I'm wondering if I should transfer to an ivy league school in order to get look better on my resume for i banks and, ultimately, MBA programs. I'm going to be a sophomore at a T25 private school (think UVA, Emory, Notre Dame) where I'm majoring in finance and minoring in art history and energy studies. Right now, I basically have a 4.0 GPA and I'm involved in a few clubs that deal with finance and I'm on student government. Would it be prudent to transfer to an ivy league school where there is better OCR/connections? Would it also be easier to get into MBA programs if I transferred even though I have a solid GPA?

Thanks and all the best!

Long time reader, first time poster

For those who've taken applied finance courses in undergrad, is it worth taking to prepare for later advanced finance courses in business school. Debating if I should take this or an easier econ elective to beef up the GPA.

Syllabus-

I've heard mixed opinions on this. If I take the GMAT during college, is it helpful in any way to put in on your undergraduate resume?

I am looking into consulting or finance(i-banking).

I'm a junior interested in PE, but I've signed an offer to work at a major BB in IBD this summer. Now that I'm done recruiting, I'm looking for more meaningful ways to spend my free time outside of class. Would it be possible for me to get a part time academic year internship at a PE firm in a major city? I wasn't sure if PE firms even do this sort of undergraduate hiring...and most of my contacts/networks are on the IBD/HF side. If there is a chance I could get some experience, any tips for how to approach this? Thanks!

Hi all,

Long time reader, first time poster.

So I've managed to get myself offers for BSc Accounting and Finance at LSE and for A&F at another top 10 university (UK), but it is run by a Big 4 firm, and offers paid internships throughout, a paid year out with them and a almost guaranteed job with them at the end (as long as you don't do anything stupid...like burn down their office).

Whilst going in to the Big 4 degree looks attractive, a part of me wants to go to LSE simply because its LSE (the IB networking opportunities, being an LSE alumnus may pay off later on, prestige etc)

Hey there,

I'm looking for ideas for my undergraduate thesis for my economics degree and was wondering if anyone had any interesting suggestions. I'm looking for something related to both finance and economics, and bonus if it is quantitative based. Something beneficial to my professional career would also be a plus.

My interests are:
Anything related to finance
Austrian Economics
The Fed
Milton Friedman

Something that ties in any from the above would be great.

Thanks for the help.

So maybe some of you have seen my previous posts. My undergraduate University that I am attending right now is very very bad at providing its Business students with a lump of career/internship opportunities or recruiting/networking seminars. Luckily I will be leaving here soon.. Having said that, I am only a Sophomore in undergrad right now but am looking to gain some solid experience over this summer so that when Junior year comes, I can land that all-important summer internship before my last year of College. I live in the Metro NJ area, a very short commute out of NYC. If anyone is involved with recruiting or can just help/has some advice, please feel free to comment. The ideal internship for me would be with a BB in S&T, or with a Prop shop or Hedge Fund.

Just some background info, I go to the University of South Carolina and I absolutely hate it here due to many reasons. Mainly because of the un-challenging nature of the classes, and people of sub par intellectual abilities... Furthermore, I have some great news. I have been accepted into Fordham for the Spring which is fantastic. However, I really want to go to NYU over Fordham for obvious reasons. Now, should I accept my offer to start with Fordham in the Spring, or test my luck and deny it and apply to NYU-Stern for the Fall 2013 semester (They don't take Spring transfers). I feel that Fordham is way better than USC obviously, and I should just take what I have handed to me. I don't want this situation to go wrong, so I might just go there.

I am currently an undergraduate completing my Finance degree at SHSU (not the best school by any means for business). My GPA is nothing special, 3.0, and my previous work experience isn't convincing considering I haven't held a finance related job yet. It is a Houston based university, so my networking mainly consist of high bankers in the Houston area doubling as my professors. Basically, I'm disadvantaged on the grand scale of investment banking credentials. But recently, at age 23, the lightbulb has struck me and I am devoted to becoming successful in the IB industry. I've been reading the top investing books and have researched Wall Street Prep and plan to take my first exam of the CFA withing this year.

