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lsuguy7
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the arrogance! 17 Feb 2009, 14:12
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pre-med students didn't have to take the most challenging courses in the ciriculum because everything is about keeping your gpa up, while business students were being prepared for "real world" not "more school"


Whoa, where did you get that statement. I don't know about your school but UCLA is a huge feeder for MED/Pharm/Dental etc. and I don't know you can say they didn't take the most challenging courses. Most pre-Med (Probably all top25 Programs) require 1 year calculus or above, 1 year physics with lab, Gen Chem/O-Chem with lab, 1 year english (upper div) and generally have a science background at least 3.8 GPA, 30+ MCAT, and top teired university.

I'm wondering what "challenging courses" are you refering to?
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Well I can say premed at my school had no calculus, had basic english, physics (I don't think physics is hard, most people did well or tested out) it was basically a biology degree and while people complained a lot about how much stuff they had to memorize they did well in the classes and pre jd is a history undergrad.


I'm not saying it isn't hard but compaired to calculus, statistics, economics, & computer science, that business majors took it wasn't a comparison. More people fail econ and acct at LSU than any other classes on campus. The flaw in my argument is maybe the business college is filled with people who think it will be easy and are lower caliber (I doubt this)
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the arrogance! 17 Feb 2009, 15:32
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lsuguy7
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pre-med students didn't have to take the most challenging courses in the ciriculum because everything is about keeping your gpa up, while business students were being prepared for "real world" not "more school"


Whoa, where did you get that statement. I don't know about your school but UCLA is a huge feeder for MED/Pharm/Dental etc. and I don't know you can say they didn't take the most challenging courses. Most pre-Med (Probably all top25 Programs) require 1 year calculus or above, 1 year physics with lab, Gen Chem/O-Chem with lab, 1 year english (upper div) and generally have a science background at least 3.8 GPA, 30+ MCAT, and top teired university.

I'm wondering what "challenging courses" are you refering to?

Well I can say premed at my school had no calculus, had basic english, physics (I don't think physics is hard, most people did well or tested out) it was basically a biology degree and while people complained a lot about how much stuff they had to memorize they did well in the classes and pre jd is a history undergrad.


I'm not saying it isn't hard but compaired to calculus, statistics, economics, & computer science, that business majors took it wasn't a comparison. More people fail econ and acct at LSU than any other classes on campus. The flaw in my argument is maybe the business college is filled with people who think it will be easy and are lower caliber (I doubt this)
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UCLA is 3 quarters of calc. but since pre-calc doesn't count, everyone should have at least 2 quarter of single variable calculus and intro to multi-variable calc.
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the arrogance! 17 Feb 2009, 15:43
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I am a lawyer and I took calculus II and III in college and several upper level economics classes (in addition to a statistics course). Let's not paint all lawyers or pre-meds with the same brush.
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the arrogance! 17 Feb 2009, 16:29
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lsuguy7


I'm not saying it isn't hard but compaired to calculus, statistics, economics, & computer science, that business majors took it wasn't a comparison. More people fail econ and acct at LSU than any other classes on campus. The flaw in my argument is maybe the business college is filled with people who think it will be easy and are lower caliber (I doubt this)
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BTW I really just have to throw it in cuz it erks me, but business majors = hard?

where do engineers fit in in that picture then. you took calc? big whoop, single or multi-variable? ever do ODE or linear algebra? I took both stats and engineering risk analysis. I honestly put Pre-Med way higher than Undergrad Bus. I actually would even put Bio above bus.
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the arrogance! 17 Feb 2009, 16:36
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I'm not saying it isn't hard but compaired to calculus, statistics, economics, & computer science, that business majors took it wasn't a comparison. More people fail econ and acct at LSU than any other classes on campus. The flaw in my argument is maybe the business college is filled with people who think it will be easy and are lower caliber (I doubt this)


BTW I really just have to throw it in cuz it erks me, but business majors = hard?

where do engineers fit in in that picture then. you took calc? big whoop, single or multi-variable? ever do ODE or linear algebra? I took both stats and engineering risk analysis. I honestly put Pre-Med way higher than Undergrad Bus. I actually would even put Bio above bus.
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for the non techies, ODE = Differential Equations

Wayyyyy too school specific to make a judgment on those. Heck at my undergrad the only people I know majored in business were ex-engineers who were trying to save their GPA so they didn't fail out, or hockey players (the only D1 sport my school did). Somehow I think someone who went to Wharton or NYU undergrad didnt have it that easy as a business major. Ironically my friend who got a 3.9 in Biology at a top 50 ug ended up going for his MBA because he got so disillusioned.
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the arrogance! 17 Feb 2009, 16:38
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Regardless of whether you are in bschool, med school, or law school (or any school for that matter), each field is difficult and challenging in its own ways.

There is no point in arguing who's brighter and who's dumber since there is no such thing as we all take a standardized exam and highest scorers go to med school, ppl in middle go to law school and lowest scorers go to bschool.

Some of the best and the brightest enter each school every year. This whole argument on bschool vs med school vs law school is pointless.
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the arrogance! 17 Feb 2009, 16:41
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Regardless of whether you are in bschool, med school, or law school (or any school for that matter), each field is difficult and challenging in its own ways.

There is no point in arguing who's brighter and who's dumber since there is no such thing as we all take a standardized exam and highest scorers go to med school, ppl in middle go to law school and lowest scorers go to bschool.

