Undergraduate Help

[Christian Cavanaugh]

Hello, I am currently a junior in high school whose looking to explore all of my possible options for majors in college. I have a math based background, as I have taken AP Calculus last year and AP Statistics this year. I have no experience in coding, however I plan on learning how to code this summer through multiple books/programs. As I completed my statistics course, I grew a true passion for data analysis in general which pointed me in the direction of Quantitative Finance.
I know the basics of what Quantitative Finance is, however I would like to know what courses this major requires as well as the type of degree I should try to obtain to better my chances of getting a terrific job.
I live in central New Jersey with a GPA above 4 and an SAT score barely below 2000, I have done plenty of research already on what colleges have the Quantitative Finance Undergraduate major but with my grades/scores getting into a huge brand-name college like Princeton is merely impossible. I just want some guidance from people in the field on where I should go next or even if Quantitative Finance is a good career path for my generation.
Any help would be appreciated, sorry if I sound like I am lost or have no idea what I am talking about, but forgive me for I am new to this career choice and am a new member to the site.
Thanks for your time!

 

[DavidHilbert]

IMO quant finance is a dying field.

At this point in your life, you shouldn't really focus on anything that specific as you have a very little idea of what is it about and, more importantly, what other fields there are you've never even heard of.
I would definitely not pick a college based on whether it has a quant finance concentration or not. You will most probably change your idea of what you want to do in your career many times before you graduate a college. And that's a good thing. Be flexible.

The only recommendation I would give you is to focus on what you enjoy the most. If it's math and statistics, good for you. If you can add programming into the mix, it can take you places whatever you'd like to do in the future.