Questions about Stern and NYU in general

As an admitted student, I have some questions about Stern and NYU. If anyone could help answer even some of these , I’d appreciate it!

  1. What are some useful resources at NYU that I should use?
  2. Are there any courses/professors to avoid at all costs?
  3. Do you have any courses/professors you recommend experiencing?
  4. For any finance majors out there, how do you feel about it so far? Can you give me a general ideal of what finance majors end up doing aside from I-banking?
  5. How competitive/cut throat are the people at Stern? Is the curve really as bad as people make it out to be?
  6. What clubs/programs should I join at NYU and invest my time in (would love input on both stern specific clubs and clubs outside of stern)?
  7. What do you think about study abroad. Is there a specific place/time you would recommend doing so?
  8. Any extra tips about Stern or NYU in general.

What are you majoring or thinking about majoring in? (helps with 2, 3, 5)

  1. Get used to Wasserman (NYU's center for career placement). This is physically located in Palladium Res. Hall which you can go to and check out a bunch of handouts and events for recruiting, resume, and interview development. The online portal has access to all off the job listings, there won't be many for underclassmen, but you can filter to take a look. One thing about Stern is that kids intern way earlier than most schools because of ease of accessibility so when it comes to recruiting your Jr. year it can become pretty competitive (leads into 4 partially). Stern Clubs and Orgs are also a great resource but that can go into 5.
  2. Ratemyprofessors is pretty handy and accurate. Some professors to avoid in my experience were Ajay Maindiratta for Fin. Acctg and Halina Frydman for Statistics.
  3. Without info on what your interests are, some of my favorite courses were Strategic Analysis w/ Sonia Marciano, Advanced Corporate Finance w/ Samuel Lee, Casing Methods: Data Analysis & Presentation, and Investment Banking w/ Charles Murphy (which everyone tries to get into), InfoTech w/ Anindya Ghose.
  4. There is definitely a much more competitive atmosphere at Stern than other business schools. I think this is attributed to the curve, a higher prevalence of part time internships during the year, nature of wall street culture that gets disseminated down to recruitment and undergrads, and the quality of the student body. The Stern curve and its applicability to a course is more dependent on the professor rather than a strict enforceability. Some students choose to use their internships to show off, but The curve really depends on the professor as some will adhere to it strictly. Below is a pretty good article that sums up the "Stern Curve"

https://thegouldstandard.com/2015/11/03/the-stern-curve/

  1. Stern Clubs are pretty focused on your career and major aspirations so without info on your interest, it'd be hard to direct you but you can find them all below:

http://www.stern.nyu.edu/programs-admissions/undergraduate/dynamic-community/student-clubs-orgs-govt

  1. I didn't get a chance to study abroad so can't help you here.
  2. Move out of dorms asap if your parents are willing to act as guarantors. Room & Board is $17,578 for 2016-17 and you typically share a bedroom with a roommate for 9 months = $1,953/month. If after your freshman year you can find a few friends to rent an apartment with then you can find a decent 2 or 3 bed for $1300-$1500/person with each person getting their own private room. This also forces you to stay during the summer since most signings are going to be a 12 month lease, but you could get an internship. Either way you're effectively paying $15,600-$18,000 for 12 months instead of $17,578 for 9 months for a lot more value.