Math major with Finance minor?

Blobof
Tue, 13 May 2008 21:32:01 +0000

Waterloo has an entire faculty of Math, so yeah, there’s more courses. The difference is that you specialize much earlier and, as you note, may not get the more general/theoretical basis that you’d get at McGill in math (for example, someone doing statistics at Waterloo can get a degree without doing any analysis). Waterloo also has coop programs and much better financial aid for undergrads than McGill. The faculty in each school is top notch.

Montreal is a much more interesting city than Waterloo, but, as is frequently joked, Waterloo’s great for studying because there’s nothing else to do (that’s not entirely true, and Toronto is just an hour and a half away, but Montreal’s better than Toronto, IMHO, and not an hour and a half away from itself).

Overall, it depends on what you want. If you want a more “hands-on” experience and intend to get a job right out of your undergrad diploma, then I’d probably favour Waterloo (only taking into account academic factors). If you’re aiming for grad school, then it depends on what you’re looking to get out of your degree. A math major at McGill may give you a better theoretical basis and a more general overview of the various subfields of math than the more specialized Waterloo degree, but Waterloo has more courses relating to finance (or any specific area). Whether you’re deadset on finance or not, a solid theoretical background is not to be discounted when in comes to grad school. It’s easier to get from math to something more specialized than the other way around at that point. It comes down to broader knowledge vs deeper knowledge of the subject, and what’s “better” is hard to decide.

On the non-academic side of things, I’d favour McGill.

I hope that helps you in making your decision.