These pages contain my advice on how to select your finance courses. You will find your time at Kellogg tough but rewarding. What you take away from your courses and your time at Kellogg depends upon what you put in. This advice includes both what finance class to take first (your immediate concern) and what classes to take in future quarters. Your choice of classes and their timing should be intimately related to both your short term and your long term career goals. You should consider both when planning your course work during your time at Kellogg.
Those of you pursuing a career in finance (e.g. investment banking, asset management, private equity, venture capital, CFO and general management track) will find it essential to start your finance studies early (e.g. your first quarter for Evanston students). Those of you pursuing careers that are not technically finance want to plan your schedule so you have the fundamental finance and possibly some advanced finance courses completed before recruiting, summer internships, or upcoming promotions at work. These pages contain my personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of the finance department or Kellogg.
While at Kellogg, you will rely on fellow students, the student clubs, alumni, and your finance professors for course advice. These pages will provide you with a foundation to start your course plan. This will be useful for those of you that are planning on pursuing a finance career, as well as those of you who think they are not (e.g. entrepreneurship and consulting). In addition, some of you will change your career aspirations after taking courses that captivate your interests and passions. We have a great foundation ready for you and challenging electives to follow. Remember, you want to build a set of skills that will serve you well no matter where the next 20 years of your career take you. All finance faculty have stories of students who took their finance class without planning on going into finance, and years later discovered how crucial it was to their career advancement. You can start building your foundation now that you are at Kellogg.