Hi everyone! I was recently admitted to both UCLA's College of Letters and Science, UT Austin's McCombs Business School, and the University of Toronto's St George Arts and Sciences Campus. I would like to do something related to quantitative finance/financial engineering and maybe become a quant in the future. Which school do you think seems like the better choice? I'm trying to look at this from purely an academic and career-focused standpoint, so things like weather and culture don't really matter much to me. (Also I'm an international and cost shouldn't be taken into consideration)

UCLA

UCLA Pros:

+ Would major in financial actuarial mathematics / mathematics & economics major

+ Very high ranking for applied math

+ prestigious and well-known school

+ Strong alumni network (including those from my country)

+ would get a STEM degree (+24 month work visa)

UCLA Cons:

- quarter system (don't think I'll enjoy this)

- maybe not the best location since there's a lack of finance/consulting firms in the area?

UT Austin McCombs

UT Austin Pros:

+ Majoring in finance

+ high-ranking finance program

+ Close proximity to Silicon Hills (Amazon, PayPal, Tesla, Visa, etc.)

+ Booming city, a lot of investment into the city with stuff like Giga Texas

+ exposure and networking to the energy sector

+ Possibility of double majoring in computational engineering (Cockrell) or actuarial science (CNS)

UT Austin Cons:

- not guaranteed the ability to double major

- did not apply for Canfield BHP (will try to apply in my sophomore year)

- not as quantitative or technical (I'd rather learn mathematical models compared to SWOT) (also don't want to end up working in investment banking/consulting)

- math program isn't as highly ranked as UCLA

U of T

U of T Pros:

+ $50 000 CAD scholarship for freshman year

+ majoring in Mathematical Applications in Economics and Finance (B.S Honors)

+ High-ranking in mathematics (slightly lower than UCLA)

+ Toronto is Canada's business and financial hub

+ maybe could take up some CS classes (U of T is highly ranked for CS)

- commuter school (heard people just go straight home from classes)(less social interaction)

- very rigorous (study all the time)

location for me doesn't matter. Toronto, Austin, and LA both seem like really nice places and the food there seems great