r/uwaterloo • u/BassParticular2884 • 2d ago

Question Quant Pipeline program?

I'm 17, applying for waterloo of course, and I want to get into quantitative finance; im already spending my free time studying math, computer science, and finance; but I want to know what would be the best program to apply for

I'm currently looking at the Mathematical finance + laurier finance double major, but ive seen some comments on pmath being overall better than Mathematical finance

Any advice would be appreciated

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u/BassParticular2884 2d ago

Guess im going to have alot of work to do then arent I

Should I start studying for putnam and ICPC now? Is their anything else I can do? maybe personal projects, co op, anything

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u/Whalesftw123 2d ago

If you aren't already one of the best math students in Canada right now you don't really have a chance. You can't study for this stuff like a test.

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u/BassParticular2884 2d ago

But couldnt I just improve my math skills?
Im definitely not one of the best math students, but im good at math, and passionate if it matters

I have years ahead of me, wouldnt years of math study let me place high?

I cant just accept defeat for not being born the best or being brought up to be the best math student; its naive but id like to atleast think with enough dedication and the fact Im already good at math Id be able to do something

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u/Whalesftw123 2d ago

Welcome to the real world. Your competition is also going to work as hard as you. The difference is they already have a decade of experience. And everyone at Waterloo is "good" at math. You quickly realize there's levels to this. And there's like 5 spots for all of Canada per year.

I'm not saying you can't do something, but QT at a top firm newgrad might be unrealistic.

But I mean also, feel free to prove me wrong.

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u/BassParticular2884 2d ago

So, with what everyone is saying; quant is near impossible to break into, and if i pursued this, it would effectively be a lottery ticket level gamble to actually break into quant?

If that is so, then why do so many people even pursue it for years of their lives?

It honestly seems a bit depressing I cant lie, not that I wont pursue it anyways, but my goodness 💔

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u/Whalesftw123 2d ago

Dude it's like any really competitive thing. Like making it into the NBA. Lots of people spend years trying but most don't make it. Is that depressing? I mean it's just the real world. Not everyone gets to make millions.