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My brother takes $50K out of his bank account every year so his son can attend a private University. My nephew was quite the student in High School and had nearly perfect grades and an ACT score of 34. (Top 1%). He also is quite good at math and science.
His Academic Adviser is trying to convince his assigned students to major in the Liberal Arts. He insisted that the University Career Planning and Placement Office says there is NO LINK between the major the student has in college and their success getting a professional job at graduation. He also states there is really no connection between the student's Academic Major and the type of work he or she will go into after graduation.
He goes on to say there is just as much chance a graduating student will get a good job in business if he is a Political Science, or Communication Major vs. an Accounting and Finance Major. The company will always hire a good student who does well in college regardless of his/her Major and train them.
What does your nephew WANT to major in? What are his future plans?
In my experience, my college advisors served to help me plan out my courses, but had nothing to do with my decision, as far as what my course of study would be. That, I chose based on my own interests and plans. It wasn't the job of an advisor to be recruiting for any one particular program, and I certainly didn't ask for guidance on decisionmaking...just in how to best arrange my coursework to meet my chosen goals.
As far as the importance of major, it really depends on the field, what's required for it, if anything, and the individual employer. For some employers and some positions, it is true that a great academic record will trump what was majored in. For others, having the necessary major is going to be the critical thing. There's no one rule of thumb, except that excelling in school, regardless of your program is not going to hurt you.
My brother takes $50K out of his bank account every year so his son can attend a private University. My nephew was quite the student in High School and had nearly perfect grades and an ACT score of 34. (Top 1%). He also is quite good at math and science.
His Academic Adviser is trying to convince his assigned students to major in the Liberal Arts. He insisted that the University Career Planning and Placement Office says there is NO LINK between the major the student has in college and their success getting a professional job at graduation. He also states there is really no connection between the student's Academic Major and the type of work he or she will go into after graduation.
He goes on to say there is just as much chance a graduating student will get a good job in business if he is a Political Science, or Communication Major vs. an Accounting and Finance Major. The company will always hire a good student who does well in college regardless of his/her Major and train them.
What do you think?
I think he's right, although with some obvious exceptions. If your nephew wants to go into certain specialized fields then yes, he'll need a specialized degree. If he doesn't know what he wants to do, and is probably bound for some sort of office/business job, then sure, a liberal arts degree will prepare him well, and there's not a direct link. If, however, that if he wants to become, say, an industrial engineer, then a degree in Political Science isn't going to get him where he wants to go . Really, though, it's the student's choice. Not his advisor's, not his uncle's, not his father's: his. What does HE want to do? What are HIS interests? And, of course, he should be thinking of what he can do beyond school to prepare himself for his future career, whether that's his college job, volunteering, internships, study abroad, etc. Choice of major is really only one part of the puzzle when it comes to hiring new graduates.
My brother takes $50K out of his bank account every year so his son can attend a private University. My nephew was quite the student in High School and had nearly perfect grades and an ACT score of 34. (Top 1%). He also is quite good at math and science.
His Academic Adviser is trying to convince his assigned students to major in the Liberal Arts. He insisted that the University Career Planning and Placement Office says there is NO LINK between the major the student has in college and their success getting a professional job at graduation. He also states there is really no connection between the student's Academic Major and the type of work he or she will go into after graduation.
He goes on to say there is just as much chance a graduating student will get a good job in business if he is a Political Science, or Communication Major vs. an Accounting and Finance Major. The company will always hire a good student who does well in college regardless of his/her Major and train them.
What do you think?
My first question is if your nephew had nearly perfect grades and an ACT score of 34 why is your brother shelling out $50K every year? I was good in high school, but not that good and I got scholarships to cover 71% of tuition, room and board. There should definitely be merit money with scores that good.
My next question would be what does your nephew want to do? Does he want to go into business, medicine, law, science?
In my experience, the worst person in the world to ask for either academic or career advice is a college advisor. They have never once given me good or even correct advice. My mother's boss's daughter wasted a full year because her adviser told her to take all the wrong classes for her degree, I have heard a disturbing number of similar cases. If your college adviser tells you the sky is blue, verify it.
My first question is if your nephew had nearly perfect grades and an ACT score of 34 why is your brother shelling out $50K every year? I was good in high school, but not that good and I got scholarships to cover 71% of tuition, room and board. There should definitely be merit money with scores that good.
My next question would be what does your nephew want to do? Does he want to go into business, medicine, law, science?
I agree...
As for the major, there is some truth to that. It isn't AS important that you major in a specific area as it is that you get A degree. I know plenty of doctors that were English majors as undergrads--and medical schools are LOOKING for these kids now. They just took sufficient science and math courses so they could pass the MCAT. For anyone going on to Grad/Med/Law schools, etc. your undergrad degree isn't important, your COURSEWORK is, but not your actual degree.
My first question is if your nephew had nearly perfect grades and an ACT score of 34 why is your brother shelling out $50K every year? I was good in high school, but not that good and I got scholarships to cover 71% of tuition, room and board. There should definitely be merit money with scores that good.
My next question would be what does your nephew want to do? Does he want to go into business, medicine, law, science?
It's possible the OP's brother is just talking about the total cost, not what he is paying. Contrary to popular opinion, not all liberal arts colleges offer huge scholarships to non-needy (financially) students.
My first question is if your nephew had nearly perfect grades and an ACT score of 34 why is your brother shelling out $50K every year? I was good in high school, but not that good and I got scholarships to cover 71% of tuition, room and board. There should definitely be merit money with scores that good.
My next question would be what does your nephew want to do? Does he want to go into business, medicine, law, science?
I guess the answer to your questions is, "It depends." There are plenty of people who have done well in business without a business degree (some have done well without any degree at all), but how many people have done well as engineers without an engineering degree?
Your nephew should study what he is interested in/wants to study--not what someone else wants him to study.
It's possible the OP's brother is just talking about the total cost, not what he is paying. Contrary to popular opinion, not all liberal arts colleges offer huge scholarships to non-needy (financially) students.
No, for the most part, you have to earn them.
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