University of Maryland undergraduate

[Terrapin]

Hey, I've been following different threads and articles on this site for about a year now and finally registered. I've been interested in finance in general for the past three years, having read many books ranging from "Security Analysis" to "Intermarket Trading Strategies."

I'm a second semester freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park with a 4.0. Obviously I still have three years ahead of me to keep getting good grades but now that I'm finishing up alot of the core curriculum I'm faced with the decision on what I will be focusing my undergraduate studies on. I've always been quite good at mathematics and my first real thought is that I'll major in math. However, I am told by my advisors that investment banking bulge bracket firms recruit mainly from the Robert Smith business school, which lead me to thinking that maybe majoring in finance would be better. However, for quantitative finance purposes, should I focus in mathematics? Besides the fact that Maryland isn't exactly a target school, I did a little research and apparently UBS will be recruiting from Maryland starting in the fall.

I guess my question is two-fold; whether Maryland is a fine place for undergrad, to eventually get into quant finance & trading systems development, and whether a finance or math major is better?

Thanks in advance, and sorry if this post is poorly written, it's early in the morning and I haven't had my coffee yet haha

 

[euroazn]

Well obviously Maryland isn't a target.
So recruitment advantages from the Business school are very small...
So I would put math over business.

That being said, you could still double major, although some people on this forum are bound to disagree. They will tell you to just take more math/compsci.

But if you seriously want to do something quantitative don't just have a single major in business.

 

[yzia]

Damn right its a fine place for undergrad! DUCK FUKE! Edsall was a terrible hire! (Currently in my fifth year there, graduating next semester with degrees in Physics and Econ)

To be frank with you, don't do just a business/finance major there. The Smith school is elitist in their "holier than thou" attitude and will not let you access their career posting system if you aren't in their school.

My suggestion? Do Finance from the Smith school and pick up Math/Physics or CS. Morgan Stanley, Citi and JP both started recruiting this year for their internship (the year I graduate, why I oughta...). MS for their quant program, JP for their IT program and Citi for their S&T program. Blackrock has also posted things for their internship program as well. But they are all looking for a major out of CMNS or Engineering.

Maryland is a great place, the potential is endless but its a matter of what you do with it, not what is done for you. We're on the cusp of being recruited by Wall St firms but we're not quite there yet. And even then, the firms are looking beyond Smith and into CMNS/Engineering. You should do the same.

 

[Terrapin]

My suggestion? Do Finance from the Smith school and pick up Math/Physics or CS. Morgan Stanley, Citi and JP both started recruiting this year for their internship (the year I graduate, why I oughta...). MS for their quant program, JP for their IT program and Citi for their S&T program. Blackrock has also posted things for their internship program as well. But they are all looking for a major out of CMNS or Engineering.

haha nice to see a fellow marylander on here... by "pick up" do you mean just learn alot of math and computer science? My main issue is that I worry that I won't have enough time to do something like a double major in 4 years what with all the CORE reqs.

 

[yzia]

I did the entire Physics major in 2 years, and know a lot of people that did Math and {Econ || Finance} in 4. You will be fine.

And by "pick up" I mean add the major

 

[euroazn]

Morgan Stanley, Citi and JP both started recruiting this year for their internship

Oh boy, insider information on a merger

 

[theNazerith]

double major in math and finance it will give you a lot of opportunities to work in a business related field or science based

im a double major in math and finance and it is a lot of fun talk get exposed to these topics early. its also good when you get a job, network, and can talk both languages. talk to business majors and techies...

 

[Lyosha]

if you want to DEVELOP stuff, why not add a comp sci major/minor to the mix?

 

[theNazerith]

don't need a comp sci degree to develop anything major

just a couple computer science courses and learn C#

math degree requires 2 college comp sci classes...data structures would be good to take but anything further wouldnt be necessary

there will always be a tech group at an investment bank just learn how to scrip, and to interface with office products through VB or C#