major

I'm a rising senior in high school and did my first ever internship at a tiny hedge fund (1b AUM) this summer, working with a lot of 25-30+ yo's. One studied astrology in college and is now an outstanding commodities trader. Another one majored in art history and is now a well-paid healthcare sector...

08 Aug 2022

Hello, Brand new account but have been a lurker at WSO for a while. I am currently a high school senior and am quite interested in going into quant trading or related area. Any insight or wisdom into the following questions would be much appreciated: 1. Best Major/minor combinations for an aspiring...

15 Feb 2022

Hey guys, I previously transferred into UPenn's College of Arts and Sciences from another uni and I hope to work on Wall Street and (most likely) in Sales & Trading in the future. This means Wharton's out of the picture but I can still take a few courses there. What is the best major within the...

10 Jun 2021

Hi monkeys. I have a pretty dumb question but have been struggling a good bit trying to figure this out, and I felt like you all would have some good perspective for me. I'm graduating next Spring and will join FT in MM IB. I had a good bit of AP credits going into college, so I will be done with...

27 Oct 2021

I've heard that if you're at a target, it doesn't matter what you major in. However, at non-targets they prefer more quantitative majors. I'm a freshman at Emory and I'm wondering if a finance+ accounting/consulting major would suffice for IB and consulting or if I should do something more...

28 Nov 2021

Hello all. I am a first-year student majoring in Industrial Engineering (Concentration in Economic and Financial Systems) at a non-target school, which happens to be ranked very highly in IE. I am trying to figure out a solid degree plan for when I will be applying to finance jobs in the future. The...

24 Nov 2021

Hey everyone, I am new here. I have been reading WSO posts for a couple of months, but I just made an account. I am a senior in high school this year and still deciding on a college. I know for sure I want to be in non-retail finance; I have been exploring and researching this industry and world...

04 Sep 2021

I can graduate this year with a 3.87 GPA and a degree in economics or spend another year pursuing a Finance degree at a top 10 undergraduate business program. My ambition is to work in Investment Management and get into Wharton or HBS for my MBA someday. I desperately need help with this decision....

22 Sep 2017

If you declare a major in XXX, get the internship but then realize that it isn't feasible to major in it, then turn the major into a minor, do firms care about this switch? Don't want the firm to think I am lying or anything. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks.

09 Nov 2021

Here's the situation; my school is highly ranked for math and mediocre (30s/40s on Business Week) for business, and I feel that the business degree might raise a few questions. There is a decent chance that I will have the chance to add a math major to dual along with business, but I'll have to...

09 Sep 2011

Hi all, I'm currently an Econ grad with a low GPA (2.9-3.2) from a top public (UMich/UVa/Berkeley/UCLA). I have solid internship experience (F500 PWM, top F500 tech firm business analyst, small VC advisory firm, BB MO). I recently graduated this month, but was planning on taking extra classes this...

03 May 2011

Hi! I've really appreciated the feedback on this forum, so am reaching out again. I'm halfway through my undergrad and have the option of completing: 1. A BS in Mathematics and Computer Science or 2. A combined BS&MS in Statistics and Data Science The courses I would take would be virtually...

18 Aug 2020

I graduate high school this year and I was thinking of pursuing an Economics major and a double minor in Psychology and Environmental Science/Agriculture in college. The reasoning behind it is that both the minors are interesting to me (at least right now) and are relatively easy to complete. I...

20 Nov 2021

I was wondering if consulting firms like McKinsey prefers certain undergrad majors over others, even if only by a little. Strong math/quantitative skills are obviously necessary, but would there be any preference between say operations research/financial engineering, mechanical engineering, and...

09 Jun 2010

Hey everyone, I'm currently an undergrad at a Canadian target. My long term goal career goal is hedge funds although I'm not ruling out any other finance career, especially for the first few years (ER, S&T or IB). I want to graduate with some quantitative knowledge in order to be able to work in a...

04 Mar 2016

If you were giving advice to an undergrad, what double major or major/minor combination would you recommend for the following fields? Private Equity IBD HF VC What are Recommended Double Majors for Business Students? Double majoring or having a single major and a minor is quite a common choice most...

