<p>Hi, I have been admitted to the marshall school of business and i was wondering what anyones thoughts are on the undergrad business program. i am planning on concentrating on finance. will i be able to manage a double major or minor in econ as well as study abroad all in 4 years? is it a good choice if i hope to work in so. cal after graduating? any comments from alumni, current students, etc. are very much appreciated! thanks</p>
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Hi, I have been admitted to the marshall school of business and i was wondering what anyones thoughts are on the undergrad business program. i am planning on concentrating on finance. will i be able to manage a double major or minor in econ as well as study abroad all in 4 years? is it a good choice if i hope to work in so. cal after graduating? any comments from alumni, current students, etc. are very much appreciated! thanks
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<p>If you plan on working in Southern California after graduation, there is no better school to attend in the nation. I think it will be tough to double major and study abroad in 4 years but it's doable. I honestly wouldn't recommend it because you would have to take summer classes to achieve this, and summer really should be reserved for the all important internship. </p>
<p>As for a major & minor + study abroad in 4 years is a lot more manageable. You would have to plan this over extensively with your counselor, but once it's set as long as you execute it shouldn't be a problem. </p>
<p>With all schools, your success and experience will be based on your effort. If you use all the resources such as mentoring, networking events, etc in addition to doing well in school, you'll likely get any finance job you desire. There are many things the Marshall school offers that even the best b-schools in the nation struggle to provide. Take advantage and you'll be on your way.</p>
<p>afterhours--thanks for your sharing your thoughts, very helpful! would you happen to know if a major in business and minor in econ would be to redundant?? also, if i wanted to do more than 1 concentration would that affect any of this?....also, in your response you said marshall offers alot that even the best b-schools can't, what would some of these things be?</p>
<p>The rankings speak for themselves I think. Top 10 Undergrad Business according to US News and World Report. Top 5 Undergraduate and Graduate Accounting (Leventhal) according to Public Accounting Report.</p>
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afterhours--thanks for your sharing your thoughts, very helpful! would you happen to know if a major in business and minor in econ would be to redundant?? also, if i wanted to do more than 1 concentration would that affect any of this?....also, in your response you said marshall offers alot that even the best b-schools can't, what would some of these things be?
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<p>I'm going to go off on a little tangent in trying to explain your questions to give you a better understanding of where I'm coming from. I'm going to assume at the very foundation that since you are majoring in finance you intend to work for a big firm such as Morgan Stanley, etc, since most finance students I know have this goal. </p>
<p>I think the biggest revelation you'll have once you enter b-school is that recruiters have a very narrow criteria in choosing ideal candidates and it is justified in many ways. The big name firms want kids that excel amongst their peers (gpa), have excellent social skills and confidence (leadership positions & interview), and a excellent foundation to work from (school reputation & internship experience). This makes sense, because these characteristics are what you would want to see from an employee. </p>
<p>If you want to work at a big name firm, do everything you can to be strong in each of those characteristics. Ideally a firm wants to see a balance among each of the three, but say you're not a great test taker so your gpa is slightly lower than you would want, then make it up in your interpersonal/leadership skills and internship experience. Personally I think recruiting is fairly simple and cut-and-dry. </p>
<p>So if your intention in double majoring is for career purposes, you should ask yourself, "Will the time and effort I have to put in in maintaining a high gpa in two majors be worth it especially when I can be devoting that time to an internship at a big firm or being the board member of a finance club?" It's a basic economic concept of opportunity cost which you will learn early on. </p>
<p>Now the unique thing about USC is they offer excellent resources beyond the "core 3" that I explained above. For example, there is a program called CAP that will be open to you in your junior/senior year. It is a mentoring program where prominent businessmen (usually alums) mentor students for an entire schoolyear. So you likely will have the opportunity to have a mentor who is in a high position at Merrill Lynch, etc. That is a tremendous advantage to have and most b-schools don't offer such a program or one as strong as USC's (I know NYU-Stern does; I'd imagine Wharton as well). </p>
<p>In addition you'll have access to many networking events and the vast Trojan alumni database. Meaning you can shoot an e-mail over to someone working at a big firm and ask him tips on interviewing or ask him if he/she will go out for a cup of coffee. That's the great thing about the Trojan family, they have an inexplicable desire to help fellow Trojans. </p>
<p>I always say this, but your college experience/success solely depends on what you make of it. If you leverage the core 3 + use all the resources unique to SC, you'll likely be the cream of the crop in the recruiters eyes. Rankings and reputation only get you so far, people forget that once they get in the recruiters door it's an entirely new slate.</p>
<p>thanks again afterhours...all of your comments have been especially insightful and helpful, greatly appreciated. when you mention the GPA in the core 3, just worried about this so called curve at Marshall, is it as bad as some make it out to be?</p>
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thanks again afterhours...all of your comments have been especially insightful and helpful, greatly appreciated. when you mention the GPA in the core 3, just worried about this so called curve at Marshall, is it as bad as some make it out to be?
