<p>Hello parents,
I am in a peculiar position right now, because my parents' plans for college for me do not match my own. They refuse to pay if I do not follow their advice and listen to them.
I will be attending Boston College next year as a finance concentration, but I am not going in the usual route of MBA. I would like to become a business lawyer by getting a JD/PhD (finance economics).
Now, my mom, an accountant, wants me to take a second concentration in accounting and take easy humanities courses that would help me improve my technical skills and increase my GPA. She says that a foundation in accounting and a high GPA are crucial to getting that first job.
I, however, want to go in a different direction than she does. I do not want a second concentration or minor, but I do want to use my electives to take math (such as calculus, probability, theoretical statistics, and linear algebra) and economic theory/philosophy courses as well as two or three business law courses to improve my critical thinking and focus on the subjects I find interesting (I love math ever since I was little and have begun to look very hard at different economic theories now that the economy is, well...). I do not plan to go in accounting and do not wish to get a CPA certification, so there is really no point in taking more than the required amount of accounting classes (2). My parents argue (and I cannot say they are wrong), however, that math and economic theory classes are extremely hard compared to accounting classes and could potentially damage my chances of getting summa cum laude. My mom especially has a grudge against me taking math classes; for some reason, she think advanced math courses are worthless and a waste of time.
Is there any evidence I can use to convince my mom to agree to my intended direction, or do you think I am off the mark with my direction and should listen to my mom's advice?</p>
<p>[Boston</a> College Core Courses](<a href=“http://fmwww.bc.edu/core/courses.html]Boston”>http://fmwww.bc.edu/core/courses.html)
The above link is BC’s core curriculum. You will see that it is a very well-rounded, liberal arts-type education, with either one or two courses per discipline. You will have no choice but to take a variety of humanities courses, and they might not be that easy, either! I don’t know much about BC, but if you show this to your mother, she and you will understand that the school requires you to take certain things. That is all aside from the fact that I believe you should take the courses that you want to take. It’s your education, and you really sound as though you have a very good head on your shoulders!</p>
<p>If you wish to be a business lawyer, a Ph. D. in finance is almost superfluous. By contrast, to the extent that one can predict anything seven years out in the currently awful legal market, accounting and law make a powerful combination.</p>
<p>In any event, the most important thing to do in undergraduate school for any legal career is to get almost all A’s and score really high on the LSAT in order to be able to attend one of the 10-20 “national” law schools. Graduates from those schools have a massive advantage in the marketplace.</p>
<p>Some of the conflict is illusory. If you want to be a sophisticated finance lawyer, you absolutely, positively, MUST have some background in and facility with accounting. Accounting – both regulatory and GAAP – drives deal structures, and is often intricately woven in to the nuts and bolts of the documents. If you want to be a business lawyer, take accounting.</p>
<p>On the other hand, yes, a PhD in finance would be interesting but superfluous.</p>
<p>How about trying to come up with a freshman year curriculum that everyone can live with and worrying about the rest of the issues you mention later on? Everything may look different to you, or to them, in a year’s time.</p>
<p>I agree with the idea of showing your mother the BC core curriculum and come up with a FIRST year plan that makes both of you happy. Don’t worry about anything past that as I can assure you things will change as you go through your first year. As others have said, with the core you will have to take some humanities and probably math so just put a decent first year schedule together that would meet both your goals. I would just smile and nod and once you are away at school plan your second year the way you want and just don’t tell your mom everything. I am a parent but although I certainly advise my 2 college student daughters I cannot dictate their exact path because it is THEIR LIFE.</p>
<p>If your primary desire is being a Lawyer, then accounting will be more helpful. The accounting will help you understand what is happening financially. A PhD is finance or accounting will not be that useful.</p>
<p>A masters in Tax Accounting combined with a Law degree would be a killer combination.</p>
<p>You seem to present your Parent’s side as “They want me to get good grades, so take the easier classes”. Getting good grades should be secondary to studying what interests you (obviously it is not worth studying something you are going to fail).</p>
<p>If you are a finance major, the recommendation is to take a lot of accounting classes. There is a reason for that. I think you need to present a better rationale for wanting to study Finance over Accounting when combining it with a JD degree. I think your parents are right for reasons other than you have presented.</p>
<p>I agree with the previous posters. (And don’t underestimate the importance of a high gpa in law school admissions…)</p>
<p>Hmmm… I don’t know what accounting requires, but I would not think of Calc, Linear Algebra, stats and probablity as “advanced” math. I would think that stats and probability are very useful courses to take (see the thread on changing the math curriculum) for someone with an interest in accounting, finance, business, indeed, everyone.</p>
<p>I will be the voice of the non-practical opinion I guess.</p>
<p>Take what you really have an interest in. If it is math, dive in, see if maybe it is a career in math you are really after. As I understand it, there are still jobs to be found for those who are in the math fields.</p>
<p>This may be seen as supremely impractical, but I think the first couple of years of college should be about truly discovering where your interests lie, not just what you <em>think</em> you want or designing your curriculum based on a career choice made before you truly know what it is you want.</p>
<p>Sorry it took me a while to respond. I just got to reading your comments.</p>
<p>Oophs, sorry, I meant to write JD/MBA (finance or economics). The specialization depends on whether I want to work for government or insurance firms/Wall Street, which I am not sure about right now. I promise to take more accounting classes as an MBA student.</p>
<p>I have a fall schedule set up already (thank goodness), and my parents and I are fine with that. I will use my first elective for public speaking. </p>
<p>I think my parents and I have different approaches to this. My parents see GPA as more important than LSAT’s. While I think GPA is very important (I aim for summa cum laude), I see LSAT’s as more of a concern for me (mainly due to the fact that I did not score highly in the critical reading section of the SAT’s, in CC terms ;)). My “philosophy” of GPA is that the teacher and personal interest in the subject are the deciders of grades, not the actual class (correct me if I’m wrong). I believe with careful planning and some effort, the “harder” courses should not harm my GPA in the least. And I get more critical thinking out of the subjects I enjoy.</p>
<p>From what you guys are saying, maybe the best way is the middle route. I’ll probably reserve two or three electives for accounting, two or three electives for math, and the rest for economic theory/business law. This may be the best way of going about it.</p>
<p>Marite: the reason why I used “advanced” is because BC requires 3 courses: Econ Stats, Managerial Math, and Calculus I (I’m switching it for Calculus II). I want to take what is considered the “higher level” classes using my elective bank, like probability, theoretical statistics, linear algebra, and multivariable calculus. I agree, however, that it’s not abstract algebra or topology. I believe those math classes will help with critical thinking and do have applications in business and economics (?).</p>
<p>The only reason I have reservations about taking too many accounting classes at the undergraduate level is that I believe accounting is too rote/“plug-and-chug” and not theoretical enough to help my critical thinking. Please, again, advise me if I am wrong.</p>