05 Feb 2015

I am a student attending Baruch College in NYC and am a little confused on choosing between the two below. I would appreciate any insight from those who are experienced or know of those who are experienced to help me visualize the reality and possibilities of each. How do they compare? I realize...

07 Mar 2015

Hey all, I have been reading though a lot of discussions on here and finally am ready to ask for my own advice. So I know that I am in a bad situation but I am willing to make the best out of it.

01 Jun 2014

Hi fellow monkeys, I recently accepted SA position at a BB. I haven't gotten official paperwork yet, but on my resume it says I am a certain major. I am currently actually undeclared (long story) but in the process of declaring to that major on my resume and hopefully can do so before I have to send...

12 Feb 2015

Hey guys I just had a quick question about dropping a major in order to graduate on time. I am currently planning on pursuing a dual degree: BBA (Concentration: Finance) and a BS in Mathematics of Finance and Risk Management, along with a computer science minor. However, doing this would take me 4.5...

13 Jul 2014

I am to the point that I am going to need to declare my minor soon, and, instead of doing the usual finance, acct, econ minors, I was wondering what some of you thought about psych or polsci minor? These two subjects interest me, but not to the point that I would want a career in either ... I can't...

04 Jan 2013

Hi guys! I received a BB summer analyst offer in November and accepted, and we are now going through the background check process. Since I accepted the offer, I have changed my major from finance to economics. When I applied and interviewed, the major on my resume and application was finance. HR...

09 Apr 2013

Hello everyone, I presently attend a Community College and I will be transferring to a non-target soon (University of Connecticut). If I could get some input into what I should major in? I was thinking Finance/Accounting duel major, or maybe something like Finance/MIS. Granted my school is good, but...

25 Sep 2012

Alright so currently I am thinking about either majoring in finance or accounting, possibly a double major if I can do so. My goal right now is to try and get into Big Four TS/TAS valuations or similar. Would just an accounting major be enough to have a shot at this or would it limit me to tax/audit...

13 Jul 2012

Yes, I know this topic has been beaten to death already. My situation is slightly different than other schools. Finance and economics are both in the business school. I got to a top 50 non target (One or two kids make BB each year, and some make local IBD). A lot of kids go into top corp fin. These...

15 Nov 2011

As a major, which one is harder? Econ seems to apply calculus and other types of math. I've never taken a Finance course so I dont have an idea. is economics a hard major relative to finance? The answer to this question depends on the school that you attend and the difficulty of the programs at...

09 Jun 2011

I've seen way too many threads on the finance major being useless and that engineers are smarter. But we all know major doesn't mean shit so lets focus on classes. What were the most useful classes you've taken in regards to banking/ trading/ finance? And then what were the most useful classes you...

02 Oct 2011

Hi! I'm an undergraduate at a target about to declare major/minor My candidates are Econ, Math, Computer Science, and History Well I guess majoring in econ and math is the most relevant to my goal of eventually making into IB, but I am very passionate about comp sci as well as history to give them...

16 Feb 2012

Hey, If I go to Amherst College and major in psychology will that hurt my chances at a BB/MBB job out of college (just thinking ahead, may not even go down that road, pretty sure I will though). The "catch" if you will is that I've already interned at MS and plan on getting it again next summer....

12 Aug 2011

Hi, I was just a reader in this website but I finally came to sign in to ask few questions that are extremely important for me. I have never known any website or any source that is filled with knowledgeable people so I am just posting this question. I certainly felt that this might be a stupid...

28 Feb 2012

over Michigan's College of Engineering I've heard that recruiting has gone from almost all Ross to half-Ross, half-LSA/CoE... and that MBB/s&t will probably look at engineering moreso than IB would. I would be going for computer sciences in CoE and would've tried to double major in CS/finance if it...

03 Apr 2011

I go to a school that is not a target or a low target for finance (JHU) and I'm wondering what course of action will give me the best chance of getting a position at an IBank (preferably in Sales and Trading). Right now I've accumulated enough credits to graduate with a degree in either CS, applied...

24 Mar 2011

I am an engineering major in Florida planning to eventually get an MBA at a top school. Everyone keeps telling me that without work experience at GS or a similar place, I won't get in. This just does not make sense to me that an entire MBA class would be investment bankers. If I work in Florida at a...

