Which college (non target) should I go to for a Quant position at a MMHF pod
Hey, I’m a HS senior and I’m currently trying to weigh my college options. From what I’ve read here and learned elsewhere I want to be a Quant at MMHF pod. Currently my top college options are
UW-Madison for CS
Purdue for Math and maybe CS Minor
U of SC honors college CS
If anyone has any thoughts,insight, or recommendations please do share I would really appreciate it!
Dont want to burst the bubble before you even start college but if you think your going to be working as a quant at one of the top MM HF with a CS degree from UW-madison your out of your mind.... im saying this in the nicest way so you dont waste your time. Two options 1) you're actually really smart but somehow you have messed up high school and you have ended up with these college options which means your going to have to get A LOT MORE education before you would either be considered eg get top of your class then a master and Phd from Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Caltech, Stanford etc. 2) No one has had the balls to give you the realisation that compared to the top talent in the country your really not actually intelligent and need to reset your expectations drastically.
Thanks for the honest feedback I really do appreciate it. I know I’m not likely to place at a top MMHF but I still thought that I would be able to place at a MMHF in Chicago, Miami, etc. albeit not a “top” one but still a fund that works with a decent amount of capital and where’d I’d be able to have a close relationship with/effect on the P/L
realistically no. You would struggle to get interviews at banks let alone hedge funds. You have to understand that as much as people on this site love to go on about investment banking, private equity and fundamental hedge funds the best job in finance is working as a quant at a hedge fund. If people could do it they would be doing it.
Just to give you an idea I joined a MM HF out of uni a 5 years ago. I have a 4.0 from Harvard in maths and minor in astrophysics graduating summa cum laude. I WASNT considered exceptional just your standard good candidate. There will be 100 people each year graduating with the same level of background as I have so why are they even going to talk to you.... If you want to know who your going up against just search 'Zhou Qun Song' I met this bloke when recruiting and I almost had a breakdown realising how fucking stupid I was compared to him
Well thank you very much for answering my questions out of what I’m sure is a really busy schedule I really appreciate it! This info really helps so thank you very much! Also I googled the guy and what an absolute unit he is lol. Once again thank you very much!
Quant is a very different skill set from IB/PE...saying that everyone wants it/it's the best is like saying that everyone in finance wishes they could be in medicine. Like maybe you think medicine is better holistically, but there's a reason not everyone is gunning for it.
Buddy Zhou Qun Song isn't even in finance anymore and neither will you if you don't seriously check your ego. OP you can definitely get to a quant HF if you are passionate about markets and network. Obviously the path isn't as clear as if you are graduating from a top Ivy but I've seen people come from state schools. Likely will have to do a PhD or a Masters but in all honesty most researchers/ PMs at top quant hedge funds have those anyway. No one cares if you went to Harvard or did the IMO - I went to HYPS and most people who were much smarter than me and had the ego of the above poster flamed out already and never made it to PM. It's more about your passion for markets than raw intellectual horsepower
Quant is a horsepower game. You’ll need to do exceptionally well and do a more prestigious terminal degree in the top fields of math and physics. Those three schools would place better in LMM / MM regional banks with a bit of prep and networking, and that’s not a bad outcome at all. Would you rather grind a question bank and some modeling courses for 3-4 weekends in a row sophomore fall, or take a ten year PhD? There are a lot of different paths in finance.
Hi thank you for the insight, I do understand and appreciate the different avenues of finance however I do have an appreciation for the quant side and want to work there. You mention that I’d likely have to go for a PHD for a quant role, however, from the little knowledge I have through those site and some others I came to the conclusion that one could get a quant role right out of undergrad, and if more, out of an MS program at a solid school?
Believe Purdue is the strongest among your choices for STEM so I would go there. I would try to crush it there and then transfer to another school (Cornell could be a good bet).
From what I’ve read in to UW-Madison is the highest ranked for the major I got in to, ranked #12 for CS, and recently I’ve been thinking of going there, grinding, then transferring out to another school. I see you’ve mentioned Cornell, do you know of any other schools that would greatly help on the path to quant, that are also a realistic idea to transfer to? I was thinking of applying to transfer to Georgia Tech or UMich, would that help me or does it need to be a more “prestigious”/old network school like Cornell?
Choose which-ever college that has the lightest coursework. In your free time, learn statistic and machine learning like crazy.
Would this be when attempting a transfer? And if so would acquiring different certificates be sufficient or would I also need to demonstrate some leadership along with my skills I.e. founding some organization/company to capitalize on it?
LOL if you have to ask, then you're too dumb for even math or CS majors, let alone quant finance as a career. You realize Citadel recruits from IMO/IOI/etc. right? I'm sure you have to Google "IMO" or "IOI". Vitalik Buterin, a founder of Ethereum, has a bronze in IOI and an IQ of ~220+. Do you think he spent his time on message boards asking, "How can I make it as a quant from UW-Madison?" No, dumbass, you're a nobody, don't flatter yourself.
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