As someone intending to major in finance/economics, are there any other colleges I should consider?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Future profession:</p>

<p>I think I would enjoy working in the financial industry. Investment banking, economic/financial analysis, and financial advising are all fields I'm interested in. If those professions didn't work out, I would probably become a lawyer. A law degree might be something I get on the side anyway because I would love defending individuals charged with victimless crimes.</p>

<p>Academic profile:</p>

<p>ACT: 34 (32 math, 33 english, 34 science, 35 reading)
GPA: 4.2 on a 4.3 scale (A+ = 4.3), so 4.0 on the standard scale
Class Rank: Not reported, though I'm fairly sure I'm top 1-2%, maybe even #1 overall
AP Classes (Taken): AP Language and Composition (5 AP test), AP Computer Science AB (4 AP Test)
AP Classes this year: AP Psychology, Calculus, Macroeconomics, US History
I'm also doing an English Independent study along with a few other students where the subject matter is politics, economics, and American society as opposed to something like British literature.</p>

<p>Colleges considering (Ranking in terms of my preference):</p>

<p>Top Tier: University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown, Washington in St. Louis</p>

<p>Second Tier: Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia, Princeton</p>

<p>Third Tier: Notre Dame, New York University, Babson</p>

<p>Safety: UW-Madison (In-State tuition)</p>

<p>I'm trying to amass a large list of quality schools. I value quality of education and prestige (in terms of employer's perception) more than anything else, so make any recommendations according to that guideline. You may think that perhaps I should have flipped my second and top tier, but the only Ivy League with an undergraduate business school is Pennsylvania. I'm not dead set on a finance degree but I think getting only economics and not both isn't as valuable.</p>

<p>I appreciate the help.</p>

2

<p>Your tiering is not especially helpful. A rigorous degree in economics complemented with accounting courses, introduction to business law, and some basic finance can be had in most universities. Certainly at your State’s flagship, and at any reasonably large university. So some criteria other than the degree is essential in deciding on the list of colleges, Wall Street doesn’t generally expect new graduates to have economics + finance degrees so I’m not sure why the lack of a formal finance degree matters. prestige" may however matter when it comes time to intern, or get that first job. If that’s the case than it’s hard to understand why Princeton is below Georgetown on your list. Do you have additional criteria such as location, breadth of courses, ambiance of school, etc.?</p>

3

<p>The only reason I put Georgetown higher was because it has an undergraduate business school. I also like the fact that it’s in Washington D.C., which is nice for someone interested in politics.</p>

<p>I realize my ranking is fairly useless and I will probably apply to a ton of places and narrow it down after acceptance/rejection. If I did get accepted into some of those ivy leagues I have in the second tier, I would definitely take a look at them. I’m in a situation where I can’t visit the east coast (I’m from Wisconsin), so I can’t really evaluate the atmosphere and the other physical attributes. I’m going off of prestige.</p>

<p>I’m just wondering if I’m missing any colleges that I should at least investigate. At this point I’m not concerned about narrowing the list - I’m interested in whether or not it would be smart to expand it.</p>

4

<p>Your reasoning for placing Georgetown and WashU above this so called tier 2 is due to their business schools. But like the other poster, I find your tier list a bit pointless. Historically, Dartmouth and Princeton are known to place on the street very well, and likely better than Georgetown and WashU. There are finance “tracks” or “certificates” if you research some of these schools more carefully, or there are applied mathematics-economics tracks (employers like to see quant). Even some liberal arts colleges (think Williams and Amherst) place very well in IB and finance.</p>

<p>Anyways, for schools that you should look at, I think you have enough reaches. But if you want more, look at Northwestern and Duke. Harvard is probably the most esteemed. Stanford, too. If you can pay for it, UMich looks like a good low match for you. Their business school, Ross, is highly regarded. Other state schools that are good for IB are Berkeley (Haas) and UVA (Darden), but Mich probably fits your needs the most.</p>

<p>Babson’s an academic safety for you, and you might be able to get a merit scholarship there. Though Babson is more known for entrepreneurship than it is for financial services. Keep it on your list if you want.</p>

<p>Anyways, if I were you (and if your parents finances don’t constrain you), I would probably just apply to Notre Dame, BC (if you want another low match/almost safety), Georgetown, UMich, and UW Madison early action. If you want to apply to more schools early, Babson, UVA, and UNC are options. Then apply to the rest of your reach schools.</p>

5

<p>Thanks. I’ve been reading a bit about Ivy League placement on Wall Street and it seems as if almost any degree can suffice if the economic conditions are right. If I were to get accepted into one of those I would definitely consider going forward with an economics major and finding the correct concentrations.</p>

