<p>If someone wanted to ultimately get an MBA from a graduate business school, would it be unwise to major in business for undergraduate studies? I have heard that many people suggest to take another major (such as a science or a technology related one) so that after you get an MBA, you can have a business degree as well as your undergraduate degree. </p>
<p>So is it redundant, or do people who major in business go on to business schools for graduate school?</p>
<p>I don’t go on this thread so much, so i don’t know what the consensus would be, but here’s what I think would be best. Choose a major that’s in something more specific than “business”. That way, you can kind of form a specialty. For instance, you might want to major in Economics or finance or psychology or sociology. </p>
<p>You should also think about your timeline. You say you want to get an MBA after you graduate, but it’s a whole lot more rewarding if you can get some years of work before you do more schooling. It’ll help getting in also.</p>
<p>Yes job experience is pretty much necessary I think–I looked at the stats and barely anyone accepted had less than 3 years of employment. That is also a question–if you major in something like Economics or Finance, can you still get an at least decent job, or one enough to give you the work experience necessary to gain admission into graduate school?</p>
<p>Thanks for your answer. Did you yourself also major in econ or finance in college?</p>
<p>Is it redundant? Yes. However, the point of an MBA program is more geared towards connections and new career opportunities than towards the coursework itself. </p>
<p>The best option? Major in something that is not business where you can still get a great job from, i.e. Engineering, Computer Science, Economics, etc.</p>
<p>Second best option? Major in business and still get a great job. The coursework will be redundant but you’re paying for the connections/recruiters.</p>
<p>Well, honestly, it kind of all connected in a way. But like previous people have said, “Business” is a very broad topic, akin to saying something like majoring in “English”. There are many parts of Business, all of which can land you very good jobs (if you obtain decent grades) after you graduate.</p>
<p>For example, if you major in Finance, then afterwards, you’re able to land a good job at an Investment Bank, then it will depend on your work performance. If during those few years of work, you show that you are able to excel in that field and are somewhat outstanding, then your chances of obtaining a MBA from a top school goes up dramatically.</p>
<p>Work experience is critical for most top MBA schools, more so than what you did for undergraduate studies. Undergraduate education has little direct impact on top MBA school admissions, but it DOES have an impact on what job you can get, and that DOES impact your chances of admission at a MBA school.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies so far. </p>
<p>I realize that business is a really broad topic–but this is the only choice that some schools offer in their “which of these majors could you possibly choose” In the drop down menu, schools either have Business, Finance, or Economics, or some variation of the three. What is the difference between the three? I thought Finance was one of the different concentrations of business, but nevertheless this is how they appear on some schools’ applications. </p>
<p>I also have a question for what it takes to excel in jobs for concentrations like finance. Do you have to be naturally talented? Some people who I have spoken to say that talent in business is natural and not learned, and is not like the sciences where if you put in enough work, you will be able to achieve something. So, is taking a business major (whatever the field) a risky move?</p>
<p>Also, what combination would most likely result in a higher-paying job? I do not mean to sound greedy or to come off as only caring about money, but the tuition for education does not pay itself. </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Also, what sort of work do finance majors usually end up doing? I know a CFO is one possible job occupation, but that is for the select few who are skilled and (maybe) lucky enough to land that position.</p>
<p>How about economics majors?</p>
<p>CFO is not a career. That’s like saying “Governor” is a career for political science majors. </p>
<p>If you aren’t at a great school, be careful about majoring in economics. Just fair warning.</p>
<p>Doesn’t that warning go for any major? Why is it especially true for economics?</p>
<p>I said CFO was a possible job occupation, but unrealistic for most people. I was wondering what most finance majors end up doing.</p>
