Stern Majors Undergraduate
Hello! I am a possible incoming Stern freshman, and I wanted to know your opinions on major choices.
I've narrowed down choices to Finance (Single Major and graduating early), Finance and Statistics (double major and graduating early with some GPA loss possibly), Finance and Mathematics (double major at CAS, not graduating early possibly).
Does a double major put me at a significantly better position than a single major in Finance?
Should I focus more on GPA and early graduation instead of a double major?
BTW I want to go into Investment Banking, later M&A or PE (I know these are totally different but I think I'll be able to decide once I get a job)
Also what's a "target" GPA? 3.5? 3.6? I know GS cuts off at 3.6 or 3.7, and from times 3.8.
GPA cutoff is 3.5 for pretty much every BB (including GS) and EB for my school and I can't imagine they'd have different cutoffs for different schools. Would go for the single major - double majors have always been pointless in my opinion unless you're legitimately interested in whatever it is your majors are in. You won't really learn too much applicable to banking in school anyway so just do whatever you can to boost that GPA aka take the easiest classes possible and choose the easiest major possible. FYI, M&A is part of banking.
None of this matters if you act like your username though - have some self-confidence. That and social skills will help you far more in getting a banking job than any major or GPA.
I agree with the last part of your comment
I also agree with the last part. You could have a 4.0 and graduate top of your class, but if you can't prove that you have average social skills and fit in with the culture/group then you're going to have a bad time.
I'm dying.
I am currently pursuing a double degree and double major in Finance and Statistics. I've spoken to some alumni regarding these major choices in banking and Finance. The general advice I've gotten is that usually these credentials can make you more competitive on the job. This is a generalizing statement, but from what I've been told, a lot of Finance majors don't have the analytical expertise that comes naturally to STEM majors. On the flip side, a lot of STEM majors in banking don't have the technical/financial background or knowledge.
I am studying at a Canadian university, and will probably pursue banking at a Canadian BB, but I would imagine that it would be somewhat similar to what you're going through at NYU.
hahaha the name is a joke!! simon, you think I should do double?
How's CS Finance double major? Is that good?
hey! I'm an incoming freshman at NYU as well. I'll be majoring in math. I'm also kind of interested in finance, so I'm considering transferring to stern and doing a double major in finance and math. I would also like to know what other people have to say about this.
I haven't heard much, but I heard Stern transfers are hard.
Stern transfers are near impossible
Asiannerdygeek, I know someone at Stern who's double majoring in finance and CS. If you want, I can put you in touch with him.
That would be cool! :) Thanks
Sent you a PM
You're far away from finishing school. You seem set on graduating early, but just focus on a major and getting good grades; you'll be fine.
Thank you for the reply! I guess that's the solid option right?
As long as you concentrate in finance, the only second concentration that adds any marginal value to your profile would be accounting, but you likely won't be able to graduate early if you elect to do accounting.
Unless you enjoy statistics or mathematics, I don't believe it's worth taking the GPA hit. GPA matters a lot at Stern, particularly if you are gunning for GS. A lot of kids end up taking 2-4 credits of piano or vocal lessons each semester to boost their GPAs.
Bare minimum as an Asian male would be a 3.6 but a 3.7 would be even better, of course. Banks are pushing female diversity a lot in Stern, so any offers being given out in the 3.3-3.5 range likely factor that in.
Thanks for the reply,
I happen to enjoy statistics, I know I'm weird, but then "asiannerdygeek" should have been a red flag.
I want to get into Mergers and Acquisitions, is accounting better than statistics for that?
I think I can maintain a high gpa doing something I like, and right now, I like statistics more than accounting. But then, I'm in high school, so what do I know.
Any advise would be greatly appreciated!
It's not weird if it's a genuine interest! I just know a ton of people taking on nonsensical second majors for the sake of employability when they add little value in actuality.
Here's my recommendation: - Go into Stern with an open mind about what you else you might want to study in addition to finance. There's little opportunity for electives in the first year, so depending on what college credits you bring in you'll likely end up taking Statistics For Business Control / Regression Forecasting and Financial Accounting. Make a decision on which material you enjoy from there. If it's statistics, take more class in that department. If it turns out you like accounting, then look into that track.
The majority of students in Stern do end up completing two concentrations (or two concentrations and a minor), simply because concentrations (other than accounting) are only 4 classes. Popular combinations are Finance / Economics, Finance / Global Business, Finance / Management, and Finance / Marketing. Generally students opt to take a more qualitiative second concentration (read: it takes less effort to maintain a high GPA). On the quantitative side of things, Finance / Accounting seems to be the most common.
Separate from accounting, I don't think a second concentration will hinder your ability to graduate early. A lot of Stern kids complete their degrees in December, travel for the spring semester and walk with their class at graduation in May. I'm completing two concentrations and a minor and can still graduate a semester early.
At risk of repeating others in the thread:
1) No one gives a shit about you double majoring in my experience. If I were you I would rather have a 3.8 with just finance rather than 3.6 with finance and math / CS / insert other hard subject that is useless in IBD / PE / fundamental HFs. This goes back to the difference of working hard (getting your soul crushed just for the sake of being able to tell people you did it) vs. working smart (e.g. most efficient way to get where you want to be).
2) If you're looking for directly transferable skills, accounting is easily the best thing to add as a second major / concentration since it is what we use 24/7 in the job. Having said that, a lot of the accounting major classes can be bullshit and CPA-oriented, so a more time effective thing to do might be to just cherry pick the ones more related to fundamental analysis (which you can put on your resume under relevant coursework). There will be some limits to your ability to do this because of prerequisites, but you get the idea.
3) Cost of tuition aside, it is not worth graduating early at the expense of your GPA. Also, you will be thrown off the typical recruiting timeline by graduating early (just my sense, not sure how that would work). Not to mention the fact that you want to enjoy college for 4 years (I realize you don't appreciate this now, but you will once you start working). Obviously NYU is super fucking expensive so that most likely has to come into it.
4) To sum up, would stick to only finance, get your GPA as high as possible, be active in the investing / finance clubs on campus, and then use the rest of the time to follow the markets, learn the technicals, network, and have fun in college. Just my personal opinion but listening to a bunch of college kids is probably not the best way to go about determining how to spend your time.
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