College major Forum

danicloud · Post by **danicloud** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:38 am

hi everyone so i am new to this forum and i am quite confused about choosing the right college major. So i will start college this fall (I'll be attending baruch college in NYC) and i can't decide between two majors.

I always had a great interest in economics and political science and i know i can succeed in these major. However my college offers a BBA in economics and a BA. if i take the BBA i won't be allowed to double major while if i take the BA i can also major in Poli science.

I already know that the college major doesn't really matter for acceptance to law school, but i was just wondering what would better prepare me for law school.

i am thinking about a career in corporate law, making the BBA the ideal choice because it gives me some good Business foundations but the BA seems more broad and academic.

So my question is does it really matter if a take the BBA or the BA, would top law schools look down at business majors?

Thank you

justhockey31 · Post by **justhockey31** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:42 am

seriously...it does not matter. pick something you think will enjoy because trust me once your in college what you thought you may want to do will change (i switched my major 3 times!). Econ is always a solid major for law school and a lot of kids from poli sci will go to law school because you cant do anything with a poli sci degree

Dany · Post by **Dany** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:43 am

Schools will see both as simply an economics major. You need to pick whichever track will allow you to get the highest GPA. If adding the poli sci major will lower your GPA, don't do it.

If you want more specific advice, my school offered a B.S. in economics through the business college and a B.A. through the college of arts and sciences. I chose the former, and some of the boring business classes like stats and accounting drug my gpa down, while I think I could have graduated with a 4.0+ if I had chosen the B.A. program. Of course, that was just my experience, so based on your strengths you might find the opposite.

But really, just make sure you graduate with as close to a 4.0 as possible. Minor distinctions between different economics degrees will not be important if your end goal is law school.

071816 · Post by **071816** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:46 am

Doesn't matter. GPA is the only thing that matters.

/thread

dasani13 · Post by **dasani13** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:53 am

Choose the easier major and get a 4.0-- don't worry about double majoring unless you're certain it won't hurt your GPA. You can always read a lot of challenging materials on the side if you're not a great reader.

reepS · Post by **reepS** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:57 am

i started as econ and sucked at it then changed to poli sci. Looking back on it i wish i took art history, comm, sociology, or history just to ramp up my gpa as much as possible instead of spending he last few years of college trying to undo the first 2 in the wrong major.

Choose something easy.

schooner · Post by **schooner** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 1:03 am

Real Madrid · Post by **Real Madrid** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 2:07 am

schooner wrote:Take the (easier) major that will give you the highest GPA. Double major/single major - it really doesn't matter.

Sure, people might look down on you for majoring in business, which I hear is a joke program at many schools, but who cares what they think once you get into a great law school?

Lolwut? A joke program? You must be kidding. A BS in a program like Economics, Finance, etc. is exponentially more difficult than a useless degree in Political Science or History. If anyone is looked down on it's those that major in the latter. Thank you for making me laugh tonight.

gunner3 · Post by **gunner3** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 2:11 am

So... This question really hits home for me. My University has one of the best business schools in the country and I got into one of the very competitive programs in the business school. If you're not a moron, you get a job at a Big 4 accounting firm, a bulge bracket bank, or one of the top 3 consulting firms. This comes with a catch. All classes are heavily curved. I had a class last semester where 1 student out of 40 got an A. This helps make the school look better in the eyes of recruiters, but sucks if you want a high GPA for law school. Because I have always been set on law school, if I had to do it over again I would choose the most mind-numbing major to ensure a 4.0. Sure I have a great backup plan if law school doesn't work out, but now I will graduate with a GPA that is about .2 lower than if I would have done another major. If you are sure that you were born to be an attorney and you are set on the T-6 law schools, be careful about the major you choose. There is however a big risk because if you flunk out of law school and have a poly-sci degree.......... good luck finding a job...

northwood · Post by **northwood** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 2:12 am

take whatever major interests you and do everything in your power to get the best grades possible. Who knows you may end up liking the major and decide to put law school on hold ( or not go). Now is the time to see what you like, and try to figure out what you want to do. Whatever it is-just make sure you like it, and keep the grades up. Law School will be there when you graduate- but dont stress about it. Enjoy the ride- it ends sooner than you think!

kazu · Post by **kazu** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 2:13 am

northwood wrote:take whatever major interests you and do everything in your power to get the best grades possible.

titcr

JoeFish · Post by **JoeFish** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 2:13 am

Real Madrid wrote: Lolwut? A joke program? You must be kidding. A BS in a program like Economics, Finance, etc. is exponentially more difficult than a useless degree in Political Science or History. If anyone is looked down on it's those that major in the latter. Thank you for making me laugh tonight.

Dude. Before you laugh your ass off at people taking poli sci or history because they're so much easier than Econ and Finance, remember all of us who take Abstract Mathematics, or EE, or Biochem. Everything else seems like a joke to us by comparison.

That being said, yeah, it is absolutely the correct response to take the one that will give you the highest GPA. This does not necessarily mean taking the objectively easier path. My grades have always been almost directly proportional to how much I've enjoyed a class; many people aren't as extreme as I was in that regard, but if you do something that you eventually end up hating, it could become harder to rack up those straight As.

