I got a 5 in BC in 9th grade. Could have done it in 8th grade, but my parents talked me out of it.
I’ve since taken calculus, linear eqn, multivariable calculus, and differential eqn at my local university. My lowest grade here was an A-.
Usaco platinum, Google code-jam 2nd round.
My resume screams math or CS, except I don’t want to do math or CS. I’d like to do Econ, IF I can get into the right feeder university.
I can obviously do math, but I’ve only been doing it out of a sense of 1) I need 4 years of math, and 2) it’s useful for Econ.
I can obviously do CS. I like competition CS, because they are logic puzzles that I can implement in 100ish lines of code. I have zero interest in writing much larger programs.
When I apply for Econ, how do I convince universities I’m not trying to game the system and will not transfer into CS later?
Conversely, given my history is so math and CS heavy, should I apply CS and plan to transfer out later?
You are overthinking this. There is no reason to consider applying for CS if you don’t want CS.
What do you consider to be “the right feeder university?”
Clearly you’re a strong candidate for a very quantitative econ program. If you seek out schools that are known for this, they’re not going to think you’re trying to back-door into something else. UChicago is the most obvious example. And they don’t even admit by major, so they honestly wouldn’t even care if you did switch to math or CS later.
Are you a HS student? If so, why is this thread labeled “transfer”?
In either case, I agree with @aquapt that you should just apply as a potential econ major. There’s no advantage to apply as a CS major, even if the college admits by major. You could explain your interest in econ in one of your essays.
I’m also not sure about what you meant by feeder school. To what? Investment banking? If so, your major doesn’t really matter.
I am assuming that you mean top PhD programs for feeder schools. For those programs, math is king. It is actually more important than undergraduate economics training. A good thing to look at to understand the paths taken for successful PhD students, find the job market candidates at each of schools of interest. They will have the CV’s of the current PhD class. From there you can see their undergraduate schools and majors. You will see that many have a major or double major in math.
With your math background, you would have a minimum of two additional years of mathy classes (real analysis, Stats, econometrics).
As others have said, put the major that you want. My DS was just missing ODE from your list of math classes. He listed Philosophy as his area of interest on his applications. Your case is something that AO’s at top schools are accustomed to reviewing.
Pre-PhD economics study requires a strong math and statistics background including such courses like real analysis and probability theory.
Choosing a college with math-intensive economics courses is also helpful. This means intermediate microeconomics and econometrics courses that use math more advanced than single variable calculus and mathematical economics electives.
So strength in math can fit very well with an interest in economics.
If you want to pursue a PhD in economics, depending on the discipline within economics you’re interested in, in addition to the basic math, CS (particularly machine learning techniques) may even be more important. You may want to consider to major in CS with a secondary major (or a minor) in economics. It’s far easier to switch into economics from math or CS than the other way around.
hmmmm - apply for the major you want. No one is going to think you are devious. You’ve created a situation that doesn’t exist.
You will get admitted to the major you apply for - assuming the school you apply to admits by major. No one will say - we’d love to have him but let’s reject him because he’s obviously trying to back door into another major.
Apply for Econ, you’ll even have some schools that ask you why Econ and you can address it there - and this is zero issue honestly.
It’s not possible really to be specialized in economics in high school. All high schoolers come in with little to no economics.
These things you are expressing here can be expressed, in less negative terms like terms that make it look like you don’t like big projects, in an interview. But you’ve got to get your head right first (not reacting to this and that thought) and you seem just getting started on that.
This is a good place to start sounding out your thoughts and straightening them out.
But also be careful-- not all advice is right but it’s always expressed very strongly here and that makes it hard to know who to listen to.
Maybe look at a different path. Industrial Engineering. Look at Georgia Tech’s ISyE program. Combination of math, CS, and business/Econ. Other schools offer similar programs. They might fall into the business school under Analytics.
My fault. When I said “transfer”, I really meant “change major”. I am hoping to get into a feeder for banking or top consulting, so that unfortunately limits me to the usual extremely selective universities.
I know UChicago is a good match stat and interest wise, but that school scares me.
Now that you cleared up the two questions I had, I have another question for you. Are you only interested in investment banking and management consulting, as opposed a broader spectrum of opportunites in finance? Your quantitative aptitude is more than what a typical banker or consultant needs and you’d be giving up your competitive advantages.
I am one of those unfortunately fortunate people who is good at most intellectual things but is profoundly normal in all other spheres. On top of that, I am interested in wine, women, and song, but not much else. If I could make a living from that, I would. Since I couldn’t, making large amounts of money seems like a good alternative.
“Though I cannot be said to be a flattering honest man, it must not be denied but I am a plain-dealing villain.”
What is your unweighted GPA? SAT or ACT score? What can/will your parents pay for college per year?
Many schools can provide a path to IB or consulting. Best to make sure you don’t focus on the potential income package when interviewing for internships.
