I want to go into Finance and I was wondering which option would be better for me. I have these two choices right now. I know an Econ Degree from UChicago or Harvard is preferred by many Financial Firms but how does an Economics Degree from UMICH compare?
Is it better to get an Economics Degree from UMICH than to get an actual Finance Degree from Northeastern? I didn’t get into Ross so I am deciding now on which school to choose. I do have a Transfer Option to Cornell Dyson but in the case that it doesn’t work out I want to know which of these two options would be better for me to graduate with.
I also just want to clarify that I cannot internally transfer into Ross. I am not allowed to apply again because I already applied for their program and did not get in.
My first year in college will definitely be at either Michigan for Econ or at NEU for Finance. Community College is not an option due to personal reasons. I am very confused on what to do now because I definitely want to transfer to Dyson (100% for sure) but in the case that something goes wrong, I am wondering which of the two would be better for me to graduate with. By the way, does it even matter where I go my first year if I do end up graduating from Dyson?
@TomSrOfBoston
I actually had to deposit at NEU by May 1 and was admitted off of the waitlist at UMICH recently so thus had to make two deposits to reserve my seat. Do you agree that I should definitely consider the transfer option to Dyson? Also, in the case that I am “stuck” at UMICH for four years instead of the one year I anticipate on, would it be more appealing to top financial firms if I graduated with an Econ degree from UMICH than a Finance Degree from Northeastern? Why do you recommend UMICH?
I also just wanted to ask whether Econ from LSA is the next best option besides an actual Finance Degree from Ross. I think some other options are Mathematics and Statistics from LSA but I don’t know how they compare to Economics in terms of career outlook and how appealing they are to top financial firms.
First of all, look up the freshman curricula for your respective majors at NEU and UMich, compare them to what freshmen at Dyson take, and see where you can get the better match in terms of transfer credit. Possibly call someone at Dyson to confirm which program would give you better transfer credit.
As to the “being stuck” question… the experiences are very different. Do you want to spend five years doing a more specialized program and doing co-ops? Or do you want a more purely academic foundation? IMHO if you want to hit the ground running in the workforce, go to NU; if you want to go to grad school, go to Michigan.
A UMich Econ degree is well-respected. The difficult part is maintaining a high GPA, which is a prerequisite for the most desirable after-graduation opportunities for Econ students (high-end financial/consulting services like transaction banking, investment banking, private equity, strategy/management consulting or Econ Ph.D. programs).
Ross has better placement for the high finance/consulting roles, but some factors that make that so are the fact that Ross’ career services kind of forces its students to be proactive about recruiting and also Ross has major grade inflation.
Math and Statistics are also well respected. The challenge is, once again, maintaining a high GPA (especially for pure math).
yikesyikesyikes, the OP is choosing between Northeastern (not Northwestern) and Michigan. Northeastern offers a finance major, but it is not a target (or semi-target for that matter) as far as Investment Banks are concerned.
davidsmith6, Michigan is a better option, especially since it is slightly cheaper to attend. Also, while you cannot major in Business since you already applied to Ross, I am fairly certain that you can apply to minor from Ross.
@Alexandre@yikesyikesyikes
Thanks for all the advice. How does a double major for me sound at UMICH? If it is something that will give me an advantage, what other subject (probably either Math or Statistics) should I major in (besides Economics)? Would minoring from Ross be a better option instead?
Also, I would just like to confirm, as I am still not clear about this, whether the Dyson transfer option is a no-brainer. I would think that it would be a better option (as a target for top financial firms) for me than Economics at Michigan but I am not sure.
“Thanks for all the advice. How does a double major for me sound at UMICH? If it is something that will give me an advantage, what other subject (probably either Math or Statistics) should I major in (besides Economics)?”
An Economics and Mathematics double major would be optimal. The Mathematics department also offers a Financial Mathematics major, but I am not sure if that is such a great option.
“Would minoring from Ross be a better option instead?”
Assuming Minoring from Ross gives you access to the Ross career office, then yes, it is obviously better. Only Wharton and Harvard are more highly recruited than Ross. Technically, you only need to take 15 credit hours at Ross to complete the minor, so you could double major in Econ and Math and still minor from Ross. Although if you get into Ross for a Minor, I would probably focus more on Mathematics and Ross and less on Economics. Getting into the Ross minor is reasonably easy (50% admit rate from what I hear).
From a purely placement point of view, Dyson is a better option than Michigan LSA. Not better enough to make it a “no brainer”, but certainly better. If after your first year at Michigan, you are well settled in and have made good friends and maintain a good GPA (over 3.7), I think you are better off staying put. If you can get a minor from Ross, assuming you have access to the Ross career office, then I would say Michigan is as good an option as Dyson.
@Alexandre let’s not overstate Ross here they are not part of the magnificent 7 which recognize each other.
The Magnificent Seven (M7) group of elite business schools which recognize each other as peers, consisting of Chicago (Booth), Columbia, Harvard, Northwestern (Kellogg), MIT (Sloan), Stanford, and Penn (Wharton).[11][12][13]
CU123, the M7 refers purely to MBA programs. When it comes to Investment Banking recruitment, Ross BBA is one of the more heavily recruited programs, while Ross MBA is hardly recruited by Investment Banks.
Also, the M7 is not a formal partnership. It matters in some circles, while in others, it is completely overlooked. For example, Ross MBA is more heavily recruited than some M7 programs by major consulting firms. Clearly, not being a member of the M7 has not curtailed Ross’ appeal in the eyes of the Bains, BCGs and McKinseys of the world.
But like I said, the M7 is purely relevant to MBA candidates. As far as undergraduate students interested in Investment Banking are concerned, Ross is among the best.