<p>I am a senior in high school, looking at undergrad institutions for next year. I want to go into investing banking, but I've heard that many (if not most) people in the field graduated in mathematics or computer science, rather than something like economics and finance. This is actually good news for me, because before I got interested in finance-y stuff, I was intending to major in mathematics in college. Is it true that many people in the investment banking field are actually pure mathematics or computer science (or both) majors?</p>
<p>Also, I am looking at the schools I have as options. So far, my options that I am strongly considering are Stanford, Yale, and MIT. (I also applied to Princeton/Harvard, but I haven't heard from them yet, so I won't consider them at the moment.) I want to go to an undergraduate institution that will prepare me in the best way possible for a career in investment banking. I know MIT is slightly different since it is a "tech school", how does the difference in education there affect my future career? I know classes and rankings aren't the only things you need to look for in an undergrad institution; you also have to consider the people you will meet there (especially since connections are so important for this).</p>
<p>Finally, this summer, is there anything I can do to prepare myself for this sort of career? I have had no real experience in the field, since I have been a "math kid" so far... It being the last summer before college, I want to do something that will expose me to something new.</p>
<p>Thank you in advance! (I know I have a lot of questions...)</p>
<p>The most important thing in the banking world is prestige and brand names, maybe even more so than skill but that’s a discussion for another time. Just try to get into a top school ,like the ones you mentioned, and that’s the first big step.</p>
<p>After that, you can basically major in anything you want. In fact, the most heavily recruited school don’t even have a business school undergrad. The most important thing in choosing your major is to choose it so you can maintain a high GPA, like 3.7+ at least. So if you like math and are good at it then do that. </p>
<p>The actual major and classes don’t matter a great deal to recruiters. They are just looking for people who are smart because a lot of the stuff can be taught to you once you are in.</p>
<p>^Agreed. Try to keep your GPA as high as possible in a major that is somewhat challenging. Obviously, majoring in something like psychology or sociology would leave a bad impression with recruiters.</p>
<p>for investment banking, Harvard, Wharton, and Princeton get the best recruiting. Yale and Stanford are a close second, but Stanford gets more attention from West coast offices. MIT is better for quant/trading roles at places like De Shaw, Jane Street, Citadel, etc. Never met anyone in traditional M&A advisory from MIT.</p>
<p>^^not entirely true. i’m from MIT, I worked in banking last summer for a BB firm (GS/MS/JPM) and met several MDs from MIT including two vice chairman; one of which was in M&A. I also know a couple of kids graduating this year going to top groups at GS/MS. That said an overwhelming number of people interested in finance from MIT end up in S&T, hedge fund, quant role, etc. But if banking is what you want coming from MIT its absolutely possible to get that.</p>
<p>Also I would agree with the posts above regarding maintaining as high a GPA as possible regardless of the major. But since MIT is a school focusing on STEM fields, banks often times “forgive” students with lower GPAs (think 4.4/5.0) from hardcore majors like mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, etc.</p>
<p>Wharton/Harvard = tops, followed by Princeton. Stanford gets good recruiting from West coast offices, but my friends tell me it’s harder to break into NYC. MIT probably places better into trading/quant roles than M&A advisory</p>