General Advice for Struggles/ CAS vs McDonough.
Hey all,
I hope my post finds all of you well.
I am an economics major at the American University of Beirut, the best in the Middle East but that is not saying much. I have a 3.8 GPA and am a part of the student-managed fund. (1 out of 4 undergrads) (picked as the only econ major, from a total pool of 500 applicants)
I have some decent extra-curriculars, some volunteers, and virtually no internships. I have completed and landed the WallStreetPrep certificate, it was paid for by my school.
Lebanon is basically a shithole nowadays, budget cuts, explosions, tensions, capital controls... you name it we have it.
I am looking to apply abroad, to transfer and hopefully find peace somewhere.
Georgetown interests me the most, having visited VA a lot. I have begun an application to McDonough or CAS, still researching it.
Anyways, keeping it short, I would love any advice on what to do. Would sticking around here be my best option, moving for an MBA abroad, or do I apply and leave asap? I am very interested in S&T or IB, for the future transition to VenCap, which is my dream career. The alumni network on WallSt is pretty limited, but there are some chances in the Middle East. Would changing my major to finance regardless be the better choice, or is economics solid?
I would appreciate any help,
Thanks!
Edit: AUB follows the American system but students may skip freshman year due to having a Lebanese Baccalaureate. Essentially, I am a junior at AUB, but in reality, I am a sophomore by US standards. I have 30 credits post-high school, doing 12 this semester, and will need to complete at least 60 in Georgetown. It is my second year in university, or my third semester, and I still have three to go if I stay here, compared to four at Georgetown/any US or Candian institution like McGill or Ivey ( I am interested in Canada due to the hassle-free process for Lebanese citizens, and the fact that I won't be completely alone, but the US is my priority)
what year are you? transferring to Georgetown McDonough in time for sophomore fall would definitely give you a leg up in recruiting for US IB and S&T internships. that also goes for FT. the Georgetown College doesn't have the finance major, only economics, but it offers the same recruiting opportunities as the MSB. the alumni network is solid with people at every major firm, and Georgetown is a target school for all the BBs and many EBs. best of luck!
Good to hear! Yeah, CAS only has Economics and PECO, the latter which does not interest me at all. Economics is my current major and I love its flexibility, due to its graduates being able to pursue banking, PE, consulting, law and a lot more careers, while Finance seems more interesting and specialized. (I have taken and aced Financial Accounting and Corporate Finance intro, currently taking Valuations and Applied Investment Management due to the investment program's requirements. I haven't taken any economics courses other than basic micro/macro and statistics)
I updated the post, but basically have 4 semesters (with a bit more possibly) at G-Town or roughly three here. Thanks for the help!
On the Finance v Economics question- I can say that I personally know quite a few kids from both programs who have gotten awesome offers on Wall Street (BB, EB, top tier PE etc) or awesome opps in law or consulting. Seems like it doesn’t really matter which one you do- as long as you network well and prep for technicals, you can land a solid gig in finance. My advice would be to just do what interests you the most regardless of career implications.
Thanks for the clarification! I have networked as much as possible in this country, am part of the Economics Society and Investment club managing cabinets, and tried to do the most of a rough year in Lebanon, with protests impacting the first semester and my second semester transitioning to stay at home. I think I might end up applying to McDonough, not CAS then, maybe minoring in Economics? I don't see myself working in public policy or research roles, and for banking and VenCap, both finance and economics seem equal? I have taken Calc 2,3,4 and got a combined B+ on them, and economics still has me taking differential and linear algebra down the line, while the math requirements for Finance at my school are only Calc 1 and 2. It is different for McDonough though.
The Econ program doesn’t require linear or multivar though- with Calc 1 2 and 3 you should have the math reqs covered for Econ, assuming they all transfer over. Wouldn’t worry too much about the math reqs, although Econ classes are generally harder quantitatively than finance classes, but not a huge difference tbh. Majoring in finance and minoring in Econ is a pretty common route- I’m sure you’ll do well with that combo. Just want to stress though, I would just do what interests you. I did economics (working in investment banking rn) because I wanted that broader, more “intellectual” subject matter, whereas many of my friends in the MSB enjoyed a more narrow focus on accounting and corporate finance. Do whatever you wanna do
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