Help - CS/Math Double Major for Grad School

[Frederico.Sandoval]

Hello everyone, I have recently heard about this community, and have fallen in love with it. It is awesome for there to be a community with so many people helping each other to maximize education in the cheapest and fastest way possible. If possible, I would like to ask you guys for some help in regards to my specific situation.

My background:

I am a 20 year old spanish citizen, currently enrolled in an economics degree due to finish next year (around july of 2025). Even though it is from a decent university, it lacks a bit of depth in math. I do not really know how to convert my average to gpa, but it is around 17/20.

My goal:

I want to get into a quantitative finance master's degree, as soon as I finish my bachelor's, ideally from a top university in the US, in order to get into computational finance jobs. However, after looking into them, I found that they require courses in calculus, linear algebra, statistics (with calculus), analysis and some programming, which I do not have. I tried to do them in my current university, but unfortunately, it does not offer them. I also tried to do it in other universities, but because of prerequisites, I will not be able to finish all these courses in time.

My question:

- Is there any way I can do these courses online? I have heard about sophia or study.com to complete some of these courses, but I am scared that they will not be recognized for the master's (I asked some of my preferred universities, but none of them was very clear about it), so I want to do them through Regionally Accredited universities, ideally from europe (as they are usually cheaper)


- From what I have seen, these are not that different from what I would need to get a bachelor in math from an university like TESU or SNHU, which would greatly benefit my application, however I can't spend more than $15k. What do you guys think would be the best university for my specific situation? I am willing to do general credit through sophia, as I don´t think it would affect my grad school application (please tell me if I'm wrong).

- Is my goal of finishing this in a year attainable?

I thank everyone for the help and I am sorry if I'm missing anything, I'm still a bit overwhelmed with everything.

[davewill]

The main thing is to nail down exactly what your master's program's requirements are. There's three basic ways I can see this working out:

1. These math courses must come from an RA (or foreign equivalent) school.
2. They will accept them as ACE credit on an RA school's transcript, like TESU.
3. They will accept an bachelor's degree in Math, and without a specific requirement on how the math courses are taken.

Only the school itself can answer these questions, and nobody can really advise you without knowing those answers. I think your budget can work for any of those scenarios, including a bachelor's degree in math if you want or need it.

[bjcheung77]

@Frederico.Sandoval, Welcome to the board, that's a good initial post to get the ball rolling and asking questions to get some basic answers.  Having said that, the bulk of the addendum and template is missing, these are information to get the senior members and moderators aware of your particular scenario.  With a better overall picture or overview of your situation, we'll know your budget, commitments, previous credits, study habits, time management, etc better.  This way, it'll give us a chance to provide you more concrete advice... Please reply back with info here, Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

I am pretty much going to recommend what was advised earlier.  Find the degree of choice you are going for and know their specific requirements for entry.  If they just need a basic BA Math and some selective classes, you may want to investigate TESU BA Math.  If you're going that route, what you can do is to complete your Economics degree, transfer all credits into the TESU BA Math and complete the required classes for the major through alternative credit and 15 credits for residency at TESU.  Depending on your budget, commitments, time - You might want to do a double major if you have the energy, money, time, such as BA Comp Sci & Math, or double degree BACS/Math plus BSBA!

[Frederico.Sandoval]

Thank you guys for the reply! I tried to contact some more grad schools to see if they would give me more details and I have found that some of them told me that in theory I would be eligible if all my General Education courses come from ACE and the required courses came from online RA universities, which gave me some hope.

I apologize for not following the addendum! Here are all the details:


Your Location: Spain
Your Age: 20 years old
What kind of degree do you want?: Bachelor in math or bachelor in cs with a lot of math courses
Current Regional Accredited Credits: I have completed two years of an economics degree in Spain, at a top business school here, with the following courses:

Introduction to Microeconomics, 7.5 ECTS
Mathematics for Business and Economics I, 7.5 ECTS
Accounting I, 6 ECTS
Introduction to Business, 6 ECTS
Data Analysis I, 3 ECTS
Mathematics for Business and Economics II, 7,5 ECTS
Introduction to Macroeconomics, 7.5 ECTS
Accounting II, 5 ECTS
Statistics I, 6 ECTS
Data Analysis II, 3 ECTS
Intermediate Microeconomics, 7.5 ECTS
Statistics II, 7.5 ECTS
Introduction to Finance, 7.5 ECTS
History of Economic Thought, 6 ECTS
Econometrics, 7.5 ECTS
Intermediate Macroeconomics, 7.5 ECTS
Applied Economics, 6 ECTS