Also, no major, I think, "prepares you for law school" in any substantive way, except to the degree that they utilize fundamentals of logic, argumentation, and writing.

gbpackerbacker · Post by **gbpackerbacker** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 2:34 am

chimp wrote:Doesn't matter. GPA is the only thing that matters.

/thread

HBK · Post by **HBK** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 3:17 am

JoeFish wrote:
Real Madrid wrote: Lolwut? A joke program? You must be kidding. A BS in a program like Economics, Finance, etc. is exponentially more difficult than a useless degree in Political Science or History. If anyone is looked down on it's those that major in the latter. Thank you for making me laugh tonight.
Dude. Before you laugh your ass off at people taking poli sci or history because they're so much easier than Econ and Finance, remember all of us who take Abstract Mathematics, or EE, or Biochem. Everything else seems like a joke to us by comparison.

That being said, yeah, it is absolutely the correct response to take the one that will give you the highest GPA. This does not necessarily mean taking the objectively easier path. My grades have always been almost directly proportional to how much I've enjoyed a class; many people aren't as extreme as I was in that regard, but if you do something that you eventually end up hating, it could become harder to rack up those straight As.

Also, no major, I think, "prepares you for law school" in any substantive way, except to the degree that they utilize fundamentals of logic, argumentation, and writing.

I don't know, I think my Finance major made a lot of the contracts and property readings a breeze.

downing · Post by **downing** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 4:19 am

Just do this: --LinkRemoved-- It even supplies a pdf file that lists relevant majors.

Else, just major in something easy and obtain a 4.0 while enjoying your college years. You could also major in a relatively challenging subject, study hard, and get near a 4.0 if you're capable of doing so.

downing · Post by **downing** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 4:54 am

I don't know what business programs require of their students, but they are (very likely) fundamentally different than programs that treasure textual analysis of the literary or historical variety. You learn different skills in both studies, so I find the simple and inaccurate reduction of certain liberal arts programs to "easy", especially from folks who haven't taken anything other than a few introductory courses in them, to be erroneous. These "useless" and "easy" majors can actually be quite challenging, and not everyone gets to the point where they can write well.

How about a major in painting, for example (or some other visual art)? Would a finance or econ major consider a major in such a visual art useless? It is generally disregarded - probably because people who study these arts tend to go to art academies - but including this type of art in the useless/useful equation certainly mixes things up, and definitely highlights the importance of viewing majors in their proper contexts. Not everyone has a passion for painting, and even fewer people possess an eye for composition and color, or the dexterity of hand to create fine lines.

Also, what JoeFish said.

schooner · Post by **schooner** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 11:11 am

LilGuy · Post by **LilGuy** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:23 pm

Is History really considered easier than poli sci? As a history major I find myself reading boring, useless shit for hours each night.

beachbum · Post by **beachbum** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:35 pm

I have a BSBA with a concentration in economics. I turned out ok. You will too. Good luck.

dasani13 · Post by **dasani13** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 6:20 pm

LilGuy wrote:Is History really considered easier than poli sci? As a history major I find myself reading boring, useless shit for hours each night.

I think it all depends on the undergrad-- my school's business college is top 10 so a pre-business major here is harder than political science, history, english, etc.

D1989 · Post by **D1989** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 6:31 pm

Real Madrid wrote:
schooner wrote:Take the (easier) major that will give you the highest GPA. Double major/single major - it really doesn't matter.

Sure, people might look down on you for majoring in business, which I hear is a joke program at many schools, but who cares what they think once you get into a great law school?

Lolwut? A joke program? You must be kidding. A BS in a program like Economics, Finance, etc. is exponentially more difficult than a useless degree in Political Science or History. If anyone is looked down on it's those that major in the latter. Thank you for making me laugh tonight.

That's an absurd generalization with absolutely no grounding in reality. Although you consider econ and finance "exponentially more difficult than a useless degree in Political Science or History" (as if a dicipline's utility was any type of determinant of the difficulty of its coursework), you need to realize that these subjects are largely incomparable. While finance and economics might seem difficult from your perspective, there are many people for whom numbers pose no challenge and can major in these subjects effortlessly. (But please do not think I am writing off either of these as being majors for which one merely has to be "good with numbers.") Yet these same individuals may indeed lack the critical thinking and writing abilities which are necessary for high GPAs in a history, poli sci, or philosophy. While it's very difficult -- if not altogether impossible -- to determine which major may be "harder," it mainly depends on the particular student's strengths, experiences, and interest in the subject, in addition to the school's professors and overall program quality. So if you think finance is the toughest and most rigorous major in the world, good for you. But don't go bickering on something about which you must make vague generalites or disparaging people with different majors or interests than your own.

northwood · Post by **northwood** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 6:44 pm

i didnt read a single book for history class and still managed to pull A's. ALl you need to do is write the papers on time, pay attention in class, and remain sober the night before the test.
( and if you chose a prof whose class seemed to be difficult- drop the class and choose another easier professor.)

Wasnt very difficult imo

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