College Major - Current senior in high school

I'm currently a senior in high school and will likely be attending Michigan next year (I plan on going into IBanking). My plan is to get a BBA with a concentration in Finance and either major/minor in economics/concentrate in accounting. My dad thinks it would be better if I did the finance and got a minor in some type of science (biochemistry, biotech, something along those lines). His rational being that an I-Bank will hire me because of my knowledge of biotech and since there's a lot of new biotech/genetics stuff going on that would be good.

Would a science minor help me or would it just confuse firms when I go for interviews?

Thanks

 
Best Response

Study something that carries some weight, get the highest GPA possible. If you are very interested in the stock market already, you will likely be interested in finance. The shorter path is to major in finance, do well and try to break in. The longer path, which can be very rewarding but can be difficult (the way I took) is to differentiate yourself with high gpa in engineering in undergrad, work in that industry for 5 years then get an MBA and move to finance. i.e. engineering--> global top 10 major co-->top MBA-->IB/ER This route is tough and you have to love your undergrad degree program or you will not last. It sounds like you are more into finance just focus on that then....sprinkling some science class here and there is not going to differentiate your resume....hope that helps. Best of luck and enjoy your youth! It slips away faster than you think

 

My man always take the path of least resistance. 1. Choose Finance major. 2. Intern like crazy for anything from wealth management to personal financial advisor etc.

Basically you want to have as much finance jargon on there as possible. There is no way you would be denied an interview with a resume like this.

4.0 finance, Job 1 financial advisor, intern 2 wealth or asset management, 3. Investment banking summer analyst 4. Hired.

Now if your resume looked like this.

4.0 Finance/Chem engineering ... goose egg jobs... --> Very low chance interview.

With all that said, if you're some sort of super go getter with an obsession for hard work (that would be great) you can do all of the above and kill it. Given that you're just starting college no need to bite off more than you can chew from the get go since the internship path laid out above is actually easier for you to study as well (PDF stuff and send it to your work email so you can study on the side when it is dead).

Let the journey begin.

 

Ok thanks. I definitely have a strong interest in finance (I look around this site so..) I think I'd do decent in either an engineering/science field but i feel it would distract from the finance.

Also, a question about college choice. If I have a full ride to Ohio State and an acceptance to Ross, is Ross still the better option given its reputation even though it would cost a lot more (out of state).

 
MarkXC:
Ok thanks. I definitely have a strong interest in finance (I look around this site so..) I think I'd do decent in either an engineering/science field but i feel it would distract from the finance.

Also, a question about college choice. If I have a full ride to Ohio State and an acceptance to Ross, is Ross still the better option given its reputation even though it would cost a lot more (out of state).

Do you already have the full ride offer or just speculating and did you get anything from Mich? Full ride means room & board is covered too (as opposed to full tuition) and if you have a legit full ride then I would take that over any school. At the end of the day, the best of the best will get to the top and school will only somewhat help you to get an entry level position. OSU is a non target while Ross is a lower tier target, but having "full ride" scholarship on your resume is really impressive and the recruiters will take notice of that if you network. This shouldn't even be a consideration IMO, Mich isn't HYP and even then if you aren't loaded, it would make sense to take the T60 full ride if you're going to get an MBA which costs a TON of money. However, if you can afford it or really want the prestige badly then go ahead with Michigan.

 

Your college question is much more difficult to answer given the incredibly high debt load students must take on nowadays to obtain an education. This is what you should do.

  1. Look up Ohio State (Never went there) and find out how many banks do OCR at the school.
  2. Look up Ross (Never went there but the school is reputable) and find out how many banks do OCR there.

Now if it's the same you choose the full ride. If it is not the same, doubtful, then you're going to be in a much more difficult situation.

What you want to do is minimize the amount of money to go to school while still obtaining access to top banks. Some schools that come to mind that are cheap include any top 10 public schools WITH a finance program.

Don't have your personal financial situation in front of the screen so that last part is going to be up to you. Notably, a Target is much much much better to attend than a non-target in terms of opportunities.

Hope that helps.

 

Recusandae pariatur earum nisi quis veniam et architecto. Animi corrupti accusantium est et. Minus ipsum porro porro non praesentium.

Omnis nostrum non voluptas voluptas. Delectus eum veritatis perferendis quidem dolorem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”