Hello! I am a junior at a top 3 LAC with a 3.7 GPA. I majored in mathematics and have enjoyed it a lot. I am looking into going to graduate school for a masters in mathematical and computational finance/financial engineering or the like. I am a bit concerned because I have read on their websites that they prefer having at least an internship within the industry. However, I have not been able to find a summer internship because I have not taken as many classes in statistics or computer science. The thing is, I did not know what I wanted to do with my life, so I did not take any “useful” courses, just abstract math. But recently I have gotten interested in this computational and mathematical finance industry, and I am taking and will continue to take all the necessary courses in computer science, statistics, and probability until I finish college. Thus, academic preparedness is not my concern, but rather my lack of any industry experience. I will try to both get a job next year and will also apply to grad school, but both are uncertain given that 1) I don’t have any previous internships 2) I am an international student so it’s way harder to land jobs.
I just wanted to ask for input on whether anybody has gone on to a masters in Mathematical/Computational Finance without any industry experience. I am looking at schools such as GeorgiaTech, UC Berkley, Stanford, etc. Any input appreciated!