Business/Liberal Arts Major Forum

[westjr]

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[txdude45]

The only part of a major, or degree, that adcoms really care about is the GPA attached to it. STEM may be a boost, but its really GPA, GPA, GPA.

[RoaringMice]

I can't imagine that any law school - if they care about such things - would look down on a philosophy major. That's a tough major.

[westjr]

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[jbagelboy]

Philosophy is rarely the easiest major -- that uncomfortable distinction is overwhelmingly reserved for cultural/ethnic studies and sociology departments.

Accounting alone is pretty bullshit, but having a mix of the social sciences is not a bad thing. I think a philosophy/accounting or phil/finance major could actually look more impressive, since you demonstrate both writing skills and quantitative ability with analytic structures. I was STEM/History combo, and I think it took me a little farther than having just one or the other.

[westjr]

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[Cicero76]

There is an Ivy bias against "business" majors. Harvard, for example, doesn't even offer business as a major, supposedly because it's too trade-schoolish. You have to major in economics.

HYS law schools definitely don't discriminate against liberal arts though. That's the vast majority of their students.

[laotze]

Would an accounting and philosophy double major be looked down on by T14 schools (specifically HYS)? I've heard that humanities majors are looked down on, an I've heard that business majors are looked down on, but I want to get some more opinions.

Why would any adcom look down on someone with the major that scores highest on the LSAT after math/physics students?
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm? ... id=1430654

[westjr]

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[jselson]

There is an Ivy bias against "business" majors. Harvard, for example, doesn't even offer business as a major, supposedly because it's too trade-schoolish. You have to major in economics.

HYS law schools definitely don't discriminate against liberal arts though. That's the vast majority of their students.

Ok, I really want to go to Harvard. Do you think that the accounting major will hurt me? I switched to accounting from economics because I liked accounting better (seemed more applicable, better teachers, enjoyed the work more), but I could easily switch back and finish my economics major, or just take random classes instead of finishing a second major. I would enjoy either of those options, but I really like accounting.

Honestly, I think I should be good at Harvard (4.1 LSAC GPA, and PTing 173-180 before the June test), but I don't want my major to be a reason that I get rejected despite my numbers.

I think the accounting major can only help, especially after graduating. But with your gpa and lsat, you won't need it.

[Lavitz]

No adcomm is going to reject a 175/4.1 because they majored in accounting. Do what you like.

[jbagelboy]

There is an Ivy bias against "business" majors. Harvard, for example, doesn't even offer business as a major, supposedly because it's too trade-schoolish. You have to major in economics.

HYS law schools definitely don't discriminate against liberal arts though. That's the vast majority of their students.

Ok, I really want to go to Harvard. Do you think that the accounting major will hurt me? I switched to accounting from economics because I liked accounting better (seemed more applicable, better teachers, enjoyed the work more), but I could easily switch back and finish my economics major, or just take random classes instead of finishing a second major. I would enjoy either of those options, but I really like accounting.

Honestly, I think I should be good at Harvard (4.1 LSAC GPA, and PTing 173-180 before the June test), but I don't want my major to be a reason that I get rejected despite my numbers.

I think the accounting major can only help, especially after graduating. But with your gpa and lsat, you won't need it.

Yea definitely don't worry about this. You are clearly getting A's in your classes, so stick with whatever major you enjoy and can complete without damaging your GPA at this point. The only reason they would even look at your transcript beyond your GPA and it could hurt you is if you and some other dude were both EXACTLY 3.81/173 (or some variant) with similar WE, and he was a biochemical engineering major and you had a bunch of ez accounting classes and they could only fit one of you. but with a 3.9+ and a strong LSAT, you're solid and the quality of your coursework, as long as its a real major from an accredited university, won't be in question.

[jselson]

Philosophy is rarely the easiest major -- that uncomfortable distinction is overwhelmingly reserved for cultural/ethnic studies and sociology departments.

No "love" for education and communications?

[laotze]

Thanks guys. I began to worry because a friend of mine told me that philosophy is the easiest major at his university, which is not the case at my college at all.

On average I would say philosophy students at my undergrad institution had between seventy and one hundred pages of essay assignments due per course per semester, not to mention in the upward thousands of pages of dense and often inscrutable reading material. Again, per course, per semester, in addition to exams and auxiliary assignments, and that's not even accounting for senior year thesis.

Philosophy job prospects may be piss poor out the undergrad gate, but the skills you gain from the critical thought and workload requirements are probably the best graduate/doctoral school preparation (har har, academics as a "career," I know) you can possibly receive.

The most "hardcore" of the liberal arts, if you can utter such a phrase with a straight face in this day and age.

[jbagelboy]

Philosophy is rarely the easiest major -- that uncomfortable distinction is overwhelmingly reserved for cultural/ethnic studies and sociology departments.

No "love" for education and communications?

ehhhh good point.

some schools don't have "communications" majors tho, or schools of education

[Cicero76]

No adcomm is going to reject a 175/4.1 because they majored in accounting. Do what you like.

+1. When I said ivies have a bias against business majors, I was more referring to the undergrad level (as in not offering them/ looking down on it). Once you're applying to grad school your major is basically irrelevant, unless it's something objectively worthless like education or criminology.

[jbagelboy]

Thanks guys. I began to worry because a friend of mine told me that philosophy is the easiest major at his university, which is not the case at my college at all.

On average I would say philosophy students at my undergrad institution had between seventy and one hundred pages of essay assignments due per course per semester, not to mention in the upward thousands of pages of dense and often inscrutable reading material. Again, per course, per semester, in addition to exams and auxiliary assignments, and that's not even accounting for senior year thesis.

Philosophy job prospects may be piss poor out the undergrad gate, but the skills you gain from the critical thought and workload requirements are probably the best graduate/doctoral school preparation (har har, academics as a "career," I know) you can possibly receive.

The most "hardcore" of the liberal arts, if you can utter such a phrase with a straight face in this day and age.

Agreed, with the caveat that History is at least as rigorous ("hardcore") when done right at top schools. Those are the two humanities majors that always seemed to produce the most legit intelligent/interesting folks (not to say you cant skimp by in an easier program, but that goes for most of academia these days)