@msport
“I’m gunning for a job an investment banking and to really maximize my potential to break in I think it’d be necessary to get into Goizueta”
Yeah that is just wrong. Seems most of the people who went on to do finance jobs from the BBA program were double majoring in math or CS. I am betting the latter gave them the greatest advantage, though GBS’s career center could have helped some, but there are many others who managed without GBS. I would basically advise you to go to UVA if that is your logic.
A 5th year is allowed. I had a friend who did it because he came in as a junior. He completed some key classes (I think calculus 2, he was also pre-finance and knew that a better quantitative background. If you choose a major that focuses on that, take some key econ. courses, you would be fine. I think getting into these elite business programs for finance (minus like Wharton) is over-rated. Don’t contribute to that misconception. The schools sending the most folks to finance and especially Wall Street are not limited to Wharton. Most are schools with no UG business program. You can want to go for the resources and the professors and maybe the culture of GBS, but do not feel as if it actually maximizes access. If it sends more people to it, it is mostly because most people at Emory who aim for it also have the idea that it is the ideal path (so like most business programs, it functions as sort of a default major). But even then, it looks like GBS is more successful with sending folks to good consulting positions. If you want to “gun” for finance, choose something relevant (does not have to be a finance major. Again, your access to good firms will increase with a more rigorous quantitative background. In addition, other extremely lucrative fields can open up) and be the best you can be at it Often it is the top students landing those finance jobs. That won’t be easy at GBS especially if you must take on a heavier than normal courseload in one of the two challenging primary area depths. You are surrounded by other gunners who are seasoned when it comes to the Emory environment and coursework.
Unless there is something you really like about GBS, go to UVA (they are basically the same caliber school overall and I am guessing UVA may be substantially cheaper). Pragmatic reasons and “gunning” for that are not good enough reasons to put yourself through such a transition (seriously, I have seen the econ. department reject economics credits from regular public schools for no apparent reason. Needless to say, that exacerbates things further). Try to figure out if there are deeper reasons for your affinity to GBS I would say.