A whole bunch of new unintended econ majors...

Colleges & Universities University of Virginia
1

…McIntire decisions are out…

2

is that it? end of road? econ or transfer to other schools?

3

The OP’s post is an uncalled for slap in the face to a VERY talented and proud group of Economics majors at UVa. I’ve hired many UVa grads, and those with Economics degrees have proven themselves to be equally impressive as any McIntire grad.

4

@robertr‌ I would actually say OP has a point. If someone applied to McIntire that means they wanted to major in Accounting, Finance, Marketing, etc. If they then do not get in, they are forced to find a new major (ie. Econ). Thus, they are by definition “unintended econ majors”. That’s not to say they won’t go on to love Econ and or be equally impressive or proud as McIntire majors, but it’s still a fact Econ is not what they intended.

5

Not buying it…UVa Econ majors get an undeserved bad rap. The OP and many others have implied, and often stated outright, that the Economics Department is the major of McIntire rejects. What does that say to the dozens of Economics majors who never applied to McIntire? When I hire an Economics major from UVa, I don’t ask them if they chose that major because they were rejected from McIntire. It makes absolutely no difference as long as they performed well. So, on behalf of all Economics majors, please think twice before making these types of statements.

6

I was an economics major - so I clearly respect the major. As pointed out above, it is not a slap at the major - but obviously there is a large percentage of those who did not get into McIntire who will now become econ majors…it is simply a fact. It is also a situation that could be remedied by a direct admissions process by McIntire - but I would argue that UVA doesn’t want those highly qualified students to go elsewhere - which is what could occur with direct admissions. It is not an accident that econ is the largest major at UVA…

7

On a related note - great NYTimes piece for neurotic NoVA parents (and kids) to chew on…

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/opinion/sunday/frank-bruni-how-to-survive-the-college-admissions-madness.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&src=me&WT.nav=MostEmailed&_r=1

8

Thanks @robertr and @ltjenhins for their inputs. Let’s move on to my next question, “how realistic it is to find a decent job with just a BS in Economics?”

9

Quite realistic. Helps to have strengths in stats or CS and relevant internships.