<p>I'm equally interested in physics, math, business, and econ and am wondering whether majoring in solely Business or Econ as an MIT undergrad a waste of an opportunity? since while MIT's econ and business schools are top notch, MIT is more known for engineering and the sciences. What kind of stuff do Econ/Business UROPers do? What are some unadvertised Econ programs/clubs/activities at MIT? If i'm interested in going to Business school (not grad school) after undergrad, will doing research be helpful? For UROPers, do you feel that the skills you've learned while doing research has helped you in the real world?</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s any program at MIT that I’d classify as a waste of an opportunity, especially not a program at which MIT is excellent. You can, of course, major in management or econ and take as many math and physics electives as you can fit into your schedule – very few classes in most departments are restricted to majors. (If you’re really crazy, you could always double-major in two of your choices and minor in the other two. :))</p>
<p>If you’re interested in going to business school, you’ll probably need to do things that make you attractive for a good business job after undergrad – most people go to business school after working for a few years, and people with excellent jobs are at an advantage. And as far as I know, people with a great resume, including research, are at an advantage for those types of jobs. But your UROP wouldn’t need to be in management or economics.</p>
<p>I second the idea of majoring in management or econ (MIT has great programs in both), and then taking a ton of electives in whatever interests you. I know that course 15 (management) doesn’t have very many required classes, so that would make your plan even easier. It is also a common double major for this reason.</p>
<p>Yeah, there are plenty of UROPs available in Econ and Sloan. As in the sciences and engineering, the UROPs I’ve known from both econ and Sloan were primarily responsible for collecting and processing data. This would include entering, cleaning, and summarizing data collected for economic or business analysis. You might also UROP for Sloan’s behavioral lab, which studies small group dynamics for the study of topics like teamwork, group decision-making, hierarchies, and negotiations. This may involve orienting study participants and entering data based on their performance of a task. Other activities I’ve seen included preparing a report that was promised to survey respondents, attending conferences, and fieldwork abroad (in development economics). Mathematical modeling, theory-building, and lit reviews are generally considered the purview of graduate students and faculty, although you may be able to impress them by offering insightful comments on this part of the paper. </p>
<p>In my experience, it can be quite difficult to find a UROP who is talented with econometrics and familiar with the software we use, such as STATA, so there are plenty of opportunities!</p>
<p>For clubs/organizations dealing with business/econ: SUMA (Sloan Undergraduate Management Association), SEBC (Science and Engineering Business Club), and Tech Fair. I think there’s also an undergraduate economics association but I’m not completely sure about that. </p>
<p>I also know a guy who uroped in econ and helped a professor revise his paper/book by researching information.</p>
I think there is, although I don’t remember what it’s called. But they had shirts one year that said “Economists do it with models,” which were much-coveted around campus.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your responses! Much appreciated. Sloan’s behavioral lab - is this kind of like management psychology? Myth or truth?: its harder for econ/business majors to get into Business school. also where/what do most econ majors do after they graduate?</p>
<p>I don’t know much about the behavioral lab so I’ll let someone more knowledgeable answer that.</p>
<p>However, MIT Sloan is one of the most respected business programs out there. I don’t think it’ll be harder for you get to into business school if you’re course 14/15. I believe many business/economics majors go into the job industry (finance, consulting, etc) before they apply to business schools. They often like to see applicants who have a few years of experience. This is where MIT can help you. A shiny degree from MIT Sloan is much sought after and you’ll be more likely to land an excellent job after you graduate with so many employers seeking MIT grads. This will most definitely help in the business school application process. </p>
<p>I think some course 14 students also go to grad school after they’re done with MIT.</p>