<p>Thank you very much! I really appreciate the time you gave answering my questions. I wish you the best with your job search. Keep us updated!</p>
<p>Hey hellodocks, back again =). One question - is it really easy to get a low GPA at Stern? Like if you don’t study and stuff like that, you can just suddenly find yourself with a 2.5? Or is the environment there like it’s really easy to get a mediocre GPA (3.0-3.3 etc) but really hard to get above a 3.5?</p>
<p>I just applied ED undecided to CAS. Would you happen to know how hard or easy it is to transfer into Stern and when one should do so by? Also, I’m thinking about pursuing the Media and Technology Joint Minor or the specialization. What have you heard about those programs? Thanks so much for answering all of our questions!</p>
<p>@justspice
Yes, if you aren’t careful. I don’t know of anyone with a sub 3.0, but I’m going to guess that they do exist because logically, if you have kids with a high GPA, you have to have the ones with a low GPA, right? For the most part the culture predicates success; people are very competitive, everyone studies, everyone wants good grades to get good jobs. As long as you pull an average A- in every class, you’ll have a 3.7 which is golden. If you don’t stay on top of your classes, you’ll have trouble with your exams. It’s simple.</p>
<p>@cm
It’s hard to transfer into Stern, period. It’s harder also if you submit an internal transfer app after your first semester, because to them it looks like you applied to a different school in NYU that’s easier to get into just so you could get into Stern from the inside. I would recommend doing it after your first semester, if you still wanted to, just because you’d have a GPA for them to evaluate, some sort of rapport with faculty, and you should speak to the fact that your experience in one school proved to you how much you valued the university but how much you wanted something more germane to your interests, i.e. Stern rather than CAS.</p>
<p>You can minor in BEMT if you’re not in Stern, or if you are you can choose to either minor or do a ‘specialization,’ which only requires 12 credits and can still be listed on a resume but doesn’t impact your degree the same way a minor does. I’m in the BEMT minor; the non-Stern classes are incredibly easy from what I’ve experienced. I’m in one the foundational Stern course for the minor called Entertainment and Media Industries right now; it’s not that challenging, but you definitely have to either be able and willing to do research or already know your stuff.</p>
<p>Anyone else? =)</p>
<p>Can you get me into Stern? Just go into the admissions office and put my file on the accepted pile 
haha.</p>
<p>Okay, I have a serious question: are most Stern kids friendly and laid-back, or are they all about the work-study-networking? I don’t want to be in a hostile and overly-competitive environment…</p>
<p>It’s a dichotomy: many people are outgoing and friendly outside of the classroom or in a social setting, but academically, everyone wants to succeed. Once they’ve established their immediate network of friends they rely on for homework help, professor advice, professional society peers (DSP, BAP, AKPsi etc.), they tend not to venture beyond that immediate circle.</p>
<p>Hate to say it, but that’s particularly true within the Asian population (69% of Stern <em>__</em>). Sometimes you’ll love Stern for everything it offers, and there are definitely days where you’ll hate it, hate yourself for choosing it, and hate the people who make it as ridiculous as it is sometimes. It doesn’t matter how well you’re doing or how successful you are, there will be those days.</p>
<p>Hi again!
I know that there is a high ratio of men to women. But in your classes, is it apparent that there is a significantly small number of women?</p>
<p>I would say it isn’t that significant. It’s noticeable that there are more men, but I don’t think it’s worse than 60/40, at tops 70/30. Plus there are a million Asian kids (69%), so you begin to not notice anything except the overwhelming majority they represent.</p>
<p>Can you define “networking” exactly? Thanks.</p>
<p>Hey! I was just wondering what type of economics program NYU has? I know that there are two programs, one in CAS and another in Stern, but how similar are they? Does one give you significantly better job opportunities and internships? I know that Stern is a great business school, so does that mean that their economics program is going to be more business oriented? I’m not quite sure what I’d like to do as a career yet, heck, I’m not even sure if I want to do economics, but I know that I want to actually have good job opportunities when I graduate - would Stern give me this?</p>
<p>Oh, and what is considered a “good” GPA at Stern? In an earlier post you said that your GPA is on the border of what is considered the cut-off line for internships, and I was just wondering what that line is?</p>
<p>Networking, purely in my own words, is the process of developing and establishing relationships with academics, professionals, and peers within the industry you’re interested in entering or already work in. Whether that takes the form of cold emailing people in a division at a firm you want to work in, attending networking panels and putting in face-time with the campus recruiting reps from a specific firm, or attending an industry-wide function, networking is a critical skill that allows you to foster connections that you can capitalize upon to your profit later.</p>
<p>@3coolcats
Someone else asked the exact same question in another thread, so I’ll give you what I gave them. CAS is a liberal arts school. You’ll approach econ there as a science, learning formulas, theory, and exploring historical trends of the discipline. It’s a great education without a doubt, but if you want to work in the financial services industry, you’ll have a tough shot cracking the bulge bracket with a B.A. in econ.</p>
