Thank you so much! I definitely do not have any buildings haha. But I believe my credentials are strong, I do not want to reveal too much. Thank you!!
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Did you look at the ORFE department at Princeton? Any time I hear someone who lists CS, Econ, applied math I think thatâs a major worth looking at.
Obviously, visiting is your best bet in figuring out where youâll fit best.
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That is a very good idea. I will take a close look at that. Thank you!
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The quant kids mostly come out of TCS and the math departments at Princeton. ORFE is also good, but kids end up more in Bulge Bracket trading desks, buyside analyst roles, bank structuring desks etc. Some ORFE kids also go into the well regarded quant roles, of course.
Good place to look for Princeton:
https://tableaupublic.princeton.edu/t/CareerServices/views/First-destinationData/Employment?%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y&%3Aembed=y
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So the complete list isâŠ
Brown
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
Duke
Georgetown
Harvard
Michigan
Penn
Princeton
UVA
Yale
Williams
These are all great schools. Are you 100% on HYP, or if your interests were better served at one of the other schools, would you consider it?
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My first reaction is that these are all exceptionally good universities. You cannot go wrong. At the end of the day you probably should attend the university that you want to attend (assuming that they are all affordable).
Harvard and Princeton are two of the top four ranked universities in the US for mathematics. However, there are not a lot of secrets that you will learn there that you could not also learn at Yale (or multiple other schools).
I do not know to what extent these schools trend towards applied math versus pure math. Personally, I was far more interested in applied math (I got my bachelorâs in math at MIT, and my masterâs in Operations Research at Stanford). In graduate school, I only took one elective. It was econometrics. There is quite a bit of mathematics in econometrics. I liked it. I can also see how quantitative economics is important â to some extent it might help economics be less about opinions and more about making accurate predictions of what the results of policies will be based on solid evidence.
You might want to look at the graduation requirements for each school. Look at both general requirements and major-specific requirements.
Another thing that I am not sure about is the extent to which any of these schools have a combined major. As an example, MIT has a major 18C âMathematics with Computer Scienceâ. This is one degree that covers both. It was not available when I was there, but is close to what I actually took as a math major.
Both Harvard and Yale have very strong music programs. I do not know whether this is a plus or a minus. One possible issue is that the orchestras might be full of music majors. This is something that you might want to look into.
There is quite a lot of overlap between music, mathematics, and computer science. I have multiple times showed up at a music event and found someone I know from working in high tech get up on stage and play music. I think that this has happened five times in my life which is really quite a bit more than I might have expected.
Another issue is where you want to live for four years. One thing that Harvard has going for it is that it is in Harvard Square. There is quite a bit going on right there in the square. As one example, Club Passim in Harvard Square has an open mic. I think that I might have attended once or twice way back when I was a student at that other famous university down the road from Harvard. Then much more recently I attended when someone I know was playing at the open mic (this time was not a surprise).
I am not as familiar with the locations for either Princeton or Yale.
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Based on the time stamps⊠we were thinking the same thing at just about the exact same time. Jinx!
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Sure. But I also know a lot of HS students who say theyâre interested in quantitative finance because thatâs what theyâve heard of. Then they get to Princeton and realize theyâre really interested in optimization and maybe how to use it in transportation or energy or⊠and ORFE is a good program to mix together a bit of CS, math, Econ or whatever else.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to give me such thoughtful advice. I really, really appreciate it. These are all things that I will have to consider. Thank you again!
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:-). You can take all of them separately also. No one is stopping you. And it doesnât matter. All I am saying is that if âquantâ is important to the OP as a career, then you need to hit some of the rigor that comes from the math department, whichever major you are formally in. Rigor that comes from the pure math side of the department.
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Was just admitted to Stanford too! Iâm so excited! Thank you to everyone who has been contributing!!
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I am guessing it has been said here already, and with music being a big part of what you are looking for - I would recommend you reach out to your top schools and get student contacts for the orchestras and see what it takes to have the opportunity to continue music.
My daughter (a sports recruit + strong student) had interest from many of the schools on your acceptance list and found them all to be so different. She is at an Ivy - the best fit for her for academics, social and her sport.
Do you plan on visiting you finalist or have your visited - the vibe and student body feels very different and she was able to bring her list down to a final 2 and let those coaches make an offer- scared us as parents with her eliminating so many, but we also understood why and fit was as important to her as the academics.
