I am a HS Senior and am applying to Cornell with the following stats:
SAT: Math 760 R/W 720
GPA: 3.78/4 UW 4.57/5 W
AP’s: Took many, classes, but highest scores were Calc AB (4), Microeconomics (4), APUSH (4)
After doing some research, it looks like the Cornell equivalent of financial engineering is called “Operations Research and Engineering”, however after looking at https://cheme.cornell.edu/academics/undergraduate/curriculum/Majors/ore.cfm , all I saw were “buzzwords” and fillers and nothing on what is actually being taught. As well, despite listing “Financial Engineering” as one of the things this can apply to, it also lists a lot of other unrelated fields, which raises doubts if I am applying to the right major.
In short, I want to do financial engineering, what major would be most beneficial?
Operations Research is the closest fit. Think of OR as applied mathematics, with finance as one of many possible domains where OR techniques can be applied. Looking at the course catalog (or roster at Cornell) can tell you a lot about an academic department’s orientation. In the case of OR, 5582, 4742, 5610 and 5640 are just some of the Spring 2018 courses that would provide some focus on the world of finance.