Hey WSO, I'm new to the site, but I've learned a lot already, so thanks for the great help.

I'm a rising senior majoring in Finance and minoring in Accounting at a semi-target. I have a low cumulative GPA (3.23) but Major GPA is 3.67

I'm interning this summer at a F500 in the finance divison, but it's not in corporate. I'm called a financial analyst but I'm essentially doing project managment/program controls and variance analysis.

I have decent extracurriculars, but nothing that really sticks out. I've been networking a lot and I think I made some good connections so I'm gonna do more.

It's the middle of July right now, is it too late to start studying for CFA Level 1 exam on December 1st?

- Going in to my senior year
- Have no social life
- Taking a light course load Fall semester, and don't plan on working during school
- Finance / Econ major, 3.8 non-target

Suggestions on breaking down the study time / hours per week / time for review?

I am an undergrad and after some cold calling and networking have been invited for an interview with a middle market P.E. firm for a summer position. I finally got back home and some time to let of steam after finals and basically hell week(s). I am trying to prepare but this I feel like this will be substantially different from my earlier equity research and investment management interviews.

I have been trying to prepare but am still not sure if I fully understand how to do an LBO properly, I think I got a DCF down. Also, I had a college class which had me do myriads of case analysis but not sure if I could handle something like that or prepare in the short term.

I am an undergrad and after some cold calling and networking have been invited for an interview with a middle market P.E. firm for a summer position. I finally got back home and some time to let of steam after finals and basically hell week(s). I am trying to prepare but this I feel like this will be substantially different from my earlier equity research and investment management interviews.

I have been trying to prepare but am still not sure if I fully understand how to do an LBO properly, I think I got a DCF down. Also, I had a college class which had me do myriads of case analysis but not sure if I could handle something like that or prepare in the short term.

I have been accepted to Vandy and UVA (non-McIntyre) and I am waiting to hear back from Gtown, as a junior transfer. I would like to know which school is the best for recruiting and prestige, and what school will be the easiest to maintain a high GPA (I'm at about 3.4 and I would like to graduate with a 3.5+).

Hello all,

I am a new user of this site, a high school senior who is seriously interested in a career in the financial industry. I have a few questions for you guys, and I was hoping I could get some advice.
I have been accepted to Georgetown University's Mcdonough School of Business, and granted assured admission after my sophomore year to the Kenan-Flagler business school at UNC. Kenan Flagler is "ranked" higher by a few sources, but what is the industry opinion on the two schools? Money is not a factor in my decision.

So odds are I just suck terribly with the WSO search bar and Google, but I've been having trouble finding sources that highlight the best ways to position yourself for the aforementioned roles straight out of undergrad.

I'm from a target and I have a couple decent internships so far. I was wondering if anyone on WSO (who has broken into buyside straight from undergrad) wouldn't mind enlightening me on how to best get in the game, which of my current offers to pick for my summer internship, and generally schooling me on what these firms look for in a candidate.

I know it'll be tough coming straight from undergrad, but I really believe I'll genuinely be happy in MM PE or VC (and to an extent HF), so I was wondering if there was a way to skip the 2-year analyst stint.

I have decided, after quite a few posts on College Confidential, to post my query here on Wall Street Oasis which seems to have a base of older, more experienced users that can perhaps provide me with a different perspective!

I have been accepted to USC-Marshall, UT Business Honors, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt, and Rice. I was also waitlisted at Duke. I have pretty much narrowed it down to UVA and UT Business Honors, choosing not to chase the undergrad econ route I'd have to take at Rice, Vandy, and Duke or the business schools at USC or UNC that I feel aren't as good of a fit for me as UVA McIntire or UT Business Honors.

I'm currently a high school senior. I'm considering becoming an accountant. I'm trying to pick between UMich (Ross preferred), UVa (Echol Scholar), Emory, Northwestern, and NYU (stern). I was wondering which university would help me most to become an accountant. Also, is it advisable to major in accounting as an undergraduate student?

I'm currently a senior in High School. I am trying to pick between the above six schools. I plan to major in finance or economics but I'm not set on working at Wall Street. I may prefer working at smaller consulting firms. So I was wondering which school would have better recruitment, better internship opportunities, and better college experience?

