I'd say Cornell as a whole is generally a semi-target. So no, you're not at a big disadvantage compared to schools like Duke, BC, BU, Tufts, Etc. And those schools send a few to wall street every year. Just get a good GPA, (3.7+ to be safe), network A LOT (just like any semi/non-target student would do), and do a lot of research and show interest in the industry.

Source: Cornell is popular with my family, and so is finance. Basically 50% of all my relatives who attended college went to Cornell.

Double legacy at Cornell - both parents went into IB and IB related industries, 1 other relative graduated from Cornell and is doing IB at BB now. 2 distant relatives from Cornell: one student w/ an SA offer, and an older graduate (he's like 30 now) who used to be in IB but is doing something unrelated now. When I applied to college I also got in and did a lot of research about IB prospects. In the end I didn't wanna go because imo Ithaca is fucking depressing.

That might seem like a lot of people, but don't be fooled, because it's by no means easy: my family is pretty hardcore in general. And remember each of my family members graduated in very different classes, and were one of the few in each class who did so well.

But yes, you have a shot. Cornell is a solid semi-target. A lot of banks don't make the trip up there but if you're good it's not a problem. Major-wise, I can ask what they all majored in. My parents both did up to PhD level Econ/Physics though, so their undergrad major is unlikely to matter. Plus this was forever ago.

 
Best Response

Not sure who refers to Cornell as a third-tier school when it comes to recruiting... Cornell AEM is definitely a target program, sending a sizable amount of students to IB every year. Aside from that, I know plenty of kids from the hotel school, econ, ILR, and engineering that have broken in. You don't see those majors sending a majority of their graduates to IB or finance because they're different fields of study.... In particular, AEM is the only major within CALS that is not heavy in the animal/agriculture/plant sciences so you won't find many students going into CALS with the mindset of breaking into investment banking/finance.

You would have to show your interest by taking finance/accounting courses, perhaps joining the student investment club, VC club, participating in business case studies, etc. It is definitely doable, even from CALS.

If you want to go to a school where every major is essentially a target, you're probably better off at Harvard.

 

The general rule on this website I've seen (any older users can comment on this): If your university has a business school, recruiters will gravitate to those majors before others.

That rule does sort of make sense too. Why would an investment bank go out of its way to meet the few kids who are interested in IB in every single school/major within a university when they have a large pool of students at the business school? That doesn't necessarily mean you have no shot, but I bet you're going to have to show more interest.

By the way, my school (a semi-target) offers OCR to all majors for investment banks. That doesn't mean the students who even major in A&S Econ actually have a shot compared to the business school kids.

 

dubyawhy, has no idea what he is talking about... sounds very green as well. I will never understand why kids take it upon themselves to give advice when they have very little experience. Banks recruit for all majors and every bank comes/recruits at Cornell. From BX to GS to JPM to Laz, even some PE/HF gigs. Grades are more important than major imo - you may get questions about why you chose your "non-finance" major but ultimately what we care about is did you excel, are you smart/intellectually curious, and do you work hard. Note that AEM / Econ is likely to give you an advantage over others but not a significant one.

Take a look at a few of the threads on here, many are very helpful. This is an easy question to answer.

 
International Pymp:
yes, easily. Major in Econ and get high grades. You'll get interviews at every single BB.

While it's got a bad reputation amongst children in HS as the worst Ivy league school (hardly anything to be worried about in the first place), you'll see that it's actually a lot better than you think once it comes to recruiting time. It's a clear target school by every measure. Cornell kids place well into banking and actually do better than kids from a bunch of school's that HS kids consider more prestigious (Brown, etc.). I find that UPenn (outside of Wharton) is similarly underrated.

 
financeprospect:

You'll be fine. Cornell is a target

I don't know man, all I see are non-target to IBD threads nowadays.

The days of the target are over.

You know what else is fat, RUDENESS
 

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