natural science semesters does this count as? Just one)?</li>
</ul>
<p>As for the ones that don’t seem to match up with anything, will those be handled as electives or just useless? Also, should I self study Ap Computer Science to get rid of CS 102, or just take it once I get there? Thanks so much!</p>
<p>AlmostLimitless: I took the AP Litertaure and Composition exam, still waiting on score, but it was not that bad. On the UA site for Credit by Examination it states the following:
English Language 3 EN<em>101 3 FC
English Language 4 EN</em>101 & EN<em>102 6 FC
English Literature 3 EN</em>101 3 FC
English Literature 4 EN<em>101 & EN</em>102 6 FC
If both English AP tests are completed 3 EN<em>101 & EN</em>102 6 FC
May be a little confusing so here is the site:
[Credit</a> by Examination < The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://courseleaf.ua.edu/introduction/academicpolicies/creditbyexamination/#advancedplacementaptext]Credit”>http://courseleaf.ua.edu/introduction/academicpolicies/creditbyexamination/#advancedplacementaptext)
If both English AP tests are completed 4 EN<em>101, EN</em>102 & TRGS HU 9 FC</p>
<p>AP Language Comp is not hard. My younger son didn’t even take the class, took the exam and got a 5…and he’s no writing genius at all, but he did have good Comp teachers at his middle school and frosh/soph years. He hates to read literature, so he didn’t want to take AP Lit, and he didn’t like the teacher who taught AP Lang Comp, so he just took the exam cold. </p>
<p>He did look over a Princeton Review AP Lang Comp book to get an idea of what the questions would be like.</p>
<p>DaughterofaKing: Sorry, what’s TRGS HU? Will I need it for a marketing major? That, along with whether I got a 4 or not on language will determine if I take lit I suppose.
But thanks for that, I didn’t see that note.</p>
<p>It’s basically a humanities credit (or 3). But you would most likely still need a Lit class.</p>
<p>AlmostLimitless, if you ever want career advice (not necessarily couse-work advice), I will be happy to oblige. I am an e-commerce copywriter, and I have been working in advertising forever and ever. IMHO marketing analytics is a fantastic field…as is anything e-commerce-related. My own opinion is that brand / image advertising (traditional marketing in general) is going the way of the dinosaur. Just my two cents’ worth…</p>
<p>AlmostLimitless, I believe it is 3 humanities credits like @lattelady said. Your welcome!</p>
<p>I was wondering whom a student should talk to for doing the University Scholars program in English? My D asked at her advising appointment for both spring and fall of 2013. She had a different advisor each time, and neither knew anything about University Scholars or whom she should speak with. This Fall she has to figure it out since she now has enough credits to be a junior even though it’s only going to be her 2nd year at Bama.</p>
<p>For my D, most of the communication regarding University Scholars came from the late Dr. Helms, who was head of her department. You might want to have her ask the head of the English department. I’ve got to think he or she would at least know where to direct her. We haven’t found the advisors to be all that helpful with anything out of the ordinary.</p>