College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA): What led you to choose the area(s) of academic interest that you have listed in your application to the University of Michigan?
im applying to the ross school of business, before which i have to apply to the college of LSA for a year, where i chose my interests as economics pre business admin (which i thought i should since im applyin to ross).
so basically, which area of academic interest are they talking about;
1. the econ major
2. econ and pre business admin (OR)
3. interest in business since im applyin to ross later on
plz help im really stuck on this one.. any advice will do ..thanks:)
For the application to the college of literature, that is in the main application, what interest did you choose? If you put Pre-Business Administration then that is what you should explain. Although you can touch upon Economics too as they are kind of related. I don't think you should have much of a problem as the two subjects are so close to each other.
Ha! I knew I'd find one!
Your plight is widespread and you have every right to be befuddled because I don't think anybody really knows what economics is and what to do with it for that matter! Not the professors, not the general faculty in college campuses around the country, not the researchers, not the students, no one! What is it? Math? Statistics? Social Science? Real science? Pseudo-science?It's the black sheep of the sciences and has proved to be a Pandora's box to businesses and society in more ways than one can list. I mean, if you really think about it, economics in the sciences is a lot like Scarlett Johansson in the music industry, you don't really know why or how she got there but any chance to see Scarlett more often is a good thing so we keep her around anyway.
I mean, to a certain extent it really depends on a particular university's philosophy toward business, the liberal arts, and economics as a discipline. Some think economics is too questionable and imperfect a science such that it deserves the least of institutional funding, some see it as a very useful subject that provides good foundations for practical applications in business, and some see it as an extension of mathematics and statistics. Truth is, nobody knows....
Does Michigan consider it's core education as something to be partially included with, completely excluded from, or an indispensable part of one's business education? Some colleges, USC for example, does not emphasize the liberal arts to their business students, meaning they don't have to take any classes other than what is part of the Marshall curriculum though they do stress double majors and require intro macro/micro classes for their business students (Scarlett example 1). Others like UC Berkeley fully integrate their business and liberal arts programs requiring their students to study in the college for two years(including a foreign language) before transferring into Haas at which time they will also be required to take a few economics courses(Scarlett ex. 2). UPenn allows for full cross-registration between Wharton and CAS and in true pragmatic spirit just said "the hell with it, We're Wharton" and calls their business degree an economics degree but in reality is nowhere close to what a real economics degree should be. And still others like UChicago, the mecca of econ, do not even offer business for undergraduates and has such a hard time defining economics themselves that they've just resorted to calling it the most powerful thing man has ever created, using it to analyze everything existing within the universe.
Long story short, econ is like the mystery of dark matter....the chances of ever discovering its' true origin or purpose are really slim to none, but it's fun to try...
It looks to me like Michigan follows the "partial" pattern which in my opinion is good, since sending students out in to business without any "real education" is something akin to sending troops to war without a flak helmet. Not good... Assuming you can only apply to one school at a time, are required to apply to LAS before applying to Ross, and cannot cross-register between the schools, I would take it one step at a time and focus on economics, since you are given a limited amount of space to define your interests. Defining economics, well...that ones up to you...good luck =)
Also, the college, econ professors, and your future econ peers will be appreciative to have a student whose passion for the subject is genuine, more so perhaps, than one who sees it as a somewhat whimsical and befitting means toward a business degree. That is of course, assuming they all know what this subject in fact, is, which I contend that they don't. Anyway, many of todays top employers seek and value liberal arts majors as much as, if not more than just run-of-the-mill business administration majors. It's a changing world...
This is my take on things, hope it helps to resolve your quandary....if not, looking at pictures of Scarlett always help me if that's any consolation.
well...ur tellin me to write only on econ, which i would love to do, but dont u think that the people at mich will be like.."the guy wants to apply to ross, but he doesnt want to talk about pre business admin, thats strange.."??
You definitely have a point Mitch. Or they could be like "the guy is applying to the college but talks too much about pre-business admin". Or "the guy intends on applying to both colleges, his essay is very thoughtful and merges passion for econ with a pre-professional mindset well". I guess we're back to step 1. =T
