Quant Finance

College Majors
1

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!

2

Part of the answer depends on what you want to do with a quant finance degree once you get it. Thoughts on that?

Do you participate in the Amherst Investment Club?

Here are a few ideas, if you can’t land an internship:

  • Sign up and pass level I CFA
  • Volunteer to do research with a professor whose work at least tangentially connects to your interests. At Amherst that might be an economics professor with an interest in markets, such as Dr. Raymond.
  • Same as above, but with UMass Amherst. Probably would be easier to find a professor to volunteer for in an area relevant to your interests.
3

@student970 ???

4

Hey thanks for the response! I’ll definitely take it into account.