The Right Coast vs. the Left Coast

Bait_amp_Switch
Sun, 24 Jun 2007 01:43:47 +0000

I have some questions, but first a little background:

I skipped college to enlist in the military. Served 4.25 years, pretty high-speed stuff. Honorable discharge, and have since begun putting myself through school- put in 35 credit hours of junior college work to the tune of a 4.0, and I am on the cusp of transferring to a university at the ripe old age of 24. Career-wise, I am interested in being involved in running someone else’s business, and eventually in starting my own. I enjoy tons of creativity, great relationships and the ensuing teamwork, and having the responsibility of making important choices.

I am looking at schools and majors now. I’m thinking Stanford to finish undergrad. If admitted for this fall - and I am very close (long story, don’t ask) - then I will most likely attend. Sound good? At this point I am thinking a double major in bus/finance and engineering (I like interdisciplinary stuff). I like the Product Design engineering option @ Stanford (extremely unique, along with the d. school there), but dislike the lack of undergraduate B school. They do, however, have a nice econ department. Is this a legit substitute?

On the other hand, UVA is a low-cost, in-state option (I know I can eventually get in). They have McIntire, which is a big plus, but no design-related engineering programs.

So now the questions:

Are my major choices relevant? Is this the right direction of study in order to cultivate my interests into growing into an (eventually) lucrative pursuit?
Are these two schools and their programs a good fit? What other schools/programs should I consider? I like the idea of interdisciplinary stuff (like Brown’s COE, UPenn’s M&T… the only problem is that some of these are 4-year programs, and I’ve already got a year out of the way).
Where does an MBA come in to play? Or does it not at all? Conventional wisdom would dictate that getting one would be a great idea- is this train of thought incorrect? If so, will my time in the military allow me to begin pursuing one immediately following the completion of my undergrad work?