Rutgers or Baruch

Y2A:

I was accepted to both but ultimately chose Baruch, so:

1) If you want to do accounting, then goto Baruch, it's heavily recruited for accounting majors. It will lead to Big 4 if you have the usual pre-reqs (good gpa, extra curriculars, internships)

2) You CANNOT do a double major in accounting and finance at Baruch, but in general, yes its worth doing if you want to hedge yourself, but at the same time some firms will question your commitment if doing both, so you better have a good explanation.

3) Finance at Baruch is worth doing only if you give a damn, as in getting good pre-reqs (see above) and network. And yes the BBs do recruit here for FO, I know quite a few students getting offers from JPM and GS.

As for breaking into PE, HF,and IB, a CPA is useless unless you plan on getting an auditing position. And no, accounting will not lead to dead ends unless you want it to. There are plenty of CPAs who have their own private firms making decent money (after years of experience of course). Just because you don't make it to PE, HF, IBD or even Big 4, doesn't mean its a dead end.

So would a CPA/MBA in Finance improve my chances of getting into PE? Also, can you give me a good example of a good explanation? I was thinking like just to hedge my bets or something, especially since my parents are paying for my school, why not get 2 degrees?

Y2A:

I was accepted to both but ultimately chose Baruch, so:

1) If you want to do accounting, then goto Baruch, it's heavily recruited for accounting majors. It will lead to Big 4 if you have the usual pre-reqs (good gpa, extra curriculars, internships)

2) You CANNOT do a double major in accounting and finance at Baruch, but in general, yes its worth doing if you want to hedge yourself, but at the same time some firms will question your commitment if doing both, so you better have a good explanation.

3) Finance at Baruch is worth doing only if you give a damn, as in getting good pre-reqs (see above) and network. And yes the BBs do recruit here for FO, I know quite a few students getting offers from JPM and GS.

As for breaking into PE, HF,and IB, a CPA is useless unless you plan on getting an auditing position. And no, accounting will not lead to dead ends unless you want it to. There are plenty of CPAs who have their own private firms making decent money (after years of experience of course). Just because you don't make it to PE, HF, IBD or even Big 4, doesn't mean its a dead end.

When you say Finance is worth doing only if you give a damn, are you implying that students who do a finance major do not give a damn? Are you saying it is easier than accounting?

Y2A:

I was accepted to both but ultimately chose Baruch, so:

1) If you want to do accounting, then goto Baruch, it's heavily recruited for accounting majors. It will lead to Big 4 if you have the usual pre-reqs (good gpa, extra curriculars, internships)

2) You CANNOT do a double major in accounting and finance at Baruch, but in general, yes its worth doing if you want to hedge yourself, but at the same time some firms will question your commitment if doing both, so you better have a good explanation.

3) Finance at Baruch is worth doing only if you give a damn, as in getting good pre-reqs (see above) and network. And yes the BBs do recruit here for FO, I know quite a few students getting offers from JPM and GS.

As for breaking into PE, HF,and IB, a CPA is useless unless you plan on getting an auditing position. And no, accounting will not lead to dead ends unless you want it to. There are plenty of CPAs who have their own private firms making decent money (after years of experience of course). Just because you don't make it to PE, HF, IBD or even Big 4, doesn't mean its a dead end.

What did you study while you were there?

Y2A:

I am implying only do finance if you enjoy it AND work for it, as in getting a high enough gpa, doing multiple internships, as well as leadership roles. Baruch is a semi-target (at best) for FO finance and if you don't distinguish yourself from the rest of the applicants, you will have an extremely hard time landing interviews, let alone offers.

Being a semi-target means there's only a very limited number of slots open for the most coveted positions, so if you want to do BB IBD for example, you better have decent stats for them to even look at you. For example, the guy who got a SA and eventual return offer for GS IBD had a 3.99 gpa, treasurer of the Wall Street club, was multi-lingual, as well as having a couple relevant internships. He was a transfer student as well. GS only took 1 for IBD and 1 for S&T, so competition is obviously fierce.

And as for finance being easier than accounting, I don't know. I didn't take any accounting courses here (transferred credits) and I've heard varying opinions from colleagues.

Is competition as fierce as big 4 for accounting?

Y2A:

Probably not

What is the reasoning behind it? Is it that IB is more attractive than big 4? Would you say that starting salaries are mostly the same or is IB higher?

Y2A:

You need to do a lot more research on what your career goals are. What are YOU attracted to? Want to make as much money as possible without regards to free time and job security? Go do IB. Want to make an ok amount of money but have much more free time and more job security? Do big4 accounting. Want to make a lot of money AND have job security? Become a surgeon.

As for starting salaries, base salary for IB and big4 are comparable at $60-70k, but its the year end bonuses that set IB apart and the reason why IB is a hell lot more competitive than big4.

I would be satisfied with 50-60hrs a week, 200-300k after 10-15 years, which I hear is doable in Accounting. Providing you work your ass off and are a good performer.

Y2A:

Finance

did you have to take pre calc and calc?