Some of the best and the brightest enter each school every year. This whole argument on bschool vs med school vs law school is pointless.
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Thank you. +1
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the arrogance! 17 Feb 2009, 16:47
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lsuguy7
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pre-med students didn't have to take the most challenging courses in the ciriculum because everything is about keeping your gpa up, while business students were being prepared for "real world" not "more school"


Whoa, where did you get that statement. I don't know about your school but UCLA is a huge feeder for MED/Pharm/Dental etc. and I don't know you can say they didn't take the most challenging courses. Most pre-Med (Probably all top25 Programs) require 1 year calculus or above, 1 year physics with lab, Gen Chem/O-Chem with lab, 1 year english (upper div) and generally have a science background at least 3.8 GPA, 30+ MCAT, and top teired university.

I'm wondering what "challenging courses" are you refering to?

Well I can say premed at my school had no calculus, had basic english, physics (I don't think physics is hard, most people did well or tested out) it was basically a biology degree and while people complained a lot about how much stuff they had to memorize they did well in the classes and pre jd is a history undergrad.


I'm not saying it isn't hard but compaired to calculus, statistics, economics, & computer science, that business majors took it wasn't a comparison. More people fail econ and acct at LSU than any other classes on campus. The flaw in my argument is maybe the business college is filled with people who think it will be easy and are lower caliber (I doubt this)
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There isn't a pre-med major per se at most schools. You can major in whatever you want (I knew lots of history, math, music majors, etc.) but you have to take a set of defined courses including chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, physics, English, and calculus. Many med schools are starting to require biochemistry, genetics, statistics, and (rarely) DiffEq as well. I don't know about you, but I considered most of those courses pretty difficult.

A google search led me to this random site, which will give you an overview:
https://www.bestpremed.com/preMDreq.php

Anyway, sorry to get off topic there. No, business school isn't nearly as academically tough as med school or (from what I hear) law school. But a lot of business school is about building your network and developing softer "people" skills. That's pretty time consuming in its own right... and quite enjoyable :-D
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the arrogance! 17 Feb 2009, 16:52
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Hmmm...

I thought I locked this thread....
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the arrogance! 17 Feb 2009, 17:05
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You are arguing over a moot point. To judge other’s intellectual abilities by his/her major is arrogant in itself, and this thread isn’t helping anyone’s case. There are smart people in every major/occupation. They shine in different ways. I breezed through my engineering course load in college, but struggled in a liberal arts requirement. For me, liberal arts is challenging, just like math and science is challenging for liberal arts majors.

The bottom line is who cares what other people think of you? I hope people didn’t choose this route because they seek someone else’s approval. At the end of the day, it’s how you feel about yourself that truly matters. If you are happy being a beach bum, go for it. I think that’s a better alternative than being miserable being a doctor/lawyer/MBA for someone else’s approval.
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the arrogance! Updated on: 17 Feb 2009, 17:54
Originally posted by rjacobs on 17 Feb 2009, 17:50.
Last edited by rjacobs on 17 Feb 2009, 17:54, edited 1 time in total.
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This is an interesting discussion, and I have to admit that I get the feeling that my lawyer friends don't have much respect for the MBA process.

Here's my take on it: I don't care whether B-school is easier/harder to get into than law school, and I don't care which curriculum is easier/harder either. The reason I'm going to b-school is because I want to eventually run a company or a non-profit org, or some branch thereof. For me, b-school is a very worthwhile path to what I want to do (otherwise I wouldn't be putting myself through all this). The difficulty level is moot.

And, if I can take it a step further, I think that many law school students don't have a comparable drive to be lawyers (caveat though: quite a few do). There is definitely a kind of law school student that has gotten good grades all their life, but in doing so has trained themselves to think that the reward IS the grade itself. School then becomes not a means to an end, but the end itself. For this type of person, law school is a very attractive option, because they don't really ever have to take the time to think about what it means to be a lawyer your whole life - law schools don't care much how badly you want to be a lawyer. For this type of person, business school is decidedly NOT a good option, because self-reflection and thinking about the future are essential parts of the application process. I think this type of person is typically the one who condescends to the MBAs.
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the arrogance! 17 Feb 2009, 17:54
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Wow, I've had a completely different experience than a lot of people have posted here. Several of my lawyer friends have commented that they were *envious* of b-school students during law school because it looked like b-schoolers were having much more fun. One of my friends who has been a lawyer for 1 year is now regretting it and told me she wants to get an MBA.

I guess it all depends on your perspective... I do see med and law school as more academically rigorous, but I am not interested in those professions. It doesn't mean I'm not smart or want to work hard, I just have different interests and am looking for a different life and grad school experience than law or medicine would provide. And I would not mind being the student having more fun :)
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the arrogance! 17 Feb 2009, 18:27
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Hmm this topic sure took on a life of its own...wasn't meant to be a "x better than y" thread, rather something comical/amusing. For what it's worth, I was a biochemistry major :-D
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the arrogance! 17 Feb 2009, 19:16
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have any of you guys noticed subtle, but irritating, condescension toward bschool when talking with non-bschoolers (law students, etc). i'm talking about obnoxious comments like "oh bschool, that's easy" or "i know someone who's in an mba program, he's got a sweet set up and parties a lot".

needless to say, i'm becoming a little more selective about with whom i'm willing to converse.


It's true though, it's like a great ROI, but it's not a law or Med degree. Alex Chu said something before, B-schools are generally B students. While Law/med are A students.
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Eh.
I thought about law school but then after interning at the states attorney's office - realized that redlining for the rest of my life and arguing wasn't going to be enjoyable for me.
Med school.. really wasn't down for being in school for the rest of my life.

As much as I am guilty of using sweeping generalizations in debates, it's pointless to compare these professions, and the types of people that pursue them.
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