Congratulations on all your work and wishing you well with your final decision plus have some fun too 
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I have visited Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, Brown, Columbia, and Dartmouth.
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Thank you for your response! I really have to examine the âvibesâ haha.
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Congrats!
A few years back my son was in a similar situation. Early accept at H, STEM likely (YES-W) from Yale, eliminated Princeton largely because of non academic related reasons.
Between Y and H, the deciding point was that it was much easier to get into advanced/grad level classes outside your declared major at Yale. During Visitas and Bulldog days, we spent a lot of time visiting different department and talking to professors asking questions like âcan a freshman math major (with x,y,z pre reqs) get into the grad/senior seminar that Prof So-and-So is teaching in pick-a-subject this fall?â At Yale, the answer was âsure, talk to the prof and if he OKs it you are inâŠâ At Harvard, the answer was âwell, no frosh allowed, for sophomores and juniors - unlikely, as seniors in the major and grad students have priority.â
Picked Yale and was able to take a very wide range of courses.
Possibly of note given your econ/cs/math interest is that Yale has some established double major programs like econ/math and econ/cs.
Econ is the most popular major at Yale and most kids spend their summers interning at the FED, top quant shops, consulting firms, etc.
Lastly, the level of musicianship at YSO is very, very high and the auditions are very competitive. For those that donât get selected, there are many other classical groups as well.
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A plug for Stanford if you want to really explore CS. There is a lot of breadth and depth offered by Stanford CS Dept. My daughter who entered intending to declare a pre-med science major took CS106A (the large CS intro class) and immediately fell in love and decided to become a CS major. She had minimal exposure to CS or programming prior and she just loved the way it was taught. She was also a double major in Art and she quickly found an intersection between both disciplines that gave her the skills to land internships at Disney in a creative and technical role. Stanford really encourages an interdisciplinary approach to learning and with CS, it is completely natural to delve into other majors or concentrations such as Econ/Math/Applied Math.
The co-term 5-year option is very popular with students. It is basically a 5-year combined BS/MS program that once accepted (as early as junior year) you can start taking graduate level classes and mix and match undergrad and grad classes all the way to Year 5. My daughter did that and letâs just say it is way easier for her to be admitted to a top-notch graduate CS program than for outsiders applying for the same graduate program. And these days, with so many CS undergrad degrees, you really need an MS to stand out and do more than just coding/programming work. She self-funded the 5th year by applying to a couple of Silicon Valley company scholarships and TAâd in a couple of undergrad CS classes.
The proximity to Silicon Valley is definitely an advantage. Tech executives are often guest lecturers and invited to small seminars. Lots of networking events as well organized by school and by student organizations. Stanford does have a very different vibe than HYP, so you should consider fit and where you feel you most âbelong.â
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Stanford is tied with Harvard at #3 for music programs and has better weather. And has a pretty good CS program. I live here, not an alumni, but Iâd go west!
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You should go west if you want to partake in the startup culture.
You should go east if you are interested in finance for a career. There is a reasonable finance vibe on campus at HYP â peer conversations, advising, mentorship, just the diffuse information in the air etc
Big tech CS is accessible from either coast.
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DD is a math major at H and a Calc I and Calc II course assistant and tutor (actually majoring/concentrating in math/econ/Arabic).
Harvard is and feels like a smaller school than we expected despite it being in a city in a city. Most (90%+?) upperclassmen live in âhousesâ which are like large dorms. You are assigned your house at the end of freshman year and it is where you live for the next three years. That gives the opportunity to make the school feel smaller and you have your own community within the greater university. The houses have their own deans and tutors as well as social events, intramurals and facilities such as dining halls, libraries, fitness rooms, dance rooms, dining hall, games rooms, wood shops, arts rooms, community rooms, etc. My daughterâs house has a couple of pianos available for the musically inclined.
Her house is in vigorous competition for the intramurals sports trophy (which ANYONE may play in whether or not they have ever played before-the house earns points for participation, not athletic prowess!). She has been heavily involved in a class wide game of Assassin. As a parent, I find it a big time suck, but she has straight As, she teaches (which is effectively a whole other class) to make extra spending money, and she participates in many extracurriculars just for the fun and fitness of it.
One of her friends travelled to something like 20 countries on four or five continents last summer with a school choir. Our student has had funded travel opportunities each year with itineraries which offer amazing insights into those regions and introductions to top leaders and dignitaries.
Just a snapshot of one experience at Harvard.