Is just a finance major enough?

Redazz007
Wed, 18 May 2016 14:56:49 +0000

@chicagoan819 Hey there! I just completed my freshman year at ND and would like to mention some things. First, a bit about myself. I entered ND solely as a Finance major and have no problems with that whatsoever. I did end up adding a Supplemental Mathematics major my spring semester but I did that because I have a genuine interest in math and didn’t want to spend all of my time focusing on one field (finance) when there’s so much more to explore and learn!

As a freshman, you’re enrolled in the First Year of Studies (FYS) college. You do not pick your major and, as a business major, the only requirement is that you take Microecon your freshman year. All of your other classes can be whatever you want. I chose to focus on a general education and got most of my pre-requisite classes for university graduation completed. Don’t worry too much about this or that for now. As others have iterated, focus on yourself and what YOU want. It’ll make your life a lot easier as well.
You enroll in Mendoza sophomore year but you don’t officially declare you major until the spring semester as a sophomore. You have plenty of time to explore your interests before declaring your official major. Even as a sophomore, you are required to take at least introductory classes in the various business departments for exposure. E.g. I will be taking Intros to Accounting, Management, IT Mang., Ethics, Finance, etc as will other Mendoza sophomores.
Declaring a supplemental, a secondary, or adding minors and concentrations does happen frequently within business students. Someone else already posted the statistic about a third of the students do such. ACMS, econ, and language are probably the most common to add on too, and for good reason.

At the same time, there are so many factors, I’ve come to realize, when it comes to “competitiveness upon graduation” that looking solely at your major is BS. Yes, it is an integral part. But there’s so much more. Networking, experience, networking, and did I mention networking? I know a lot of upperclassmen and have spoken with Big Four as well as Big Three companies that many times, jobs are secured by the beginning of senior year through internships. Networking during senior year comes into play, too. What you’ve done during your years as an undergrad is not limited to academics. It’s life, after all. Great clubs like SIBC or the Wall Street Club and so on (there’s a lot!) do come into play. One of my friends did a project through SIBC, got flown to Google to present, and got an on-the-spot internship there. Her GPA wasn’t the best and many would consider not competitive enough to even apply to Google (below 3.3). But her character, work ethic, and mindset sold themselves.