Deciding a Major at McCombs

Colleges and Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>So in looking over possible choices for a major at UT Austin McCombs, I’ve pretty much decided that I want to study finance. I’m most interested in Investment Banking/ a corporate finance job of some sort but I want to keep my options as open as possible after graduating. I do plan on pursuing an MBA in the future.
My question is, how can I maximize my four years at McCombs? I was looking at first year salary statistics and it appears that a combination of BHP + a BBA degree has the highest pay, with ERB (Engineering Route to Business)/ Finance tied at second. I haven’t heard much about ERB, but would it be appealing to recruiters? </p>

<p>The options I’m considering are as follow:
1. BHP + BBA (Finance BBA or ERB BBA)
2. ERB alone- Either a Finance & Accounting business block or a Quantitative Finance (more in depth finance) business block along with a Computer Engineering block (out of Electrical, Mechanical, Computer, and Operational Engineering)
3. Finance alone
OR
Apply to the Cockrell School of Engineering and do either Electrical/ Computer Engineering; however I am much more interested in the business side of things.</p>

<p>Which one of these seems like the best option? I haven’t been accepted to BHP so I will be reapplying as a freshman, but I have been accepted to McCombs.</p>

<p>Thanks!!</p>

2

<p>As much as I like to joke about doubling with finance (since bhp + finance is the highest grossing income combo), I do think that if you choose your concentration/career solely based on salary and not what interests you, you will be very unhappy.</p>

<p>With that said, if Finance is the specialty that interests you, go for it! But don’t include bhp into the mix until you actually get in. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Congrats. First, don’t pay attention to the salary statistics. Banking 1st yr analysts all in compensation is double that. Second, BHP + finance + FAP will give you the best shot at doing banking after school. No need to do ERB or Cockrell, since you want to do IB. A background in engineering really only helps if you want to do S&T/HFs. Have fun.</p>

4

<p>Thanks!! Just wanted to make sure going with finance would be okay :)</p>