<p>For the prospective I-bankers at NU; is it difficult to land a SA/FT position with a BB/MM firm without MMSS or a Kellogg certificate (financial economics). What if you're simply an econ major or econ major/math minor/major; would it be difficult to distinguish yourself since you're technically not among the "elite" at NU? Thanks.</p>
<p>Not terribly difficult. Kellogg/MMSS certainly has the fast track to interviews, but if you do Econ/Math whatever and get above say, a 3.7 (depending on the firm), you’ll probably have a decent shot at the top tier firms. 3.5 will be enough for most others. Get involved with ISBE/other finance clubs.</p>
<p>But also, dont be the dbag freshman that walks in wanting to do IBanking from day 1. Explore your options/other passions, its not always about the $$.</p>
<p>^I’m actually a prospective transfer and would be an incoming sophomore. I figured it’s close to impossible to get into MMSS or the Kellogg certification programs as a transfer.</p>
<p>^You can’t do MMSS, but the Certificate program is very possible. I have a sophomore transfer friend who is now in the program as a junior.</p>
<p>If you can’t fulfill the requirements by junior year, you can still aim for senior year.</p>
<p>I disagree w/ suppasonic’s statement. The number of interview slots for i-banking is so few that demand majorly outweighs supply. I’ve seen 3.8-4.0 MMSS/Kellogg students not get many interviews, so a 3.7 or a 3.5 doesn’t put you in the decent-shot range for anything.</p>
<p>^Are you referring to BB firms or IB in general?</p>
<p>IB in general.</p>
<p>I guess I should have qualified it a bit by making it seem easier than it is. To get BB, you definitely need a stellar GPA and great work/extracurricular experience. But MMSS/Kellogg is by no means necessary. A high GPA will get you interviews studying Econ/Math if you have good work exp. to back it up. It might not be “a lot” but very very possible.</p>