What's up monkeys,

In an effort to prepare for my freshman year of college at Carnegie Mellon (non target for IBD, semi-target for trading but I've heard mixed reports), I've been collecting tips on how one successfully maintains a very high GPA. I had so-so grades in high school but managed to make up for it with a good SAT score... Needless to say I can't afford to have a mediocre GPA in college, especially with the job market in finance becoming more competitive post-crisis.

So, for everyone who excelled in college, what were some of your habits that were especially key to your academic success? Were you able to keep your grades close to a 4.0 while still doing your fair share of socializing and extra currics? Do you have any regrets about the way you handled time management?

Hi! I'm an undergraduate at a target about to declare major/minor

My candidates are Econ, Math, Computer Science, and History

Well I guess majoring in econ and math is the most relevant to my goal of

eventually making into IB, but I am very passionate about comp sci as well as history

to give them up. Would it be okay to not declare econ and double major in

math/comp sci with minor in history?

We do have a prestigious certificate in finance.

So.. What should I choose?

op1. econ/math major comp sci minor+certificate
op2. econ/math major history minor+certificate
op3. math/compsci (or history) major history (or comp sci) minor +certificate
op4. other

Thanks!

Hi

I am a freshman, a Finance major, and I am currently deciding between doing Business Calculus or the regular Calculus series.

As Bus. Cal is easier, do you think it would be wise choose the hardest option (in terms of the GMAT, recruiting-process etc.)?

Thank you

anyone studying/studied at these universities(europe)
- Bocconi
-Rotterdam
-Amsterdam
- Maastricht

If yes, how would you rate the uni, the course, international community etc?

I'm thinking of applying to these for bachelor degree in business/Economics.
How do employers view these unis?

Thanks a lot

I just got an ER offer at a top tier BB (think JPM/GS/MS) and am unsure whether or not to take it I'm in my final year of ugrad). To be honest, I wanted to try snag PE, looked into a little bit of consulting as well, and looked into VC. ER was the only offer I ended up with. I'm not sure what I want to do in 10 years (but it probably involves being at a start-up or in some sort of industry role). Is ER a good place to start at all? I get the sense that it's not really all that respected on the street compared to ibanking and especially since I don't yet know what I want to do in a few years, I want to take a job that still leaves me lots of options. Thoughts?
I

I have been an excel monkey for a year in finance out of HYP undergrad with a 3.55 GPA in something NON-quantitative. The closest thing to a quant class I took at HYP was one on first-order logic my senior year. Since starting my job I have gained a strong curiosity for math. I read a book on set theory on the side and have started Rudin's book on analysis. As a result of not taking a single math course in college I can't even apply to 1-year math masters programs!

I'm looking to get some feed back on my resume. a little background. go to a non target in philadelphia, pretty well regarded regionally but not a huge presence in high finance. im in the honors college, econ major, two internships at a very well regarded trading firm. please tear it apart let me know what needs to be changes, if anything looks/sounds odd etc... thanks everyone

http://www.razume.com/documents/20861

I'm interested in doing asset management eventually, but it's not entirely realistic coming from a non-target. What other paths are there with a finance degree besides the typical IB/PE/AM/HF/ER/S&T/VC kind of things? Is corporate finance the only other option? I'm not giving up, but I'd still like to know what my backups are if I'm not able to break in.

How difficult is it to get into IB or PE at local firms? Anywhere near the same difficulty as the BB firms? Is this a feasible backup?

Hi guys, I've read a lot of stuff on WSO and its great to be a part of this community. I've got a few questions about trading and my chances of getting into the trading business. First, a little bit about myself. I am a college dropout...the reasons for that being that I took a course which I totally hated partly because of social pressure and partly because of my own ignorance about myself, my interests and passion. Since I left college I've worked in a couple of dead end jobs...Anyway to make a long story short, I've learnt my lesson and I am currently working towards turning my life around and doing whatever it takes to be successful in life. I came across securities trading several months ago and I was thrilled by the lifestyle and work environment of a trader.

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