Economics degree from UNC, good enough for IB?
Will it look bad to have an Economics degree from UNC, since economics is not a part of their business school?
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The general rule is this: if there is a business school, you want to go to the business school to maximize your recruiting chances. Unfortunately, economics majors tends to take a backseat to business majors -- but fear not, that doesn't mean it's impossible, just a bit harder!
This. You may have to work harder to get interviews and get in OCR. Just network hard with UNC alumns. Even if you weren't a business minor, you'll still have plenty in common.
With your non-major classes, try and take some finance and accounting so you get connected w/Kenan.
It won't limit you given a great GPA at most places that recruit at your school, however the "top gigs" where you need strong recommendation/connections from the biz school will probably be out of reach. So at non targets (not UNC), this would mean that the non biz school kids with 3.3+ GPAs could get the same corp finance jobs as the majority of the biz school kids end up with, but wouldn't be able to get the IB spots that are reserved for the top 1%. IDK which banks recruit at UNC, so someone else might be able to help with regards to whether it will be impossible to get into the BBs/Elite Boutiques/buyside as an econ major as opposed to KF business.
Also, I noticed that you mentioned engineering in one of your old posts. If there's any way you could major in math/econ or computer science/econ, that would really allow you to stand out as opposed to econ alone. Hell, computer science/math double major would "wow" the IB MDs who probably got by on "calculus for economics" type classes. A triple major, if possible, would be equivalent or better to the business school degree.
I've seen more than a few people with econ undergrad from UNC in Charlotte working at MM IB shops. Dunno about BB, but you could probably get that too, again, by networking like a mofo. Charlotte is filled with UNC people.
Definitely possible. Just need to distinguish yourself from everyone else, but at the same time integrate yourself into the KF events. Might not be the easiest path, but doable.
Worth going to UNC for Econ? (Originally Posted: 05/27/2017)
Hey guys, so is it worth going to UNC if you cannot get into K-F (not as a business major/minor) and are forced to major in econ (as well as take a few business courses)?
My other options right now, which I am considering are Vanderbilt and Northwestern. At Vandy and NW, I would spend the same amount of money and would also take the same amount of time to graduate from each school. NW has better prestige and opportunities between the two, so I would choose NW over Vandy. Is Northwestern definitely 100 % more advantageous than UNC OOS for me? I would not have to take out loans at either school, but what if I am not able to land a top banking/consulting gig straight out of Northwestern? I realize that Northwestern would give me a better chance for IB and consulting than UNC, but at UNC, I would not only be spending less money and be graduating on time, but the downside is also less as well. I would ideally like to work in either the SE or NYC. What would you guys advise?
I have friends who are Economics majors at UNC and they are often critical of the department. They have a new quantitative finance emphasis that will likely attract a lot of interest and prepare students for finance roles. If you are interested in going into a top consulting firm (BCG, Bain), then you will have to get into Kenan-Flagler. There is also an application process for consulting courses at UNC. The companies that recruit Econ majors from UNC are typically Deloitte, Accenture, and Red Ventures (SE offices, DC). If I were in your shoes, I would take a shot at Northwestern, but I don't know about their placement.
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