@NYCcitylover if you’re in stern, here is generally how things are:
Competitiveness: Freshman and Sophomore year are not too competitive. People often work together in school. There are always a few people who aren’t willing to help, but these students develop a reputation for being that way and no one will help them out as a result. This tends to hurt people more than it helps in the long run.
By the time sophomore year ends, your GPA will no longer matter. It’s all about internships and jobs. Everyone wants to maximize their chances of getting an internship. Things get more intense, and people will become more cold and self-oriented. Some people who you think you can trust may withhold information/deadlines from you, pretend they don’t know things, mislead you, spread false information etc…Just be careful with what you hear. The recruiting process isn’t as structured and transparent as it should be, so some may actually be uncertain, but want to sound like they know what they’re talking about. Try to create a group of very close friends who you 100% know you can trust, and work together to help each other succeed, both in school and career-wise.
Recruit with friends who have the EXACT SAME career interests as you for efficiency. Know by mid sophomore year what you want. Don’t recruit for every career that sounds good, if you do, you’ll likely just do badly in all of the interviews. If you’re going for Investment Banking, study with other students who are also 100% set on IB, and spend all your efforts on that field alone. If you fail to land something, you’ll have plenty of time to prepare for Consulting or Asset Management interviews, since their recruiting cycles typically begin after the IB and S&T cycle ends.
Double Majoring: Its extremely easy to double major in Stern. A “major” in Stern is just 4 elective classes. Most people do two majors, and some even add a minor.
Free time: There is plenty of free time. 3 day weekends are extremely common after freshman first semester. Each course you take typically meets twice a week for 75 minutes per class. If you take 4 classes, you’ll have 10 hours of class total per week out of the 168 hours in the week. Most classes don’t have much homework: either none at all, or around 5 HW assignments total, and they take around 2 hours each to complete.
Also, some people join student organizations. Take a few months to explore which ones you’re interested in, then just focus on a couple. Don’t spread yourself too thin. Ultimately, being IN the organization doesn’t help too much. Knowing the upperclassmen definitely will help you tremendously if you become their friend. The junior/senior you become friends with as a freshman may end up going to GS, JPM, Barclays etc… and can vouch for you when you apply there two years later.
Difficulty: That depends on your professor, your level of intelligence and how hard you work. The “Stern Curve” may people anxious, although it tends to help more than it hurts. It allows a maximum of 35% of students in each class section to get an A or A-, which is better than most curves in other universities. You’re also insured by getting the very worst grade of some form of B. Some people can get 50% on all their exams and get curved to a B in that class. Many stern classes also have exams where averages may be in the 60s or 70s. Sometimes, your 75% could become an A-, and an 85% could curve to an A. If you have an easy professor, many will think the exam was easy and do well, and the cutoff for an A- could be a 96%. If you score a 95.5, it could be a B+.
Try and take half of your classes outside of Stern. Those are generally easier (but a lot of grunt work). You can easily do 2 stern + 2 non stern courses each semester, or 3 stern 1 non-stern classes each semester, while still double majoring and graduating on time or a semester early.
Dorming: The best place is actually OFF campus after freshman year. Make your friends, and then move out ASAP!
Best freshman dorms: Palladium, Uhall, Founders, and Third North: They cost ~$8000/ semester. Bad deal when you have to live with 3-5 other people in a run-down suite. RA’s and even suitemates/roommates may not necessarily be lax about drinking or any other activities that students typically may enjoy.
P.S. if you can, avoid Rubin Hall. It is full of cockroaches and it has no A.C, making it unbearably humid and smelly during warm months, and this makes it pretty very difficult to sleep and get work done efficiently.
Most economically-wise students move off-campus after freshman year. It is better to live in a place with people who have similar lifestyles & habits/ can tolerate yours, and where you can act freely without getting penalized for something minor. It’s also cheaper to live off campus. Most students I know pay between $1300-2000 a month to live in much nicer places than the dorms, have their own bedroom, and/or be closer to campus.