<p>I am a senior in high school recently accepted to Duke University. Although Duke is a great university, I am much more interested in doing financial engineering at Columbia's SEAS. I intend to apply as a transfer applicant. What should I do between now and next March to increase my chance of admission? </p>
<p>SAT: 750 M, 720 V, 780 W
SAT II: 790 M2, 790 Bio, 800 WH, intend on taking Chem or Physics
Rank: 10/1433, mostly As.
HS transcript: heavy on languages (Germ, Fr, Span all at AP), great in math, okay in physics, good chemistry and biology grades
EC: wrote an unpublished 104K wd novel about boy during Haitian earthquake (seeking agent), designed program that teaches students French, co-founded enrichment program for small children, World Affairs essay finalist (dallas metroplex), Hist Fair first place regional finalist (paper published), Amnesty Vice President, International Club President</p>
<p>As you can tell, I was very much interested in world affairs since I wanted to be a diplomat. My interest in financial engineering came when I enrolled in economics, statistics, and computer science this year and decided I wanted a major that involved all of them. Apart from taking science/math classes at Duke first semester, what else should I do to increase chances of admission? I am most interested in responses from those who were actually accepted. Any advice for the essay?</p>
<p>Another point I wanted to ask. Should I take Calculus I and II this summer at a local college and then repeat them at Duke to ensure a higher GPA? Or should I transfer the credits and take Calculus III? In other words, will Columbia prefer a higher GPA or more advanced courses? The same question goes for physics? Physics I with a high grade or physics II but it might be harder?</p>
<p>I think (and this is totally a matter of opinion and you don’t need to listen to me) that you should stick with Duke and not get into the mindset that “hey, I’m going to transfer” right off the bat. </p>
<p>Duke is a GREAT school and they have many opportunities for students like you. Freshman year is going to be one of the best times of your life and if you get all caught up in wanting to transfer to Columbia you’re going to miss out on a lot of things. Who knows, you may find a unique niche at Duke and really shine there! </p>
<p>Just my two cents :)</p>
<p>True and believe me, I was very happy to be accepted to one of the top universities in the world. Unfortunately, the university does not offer a financial engineering, and I have had my heart set on that program for about two years now. </p>
<p>But anyways, what advice would someone have for me about the transfer application?</p>
<p>What I would do if you are set on applying to Columbia next year is look at the financial engineering degree they have and take courses that mimic the Columbia courses to the best of your ability. I honestly don’t think it will come down to the minutiae of whether or not you took Calc I and II at Duke or not. </p>
<p>I had an advisor tell me that I should take classes that were “two trick ponies”. That is, one that will be beneficial to my path (I’m a pre-med so let’s say General Chemistry) and one that would transfer and be in line with the degree I had in mind at the other institution (for instance, I know Emory’s ES degree requires General Chemistry, so I took the class I thought would cross over easiest). Haha little did they know I have kind of a unique interest, but I’d say yours is a little easier to follow than mine (for instance, I want to supplement ES Public Health with Native American Studies - a program my school currently does not offer). </p>
<p>So take classes at Duke that are in line with the curriculum at Columbia. Adcoms at Columbia will look at that coursework, see that it is in line, see that you did well…and if all goes well…ACCEPT YOU! You will never know until you get there though, and Duke is a great institution so I don’t think they’ll be questioning the rigor of those courses.</p>
<p>Good luck :)</p>
<p>Yes, you’re right. That’s the program I was interested in. Columbia is the only university in the world that offers this program. You can imagine just how dejected I was when they turned me down. No other school can offer anything similar enough for undergraduates.</p>
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<p>Columbia is not the ONLY school to offer this program. It goes by many different names, such as computational science, computational finance and mathematical finance. Stanford has it, Carnegie Mellon has it (Carnegie Mellon STARTED this field/major).
[Bachelor</a> of Science in Computation Finance](<a href=“http://www.math.cmu.edu/~bscf/]Bachelor”>Bachelor of Science in Computation Finance)
[Financial</a> Mathematics - Stanford University](<a href=“http://finmath.stanford.edu/]Financial”>http://finmath.stanford.edu/)
I’m not sure if stanford has it for undergrad though.</p>
<p>You should try your best to take these classes in your first three semesters:</p>
<p>Calculus I, II, III
Linear Algebra
Ordinary Differential Equations
Probability Theory
Statistical Inference
Introduction to Computer Science (Java)
Introduction to Accounting and Finance
Principles of Econ
Intermediate Macro
Intermediate Micro</p>
<p>These are the core classes that the financial engineering program looks at when deciding whether to admit you. If you do well in them (3.7+, which is around an A- average) it should be a strong signal of interest. If you’re trying to transfer after one semester obviously you’re not going to have all of these down, but hopefully you took some of this during high school and can get as many out of the way as possible. </p>
<p>The other big thing they look at besides grades is your work experience. If you can get a relevant internship in finance before you apply, it will be a huge leg up for you. On the whole I think you have a pretty good reason - they want to know why you can’t fulfill your academic interests anywhere else, and Columbia IS one of the few schools that offers a structured program in financial engineering at the undergraduate level.</p>
<p>I would also look at Carnegie Mellon’s undergraduate computational finance program. Cornell has a pretty good ORIE department too, and though they may not offer a specific financial engineering concentration like Columbia does, you can probably take electives in financial engineering that interest you. And of course, Princeton has an ORFE program, but they weren’t accepting transfers last time I checked.</p>
<p>Thanks. I’ll definitely look into these options guys. How likely is it that I can make a 4.0 this fall by taking calc I, statistics, physics I, and chem I? I want to appeal very well to the engineering department at columbia. How can I get this 4.0?</p>
<p>work hard. stay focused.</p>
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