Anonymous
06/27/2025 14:12
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
The absurd cost of college and the increasing difficulties among young people in getting that first good job are changing calculations - both for students and colleges. There are still a handful of wealthy students with Art History degrees from prominent families that can waltz into a job at JP Morgan or McKinsey, but by and large those days are done. Among top 40 colleges, the most competitive majors now are engineering and business. The future seems ominous and difficult for GenZ, so they are much more practical than my generation, which could expect to comfortably float through with our English and History degrees.
Fear is what's driving things. So there is a huge demand for the majors that will likely lead to a good job. I mean try applying to NYU Stern or Cornell Dyson. Their acceptance rates are below 5 percent. And colleges are recognizing this demand. Rice has a new undergrad business school. Vanderbilt now has a business minor. I'm sure there are others. But an undergrad business degree is not the academic cul-de-sac that it used to be among the better schools. Colleges are paying attention and ramping up their programs because that's where the demand is, for better or worse.
Fear is what's driving things. So there is a huge demand for the majors that will likely lead to a good job. I mean try applying to NYU Stern or Cornell Dyson. Their acceptance rates are below 5 percent. And colleges are recognizing this demand. Rice has a new undergrad business school. Vanderbilt now has a business minor. I'm sure there are others. But an undergrad business degree is not the academic cul-de-sac that it used to be among the better schools. Colleges are paying attention and ramping up their programs because that's where the demand is, for better or worse.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 14:11
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
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.[
S
Anonymous
06/27/2025 13:05
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
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.
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.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 12:55
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
One has to remember the origins of colleges and universities. They were outgrowths of religious institutions. Schools were one of many missions of local church organizations (also hospice care).
And back in the day, churches were the keepers of manuscripts and the disseminators of them prior to Gutenberg. In the dark ages, they were the repositories of knowledge while chaos reiged all around. They kept written language going as well as supported the study of nature, the sciences.
The most renowned institutions of higher education today were church based schools in their beginning.
And back in the day, churches were the keepers of manuscripts and the disseminators of them prior to Gutenberg. In the dark ages, they were the repositories of knowledge while chaos reiged all around. They kept written language going as well as supported the study of nature, the sciences.
The most renowned institutions of higher education today were church based schools in their beginning.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 12:47
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
Do an accounting and finance major elsewhere. CFOs can make big bucks.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 12:45
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
You could do Econ with some Math and then a graduate degree after a few years of work experience. Or go somewhere with business undergrad.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 12:44
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:its not academic its vocational
You could say that about virtually any major. Biochemistry is vocational and so is a foreign language.
Biochem is a field of science study and research. You know, to gain knowledge and then more knowledge to add to prior knowledge.
Foreign language is similar and expands into literature and history.
Business doesn't have that sort of academic focus in the study and advancement of its own knowledge. It is kind of like accounting.
Unless one is in it to study topics like organizational behavior or it's ilk, it is has a vocational end game.
Top schools don't want to be known as vocational classrooms. They want to be known for their stellar research, to be in the forefront of academia and to produce students who will carry their torch forward.
If you want a business degree, there are plenty of ads for local schools like, Monroe, Berkeley and Touro colleges on the NYC subways that offer those degrees alongside degrees in administrative assistance.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 12:38
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
Anonymous wrote:Because a Business major is not as academic or intellectually curious as Economics or Mathematics. Top schools want scholars. There is a reason Business is so popular. Bc it is easier and less of an academic haul than an academic field of study.
Haha my DH was a math major at a NESCAC. He is far from intellectually curious, and math was not an ‘academic haul’ for him. He just likes numbers - Just like a Quantitative Finance major probably does in a business school.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 12:29
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
^"Ivies" not " I view"...ugh...spellcheck.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 12:28
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
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.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 11:44
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:its not academic its vocational
Like Engineer and CS
like seamstress and chimney sweep, electrician and plumber.
understand now?
It seems that someone from the 19th century aristocracy is now commenting.
My dear boy, you need to have a rigorous classics education lest you toil away as a lowly seamstress or chimney sweep.
lol.. yes, someone still thinks college is purely for a liberal arts education, and that alone will get you a high paying job.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 11:41
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
There are a lot of useless undergrad degrees. Must be why some colleges are getting rid of those programs, like English. Business, however, is not one of them. Rather, they have grown in popularity such that for even T50 below schools, like UMD, those majors are considered LEP.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.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 11:35
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:its not academic its vocational
Like Engineer and CS
like seamstress and chimney sweep, electrician and plumber.
understand now?
It seems that someone from the 19th century aristocracy is now commenting.
My dear boy, you need to have a rigorous classics education lest you toil away as a lowly seamstress or chimney sweep.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 11:34
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
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.
Undergrad in accounting is all one needs for that field. Will want to pass CPA exam eventually.
Anonymous
06/27/2025 11:24
Subject: Why don’t top schools have business majors
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:its not academic its vocational
Like Engineer and CS
like seamstress and chimney sweep, electrician and plumber.
understand now?
nurses, doctors, lawyers.. yep, I get it now.