This is sorta off topic but interesting. I have routinely used my mother and her business as a referrence- never checked once. My brother is a recruiter that places people in $100k jobs, and he has told people how to pass drug tests after they went out bingeing the night before the urine test!
Well, here is my 2 cents. First of all, you need to face the fact that none of the three schools you mentions are tier-one (ivy league or similar) schools, but that doesn't mean getting into wall street as an analyst is not a possibility, it is just that you will need to stand out in some shape or form. Given your username, do you play any collegiate sports? There are a lot of ex-NCAA athletes on wall street, including I know a few Olympic medalists (swimming and long-distance running tend to be popular, for some strange reason). Since there is some shared belief that if somebody has competed in the highest level of sports (amateur or professional), that person will remain unfazed in a very stressful or challenging situation. Also, take challenging courses, that may or may not be in your own area of study, believe me, school recruiters would take notice of someone that has taken harder classes than somebody that just cruised by on easy credits. Also, if you have the opportunity, do extra-curricular stuff, like student government, anything that can set you apart from the "crowd". One more thing, after even freshman year, apply to internships on wall street, they are great opportunities to learn about business, etc. Apply to all the firms, be aggressive (what do you, a freshman, have to lose?), and then as much as possible, impress. I don't think you would have a problem working until 8-9 pm, right? That's normal life on the street, you stick around until the job is done (or better). Good luck. Of course, it goes without saying that if you can find some kind of introduction to somebody on the street (preferrably someone big), so much the better.
Imbecile. I wasn't refering to daytrading. I worked for two bulge bracket firms before going into prop trading.
Northeastern has good connections to S.G. Cowen & State Street... If your looking into trading, if you can land a coop with state street in Boston that would be top notch introduction. Good luck with your decision.
Thanks that was great insight as for the rest of the posts thus far on this thread. I golf and wrestle for my high school right now and I am hopping to continue to play golf in college. I know that these schools arent tier one I came to accept that once i got rejected from Michigan. I've come to accept that and I know above all I have to succeed in college. This summer, I am working at Knight Equity Markets with Ralph Acampora. This will be my second summer at Knight. Maybe I can get my foot in the door that way. Thanks again
How are Maryland and GWU "not" tier 1 schools? They are both well ranked. What is tier 1? About 10 schools and then the other 100 prominent D-1 schools are split into the remaining tiers? I think GWU actually has a very good master of finance program. I am not sure how much education you are looking for but just thought I'd mention GWU. It is also in a powerful city....
Well, a reference from Ralph will go a long way on Wall street, believe me. Wow, Ralph Acampora, that's a name that I haven't thought about (or heard!) for a long time now. He is probably one of the best "old school" of technical analyst that I have actually met. Since I am very much in the "quant" camp, certainly his name hasn't come up much on my daily discussion lists. I am shaking my head that this is such a blast from, oh, 10-15 years ago
I am not going to argue any individual school's quality. I am just referring to some of the common perceptions from my days on the street. I think GWU and Maryland are pretty good schools, but even the people I met who are from schools like BostonU, Rice (!), Maryland, etc, who are on wall street, tend to have a well rehearsed story, "yeah, I went to xxxx school because they gave me a scholarship, but I will be going to Harvard /MIT /Stanford /Columbia /Chicago for my MBA". Even a managing director of investment banking I know from Solly was lamenting that he couldn't get a job on wall street when he first started out because he got his degree from Rochester, he had to go and work for 2 years for some manufacturing firm, then get his MBA from Chicago (in '76), only then Solly would even interview him as a banking analyst. I didn't graduate from a high tier-1 school myself, and I found that when I interview for director level jobs have to explain "why" I didn't go to MIT/Caltech (even through I have a doctorate), and this is after I have graduated for 14 years, and worked on the street for 12. Yes, I know plenty of people who have made it huge on wall street with only a bachelors from a state school, but these guys all have their "explanation" (story) down pat. It is sad, but that's the nature of perception. I know of groups that would literally only hire Harvard / Yale grads (even a certain hedge fund that is known for collecting Harvard Law/MBA combo grads, they have I think > 6 on their roster last time I checked), now that's crossing the line.
see a pattern here? ....you don't have to go to an expensive private school to get a good education. Save that money and invest in something that would make money. & 75% of Wall Street isn't nothing but a bunch of salesman and number crunchers. Not real traders or Investors.
Hey guys I was checking this posts wow...........Well I am going to be a freshmen in college too, but I decided to go to Baruch College, its in NYC ---Business School -------it sayed that it is 17 best ranked bussiness school in a country for master and Ph. D. Any Inside???? Are there better choices???? Also I was trading for 2 years, swing trading, pretty much i know the markets well enough to make good money......... If anyone point me in a direction were I can get an intership in a trading firm in the NYC that would be great. Thanks, Andre