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<p>First, I just wanted to say "core 3" is something I made up so don't walk around using that term because you'll probably draw blank stares ;). </p>
<p>Honestly, the Marshall Curve does suck, but I don't think it's as bad as people make it out to be when they say it's a "GPA killer". I guess it really depends on where you fall amongst your peers. If you're in the middle in terms of intelligence/motivation, it'll likely be a major thorn in your side because you'll always be stuck in that B-range since there are smarter kids getting the A's. </p>
<p>Basically this is how the curve works... the average of the class will always be set to a B- rather than a B like most schools. So let's say if you get a 90% in a class which would normally be a A-, but the average in the class is a 87% (set to B-), so rather than getting an A- you'll most likely end up with a B or a B+ depending on the standard deviation. Sucks? Yes, but as an optimist I think it makes you a stronger student in the end. I do feel sorry for those that want to go to grad school though (usually the people that despise the curve). </p>
<p>Like I said before, GPA is only one out of the core 3. Of course you do have to maintain at a certain level, but I know a lot of people with exceptional gpa's that struggle to get strong jobs because they lack the other two. I also know kids with 3.0's that have very strong work experience and leadership that get jobs at big name firms like Morgan Stanley. I just think WAY too many people put far too much emphasis on GPA and forget the other things. Trust me, I'm not a finance major and I have a pretty average GPA, yet I've had opportunities to work at large hedge funds, etc. because I believe I interview very well and have unique experiences. If I can do it, you can definitely do it. </p>
<p>I forgot to mention before, but I think your plan to study abroad is great. That's the one big regret I have lingering in me. You should study abroad and INTERN wherever you are, that would be a GREAT differentiating experience to put on your resume. I guarantee that'll be a hook during interviews and something recruiters would key in on and ask many questions about. </p>
<p>It's all a game, just learn how to play the game and you'll be fine.</p>
<p>great, thanks for all of the heads-up! i agree with you that the curve can only make me a stronger student and it will be my motiviation to "beat" the curve while succeeding in other areas of my life as well. can i ask you for your email for when i have anymore questions? FIGHT ON!</p>
<p>The curve at USC is nothing compared to the stress kids at Wharton endure. The curve is really only a problem in 3 classes you take...even then, if you study enough you can get past it.</p>
<p>The going abroad thing is a bit tricky because you have to actually be accepted to participate in the exchange program. A lot of people want to do it but there are only certain spots open. I know if you're active with GLOBUS, have hosted an exchange student on campus, or are focusing on international business you have a better shot than other applicants. A somewhat high GPA is needed as well (3.3 is probably high enough).</p>
<p>A lot of the classes at Marshall make you (for better, obviously) do presentations in a business fashion. A lot of people mess this stuff up and act really nervous so that affects their grade, usually, because if you can't carry yourself with confidence in the classroom, you probably can't in a business. So hopefully you're great at talking to an audience or else you're in trouble.</p>
<p>Finance as a major will require you to take two extra classes that most students don't take. Depending on the minor, you may also have to take 1 class in addition to your regular course load. Going abroad can hurt your progress because you may not be able to take necessary classes at a different college (i.e. GE's). Marshall wants you to take a minor and explore your options at USC, but make sure you're not putting yourself in a position where you'll end up stressed out, because you'll be stressed enough during finals.</p>
<p>thanks therevenge, great insight...just so i am prepared, what 3 classes are you refering to that are the main utilizers of the curve? thanks for the tips on study abroad and getting a minor...i am hoping my advisor will be able to help me work all of this out?? do you think it would be beneficial to have a minor in econ?</p>
<p>You could minor in econ if you are interested in it. I'm doing music industry, which is more like a business minor since it is more business oriented than music. Knowing econ may or may not help you in business, really you should ask your advisor cuz I'm just a third year student anyway.</p>
<p>As for the three classes that "utilize" the curve, they're Organizational Behavior (you take it freshman year), Business Stats (open book, so its easy to get B's and above on the tests), and Operations Management (also open book). I actually had a pretty tough professor for Business Stats (Fygenson) so the whole open book thing didn't matter since his tests were pretty hard.</p>
<p>The two classes I was referring to with the Finance major (more like concentration) were BUAD-350/351 (normal students take 350 or 351, finance kids take both, at least that's what it says on the Finance site.) and the finance concentration requires five courses instead of four like most of the other concentrations. Accounting students have to take extra classes too. You can always do summer school if you don't think you're caught up, but it is expensive (about $4,000 per class).</p>
<p>I guess overall you shouldn't be too worried about this stuff since you can bring all this up at orientation.</p>
<p>I've been following this thread, and I would like to thank thisrevenge and afterhours for their helpful and insightful posts. This is the reason why this site is so helpful.</p>
<p>i would have to agree with fjm_001 , thank you very much guys!</p>