Hot on the Heels of the Apprentice Comes The Scholar

It's easy to see the similarities. A group of attractive youths compete for a prize worth $250,000. While The Apprentice offers star power in the fleshy form of Donald Trump, while The Scholar offers offers insights into academic excellence.

In looking over the Web site for The Scholar I didn't see a contestant express an interest in pursuing an economics major, but then again does anyone ever enroll in college as an economics major. My impression is that students are exposed to economics and a handful of them are drawn to it and change their major.

The Economics Department at Indiana University offers a web page that sketches the benefits from majoring in economics. Dr. Martha Olney has this page, which has graduates with economics degrees writing about their experiences. Valpariaso University offers this excellent pdf informing prospective economics majors about career opportunities.

My advice: Direct only the best students in your Econ 101 classes to these materials. Economics isn't the easiest subject in the world!