<p>To start, I just want to warn you this may be rather lengthy. I value the advice and intellect of the members of this site very much which is why I've decided to make a post and the seek some advice. If you intend to insult me, question my life choices, or anything of that nature here are some suggestions: Push the back button, ALT-F4, or anything that will remove you from this web page and save of us the time. I have a feeling this post will be like having a steak dinner in front of the family dog, or in this case the "trolls". However, if you do decide to read on (You brave soul!) I thank and appreciate you!</p>
<p>A general background:</p>
<p>In highschool I never really cared about school and never did homework, avoiding the cliche I just "got by". I always knew I was capable because I scored several perfect scores on some state exams throughout my life and was in the paper once for it. I also got a 29 on my ACT for all that's worth (no preparation, merely did it to satisfy requirements and to validate the thoughts of my parents on my future). Obviously I wasn't going to make it into a quality university due to lack or money and grades (2.9) I took off a semester after highschool and worked a few jobs and devoted some meaningless time to the opposite sex. I got myself in check, somewhat, and went to the local community college and got a 3.0. I thought I had made some changes in lazy and/or partying habits but I didn't and was still unmotivated in my heart of hearts. I didn't take any summer classes. Now, this past Fall, or "Last semester" as some of you may want to call it. I did horrible and my work ethic was much like my high school days. Managing to go to class on average once every two or three weeks I got all C's and one F in my physical science lab. There are many personal reasons to this but I won't divulge those. This current semester I'm making straight A's and I'm actually enjoying this new concept known as "studying". I'm actually applying the intelligence I've inherited from my parents into success in my classes.</p>
<p>Now this takes us to today. My dilemma, the entire core of this monologue, is my major I have to declare this summer for my B.S. I plan on attending University of Florida and luckily the business school there has an auto acceptance if you meet a 3.0 GPA and 3.5 preprofessional! I've narrowed it down to two choices: Marketing and Economics. Marketing due to the nature of the creative aspect which I would consider my strong point. I feel this choice would lead me into a more defined job role upon graduation and would most likely end my academic career. The other thought swirling in my head lately has been to major in Economics and then possibly pursue a Law Degree (JD). I know it's possible to do Marketing and do LSAT's and go from there but I would rather pick one and let the Economics courses prepare me for the LSAT's with rigorous practice with analytical concepts. </p>
<p>This is where you guys come in. I'm receptive to any feedback, whether it be from the majors in each category or just general analysis of the job market and salaries. I think the Marketing degree would be the safe choice and more "vocational" than the Economics major (granted it is a BSBA) but I would rather not do sales. I've done them for the past year or two and excelled at it but I don't feel it's my pursuit of happiness. The Economics degree excites me from the classes I would be taking such as Game theory. Paired with my prospect of going to law school.</p>
<p>Once again, I applaud you for taking the time to read this and thank you in advance for any advice you will give me!</p>
<p>I’m not majoring in anything business-related, so I can’t really help you with choosing a major. However, I just want to (hopefully) let you take a step back and reassess your ambitions You’ve mentioned some lofty goals, and I sincerely hope that you achieve them, but this is your first semester doing well, and it’s in CC. The education you’ll receive is comparable, but a lot of times the workload isn’t. Just make sure not to bite off more than you can chew. See how the rest of this semester pans out to make sure these aspirations are realistic and achieveable. I’m not trying to come off as doubting you, but you don’t want to set yourself up for failure if it ends up not being for you.</p>
<p>Good luck with picking a major and transferring to UF!</p>
<p>Not to be a jerk, but all you mentioned was having a rough time in high school/beginning years of college and then two Majors you are interested in. None of us know much about your interests, what you are good at or anything else.</p>
<p>With that said, I would suggest going to school undeclared or pick either one for grins. Take a few classes that are either core or count for both majors, see what you think of them then proceed with a choice of major then.</p>
<p>I suggest not going to law school. Unless you go to a top 14 school (and even then), you are taking a huuuuuuge financial risk. First year salaries can be $160,000 in law but that is only for people at T14 law schools or top 5% at other schools (at some, you would need to be in the top 10 people in your class to get a Big Law job). If you don’t get that BigLaw job or you don’t go to a top school where there is LRAP programs, you will have a seriously hard time paying off hundreds of thousands of dollars in law school debt.</p>
<p>Even if you get the Big Law job, you will be working 80 hours a week and be unable to have a good work-life balance.</p>
<p>Here’s something to take note of. There are tons of kids who went to Columbia Law, Cornell Law, Georgetown Law and other top 14 law schools who are either unemployed right now or making very little money with very little chance of paying off their debt (These colleges required 3.8 GPAs and 98% percentile LSAT scores.). This is because even at those schools, you need to be above median to get Big Law jobs. If you don’t get BigLaw, you’re making around 40k to start. You can get that just out of college (and without all that debt and opportunity cost).</p>
<p>One thing to think about is that once you go to a 4-year college, your GPA will reset. So if you get 3.9s every semester, you will be able to put 3.9 on your resume for employers. However, Law schools average in your community college grades so if you get 4.0s every semester from now on, Law Schools will see a 3.5 GPA at the end (since you have a 3.0 now). And it will be hard to get into a T14 school with a 3.5 unless you are an URM and have close to a perfect LSAT score.</p>
<p>I would consider doing well in college (either as an Economics major or a Marketing major) and then getting a job. A high GPA in Economics is pretty well regarded in the Business community so you could get a pretty sweet job (with a higher salary than you probably would as a lawyer). Marketing is more vocational but it is viewed as less rigorous by employers and there is less demand for Marketing majors than there is supply for them. That said, if Marketing is the type of work that you would like to do then go for it.</p>
<p>If you do go to law school (which you probably shouldn’t), go to a decently ranked regional Law school in the area that you want to practice in and go with a full ride. This would mean getting straight 4.0’s in your last two years to get up to a 3.5 and getting 170+ on the LSAT (a 170+ is no small feat. You better study like your life depends on it to get this score). Then, you could probably get in somewhere decent in your region with money although you could end up with a really low paying job at the end of it if you don’t do well on the curve. But at least then you won’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars of non-dischargeable debt.</p>