Major complementing an MBA?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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<p>OK I first intended to major in Engineering but I am not sure if Engineering is the best option for me.</p>

<p>My graduate school plans are more or less fixed on a MBA and I was just thinking what would be the best major (undergrad) that would help and complement a MBA!</p>

<p>UChicago does not provide a major in Accounting or Finance. Does it?</p>

<p>I am planning a major in Economics and a minor in Math. Or maybe a double major?</p>

<p>I am most interested in Economics and Finance. Engineering is also fine with me too.</p>

<p>I am sure that I'll do Eco but with what?</p>

<p>Any better option in respect to what is good(Better ranked and higher paying) at UChicago? </p>

<p>I hope my random ramblings is cohesive enough to comprehend! :)</p>

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<ol>
<li>UChicago does not have an engineering major. So…that puts a damper on that part. It does have a math major though. </li>
<li>You seem very focused on getting a degree that pays well. As in, a lot of preprofessional aims. That is not the aim of UChicago. So it’s very difficult to tell you which major would get you a “higher” paying job. UChicago is a very intellectual community–we strive to learn for the sake of learning and for the advancement of our minds, NOT for a nice big paycheck (of course, a nice big paycheck isn’t a bad thing either). </li>
<li>If you are going to get an MBA, your major at UChicago doesn’t really matter at all. </li>
<li>You can find a list of majors using a tool known as Google.</li>
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<p>1.I know 'bout UChicago not providing an engineering major but I just thought that I should add it to give an idea of my mind set. Maths as a minor is still on the list!</p>

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<li><p>I am not focused on a well paying degree. It is just something that would be preferred. Education triumphs Money thus I am applying to UChicago!</p></li>
<li><p>I know it won’t matter but I can’t just skip my undergrad can I? So hence I was asking for a major that would complement it. It would matter as it would give me an upper hand or further my entrepreneurial aspirations.</p></li>
<li><p>I am not a noob, but rather than a search engine telling me what to do I wanted a more personal reply hence CC comes in the picture. I haven’t exactly searched all my options but I intend to do it when I find a starting point on this forum.</p></li>
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<p>And I hope I don’t sound haughty. If I do then just ignore my c0ck-a-hoop tone, it creeps in unintentionally everywhere!</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply!</p>

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<p>^ Um…I can see why he thought that you were “very focused on getting a degree that pays well”.</p>

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<p>Honestly, for someone with “entrepreneurial aspirations”, perhaps you should choose the easiest possible major at Chicago so you have the time and energy to pursue stuff outside of class. Of course, this begs the question why you want to go to Chicago? I’m not saying that it’s impossible to do a lot of stuff outside of academics at Chicago, but Chicago is certainly not the easiest school for this.</p>

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<p>“Of course, this begs the question why you want to go to Chicago?”</p>

<p>Well I have a legacy at Chicago and my dad wants me to go there and plus it is an amazing school prestige-wise.</p>

<p>I know it sounds like I want a high-paying job and right now I think sub-consciously I am hoping on one.</p>

<p>I don’t want the easiest major because I’d need a few years of work experience before getting an MBA and I’d like to do a job that suits me and yet doesn’t leave me working for peanuts (the money thing creeps again!) so for that I guess Economics is my best bet at Chicago!</p>

<p>Any disadvantages of majoring in Economics?</p>

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<p>While I don’t intend to ridicule your aspirations, I think you should think a little harder about applying to UChicago. </p>

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<p>This tells me that you’re not really interested in what the school has to offer. Having a legacy here has nothing to do with why you would like to come here. Also, UChicago really isn’t “an amazing school prestige-wise.” The alumni network here is nowhere near as developed as those at Ivies, and most ordinary people out in the world have no idea the school even exists. </p>

<p>The academics here are more difficult than many of Chicago’s peer schools, which is something you really don’t want to deal with if you’re pre-professional. Further, settling on economics because it’s your “best bet at Chicago” is a terrible idea. While it’s easier than the math and science majors, economics is pretty intense at the U of C. If you’re using it as a sort of back-up plan, you’re really not going to enjoy all the time and effort you have to put into it.</p>

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<p>I’ll admit that UChicago is not my top choice at all! But I intend to apply because I know that Chicago has an amazing Econ faculty. And even though the legacy thing isn’t half as important as the other admission factors but if I did get in it would mean a lot to my Dad.</p>

<p>Anyways I am applying ED elsewhere and applying EA to UChicago.</p>

<p>So maybe I wouldn’t even get to chose Chicago (IF they admit me that is!) but I just wanted to know the best fit for me in Chicago so that I am mentally prepared about what Chicago has for me and right now Economics sounds the best.</p>

<p>AND I AM EXTREMELY SORRY IF I SOUND LIKE A POMPOUS,ARROGANT, MONEY-MINDED NOOB but rather than sugar-coating my questions and doubts I thought I’d be frank.</p>

