Easy courses in Top 5 undergraduate business school
I'm currently in a top 5 undergraduate business school and the curve is just ridiculous. I literally fear any class taken under the business school because I will get curved the hell out (I am talking about 100~96% = A, 96~90% = B) and so on. My head exploded when my friend got exactly 0.8% higher cumulative average than me in the course and he got an A-, whereas I got a B+.
The alumni that I chat with told me that if I'm aiming banking, there's only two classes that you'll ever need in the school = financial statement analysis and equity valuation. The rest is crap. Take courses you enjoy because if you think the stuff you learn in classes are going to apply in real life, you'll be dead disappointed. In fact, two of them just straight out told me to evade the courses in the business school and just boost up your GPA with easy "arts & sciences" courses and just prepare for interviews with the interview guides.
What do you think I should do WSO? Should I take more challenging (as what seems like) more relevant courses at the risk of lowering one's GPA, or should I take as much courses that I can easily get an A on, and just prep using WSP or BIWS? After all, recruiters don't see what courses I've taken right? in the 30 seconds that they'll review my resume, the number that'll stand out will be the GPA,#, not how many advanced finance courses I took.
@Stern huh? Financial Statement Analysis and the other one after that, FRD, I believe, were both pretty easy. Same with the Valuation course.
You'd be dumb to not try to get easy A's from your core curriculum, but there are some good Finance classes that are tough but you'll get a lot out of. After all, you're paying a boatload of money for tuition and I assume you have good professors. If you're really that worried, take the really challenging ones pass/fail - it takes off a lot of pressure and you still get to learn the material.
I'm in Stern too - yes the curve sucks, the situation with you and your friend tends to happen, and because of the curve you are less likely to be able to get straight A's.
But there are definetly more classes than that that are useful, and even though it might be hard, you can pull off As in business core classes.
Sure, take CAS courses to pad your GPA, but 1) there are Stern classes which do that too and 2) how are you going to avoid taking core + major classes in Stern?
I think It would be stupid I learn all the finance material on your own when you have great school, professors, etc . . . to teach it to you.
Of course I can't avoid the core courses but I'm talking about classes beyond what's required for one's major. Like filling all your electives with stern courses because "they're more relevant" and "you're paying a boatload of money for this". I mean I don't know about others but for me if I get a BB/elite boutique IBD job out of Stern then that would more than justify the tuition - no amount of courses taken by "legendary" professors like Damodaran would justify it if I ended up in back office or something like that.
And you know to be honest, the easier (typically "core") courses scare me the most because the easier the course the higher the curve to the point it gets ridiculous.
I understand Stern is a good undergrad b-school and all but if we're talking about what's actually going to help us do the job in banking, then there's really no point learning "more" about real estate capital markets, advanced debt instruments, derivatives and all that, unless I get hard ons for them. That was what alumni have been telling me - just take courses that are relevant and will help in interviews/on the job, everything else is just intellectual masturbation - which you'll most likely forget all about a week after your final exam.
PS. FSA/equity valuation and perhaps the financial modelling and analysis seem the most relevant but I heard Klein grades like crap, and the curve is ridiculous there. I don't care if the material is "easy" - that just means the bar to get an A is higher since everyone else will be doing just as well / better. FML
If getting that FO job out of college is your goal, the you could've went to any other top 10 undegrad school and majored in Economics / History. Being in a undergrad biz school is to take those classes. But then thats your plan/opinion.
Isn't there no point anymore though? You're probably a rising senior. given your past posts Unless you got one of those jobs, FT recruiting is a crapshoot for any top 5 undergrad biz schools.
Rising Junior actually. Still have 4 semesters of courses left.
Yea theoretically I could just as easily (or even more easily) get a job out of an ivy majoring in an off-related major but I mean things just played out this way, I can't go back in time anymore right?
I just wanted to know WSO's thoughts on this, and see if anyone else has done something like this? Take the minimum and just fluff courses to get a high GPA. I mean ultimately when you prep for interviews, no sternie is going to go through his notes taken in class - he's going to use an interview guide like WSO or BIWS. Honestly I took a financial accounting class in Stern and I learned just as much, if not, even more by taking the financial modelling course in BIWS, except Stern's course took an entire semester and a ton more tuition money. I am now just realizing how overrated an undergraduate business education really is.
And really, based on what seniors have told me, FT recruiting has nothing to do with what courses you took, or how many majors you have. It all boiled down to one thing - who networked the most and GPA - at least thats how it worked in Stern. Screw it maybe I should just fluff up my courses with like Nat Sci and Basic Statistics.
OP, a few thoughts on this.
Your point about the "easier" classes being more scary due to a higher curve really resonates. So why not continue taking the more difficult finance courses? Pay attention, study a bit (I certainly hope you have an interest in the material if you're pushing hard for IB) and you should be able to outperform your peers in the upper level finance courses
Your alumni are right about what coursework / knowledge is necessary to get into banking, but greater and deeper finance knowledge WILL help you on the job - not to mention with exit opps. Is it absolutely necessary? No, but the more you know about both finance and accounting, the easier this job will come to you and the faster you can move up the learning curve
Said finance / accounting background is the key differentiator that allows those of us from undergrad b-schools (although mine was lower ranked than NYU) to stand out compared to the HYP kids. My advice would be to take advantage of the opportunity and show up on day 1 of your job with outstanding finance knowledge, be known as the guy with great technical skills, and receive interesting projects with a lot of responsibility throughout your analyst career
Hope this helps!
Molestiae possimus nisi et. Deleniti molestiae eligendi ad rerum modi. Perspiciatis quidem voluptates dolore.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...