31 Dec 2010

Hey everyone. Quick question: I'm a junior at a target school, double major in poli-sci/history. I want to go into consulting; I have a 3.4 GPA. however, I have a resume full of public service paid work experience (US Senate, Worked for the mayor, worked for the school board, worked for a...

21 Dec 2010

Which of Masters in Stats or Masters in Econometrics applies better to the hedge fund industry? Are there investment or trading strategies used by money management firms that would make HR prefer someone with a Stats background over an Econometrics background (or vice versa)? If so, which strategy...

13 Apr 2011

I'm a sophomore Economics major at a relatively unknown non-target with a 3.95 GPA and 2200+ SAT scores. I'll also be studying abroad at one of (Oxford, Cambridge) next semester (would rather not give too much outable info). I need to decide on a minor (I will be taking 2 minor classes while abroad)...

10 Apr 2011

Hi, guys: I've been on WSO for a while and I am now pretty interested in investment banking. Currently I am a Chemical Engineering major, I like this major and I am pretty gifted at Math and Chemistry. I am a freshman but I am taking advanced classes and getting As if not A+. However, I am not sure...

15 Nov 2011

A finance degree is better, right, but the bsba-fin is at a 50 school with the given information what is the best choice? want to get into investing after school, not sure what specifically yet, and I also want to go to law school and/or graduate finance or business degree with finance...

31 May 2011

Hi, I'm attending UCLA and hope to eventually work in finance or consulting. I've heard people tell me that its a target, while others say it's barely a semi-target. It's at least clear that it's not as much of a target as the ivies, so I'm assuming my major will matter more. I'm thinking of...

26 Nov 2013

Hello all! So I'll keep this short and to the point: I've done a good deal of searching through these forums and others, and have spoken to a number of friends in the consulting world, but have yet to get a definitive answer on the question of college majors. I'm a sophomore at a target/semi-target...

07 Apr 2014

Say you're a MBB recruiter. You're looking at candidates from a target school for interviews. What are your initial thoughts at each one? I just want to see all of your thoughts, all feedback is appreciated. 1. International Relations major with a 3.8 2. Comparative Literature major, Economics minor...

29 Mar 2011

I was told by my dean that employers don't really know the difference between "major" in finance vs "concentration' in finance. The different is in major, you're required to take 10 classes relating to finance. In concentration, you're only required to take 4 class ( senior levels) relating to...

31 Aug 2010

Hey I was wondering what type of major would be most helpful for someone looking to break into trading. I know this is a ridiculously general question but I know very little about specific types of trading and what they require, and if this question is absurdly general feel free not to respond. But...

04 Feb 2010

*As a forward, I already posted in a similar topic but no one was answering my question. Hi, I'm entering my freshmen year at Cal/UCLA/Michigan (one of those schools) working towards a history major. I'm majoring in history because I find it more interesting than other fields, but I'm concerned that...

16 Jul 2009

Hi, I'm a freshman of a liberal arts college, so it doesn't offer finance courses. I don't think it's a target although several graduates get into Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley. I've just started to know finance service industry and considering what major to take. I'm really not interested in...

23 Dec 2012

Have been searching around but cannot find too much information on the web about this. What are the differences between data science and computer science, if any? Would it be worth it to major in data science (my school doesn't have a computer science program) alongside either a major in finance or...

12 Aug 2017

I'm currently applying for universities, and I was wondering how I could go about writing a convincing "Why Finance?" essay without sounding greedy and only interested in having a lucrative career. Any insights and experiences to share?

10 Aug 2017

Which classes should I use to calculate my Statistics major GPA? 1. All classes taken in the statistics department (10 stat courses) 2. Courses I chose to use to satisfy the statistics major requirements (4 math prereqs, 3 stat core, 3 stat electives, 3 courses in other technical departments) 3....

16 Oct 2010

I'm currently a freshman at Duke and would like to go into investment banking after school. My advisor is beginning to ask what I am thinking about majoring in. I would like to do econ but from what I hear from my classmates, playing a varsity sport and majoring in econ will be rough here. Is it...

31 Mar 2010

Hey people Its me again I need your brains to start running again Im going to be a sophmore this fall and I am stuck on which major to do. Now I started off studying Business but I have come to the conclusion that a business degree is not worth four years of college it just seems so basic. The...

24 Jul 2010