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Brandeis University vs. Stony Brook University for Applied Math and Computer Science Double major

DanielLevy

Joined
4/11/21
Messages
6
Points
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I’m a high school senior that was just accepted to Brandeis University and Stony Brook University intending to double major in Applied Math and Computer Science. What school is better if I want to pursue a career in Quant Finance? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
 
Thanks Qui-Gon! I have one more question if you’ll indulge me. SBU is cheaper and accepts more AP credits, but Brandeis is apparently more prestigious in the north-east area. If I want to get a job or internships, what do you think will look better? Is there really a difference to employers?
 
DanielLevy said:
Thanks Qui-Gon! I have one more question if you’ll indulge me. SBU is cheaper and accepts more AP credits, but Brandeis is apparently more prestigious in the north-east area. If I want to get a job or internships, what do you think will look better? Is there really a difference to employers?
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Definitely consider cost if the difference is substantial relative to your budget. Has Brandeis offered you any financial aid? I was looking at transferring to Brandeis for my junior year (about 5 years ago), and I remember a large % of students receiving aid. I wouldn’t consider AP credits in your decision, unless you’ve done substantial math/cs AP coursework that Brandeis won’t accept. Otherwise, I would say who cares if you have to take an extra history/political science/econ/physics class at Brandeis vs SBU, shouldn’t be a major concern of yours in my opinion. I doubt there is a major difference so far as internships and post grad job opportunities go, however, this is merely conjecture. Something I would consider is that NYC is a hub for summer internships, and as an SBU student you wouldn’t just be competing with students from nearby schools, whereas this is less so the case with Boston and as a result it may be easier for sharp Brandeis students to get good internships than sharp SBU students. This is not hard fact, and I encourage you to look into internship/career services at both universities and also to browse LinkedIn and reach out to current students/recent graduates about what the process of applying to positions was like for them.
 
Thank you very much!
To clarify, both are fairly expensive and have offered me similar tuition, Brandeis's is about $6,000 more expensive than SBU’s, so I’ll take your advice. Do you have any recommendations for getting internships other than cold-emailing? Your insight is greatly appreciated!
 
DanielLevy said:
Thank you very much!
To clarify, both are fairly expensive and have offered me similar tuition, Brandeis's is about $6,000 more expensive than SBU’s, so I’ll take your advice. Do you have any recommendations for getting internships other than cold-emailing? Your insight is greatly appreciated!
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If the difference is only $6,000 I would assign even more weight to choosing Brandeis. Prior to starting your degree, not really. Once you've started undergrad, join the main finance student organization and make a b line for a leadership role. Other than that, read, read and read some more -- news, books, online notes, anything. This will help you form an idea on what kinds of positions you may be interested in.
 
Qui-Gon said:
If the difference is only $6,000 I would assign even more weight to choosing Brandeis. Prior to starting your degree, not really. Once you've started undergrad, join the main finance student organization and make a b line for a leadership role. Other than that, read, read and read some more -- news, books, online notes, anything. This will help you form an idea on what kinds of positions you may be interested in.
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Thank you so much. Your advice is extremely helpful and insightful. I write a blog and have read numerous books on fundamental analysis, but gradually transitioned to more quant-related stuff, after losing money on some of my biggest fundamental bets. I’m aspiring to be an exotic derivatives and hybrids trader/quantitative developer or a quantitative portfolio manager/research analyst. Hopefully, Brandeis will prepare me for an MFE and bestow great opportunities through their finance club if I join and ascend the ranks.

Gratefully,
Daniel
 
DanielLevy said:
I’m a high school senior that was just accepted to Brandeis University and Stony Brook University intending to double major in Applied Math and Computer Science. What school is better if I want to pursue a career in Quant Finance? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
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Brandeis is not a top 40 (but close). Beyond top 30, the difference is marginal anyway.

Also SBU is a very strong STEM school (top in both applied math and CS) while Brandeis is not known in STEM (Precisely speaking, ranked very
low in STEM).

But I agree that Brandeis offers an unbeatable liberal arts college like undergraduate experience if that's one of your major concerns.
 
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