Majoring in Economics at UT? Rigor? Classes? Post-graduation?

<p>Originally I was very steady set on attending McCombs to get a BBA, then get 3-4 years work experience and complete my MBA at either McCombs or perhaps an Ivy like Stern, Booth, Haas. As a current junior, I am in the top 3.5% of my class, from Houston. I have decent EC's(Lots of debate, debate president, NHS, KEY Club), SAT is 2040, senior year I will be doing a COOP program with Shell corporate. I did research and realized my rank really is not high enough to get me admitted into McCombs as a freshman. Discouraged, I did more research and actually LEARNED that majority Tier-One Business schools do not even WANT a BBA. They are more interested in Engineer Majors or Even a BA. With that being said, I read up on Economics and also talked to a friend who currently goes to UH is majoring in Economics. I saw that it isn't super math heavy as everyone says, and I looked at the courses which one completes and I feel interested in this major. As someone who wants to stay in state, UT seems to be the top school for post graduation opportunities and rep which is appealing to several companies. I am a bit concerned with the large class size and how hard I have heard the classes are though. Could someone who goes to UT or knows about UT please tell me how the Economic classes are at UT? Do they attain jobs after graduation? ETC.</p>

<p>If anyone has other suggestions about what I should do if essentially I DO want an MBA, undergraduate studies wise. Please feel free to add. </p>

<p>Also this is a bit off, but if anyone has information or opinions on this- it would be appreciated as well. Houston seems to be a massive hearth for energy/oil/etc. Would going to UH and graduating really well be a good plan since there are so many opportunities in Houston? Or, I was also interested in SMU in the Dallas area. SMU has several connections directly to the firms as well as the small class size is something I like. Networking and connections are a large part... So to what extent is the "Houston prefers Houston" "Dallas prefers Dallas" true?</p>

<p>This question is a bit cluttered and what not, but any input is appreciated! Thanks ya'll.</p>