<p>I got freaked out after interviewing with asia trading desks offices of banks. Feedback was no finance background. Prop trading shops (mainly in Chicago and NY) are also my goal. Algo trading shops seem to like star programmers. I guess a decent cs/fin math degree with CFA level 1 might help. </p>
<p>Questions...
I am doing math at Cambridge, predicted a 1st. GRE could be OK I think. My plan is to also take GRE SUB CS. But no paper, no amazing ECs. I am applying for Masters. (No financial aid needed) Could you guys recommend matched univs? Banks seem to like big names. So big names with slightly weaker CS/fin department (enough for trading shops) is preferred. </p>
<p>Princeton could spring to mind when it comes to maths - as far as I know, Princeton and Cambridge have the best Maths departments. Regarding “big names”, there was an interesting article about how big firms in the US tend to recruit just from the Harvard-Yale-Princeton holy trinity, along with, maybe, UPenn’s Wharton and Stanford. Again, in case of maths, hardly any other university can match with Princeton. Also, MIT’s and Berkeley’s maths departments are also awesome, and Chicago, Columbia and NYU have strong ones too. </p>
<p>In a list, I would say</p>
<p>1.Princeton
2.Harvard
3.Stanford
4.MIT
5.Yale
6.Chicago
7.Columbia
8.NYU
9.Berkeley - the last one not because of quality, but relative lack of prestige, if compared with the mentioned universities.</p>
<p>You should be looking into quantitative finance programs or financial math programs</p>
<p>Berkeley is quite top in this regard- dont know if it can get you into NY. Also do most of the programs GeraldM posted, do they even have a Masters program in Math?</p>
<p>Also skip the prestige part- A degree from CMU would definitely help you in finance. HR, though not the brightest bunch on the planet are not daft</p>
<p>To #2
thanks GeraldM. I am actually looking for a computer science/stats/financical math degree rather than pure math (otherwise I could do PARTIII in cambridge…) Do you have any advice on those programs?</p>
<p>To #3
thanks sefago. I heard CMU has great computer science and math departments. Definitely it will be one of my choice. UB is pretty good I believe. I am not sure if it would help me get in big banks or trading firms.</p>
<p>Chicago has a financial math program: [MSFM</a> - Home](<a href=“http://finmath.uchicago.edu/new/msfm/home/index.php]MSFM”>http://finmath.uchicago.edu/new/msfm/home/index.php)
Princeton: Has an MFE program and an MFin Program
Columbia: MFE program in their engineering department
Berkeley : MFE program (would definitely get you into a bank)
Yale: NO
Harvard: No
MIT: Might have a Masters in Finance program but dont think they do financial math
NYU: Might me famous for economics but dont know if they have financial math either or CS (Take that back, just checked : [New</a> York University Courant Institute of Mathematics](<a href=“Home - NYU Courant”>Home - NYU Courant))</p>
<p>Why for the love of God will you go and do the GRE CS? Anyways good luck and have fun lol. Its only required for PhD and even then not all departments require it.</p>
<p>Papers. Also those dont matter for Masters programs. You will likely get into everywhere you apply. Go and spend more time on picking the best program- these programs only really care about how well you did in college.</p>
<p>To #5
Er…Prop trading shops now attract me more than banks because I regard myself as a scientist rather than a seller and I am not a native English speaker. ( sorry if my sentences are too crapy to read.)</p>
<p>Trading shops value computer science more than math/stats/finance I guess by reading their requirement for open positions. (Not sure at all) So a CS degree with CFA or some finance modules might be a better choice. </p>
<p>Is it a good idea to take GRE CS if I really wanna do CS (haven’t decided yet) after undergraduate with math? btw we are not allowed to take modules (it’s called courses in US?) outside math department at Cambridge unlike system in US.</p>
<p>To #6
thanks appliedphysics. great username :). you definitely love applied math/physics.
same as you actually. I took and am taking a lot of applied modules. Stats(applicable math)/pure math can never be my favourite. </p>
<p>I think you meant a stats degree since applied math normally lead to a job in engineering or academics? I hope it could be easier for me compared to cs/finance degree because of my math background.</p>