<p>That’s great! I was looking for an internal evaluation system. Ratemyprofessor is lacking a bit since not all the professors are listed. </p>
<p>Are incoming freshmen allowed to use the system, though? Freshmen should be registering for classes starting June…will I have access to it before then?</p>
<p>Hi. I have a question about Stern’s laptop requirements. Are windows 7 pro and office pro necessary? And what kind of laptop would you recommend?</p>
<p>@hellodocks</p>
<p>Hey GREAT thread bud, tons of help. I’m going to be attending Stern next year (majoring in Finance probably, or concentrating whichever it’s called).</p>
<p>I’m BEYOND pumped, Wall St. is my ‘dream’ so to speak, so it seems like Stern couldn’t be a better fit after reading this thread and the rankings. But I have some questions. First off, academically it seems VERY rigorous, which I’m ok with I guess, but what I’m wondering is how stimulating and interesting the classes are, or in other words, do you like learning the material?</p>
<p>Also, if all goes according to plan I will be opening my own hedge fund this summer and running it while simultaneously going through Stern, is this biting off more than I can chew?</p>
<p>Then one last thing, how are the girls? <because isn’t that what REALLY matters?</p>
<p>And in terms of parties, do they happen or are shows, clubs (I’m assuming you have to be over 21 for these) and events what what people do at night?</p>
<p>After careful consideration, it occurs to me that, in effect, NYU offered me a business proposition. The proposition was this: in return for a prestigious Stern undergraduate degree and all of its associated benefits, we ask of you to pay NYU upwards of $240,000. To help you pay this, we also offer your parents a loan for the full amount at 7.9% interest, compounded monthly. </p>
<p>In communications with NYU Financial Aid, I was informed that financial aid awards are based on academic strength, an emphasis on financial need, and NYUs resources. I was also informed that investing in an NYU education often requires a great long-term financial commitment from their students and their families.</p>
<p>I have been trying to assess the value of the Stern degree. Since NYU is basing my financial award on my parents net worth, is it worth for me to exchange $240,000, which is a great percentage of said net worth, for a Stern degree? Firstly, I find it unconscionable for me to expect my parents to take on that loan, even with my promise to pay it back. Secondly, I believe the highest percentage of my parents net worth I should even consider letting them pay is no more than 10%, and I feel a little greedy expecting even that. Unfortunately, they have other kids. :)</p>
<p>Taking all this into consideration, I find this business proposition to be structured at a great disadvantage to me. While the Stern School of Business would have been a terrific stepping stone in my quest for success, in the end my future depends upon me, not on the college I attend. </p>
<p>I think of the financial aid awarded me from college as the first business proposition put before me in what I hope is a long illustrious career. Damn, NYU gave me a really sucky one. </p>
<p>So it is with considerable regret that I have decided not to attend NYU this fall. <em>very sad face</em></p>
<p>@justspice
What do you mean which division? Deloitte recruits here for advisory, auditing, everything.</p>
<p>Not sure which word got censored, the censor on this site is sucky, but if it starts with ‘b’, yeah. We get a bad rep for a number of reasons. Most people here are either (a) international, (b) an Ivy reject, (c) a banking drone who has never and will never do anything outside of school and later, work, or (d) some combination of the above. Most people who don’t go here know that our NYU community in general is sucky in terms of school spirit or basic quality of life, so our school gets dumped on a lot (see WSO any time you want, haha).</p>
<p>It’s not hard to disprove though. If you’re none of the above or one of the above who can just shrug it off with a smile and a wisecrack at a superday, people will recognize you’re a likable guy and think nothing of it. 5 minutes later they’re all asking you which are the best clubs and restaurants in the city since it’s already been your playground while they’re only there for their last summer before graduating and starting. Honestly, I’ve had people come at me, both kids during recruiting and then interviewers. The former are just being dicks to either cope for their own personal insecurity, trying to distract you before an interview, or are morons. The latter generally just want to see you handle an awkward, hard circumstance. One guy I had really grilled me about it, why I chose it, how I liked it, what I really honestly hated about it, what I would change if I could go back in time, and a bunch of mind-**** questions like that. He ended up being an alum only 4 years out.</p>
<p>@rainfall
As far as I know, you only need an activated Stern email and password to enter the CFE system. If you haven’t done that yet, it’ll be available to you by June, and don’t worry, classes won’t be filled up by then.</p>
<p>@hhl
Check this out for info on our school-specific requirements. [NYU</a> Stern Information Technologies](<a href=“http://www.stern.nyu.edu/it/services/mobile.html]NYU”>http://www.stern.nyu.edu/it/services/mobile.html)
Check this one out for shopping info with an educational discount through our store.
