So stressed..Advice? Opinion?

[aznhyboi87]

<p>I'm really stressed out right now regarding where to go to college. Before I get into the specifics, let me explain a little about my perspective and what path I am taking. I just want some advice and opinions.. I want to work in the investment banking industry.</p>

<p>I'm a transfer student majoring in sociology. I know all the stereotypes about sociology majors and the many questions that people tend to ask such as "how are you going to find a job?" or "you want to be a social worker?" Yes, I plan to find a job through my schools career center and no, I do not plan to become a social worker. Sociology is actually my "stepping stone" to get into Harvard Biz School or something equivalent to that caliber. My ambition has always been to major in sociology, get a very high gpa (hopefully >3.8), graduate and work for a few years while studying for GMATS, score a 700+ on my GMATS and then apply to Harvard MBA. It seems to me like a great way of getting into my desired school because I looked at the demographics of all the topic MBA programs in America, and most of them have social science majors representing the majority of admitted students who enrolled. In fact, I keep on hearing that students who major in business administration for undergrad tend to not get their MBA's because of how redundant it is. What do you guys think?</p>

<p>With that in mind, a lot of people are opposed to it. Mainly, the older generation relatives and family. One main opposition is that even though I graduated with a sociology degree with a high GPA, the big companies still won't hire me because I wont know any of the concepts or know how to do anything!</p>

<p>Now people of my generation who graduated recently told me that businesses don't even care about what you learned in undergrad. So what if you know a lot about finance?? My older friends tell me that businesses are willing to teach and train you if they think you are smart and if you graduated from a prestigious college. They say that your undergrad major has nothing to do with your first job. What do you guys think?</p>

<p>I guess what I'm worried about is not being able to find a job with a sociology major. I don't mind making less coming out of college compared to my business major counterparts because I know once I get into Harvard Biz school or anything near that caliber, I will easily bank $70,000 or more. I'm looking for long term growth and not short term satisfaction.. What do you guys think I should do?</p>

<p>Now you guys know about my perspective, below are the schools I'm debating between..</p>

<p>USC Marshall School Of Business: Major: Business Administration. Based on my financial aid and scholarships, I will only need to pay $7,000 a year to attend this private institution.</p>

<p>UCLA: Major: Sociology: I received the most prestigious and highest honor scholarship from UCLA-- The Regents Scholar. I received a full ride + a couple of very coveted benefits. </p>

<p>UC Berkeley: Major: Sociology: Based on my financial aid/ scholarships, I will only need to pay $4000 to $5000 a year if I decide to go there.</p>

<p>I need to decide by June 1st. I would highly appreciate it if anyone on this forum can give me their opinion. Thanks.</p>

[advantagious]

<p>Well, here's my story & opinion, take it or leave it. My mother was an undergraduate sociology major at Princeton, class of 1973. She chose this major because she was geniunely interested in it, but at that time she was not thinking about an MBA. A couple years later, she attended UT-Austin for a Master's of Communications (on a prestigious scholarship, I believe), and, incidentally, worked at the IRS to help pay the bills (so there were finance-y jobs for non business people). She then briefly went into a career in social work that she found both poorly paying and unsatisfying, and decided a couple years later to apply to grad school for her MBA. Among other schools, she was accepted and able to choose between Wharton and UChicago--not too bad for a sociology major, eh? She chose UChicago, incidentally, and concentrated in Finance and Administration. </p>

<p>Now, I know that this story spans a time of 27-34 years ago. However, my mother worked in finance for a good 15 years and (I believe) has kept up with the field. I know a lot of kids who think that not going to business school is ridiculous, that you'll never be able to find a job, etc. She maintains that these kids are dead wrong--that you can major in pretty much anything and make it into a top business school. Now, that still doesn't address the time in between your graduation and when you apply for an MBA. As I said, my mother worked for the IRS for awhile and then did actually do social work. Can you get a job in business with a sociology degree? I don't honestly know that, but it isn't necessary for you to work in business to apply to an MBA program, and you could (almost) certainly get a job of some sort as a relatively top graduate of any of the schools you have listed. Personally, unless all you want to study is practical business, I'm against business schools--the education is not well-rounded enough, imo. </p>

<p>So, I suggest you go to whichever of the schools appeals to you the most (none of them is very expensive, especially for a future investment banker :)), work your rear off and commit yourself to your goal. And of course, when the time comes apply to more than just Harvard!</p>