My son has been admitted to Virginia Tech for Industrial and Systems Engineering and to UCLA for Financial Mathematics and Actuarial Science. He is a strong qualitative thinker, articulate, and highly interested in financial roles. We are facing a difficult decision, as UCLA is a top-20 university, but the program is heavily math-focused and primarily leads to opportunities in the financial industry. Additionally, we reside on the East Coast, and UCLA’s out-of-state tuition is approximately $90,000. Given these factors, which option would be the better choice for him?
No one but you knows how impactful that price will be on you.
IE and financial math are quite different. Why did he apply to IE at VT? How about asking the math department at VT if he can create a similar academic path at VT?
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A rank is no assurance of anything. It’s something US News decided. In fact, there’s an entire thread on that you shouldn’t trust career data.
Question one isn’t between these two schools - it’s budget. What can you afford - or more importantly, what are you willing to afford?
Then you pick schools based on that.
So if $90K is out of budget, that school shouldn’t even be considered - and another less expensive should be found in substitute.
But then the second question is - what do you want to study? Why did the student not apply for the same major at both schools?
So -
Figure out what you want to study.
If it Financial Math and Actuarial Science but you cannot afford to pay $90K, then it’s back to the drawing board to find a school still taking apps where you can do the major.
From this statement, it seems like he prefers the UCLA major - but then you make it seem like maybe it’s too limiting (primarily leads to roles in the financial industry). So I’m confused.
"He is a strong qualitative thinker, articulate, and highly interested in financial roles. We are facing a difficult decision, as UCLA is a top-20 university, but the program is heavily math-focused and primarily leads to opportunities in the financial industry. "
But to choose UCLA because it’s a top-20 university is not the right reason to choose it - especially if he’s interested in actuarial roles.
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What concentrations does VT offer for Industrial Engineering?
Georgia Tech has several concentrations for ISyE. One is Financial Systems. Does VT have something similar?
VT’s IE program is highly regarded.
Compare degree requirements between the two programs. See if any electives line-up.
An IE degree is fairly portable for various jobs and industries.
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So, for me the two questions comes to mind, is what does he actually want to study? VT has a great IE program. But if he wants to focus on finance and actuarial science, it’s hard to go wrong with UCLA for that.
The second question is what does that cost difference mean to you? If you have to stretch and compromise retirement or otherwise put significant strain on your finances, then I’d lean heavily towards Virginia Tech. He could also check out their CMDA major with an economics focus - which would give some good data analytics background.
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It offers the following program areas:
- Human Factors Engineering & Ergonomics
- Management & Systems Engineering
- Manufacturing Systems Engineering
- Operations Research
Is the Operations Research track within the Industrial & Systems Engineering of interest, @collegedad29?
Operations Research (OR) is a scientific approach to problem-solving and decision-making that relies on mathematical modeling, data analysis, and optimization techniques. Its primary goal is to design, manage, and improve complex systems by determining the optimal or most effective allocation of scarce resources. (More details in the link below)
Have you looked at VT’s math major? It offers concentrations in:
- Traditional
- Applied Computational (math + application area]
- Applied Discrete [math + computer science]
- Math Education
Or if finance is where his heart lies, what the requirements are to transfer into the Pamplin College of Business? One major of interest might be FinTech and Big Data Analytics.
I guess my question is what most interests your kid and how flexible is the college (whether UCLA or VT) for him to be able to switch majors if/as his interests change?
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