[New</a> York University > NYU Bookstores](<a href=“efollett”>efollett)</p>
<p>Personally, I have a macbook pro. I wouldn’t own a PC if you paid me, and I built and coded for them for six/seven years before switching. That being said, you’ll find out by your junior year latest that Microsoft Office on a mac is not the same as you’ll learn the standard is in the professional world. You should either look into partitioning your computer or getting Boot Camp so you can run both Mac OS and Windows on your macbook. Otherwise be comfortable going into the Stern lab anytime you need to work on a powerpoint or excel assignment. I’ve done that for two years now and it can get really old, especially when you’ve been awake 40 hours and don’t wanna make the 15-minute walk to the lab just to use Office on a PC.</p>
<p>This is all the time I have for now, I’ll get to the other two later.</p>
<p>I know my son finds the Sternies to be a little full of themselves. He’s found a few friends that are nice in Stern. But he’s an athlete and therefore gets exposed to kids from all schools within NYU. Also he meets more at different parties that the volleyball players attend. He is also friends with the volleyball girls who are in all the schools at NYU. Basically this means get involved in other activities at NYU and you will be able to blend into all NYU has to offer.</p>
<p>One more thing I want to add is that until I got into Stern and people started telling me about the opportunities there for investment banking, I never gave that field of study a thought. Once I started looking into it, it did sound interesting, and the challenge of making it at Stern is something I feel I could do. I may be introverted socially, but I’m also competitive as hell. That may sound contradictory, but there it is.</p>
<p>Anyway, again, the debt is just too high for me to feel comfortable with. </p>
<p>By the way, pontair, I enjoyed your post.</p>
<p>@pontair
Welcome to the Stern community, good luck, I’m sure you’ll quickly grow to love it.
<ol>
<li><p>Yes. You probably have absolutely zero practical investing experience, opening your own fund is both impractical, unlikely, and unwise. Think about it like this: you’re entering a market with multibillion-dollar players with some of the smartest people in the world on their team as opponents. If you honestly think that as a pre-college kid you’re going to be sourcing new ideas or implementing current hedge strategies more efficiently than them, I got a bridge I’d like to sell you. Trust me. You think you know a lot. You feel empowered. The reality of it is you don’t at all, even the smartest kids going into undergrad are simply ill-prepared for the markets. Save your money (and that of any friends/family you convince to seed you, since that’s the actual purpose of a hedge fund, investing collective capital) and do something more practical. Get a job to earn cash for your freshman year. Save for sick furniture for your room. Buy a nice suit. Do something that’ll help you.</p></li>
<li><p>Nope, it isn’t what really matters. If it is for you, probably at the wrong school. To give you an answer though, look outside Stern. Good luck finding an attractive girl in Stern that isn’t a complete trip.</p></li>
<li><p>I answered this before, there’s a whole team of promoters who host stuff for the freshmen class of all universities in the city. They make 18+ events at dance halls, clubs, bars, and outdoor events. If you have a good fake (and by good, think GREAT), you can do 21+, but at your age, you’re not gonna know any of the good places, so it’d be almost useless. Just focus on going out with the first friends you develop, you’ll learn the places after.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>@ccbound
I’m really sorry to hear that. I feel like given the opportunity, it’s not something you should take for granted. It really sounds like you did some serious soul-searching, so good for you on that. Let me give you a bit of perspective though. I got into Wharton out of high school, it was complicated, but I got in. I turned it down since I’d already committed to Stern, but there hasn’t been a week where I haven’t thought about it and how different my experience may have been if I had made the other choice. Granted, I made a ****ing run of it here and have done well enough for myself that it’s not a regret, but in your case, and correct me if I’m wrong, you’re not comparing similar institutions, you’re looking at dropping a name brand in favor of an unknown in the field you want. It sounds like your parents may be willing to make a go of it. It sounds like you’d make a hell of a fit here. You may want to go for another visit, appeal the aid, play out your options a bit longer. I’d hate to see someone who’d probably be so good here go somewhere else and look back unhappily later.</p>
<p>@vballdad
Can’t agree more. You will want to poke your eyes out with a burning knife if you stay in Stern all the time. The classes will suck, the atmosphere will choke you, and the kids will annoy the hell out of you at times. Be sociable, learn to meet and interact with new people, and have a healthy balance. Otherwise you aren’t living a sustainable life and you’re also setting yourself up to be quite unhappy in the long run.</p>
<p>“You will want to poke your eyes out with a burning knife if you stay in Stern all the time”. </p>
<p>Wow, that sounds pretty bad. But I guess I already knew that, since this IS ultra competitive Stern we’re talking about! 
