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

DadTwoGirls
Wed, 14 Jan 2026 18:01:27 +0000

To me they both sound like very good options.

user2756:

I would major in Math and CS at Cornell and probably take advantage of some ORIE and Dyson courses as well.

My bachelors degree is in math. My master’s degree is in Operations Research. I think that these are very good majors, that can be potentially useful in a wide range of careers. Some knowledge of Computer Science will be very useful (or even necessary) in combination with these subjects. Physics is one example of a science that uses a lot of math to solve a range of problems. Actually as a math major my first job was at a physics research facility. They used a lot of math. There are a lot of things in this world that only work because someone did the math. Apparently cyclotrons and radio telescopes are included on this list of things.

This is a very good combination of subjects. I have referred to OR as “its great fun and they pay you”.

And Chicago and Cornell are both excellent in these areas. Neither is going to be easy. Both are very well known for being excellent and for academic rigor.

I might be tempted to look at the graduation requirements at both schools. You might want to consider both general education requirements, and major-specific requirements. I would want to see if there is any significant difference between the courses that you would be required to take.

You could also think about where you want to spend four years. Of course both of these locations are going to have real winters. Personally I like the location for Cornell quite a bit, but personal preferences may vary.