Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Finance?
First post here on WSO, been lurking for a while.
BACKGROUND: I am 18 yrs old, currently going to a community college in Northern Virginia. I had a shit GPA in High School (~3.3). Currently I have a 3.8 GPA and will be ready to transfer to my four year choice. I have chosen James Madison University(semi-target but solid school, class of 2009-2013 has seen 5 people go to goldman)OVER UVA McIntire(tier 1 target, has some recruiting from Goldman) for the sole reason that they offer a degree in quantitative finance; I also am guaranteed admission into JMU. I'm not sure i'd be able to get into McIntire with just a 3.8 from a CC. Also; if I do not get into McIntire should I even bother with Econ at UVA solely because the networks and prestige of going there? Is that really going to shit on someone who did qfin at a semi target?
Is a bachelor in qfin a solid choice for a career in investment banking? Will I have an edge over these commerce guys from UVA or regular finance guys coming from tier 1's? I am not sure exactly what I want to do yet; my dream career is as an investment banker, but I do not know much about my other options such as corporate finance, hedge funds, etc. Any advice on paths that can be taken with this degree would be helpful. I know I want to work in Finance and the lifestyle/type of work is a perfect match for who I am.
I just would like to know what you guys think would be my best path to a future on wall street.
Depends why you are doing it. If you are genuinely interested in quantitative finance (ie derivatives pricing, stochastic calculus, financial engineering) etc then go for it. Will it be even remotely useful in investment banking? Absolutely not.
Standard financial models in banking (like the DCF, multiples, etc) are pretty much just basic algebra. Instead of using R/MATLAB/whatever software you learned in quant. finance, you'll be using Microsoft Excel. Not to mention you're going to need to teach yourself "normal" finance/accounting as the two are completely different.
Now as for a conversation topic in an interview, it could be an interesting background to differentiate yourself. However based on my experience (at a semi-target), bankers would much rather prefer the typical 4.0 finance dweeb than a quanty/math person simply based on the issue of fit. Of course if you were to network, then this can be a very strong selling point.
If I were you, I'd do some research into what investment banking actually is and possible career paths to look at. You're only 18 so don't worry too much, but if you are genuinely interested in quant. finance and have stellar math skills, by the time you're a junior looking for SA positions most likely you'll be looking at Jane Street not Goldman Sachs. If you are dead set on banking for whatever reason, go for McIntire and do the normal finance major crap
I'm not very interested in math, however, it is a second language to me and is pretty easy. Regarding needing to learn "normal" finance; the QFin program at JMU is simply a normal finance degree with extra coding/math courses that leave you one class short of double major in mathematics. I am pretty set on the path to IB; I figured that quant finance would give me an edge over the normal commerce & finance guys since my degree is much more rigorous.
It's clear I need to do some more research; I am just trying to avoid missing the best opportunity of my life!
http://www.jmu.edu/catalog/16/programs/finance.shtml#QUANTITATIVEFINANCE
Look at the difference between traditional finance and quant. finance - they are completely different majors.
Normal finance (whether at JMU or UVA) usually involves an accounting-based approach. This means that mathematically you'll probably be going up to Calculus I/II at the most and your courses will be a mixture of accounting-based finance, spreadsheet skills, and professionalism courses.
Math/QFin/Econ covers similar content, but instead of looking at a company's fundamentals you might do derivatives pricing (ie Black-Scholes), regression methods, etc. It's obviously a lot more quantitative and to clarify, investment banking is not quantitative - it's grinding, work ethic, and relationship skills.
"I am just trying to avoid missing the best opportunity of my life!"
Investment banking is not even close to the best opportunity of your life. Your college years are what transitions you from a kid to an adult, so pick a place based on genuine academic interests and how you fit in socially.
Keep in mind that the undergraduate experience in a traditional finance/business school program is something like 30% academics with the rest spent between networking and socializing with friends. Going for a math/qfin major will be like 80% academics.
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