Anonymous wrote:1732 here.
so the path would be applied math at atop 25 (preferrably top 10 school) -> use the alum database to reach out to employees at the aforementioned firms to set up phone chats after her first semester at school, join the quant finance club, first summer paid research internship at a university in applied math/quant finance, fall sophomore year - really work the network at on-campus recruiting to land interviews at trading shops, and each subsequent summer intern in either trading or something tangential to that so you are a strong candidate come senior fall recruiting.
How much does the prestige level of the school matter? Will top-50 do, maybe one that has some Wall St recruiting on campus?
Major: suppose the school doesn't have an official "applied mathematics" major. Will a regular math major + whatever extra courses also work?
Can a math/physics double major get on a quant path?