<p>I'll make this easy to understand. Will having a Bachelors of Arts in Economics deter me from getting into I-Banking? Do I need to get a pure Finance degree?</p>
<ul>
<li>Sophomore at Howard University</li>
<li>Majoring in Economics (considering a minor in Mathematics)</li>
<li>4.00 GPA (46 Credits at the moment, 58 by May)</li>
<li>Intro to Business, Macroeconomics, Macroeconomic Theory, Principles of Econ, Principles of Econ 2, Money & Banking, Applied Calculus (Relevant Coursework)</li>
<li>Transferred into HU this fall. Spent freshman year at a university in Tennessee.</li>
<li>COULD NOT GET INTO THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY. MIGHT BE ABLE TO TRANSFER IN BY MY JUNIOR YEAR.</li>
</ul>
<p>I just wanted to know my options. Even if somehow, I graduate with a BA in Econ instead, will that hurt me in terms of getting into I-B? I'm currently looking for internships & it seems that firms give preference to B-school kids, even though my grades were good.</p>
<p>Having a 4.0 GPA in most business degrees, including economics, should be enough to get you that first round interview. If you are having difficulty landing interviews, you should reach out to your career services and alumni networks.</p>
<p>But economics is not a business degree and non-business majors do not have access to business school networking & career services/events. I believe that is why he is asking for advice - he is concerned that this may be a problem.</p>
<p>@ Serious 101…first of all, I appreciate the feedback.</p>
<p>Yes, I am a bit concerned. Plenty of kids from Howard go into I-B. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, B o A & a few others recruit here. It just seems like more preference goes to B-School kids. I think (keyword) that the pecking order is B-School kids, Econ majors, then Math & Engineering students. I have the grades to get into to the Finance program but, I missed a few prerequisites seeing that I started school at a different university. I was told I can’t transfer into that particular school until I fulfill them, hence the statement “I won’t get in until my junior year”. </p>
<p>I guess I just wanted to know, if it was that much of a deterrence just doing Econ, especially considering I’d have to get an I-B internship this year as an Econ. student anyway…</p>
<p>Well i’m no expert on the field, but I would assume that if you actually got an IB internship this year, that experience would nullify any advantage a finance/accounting major might have later on. Just as long as you kept that high GPA.</p>
<p>If you like math and are good at it, you may want to add math as a second major or minor in order to open up more opportunities and options in quantitative finance (where math, physics, and engineering majors are sometimes recruited due to having stronger math skills than typical business majors).</p>