Should I transfer to NYU as an Economics major or stay at Fordham University as a Finance major?

Transfer Students
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REALLY URGENT AND I REALLY DO APPRECIATE YOUR HELP AND INPUT!! :

I’m currently studying finance at Fordham University but I haven’t really liked it much during my time here and I also want to get my degree from a more prestigious university, so I applied for a transfer and was accepted into NYU. But the thing is that I was accepted as an Economics major at CAS, not as a finance major at Stern. I really love NYU and it has always been one of my favorite schools, but I’m worried/anxious about transferring in as an economics major. I asked a few family members, friends, people in the financial services industry, real estate industry, and a friend who works as a strategy consultant at Accenture Consulting, (And also did an online search), and they all mainly said that a finance degree is better and has more weight than an economics degree for what I plan to do in the future, after graduation…–>

[After graduation I’m interested in going into either commercial real estate (i.e. CBRE, Starwood Capital Group, Cushman Wakefield, acquisitions analyst) or Management Consulting (i.e. Accenture, Deloitte Consulting, McKinsey). I’m also considering Investment Banking but commercial real estate/management consulting has a slight edge over banking for me. Nonetheless, banking is still in the mix]

So I’m essentially torn between the school and the major. NYU is the better school, more globally recognized, more prestigious, but I would have to change my major from finance to economics, which gives me an anxious feeling since I’d be switching majors halfway through college and also because many people have been telling me that finance is better for my plans after graduation. And then, Fordham has not really been my favorite, but I’d still be a finance major and I would still be able to graduate on time, but I might have to force myself through the remaining 3 semesters because as I said, Fordham hasn’t really been my favorite or best experience even though I am studying as the major I want–finance major (I’m suppose to graduate in Spring 2018 at Fordham, but if I transferred I would likely have to graduate one semester later based on how I planned out my schedule. Worst case scenario it would be 2 semesters later at Spring 2019, but I’m pretty certain that it should be no more than 1 semester later at Fall 2018 if I transferred to NYU as an econ major).

*And also, what is your opinion on breaking into either commercial real estate, financial services, management consulting as an economics major vs a finance major? *

***Here are some other important things to consider:

-My GPA right now at Fordham as a finance major is a 3.52/4.00…At NYU, it would “reset” since I will be transferring, and since I will be switching to an economics major. I would have to take the economics core classes, and some NYU CAS core classes, as well as 3 economics electives. I’d also have to take math for economics 1 and math for economics 2. The first which I hear is like calculus 1 with some calculus 2 And the second I hear is like calculus 2 with some calculus 3 and linear algebra. At Fordham I would have to take 3 more liberal arts classes (i.e. English literature class, fine arts class, religion class) and the remaining would be finance classes (i.e. portfolio management, corporate financial policy, financial modeling, etc).

-I finished 2.5 years so far. [going into second semester of junior year this spring 2017] I have 3 more semesters at Fordham. And I would likely have 4 more semesters at NYU (1 more extra semester, as I mentioned above)

-NYU is also more expensive than Fordham. However, I’ve been told and I feel that NYU brand name. alumni, and school recognition is worth it and the professors are also much better than Fordham. Any thoughts on this?

-I don’t have a summer internship lined up yet for this summer. If I stay at Fordham, this would be my last summer and since it’s already spring semester in January, I don’t know if I will be able to find an internship at a large firm–probably if I find one it would be middle market or boutique firm. If I go to NYU, I’d have one more summer since I’d graduate one semester later in the fall of 2018 instead of spring 2018.

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I know that Stern has great recruiting but how does NYU CAS recruiting compare to Fordham? Also I’ve heard NYU is really stingy with transfer aid so I imagine it’s going to be quite a bit more expensive to attend there?

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What don’t you like about Fordham? It seem all of the "advisers’ in your life are steering you to stay there. What is Fordham’s recruiting like for finance? If NYU is more expensive and you have to stay past the 4 year mark, that’s even more expense. Are you looking to go to grad school or get a job after you graduate?

