Harvard Econ Majors: Do they make it to Wall Street?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Hi, I will be attending Harvard next fall (class of 2015) and am thinking about what concentration I'd like to study. </p>

<p>I am thinking about Biomedical Engineering or Econ. For my future plans, I would either like to go to med school or try to break onto an investment bank on Wall Street.</p>

<p>I heard wall street sometimes likes to recruit engineers for their analytical skills? On the other hand, when I looked at the majority of people who were recruited, they were finance/econ majors. A lot of these banks do recruit finance/econ majors but I feel like since there are so many econ majors (especially at harvard), does this make it harder for some students to break into the field because of the competition?</p>

<p>Also, if you have any engineering friends or just knowledge about the grading in engineering, is it probably easier to get a higher GPA with an econ major as compared to an engineering major? GPA, I've heard is one of the important factors for landing a Summer analyst internship.</p>

<p>I am aware that Econ is the largest major at Harvard and I was wondering if this leads to an increase in the competitiveness/difficulty of maintaining a good GPA (~3.7+)? I friend once told me that the larger class sizes for intro Econ classes was beneficial (I assume because more people were able to get A's?)</p>

<p>Appreciate any and all opinions/info from current Harvard students! :)</p>

2

<p>Hey, congratulations on your acceptance. Those are 2 interesting and, in my opinion, diametrically opposed concentrations that you are considering. If your primary motivation is making money, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, econ>wall st. may be the most efficient route. Biomedical engineering can be lucrative, to be sure, but ultimately it’s a career path that is more focused on ‘helping others’ (not to sound trite).
I’m not a current H student so take my advice for what it’s worth, but I have friends working in finance and investments and honestly, I don’t think they succeed because of some great skill in analysis. Getting money under management is they key to success. Ivy grads tend to do well at this because they tend to be connected to very wealthy people. </p>

<p>Again, I believe in capitalism and making money and I’m not disparaging wealth and connections, but if that is your long term goal - cut to the chase and do econ (and make some rich friends)</p>

3

<p>

^if you wish to do this, join 'poon. Probably business.</p>

<p>Applied math: economics is a more quantitative approach to economics, if that’s what you’re looking for.</p>