I’m currently trying to decide whether or not to attend Stanford or Princeton as an econ major, potential international relations minor, for undergrad. I want to eventually work on wall street in NYC after graduation. But I also have some interest in entrepreneurship, although I don’t consider myself very techie, so if I did play a role in startups, it would be on the more management/marketing side. At the moment, I definitely see myself more on wall street than in a startup/tech company, although both are possibilities.
Knowing this, which school should I go to? In addition, how is Stanford’s presence on the east coast in terms of finance. I know how important the alumni network is, and I’m afraid most of that network for Stanford is on the west coast. Would I be at a disadvantage going to Stanford instead of Princeton when pursuing a Wall Street career in the east?
Also, do companies like Goldman or JP Morgan in NYC have interns from Stanford over the summer? Or is that uncommon? Stanford operates on a quarter system so school finishes later than when most banking internships start. Will these companies based in NYC actually go to Stanford to recruit?
Goldman recruits globally… which means everywhere. As do most big name financial firms. Stanford has a top ranked biz school and some of the brightest students in the world so the answer is obvious.
Don’t worry about network, recruiting , east coast finance job etc… Stanford and Princeton both pass muster on all of these and then some. Visit the schools, talk with the students and see which one you fit in better culturally. Both schools will get you to wall street… the key is where you will be most happy.
on a side note… Goldman was really into recruiting hard science folks – as in the proverbial rocket scientist and math types- going more quant finance. something to think about if you’re thinking about Goldman and JP Morgan.
Goldman, JPM, D.E. Shaw, Jane Street, Citadel, and others all recruit at Stanford.
Since you may want to take a shot at entrepreneurship, why not Stanford? Doesn’t need to be the first job, can be how you spend part of the 3 quarter of the first year and that summer. If it works out, great. If not, good that you tried.
A better major for wall street may be ORFE at Princeton or MS&E at Stanford. So, the real question is if you want to switch from econ to something else once you know more. A lot students go for CS because it is easier to find internships/jobs.