Are Sternies really that hard to get along with? I have a pretty relaxed personality and I’m the type to play hard and study hard. Is that kind of character considered unwelcomed for a Sternie? Perhaps I should modify my character while at Stern? </p>
<p>On another note, would I have to take a placement exam to place into Calc I (I know for Calc II and up, placement exams are required) or is the placement automatic? Better yet, will I have to prepare for any placement exams in general to take the core classes?</p>
<p>@hellodocks</p>
<p>A little insulted at your attempt to belittle my investing background but oh well. That’s not the point.</p>
<p>I was also wondering what exactly do you do at these internships at JPM and MS and GS, file papers? make copies? get coffee? or actually do some research on companies/markets? If you could layout a normal day at stern while having an internship that’d be awesome.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>What percentage of the people would you say move out of dorms during the 4 years?</p>
<p>Also, do a lot of people do internships during the school year? That sounds a bit impossible with the scattered classes and stuff. How does that work?</p>
<p>@pontair</p>
<p>Although I agree with Hellodocks that the odds are stacked against you in terms of setting up an effective hedge fund and you will likely be outmatched in business prowess, if you are confident in your abilities GO FOR IT. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, everyone who starts has one or two failed business ventures here or there. Just don’t invest too much money in it, START OUT SMALL, and don’t spend the majority of your time on the hedge fund. After all, taking risks is a big part of the business world. As I said before, don’t invest a boatload of money, just keep it down to Earth. If you really are motivated, just do it. Whether you make or lose money, you could gain valuable experience investing, dealing with capital, and market strategies, trading, networking, tendencies of clients, etc… </p>
<p>@hellodocks</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I know that you said you had a tough time freshman year. Would you say that the majority of people coming from outside NYC have a tough adjusting period? And what is really the hardest part in the beginning? (classes, adjusting, competition, etc…)</p></li>
<li><p>With the Stern curve, what happens to the people who end up getting C’s and get like 3.0 GPA’s or below? Is it a lot harder for them to get any type of offer after graduation?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>do most of the stern alumni work in NYC and the east coast?</p>
<p>@rainfall
It isn’t that people are that hard to get along with, but I’ve been repeating for 30 pages now how important work-life balance is. Without it you’ll go insane. If you’re in class for hours a day, add in a few Stern ECs, the homework, and then self-study, you’re looking at a HUGE chunk of your time spent in Stern, both subjectively and literally. It gets old, and you need to counter it or else you’ll become a very bland, unhappy person.</p>
<p>If you’re work hard play hard, you’re probably gonna succeed. Those are the happiest kids here. Too many are work hard and nothing else. They graduate miserably, half the time without the grades because they’ve been miserable the whole time and unproductive, and start work already unhappy. Some are play hard and don’t know how to work well enough. The best ones here go hard in everything they do and success just follows.</p>
<p>@pontair
Look, I meant it in no disparaging way at all. I am simply making a few observations, if you hate me for it, sorry, but ask for my opinion, and I’ll present it as honestly and directly as I can. That’s what I owe anyone. Read what I wrote again. If you can get past feeling hurt by a subjective bias you read between the lines, you’ll see that I made a couple objective comments and warned you based on my own experience or insight. You have every right to throw whatever I say out the window and ignore it completely if you don’t like it. It’s no skin off my back, but I’d hate to see someone else waste time and money in an easily avoidable mistake.</p>
<p>Internships with the bulge bracket don’t normally happen during the school-year, that’s considered ‘off-cycle.’ Summer analyst slots are what everyone chases. As an SA you’re integrated fully into the operations of whatever desk it is you’re placed on, so for trading, while you can’t execute any trades since you’re not licensed, you’re sitting at a desk with a trader listening and seeing the exact things he does. Same thing for Sales. </p>
<p>For banking, it may vary depending on how good or popular you are, but you’re simply dealing with whatever projects come your way. If you’re a rockstar, you’re modeling already. They don’t bring you in and pay you five figures as a college kid to carry food for them. There’s enough ***** work as it is without them making you do what an HR intern does.</p>
<p>@lullina
No idea. Probably around 50%, because if we have 21,000+ undergrads, there is no way we have enough housing for 15,000 upperclassmen.</p>
<p>A lot do off-cycle internships. Some for the money, some for the resume boost, some just for the experience so they can perform better in an SA gig. It definitely is a lot to juggle, last semester I slept 20-30 hours a week the whole time and it was definitely not fun.</p>
<p>@fireman
<ol>
<li>It all balances out because very few people get Cs in everything, so there aren’t that many people chilling near 3.0. i.e. I was a complete goof and got a C+ my freshman year but my cumulative isn’t that miserable, and look where I ended up not even a year after getting that grade.</li>
