<p>Amazon- terrific. Your son wants to major in business. You fully support his majoring in business. So the only question on the table is how to make a kid who wants to major in business realize the folly of applying to schools which don’t have a business degree or DO have a business degree but it requires having a good enough GPA to actually get accepted into the business program, correct?</p>
<p>You are lucky. Suggest to your son that he speak to a Dean or academic adviser in each of the Great Football/No business colleges that are on his list. He can then learn whether a business degree is possible by cobbling together enough courses from other departments (statistics from the math department, marketing or buyer behavior from the psychology department, etc.) or not. If not, he needs to decide if four years of great football is worth giving up his stated desire of majoring in business. If yes, he needs to decide if the “business lite” major is going to get him where he wants to go. If no, he gives up these schools in favor of schools which actually have his desired major. The dean/adviser can tell him what’s involved in actually getting admitted to the business program, and he can decide if he wants to go to college and major in beer pong and playing video games (i.e. not have a high enough GPA to get admitted) or if he wants to go to college to study and show up at class.</p>
<p>You as the parent get to tell him “We can afford to spend X for four years of college” and he then gets to scramble to figure out how to fill the gap.</p>
<p>Where’s the drama? You are both on the same page.</p>
<p>Amazon, I did a search of threads started by you in the past (prior to making my post yesterday)…I think you decided that both of your children were going to go to business school a looooong time ago:</p>
<p>Yourr attitude is kind of amusing to me on a personal level because I did exactly what you think your kids should do. I majored in a technical business field, graduated near the top of my class, and got a great job out of college. The only difference? My parents had nothing to do with my choice of major. They made it very clear to me growing up that I was to go to college and figure out how to make a living/career for myself, and that was the end of their involvement.</p>
<p>I haven’t read the whole thread but Northwestern, while not having a specific Business major, is a great school for business. Thinking they have a great football team - well that’s a whole other story! If he wants ED Northwestern, what’s the problem?</p>
<p>The gist of the matter is your child should be allowed to major in whatever he wants or go to school wherever he wants because he will presumably be of legal age. However, that does not mean that you as parents need to pay for his education no matter what that choice is. Make it clear what you will pay for and if they choose to go outside those parameters he is on his own.</p>
Sure, you can do that, but then don’t be surprised when your son has very little to do with you for the rest of his life because you bullied him into attending a college of YOUR choice. Using money as a bludgeon is a poor way to raise children.</p>
<p>Both my kids picked colleges I didn’t think were good choices for them, and one picked a major I thought was a big mistake. I still paid the bills. One transferred, the other changed majors twice. They grew and matured from making their own mistakes and finding their own paths in life. And you know what? I’ve made plenty of my own mistakes in life, and I don’t presume that I know all the answers for my kids. In fact, I wouldn’t have wanted the responsibility of deciding what colleges my kids could and could not attend, because I’m no great guru of college and life choices. Better they make their own mistakes than I make mistakes for them! (And when D gets married, I plan to pay for her dress even if I don’t like it–even if I don’t like the groom!)</p>
<p>MommaJ, I would add that I think it’s reasonable to tell a child that you plan to pay for 8 semesters of college, and if the child makes decisions (major switches, transferring, failing classes, etc.) that extend that number, he should not expect the additional terms to be paid for unless he can make a very good case. I don’t think it does a student any favors to let him meander through colleges for 5-6-7 years without regard to the costs he is imposing on others. I’m not saying this is what your kids did – just that some kids will try, and it’s good to be clear about it up front.</p>
<p>"the collective wisdom of CC parents–has told OP what she doesn’t want to hear. "</p>
<p>Please don’t include ME in “the collective”. </p>
<p>“Sure, you can do that, but then don’t be surprised when your son has very little to do with you for the rest of his life because you bullied him into attending a college of YOUR choice.”</p>
<p>Again with the threats of our children having little to do with us, because of essentially one decision. </p>
<p>My own impression is that it should take more than something like paying for a college they didn’t want to go to, to ruin your relationship with your kids. Of course, if your relationship isn’t “right”, paying for them to go wherever they want, or paying for them to do whatever they want, is not likely to have lasting benefits, either. </p>
<p>My point here is that there is SOMETHING (not EVERYTHING) to be said for knowing your kid. Just MAYBE this parents question is a reflection of something more than yes or no; “Should we just make him take loans if he doesn’t do something which we think is reasonable?”</p>
<p>Amazon re post #80. Premed is not a major. It is a set of courses. If you wantimprisons besides grad school, why are you pushing “per” anything? Doesn’t that imply further education? </p>
<p>And I dont get the issue with Northwestern except I think you are putting the cart before the horse. It is a tough school to get into. If your son wants to go there and gets in, you should be happy! A degree from there is a good thing! I think s he goes there, he will have many options when he’s done. And they aren’t so great at football anyway, even if they are D1.</p>
<p>“My own impression is that it should take more than something like paying for a college they didn’t want to go to, to ruin your relationship with your kids.”</p>
<p>To this day my husband harbors resentment because his parents made him go to a high school he didn’t want to go to. They refused to listen to him and made him go to the private high school both his brothers went too (they’d already graduated by the time it was his term) instead of another private school he preferred. </p>
<p>He was depressed all through high school which effected his college decision. Took him a long time to get over the worst of it but it still rankles.</p>
<p>Ok lets assume the son wants to major in business:</p>
<p>One thing that really confuses me about OP’s point of view is that her son is choosing schools based on their football team. Maybe I’m just really ignorant when it comes to the prestige of schools’ football teams, but I would never think of the schools mentioned by OP as famous for their football teams. I don’t mean my statement that these schools lack of a good football team in a negative way at all, by the way. I am currently reseaching Ph.D’s in Accounting and NW and Stanford have come of the top programs so I don’t understand why OP has a problem with them. </p>
<p>Schools I think of good football teams are in the SEC and the Big 12…</p>
<p>Amazon, I think you’re not being fully honest in your last post (with yourself, either).
