<p>I have just been admitted into Cornell ILR for the fall of 2012 initially with an interest in economics. I am now wondering if this school is right for me because I am most likely going to want a job in business (most likely a wall street job as an investment banker or trader). I still have a passion for economics but I like business as well. From reading other threads I see that other people have the same dilemma as me. I've been hearing from other people that your major doesn't matter as much because most of the big banks look more closely at high GPA's, good interviews and internships(plus I've been hearing that you don't necessarily need undergraduate business school to work on wall street. I want to know what courses I should take in ILR relieve from this dilemma (I'm going to guess to take a lot of AEM courses but which ones would be recommended). I'm also going to do the economics minor from the arts and sciences school. I just want to know if I made a mistake because initially I liked on how I could blend the social sciences at ILR but now I don't if the school will hinder me to get my desired job. Your help will be greatly appreciated :).</p>
<p>I believe morrismm (a frequent poster) daughter was in ILR, and she is working at a major IB as a derivative trader now. She is is only few years out of school. You may want to search her posts or PM her.</p>
<p>My kid was in CAS, math/econ majors, and is doing new issuance, part of sales and trading, but more like investment banking (at least hours wise). She took few finance courses in AEM (harder to do because AEM students have higher priority) and accounting in Hotel. Hotel school offers a lot of business courses - like asset securitization. They have a commercial real estate minor, which is very well regarded.</p>
<p>In my older daughter year - a friend of hers from the Hotel school is working at GS, and another from Engineering is also at GS. It really doesn’t matter which school you go to, it is your GPA and aptitude (they figure that out during the interview).</p>
<p>When D1 was interviewing, someone told her to take some psych classes.</p>
<p>ILR is a good place to be if you want to go into business, especially finance. Many students get internships during their undergrad, and the banks heavily recruit ILR students, especially because of the program. ILR is not known for being the hardest major at Cornell, mainly because ILRies tend to be involved in other activities (student government, investment clubs, music or basically anything else). If you like economics and social science, but want a business focus ILR will probably be a good fit. Its also very flexible about taking classes outside of your major, which is not true for other majors.</p>
<p>Yes my D did graduate from ILR and is now a trader at a major IB. Here are some points----</p>
<p>First, she was ambitious, motivated and smart. --You have to want it, work to get it and be smart enough.</p>
<p>She was strategic.— SHOW you are ambitious, motivated and smart. I am not going to tell you what she did. You have to do your own thing.</p>
<p>The point is, it is definitely an option for you as a Cornell ILR grad. As with any school or major, there are no guarantees, Cornell or otherwise. You have to make it happen. But it definitely can.</p>