Why don’t top schools have business majors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For an undergraduate education, a business major is completely useless. I don't know why people waste time with a degree in business.

+1. Because a degree in "business administration" is basically useless. If you're smart enough to get into top schools, you're smart enough to major in econ, finance, or something specific.

You realize business majors also have concentrations? Why do you post when you know nothing about the topic?

I know a good bit about the topic, as I currently have kids in college and have had this discussion ad nauseum.

I'm not paying $80K a year for a degree in "business administration." The concentrations mean nothing. Good grad schools want to see a BS, not a BA, with a degree in economics, finance, etc. You know, something that requires higher math.

I’m confused…you say the concentrations mean nothing and then you say grad schools want a degree in finance which is usually just a concentration.

Why do you care about grad schools if your kid is studying finance anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Historically OP, employers desired liberal arts majors who could think and write. I view are hundreds of years old and wanted students to focus on thinking.The WSJ did a good story on this that you can google. Now, of course, with college costs so high a lot of parents + students want immediate job prep...so they want a more trade school type approach to studying. BTW, my kid was an English major at HYP and was a self made millionaire by 30. Did internships in the summer on Wall Street thanks to HYP Alumni connections.

Harvard English - $64,155
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school?166027-Harvard-University&fos_code=2301&fos_credential=3

Boston College Finance - $135.373
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school?164924-Boston-College&fos_code=5208&fos_credential=3

Self-selection is a huge factor here.

I think it’s safe to assume that English majors at T10 schools are not prioritizing their starting salary.

These kids are either playing a longer game (law school) or choosing a different path entirely (lower income jobs/internships/entry positions in publishing/non-profits etc.) likely supplemented by family money.

Strivers are concerned about immediate ROI of their kids’ college education and major. The very wealthy (including beneficiaries of generational wealth) are not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Historically OP, employers desired liberal arts majors who could think and write. I view are hundreds of years old and wanted students to focus on thinking.The WSJ did a good story on this that you can google. Now, of course, with college costs so high a lot of parents + students want immediate job prep...so they want a more trade school type approach to studying. BTW, my kid was an English major at HYP and was a self made millionaire by 30. Did internships in the summer on Wall Street thanks to HYP Alumni connections.

Harvard English - $64,155
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school?166027-Harvard-University&fos_code=2301&fos_credential=3

Boston College Finance - $135.373
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school?164924-Boston-College&fos_code=5208&fos_credential=3

Self-selection is a huge factor here.

I think it’s safe to assume that English majors at T10 schools are not prioritizing their starting salary.

These kids are either playing a longer game (law school) or choosing a different path entirely (lower income jobs/internships/entry positions in publishing/non-profits etc.) likely supplemented by family money.

Strivers are concerned about immediate ROI of their kids’ college education and major. The very wealthy (including beneficiaries of generational wealth) are not.

It's not starting salary.
It's 6 year out (assuming graduated in 4 years) median.

If you are saying majors like English is for rich people, that's that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never went to college so I apologize if this is naive. My kid wants to major in business administration (goal is accounting or investment banking) and wants to go to a top university.

They’re looking at schools like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, etc. and see that they don’t have business majors. How could this be? It’s the most popular college major and some of these have business schools!

Good grief, attempting to get the topic back on track.
OP, if your kid is interested in accounting or investment banking those are 2 very different pathways. If the goal is investment banking, the focus should be on schools that offer pathways to internships and ultimately jobs at the investment firms. Think Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, etc. Search on here, there's a lot of threads opining on "wall street feeders." Finance and econ are common majors.

Accounting is different, you want a school that teaches the GAAP required classes. Basically, any halfway decent state university will get the job done. My DD was an accounting major at Baylor where she had a fantastic experience, graduated with honors, stayed for her Masters of Accounting (your kid will need those extra credits to be CPA eligible) and transitioned into an internship and subsequent job with Big 4. For accounting, I would not recommend shelling out big bucks. DD got a great scholarship to Baylor, otherwise she would have gone to our state university.

Accounting was a very defined pathway to a job. At least at Baylor they had faculty dedicated to helping every accounting major get an internship and job - they have 100% placement. Finance seemed to be a bit more nebulous on career path, but you want a school where the big investment banks are actively doing campus recruiting. My nephew was a direct admit to Kelley at Univ of Indiana and they seem to be actively recruiting on campus. If your kid gets into an Ivy that alone will open doors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Top schools expect to be educating the leaders of tomorrow. To that end, teaching liberal arts topics to help them be better thinkers about all the large questions challenging our world is important.
Critical thinking skills, an understanding of world history, religious beliefs, some math's, some arts, all of these things influence decisions made by leaders of all countries, organizations, industries, etc.
Frankly, this is important in shaping people as productive and thoughtful citizens - which is probably why the US has been devolving as the meaning of educated person has been watered down.

