I’ve been accepted to Northwestern University’s economics major and Cornell ILR. I was wondering which school would be better for a financial career? I know that NU’s econ is really strong and that I will have a large possibility of landing a job in Chicago. However, even though I will be attending Cornell as an industrial labor relations major, I have heard of many people from ILR breaking into ibanking and financial careers. In addition, I know that Cornell’s Ivy league brand name will help and that it is a target school for most finance firms. But the only concern that is holding me back is that I will be majoring as an Industrial Labor Relations major. I was wondering how hard/likely/possible it is to break into finance through ILR. Will (Cornell ILR+Ivy League Brand Name)>Northwestern Econ? Thanks!
Haven’t you already declared your decision by this point?
@Saugus no unfortunately I have not…
How? Weren’t you supposed to declare by May 1st?..
I think he is a transfer student.
Finance firms don’t discriminate against ILR majors and the grades are inflated. I was a CAS econ major at Cornell and the courses were much more difficult and harshly graded than ILR. (I took several ILR econ courses.)
@Saugus Would you say that it would be an uphill battle for me to break into finance by majoring in a nonquantitative major such as ILR? Will it be difficult to maintain at least a 3.5+?
ILR has excellent placement but you need excellent grades. Relative grade inflation compared to other cornell colleges will help. Northwestern ECON is very competitive so will be harder to get high grades at but even if you’re average your odds are good. Basically when it comes to placement both are excellent and they’re equal in terms of “signalling”.
Northwestern Econ’s curriculum is very different from Cornell’s ILR though. Which do you want to study?
@MYOS1634 how excellent will my grades have to be at ILR for finance? Won’t I be at a disadvantage compared to someone from say AEM or econ? As I said in the original post I’d rather study in a quantitative major because it would be considered the more “traditional” path for a career in finance. However, although I will be in a nonquantitative major at Cornell, I thought Cornell’s ivy title and such would help immensely in the long run.
For all intents and purposes, Northwestern and Cornell are in the same group in terms of prestige. Sounds like you like Northwestern best, so go there.
IMO you should make your decision by reviewing the respective curricula and course requirements.
Look at what you are going to have to take over the next two years, how much leeway you will have to take electives, where you can best achieve your academic objectives.
Then consider where you would prefer to be; which environment might you best thrive. Academically but also socially and extracurricularly.
“Finance” is a broad field. The elite areas of finance, which is what most people have in mind, are very selective. You might have the right grades, the right school, but still not get the type of offer you want. Because maybe you don’t stand out enough, maybe you don’t have the personality they want, maybe there are some other people that just “fit” better.
I would hate to see you make your whole decision based on accessing an industry you may never enter. I suggest look more to the “concrete” things actually offered to you by the respective schools themselves, for the time you will actually be at those schools. Not some hypothetical subsequent destination that neither school actually provides to you.
@saugus Did you decide to pursue the finance area?