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What are the major differences between these two majors? Is it that economics is more liberal arts or what?

By Savedbythebell7 (Savedbythebell7) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 02:18 am: Edit

I think Business helps prepare you for a job. Whereas Econ is more liberal artsy as you said.

By Wizzz (Wizzz) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 10:11 am: Edit

econ involves more math than business....but the bottom line is that they are both great majors to be, including econ, because there are so many things you can do with econ. Every business needs an economist.

By Tropicanabanana (Tropicanabanana) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 10:36 am: Edit

I think the most important difference is that a lot of schools don't even offer business majors.

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 10:55 am: Edit

Econ is a great major but you won't learn any management skills.

By Whartonfella (Whartonfella) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 11:03 am: Edit

an econ major tends to learn the more theoretical parts of economics and a lot of concepts. business majors (like i will be) learn much of the same however they spend a considerable amount of time on real world application.

many econ majors who want to go into business end up with an MBA which is almost the equivilant to completing a good undergraduate business program (like wharton's)

hope that makes sense

By Adjlad (Adjlad) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 04:05 pm: Edit

at wharton, u end up with an economics degree, but while there u have like a focus area


that's what the admissions guy from UPeNN said

By Adjlad (Adjlad) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 04:39 pm: Edit

ignore my last post, ...im an idiot

By Jlq3d3 (Jlq3d3) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 09:12 pm: Edit

"many econ majors who want to go into business end up with an MBA which is almost the equivilant to completing a good undergraduate business program (like wharton's)"

Almost equivelent?? An MBA is way better than an undergraduate degree even from wharton. Without an MBA, you usually become an investment banker or some midlevel analyst, not the top.

By Xiggi (Xiggi) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 09:37 pm: Edit

an econ major tends to learn the more theoretical parts of economics and a lot of concepts. business majors (like i will be) learn much of the same however they spend a considerable amount of time on real world application.

many econ majors who want to go into business end up with an MBA which is almost the equivilant to completing a good undergraduate business program (like wharton's)

hope that makes sense

You should print your post and read it again in four years. Let's hope, for your sake, that four years at Penn will instill you a bit of wisdom. I would encourage you to pay some attention to your curriculum and compare it to an economics' curriculum.

As far as MBA and Wharton's undergraduate being equivalent (not equivilant or equivelent), you're entitled to be proud of attenting Penn, but I'am afraid that you will be sorely disappointed.

By Whartonfella (Whartonfella) on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 10:37 pm: Edit

im not exactly sure what the statistic is but a large number of successful wharton graduates do not go on to get MBA's and a study that wharton completed last year showed that wharton grads with MBA actually did not make any more money thatn wharton grads with MBAs.

im going to wharton in the fall and ive been to the orientations and for the most part they do not reccomend getting an MBA if you graduate from wharton because for the most part 4 years undergraduate at wharton is considered equivalent in the real world. whether or not you choose to believe that is up to you. i just know what the people at career services told about 200 of us siting in the room

By Savedbythebell7 (Savedbythebell7) on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 11:18 pm: Edit

Wharton I agree. The reason *MOST* people go back to get MBA's is because they need to get a job and that history degree they have, just doesn't it cut it for them.

By Bern700 (Bern700) on Monday, May 24, 2004 - 11:54 pm: Edit

Only about 30% of Wharton grads ever get an MBA. This is because salaries for Wharton grads are very high and going to get an MBA = losing lots of money because after your MBA statistically you're only going to be making a few thousand more. Thus you lose money.

On the careerservices site at Penn there are these statistics for wharton grads 10 years after graduation. see the link.
http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/wharton/surveys/TenYearAlumni98.htm

if you notice the BS students are actually making MORE money than the MBA students.

By 08pride (08pride) on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 12:35 am: Edit

But yet, I chose Stanford over Wharton. I plan to get my MBA at either Harvard or Wharton.

By B18c1cx (B18c1cx) on Thursday, May 27, 2004 - 03:31 pm: Edit

Wow, there is a lot of stupid comments flying around this post... makes me wonder if other posts are total bs too.

By Adxj220 (Adxj220) on Thursday, May 27, 2004 - 05:02 pm: Edit

What on EARTH!?!?!?!

Of course an MBA is MUCH, MUCH more valued (and valuable) degree in the business market. A Wharton undergrad business degree is nowhere close to an MBA: just examine average mba salaries vs widely available undergrad starting salaries.

LOL. This is almosty funny, the ridiculous misconceptions people have about pre-professional degree at the undergrad level.You only have 4 years of experience! With almost no specialization! You must be kidding! Almost no one can progress from introductory positions w/ only an undergrad business degree.

and there is something strange about the data collected at this link http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/wharton/surveys/TenYearAlumni98.htm

I have seen data elsewhere, and BS students making MUCH lower average salries, and Penn's BS degree isn't very highly regarded. I suspect that the majority of them have grad degrees in non pre-professional fields (which would otherwise mark them on the table).

"because for the most part 4 years undergraduate at wharton is considered equivalent in the real world."--that is unbelievably ridiculous! Try convincing your employer of that. Wharton is particularly noted for the selectivity and rigor of its mba progra, not its undergrad degree (which isn't that selective, or difficult).

