<p>As a prospective transfer student, I'm very interested in Vanderbilt, specifically the economics department. What are your perceptions of it and do you believe it's a great program (ie good professors, big name recruiters, etc.)?</p>
<p>Yes, the economics department is stellar. The kids who finish there get great jobs with all the strong firms in NY or Chicago. You will be fine - it’s their “signature” major in A & S. Plus, you will enjoy being in Nashville at a fabulous school. Good luck!</p>
<p>I appreciate the insight.</p>
<p>Econ program is very hit or miss. Not much complex math, which is nice. But there are a ton of crazy boring econ classes. Getting into the good classes as a Sophomore and Junior might be a little difficult. Even as a Senior, you might not get some of the econ courses you want, namely Sports Econ.</p>
<p>In terms of jobs, it really depends on what industry you are trying to get into. To be honest, if you’re looking into finance, you should probably look elsewhere because Vandy’s peer schools, like Emory and Duke, do a better job in terms of attracting recruiters and placing students in the finance industry.</p>
<p>^Where do most vandy econ majors generally end up?</p>
<p>To clarify the previous post, its very possible to avoid math in your economics classes by taking the right classes with the right professors. But there are classes where math is key that are available if that’s your thing. But as a whole, the program isn’t as quantitative as programs at other top schools. Econometrics is not required for the major, unlike other top schools. And as a result, Vanderbilt Economics in general doesn’t send very many kids to PhD Programs, where quantitative aspect of Economics is key. If you’re at Vanderbilt and want to get noticed by employers, a double major in Economics and Math could help.</p>
<p>S did a double major with Economics and Mathematics and I agree it was helpful in his pre-recession job placement early in his senior year.</p>
<p>Do reputable financial institutions recruit from VU (ie Goldman, Merrill Lynch, Citi, etc.)?</p>
<p>Many of the most prominent financial firms recruit at Vandy, but not always for the most sought after jobs i.e. investment banking. I know Citi, Merrill and Goldman all recruit here for wealth management, but those internships/jobs are very competitive. For instance, 100+ kids applied for the Goldman wealth management internship last year and only two received offers. One kid was on the basketball team and the other one’s internship boss was roommates at Vandy with the head recruiter from Goldman. Pretty sure they are both econ majors actually.</p>
<p>I have another question: Why is Vanderbilt not considered a target school for IB? It’s the 17th ranked school in the country (according to US News) and has one of the most intelligent student bodies in the world. Not to mention, the econ department was ranked 26th in the country according to [Rankings</a> at IDEAS: Economics Departments](<a href=“http://ideas.repec.org/top/top.econdept.html]Rankings”>Economics rankings: Economics Departments | IDEAS/RePEc). Does anyone care to elaborate on this?</p>
<p>Econ is the most popular major, but I wouldn’t call it “signature” by any means. I don’t think there’s much that’s really exceptional about it.</p>
<p>I am an econ major and I would agree that I wouldn’t place it in the category of ‘exceptional’. I have actually found a lot of the teachers very difficult to work with and not helpful (there are exceptions obviously). There definitely is less of a math focus at Vandy in the econ department than other top schools. Its very easy to get by with mediocore math skills. </p>
<p>I agree with what CRS said and completelyyyy disagree with what swimmer said. It is extremely difficult to get a top job (IB, S&T) out of vandy in a city like NYC or Chicago. When I say extremely difficult, I mean I only know a handful of us who were able to obtain jobs like that (I can think of maybe 9). And some/probably most are through connections. </p>
<p>Obviously, if you work hard and network hard, have a great GPA and internships its possible to land an awesome job. But peer schools to Vandy have muchhhhh better recruiting and placement. </p>
<p>If you want to know more about finance recruiting at Vandy PM me…(I’m very involved in the process)</p>
<p>What about consulting? Do firms like McKinsey heavily recruit Vandy students?</p>
<p>McKinsey doesn’t recruit on campus. BCG and Bain both recruit and while it’s very, and trust me I mean VERY, competitive they’re obviously both great places to work for. </p>
<p>BofA, Goldman, Blackrock, Citi, UBS, Raymond James and JPMorgan all recruit as well. Several Vandy students work at these institutions every summer in between their Junior and Senior year in variety of capacities (I-Banking, Sales and Trading, Quant, Private Wealth, etc.), and a lot of people get job offers.</p>
<p>Do those firms recruit students for certain parts of the country? I’m from Chicago and would like to work in Chicago after I graduate; would that be an issue with recruiters (if I end up going to Vandy)?</p>
<p>I would say that Vandy gets much more companies coming to recruit from Chicago than NYC. </p>
<p>Also, DCTOVANDY, I’m not sure what you consider to be ‘a lot of people getting job offers’ but I work at the career center and know exact numbers. I definitely would not say it is a lot in any regard, especially for a top 20 school. Granted, much less kids at Vandy are interested in going into finance in the first place (esp compared to peer schools). I would say it would be an extreme misconception to think that a lot of Vandy grads get offers from these places (bulge brackets etc). And if you take out the number of kids who had very close ties to some of the higher up wall street companies, the number of kids going into finance is much smaller. </p>
<p>Also, to say that UBS comes to campus would also be wrong. They come for an HR position (which is currently listed). They do not actively recruit for S&T or IB, however, not impossible to find get an interview if you know someone. I do not know of anyone going to JPM for the record… I don’t even know anyone who had a first round/superday there. I do not mean to be rude, but its important for prospective students who are interested in finance to understand the reality of the situation. If I knew the truth about finance recruiting at Vandy, I may have reconsidered, but I had people telling me all the top firms recruit (not true). </p>
<p>Bain and BCG come to campus for full time recruiting. however, only a few (as in 1 or 2) positions are filled.</p>
<p>Do most Vandy econ majors pursue intern positions in consulting?</p>
<p>Yes, I think consulting is pretty popular on campus. I would even say its more popular than the finance route. </p>
<p>Econ majors pursue lots of different paths in my experience. One of my friends was an econ major, but took the necessary premed requirements and now is in med school (Got into Vandy med). I know people going to law school, consulting, banking, and other random things from Econ. So its definitely a versatile major. But like any career path, your major is not going to force you into a certain career (mainly speaking to A&S majors).</p>
<p>For econ majors looking to break into IB, would an econ/financial economics minor be a better combination than an econ/math double major, or vice-versa?</p>
<p>Do McKinsey, Bain, and BCG recruit Vandy undergrads?</p>