Math major with Finance minor?

Colleges and Universities A-Z McGill University
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<p>I've been admitted to the Science Faculty, but am waiting to hear from Management. Therefore, I've been looking at fallback plans in case I don't get into Management (definitely my preferred choice).</p>

<p>I have a general question regarding taking courses outside of your faculty and a more specific one regarding the difficulty (both in terms of workload and course accessibility) of doing a Finance minor in conjunction with a Math major.</p>

<p>Although the course calendar states that Arts and/or Science students can take up to 18 credits in the Management faculty towards a minor in some management area (e.g., Finance, Marketing, etc.), what is the reality of pursuing such an option? Is it fairly easy to cross-register in management courses? Or is there a huge queue based on some pecking order algorithm to decide who gets into these courses?</p>

<p>Any input from current McGill students, especially math majors who have experience in such matters, would be greatly appreciated!</p>

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<p>Hmmm...I can't answer your question directly, but I can help clear up your misconceptions regarding registration. </p>

<p>If doesn't matter what program you're in, registration opens up for on a certain day (depends on your year), and closes 2 weeks after classes start. Cross faculty registering means nothing to minerva (for the most part). Registration is registration period. In some specific cases, you might be barred from registering for a certain class because of your program, however, you can always have that overridden by a faculty advisor. </p>

<p>With everything I've just said, I feel confident saying I don't see why registering for your major or minor program's courses would be a problem. I've heard of engineers undertaking a management minor, why not a science student?</p>

<p>Have you been consulting the course catalogue/calendar? University</a> calendars: programs and courses</p>

<p>Any advisor you talk to will whip this bad boy out and read it to you (partially making advisors pointless), so you might as well learn to read it for yourself. This should answer most, if not all, of your questions. Very few things are impossible to do academically, they just mean you won't have a social life...Or you'll just do poorly.</p>

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<p>Thanks drmambo. I've gone through the link you posted fairly thoroughly, but wanted to check on its "accuracy". I've heard some horror stories of students either literally waiting in a physical line or needing a certain GPA to register for certain courses. The calendar did say that you need a 3.0 to do a minor (in any subject I guess).</p>

<p>Any input on difficulty of course load? Do most McGill students do combo programs - major/minor and/or double majors?</p>

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<p>The nice thing about a math major is that it's really flexible. Once you get passed analysis 1 and 2 and algebra 1 and 2 (algebra and analysis are the basic courses to weed out the wannabes early), you have tons of choice on what to pick. You can make it as challenging as you want, or somewhat easy (but there's no arbitrarily easy path...), pick courses according to your particular interests, and it's very easy to accommodate a minor as well.</p>

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<p>How are the profs in the math/stat dept? Are they accessible to lowly undergrads? I'm assuming that classes will get smaller (<100?) by the 2nd year courses (algebra and analysis). Is this the case?</p>

<p>Another concern I have in going the math/finance route vs. a commerce/finance degree is the difference in the level of recruiting by the financial industry at McGill. Could anyone comment on how much recruiting typically occurs for each route? Do Bay St. and/or Wall St. recruit math/finance grads at McGill?</p>

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<p>Well, it seems I jumped the gun a bit in my previous reply :-)</p>

<p>What is the mean in most math courses - 60s or lower? How about finance and CS courses? Looking over some other threads, it seems that freshmen science courses (especially chem and physics) are killers.</p>

<p>What is the average GPA for math grads and what is considered a "good" GPA, taking into account grade deflation which hopefully employers and grad schools are aware of?</p>

<p>Any input from math grads would be greatly appreciated!</p>

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<p>Early in the semester, basic algebra and analysis 1 may have 80-120 students, by the end of it, it's closer to 50-80 (at least back in my day). After that it depends what classes you take. Honours version are much smaller (15-30 in analysis and algebra 2, usually), for majors it depends. I've had as few as 5 in differential geometry and as many as 70-80 in history of math (I think). </p>

<p>I am forgetting core classes that other programs may require (in some form). Probability and statistics, major's version (MATH 323 and 324), can have over 100 student as well (it's common to other programs in science, though most non-math students probably take the 200 versions instead). In those cases it may depend on the semester also , ODEs (325, Honours) is filled (or at least used to be) with engineers in the fall, not so much in winter. Taking 323-324 in winter then fall of the next year is probably less crowded than the standard fall-winter combo.</p>

