My cousin is a freshman at a small liberal arts college. He was initially interested in studying finance or marketing, but since his school is liberal arts, it only offers econ or plain business, no finance or anything like that. There is also no business program on campus. The business classes are taught in the regular college. There are courses in finance, marketing, etc, but the only two majors for business are Econ or business studies. Socially, my cousin has had an ok time. Not great, but not awful, although most of the students are the save the world, environmental types. His entire family advised him against going to a liberal arts college to study finance, because their main focus is on arts and sciences, not professional studies. His Econ professor last semester he was not a fan of, but he likes his current corporate writing professor quite a bit and says he is very informative. My cousin is debating whether it would be silly to look elsewhere for a reputable business program with stock rooms and everything as opposed to taking finance or marketing classes in a regular liberal arts college. Because he likes his one business professor this semester very much, but he thinks he might be better off going somewhere where he can specifically major in finance or marketing. He knows he will probably have to get an MBA in one of those fields, so he’s struggling with whether or not he should leave his very artsy college and go to a small to medium sized research university if he’s going to have to get his MBA regardless. And keep in mind he doesn’t love the social scene at his LAC either, but he says it’s not awful. Like a 5 out of 10.
I should have also added that my cousin loves the academics there otherwise, but business could be better.
There are many alums of liberal arts colleges working on Wall Street. What is important is the school that the student attends and how high of a GPA he will graduate with. Just because a school has a Business type major, finance etc does not mean that it will get you a job. Best thing is to have him talk to his career services dept, find out where grads get hired, where the students get internships and do the same for the possible transfer school. It would help to know the schools involved and what the student wants to do upon graduation.
No, it’s not silly, it’s perfectly OK to be looking at other options. Time is running out slightly to start applying to better schools though. Was your cousin going to be applying right now or next year? They can always apply but stay at their school
I think it’s worth exploring options to see if there is a better fit academically. Much of this depends on what he wants to do career wise - if it’s a career in a finance related role, having a business degree in finance could certainly help. If he wants more of a marketing type role, he is probably more than fine at his LAC and just choose electives, clubs, and internships based on that preference.
I agree that it is worth looking at other options and even putting in some transfer applications. Sometimes people transfer because their interests change and they can’t get what they want at their initial school. And since it the school not a social home run either, it makes sense to see if there might be a better fit option. Keep in mind that it can be hard to be a transfer student as many friendships are made freshman year – but in this case it sounds like it could be worth doing .
I would recommend that he proceed as if he was gong to stay at his current school (ex. get involved on campus, when the time comes get a dorm and classes for the next year etc.). A transfer is never guaranteed and the cost of another college might be a factor in the final decision (ex. transfer students rarely get merit aid).
His school does offer a semester in New York City, but he still feels that he might be better off having a degree in finance.
This school is very focused on the arts and theater, and even the statistics classes aren’t the good. My cousin says the psych, polysci, and language classes there are great, but he feels like there are much better fits for what he wants to study.
He should research how grads from his school do in getting NYC jobs. Amherst and Trinity (CT) are two schools well-known for a straight path to Wall St and finance (there are many others as well, of course). Just because students don’t have undergrad B program degrees does not mean they are shut out or even less competitive for finance jobs. He should do his “due diligence” on the opportunities from his current school. Folks will argue about pros and cons of B majors, but many employers say they want students who are strong in critical thinking, critical reading and critical writing skills – and typical liberal arts college degrees prepare them well.
Well yes, but but when it comes to something like finance, the majors that come from LACs are more likely to be mathematics, economics, comp sci, statistics. Finance is quantitative, analytical, and requires some specific knowledge. If you’re coming with a degree in the humanities or something like that, you probably would end up in regular mgmt, HR, marketing, etc.
@philbegas Agreed – OP said his cousin would major in Econ if he stayed, so I understood that would be his path to business/finance jobs. I wasn’t suggesting anthro etc. would be a straight path to finance jobs, just that Econ from a liberal arts college is a fairly standard path.
Fair point @Midwestmomofboys , and I agree OP/their cousin/their parents should be doing research about the placement of their graduates. Recruiting or direct connections are the best way to make it to an exclusive job in finance. Anything besides that, and they’ll have to put in a bit more work to make it happen. In addition, if OP can afford it/is interested in it, they can always get a MBA with a specialization in finance OR a MFE or MSF
My cousin is very particularly interested in a college near his current one that is extremely close to a major city that has an actual business program. Plus he has a friend who goes there as well. He would commute to that college, but the program is supposed to be top notch. I don’t want to say which college though so that no one can tell I’m talking about him specifically if they run across this discussion.
Having a business program is not automatically better than being in a LAC though
@philbegas Sorry ,but we disagree on this one. A business program can be better if a person decides he/she wants to major in an area of business. If a student discovers an area of study which capture his/her interests and play into his/her abilities lie after college begins, then it is reasonable to seek out a school to pursue that subject.
My S was a business major at a mid-sized university and my D went to a LAC. They both had amazing experiences, but the experiences they had and skills they developed were not entirely interchangeable.
An undergraduate b-school is a distinct course of study which includes a busienss core curriculum with intro courses in a number of subjects (ex. accounting, finance, IT etc) and the student will major in one of those disciplines. It does not sound like that depth of business coursework is available at the cousin’s LAC. Economics is a liberal arts course of study and gets quite theoretical at the upper levels and the “business studies” major is likely to be very broad.
And yes, there are student from LACs who do land business jobs, but they are more often than not the very top students from the very top LACs. For the good to average student, a b-school could afford more possibilities.
@happy1, I think you have helped make his decision. He will definitely apply to the school his friend goes to and maybe a couple of more. He realizes how misguided it was to go to a LAC with his interests because his current school is VERY artsy.
@happy1 Noooooooo. I think you might misunderstand. I’m just saying that because OP is being very vague about the schools, they shouldn’t assume the business school is better than a LAC. At some LACs the economics degree may be more practical than at others, more about the applied side.
Also, in terms of getting into a prestigious job, imagine somebody getting an economics degree from Amherst College vs a business degree from the Monfort Business school at the University of Northern Colorado. I think the person from Amherst would have an easier time scoring a prestigious job, especially since they seem to emphasize data analysis.
In any case, I recommend OP’s cousin apply, and see where they get in. It never hurts.
@beachguy20 Never hurts to apply and see how things turn out. Before making any decision, I’d recommend that your cousin take the time to look at the courses he would take at the current LAC and compare it to the coursework available at the b-school he/she is considering.
@philbegas my cousin always wanted to major in finance. But when he came across this college, he got the gut feeling that it was the one for him and chose to overlook the fact that they didn’t have a finance major. But after hearing about how much better it is to have a business program and how a LAC will generally take a liberal arts approach to finance, he feels like he is better off elsewhere. Some family members love the school and think it’s perfect for him, and he feels guilty about considering a transfer, and it is really stressing him out. He is probably going to tour his friend’s college over spring break and get a feel for the students, courses, etc.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Closing thread. “Posting for a Friend” posts are not allowed. If your cousin wants answers, he should ask his own questions. In the interim, he has some ideas to pursue.