GUIDE TO MAJORS AT NYU: FINANCE · NYU LOCAL

Note: Whether you’re still deciding between two majors or you’ve already picked and want to know how wrong your choice was, you’ll undoubtedly find our new Guide To NYU Majors useful. We’ll be asking students in specific majors their thoughts on various aspects of their chosen field. You can see all the posts in the series here.

Major: Finance

School: Stern

Concentrations: Corporate Finance, Investments/Capital Markets

Possible Joint Majors: Economics, International Business, Accounting

Required Number of Classes: 4

Minor: Yes

If you’re thinking about majoring in finance, chances are you don’t need a guide to anything. Most likely, your Wall Street address has been set, right alongside those dress suits in your ‘I’m-in-Stern’ paraphernalia. We bet some of you can even get the best deals on weed (both when buying and selling), and have daydreams of opening Mary Jane investment firms – since you’ll be one of the few able to payback student loans.

But hey, aren’t those just stereotypes? They sure are! And if you’re interested in being a finance major, you’ll likely be subjected to all of them. Not only that, but 70 percent of students in Stern major in finance, and will be vying for those same dolla bills.

However, you are in one of the top finance programs in the nation. Internship and job opportunities are therefore far more accessible. You are also regarded as some of the most elite at NYU…and in the country…despite what Wharton might have said.

So for those inclined towards finance, here are some things to consider. (And if you’re one of those who already has a plan, maybe take this as time to size up your competition.)

WHAT THE UNIVERSITY SAYS

We believe that excellence comes not from knowing the right answers but in asking the right questions. With one of the largest and best faculties in the world, our students develop not only a deeper set of skills but a broader perspective of the role of business in the world. We value both IQ and EQ and shape a community with people who have both intellectual and interpersonal strengths. We believe in integrating the energy of New York into our academic culture. We leverage the proximity to business and the cultural riches of NYC in creative and innovative ways.

WHAT THE STUDENTS SAY

Quality of Professors:

“It depends on what class you take. A lot of finance classes you have a lot of visiting professors that you don’t know that much about. Stern is really good about catering good visiting professors, though. But there are also only four required classes for finance plus all of the other requirements for Stern so most of the teachers that are memorable are not necessarily finance professors.”

“It’s very varied. My Statistics professor was absolutely terrible. But Nezlobian, Principles for Financial Accounting, is just out of school so he really good and energetic. Overall, they usually vary in extremes.”

“They are pretty famous. I have had many professors with big names that are kind of intimidating. You get taught by some of the best, though. The only thing is that they tend to be more distant, but you should really just go talk to them.”

Best Classes:

“For Stern, you have to take a lot of requirements. For me, my best class was actually business law with Hendler. You’re experience with each class differs like in any school.”

“In freshman year, I preferably enjoyed my Business and its Publics course. I have Professor Younger and he’s a good guy. The class is great because you discuss things that are relevant in the world and knowing the social impact of business in the boardroom. Not to mention you get to hear cool people speak.”

“Behavioral Finance is really amazing. It combines psychology with corporate finance and actually makes it a little more abstract. My professor was also really good, but I can’t remember his name because we never spoke.”

Worst Requirement:

“Probably business writing class and a class on ethics. They weren’t as engaging as much of the other professors I liked.”

“Back in freshman year, everyone would agree it’s Writing the Essay. But for finance majors, Debt Instruments can be extremely dull. REALLY hard too. But so is finance to most people in general.”

“Risk Management in Financial Institutions. You’re always evaluating the risk and it can be pretty monotonous.”

Work Load:

“First of all, there is a curve system. So even if there isn’t that much work, you have to make it perfect. The pressure helped make it a little more hectic at times. Generally speaking, it’s not that bad. Equity evaluation is so much more demanding than I thought it would be.”

“It’s not that bad yet, but I also try to do work as fast as I can. It’s worse than high school but you get more time. I think the reputation name makes you believe it is going to be really competitive and it ends up being fairly manageable. ”

“Pretty fucking insane. Around third year, fourth year, it definitely changes from being chill freshman year. Sleeping at Bobst is rather commonplace, preferably LL2. Don’t expect to have much free time once you’re in Advanced Corporate Finance. But most people in Stern don’t go to class.”

