I am a rising sophomore at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. I am currently undeclared, but hope to pursue a career in finance following graduation. I’m writing here to ask business professionals, recruiters, and fellow students (and their parents) which major is best for a liberal arts student looking to enter the business world.
I know economics isn’t the only major for a liberal arts student who wants to major in business, but I know that many entry-level positions in finance require a BA/BS in economics, accounting, business, mathematics, etc. I have taken Principles of Macroeconomics, Principles of Microeconomics, and Economic Statistics, and my first-year seminar was a course on development economics. The reason why I’m still undecided, though, is because economics is far from my strongest subject. I really want to be an economics major, but, the highest grade I’ve ever gotten in an economics course at the College is B-. :((
I’ve also taken courses in Spanish and political science in which I have achieved good grades, but I don’t really find interest in these fields and am also worried that these majors will hinder my ability to pursue finance.
Since I’m approaching sophomore year, I won’t have much time before I have to declare a major, so I’m trying to use this summer to narrow down my choices and take courses in those fields next semester. I’m currently enrolled in Calculus I, Spanish, Intro to International Relations and Intro to Comparative Politics (I am considering either International Studies or Economics), but just don’t know what to do or where to go. Also, I’ve done more research on IS and it really doesn’t interest me as much as I thought it would.
Please help me if you can! Thanks for all your help, everyone!
Have you looked at the COES pre business program at Holy Cross? It’s a great program to supplement any major with practical business experience, through workshops, seminars, company visits etc. You should also join the finance and women in business clubs and take advantage of their programming and events. Graduating from Holy Cross will surely make you a strong writer, confident speaker and critical thinker, which are sought after assets in business.
@wisteria100 yes, I am part of the pre-business program! I completed Fullbridge in May, am applying to be a member of the Holy Cross Capital program, and have taken the three required courses for the certificate.
Well, what ARE you interested in? You listed several things that you either feel you aren’t good at or aren’t really interested in. What are you actually interested in?
Majors that will impart strong quantitative facility and reasoning skills are going to be good prep for finance careers. Math (and statistics, although it doesn’t seem Holy Cross has that) is a popular choice. So is physics, because of the math required. Chemistry could even be an acceptable choice if one takes math-heavy courses for it. Political science has the potential to be heavily quantitative but it commonly isn’t at the undergrad level. Holy Cross also seems to have an accounting major that might prepare you.
A more non-traditional but potentially rewarding route is to major in something not directly related to finance and instead minor in math or another quant field. That way you can learn the quant skills necessary to work in finance, but won’t have to major in it. If you do that though, getting internship experience and networking within finance is going to be really important, because some people may hold your major against you.
I know many people in investment banking who majored in art history, English, history, a foreign language, etc. My suggestion would be to focus on what interests you and where you excel, balance it with a good dose of quant-y courses, and focus really strongly on getting solid internships. Internships are what will matter most when you go job hunting. And connections. Or go the MBA route, which would really free you up to study what you like undergrad and get your GPA up to get into the best program you can.
@juillet, I know I mentioned several things I feel I am not good at or am not really interested in, but the problem is that I don’t yet know what I’m actually interested in. I’ve taken several courses in economics as I previously stated and really like it at the macro level, but don’t think my grades are high enough to be a successful economics major. Math and science are my weakest fields, which is why I’ve avoided majors in those areas. This summer I’m planning to work through math practice books to prepare for the calculus course I’m taking in the fall, and I hope that these books and this course will give me the confidence to excel in math in the future.
Great idea about the minor - again, it does depend on how my math improves this summer and this coming semester. Thank you so much!
Try taking some classes in other areas. Flip through your college’s course catalog and see what interests you. To start off with, try not to focus too much on what you think might get you a job - most majors are more versatile and have more options than you’d imagine.
What other areas have you explored? English, history, sociology, psychology? I was a poli sci major b/c I thought I would go to law school and it seemed the “rational” choice. I liked it well enough, wouldn’t say loved, wound up not going to law school and working in advertising. I discovered art history second semester of my junior year and fell in love with it. Took as much as I could through senior year. Got “A’s” in every course I took b/c it legitimately interested me and I would spend time with it at a very engaged level. I would consider thinking about what truly inspires you in your personal life, take a breeze through the course catalog, and see where the points of intersection are. If I had done that earlier, I would have majored in art history. And probably wound up just where I am now, which I am very content with. Life has a way of making that happen one way or another. Don’t force yourself to be something you’re not. I also took calculus my sophomore year b/c I thought I should have it under my belt before college. BLECH. I didn’t understand it then (though I did fine in the class), and don’t understand it now. It did not and does not inspire me. Anyway, best of luck to you! You’ll do fine no matter what if you work hard and stay focussed.
@xhaavic besides political science, economics and Spanish, I have explored religious studies, which I do well in but don’t enjoy. I will definitely look into other areas as @juillet also mentioned this coming semester I really appreciate how you talked about how you are in advertising despite your major not correlating directly to it. I had a really hard time in school this year due to some personal mental health problems and a difficult transition to college (roommate problems, bullying, etc) so I think that affected my grades @ClarinetDad16 and my interest level in my classes. Thank you all so much - I’ll definitely look into different courses and will make sure to study harder next year
@suzyQ7 thank you so much! Unfortunately, no, I haven’t I’m still struggling to figure out what it is that I truly want to do. I’m feeling really discouraged because I haven’t found something I’m passionate about, and I’m scared that I won’t find it before declaring a major comes around this spring.
Well, you don’t have to find something that you are passionate about. You just have to find something that you like well enough to do the work. Instead of waiting for something to hit you that you’re shouting off the rooftops about, you should be looking for something that you’re just like “Hey, this is kind of cool.”
Most people actually aren’t passionate about their jobs or careers. They like them well enough to work them and pay their bills and feed themselves.