Are liberal arts majors the red headed step child these days? Is that what this is about? In the era of CS Engineering and Business majors taking the front seat for the last decade, are classics, history and gender studies majors feeling undervalued? (they are basically unemployable at graduation so they should feel that way…)

That is why liberal arts colleges are eating up applicants who want to go into classics and the humanities.
I'm not all that certain about gender studies and basket weaving though.

+1
Sister is an AO at a good but not top LAC and in a pool dominated by econ and bio majors, they are taking all the humanities students they can get. They don’t admit by major, but students expressing interest in the humanities with relevant ecs have a leg up over students expressing interest in oversubscribed majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Historically OP, employers desired liberal arts majors who could think and write. I view are hundreds of years old and wanted students to focus on thinking.The WSJ did a good story on this that you can google. Now, of course, with college costs so high a lot of parents + students want immediate job prep...so they want a more trade school type approach to studying. BTW, my kid was an English major at HYP and was a self made millionaire by 30. Did internships in the summer on Wall Street thanks to HYP Alumni connections.

Harvard English - $64,155
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school?166027-Harvard-University&fos_code=2301&fos_credential=3

Boston College Finance - $135.373
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school?164924-Boston-College&fos_code=5208&fos_credential=3

Self-selection is a huge factor here.

I think it’s safe to assume that English majors at T10 schools are not prioritizing their starting salary.

These kids are either playing a longer game (law school) or choosing a different path entirely (lower income jobs/internships/entry positions in publishing/non-profits etc.) likely supplemented by family money.

Strivers are concerned about immediate ROI of their kids’ college education and major. The very wealthy (including beneficiaries of generational wealth) are not.

It's not starting salary.
It's 6 year out (assuming graduated in 4 years) median.

If you are saying majors like English is for rich people, that's that.

Yes, I’m saying it’s a major for students who are intentionally not prioritizing their salary.

This could be because they are wealthy or otherwise well-supported by family money.

Or it could be because they’re intentionally pursuing a career that does not pay well in the first decade. For example, academia, publishing, teaching, non-profits etc. Some in this category may also be wealthy. Others may willingly choose a lower standard of living in order to do work they love.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For an undergraduate education, a business major is completely useless. I don't know why people waste time with a degree in business.

+1. Because a degree in "business administration" is basically useless. If you're smart enough to get into top schools, you're smart enough to major in econ, finance, or something specific.

You realize business majors also have concentrations? Why do you post when you know nothing about the topic?

I know a good bit about the topic, as I currently have kids in college and have had this discussion ad nauseum.

I'm not paying $80K a year for a degree in "business administration." The concentrations mean nothing. Good grad schools want to see a BS, not a BA, with a degree in economics, finance, etc. You know, something that requires higher math.

If you ‘know a good bit about the topic’ then you’d know that many business programs issue BS degrees for their business undergrads. Kids take a year of economics, a year of statistics, a year of finance and accounting - at least, plus other topics like data analytics. You sound ignorant and actually uneducated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For an undergraduate education, a business major is completely useless. I don't know why people waste time with a degree in business.

+1. Because a degree in "business administration" is basically useless. If you're smart enough to get into top schools, you're smart enough to major in econ, finance, or something specific.

You realize business majors also have concentrations? Why do you post when you know nothing about the topic?

I know a good bit about the topic, as I currently have kids in college and have had this discussion ad nauseum.

I'm not paying $80K a year for a degree in "business administration." The concentrations mean nothing. Good grad schools want to see a BS, not a BA, with a degree in economics, finance, etc. You know, something that requires higher math.

If you ‘know a good bit about the topic’ then you’d know that many business programs issue BS degrees for their business undergrads. Kids take a year of economics, a year of statistics, a year of finance and accounting - at least, plus other topics like data analytics. You sound ignorant and actually uneducated

NP. How high do they go in math classes like calculus for a general business degree? Not beyond calculus 1, right, if at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For an undergraduate education, a business major is completely useless. I don't know why people waste time with a degree in business.

+1. Because a degree in "business administration" is basically useless. If you're smart enough to get into top schools, you're smart enough to major in econ, finance, or something specific.

You realize business majors also have concentrations? Why do you post when you know nothing about the topic?

I know a good bit about the topic, as I currently have kids in college and have had this discussion ad nauseum.

I'm not paying $80K a year for a degree in "business administration." The concentrations mean nothing. Good grad schools want to see a BS, not a BA, with a degree in economics, finance, etc. You know, something that requires higher math.

I’m confused…you say the concentrations mean nothing and then you say grad schools want a degree in finance which is usually just a concentration.

Why do you care about grad schools if your kid is studying finance anyway.

+1, PP does not “know a good bit about the topic.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For an undergraduate education, a business major is completely useless. I don't know why people waste time with a degree in business.

+1. Because a degree in "business administration" is basically useless. If you're smart enough to get into top schools, you're smart enough to major in econ, finance, or something specific.

You realize business majors also have concentrations? Why do you post when you know nothing about the topic?

I know a good bit about the topic, as I currently have kids in college and have had this discussion ad nauseum.

