Four to Nine Years

Well the semester is finally over. I am not 100% sure but I believe I have A's (to see the list of classes look at this post).

Enough about that though since really there isn't too much I can say that is interesting enough for me to type. A few days ago I attended an information session for my school's MSF (Masters of Science in Finance) program. Even though I am an undergraduate student I am able to apply for their Combined Degree program, and would be able to obtain the MSF degree in 2010, when I would normally graduate. The application process doesn't look too difficult or complicated; all you have to do is get at least a 650 on the GMAT, a B+ or better in FIN3403, and submit a statement of purpose. Now I don't know how hard the GMAT is but after reading what kind of skills it "test" it sounds just like the SAT, so I should be fine if I buy a study guide or 2. Even though I haven't taken FIN 3403 the speaker said that it would be alright as long as I was taking it the semester I submitted my application. However, after reading the section on quantitative analytics from a book they handed out, I was not sure whether it would be worth my time to get the MSF or wait and get a MMF (Masters of Science in Mathematical Finance), an equivalent degree in Financial Engineering, or a PhD in Financial Mathematics/Applied Mathematics/Operations Research. The reason is that after looking at the course offerings and descriptions for the MSF program it sounded like they were more interested in the financial side and less on the applied math side. Just to make sure though I am planning on making an appointment to speak with the program head and voice my concerns.

So far I have a list of schools I am considering for graduate school. Here they are broken down based on the degree I would be pursuing.
MMF/Financial Engineering: Chicago, Stanford
PhD in Pure Mathematics: Chicago, Stanford
PhD in Applied Mathematics: Cal Tech., Carnegie Mellon, Chicago, Duke, Georgia Tech., Stanford
PhD in Financial Mathematics/Operations Research: Carnegie Mellon, Cornell
I am sure that this list will change some as I get closer to graduation and talk to more faculty members about what programs would best meet my needs.