<p>For prof accessibility and quality, it varies also, but the thing is you have to go to them (that's what's expected at McGill: you have to take the initiative for everything). There are opportunities for undergrad research, all you have to do is inquire. Don't be afraid to talk to your professors about your education/career plan and hopes. Also, go the undergrad society. Hopefully SUMS is not a squalid hellhole filled with drooling asocial nerds. It used to be very welcoming back in the day, now I don't know. It changes from one year to another, I do believe they still publish a "survival guide" for new students every year. So at least that should be helpful. If they have a good exec when you're there, then their advice may be better than most advisors'. If it's a bunch of drooling nerds, just pick up the survival guide and avoid the place...</p>

<p>I'm not familiar with finance so much, but I believe the classes may be large. CS used to be huge back in my day (100+ students per class, except for hardcore abstract 400-500 level classes, it was the fastest growing department at the time), it may not be the case anymore.</p>

<p>GPA: let me put it this way (applies to grad school only, I don't think employers care that much). In your final year, you'll probably apply for FQRNT and NSERC grants/bursaries, whatever they're called. Minimum GPA for FQRNT is 3.3, NSERC is 3.5. You don't get anything if you just have the minimum (you'll still get into grad schools with these grades of course, but with limited choices in terms of schools and funding). Some grad schools (e.g. some SUNY's) will consider math applicants with as low as 2.7 GPA, but if you want some money and decent chances of being accepted in places, try to maintain at least a 3.3 from the beginning (and improve). 3.5 is better, anything 3.7 or above is pretty impressive for math. Good references letters are a must, so choose which profs to write them wisely (they should know you more than just by name and grade in their class, and be active researchers).</p>

<p>WRT recruitment, I have no clue, but if you keep with McGill philosophy, you're the one who should seek out employers, not wait for them to come recruit at McGill (I saw the CS job fairs dwindle with the dot-com bubble...). A McGill degree does carry some weight on a CV (I have classmates who work on Bay street or doing finance in places like Chicago or working at the Bank of Canada).</p>

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<p>Thanks for the info, Blobof. Actually, I also got into Waterloo Math (math/risk management and computational math) and would appreciate your opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of the two schools. After perusing both school's calendars, my initial reaction was that Waterloo seems less theoretical than McGill (except for Pure Math at Waterloo). Waterloo also seems to have broader course offerings. Is this a fair assessment?</p>

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<p>Waterloo has an entire faculty of Math, so yeah, there's more courses. The difference is that you specialize much earlier and, as you note, may not get the more general/theoretical basis that you'd get at McGill in math (for example, someone doing statistics at Waterloo can get a degree without doing any analysis). Waterloo also has coop programs and much better financial aid for undergrads than McGill. The faculty in each school is top notch.</p>

<p>Montreal is a much more interesting city than Waterloo, but, as is frequently joked, Waterloo's great for studying because there's nothing else to do (that's not entirely true, and Toronto is just an hour and a half away, but Montreal's better than Toronto, IMHO, and not an hour and a half away from itself). </p>

<p>Overall, it depends on what you want. If you want a more "hands-on" experience and intend to get a job right out of your undergrad diploma, then I'd probably favour Waterloo (only taking into account academic factors). If you're aiming for grad school, then it depends on what you're looking to get out of your degree. A math major at McGill may give you a better theoretical basis and a more general overview of the various subfields of math than the more specialized Waterloo degree, but Waterloo has more courses relating to finance (or any specific area). Whether you're deadset on finance or not, a solid theoretical background is not to be discounted when in comes to grad school. It's easier to get from math to something more specialized than the other way around at that point. It comes down to broader knowledge vs deeper knowledge of the subject, and what's "better" is hard to decide.</p>

<p>On the non-academic side of things, I'd favour McGill.</p>

<p>I hope that helps you in making your decision.</p>

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<p>Thanks again Blobof. Your comments are very helpful. I guess it's gut-check time ...</p>

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<p>The only information I can offer is on the subject of minoring in the faculty of management/commerce. You have to apply (usually in 2nd year) and have certain grades (GPA of 3.0 or more depending on the intended minor) and there are always A LOT of people trying to get a management minor. Your chances are good if you've got a strong GPA and I think the math major would look good too.
You could also try to switch into management for a major if you have a strong GPA (3.5 and above) but I've heard that it's really hard to switch into.</p>

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<p>Had a friend at Waterloo for Civil Eng (transferred out). If you go there, you MUST dedicate your life to studying. There are no summer breaks if you go co-op. It is 3 years of full time studying (4 years worth of information) and 2 years of working. You will obviously have a good job and $$$ if you make it out.</p>