transferstudent2

I'm trying to make a list of schools to apply to as a transfer, in the northeast/mid-atlantic area, that will give me the best opportunity (in terms of networking) to go into either banking, trading, or PE. I've categorized them as follows:

Reaches:
Cornell
Brown
Georgetown
Swarthmore
NYU

Matches/slight reaches:
Villanova
Lehigh
Fordham

Safeties:
Rutgers
Temple


I was wondering basically if all non-targets are viewed equally. I think I have a pretty good feel of how my reach schools measure up, but what about schools like nova, lehigh, fordham, etc? Are either of them better choices than the other, from a strictly "getting on to wall street" standpoint? Also I know pe firms like bx recruit mostly from schools like wharton, but does anybody know if any smaller pe shops recruit at any of the schools mentioned here? Also, if anybody has any other schools in the same geographic area they can suggest I'd apply to, that would be helpful as well. My stats, if needed, are a 4.0 college gpa and a 30 ACT. Thanks!

JML98

you have a 4.0 and you want to get into finance. why isn't wharton on your list at all?

student01

Is finance safe to enter, or would a technical degree such as CS/engineering be more appropriate?

JML98

i'm not sure what you mean; are you asking whether getting a finance degree sets you up better for a job in wall street?

I would say if you want to get into finance, you have to at least have a finance degree. If you want a CS/engineering degree, that must be in addition to finance. It helps in the sense that you look more impressive as a candidate; it may even help in the way you think analytically, but in terms of practical knowledge, it wont' help (unless you are in quant finance)

student01

considering that the chance of going to wall street are slim, even with a degree from a prestigious institution, I was actually referring to the 'general' financial analyst...

transferstudent2

I have a 4.0 because I'm currently at a community college, haha. I may apply to wharton and yale but their transfer rates are so abysmally low I feel like I have close to no chance at all; at least with cornell/gtown etc I feel like I have a small chance. I will most likely end up applying though.

BigMike3541

@JML98 You do not need to study finance to work in finance. I have never taken a finance class before and I have had 3 finance internships and a full time offer. Really, I think doing CS will give you the most options.

BankonBanking

You can break into finance, and by finance, I meaning banking, and then move to P/E, with virtually any major if you attend a Target school and begin to learn how to leverage a network. If, however, you are enrolled at a non-target school, you should absolutely major in finance/accounting, if not both (or at least take a few classes from the other), as a means separating yourself from those Target students who don't have a finance background but are expected to be able to "learn quick" based on their school.

If you come from a non-target, and don't major in finance, you will be at a disadvantage when it comes time to land starter internships, or internships that can look decent to BB IB shops and will provide you with solid experiences (such as small boutique IB or P/E, or F500 corp fin - those types of positions that should require some modeling experience, as well as other experiences relevant to banking). From there, you can try to leverage that (those) internship(s) into a BB IB interview offer. Without the finance/acct background, you will be at a disadvantage.

If, however, you are interested in CS or engineering, there is nothing wrong with pursuing a dual degree, or if you attend a Target, you can pursue them as a standalone. I would, however, only pursue them if you are very interested in the field, not necessarily professionally, but personally, as they can be quite challenging and you will likely have to discuss why you picked the major you picked at some point during your interviews for IB. Good luck.

IBanker

transferstudent2

Hmm if it's relevant maybe I should mention that I will be majoring in finance (for the schools listed without b-schools, I will be majoring in economics).

transferstudent2

Any input on the mentioned schools? Or other schools in the same geographic area I should look in to?

diontechristmas

To be honest, the cutthroat/iBanking/Wall Street type stuff isn't our specialty at Temple. If you do very well you can certainly get a great job on Wall Street and whatnot, but we're not recruited anywhere near as much as Wharton down the street.

ixjunitxi

Cornell and NYU (particularly Stern)
Worked at GS this summer... in a class of 98 there were 9 Cornell kids, 2 from Brown, 4 from NYU, 2 from Georgetown, 1 from Rutgers and none from the rest of the schools you mentioned.

morrismm

Cornell da da da

bearcats

"You can break into finance, and by finance, I meaning banking, and then move to P/E, with virtually any major if you attend a Target school and begin to learn how to leverage a network. If, however, you are enrolled at a non-target school, you should absolutely major in finance/accounting, if not both (or at least take a few classes from the other), as a means separating yourself from those Target students who don't have a finance background but are expected to be able to "learn quick" based on their school."

I go to a non-target (Michigan Engineering.. not ross), did not major in finance/accounting, did not network (unless you count looking up the recruiter's email address from the Ross database and sending her my resume), not steller gpa (3.7) and still got an internship in the front office at a BB. I also had an offer at a top hedge fund. So I dont think you HAVE TO major in finance/accounting even at a non-target

"I would say if you want to get into finance, you have to at least have a finance degree. If you want a CS/engineering degree, that must be in addition to finance. It helps in the sense that you look more impressive as a candidate; it may even help in the way you think analytically, but in terms of practical knowledge, it wont' help (unless you are in quant finance)"

hmm W.T.F?

Number 1

bearcats, Michigan is at least a semi-target.