<p>I am a senior at Penn majoring in Political Science and English. When I was applying for colleges, I heard that you can major in anything at an Ivy League school and still get the best possible job. A lot of members at College Confidential also had the same opinion. Turns out everyone was wrong. My GPA is 3.8 ( yeah not 4.0 but still better than many)and I have still not landed a single internship at a good finance company. I applied for 450 internships ( everywhere possible including companies like Walmart and AT&T) last semester but failed to secure anything. I got some interviews but unfortunately got denied eventually. In the end, everyone at wharton got an internship but college students were not that lucky. I know a few friends majoring in Econ who were also unable to secure a good internship. Penn has a lot of wealthy students who come from privileged backgrounds and therefore, many students were able to get an internship because their parents were influential and rich. I come from a very poor household and my parents make less than $ 35000 a year. When I got into Penn, I thought that life would become easier but turns out I was so wrong. Everyone at school makes fun of me. All my good friends are majoring in Finance, Economics, Physics, Biology and they ridicule me for choosing garbage (so they term it as) majors like English and Penn. Am I doomed for life? I emailed the employers who interviewed me asking them the reason for my rejection and they emailed back saying that my majors were not technical or analytical. I want to pursue an MBA eventually but with no job in hand at the moment and no hope at all, I think I’m ruined. I will NEVER be able to get into a good MBA school because I will NEVER get a job at Goldman Sachs, google and Blackstone because of my majors. I do have fantastic recommendations from my professors but off course nothing can make up for a good work experience. I think in the end I will have to work at JC penney or Target as management trainee ( If I’m lucky) and enroll at a state school for my MBA. Why would elite MBA’s take a worthless student like me in their program? Help me please. Tell me why is a Penn student not getting an internship ?? Except Non-Profit organizations, I have literally tried everywhere.</p>
<p>Just curious. Since you seem set on working in finance, why not major in something at least related? Is this a new interest? Have you taken classes in finance or econ but just not majored in econ?</p>
<p>Have you applied to any fields related to your major? Did you have a different path in mind at the start of your degree?</p>
<p>This sounds like a crazy ■■■■■ thread. Anyway. I say don’t graduate.</p>
<p>Take a year or two of math, Econ and finance classes. Try getting a minor n Econ or math or triple major. Then get some guidance on internship. Maybe you should’ve done a polisci internship with a rich and powerful congressman. </p>
<p>Anyway, I say don’t graduate yet. If your parents are poor, it should be no problem. Get guidance and do it right though.</p>
<p>Thank you for you reply. I can’t major in finance. The first semester my GPA was 3.6 and Wharton rejected me for internal transfer. I raised my GPA to 3.8. Penn’s Econ department s very bad. The profs are terrible. Everyone keeps complaining. I tried taking classes, hated the profs and the T.A’s. Penn econ department is high up there in the rankings but everyone at Penn knows it’s a hoax and how terrible the profs are. What else can I major in? Physics or Math is not my piece of cake. I believed everyone blindly when they said that you can major in anything at an Ivy League school and get any job you desire as long as you have a high GPA. Trust me, that is not the case here. I met my career center dean and she also discouraged me by saying that I will never land a finance internship since my majors are not suitable for the field. Then I met a department dean and he said my application will go in the garbage if I keep taking English courses like Shakespeare and theater He asked me to take 4 finance courses but I can’t seem to fit them in my schedule :(</p>
<p>Hi Madaboutx: I can email you from my penn email if you think it’s a ■■■■■. How can I stay for a year or two? I’m graduating in May and have to start earning for my family. Atleast something.</p>
<p>According to the last 8 years of Career Plans Survey Reports for the College, LOTS of Political Science and English majors (and Econ majors) have done quite well in the job market, including financial services (and no, most of those are NOT Wharton dual-degree students):</p>
<p>I can’t even IMAGINE someone in Career Services telling you the garbage you claim they told you about your majors (especially since 8 years of data clearly indicate otherwise). Not to mention that nobody at Penn–especially a senior who purportedly has lots of experience with job-hunting–refers to the Career Services office as the “career center,” or to someone who works in Career Services or an academic department as a “dean.”</p>
<p>Either you’re a ■■■■■ (which I strongly suspect), or you need to take a much harder look at yourself and what YOU might be doing wrong (in interviews, etc.), and not blame an institution which by all objective standards, surveys, and rankings, does EXTREMELY well (among the best in the country) at placing its liberal arts students in internships, jobs, and grad schools. If you really ARE a Penn senior, then the College specialists in the Career Services office should be able to help you improve your approach–and attitude–toward job-hunting. They do it every year for hundreds of students in the College, including lots of English and Political Science majors (two of the largest majors in the College).</p>
<p>It sound like you might not actually like economics finance or related fields. Why do you even want to get a job in that field? There’s a lot of math in finance and you say it is not your piece of cake? Do you tell that to those interviewing you?</p>
<p>I realize that you are saying people told you that you can major in anything and get a job anywhere, but use your own brain. While that is possible, you will obviously not be as competitive as students who have spent four years preparing for that position. The top firms have the option to take the most prepared students from the top schools. If you want to work in that field you still can, but you are probably not going to win the plumb jobs over someone who is more suited for the position.</p>
