Pathway
Business & Entrepreneurship
Starting things, running things, and getting people to buy in. The most path-flexible option here, the skills transfer into almost any industry.
Majors
- Business Administration
- Marketing
- Entrepreneurship
- Management
- Supply Chain Management
- Communications
Jobs people do
- Founder / small business owner
- Marketing manager
- Sales representative
- Operations manager
- Product manager
- Management consultant
Watch out
The choices that quietly close a door here
Assuming any business school will take you without the math.
Several competitive undergraduate business programs require calculus for admission, and most require it for the degree.
Instead Check the specific requirements for the three schools you care most about, junior year at the latest. They differ more than you'd expect.
Collecting leadership titles instead of doing anything.
'President of four clubs' with nothing built reads as exactly what it is. Admissions readers see thousands of these.
Instead Pick one or two things and make something happen that wouldn't have happened without you.
Course ladder
Grade by grade
Course names differ at every school, and graduation requirements differ by state. Take this list to your counselor so the two of you are working from the same page.
Grade 8
- Algebra I if availableWorth doing
Grade 9
- Intro to Business or Personal FinanceWorth doing
- GeometryLoad-bearing
- English 9Load-bearing
Writing clearly is the most underrated business skill.
Grade 10
- Algebra IILoad-bearing
- Marketing or Entrepreneurship electiveWorth doing
- Public speaking / debateWorth doing
Grade 11
- StatisticsLoad-bearing
More useful here than calculus, and business programs increasingly want it.
- AP Microeconomics or MacroeconomicsWorth doing
- AccountingWorth doing
Even one semester. Reading a balance sheet is a real advantage.
Grade 12
- CalculusWorth doing
Required by some competitive undergraduate business schools, check the specific programs on your list.
- Second economics course or business capstoneWorth doing
- Dual-enrollment business coursesIf you have room
Outside class
DECA or FBLA
Competitive events that are genuinely close to the work. Also the main recruiting pool business schools watch.
From grade 9
Actually run a small business
Lawn care, reselling, a service for local businesses. Real revenue at any scale beats a business plan competition.
From grade 9
A customer-facing job
Retail or food service teaches you more about business than most electives. Don't leave it off your applications.
From grade 10
Treasurer or leadership role in any club
Managing a real budget for a real group is a concrete story to tell.
From grade 10
Things to build
Make $500 doing something you designed
The number is arbitrary; the point is finishing a full cycle from idea to money.
From grade 9
Run marketing for a local nonprofit or a school event
Track what worked. Numbers you can point to are the whole game.
From grade 10
Is this actually a fit for you?
Ten minutes of questions, and Bearing turns this into a plan that starts from the grade you're in.
Take the survey