Non-target school advice

Hello all,

I'm currently entering my second semester, of my sophomore year at Syracuse University. I was drawn to Cuse for many different reasons, although I must admit, finance was not one of them. The time has come for me to declare a major, and I am torn. I have been drawn towards Information Management and Technology, considering we have the #1 school in the US for that major. However, I've become rather interested in IB and HF and I was wondering if I should pursue a dual major in Econ as well. Do firms like Econ majors? And also, how is Cuse looked upon my various banks? I know it not target, but it is a very good school, nonetheless.

Thanks.

8 Comments
 
Best Response

You would never get recruited by any firms except for BO positions. That being said, having a business oriented major like Econ from a non-target certainly helps you so you would be able to talk about the industry at an interview. Most BB's do not care about what your major is if you are coming from a target. I know a dude from Cuse doing Ops at a BB. If you really want to work in IBD or HF's make sure you get a GPA > 3.8 and at least two relevant internships in the industry, but not necessarily in IB or HF, and network the hell out of Cuse alumni. As for the double major, it is more important to get the higher GPA, so if you can't handle it don't do it.

 
Taylor12You would never get recruited by any firms except for BO positions. That being said, having a business oriented major like Econ from a non-target certainly helps you so you would be able to talk about the industry at an interview. Most BB's do not care about what your major is if you are coming from a target. I know a dude from Cuse doing Ops at a BB. If you really want to work in IBD or HF's make sure you get a GPA > 3.8 and at least two relevant internships in the industry, but not necessarily in IB or HF, and network the hell out of Cuse alumni. As for the double major, it is more important to get the higher GPA, so if you can't handle it don't do it.

Completely agree with this.

 

Try to get into the investment management fund there. I think it's called the orange value fund and it may/may not require that you choose finance as a major. If you're at a non target and aren't aiming for BB, then go with whatever major is ranked highest/best as it will give you a good hedge come graduation. The job market is really rough and I kind of wish as an older non target college student now that I had chosen engineering as a major vs. business since you can either hit a homerun with an IB job or be stuck with PWM for life with business/econ. No name Boutiques don't place that well into B school, and if you can land a job at a place like IBM/GE/GS for tech than you could have a decent shot at top 10 b school given everything else is good as you will have a legitimate reason for attendance wanting to switch from tech to finance.

If you're dead set on finance, then major in finance instead of econ. Cuse is known for newhouse not business but you can get a job at a BB as it is top 100 and is a known/respected name. You need to intern like a madman, get a 3.7 GPA and network from day 1. You also need to know a LOT and sophomore internship at a boutique/MM where you do financial modeling work is very helpful as it provides a networking platform and also indicates to firms that you're prepped for the job. Worst case scenario, you end up at a boutique/mm after graduation and are a killer analyst. However, you need to decide whether finance is what you want to do early and focus on it. If you're not sure just yet, then getting a cushy tech job and enjoying college/pre MBA work might be the better option.

 

comments re: ops placements are fairly accurate. Syracuse does have BBs come to campus, but almost exclusively for BO positions. Having a technical major will arguably make you a better fit for ops. You need to start with a real internship this summer... something better than PWM.

 

Syracuse will not get you placement. Rather, you will get placement in spite of Syracuse. It will be a constant headwind during recruiting that you will have to overcome. By no means is it impossible, but if transferring is a possibility, I'd lighten the load and cut ties to attend a target.

'Before you enter... be willing to pay the price'
 

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