Economics Major in Undergradute, MBA in Gradute

kylezkdlf · March 20, 2008, 8:03pm

Hello, this is my first thread here; my friend told me about this forum a few days ago. This might be a long story, but hold on tight!

I just want to know what I can do to be prepared not only for the acceptance of the universities where I want to go, but also the living as a college student.

I’ve spent my 9th grade in Centennial High School, Maryland. Centennial High school is known for Howard County because , according to CNN, Ellicott City was ranked 4th for the best place to live in 2006. I’m not trying to brag about it but it was a pleasure to live there for 2 years; experiencing good quality education, meeting studious people, and getting to play lacrosse! I managed to get a 3.64 unweighted GPA, and a 4.14 Weighted while taking 2 above grade courses (Honors) and 2 two-grade above courses (Gifted and Talented).

Then in summer of 2007, I moved to Guatemala due to my father’s business.
I am currently attending Colegio Maya, an international school. My brother and I attended here previously, so it wasn’t really a new school for me.
As of 10th grade, I received 3.94 GPA, while taking one AP course. I took my PSAT last fall. 50 Reading, 64 Math, and 52 Writing; total of 166. I wasn’t really satisfied with my percentile, so I figured I needed some outside help.
This summer I am planning to attend a special SAT prep school. Hopefully, it will help me.

My brother influenced me a lot to take interest in universities at a young age because he is 9 years older than me. He graduated from Johns Hopkins with a biomedical engineering major in 2005, and helped me with my college career while he attended graduate school in Johns Hopkins.

He told me economics wasn’t really lucrative for graduate school, because engineering and applied math were more concentrated in finance. He favors applied math major, with a econ minor in my college profile. I can agree with him, but I still want to know more about economics and related courses.

Here are some questions I want to ask.

What is the difference between Economics and Applied Mathematics? My brother argued that economics is more of arts&science while AM is engineering related.

<li>Is there anything I can prepare little by little to minimize the suffrage in college? </li>
<li>Is computer science helpful in finance? I read an article that financial managers and risk investors who have more computer knowledge/skills tend to be more successful than his or her peers who lack computer skills.</li>
<li>If computer science is important, what can I prepare for it?</li>
<li>My college picks are: UPenn, UChicago, Columbia, and Northwestern.
Safety: Duke, UVA, Colgate, and Johns Hopkins
Are they good for me?</li>
<li>Is history helpful in finance?</li>
<li>Finally, what kinds of on-campus jobs can I do when I am in college? I am not a US Citizen, so I am looking to get a social security number in college just in case I need it in the future. </li>
</ol>

Well, thanks for your time!

Kyle

Sligh_Anarchist · March 20, 2008, 8:50pm

Hold on a moment, good sir! Your safeties are Duke, UVA, Colgate, and Johns Hopkins??? Those schools are seriously not safeties! With a 50 Reading, 64 Math, and 52 Writing on your PSAT, those schools are BIG reach schools for you! Not safeties! Perhaps that will change after your SAT prep.

njd · March 20, 2008, 9:17pm

<ol>
<li>There are very few economists who use math in their profession. As an economist, you do have to understand a lot of math, but most of the math you learn pursuing your degree will be nothing more than brain exercise. </li>
<li>Suffrage means voting…
If you want to prepare for college, do your hw and develop study habits. </li>
<li>In finance, you need to know advance uses of Excel and whatever Database the company uses. You don’t need to know how to write programs or something. </li>
<li>They’ll teach you what you need to know in college. </li>
<li>Setting your sights high is great, but don’t overestimate yourself. Your safeties are not safety schools unless you’re a 2400 SAT 4.0 GPA student. </li>
<li>No, history is only helpful for journalism/education/poli sci.</li>
<li>Pretty much all college facilities use student employees. A lot of receptionist jobs are also done by students.</li>
</ol>

kylezkdlf · March 20, 2008, 9:29pm

Sligh_Anarchist
What I really meant were second line schools(or second favorite), apologize for the mistake! and i forgot to mention the PSAT was took in the beginning of 10th grade, when I wasn’t prepared for it at all. The next week I started SAT prep with a personal tutor; on my latest sat practice test I got a 690 Reading, 790 Math, and 750 writing; a total of 2230.

njd
It was brief, but thank you for clarifying that history is unnecessary. Still, I want to know what other jobs that are available for me in campuses other than receptionists.

I also want to say there was a student from my current school in Guatemala who went to UPenn several years ago with 1350 sat(1600), and 3.8 gpa average. He told me outside-of-US students have more attention during the acceptance-decision making process; is it true?

momrath · March 20, 2008, 9:31pm

kyle, My opinion on your questions:

Very different disciplines. Study whichever is more interesting to you. Both are acceptable foundations for an eventual MBA.
Work on your English skills. Read English classics.
Yes
You don’t need to know how to program. Concentrate on how information technology provides a platform for businesses. In other words, unless you intend to go into the IT business per se, systems are there to help business run more efficiently, not the opposite.
Agree with Sligh, these are all highly selective colleges, especially for an international.
History or any discipline that encourages analytical thought and verbal communication is helpful in business, even in finance.
I’m not an expert in this area, but I believe you will be able to work with a student visa.

Kyle, you need to take a step backward here. First, don’t obsess over your scores. People with English second language often have lower scores than native Americans. Colleges know this. Scores are only one factor of what will get you into college. Take a prep course, self study, do as well as you can, but DON’T believe that this is the most important element of your profile.

Second, take a realistic look at your finances. Do you need financial aid? If yes, will your family qualify for need based aid? Answer these questions first before you go any further. Financial aid for internationals is available, but it is limited. If you must have it, you must tailor your list around colleges that are generous with aid to internationals.

Grades, scores, and rank are the quantifiable part of your profile. The intangible, but equally valuable, part are your recommendations, essays, extracurriculars, talents, life experience, demographic. Don’t underestimate the importance of these intangibles.

Your international background can actually be a BIG plus for you. Cultural and racial diversity is important in admissions and many colleges, especially those located in rural areas or in the midwest, are aggressively seeking highly qualified hispanics. This is a trump card for you and you should use it.

It sounds to me as if you’re not particularly interested in pure math or finance but you think that it’s the fastest route to success in business. For some it is. For others it isn’t. In the American system of a liberal arts education, undergraduate years are spent in learning as much as you can about a wide range of subjects and disciplines that interest you. Typically for those that are interested in business, you work for a few years after graduation and then go back to university to get an advanced degree.

tomslawsky · March 20, 2008, 9:49pm

My advice is if you’re an economics major, make sure you take some accounting, marketing, finance and basic statistics. Should you want to go to a school with an accelerated MBA (1 year instead of 2), you will qualify with these courses and an economics degree. This will save you a full year of school costs and the oppertunity cost of not working for a full year.

Burb_Parent · March 21, 2008, 6:24pm

My spouse and I are both economics majors undergraduate degrees. We both have MBAs from top 10 graduate programs. When I went (some time ago), economics majors were 20% of the class. Only undergrad business was also 20%. The remaining 60% were a variety of majors from math to literature. Most graduate business schools have incoming class profiles, and you can request to see these and look for undergraduate majors there.

world_changer · March 21, 2008, 8:20pm

I’d add one more less selective school, just in case.

How about UMD?

Economics Major in Undergradute, MBA in Gradute

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