Did I make the right decision by transferring to non-Stern NYU

I used to attend an elite but nontarget liberal arts college (think: Carleton, Haverford, Vassar) and my life was miserable. I'm a city kid, went to public schools in a major west coast city before college, and was pretty much left out of the social scene entirely (probably my problem, but couldn't help it). So for my past year I spent the year with two buddies (who are on the same boat) and occasionally traveled to nearby cities and states, but didn't do any networking-related events or attended parties.

As expected, my first semester GPA was horrible, but I felt I couldn't continue my education at that college without taking a significant toll on my mental health, so I decided to at least try at transferring, and non-Stern NYU is the only college that accepted me. Without being a student, I felt that school was fine. I love the city, and I know quite a few kids from NYU and nearby schools from HS and friends' friends, and I heard the school's reputation was fine. But my problem is, would NYU give me a leg up in recruiting or at least don't lose any leg for recruiting against my old LAC?

The dean told me that I could get readmitted after one semester of withdrawal so that might remain an option. I also considered on transferring again (many people told me it's a bad idea and I'd probably add a semester or two to my college life), so I wonder if that's a viable option. Aside from these options and obviously staying at NYU, are there any other viable options that I might be able to break into? I'm currently interning in a MM IB in Asia, and I'm pretty time-conscious most of the times. All kinds of advice are greatly appreciated.

Have a good summer. I hope to break into IBD but any I'd appreciate any FO job.

 

I'm assuming your major @ NYU will be CAS Econ. If that's the case, recruiting will probably be better than any LAC outside of the Claremont Consortium/NESCAC powerhouses. The more important thing is that it sounds like you'll likely be happier in NYC which should make the biggest difference.

Transferring again just sounds like a time consuming mess that'd probably prove very difficult and might (?) end up being a red flag on your resume. Perhaps an internal transfer into Stern would be possible but would still be very tough considering Stern is arguably NYU's most competitive program besides maybe theater or film. A second major or a minor within Stern could be somewhat get into, but I'm not very familiar with NYU specifics so don't hold me on that.

If you end up staying at NYU and don't hate Math, consider tacking on an Applied Math/Stats major; it would at least make you more viable for S&T, Data Analysis, AM, and other very solid jobs. Of course if you're dead set on the IB pipeline, then it'd probably have less of an impact.

 

> Perhaps an internal transfer into Stern would be possible but would still be very tough

Study hard to get a GPA over a 3.7 and have a good reason to transfer, and take some of their classes (stats/micro econ/any other class) during your first year and you're set. I know tons of people who transferred from CAS econ to stern and that's literally all you need

 
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I know a few non stern nyu students/grads who are interning/working at BBs/boutiques. I also know a couple of people who studied philosophy and stuff and now work/intern at top hedge funds. All of them had genuine interest in finance and despite not studying finance, made sure to know as much as people in stern. It's up to you, you will have a lot of opportunities - you can join IAG QFS FS, etc., go to networking events and stuff. Ngl there are some events/opportunities open only to stern students, or some frats open to stern students (AKPsi, DSP) - but just make a friend in stern who can tell you about these events so you can attend them.

If you're willing to go out of your way to network and find internships, I think you will be fine. Again, I'm basing it off people I know who've gone to BB/boutiques for IB/S&T (haven't come across ER guys) and hedge funds as analysts. Or you can try to transfer to stern after your first year at NYU.

pm me if you need to know about internal transferring - a lot of my friends transferred from cas econ to stern so maybe I can help

 

I just transferred from CAS to Stern this year. Though I am by no means an expert, in the meetings I attended for transfer students there was only 2 Sophomore to Junior year transfers (there were two sets of meetings so there are likely more), and I know a lot of people who were rejected. You have to consider that there are fewer spots open for Junior transfers and you are competing against all the LSP kids interested in business.

Do not be discouraged and apply anyway if you are interested! Either way, CAS is a great school and I can assure you that you can get the same jobs as Stern people if you put in the effort.

 

I'm surprised no one has said this, but liking your school, having good mental health, enjoying your experience is 100,000x more important than which school has a slightly better shot at recruiting. Even if you went from Harvard to NYU, a Harvard kid who is miserable/depressed/poor GPA would not beat an upbeat, involved, passionate kid from a non-target in an interview. School prestige is overrated if you're happier and more successful elsewhere.

I don't know the stats on transferring to Stern, CAS would be a good option for econ if that's viable, but I don't think you're disqualifying yourself here especially with an IB internship already on your resume to show interest. Reach out to some Gallatin or CAS alums and grab coffee (perks of studying in NY) and you should be just fine.

Array
 

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