<p>What are you basing your desire to get a job in finance on?</p>
<p>It sounds more and more like you are a ■■■■■. Even if you go to Penn and have an email it doesn’t mean that this is a legit problem that you are having. And if it is, I think you might want to consider 45 Percenter’s post and see where you are going wrong.</p>
<p>If you are not able to find the job you want in order to make enough to help your family, then the prospect of another year or two in school to get the background and qualifications you need shouldn’t be too difficult to do.</p>
<p>You are not coming across as very resourceful, clever or creative right now. Something is not right. And who cares what students at Penn may or may not think about the Econ dept. The opinion that matters is the one your desired employers may hold of it.</p>
<p>And I just realized what is not right. You sound very dependent and confused and immature. There is no crime in that and lots of kids aren’t emotionally ready for real life at the same age. A couple more years of school may do you good if you really start making the effort to be independent, courageous and mature.</p>
<p>This is either a) a total ■■■■■ thread or b) an incredibly unusual situation for a Penn student. </p>
<p>Though I strongly suspect a ■■■■■, based on the OP’s tone it really is not surprising that they have not been able to find success. Sounds like a huge whiner. </p>
<p>Anyone reading this thread, do not take this as a common Penn experience. No one will ever look down on you for being a humanities major, and almost all humanities major who desire and work towards a career in finance are successful in obtaining one.</p>
<p>3.8 GPA at Penn and not even ONE internship (out of hundreds of applications)? I could understand if you didn’t get into any BB firms, but NOTHING at all? I’m extremely skeptical.</p>
<p>I can see it if he was looking for finance or business internships. People usually get internships in their field of study – if you had been looking for internships in DC you might have found something. Maybe even something in a government agency… you are looking in the wrong place for your major(s). You mentioned non-profits, you really ought to consider them. A job is a job – non-profit, government, whatever. </p>
<p>I don’t think spending any extra semesters at Penn is a good idea. You would just end up with a bunch more debt (more than it is worth at this point). Get out and get some kind of work experience.</p>
<p>The main reason I mentioned extra semesters is because OP said his family income is $33k. If its that low, Penn should be free or almost free under their generous no loan policy.</p>
<p>^Isn’t that only if you graduate in four years or have a valid health reason for not graduating in four years? Otherwise, people would probably game the system a lot…</p>
<p>He’s a ■■■■■. My son had friends in BA Econ and went into investment banking. He had a fellow Wharton student who went on to get a PhD in Econ. and now teaching at Harvard.Any Penn student who could get a 3.8 GPA should have been smart enough to get several internships in several areas of study.Why on earth should a company give a coveted finance internship to someone in political science ?</p>
<p>He is trying to disparage Penn since he has the same post in 3 different forums.</p>
<p>^You can get into finance with pretty much any major as long as you have a high GPA from a target school, some interesting extracurriculars, and prior finance experience. The OP is either a ■■■■■ or a huge outlier.</p>
<p>The job market is coming around a little but the numbers of grads still outnumber the jobs available You do seem misguided at focusing on a finance job right out of school with a Poly Sci/English degree. I think the dean was right about trying to fit at least some quant skills into your schedule.</p>
<p>You should expand your search and look at any and all management trainee jobs, especially ones in organizations that have a global reach. Non profits are a good way to get real life skills and working for one can give you contacts. Surely there are ones that relate to international relations. And then there are government positions. You can even apply to companies like Google, youtube hires people with all kinds of majors, they don’t just hire tech people.</p>
<p>It is a lot of work, but the more you research each area, the stronger you can make a good cover letter and resume that is focused for the position. Make sure you have knowledgeable people looking at the quality of your resume and cover letters–these need to be top notch.</p>
<p>OP,
Do not be discouraged. With your gpa and a Penn degree, you will get a job but maybe not the job you want. Very few people stay at their first job after college forever. You can start with some job, better yourself and look for better opportunities.</p>
<p>There is some truth to students can get jobs in many fields with many majors especially from an Ivy with high gpa. But it doesn’t come free. You must prepare your studies/classes, your knowledge, your activites and your work experience toward the fields you are interested in. You must prepare very hard for the interviews.</p>
<p>S is working at one of the top three consulting companies this summer. One of his college friend who is a political science major is working there also. In addition to having > 3.9 gpa, they practiced endless hours on cases. The weekend before their interview, they practiced something like 20 hours and they have been practicing/studying months before that.</p>
<p>S also interviewed at Blackrock and he told me the type of questions they asked. English and Political Science classes alone will not prepare you enough for those interview questions. As others have pointed out, you need to take math/finacne type of classes and do more preparation on your own. If quantitative type of classes/studying is not for you, you really need to think if finance is for you.</p>
<p>Take a step back. What classes have you taken? What activites and work experience do you have? What are your strengths? Based on those, what jobs would you most likely qualify for? What jobs are you interested in? What can you do to get there?</p>
<p>A 3.8 in Politics and English sounds like a pre-law student. Why business or an MBA? Try jobs in marketing, not finance, or as a paralegal. OP’s majors don’t make sense for finance jobs.</p>
?? Except Non-Profit organizations, I have literally tried everywhere.</p>
He asked me to take 4 finance courses but I can’t seem to fit them in my schedule :(</p>