</ol>
<p>@norcal
Yeah, that’s safe to say. So much of the financial world revolves around NYC that it’s kind of inevitable, moreso given our location. Someone from UChicago might place with major firms in NYC or Chicago since they are both major hubs, but someone from NYC would probably not be looking at firms outside the city or be asked by a firm with multiple offices to fly out somewhere else. If it were to happen, most spread out to cities with a larger buy-side presence than others, i.e. Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte, or Houston.</p>
<p>Hi Hellodocks:</p>
<p>I really want to thank you very much for providing an insight into the life at Stern and related career opportunities. Your postings are much more helpful than any of NYU’s information sessions! I attended the Weekend at the Square for the admitted students couple of weeks back. While the event was very helpful for me to know more about NYU, I would not hesitate to say the information provided there would pale in comparison to the insights you provide in this thread. </p>
<p>Stern was on top of list until a few days. After comparing the costs and taking a peek into the future, I am having second thoughts now and may decide to go to Cornell University. My cost would be less by almost $60,000 to $80,000 if I go to Cornell. Also, Cornell may help me more in getting into a top MBA program than Stern. Do you think I am wrong in assuming this? I hear that Cornell is also a target school for IB placements/internships. I know Stern definitely has an edge here, but do you think the difference is huge? </p>
<p>John</p>
<p>Some would say that Cornell has even better placement than Stern given that it’s one of the Ivies, but a lot would say that Stern outdoes it. Stern in general falls below the Ivies, but Cornell really gets a lot of hate because it’s the easiest Ivy to get into, the easiest to transfer into, and the lowest mean applicant stats as well.</p>
<p>In my book, if you had the chance to go to an Ivy over Stern, your total cost of attendance would be $60-80,000 less, and you have equal or better recruiting, you really ought to go there. That’s contingent on AEM though, if you’re in another program there you’re going to have a harder time. AEM is a definite yes over Stern, the others, it depends.</p>
<p>For an M7 b-school, Cornell probably would help you more. The factors for admission are typically GPA, GMAT score, work experience, recommendations, and extracurriculars. Work experience is tied to how well you can place out of school, so the two are largely on par there, but the Ivy name of Cornell will probably work in your favor more than Stern would.</p>
<p>Long story short, go to Cornell in almost any scenario, especially if it’s AEM, hands down.</p>
<p>Hi hellodocks, thanks a lot for doing this. I’ve read every single one of your responses and I find them very useful. I am a 2015 admit, and I’m still deciding on what college to attend next year.</p>
<p>How would you describe the type of learning in the business classes at Stern? Is it basically lecture then tests, or are students given case studies to discuss, group assignments etc.? </p>
<p>The reason I ask is because the other school I am deciding on (the Business Honors Program at UT) describes their curriculum as being modeled off of the MBA curriculum (“smaller classes taught on the case-based model of instruction” is how they put it).</p>
<p>Are students given many group projects at Stern? Are oral presentations frequent among the Stern courses?</p>
<p>Also, I was wondering if students in Stern ever sign up to compete in case competitions, because I’m interested in that as an extracurricular in college</p>
<p>Thanks for your input</p>
<p>I know recruiters are always going to give a set of requirements they look for when hiring either for internships or full-time positions. Aside from connections, what’s really the key to getting the internships/jobs? Are there some important unwritten things you can do to help yourself, and does the hiring process really vary by company or is it generally similar for the industry?</p>
<p>fireman,</p>
<p>I remember reading hellodocks’ response in Post #7 of this thread about Wednesday seminars and conversations about networking afterwards that were beneficial. I am not sure if this is the same as the special initiative he was in as a URM (described in Post #12 of this thread). See if there are equivalent opportunities if you are not URM or if the Wednesday seminars are for everyone.</p>
<p>"Furthermore, I’m in a specific recruiting initiative that Goldman sponsors on campus that aims at discovering and promoting the success of historically underrepresented demographics in the financial services industry. It’s a bunch of preprofessional training (resume and cover letter workshops, mock interviews, recruiter-in-residence sessions, and corporate information seminars etc.) all hosted by the campus recruiting reps (often NYU alum) of various bulge bracket and Fortune 500 firms. Being in that has gotten me in more doors in the month it’s been active than I ever dreamed possible.</p>
<p>Hehe, I am jumping in here because I figure hellodocks is fast asleep since it is middle of the night or maybe early morning in Florence. (A filler until he comes back online.)</p>
<p>@evolving</p>
<p>I read post #7 before, but I’m more specifically inquiring into the steps you should take to get you specific internships/jobs, not just what to attend (seminars, superdays, etc…) I’m looking more for how recruiters and interviewers should be approached and what you should do when facing them one-on-one to put yourself in a better position to get the spot.</p>