<p>The further you go from the top of the educational pyramid the worse the prospects get for people getting degrees that don’t teach you had to do actual work. If you go to Harvard people know you are smart enough to learn on the job and they’ll hire you based on your potential and train you as they see fit. If you go to Random State University they’re going to want you to be able to actually do something of value from the start.</p>
<p>A general “business” degree seems like a waste IMO. At least pick a specific concentration, even if its a BS in Basket Weaving Management or something.</p>
<p>Yes that is a good piece of advice. Thank you. What would qualify as a “good enough” school. Are the likes of Duke, Northwestern, UChicago, the Ivy Leagues, and schools around that level good enough to give one a good chance at a decent job?</p>
<p>Also, just curious, is there a reason why you specifically warned about economics? Is it because at schools like “Random State University” the quality of the degree goes down dramatically?</p>
<p>Haha ok. That seems like a reasonable suggestion. If there is not a general business major offered, is the next best thing economics? Or is it fine to consider something non-business related too, such as a science? Some have told me they have benefited from having a non-business degree before they pursued an MBA because post-MBA they could return to whatever field they were working in and eventually work towards a management position. But that was only for management. If one wanted to have a concentration on finance, would it be better off just to do something along the lines of finance as an undergrad to begin with?</p>
<p>Do not major in general business aka management. Pick something more tangible. </p>
<p>Finance/Accounting will give you a shot at banking
Marketing is pretty cool and more sales orientated </p>
<p>A lot of Ivy schools and some other ones do not have UG business programs so people looking to get into finance in those schools often get degrees in economics. </p>
<p>Econ vs Finance is not really an issue at the UG level. As you advance econ tends to get more theoretical whereas higher level finance degree’s tend to be more about markets and application. </p>
<p>If you do an econ major get the BS, not the BA. The required math for the BS will help you later. </p>
<p>[Masters</a> in Finance HQ](<a href=“http://www.MSFHQ.com%5DMasters”>http://www.MSFHQ.com)</p>
<p>Yeah, Business Administration is something that doesn’t really give you any specialization in any given task, which means they would lose when compared for a lot of jobs (because there are people that majored in that area instead of overall BA).</p>
<p>Finance is a good major to go, most people would hopefully aim to break into Investment Banking after they graduate, which is a pretty decent possibility given you graduated from a top school (Ivies/Stern). I’m mentioning Stern here because they’re known for their Finance majors and are very well networked to break students into IBs, perhaps even some BBs.</p>
<p>Eventually, those people can choose to break into private equity or possibly as you mentioned, CFO. Being in Investment Banking creates many many exit opportunities, more than any other profession.</p>
<p>GamBino–Thanks for the answer. You seem to know what you are talking about. I’ve also heard good things about Stern. When you say “break into” investment banking it sounds like not many people ever do get to do something like that. Is the chance of failure high? Even though what you said, that there is a decent possiblity for graduates from a top school, is true, there are a lot of graduates from top schools aren’t there?</p>
<p>Investment banking is a VERY tough profession to break into, even if you are at one of the top ivy league schools you are not guaranteed admission into a bank. Of course, at top schools, they will have many options, but many of the people who choose to take a Finance major will most likely opt for BBs (Goldman, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, etc).</p>
<p>Doing well at one of those banks will give you a very good chance to going to a top MBA program (Kellog at Northwestern, Tuck at Dartmouth, Booth at UChicago, Harvard, Stanford, etc.) Stern is one of the better places if you are looking for Investment Banking. Approximately 70% of the students at Stern choose to major in Finance, with many of them going for investment banking when they graduate. Like I mentioned before, Stern has very good networking opportunities that helped a lot of people into Investment banks.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I see UT-Austin as on par with Stern for undergraduate finance. If I had to choose all over again, I would consider UT-Austin for its cheaper tuition and living expenses.</p>
<p>I’ve heard good things about the University of Colorado at Boulder as well.</p>
<p>UT Austin and Stern? For Finance? Are you serious? UT Austin has no where near the same network opportunities for Finance majors when comparing to Stern. Heck, very very few schools have networking opportunities for their Finance majors that can even compete with Stern.</p>