Vanderbilt and Economics/Investment Banking

<p>Does anyone know how prestigious an economics degree is from Vanderbilt? I know its a great school in general, but are the economics and business programs great too? Also, how easy is it to get a job in those areas after graduation (undergrad)</p>

<p>My D is currently a senior at Vandy, and she said that recruiters are on campus looking for economics majors for jobs that pay very well (consulting).</p>

<p>kelsmom- not necessarily true. </p>

<p>Vandy has extremely limited recruiting for IB in relation to its peer schools. I am apart of the mentor program in finance and I am very aware of the banks that come to campus. I worked really hard/networked like crazy/had several finance internships and have a job at a top BB in sales and trading for next year.</p>

<p>However, the banks that came on campus for internships for juniors in Investment Banking were GS and BAML. Doesn’t mean you can’t get interviews other places, you just need to be more creative and network. </p>

<p>There also isn’t a focus on finance and banking here at Vandy. I would say kids looking to go into finance are the minority here while graduate school (law, premed, other) is the most popular thing to do.</p>

<p>If I was interested in IB I might not go to Vandy. Being in the South is another disadvantage.</p>

<p>I am thinking in terms of consulting, not IB.</p>

<p>alright thanks nicole. Would you say the economics program is strong though, compared to schools such as BC, Michigan, Cornell, and Villanova?</p>

<p>I still do not see why Vandy isn’t considered a target school for IB. You mentioned that Vandy is at a disadvantage because it’s in the south, but what about Rice, UT-Austin, and Duke?</p>

<p>It depends what you want out of the economics department. Do you want to go to grad school? Do you want to work in Banking? Do you want to work in consulting? Where do you want to work? All depends on the answers to those questions. Competition for finance jobs are going to be a lot higher at the schools mentioned above (BC, Villanova, Michigan etc) because way more kids are trying to move to NYC to get into finance. While at Vandy, competition is lower, but not as many banks (especially in NYC) come to Vandy. As I mentioned the only banks that came for IB this year for internships were BAML and GS. BAML gives out around 6ish offers to Vandy kids, while GS gave one offer (they were very tough during interviews). I would say Cornell would clearly be looked upon the best, then BC+Michigan (with Mich prob a little higher than BC), and I would rank Villanova a notch down from the schools you listed. </p>

<p>Vandy is definitely not considered a target for IB. When I attended superdays for IB, I was placed in the ‘non-target’ group. This basically means you interview AFTER they have given out offers at the target schools. Also, you generally have a phone interview first, and then get invited to the superday up in NYC. Very difficult to get an offer. Duke is represented extremely well in the finance world. Out of all the Southern schools its probably the most highly regarded.</p>

<p>Alright, thanks so much for that insight</p>

<p>My S applied to Vandy with an indicated major of economics and a pre-med. My other son graduated from Penn in 2010 with Economics major and a minor in Healthcare Management from Wharton. At Penn, he got three campus jobs in consulting even in tough job market. I dont see such possibilities at Vandy.</p>

<p>Some one asked for comparion of Vandy economics with Cornell, BC etc.</p>

<p>I would say, the programs at Cornell and BC are stronger and the recruiting is much better at both those campuses.</p>

<p>That said, Vandy economics program is pretty good too when not compared with better ranked colleges especially from the coasts. They get their share of companies to campus recruiting.</p>

<p>For investment banking would it be smarter to take a major such as philosophy that could be interesting and much easier to get a high GPA along with making you stick out. Is this valid rationalization or would it be stupid not to major in econ. I am interested in econ but if it is extremely difficult to keep a certain gpa it might be wiser to do a different major. Thoughts? </p>

<p>Can anyone provide insight about Vandy an ibanking? Has vandy’s position changed since 2011?</p>