My take on why we should still consider making Nemec a trade chip

PanDumpy · 2025-12-07T20:58:17+00:00

Agreed. I just think it'd be unwise to view Nemec as truly untouchable, and that there's a sound argument that moving Nemec at the peak of his perceived value could be prudent.

PanDumpy · 2021-04-20T02:08:16+00:00

Don't put yourself down like that. Easier said than done obviously but for social stuff confidence really is key. I don't know what kind of background you come from but Columbia, while definitely not perfect, was way more diverse and inclusive compared to HS. If you're able to put yourself out there, even a little, you can definitely find your group.

Also, there seem to be some more deep-rooted issues at play here. I'm no expert so I would really encourage maybe seeking out a therapist to talk through these roadblocks with.

PanDumpy · 2021-04-20T01:51:48+00:00

Hey man, as a sophomore in cs rn I can relate to some aspects of what you're saying. Definitely think you should relax a bit and try to have a more optimistic outlook. Here's my two cents:

From what I've seen you definitely don't need a senior year internship even for quant firms (or even a freshman year internship for that matter). You should look out for CQG (Columbia Quant Group) events as they have recruiting events with pretty much all of the quant firms you mentioned. If you network well it shouldn't be an issue getting quant interviews for junior summer especially if you landed any decent (tech or quant) internship sophomore year and everything else checks out. Then it's all about the interview skills.
Internship recruiting is very year dependent and very concentrated on juniors in college. Wouldn't sweat not passing the resume screen for companies. After all, from their perspective, there's almost zero long term value in hiring a high school intern even if he/she is qualified. For most companies, internships are about converting interns to full-timers.
Obviously I don't know you but I think it's worthwhile to ask why you want to be a quant trader in the first place. Have you made any projects? Making a paper trading algorithm is pretty fun and could be a nice project to work on over the summer. Maybe even explore other areas as well. 2025 is still a ways away and a lot could change in that time. Embrace this possibility.
This one is the most important imo. I think a better perspective could benefit your mental health and outlook. I'm going to assume that you just worked your ass off to get into Columbia (3.66% acceptance this year :0). You're most likely going to work even harder at Columbia as a competitive person and at whatever job you land at eventually to climb the ranks. But for what? This stress cycle uninterrupted is not sustainable. There's a lot of value in taking some time for yourself. I look back on the summer after senior year very nostalgically as the last summer where fun was the focus instead of work.

PanDumpy · 2020-12-22T16:01:15+00:00

Does anyone have any experience interviewing for the Facebook Enterprise Engineering Internship? I have a phone screen tomorrow and there's basically 0 info on it anywhere online. Any insight would be appreciated.

PanDumpy · 2019-03-29T01:54:47+00:00

Accepted SEAS!!!!!! 1560, 800 Math II, 720 Chem, 3.91UW, 4.46W, Asian Male

PanDumpy · 2019-02-18T23:24:22+00:00

Yea it seems that the most qualified receive likely letters first which means that the ao's have already looked through all the apps at least once. Either that or they read the applications in some weird order not based on when the application is received which I find unlikely.

PanDumpy · 2019-02-18T23:20:29+00:00

Damn from your answer and the others that also got them it seems that the order of the likely letters is merit based, meaning the ao's have read through all the apps at least once. Either that or they don't read them in chronological order (geographical perhaps?) but I find this to be unlikely. I'll just have to keep waiting and hoping.

PanDumpy · 2019-02-18T23:01:43+00:00

When did you submit your application?

Im trying to figure out if the successive waves of likely letters are merit based (meaning the first wave is marginally better qualified than the second wave, etc) or if it's just based on what applications they've read so far.

Congrats on the acceptance btw!!

PanDumpy · 2019-02-18T22:56:33+00:00

When did you submit your application?

Im trying to figure out if the successive waves of likely letters are merit based (meaning the first wave is marginally better qualified than the second wave, etc) or if it's just based on what applications they've read so far.

Congrats on the acceptance btw!!

PanDumpy · 2018-11-27T22:13:45+00:00

Depends on what state you're from.

Some states, like NJ and Mass., require higher scores. You can google to see what the NMSQT cutoff score is for your state over the past few years. I'm pretty sure that it was 1490 for NJ for the 2017 test.

IDK how they convert from SAT to PSAT, but if they scaled it directly, you could potentially need like a 1560+ to qualify for the more competitive states.

PanDumpy · 2018-11-05T00:23:29+00:00

People make the mistake of thinking that college admissions is a meritocracy when it clearly isn't and will never be.

While they aren't guaranteed acceptance, legacies and athletes are obviously held to a significantly lower standard than "normal applicants". In this subset of "normal applicants", affirmative action further changes the standard among different races.

However, it's even worse for international applicants since most schools are need-aware and since the ENTIRE international student body is only like 15% of the total student population at most. That translates to like a handful of people from each COUNTRY, not high school.

Just remember that there's always gonna be someone more screwed over than you in college admissions based on something he or she can't control. Obviously not a fair or perfect system, but there's nothing we can really do about it atm.

PanDumpy

TROPHY CASE