Your first post describes a parent who is “worried” and “adamant” about what your son studies, and you describe schools as unsuitable “according” to YOU.</p>
<p>Yes, we’re not that far apart. I probably began this after a bad parent-child moment. I guess it could be worse than Northwestern although I have pored over their majors (I know he should do it too) and I, (from what he’s said about things that he likes and dislikes, and things that he’s good at) don’t think that there is a good program there for him. I think the decision should be based more on the best curriculum fit not school spirit, etc.</p>
<p>And they are big 10 or big 12 or whatever. And they have a tippy-top business grad school but do not have business undergrad.</p>
<p>For this “Hypothetical” situation, I would say follow his passion. Seems like this mother is pretty focused on the son following his sister’s footsteps (going for a professional degree, then getting a job right out of college) when that is hardly a given. There are plenty of people who graduate with a professional degree that still can’t/don’t get a job immediately after college. The fact of the matter is that degres don’t mean much nowadays, and what employers are looking for is experience.</p>
<p>As far as a tippy-top business grad school at NW. It really depends on the program! One school may have a great MBA and another a great MPA, MS in Finance etc… For example, since I was considering a Ph.D in accounting NW is not the tippy top (although still a good choice), instead UT and A&M are. </p>
<p>Why is your son focused on a BBA in just business? Is he not interested in a more specialized field such as ISDS, finance, accounting, MIS? My experience with employers has been that they prefer a technical field for an undergrad, and then will sponsor a good employee who is moving into management to attend an executive MBA program at the company’s expense. For example, I am in texas and my employer pays for a Rice MBA.</p>
<p>I also wanted to add in most universities economics is not a business degree or even under the college of business. It is part of arts and science. An economics degree with a minor in statistics, or even better a master in statistics is a great degree for career prospects.</p>
<p>It’s kind of interesting, if I can turn the conversation a bit (from what a horrible person I am), but what I don’t like about the programs in the schools that don’t have business are that they make you choose your career more than the general business degree. At Northwestern you can study economics or finance or marketing or organizational behavior but each one is a separate major or certificate program. You can’t just take a course here or there. You have to do the whole certificate. With a business major - you start off taking one or two classes in every discipline and then choose one or more specializations. You aren’t asking a person to choose a career at a young age.</p>
<p>Amazon, if your son is in any way qualified for Northwestern (and I’ll assume he is) there is no doubt that he will have a fine range of choices come April and you can “kick the can” down the road and save the arguments until then. If he doesn’t get into Northwestern, problem solved. If he gets into Northwestern and you’d rather see him at… UIUC? Wisconsin? Indiana? U Penn? U Conn? U Texas? Cornell? SMU? CMU? then that’s a discussion worth having. By then your S will have surely moved his thinking beyond “I like football” and you will probably have seen that there are a wide range of colleges where your S can get a business degree while still having the non-academic experience he’s looking for.</p>
<p>I think for all the reasons mentioned on this thread, your S is a poor candidate for ED regardless-- so encourage him to do his own research, let him be the one to pore over the course catalog and see who has which major, and then come up with a list which includes reaches, matches and safeties, and within that list, a sub list which includes “schools I can get in as a Freshman which have a business major” and potentially " schools I can get into which don’t have a direct admissions business major where I’d have to work hard to keep my GPA high in order to get in".</p>
<p>No point scorching the earth over one college- it’s only August! Keep your powder dry!</p>
<p>Yes, exactly FG. Not focused on one specialized field yet. Maybe general management consulting. But a bba will let you focus in one or two areas like accounting or finance. But you don’t have to decide that before you start the program.</p>
<p>That would also be nice to have an employer pay for an executive MBA.</p>
<p>You’re probably right Blossom except that he would probably only have a chance at a school of NW caliber if he applied ED. It would be hard to give up the advantage that ED gives you.</p>
<p>S2s BFF went to Northwestern, where he majored in anthropology; he works as a consultant at one of the Big 3 consulting firms, straight out of college. No business degree needed, just analytical skills and the ability to write well.</p>
<p>I was trying to ask in the previous post what is your son’s reason for wanting a BBA? I mean in his own words what is he telling you? I think that would help everyone here give you better advice because so far I think we are just getting your own opinions.</p>
<p>“At Northwestern you can study economics or finance or marketing or organizational behavior but each one is a separate major or certificate program. You can’t just take a course here or there. You have to do the whole certificate. With a business major - you start off taking one or two classes in every discipline and then choose one or more specializations. You aren’t asking a person to choose a career at a young age”</p>
<p>^^With that rationale he is no better off (employement-wise) going to a LAC, or majoring in something non-business. If he’s not specializing in something then he’s not any more competitive than any other major. I know a lot of previous posters mentioned they knew plenty of people who didn’t major in business, but ended up working in it anyway. So, he could easily lose an interview spot to a non-bs candidate.</p>
<p>“Yes, exactly FG. Not focused on one specialized field yet. Maybe general management consulting. But a bba will let you focus in one or two areas like accounting or finance. But you don’t have to decide that before you start the program.”</p>
<p>I don’t know why you think picking a specific degree limits you from taking other classes. Only the last 30hrs determine your major the other 90-100 are used taking all those other classes you mentioned. In fact, if you are a finance major would be required to take management, marketing, economics, finance as part of the degree, not to mention other humanities. Also, many schools allow you to minor in other business degrees. For example, Management BS with minor in Accounting or the other way around.</p>