Help Me Choose Cornell A&S or UChicago for Quant Finance (Math + CS Major)

clockila
Fri, 27 Feb 2026 02:38:49 +0000

All right, so I’ll preface that I lost interest in CC after entering college. But I am Applied Math/CAAM at UChicago.

Economics and Math isn’t the most common trajectory for quant. It’s more so CAAM, Math+CS or Math alone. You can discover this once you get here. Also I do CAAM+Stats but note that I am not going into quant or even something that high schoolers dream of - most probably analytics or a Master’s at this point.

Startup culture: not strong, some people do it in CS-y spaces but I wouldn’t say it dominates

Connections: There’s a good presence in the financial and consulting industry, for both quant, traditional finance and consulting. However, you have to be proactive about using it and reaching out to alumni, though you can still do some coffee chats with finance/consulting firms through Handshake/Career services (I was passive and did so).

Grade deflation: Not insane but it’s not easy to get a 3.8+. And you can often sacrifice resume building if you go too aggressively on GPA. The hard math classes are very challenging but the regular ones are managable. Average GPA is around a 3.6-3.7 I believe, probably closer to the former.

Cornell has stronger placement/reputation for CS hands-down. Chicago’s curriculum is somewhat more theoretical and challenging, so you have to proactively develop skills beyond the program. Math is probably stronger at UChicago but you should note that this difference is marginal unless you want a PhD, it’s mostly different at the graduate level and for hyper-advanced students. But if you have signs of that (I mean beyond 7 in IB Math/5 in BC Calc, like say, Intro Analysis already completed) and are interested in Math PhD’s it could be worth it. I think Chicago is better reputed for Econ.

Prestige/reputation: Strong for quant in Chicago, though you have to train and do well on the tests/OA’s. Good for finance/consulting but you have to prep and pass the interviews. Not sure how Cornell compares, but I think it would be similar.

Campus-like feel: exists, but can be quieter if you choose. There are Greek Life scenes I am not involved in. Math/CS takes up a lot of time, so you need to be excellent at time management to have more than a minimal social life. Mine is closer to minimal, but I am satisfied with it.