Well, good luck to you. I hope you can manage to cling to your illusions about the worth of an UNDERGRAD pre-professional degree.

see this thread http://www.collegeconfidential.com/discus/index.html
to get a sense of the misconceptions people have about undergrad business degrees. (people admitted to Wharton seem to have that tendency, although the people I know already AT Wharton have a normal sense of reality.)

By Tropicanabanana (Tropicanabanana) on Thursday, May 27, 2004 - 05:09 pm: Edit

I love it when people say "Good luck to you " and pretend to feel sorry for him.

As if him thinking a BS is the same as an MBA will ruin his whole life.

Chances are, if he's wrong, he'll realize that at Wharton because it has phenomenal career planning services, and he'll just get the MBA, and be successful.

By Adxj220 (Adxj220) on Thursday, May 27, 2004 - 06:48 pm: Edit

Edit my last post. I thought that BS referred to bachelor of science. The rest of my poinrt still stands.

The good luck to you was meant to be a sarcastic sort of humor, not to pretend that i was sorry for him.

By Whartonfella (Whartonfella) on Thursday, May 27, 2004 - 07:24 pm: Edit

of course salaries for MBAs are higher than regular undergrad degree holders. do you realize how dumb what you said was? undergrad degree holders range from english majors to biochem majors. im talking about specifically at wharton. to be honest, at my orientation i spoke to people at career services that actually suggested not getting an MBA specifically because of costs and the fact that most of what you do after your freshman year at wharton is specialization. plus a huge part of being a part of wharton is not what you do in the classroom but what the career services people set you up with (internships after freshman year and every year until you graduate). many people graduate from wharton with plenty of experience and specialization and that is the reason why only 30% go on to get an MBA.

this isnt my opinion, just what wharton employees told me. thanks

By Whartonfella (Whartonfella) on Thursday, May 27, 2004 - 07:25 pm: Edit

also, to say that wharton's BSE degree is not a selective program is possibly one of the dumber things ive seen posted on this board

By Adxj220 (Adxj220) on Thursday, May 27, 2004 - 09:44 pm: Edit

No. As I clearly stated in my second post, I assumed that BS referred to "bachelor of science"--as in a science degree. This renders your last two posts quite irrelevent--figure it out. (That aside, I stand by the fact that comparatively, Wahrton undergrad is MUCH, MUCH, MUCh less selective and rigorous than its MBA program.--check the acceptance rates and SAT ranges, its less selective than a number of undergrad colleges)

By the way, 30% is a HUGE percentage of the class that goes on to do MBAs.

You fail to realize that NO ONE can specialize in 4 years of undergraduate work to the level of specialization that is valued by companies. Many majors specialize after a year or two--this isn't wharton-specific.

MBAs require years of full-time, paid, meaningful work experience. Doing summer internships through college isn't going to transform you into some sort of an expert--as much as you may hope to be, it ain't happening. Almost anyone, in any school, can do internships and gain work experience. You might be surprised how common that is amongst other majors in college.

Internships offer experience, but its not even close to the technical expertise you gain from a graduate program, and several years of real work.

Its almost a joke to compare the two, or two even think that your undergrad business degree will get you anywhere in the long term. You might be able to get an entry-level position, maybe work your way up a spot--that's about it.

Econ offers a more specialized skill-set, that combined w/ an MBA, is the best for corporate preparation. (You could also study this in undergrad biz school).

Undergrad business is only valuable for the short term, and rendered meaningless by a grad degree in business. Largely, it's for kids who can't get the $ signs out of their heads--only to realize that it doesn't make much of a difference a few years down the road.

By Barrons (Barrons) on Thursday, May 27, 2004 - 10:51 pm: Edit

"Of course an MBA is MUCH, MUCH more valued (and valuable) degree in the business market. A Wharton undergrad business degree is nowhere close to an MBA: just examine average mba salaries vs widely available undergrad starting salaries"

Well, you are dead wrong. Recent studies have shown that for most the MBA is a net loss over staying employed after undergrad. MBA salaries LOOK higher because you are comparing someone fresh out of undergrad and someone out of MBA school that has around 4-5 years of experience and is 30 years old. You should be comparing the salaries of undergrads 7 years after graduation with new MBA's--then add in the cost of the MBA--say $100,000--and the two years lost wages. The average 30 year old with 7 years or so of experience in our group is making around $100k+. Only a few new MBAs make that $$$$.

By Savedbythebell7 (Savedbythebell7) on Friday, May 28, 2004 - 09:07 pm: Edit

Undergrad business is only valuable for the short term, and rendered meaningless by a grad degree in business.


Wow, what are they teaching in graduate school that is SO significantly different from undergrad? They must be teaching you how to save the manitees and create cures for cancer. Ha, I bet 30 percent of the Penn class failed to make any connections, so they were forced to go back to get an MBA. Render me this, which is more important a BS with connections or an MBA without connections, this is merely hypothetical, don't throw out the, you'll make connections getting your MBA card.

By Haithman (Haithman) on Saturday, May 29, 2004 - 01:39 am: Edit

Many I-Bankers dont have an MBA at all...But still, MBA would be nice.