University for 17yo Intl. Student Breaking Into Quant/HF/S&T
I'm a student applying to schools in the US, UK, and Singapore with the goal to break into QT, HF, or S&T.
I am based out of the US, have a 3.9/4.0 GPA (Only struggle with english/spanish classes), high enough SAT and good enough AP scores to practically guarantee a position at Warwick MORSE and a couple T50s in the US. I am currently spending my summer at a multi-billion dollar AM fund in Midtown, and have a decent collection of quant-related projects and trading algorithms, including stat-arbs, weird derivatives stuff, and de-fi algos.
However, as the title says, I am considered an intl. applicant for the US, UK, and Singapore. Would love some perspective from ppl in the industry regarding what schools I should target and realistic odds of me breaking in. Thanks!
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here’s a breakdown of your situation and potential paths:
United States
United Kingdom
Singapore
Additional Notes
Recommendation
If you’re aiming for the best odds of breaking into QT, HF, or S&T: 1. US: Prioritize MIT or other top technical schools. 2. UK: Warwick MORSE is an excellent choice, with Imperial and LSE as strong alternatives. 3. Singapore: NUS and NTU are solid options, especially if you’re interested in the Asian financial markets.
Good luck with your applications!
Sources: MIT vs. Princeton vs. Yale undergrad for quant hedge fund, Here are the Target Undergraduate Schools in Canada, Comprehensive Undergraduate Target Schools Tier List 2020, Deciding on quantitive majors/career path?
Uphill climb for anyone, and especially for international students, but taking a STEM OPT eligible degree/major should give you work authorization to accept a return offer. Then you have to ball out and hope employing bank/MM will sponsor your permanent work visa
Thanks!
As an intl applicant singapore would be very very tough unless ur an asian girl from stanford/MIT. UK from Warwick morse might be doable if you qualify for their DEI schemes unless don't bother. HFs/Trading firms which seems to be relatively meritocratic usually target Oxcam+imperial ppll and id argue that even lse(quantitative courses ofc) is a strong semi-target for those roles.
US plenty of places less emphasis on dei but visa is a problem. Network extensively to fight for ur sponsorship.
Thank you for your advice! I really appreciate it.
S&T from Warwick MORSE is totaly realistic, I got in from Bristol maths. QT and stuff I just all down to getting fantastic grades to get an interview then grinding the practise questions.
The unfortunate reality is that for top American schools, family income plays a non-negligible role in international admissions. If you come from a higher income family, you might have a serious shot at the Ivy League. You didn't share your raw scores so can't say for sure. All in, you'll be entering college with experience few (if any) American peers will have, given your internship; good on you.
re. sponsorship, it can definitely feel like an uphill battle. Can't speak to quant but a good friend of mine is Singaporean and he had a handful of hedge funds chasing him in junior year because he was just that cracked. It's definitely possible.
Speaking from a HYPSM POV. Best of luck to you, you've got this :)
1570 SAT, 5s on 7 AP courses, majority being STEM/Econ! I do have a decent amount of personal connections in the industry (a lot of senior traders, some fund owners) and nearly all of those people have joked about me dropping out once I'm in college and working for them- I'll take that in stride :)
Thanks for your advice!
Hard to give advice early other than get into the best school you can and make sure you enjoy what you want to get into
A pleasure to hear your thoughts. I am likewise a 17-year-old Quantitative Finance and Research Analyst with over four years of immersion in the capital markets, possessing advanced proficiency in SIPs, intraday trading, futures & options, mutual funds, and equity research.
Professionally, I have undertaken multiple offline internships within the financial markets and have orchestrated finance-centric seminars across diverse domains. Entrepreneurially, my business venture was adjudged **5th nationwide**, exemplifying my aptitude for innovation, strategic execution, and commercial acumen.
Academically, I am pursuing C2-level English proficiency while concurrently aspiring to secure admission to premier universities across Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
I would be delighted to establish a meaningful professional connection, exchange intellectual perspectives. I would sincerely appreciate your response at your earliest convenience and look forward to hearing from you.
DMed!
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