<p>M&A=mergers and acquisitions
S&T=sales and trading</p>
<p>As for math it can range from nothing to a lot. If you are an equities trader, its more important to know how to do simple arithmetic and lightening fast speeds than to know calc. However if you are in fixed income trading in say interest rate and bond valuations you deifnately will require high levels of math. And if you apply for a quant position in say options valuation you will need a LOT of math as in PhD level guys are the heads. Montecarlo etc. Lots of hard stuff there.</p>
<p>Enjoying being a college student? Nah, if you're going to work the rest of your life, might as well get started!</p>
<p>I would wager that maintaining solid grades and exploring your extracurricular interests (assuming you have them) is sufficient to prepare you for your future career. You don't have to have an investment banking specific focus throughout college in order to be highly marketable once you graduate.</p>
<p>How one VP (be wary, VP's are given like candy at banks) got her job, as told to a couple students at my college, including myself:</p>
<p>(1) knew she wanted to be in i-banking
(2) summer of sophmore year, begged a temp agency to find her a job in financial services, got placement in a bank, did well
(3) summer of junior year, got an i-bank internship (using credibility from bank job)
(4) after graduation, interviewed, messed first interview up, later hired by another firm</p>
<p>started job, due to special circumstances (passport) was able to be part of a new operation in Europe, later promoted in that operation</p>
<p>Apparently, arts and sciences majors outperform in long term over pure business people, making them attractive . . . but the reason business majors get hired is because they know the material, helps dramatically in interviews</p>
<p>Also, colleges are sometimes competitive in terms of the number of "their" people at a firm, you can try asking alums for help/advice, and they may oblige</p>
<p>Another area under "i-banking" (to add to the earlier Wikipedia post) might be the following:
Personal Finance:
Manage the accounts and assets of individuals, optimizing for returns and tax purposes. Can covers everything from the wealthy ($20 million +) to mass wealthy ($1 million +).</p>