<p>AND I AM FULLY AWARE OF THE INTELLECTUAL ENVIRONMENT AT UChicago and I respect it even though I am pre-professional.</p>

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<p>I made the following post sometime back answering a question about top MBA admission. It answers some of your questions.</p>

<p>(I am a Wharton MBA).</p>

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<p>andidates who spent a few years working in whatever field their original interest took them. When I was doing my Wharton MBA, there were people like me from high tech, researchers from pharma companies, military officers, advocates in non profit agencies, etc. Yes, there were a LOT from Wall Street - after all, Wharton is known to be the best MBA program for the financial type to begin with. Even so, there was a tremendous diversity of people’s background. What was important was that they all excelled at their respective field and got terrific recommendations from their companies.</p>

<p>As for the companies that hire graduates from top MBA programs, most of them do NOT like the ones who went straight from undergrad to MBA. Right or wrong, the common perception is, MBA education is wasted on somebody who did not have some real life experience before, and hence the worth of MBA education, even from top schools, was discounted. At least this was the mindset in a couple of global fortune 100 companies I worked for. </p>

<p>Second, you do NOT have to have undergrad business major at all to be admitted to top MBA programs. If anything, top MBA programs love people who did undergrad in different fields. In the world of consulting, top tech/science undergrad education + top MBA is considered a best combination. Personally, I would rather see those who aim later for the top MBA program to do some thing other than business admin at college. Going to college for business admin degree is like going to a trade school - a glorified trade school. They teach you tricks, but not how to think and learn. I feel that college education should be much more than that. </p>

<p>In summary, there is absolutely no advantage for business undergrad majors for getting admitted to top MBA programs or excelling at those programs once they are admitted. However, I did see some core humanity majors who avoided math related courses at college having a lot of difficulty in some classes. But then again, Wharton is a very quant oriented program with a heavy duty emphasis on macro economics, operations research and financial stuff. I don’t know whether they would have had an easier time at a program that is more focused on things like marketing, etc. </p>

<p>So, let your son major in anything he likes. Let him have a few years of real world experience, and he can aim for the top MBA program. I am happy to see my son majoring in economics (lately he has been toying with the idea of double majoring in economics/math). The more theoretical, the better. He will have plenty of practical stuff later. If anything, for those who don’t go to a Ph.D. program, undergrad is the only opportunity for really theoretical stuff. Practical stuff is not that hard to learn once on the job, and in fact, really hard to learn while in academia. So why waste time learning “practical stuff” at a wrong setting? Learn what universities are best at teaching, and leave the practical tricks later: if you know how to learn, you can learn all the monkey tricks later with no difficulty once you are in the real life setting.</p>

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<p>@hyeonjlee</p>

<p>Thanks for the article and most probably I’d be double majoring in Eco and Maths too!
Since you are a Wharton MBA could you tell me what are the chances of Investment banking firms hiring an Eco major from UChicago?</p>

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<p>I am in high tech. So, I don’t have first hand insight into IB hiring practices. However, since my son wants to join the likes of Goldman Sachs upon graduation, I made a point of listening/reading about his odds. WS elite firms mostly hire college graduates from the schools they do on-campus recruiting in. And, they don’t do that everywhere (logistically not possible). If they don’t do that at your school, your odds of getting hired by them become severely limited. Only top colleges are included in their roster. They tend to be top elite, private colleges. I hear state schools don’t fair very well. Even the top ones don’t fair as well as top elite colleges if one is looking to get into the front end plumb field in Wall Street, as opposed to back office positions and/or in cities other than NYC. </p>

<p>Chicago is included in most/all elite WS firms’ on-campus recruiting plans. So, as a Chicago kid, you won’t have any problem with the “access” issues. Once you have an interview scheduled, it’s all about “YOU” - how you come across during the interview, what you have done (ECs etc), your GPA, etc. I heard that this is where Chicago kids may not fare as well as the kids from HYP, etc. There are some people who feel that Chicago kids tend not to interview as well as their counterparts (I have no first hand data to confirm this opinion) - not on academic front, but “social”, “personality” wise. </p>

<p>In short, if you go to Chicago, you won’t be disadvantaged in terms of prestige, access (on campus recruiting), academic preparation, etc. Your “charm” is something you have to prepare yourself. My son is VERY active in the ECs at Chicago related to his ambition (Wall Street): this is something you should be very seriously engaged in. </p>

<p>In one of my previous posts (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/896268-food-thought-admitted-students-perspective-parent.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/896268-food-thought-admitted-students-perspective-parent.html&lt;/a&gt;), I discussed the issue of U Chicago for an Investment Banking hopeful (my son). The relevant excerpt is here:</p>

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