Last week my fellow columnist Brennan Edel argued students should reconsider pursuing the “pre-Commerce” track due to its increasing selectivity. He raises the issue that “too many people are applying to McIntire” and “not enough are getting in.” Moreover, he highlights the academic opportunity cost students incur when they take Commerce prerequisites rather than exploring other departments. While I believe the competitive application process for the McIntire School of Commerce puts unnecessary pressure on students, I argue the pre-Commerce track provides the opportunity to pursue alternative interests as well as to prepare for a business-related major regardless of the result of a Commerce School application.
Rising application numbers are understandable given the Commerce School’s prestigious reputation. The Commerce School — ranked 2nd, 4th and 6th in the country by BusinessWeek, Fortune and U.S. News and World Report respectively — is one of many huge drawing factors for students considering the University. Comparing the average annual base salaries of alumni — $64,352 for the Commerce School and $40,751 for the College — further justifies the increased interest. Beyond money and rankings, however, students interested in business have every reason to cater their schedule toward the Commerce School, because it will allow them to decide whether or not they want to continue pursuing a business career.
While I do think the seven main prerequisite courses for the Commerce School are a bit excessive, I disagree with Edel’s opinion that, for those students that do not gain acceptance to the Commerce School, there is a “serious monetary investment that went to waste.” Even for rejected students who don’t pursue an economics major, those classes do not go to “waste.” The situation is comparable to a student that takes largely politics courses his first two years, only to realize his second year that he wants to pursue an English major instead. Those politics courses were not a “waste”; rather they were part of the college experience of exploring interests and building a liberal arts education.
A possible counterargument is that students who are rejected from the Commerce School are forced to pursue another major against their will. I respond that if they are truly interested in business, there are a multitude of opportunities to continue that interest and attain a business-related career. When Edel claims rejected applicants “funnel” into the economics track “regardless of whether or not that’s their interest,” he ignores the possibility that these students may follow the economics path because they still want to pursue a business-related career. Economics is the largest single major in the College, and the College Class of 2013 First Destinations data demonstrates students in the business-related industries of investment management and financial services had the highest average starting salaries of $60,800 and $58,864, respectively. This is ample incentive to continue to pursue a business major like economics despite being rejected from the Commerce School. Another option is to pursue a M.S. in Commerce.
My main point of contention is that Edel largely underestimates University students’ ability to create contingency plans in case of rejection from the Commerce School. Students who are interested in applying recognize they may need a back-up plan, which could include enrolling in a J-term or May term in order to accomplish their desired major.
Although I agree that the Commerce School application process causes students to excessively cater their work experience, extracurriculars and academic schedule in order to gain admittance to the Commerce School, I don’t believe Edel discovers the best solutions. His main argument is that the only option to help demand meet supply is to “kick students off the pre-Comm track sooner” by cutting down prerequisites or decreasing their difficulty. While I agree that a prerequisite such as “Making Business Work” could be cut, the others in fact do “clearly communicate students’ chances.” For instance, according to TheCourseForum, 27 percent of Financial Accounting students end up with C’s, and both Microeconomics and Statistics have grade distributions around 3.0 and as low as 2.84.
One solution to ridding the University of the application scramble to compile business-related clubs, work experience and classes is to have students apply to the Commerce School right out of high school. The greatest drawback of this would be that the Commerce School would not be able to estimate student ability to work and succeed in a college environment. Yet, applying out of high school would determine which students are truly interested in pursuing commerce.
Because University students are capable of creating contingency plans, students interested in business can rationally cater their schedule around applying to the Commerce school without facing limited options if they are rejected. The first two academic years are not a waste but rather a foundation for business interests that students may want to pursue in the future.
Jared Fogel is an Opinion Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. His columns run biweekly on Thursdays.
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