Better major: Math, Econ, or Applied Math?

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imo, double in math and econ. (or applied math and econ).

I don't think Econ is that quant. EGR, Physics, Math and Stat are all quant.

I would major in Econ minor in Math, you'll have an easier courseload that way. However, like searchingforbananas, if you think you'll get the same GPA than Math is looked upon as a more difficult/challenging major than Econ.

I'm a finance major with course focus on quantitative finance (financial engineering and start-up finance) and with extra classes in economics (intermediate level econ) and math (quantitative business analysis, cal 2, cal 3). I tried to create my own IB-oriented program by picking and choosing classes, ha.

The correct answer is whatever you will find the most interesting and will do the best in.

Although your interests should align roughly with the mentality described in SketchLayout’s pithy post, I think that a more specific answer may be desired for other users’ edification.

Note that any maths (yes, maths) from calculus and beyond will never be invoked in investment banking, private equity or hedge funds. Yet, we continue to see prospective financiers stress over the technical marketability of their majors in efforts to gain a recruiting edge. While it’s true that technical majors are more prized in the industry than are the standard humanities and business majors, why do banks continue to stack their Analyst classes with Business/Econ concentrators? Moreover, why do firms expect you to take mathematics courses at all, and, moreover, do well in them? It turns out financial firms are much more interested in the general penumbra of aptitude that comes packaged with each academically high-performing applicant. What do I mean by this?

Well, to do well in an introductory calculus, ordinary differential equations, and linear algebra (the standard mathematical fare for underclassmen), it takes a certain intelligence and mental acuity. But what separates the budding mathematicians who codify their logic and arguments in epsilon-delta proofs from the "blue collar"-smart future investment bankers is very different from what separates those successful Goldman Sachs/Morgan Stanley applicants from the inclusive population of non-maths majors. Those who earn a coveted slot at an investment bank tend to be the ones who aren't necessarily able to digest Rudin (http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Mathematical-Analysis-International-Ma…) in a single setting; rather, they are the ones who find a way to cram the minimum amount of material required to secure a top mark on an exam in the minimal amount of time (an optimization problem in itself!), juice extra points from positive off-line interactions with the teaching staff and professors (we are known for our charisma and preternatural ability to launch into rapport with just about everyone), and continually buffer their final score tally with "cruise points," which are almost passively-earned points from a variety of minority contributions to your final grade, such as homework assignments, class participation, in-class pop quizzes, etc.

Your ability to master these softer skills are not clear from the single data point of your final grade. Instead, it is just another tiny diamond on the enormous histogram of trials and tribulations suffered during your undergraduate years that encode your entire life, which is eligible for professional scrutiny.

Ultimately, the maths (look, the British use this term, and it just stuck with me) you need to know for finance will never even exceed algebra, as many of the models you construct for valuation or capitalization require basic arithmetic operations at best. [Side note: a good example to see is the set of quant questions tested on the GMAT]. So, if you aspire for finance, and when you finally do take calculus, remember that even if you will never need to consider situations that involve dangling catenaries or proving the existence of fixed points for continuous functions on the job as an Investment Banking Analyst, you can be sure that your academic and soft-skills success in securing high grades will have been responsible for your future successful candidacy at the Bulge Bracket.