1. How to Make Your Major Work For You
Peter Kaye, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean, Undergraduate and Professional Programs
Northwestern University School of Professional Studies

2. Choosing a Major
You’ll spend more time in your major than any other facet of your academic career
Play to your strengths
Address your weaknesses
Stick with what you love

3. Which Undergrad Major is Most Preferred by the Top MBA Programs?
“So, what did this very brief, bird’s-eye view of undergraduate majors teach us? Probably something we already knew: That what you major in doesn’t really matter quite as much as how you do in that major, and how difficult your classes are.”
Business/Business Administration/Economics: 34%
Engineering/Natural Sciences/Technical Disciplines/Math: 33%
Humanities/Liberal Arts/Social Sciences: 25%
Which Undergrad Major is Most Preferred by the Top MBA Programs?
Anne Chaconas on November 20th, 2009
-Anne Chaconas on November 20th, 2009

4. “Then there is the matter of pay
“Then there is the matter of pay. The first thing to say is that reports of liberal arts majors living lives of deprivation and disappointment have been greatly exaggerated. It is true that STEM and business majors earn the most, with median annual incomes between $60,000 and $80,000. But even the average humanities major, with wages of just over $50,000, earns enough to fit comfortably in the American middle class. Just as significant are the variations in incomes within majors. The top 25 percent of history and English majors earn more than the average major in science and math, while the bottom 25 percent of business majors make less than the average wages of those majoring in government and public policy.”
Washington Post. Steven Pearlstein. September 2,
“Then there is the matter of pay. The first thing to say is that reports of liberal arts majors living lives of deprivation and disappointment have been greatly exaggerated. It is true that STEM and business majors earn the most, with median annual incomes between $60,000 and $80,000. But even the average humanities major, with wages of just over $50,000, earns enough to fit comfortably in the American middle class. Just as significant are the variations in incomes within majors. The top 25 percent of history and English majors earn more than the average major in science and math, while the bottom 25 percent of business majors make less than the average wages of those majoring in government and public policy.”
-Washington Post, Steven Pearlstein. September 2

5. Misperceptions of Major & Pay
STEM and business majors earn the most, with median annual incomes between $60,000 and $80,000
Average humanities major, with wages of just over $50,000, earns enough to fit comfortably in the American middle class
Top 25% of history and English majors earn more than the average major in science and math
Bottom 25% of business majors make less than the average wages of those majoring in government and public policy
Washington Post. Steven Pearlstein. September 2,
“Then there is the matter of pay. The first thing to say is that reports of liberal arts majors living lives of deprivation and disappointment have been greatly exaggerated. It is true that STEM and business majors earn the most, with median annual incomes between $60,000 and $80,000. But even the average humanities major, with wages of just over $50,000, earns enough to fit comfortably in the American middle class. Just as significant are the variations in incomes within majors. The top 25 percent of history and English majors earn more than the average major in science and math, while the bottom 25 percent of business majors make less than the average wages of those majoring in government and public policy.”
-Washington Post, Steven Pearlstein. September 2

6. Make the Most of Your Major
Develop academic mentorships with professors
Build lasting relationships with peers
Seek out challenges and opportunities
Do more than what’s expected

7. “As it happens, [liberal arts] are precisely the skills business executives still say they want from college graduates — although, to be fair, that has not always been communicated to their human-resource departments or the computers they use to sort through résumés.”
Washington Post. Steven Pearlstein. September 2,
-Washington Post, Steven Pearlstein. September 2

8. Gain Relevant Experience
Internships
Work experience
Extra-curricular experience
School activities
Volunteer
Portfolio building
Building your network

9. “With regard to the so-called debate’ between the liberal arts and STEM subjects – the real winners are liberal arts graduates with internship experiences,  says  Symplicity CEO Bill Gerety, which facilitates matchmaking between students at large partner colleges, such as NYU and Notre Dame, and big brand name partners, like Google. While STEM grads have more opportunities and higher pay in the short term, the “real-world experience and outside-the-classroom learning” of liberal arts students give them “a unique edge,” he says.”
What Employers Are Looking For When Hiring Recent College Grads, Sergei Klebnikov. July 6, 2015.
-Forbes, Sergei Klebnikov. July 6, 2015.

10. Which Undergrad Major is Most Preferred by the Top MBA Programs
Which Undergrad Major is Most Preferred by the Top MBA Programs? Anne Chaconas, November 20th,
Washington Post. Steven Pearlstein. September 2,
What Employers Are Looking For When Hiring Recent College Grads, Sergei Klebnikov. July 6,

11. Build Your Brand Jessica Styx Transfer and Adult Admissions Specialist