Undergrad for Quantitative Finance

College Search & Selection
1

Hi-

My son is interested in quant finance or something similar. Not all colleges offer this so he’s put Math, Finance and/or Computer Science as his majors. He’s been accepted to the following and I’ve included costs. I’m looking for input on which has the best program for the money and best chances for job on Wall Street upon graduation.

NJIT - Honors program, almost full scholarship ($6K)
Rutgers - $7k scholarship; still to pay $22k
Seton Hall - $23k scholarship; $27k to pay
Stevens - $30k scholarship; $33K to pay
Fordham - $26k scholarship; $39k to pay

Waitlisted at Carnegie Mellon - $24k grant if accepted; $44k to pay
Waitlisted at NYU (Stern) - no fin’l aid yet but maybe worth it if accepted? - $65k

Boston Univ & waitlisted at UMich - not in running since no scholarship

My older son took the full ride at Rutgers after some persuading since he’ll probably have another 4 years of med school to pay for. He seems to be happy there. While it’s tempting to tell the younger son to take the scholarship at NJIT, I hesitate because he’ll likely do a Master’s at most and I don’t know if it has the most reputable program.

I assume Wall Street companies look at where an applicant graduated from and know which schools have the better programs. Does the undergrad matter if he ends up at a “brand name” graduate program?

Thanks for your help!

2

I work in quantitative finance, on the investments side, not the CS side. However, I have a CS background and am heavily involved in hiring CS people in our firm.

Among the schools you have been accepted to, I would take the Rutgers position. It is recognized as being the state flagship, and a decent school.

But if you get into CMU, absolutely take that one. It is the best CS degree in the USA, and I say this as an MIT grad.