antwerp

Firstly, I'd like to thank anyone who offers advice.

I know little of what I want to do or study. I don't wish to study the sciences, math or arts as I'm neither passionate nor talented in those disciplines. I want to be in a career/industry where I can comfortably make a lot of money (My family's poor.) I'm keen on entering the banking/finance/consultancy industry or something entrepreneurial subsequently.

I'm inclined towards a business or economics degree. Some contend that an undergraduate business degree is not useful and can be acquired later in one's career. Moreover, they argue that an Economics degree develops one's critical thinking and analytical skills and is looked upon more favorably by companies.

I'm stupid. All my life, I've worked harder than others and still get poorer grades. I'm sick of studying subjects which I'm neither interested about nor good in. I've never studied Economics nor Business subjects previously. But I know I'd prefer to study a subject that is directly applicable to my career as I've noticed I grasp subjects better when they are related to the "real-world" and less abstract. I suck at tests and exams but do better in projects. I've heard that Economics can involve a lot of math which is my Achilles' heel.

I understand that there will be lots of work in college and I'm willing to face that. However, I want to be in a school where it's not all about academics and competition for the best jobs. I want to try so many new things and meet new people in college. I don't wish to spend all my time studying.

I'm current looking to study Economics at Northwestern and Duke. For Berkeley and Michigan, I'm thinking of entering their respective business schools while I'm there. Lastly, I'm considering Cornell's Applied Economics and Management program. All look like solid choices.

I know it's difficult to make a comparison, but in your opinion, which would be a better fit for me?

Thank you.

originpranks

If mathematics is not your thing, I would advise you against doing Econ. When you go up to the higher level, econ becomes all about math, math, and math. If you are interested in going into the "business" field (i know the term is really vague), there are many options in the schools you listed.

Duke: I would actually suggest that you take a look at the Public Policy program. Many people, including the well-known college guides, suggest either a Pub Pol or an Econ degree for pre-business students. This obviously does not involve too much mathematics (a lot less than Econ). And in particular, this program is very, very strong at Duke so if you are good, you shouldn't have too much trouble getting jobs that you'd want.

In my opinion it really depends on many other factors. Those schools (if you go to Haas for Berkeley and Ross for Michigan), are of similar caliber. I myself have been accepted to the very schools that you listed (although not Haas for Berkeley since you apply to that program after a year at Cal) and chose Duke after long consideration. Like you, I'm very interested in the business field.

You have said that you don't wish to spend all your time studying. In that case, I think Duke would be the best choice for the following reasons:
1. Their public policy program, which can be considered as a pre-business program, is top of the top.
2. You won't have to spend ALL your time studying here.
3. Duke is probably the best-represented of in I Banking and such which you seem to be interested in.

antwerp

@originpranks, thanks for the comprehensive reply.

Thank you for highlighting to me the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University. To be honest, I did not consider the school but now that you've mentioned, it looks like a good alternative to simply pure "Economics". It also seems to prepare undergraduates for entry into the "business" sector.

You mentioned an Economics degree for pre-business students. Is this simply a customization of the pre-existing Economics program or a separate program? You mentioned that it involves considerably less Math which is a primary concern of mine. Do you have a link to the aforementioned program?

Thanks again!

originpranks

np I'm glad I was able to help you.

Hm and when I talked about Economics having pre-business students, I simply meant that many students who aspire to go into the business field choose to major in econ. As far as I know, they do not have a separate program particularly for this purpose. But of course, they do have programs such as "Duke in New York" in which students go to NYC for a semester (or two may be?) to do internships and take finance courses and such.

antwerp

@originpranks,

I'd like to ask, are you a student at Duke? That's because I was looking at the Duke Economics page, and its distribution requirements are not stated clearly. I wish to know if it is possible to have an Economics major that is less focused on mathematics. I am sure there must be other students in a similar predicament, who wish to pursue a less math-intensive Economics degree.

Do you know what is the nature of a Public Policy degree? From what I've inferred from the Duke website, it looks like a mixture of Economics, Statistics and Policy making. It will be heavier on analysis and critical thinking.

Do you know how companies view a Public Policy Major as compared to an Economics/Pre-Business Major. I believe Public Policy would be very suitable for consulting but I'm not so sure for banking/finance.

thethoughtprocess

Antwerp, Duke is the best out of those programs for IB and consulting. If anyone tells you different they are mistaken, though Cornell and Michigan would be the next best program after Duke. At Duke you can major in pretty much anything, but I'd recommend something easy like Pub Pol with a Markets and Management certificate - not too hard to get a high GPA in.

law_applicant

These are the requirements for the BA degree in economics.
http://www.econ.duke.edu/ecoteach/un...rms/ab_f06.pdf
It got more math-intensive over the last few years since I have been at Duke. I only took 2 intro courses and no longer take economics. The math requirement now includes multivariable calculus and statistics. I believe econometrics is also mathematical and required for the major. The first two classes 1/51 and 55 involve less complex math, but I think later classes have much more.

CNI

Does a Pub Pol major look as good as an Econ major when applying for a FT? Econ is obviously more quantitative, but I've heard that recruiters love students who have quant skills

thethoughtprocess

At Duke the cool thing is that you can get quantitative skills by taking certain classes (corporate finance, managerial finance, financial markets, and so on) without needing to major in Economics. Picking up a minor in Econ is easy. An MMS certificate is also perfect.

Seriously, so many kids land interviews and I'd say a large majority are not Econ majors or engineers (lots of pub pol, some science, political science, and every now and then even a cul anth with an econ minor).