Class Size:

“Pretty varied. Financial accounting is like 50. But Calc 1 is like 200. But a lot of these are simple Stern classes. As a whole, specific classes for finance, like Foundations of Financial Markets, aren’t generally that large.”

“Class size is decent. Up to 40 – 50 kids. I don’t mind the class size, it’s not too large nor is it too small. Once you get into the more advanced classes, like Investment Banking, they only get smaller.”

“Depends on the class. Ethics was like 10-15 people. But classes like Economics were like 100 people. They try to keep it small.”

Reputation:

“Stern is fucking amazing. Then there is finance in Stern, which is even better. We’re the third top finance school in the nation, I think, behind Wharton and UChicago. Finance is THE major in Stern for sure.”

“Overall it’s good, it’s just one step below Ivies. People always seem to find the need to make that delineation.”

“Within NYU, I think Stern has a little bit of a bad rap. There’s a kind of that vibe that Stern kids think they’re better than everyone else, because it’s the hardest program to get into. Which isn’t necessarily true, because Tisch is pretty hard.”

What The Students Are Like:

“Lots of Asians finance majors. There are also some international students and a lot of Europeans. And the stereotypes are there for a reason, because people are competitive. But there is a small portion that I wasn’t expecting who don’t care much about anything.”

“Majority of them are douche bags. At least a good portion of them think they are God’s greatest gift to man, just because they are in Stern. One student in my class legitimately said, ‘I will never donate money,’ he had a good rationale but he is still a douche.”

“We’re not as greedy as people think we are. And we generally want to get into investment banking, which has been known to be corrupt in the past couple years. But a lot has changed in the education of business since then. We are being taught good ethics and responsibility. So just because we want to go into these professions doesn’t mean were bad people, and just because we get free food a lot, doesn’t mean we’re stuck up. We’re very goal-oriented and just finding ways to be successful.”

Internships and Post-Grad Opportunities:

“As a junior, you do a lot of recruiting for internships, then you do one during the summer. So you’re pretty much set by your senior year. There should be a gull-time offer before you graduate. There is a really good structure to it. There is also something called Interview Net and we interview at Wasserman. I now work at JP Morgan.”

“All the things I found for internships are from outside New York. This summer I have an internship in Shanghai and next summer I have an internship at a hedge fund. Being a finance major here is very good against the general population, but there’s a gap between Stern and the Ivies.”

“Fantastic. The best. Anywhere you want, I would imagine. Goldman Sachs is probably the majority of people’s dream. Any investment firm would want you.”

Reasons to pick this major:

“Well, aside from the obvious reason, to make money…there isn’t much else. After you graduate, you will make money. Companies will want you because you came from Stern, but not only that, you’ve probably been working for them since you were a junior in an internship.”

“You’ll be a step ahead of people when you join your first job. It’s not like Economics. It’s very vocational, and it’s not a typical college thing to ‘expand your mind’. There is definitely no Tisch-esque mentality. It’s finance. And just doing econ was too general and I wanted something that was a little more specialized. And also that is where the big money is.”

“Want a hot wife and a good job? Finance is your answer.”

Reasons not to pick this major:

“Don’t do it for the sake of doing it. Because everyone at Stern talks about finance, and as you go up it becomes really hard. Just do it if you think you could be really good at it.”

“SHIT CAN GET CRAZY.”

“You have to be one to take initiative. A lot of Stern kids think they’re above talking to the professors but they’re really well-known in the industry and can be helpful. If you’re not going to work, and not genuinely interested in finance, don’t do it. There are plenty more people who want too.”

Favorite Suit Brand:

“Mont Blanc. I get most of my suits there. A quality is needed.”

“We usually just go for black. And sleek.”

“A lot of classes you have to wear suits for presentations. I just like them fitted, because I’m lengthy and skinny.”

Other Comments:

“The Stern building is amazing. It looks like a spaceship, too. When I go to class, I sometimes I pretend I’m entering Star Trek.”

“We have amazing plenary speakers,  like Steve Forbes and Corry Booker…Booker was the most legit.”

“There are a surprising amount of finance students who smoke pot.”