am i qualified yet?

[psalyga]

Hello
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Much appreciation to the members that offer regular advice on this board.
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I would like a basic assessment whether I qualify as a good candidate. I am pursuing a BS in business administration with a concentration in Finance and Accounting. Also on track for a BA in mathematics and a minor in CS. My GPA is 4.0 finance| 3.3 Accounting | 3.90 Mathematics | 4.0 CS. I have two somewhat relevant internships (UBS PWM and an IPO trading shop) and one not so relevant, but nonetheless still impressive internship (Congressional Intern.) I plan on taking part in undergraduate research (Economics) this semester, math competitions next semester, and a required thesis during my final semester. GRE I have not taken yet. My course listing is as follows:
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Derivative Analysis
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Calculus I,II,III
Discrete Mathematics
Multivariate calc
Numerical algorithms
Line alg and matrices
Differential equations
Vector calc
Linear programming
Complex variables
Stats
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Intro to computer science I & II (java)
Intro to C++
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Now for some concerns of mine:
1) My school is not very well known (one of the UNC state schools). Is this a negating admissions factor like it would be for other programs such as an MBA?
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2) I am going to be in undergrad for close to 6 years before I graduate. Will anyone care? Will it come up during interviews?
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3) some ideas to spend my final summer so I can impress adcom? Research vs internship?
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Thanks
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[Connor]

1) Does it matter if it is negative? At this point you can't do anything about it so forget it and focus on the things under your control.

2) I did 5 years and on my resume instead of saying university from 200x to 200x I say "Graduated 200x". This could come up in an interview so just be prepared to explain why specifically (beyond I like to learn, etc).

3) If you will have already done some research in economics and hopefully done well and gotten a good letter of recommendation from it, then I would say get an internship especially if it is relevant to your interests.

Why the accounting?

 

[bdworld]

Hey conor i need your help.i have been accepted by a university for both mechanical engineering and quantitative finance(math and statistics concentrated) and i have to make a choice between the two.I want to persue a career in financial engineering.I am realy confused by which undergrad degree to persue as i am both passionate about both mechanics and finance.Which of the 2 would prepare me better to become a quant and which of the 2 do MFE schools prefare when admitting?.Which of the 2 is ideal for a future quant?

 

[Connor]

Hey conor i need your help.i have been accepted by a university for both mechanical engineering and quantitative finance(math and statistics concentrated) and i have to make a choice between the two.I want to persue a career in financial engineering.I am realy confused by which undergrad degree to persue as i am both passionate about both mechanics and finance.Which of the 2 would prepare me better to become a quant and which of the 2 do MFE schools prefare when admitting?.Which of the 2 is ideal for a future quant?

What university? I'll take a look.

 

[bdworld]

University of Capetown

 

[Joy Pathak]

Hey conor i need your help.i have been accepted by a university for both mechanical engineering and quantitative finance(math and statistics concentrated) and i have to make a choice between the two.I want to persue a career in financial engineering.I am realy confused by which undergrad degree to persue as i am both passionate about both mechanics and finance.Which of the 2 would prepare me better to become a quant and which of the 2 do MFE schools prefare when admitting?.Which of the 2 is ideal for a future quant?

I did my undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering and am currently pursuing Masters in Financial Engineering. If you want to pursue FE a undergraduate in mathematics will aide considerably when you do MFE, but there are significant benefits of having an undergraduate engineering degree.

If you are 10000% confident you will pursue financial engineering then mathematics and programming courses will be your biggest assets, otherwise Engineering is the way to go in my opinion.

 

[Connor]

Hey conor i need your help.i have been accepted by a university for both mechanical engineering and quantitative finance(math and statistics concentrated) and i have to make a choice between the two.I want to persue a career in financial engineering.I am realy confused by which undergrad degree to persue as i am both passionate about both mechanics and finance.Which of the 2 would prepare me better to become a quant and which of the 2 do MFE schools prefare when admitting?.Which of the 2 is ideal for a future quant?

The degree in quant finance isn't really enough to get you a job in quant finance on its own unless you are lucky.

I would recommend going the engineering route. It will prepare you for a career in engineering but also will give you the needed background to pursue a MFE. This option gives you more job options in the future.

 

[bdworld]

Thankyou conor.apreciate you advice