<p>The reason I’m making such a big list is I’m a bit paranoid of being stuck at UW-Madison. It is cheaper, but the lower quality education and heavy drinking/party atmosphere is the complete opposite of what I’m looking for.</p>

<p>I had thought about Michigan a bit, but with their cost being as much as more prestigious private universities, I figured it would be better to get into those than a massive public university. I’ll reconsider though.</p>

6

<p>If you want IB, you need to know that you’ll be expected to work about 80 hrs per week. This is not to pick on IB per se – Law is much the same – bur you should know that you might not have much time to enjoy that six-fig salary.</p>

<p>If you are interested in a corporate career, major in Econ or Business Admin. Work 40 hrs per week out of school, have time to go out with people, save money for wedding/honeymoon/house, etc. If you are good at your job your company will direct you toward an MBA and/or help you pay for one. </p>

<p>The MBA basically teaches you how to run a business:</p>

<ul>
<li>Financial and managerial accounting</li>
<li>Corporate finance</li>
<li>Micro and Macroeconomics</li>
<li>System management</li>
<li>Operations management</li>
<li>International business</li>
<li>Corporate law</li>
<li>Marketing</li>
<li>Organizational behavior</li>
<li>Entrepreneurialism</li>
</ul>

<p>Etc. An MBA is the all-around grad-level business degree.</p>

<p>We have IB people on here and maybe they love/d their path, but for better work-life balance, consider the BBA or BS-Econ and a 40-hr job in Corp America.</p>

7

<p>Even if Michigan’s cost is almost as much as a private university, it is worth a look in the sense that it is still very good in its own right, and you have a very good chance of getting in, especially if you apply early. It is a good option to have if you are somehow rejected from these more “prestigious” universities, and you have to choose between UW Madison and Michigan.</p>

<p>Also, have you taken subject tests yet? Obviously for some schools, just the ACT will suffice, but some of your schools will require them.</p>

8

<p>I haven’t done any subject tests. I’ll admit I just recently started considering some of the ivy league schools, so they likely require the SAT subject tests, but out of all the other ones, Georgetown is the only one that seemed to recommend them.</p>

<p>I suppose I might as well sign up. I’ll also look into more detail on the ivy league schools and make some sort of comparison spreadsheet. </p>

9

<p>Check out Northwestern.
<a href=“http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/certificate.aspx”>http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/certificate.aspx&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“MS in Management Studies | Kellogg School of Management”>http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/programs/russell-fellows.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I think you should dig deeper on what IB is about and what the typical day of IB analysts is. It’s nothing glamorous. Also, depending on the firm, the culture may go against your conscience if you are more on the altruistic side (you mentioned why you wanted to be a lawyer).</p>

10

<p>IB is hell at first, but then pays off.</p>

<p>Out of college, you typically work as an analyst for two years. 100 hour weeks are the norm and all nighters are also common. You’ll typically do a lot of grunt work and also work on making pitch books for clients.</p>

<p>After two years of analyst, people typically get their mba and either go back to IB with better hours and better pay, or go off to PE and HF where pay is significantly higher.</p>

<p>I personally love finance and can see myself doing this.</p>

<p>All the schools you mentioned will get you onto WS. Don’t worry!</p>

11

<p>All are Wall Street targets except for WashU and Babson. Babson is known for its entrepreneurship, however.</p>

<p>Also, unless you get preferred admission to Ross, you’d have to try after freshman year ay UMich, and evidently only 30% or so get in.</p>

<p>You can become an FA from anywhere. </p>

<p>Also, you won’t be defending victims of victimless crimes as a lawyer (if you aim to pay back law school debt). Actually research the profession, please.</p>

12

<p>Oh, and despite the difference in difficulty getting in, I would say that Carlson@UMinny is roughly equal to Olin@WashU in terms or opportunities. UMinny is also in-state for you, and while I think that UW-Madison is stronger in most fields outside business, Carlson@UMinny has the advantage of being in the middle of a major city with a decent number of companies.</p>

13

<p>I wasn’t trying to suggest defending innocent people for little or no cost was going to make any money. I was merely indicating that it would be the only other degree I’d consider, even if I wouldn’t be profiting from it. It could be something I do far later in life if I have enough money.</p>

14

<p>I’ll add Minnesota to my list.</p>

15

<p>Might add Holy Cross-fantastic business alumni network and top25 LAC.</p>

16

<p>Also consider Northwestern’s MMSS. A great quant skill in math modeling and stats analysis will not only impress many employers but also give you the confidence to take on variety of positions. The program also prepares one very well for any PhD program.
Check out the variety of internship positions students got in the past two summers. <a href=“http://www.mmss.northwestern.edu/students/employment.html”>http://www.mmss.northwestern.edu/students/employment.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;