applejack

Just look at all the majors in the Ag and Life Sciences school and it becomes evident very quickly that perhaps the school is a little misnamed. Everything from sociology to engineering is in there.

dewdrop87

I think once you pass the basic math courses AEM becomes a very hands on major.

Like you've mentioned, this is what you enjoy doing and it sounds like you would thrive in the AEM program over your other options.

Tahoe

Antwerp: I'm not an academic advisor, so you should probably call Cornell with specific curriculum questions... However, I can tell you that you have to choose at least one of 10 areas of specialization in the AEM program. My hunch is that you are interested in Applied Economics or Finance but you might be better off concentrating on Marketing and Entrepreneurship. I also don't know where your weakness is in math... but you cannot get around taking some level of economics, stat, accounting, etc. You might be able to place out of Calc, depending on your AP score or your placement exam. To understand the markets you need math. Also, in any business school, they will look at your SAT math scores pretty closely.

Also, as an employer in the finance industry, I can tell you that I would look at your transcript to see that you have challenged yourself and not taken the minimum AEM requirements. If you were applying for a marketing position, I obviously wouldn't necessarily care that that challenge came from quantitative studies...

Tahoe

P.S. Antwerp - I took some time to look at your other posts, and since you seem interested in learning more about Duke's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, you might want to learn more about Cornell's PAM (Policy & Management) Department in the College of Human Ecology. Human Ecology-Policy Analysis and Management-Home

SuNa

I believe Cornell's AEM program requires a year of biology. This due to the fact that it began as an agribusiness degree. That said, AEM does have the reputation as a relatively easy major, appropriate for fun-loving fraternity guys.

dewdrop87

^^All CALS majors have the 1 year Biology requirement since we are the College of Agriculture and *Life Sciences* :-P

Tahoe

Hi SuNa! I remember you from a thread we both participated in last year about your concerns about your son joining a fraternity. How's it going? He's probably president by now

antwerp

@Tahoe,

Do you know what is the nature of a Policy/Management degree? From what I've inferred from the website, it looks like a mixture of Economics, Statistics, Psychology and the Humanities. Important components will be research work and independent studies. It seems heavier on analysis and critical thinking while mathematics seems much less important. Of course, the bulk of the degree would be focused on policy-making. The Consumer Concentration Course would likely be suitable for me.

Do you know how companies view a Policy/Management Major as compared to an Economics/Pre-Business Major. Looking at the rough outline of the curriculum, PAM looks more suitable for students intending to work in the government/non-profits. I guess Policy/Management would also be very suitable for consulting but I'm not so sure for banking/finance.

Tahoe

I really don't know a lot about the PAM program. I am merely suggesting it to you as an option for a self-described "weak" math student who is determined to go into the financial sector.

However, I cannot stress this enough - if you go into a quantitative field - you must have challenged yourself in math. There is one frequent poster here, who graduated ILR - he chose to challenge himself with upper level econ courses. That’s the type of thing we look for – he didn’t just take the minimum ILR requirements and then fill the rest with easy classes. You can do that type of thing in PAM if you choose, but at least it's not a requirement, so if you aren't doing well in it, you can drop the class during the add/drop period and it won’t show up on your transcript.

I own a "boutique" investment firm with a partner I met in b-school. We both started our careers at one of the huge IB firms. We don't hire too many recent undergrads at our firm. We generally recruit from the IB firms, because we think they offer great training and background, but we do hire some "newbies" and Cornell students are valued here. I can only speak for my firm; we look for the whole package - creative thinkers, great analytic skills, strong interpersonal skills and strong quantitative skills. We have a tremendous fiduciary responsibility towards our clients and strength in conceptual and practical mathematics is extremely important to us and many others in our industry. We just cannot afford mistakes in that area.

nagromis

Antwerp,
When will you be applying? I am a bit confused looking back at your past posts because it looks like you will have to serve some time in the military in your country before you start college, but you have acceptances to a few universities (congrats on that!) Anyway, if you are starting your applications over, if you have the time, might I suggest shadowing some people in the financial industry to see if you even like it? There is only a lot of money to be made in that industry if you are a great at what you do... plus a little bit of luck!

antwerp

@Tahoe,

When you say the quantitative field, do you mean the industry as a whole or specific jobs in the industry such as quants? From what I know, banks are divided into back/middle/front offices and each job in each office would require a different set of skills.

Thanks again for all the help!

Tahoe

Quantitative finance (Quants) is a field unto itself. Quantitative Analysts are often called “Quants”. You can read this article, which is interesting -but I would suggest you also surf the Internet and do a little of your own research. Read Wiki for starters.
For this major, at Cornell you would major in ORIE – Here’s another article that you could have found yourself.
http://www.orie.cornell.edu/orie/man...ng-article.pdf

When I mentioned "quantitative fields" - was referring to fields that involve applying mathematical skills and concepts every day. The “quantitative skills” I am referring to are basic math principals in business. I am looking for competency and solid foundations in Calculus, Accounting, Statistics, Economics, and Finance skills.

antwerp

@Tahoe,

Thanks for the links to the articles and as usual, the advice.

I noticed that you have disabled PM and I can't email you. Is there anyway I could contact you privately? However, if you wish to restrict communication strictly to CC, I would totally understand.

Tahoe

Sorry... I feel strongly about keeping my interactions with students on the public forum.

antwerp

^ Certainly, and for good reason.

I've been thinking about what you and other posters said. Mathematics may be important than I initially thought. While it may not be essential, it does provide you with an edge as you mentioned, when compared with others.

Perhaps, I should really try and give mathematics a go and really work hard at it. I don't know, it sounds like suicide at this point but perhaps it would really be important in the long run.

That said, wouldn't that mean an Economics major might be viewed more favorably than an AEM major?