I'm not paying $80K a year for a degree in "business administration." The concentrations mean nothing. Good grad schools want to see a BS, not a BA, with a degree in economics, finance, etc. You know, something that requires higher math.

I’m confused…you say the concentrations mean nothing and then you say grad schools want a degree in finance which is usually just a concentration.

Why do you care about grad schools if your kid is studying finance anyway.

You’ve never met anyone with a BS in finance?! There are plenty of schools that offer this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For an undergraduate education, a business major is completely useless. I don't know why people waste time with a degree in business.

+1. Because a degree in "business administration" is basically useless. If you're smart enough to get into top schools, you're smart enough to major in econ, finance, or something specific.

You realize business majors also have concentrations? Why do you post when you know nothing about the topic?

I know a good bit about the topic, as I currently have kids in college and have had this discussion ad nauseum.

I'm not paying $80K a year for a degree in "business administration." The concentrations mean nothing. Good grad schools want to see a BS, not a BA, with a degree in economics, finance, etc. You know, something that requires higher math.

If you ‘know a good bit about the topic’ then you’d know that many business programs issue BS degrees for their business undergrads. Kids take a year of economics, a year of statistics, a year of finance and accounting - at least, plus other topics like data analytics. You sound ignorant and actually uneducated

NP. How high do they go in math classes like calculus for a general business degree? Not beyond calculus 1, right, if at all?

How high does an English History or Anthropology major go????! Some don’t take ANY math in college. So what’s your point??

[Anonymous]

So many clueless old-timers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For an undergraduate education, a business major is completely useless. I don't know why people waste time with a degree in business.

+1. Because a degree in "business administration" is basically useless. If you're smart enough to get into top schools, you're smart enough to major in econ, finance, or something specific.

You realize business majors also have concentrations? Why do you post when you know nothing about the topic?

I know a good bit about the topic, as I currently have kids in college and have had this discussion ad nauseum.

I'm not paying $80K a year for a degree in "business administration." The concentrations mean nothing. Good grad schools want to see a BS, not a BA, with a degree in economics, finance, etc. You know, something that requires higher math.

I’m confused…you say the concentrations mean nothing and then you say grad schools want a degree in finance which is usually just a concentration.

Why do you care about grad schools if your kid is studying finance anyway.

You’ve never met anyone with a BS in finance?! There are plenty of schools that offer this.

Most like say Wharton offer a BS in Economics no matter the concentration…that’s technically your degree…even though kids will say they majored in finance (which is technically a concentration). It’s kind of silly symantics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For an undergraduate education, a business major is completely useless. I don't know why people waste time with a degree in business.

+1. Because a degree in "business administration" is basically useless. If you're smart enough to get into top schools, you're smart enough to major in econ, finance, or something specific.

You realize business majors also have concentrations? Why do you post when you know nothing about the topic?

I know a good bit about the topic, as I currently have kids in college and have had this discussion ad nauseum.

I'm not paying $80K a year for a degree in "business administration." The concentrations mean nothing. Good grad schools want to see a BS, not a BA, with a degree in economics, finance, etc. You know, something that requires higher math.

If you ‘know a good bit about the topic’ then you’d know that many business programs issue BS degrees for their business undergrads. Kids take a year of economics, a year of statistics, a year of finance and accounting - at least, plus other topics like data analytics. You sound ignorant and actually uneducated

NP. How high do they go in math classes like calculus for a general business degree? Not beyond calculus 1, right, if at all?

Unless your major requires it, nobody goes beyond Calc 1. Most schools even offer humanities majors a dumbed-down Calculus (that STEM and even business majors aren’t allowed to take) or other STEM elective class (yeah, Physics for Poets is real).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Historically OP, employers desired liberal arts majors who could think and write. I view are hundreds of years old and wanted students to focus on thinking.The WSJ did a good story on this that you can google. Now, of course, with college costs so high a lot of parents + students want immediate job prep...so they want a more trade school type approach to studying. BTW, my kid was an English major at HYP and was a self made millionaire by 30. Did internships in the summer on Wall Street thanks to HYP Alumni connections.

Harvard English - $64,155
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school?166027-Harvard-University&fos_code=2301&fos_credential=3

Boston College Finance - $135.373
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school?164924-Boston-College&fos_code=5208&fos_credential=3

Self-selection is a huge factor here.

I think it’s safe to assume that English majors at T10 schools are not prioritizing their starting salary.

These kids are either playing a longer game (law school) or choosing a different path entirely (lower income jobs/internships/entry positions in publishing/non-profits etc.) likely supplemented by family money.

Strivers are concerned about immediate ROI of their kids’ college education and major. The very wealthy (including beneficiaries of generational wealth) are not.

It's not starting salary.
It's 6 year out (assuming graduated in 4 years) median.

If you are saying majors like English is for rich people, that's that.

+1 it's like rich kids majoring in Art History. They feel accomplished for having a degree.. in Art History.