Hey Guys,
I know there are quite a few of these threads now but I feel like my case is a little distinct because of what I want to study. I was admitted to the above universities and am having a really hard time deciding between them. Basically, I want to exposure to strong finance and computer science programs but also want a good college experience. Most recently I have been considering Tepper (at CMU) for its strong focus on quantitative finance and its specific computational finance major which is exactly what I want, but it is a very selective program. Also I’ve heard that the UCLA lifestyle is great and the programs at UMich are also really great.
I’m trying to decide based on prestige (mostly for job placement after college at some sort of a quanitative/data science company like Palantir), location (for college experience) and academics that combine both Finance and CS (open to double majors). $$ is no problem, I’m out of state for all so they are all pretty close.
Please let me know your thoughts! Really split as of right now.
CMU is best for CS, no doubt
I think UCLA & NYU are similar, the only difference is if you want to be on the West or East coast
I’d say CMU or UCLA. Try to visit them and see.
Yeah so thats definitely making me lean towards CMU, but since I’d probably want to go towards quantitative finance, how do UCLA and CMU compare? Does UCLA have a reputation for finance?
Investigate carefully how difficult it will be to get into the desired majors (particularly CS at CMU or UCLA) if you are not admitted directly into them.
Yeah thanks for your response, I’m not sure how difficult it would be at UCLA but at CMU I can add CS as a double major by maintaining a 3.0 in CS courses. But I was wondering how manageable it would be to be double majoring in finance and CS at CMU and UCLA?
Also since I haven’t heard much about UCLA finance I think I’m leaning more towards CMU and UMich. Anyone know how those compare in terms of prestige, location and academics?
Umich has the best balance of finance and CS. The only issue is that you need to apply to Ross for your sophomore year if you are not pre-admitted. Both are very time consuming and difficult curriculums so I would carefully consider if you want to do both, or just do CS and than an MBA.
@TooOld4School I’m still awaiting the pre-admit response but yeah its looking like a great option. Would you happen to know about the Industrial and Operations Engineering major there? And is it really tough to get a dual degree, cause on their website UMich said a lot of their students were pursuing one.
What would you like to know about IOE? It is one of the easier engineering specializations and would probably fit well with business. Practically speaking you may not have much time combining CS and another major in business, especially if you want to get involved in research or clubs. I would talk to a counselor and discuss how you might accomplish it. CS and Chem E (for example) might take 4 or more hours per hour of class time depending on your coding and your analytical skills.
@TooOld4School So is IOE like data science but for undergrads? And if that ends up taking too much time, would it be better to go for a double major rather than a dual degree?
It is more like applied data science with a focus on process efficiency and re-engineering of processes. You can look at the Michigan engineering web site for some applications but they are all over the map (including finance) . You could look at CS (in the engineering dept) and IOE, there should be a significant amount of overlap as a double major, I would talk to the academic counselors for specifics.
CS at CMU is particularly intense and competitive. Double majoring there could prove quite difficult.
I’d probably go to Mich for the best balance of finance + CS, but I’d explore in detail course offerings and double major options at UCLA, Mich and CMU and make your decision based on which seems to offer what you’re looking for. All three are excellent schools that will get you to where you want to go–not much difference there (other than purely in CS, CMU is stronger than the other 2).
@insanedreamer Do you think CMU offers better opportunities after graduation than Mich or vice versa? Do the public school drawbacks like large class size transfer onto strong competition at Mich?
In CS specifically, probably a slight edge.
In engineering in general, no.
Here you can see the main companies hiring from CMU: https://www.cmu.edu/career/about-us/annual-reports/2015-infographic.pdf
CMU has connections with NY finance (but so does Michigan).
If your goal is CompSci (with a focus on finance but not necessarily a double major), I’d pick CMU. If your focus is broader (finance in general, investment banking, etc.) then Michigan might be better suited.