<p>Stern is the 4th-ranked (actually 5th this year, dropped one rank randomly) undergrad business program in the nation. Anything you study will be geared practically and applicably to business; models, theory, history . . . it all goes to practical business solutions for emerging business topics and issues. Our classes for any subject incorporate everything I mentioned CAS does, yet focuses on directly preparing students for a career in the upper echelons of the business world. Most kids here don’t take econ as a primary major but as a second. It’ll be a B.S., and it’ll come from a top-5 program with a tremendous alum network on Wall Street and in F500.</p>
<p>If you spend any time speaking with people in the financial services industry or on various online communities for such professionals, it quickly becomes clear that Stern is the most heavily favored school at NYU. And for good reason; apart from Tisch, I don’t believe there’s a single other undergrad <em>school</em> that is top-10. I emphasize school rather than program, because there’s a litany of top-10, even top-5 programs here: philosophy for example.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, one department within an entire school cannot carry the whole school to such a high ranking. Stern, however, places 4th/5th globally year after year. In short, it’s harder to break into the upper echelons of finance if you don’t come from a business school. Your chances improve drastically the higher-ranked your program is. CAS econ doesn’t compare to Stern in general, so many employers don’t view it in the same light. I don’t paint a dark picture altogether; there are many CAS alum on the Street. Stern is simply far more represented though.</p>
<p>Generally-speaking, a ‘cutoff’ GPA within the financial services industry is 3.5. I’m not happy that I don’t have that right now, but the way I look at it, as a student who’s forced to bear the full financial burden of a $250,000 education and works on- and off-campus while balancing 16-18 credits per semester and extracurriculars with leadership, I haven’t done that poorly. I’m also able to speak to that quite a bit in interviews, and one rep expressed how surprised she was to learn that. If a firm isn’t willing to even give me an interview because they don’t like that .1-.2 they feel is missing, so be it. I don’t believe I’ve yet experienced that however.</p>
<p>@3coolcats There are 2 econ programs for each school, business and theory tracks. I have yet to meet a Stern student who has majored in the theory track and that is because of the large amount of credits it requires. Like hellodocks said above, I have not seen anyone make their first major econ, so I would not really be able to legitimize the edge that Stern econ students have over CAS econ students.</p>
<p>However, CAS econ is also a top 10 program and I have a lot of friends in it. If I had to give me personal opinion I would say CAS econ students are more talented than Stern econ, and they have had no trouble landing jobs with big name companies as long as you do well.</p>
<p>As for networking…you better get used to it. It is more important that your GPA (as long as you aren’t like failing), but if the company has a cutoff, networking is your other “in” to an interview. Plus simply having the required GPA along without networking will not guarantee you an interview either, so network! It begins not only with academic and real life professionals, but with other students. I can’t tell you how many opportunities I’ve received because of referrals from my other friends.</p>
<p>I also have a quick question regarding Stern, but more about the social aspect of it. I understand that it’s a fairly typical “Asian” environment, but how often do you eat out in NYC? I know that there’s a lot of choices in NYC for food, but how practical is it for students to be eating outside? Do you often have time to be able to explore around NYC or is your time mostly centered around Stern?</p>
<p>It might seem random, but I don’t think anyone else has asked this yet. Thanks!</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply! I have another question too - like you, I’m going to be having the burden of paying for my education as well, and I am just wondering if you think it’s worth it? My parents are very against me going to a private school where I’ll have to pay $200,000 for an education but I just feel that I would be so much more successful and enjoy my college experience so much more somewhere like NYU than at a state flagship. Is the price worth it?</p>
<p>Oh, and someone told me that NYU gives good financial aid, but then people on this forum make it seem like their aid is terrible. How terrible/good would you say it is? My parents make a little less than $70,000 I think, so would I receive a decent amount? Thanks (:</p>
<p>@AoDay
“However, CAS econ is also a top 10 program and I have a lot of friends in it. If I had to give me personal opinion I would say CAS econ students are more talented than Stern econ, and they have had no trouble landing jobs with big name companies as long as you do well.”</p>
<p>That may be true, but I don’t know that one is more talented than the other. I feel like any kid who’s in a school that doesn’t rape you with 12 of your 16-18 credits each semester being in your major or core will do better overall than the kid who has to balance the Stern load. And I’ve literally listened to reps from bulge bracket firms speak to how they recruit from Stern. I remember one event the other week, it was pretty hilarious. The school captain, the head recruiter for NYU, ask if anyone in the crowd surrounding him was not in Stern. One girl next to me at the fringe of the mass raised her hand but went unnoticed. He went, “Okay, now that we have that out of the way, <em>chuckle</em> Stern is really what we’re looking for.” She looked mortified, clutched her folder, turned pale, and walked away quickly.</p>
