Should I Transfer To a Different Undergrad?

[hash_hofm]

Hello QuantNet,

I'm currently a high school senior who's received some college admission decisions lately, and I'm looking for some suggestions, courses of action, opinions, and whatever is felt necessary for my current situation. I don't want to go into too many details for privacy's sake, but I applied to a number of selective programs and was rejected by all of them and now my best option is the honors college at my state school as a Math (advanced track) major + CS major w/ a minor in Physics. I can't say what the root causes of my college decision outcomes were, but I think my uw HS GPA (3.6), even with a huge upward trend in my junior and senior years, was a major point of contention in whatever committee it showed up in.

For the past month, I've been heavily researching careers and graduate school application specifics, and I've received some outside opinions from grad student forums about what the best course of action may be for me, and I also wanted to ask you guys for your thoughts too.

I find the job as a quant (specifically research quant) really cool, but it seems that undergrad institution is pretty important with regards to recruitment and internships, so I'm not at all sure about what that might mean for me if I want to become a quant later in life.

In all, I'm just wondering if it might be a good idea to transfer for the sake of better exposure opportunities (although I'm responsible for this myself) and potentially better Math/CS programs.

I'm aware of how much of a pain transferring can be, but I'm more than willing to go through the personal upheaval, irritation, and work to make it happen if that's what my long-term career goals demand.

Thanks for the help!

Best,

Hash_HofM

edit: It should also be noted that I absolutely want to earn a Ph.D. in Mathematics after I finish my undergrad (very likely @ MSU).

 

[Archidamus]

It sounds like you want to get your PhD and then work, is that correct? I would backwards plan and figure out what PhD programs are most targeted for quant research. Rank those in order and find which undergrad programs get you into those. You don't need to go to MIT as an undergrad to get your PhD from there, but community college is probably not going to set you up for success.

Just a quick search on Stanford Math PhD site shows that most applicants have near perfect math GPAs and a GRE subject score over 800.

Could you list some of the comparable schools to where you are going next year? That will give some context for others here to offer a more informed opinion.

 

[hash_hofm]

It sounds like you want to get your PhD and then work, is that correct? I would backwards plan and figure out what PhD programs are most targeted for quant research. Rank those in order and find which undergrad programs get you into those. You don't need to go to MIT as an undergrad to get your PhD from there, but community college is probably not going to set you up for success.

Just a quick search on Stanford Math PhD site shows that most applicants have near perfect math GPAs and a GRE subject score over 800.

Could you list some of the comparable schools to where you are going next year? That will give some context for others here to offer a more informed opinion.

Comparable schools would be approx. T75 and public R1 research universities. I might as well just say that MSU (Michigan State Uni) is the option I’d be enrolling at. Hope this helps!

 

[IntoDarkness]

i recommend transferring to a very good school, such as northwestern, uchicago, upenn, cornell, etc. these schools are very transfer friendly. as you already realized, good schools offer exposures to more opportunities and you can get a killer job with just one of their undergrad degrees. i would hold off shooting for phd until you find doing proofs in abstract math fun. phd is really expensive considering the opportunity cost. a good undergrad hire at a quant shop can earn as much as 150k+ right out of the gate. earning a phd requires at least ~4-5 years. you do the math...