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Nyu stern student here… will be honest most CAS Econ students I’ve met are your typical econ student (often citing their parent’s desires and/or not knowing what else to do). Often econ students I’ve spoken with lack clarity in their academic/professional pursuits often translates into not having a passion for working in business upon graduation which often leaves them with less “success” post-grad. NYU Econ though is a well known, topped ranked program and will prepare you academically for many top tier jobs.

For a driven econ student it is totally possible to tap all of the recruiters that come to nyu for stern as an econ student. All of the Stern clubs are also open to nyu cas students so you can also network and gain extra-curricular business experience.

Remember that you don’t need an undergraduate professional degree for most jobs it sounds like you may want to have. All you need is drive and to make the best of whatever situation you are in (i.e. get a high gpa).

As a case study… I have a friend (a junior) who is an econ major in CAS and just got recruited for Goldman Sachs. She is on the leadership team of a stern club and utilizes her more liberal arts background to her benefit.

My suggestion: if you truly dislike Fordham and you believe the NYU Econ move is to your benefit, then make the move. Don’t make the move on prestige alone. It sounds like you are motivated and driven considering your exploration of all your options (applying as a transfer). Remember the grass is always greener and with city schools that are already pretty lonely just remember how much harder being a transfer will make it.

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^ good advice from @deller123

If I were you, I would transfer to NYU.

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@Fishnlines29 I guess the main thing I don’t like about Fordham (it may seem silly) is that it’s not really considered a prestigious school or a nationally/globally recognized school. It was never my top choice out of high school. It was suppose to be a “Safety school” and I promised myself that I would transfer into a better finance program at a top tier school. And I did get into my target school (NYU) but not the finance program at stern. And the fact that many companies choose to go elsewhere before coming to fordham is another issue I have. We are left with middle market firms, or lower tier finance firms like Legg Mason, Franklin Templeton, or the Big 4 Accounting firms or firms that recruit for their risk department. Never anything in managment consulting, commerical real estate, or banking which is what I wish to break into. And the few major financial firms that have been coming here (i.e. JP Morgan) only recruit for their risk, audit, or asset management departments which don’t really interest me. I feel that NYU, since it’s more of a “brand name” and prestigious school, has more opportunities for undergrads after graduation.

And since you brought up grad school…Grad school (MBA) is 50-50 for me right now. It depends where I am in my career in the years to come. If I’m making good money (six figures plus), and that amount is expected to increase, and I am happy, then I don’t see a need to go to grad school. If I choose to change career paths or want an increase in salary then I may decide to go get my MBA at a top business school.

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@DenNuggs4life I don’t know, I think you’re getting all caught up in this prestige thing. And quite frankly, Fordham is a top 60 school out of 5,000+ colleges/universities in the country, so as far as prestige, you already are in a prestigious school. It’s not all about rankings either. Honestly, I don’t think it matters as much where you are as how you spend your time there - make the most of it, take advantage of all the resources already available to you!

It’s about you and your goals and your ‘drive’. I think your gut is telling you to focus on your desired major. I say do that - keep your finance major at Fordham. Work on improving your GPA.

You may decide to go to grad school or you may decide to apply for a job. Either way, know that you are not limited to applying for jobs at companies that recruit at your school.

You are young, you will have options. Wherever you end up, kick -ss there. Work hard. Always be respectful of others. Show initiative. If you do these things, you will advance. You may change companies several times as you advance in your career. If you put in your best effort, good things will come!

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How much more would NYU cost of? Where would that money come from?

1 Like
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If you want to go into IB or consulting, I would transfer to NYU because prestige does matter in those lines of work. I also disagree with finance is more relevant than economics. I see finance as an easier major (more practical) and econ is more theoretical. I would combine both econ and math if you can. If I see an applicant with finance major I would expect him/her to have higher GPA than econ/math or STEM.

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Check out both school’s career center placement reports and make a comparison.

My kid was a graduate of Cornell A&S with math/econ double majors. There was no differentiation in recruitment between AEM (UG business school) and CAS. She is working in IB.