<p>@GamBino
It isn’t a “fairly typical Asian environment,” it IS Asian. I eat out as often as I want. Sometimes I’ll stay on-campus for convenience; I can swipe in and get basically whatever type of food I want in whatever quantity I want. If I’m out with friends, however, we can go to some nice little place and drop a few dolla. =) Delivery is also clutch.</p>
<p>I feel like during freshman year you’ll have a ton of time to explore and familiarize yourself with your new surroundings, but by sophomore year you’re growing more aware of the opportunities around you and how to capitalize on them. For me, at least, it’s been a whirlwind of recruiting that’s consumed all my time. I barely manage to go to the gym 3x a week now, down from 6. It is what you make of it, however, so if exploring is your passion, you can definitely pursue it. In my case, however, it’s all been extracurriculars, work on-campus, corporate info sessions, interviews, and recruiting events. On top of 18 credits, that is. [-__-]</p>
<p>@3coolcats
No problem! Trust me, I got the exact same reaction from my parents: “Why on earth would you give up a free education at a good school like William and Mary/PSU Schreyer’s/any place I got a full or close-to-full academic or athletic scholarship? Why not take the opportunity to graduate debt-free and start a career and keep all you make? Why not, why this, why that?”</p>
<p>For me, it was a pretty straightforward decision. What good is it if you attend a Tier-2 school and graduate debt-free but earn half as much as you would as a Tier-1 grad? I think my father recognized my logic, and he said something during my really rough first year that I found really meaningful. He basically said he realized how important a viable career was to me and recognized how hard it was to take the challenge of a prestigious, demanding school, and tempered with his experience at a no-name, non-target, he appreciated the worth of what I chose to do. Coming from someone who didn’t congratulate me much growing up, I found that incredibly powerful and will probably treasure that for as long as I’m alive.</p>
<p>For aid, it is terrible. I’m an independent student paying for school on my own. They gave me 45%. It’s terrible. Two of the kids I live with get 0 aid whatsoever. Others get trifling amounts like $10-15,000 a year. Yeah, it’s great to get money for school, but stacking that against tuition that runs at $60+ yearly, it’s miserable.</p>
<p>When you say that you are from the “wrong part of Philadelphia” do you mean to say you are from a bad area/the hood? If so, how hard is it to make it out there and reach a place like Stern?</p>
<p>Thanks for answering again and I’m just going to say sorry right now too because I’m about to ask another question! I completely agree with what you said - about how paying $250,000 for an education isn’t as ridiculous of an amount when you think about the great jobs you will have available to you, but I’m just afraid that I’m NOT going to end up getting one of those jobs and will have to pay off my student loans on a $50,000 salary throughout my life. How were you so confident that you were going to be successful? I mean I know that I’ll be pretty successful in whatever I do, but there’s never a guarantee you know?</p>
<p>Thanks for your answer! It seems that Stern really gives students a hard time when it comes to balancing personal health and career aspirations, more so than a lot of other colleges. Would you say that this is true?</p>
<p>@Fireman.
Haha. I love when people are uncomfortable wording that question. Look, not everyone has the chance to make it out. Whether you get out 'cause you hustled on the corner long enough to flip enough llello or 'cause you put in enough work at school, you need to get out. I know kids who graduated high school with difficulty reading. Yeah, it’s hard for a lot.</p>
<p>@3coolcats
You kind of contradict yourself at the end a bit, but sure. Well, it all comes down to your own level of risk-aversion. You’ll learn in micro (wherever you go) and FFM (if you go here) about consumers’ and investors’ level of aversion to risk. I happen to be a fairly risk-taking person. I’m willing to take a shot at something because I can’t reasonably live with myself if I feel I failed to capitalize on an opportunity because I was frightened. Each of my greatest regrets stems from such a situation.</p>
<p>I’m busting my ass to make sure I don’t fail to capitalize. There are almost limitless opportunities here, so I’m doing my damn well best to make sure I utilize them.</p>
<p>@Gambino
What do you mean by health? If you mean fitness, you’ll find that’s the case at any top school. Most people are willing to let their body go if it means doing better in school, enjoying yourself more when you go out, or just not having to worry about personal fitness. For me, fitness is a release; it’s how I de-stress. I also love having a great body. Would I have gotten better grades last year if I gave up the hours I spent at the gym in favor of the books? Doubtless. Would I have been less happy with myself if I were a complete slob? Again, doubtless.</p>
<p>Regardless of where you go, any competitive or prestigious university will challenge you. You’ll lose sleep, you’ll be under a ton of stress, and to be frank, you can’t always make good choices. Knowing how to pick your battles is key. Some people are willing to sacrifice general health and well-being to get the best grades.</p>