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: None

Any certifications or military experience? None

Budget: I have a max of $15K saved up. However, if possible, I would like it to be as cheap as possible 
Commitments: I am still in the process of finishing my economics degree, but otherwise am free
Dedicated time to study: As I am a bit ahead in terms of course contents, I will be able to dedicate on average 2-3 hours a day, depending on if I have exams.
Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the degree as fast as possible would be ideal.  I would like to finish within 1 - 1.5 years (12 to 18 months
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: I am not paying for my economics degree, but will have to pay for the math degree out of pocket

Grad School Requirements: In order to be eligible for a quantitative finance master's program in the US, I will need to complete the following courses online, using RA credit, since I will not be able to do them in a brick and mortar university in my home country (my university doesn't offer them and I cannot do them at another one because of overlapping classes):

Calculus I,
Calculus II,
Calculus III (optional but helpful),
Introduction to Linear Algebra,
Ordinary Differential Equations,
Partial Differential Equations,
Real Analysis (optional but helpful),
C++ or Python Programming (more advanced courses are optional, but helpful).

Goal: With all these courses, I think I would be close to finishing an online bachelor in math, so I was looking into finishing one to boost the chances of getting into a top 10 grad school (if it doesn't require lots of credits, I would love to get a double major in cs).

Questions:

- What is an easy and cheap way to do these credits online? Are there any European options that are cheaper?
- What is the best university to transfer these courses (Is TESU seen negatively by grad schools? I have also looked at SNHU and University of North Dakota, but are they worth it?)
- Do you guys think it will be possible to finish the degree before september of 2025? I would love to start the master's right after my bachelor's!
- Can you give me any additional recommendations to help me get into a good program?

Sorry for the lack of information in the first post and thank you guys for the help you have given me!

[Jonathan Whatley]

- What is the best university to transfer these courses (Is TESU seen negatively by grad schools? I have also looked at SNHU and University of North Dakota, but are they worth it?)

TESU is not seen negatively. The Toyota Camry isn't going to wow many people. It's a generic, unexceptional car. But it's not seen negatively.

The University of North Dakota has a higher reputation in a way, consistent with being a large state flagship research university with selective admissions, whereas TESU is a large, almost wholly online, teaching (non-research) state university with open admissions.

But to complete a UND bachelor's you would have to take 30 semester hours, maybe more depending on specifics, in semester-scheduled coursework from UND itself. With prerequisite structures 12 months might not be achievable, and 18 months might or might not be achievable.

Southern New Hampshire University's general reputation will be similar to TESU's, a very large, mostly online (with a fair-sized campus), teaching (non-research) non-profit university with non-selective admissions. You would have to take 30 semester hours, maybe more etc., from SNHU itself.

- Can you give me any additional recommendations to help me get into a good program?

Set yourself up to get strong recommendations from instructors!

[Frederico.Sandoval]

Thank you for easing my worries! If TESU and SNHU are seen more or less the same way by both employers and grad schools, I think TESU may be better for me, as the RA credit requirements will not be a problem for me!

Is there a degree plan for the University of North Dakota? The courses I need to take would cover the 30 credit requirement, but I am scared of the live proctoring, as I have heard some bad things about it. I am also not sure if I will be able to finish without having to do more than 30 credits, which would heavely increase the workload and cost.

Is there a more recognized university that would be a good option for my situation?

Thank you for the tip! I will try extra hard to have good recommendations!

[Jonathan Whatley]

Is there a degree plan for the University of North Dakota? The courses I need to take would cover the 30 credit requirement, but I am scared of the live proctoring, as I have heard some bad things about it. I am also not sure if I will be able to finish without having to do more than 30 credits, which would heavely increase the workload and cost.

The basis of any degree plan is the school's requirements described in their own catalog. You can check out the UND catalog and figure out when and, if not from UND, where acceptable to UND you'd meet each requirement:

• BS with major in Math
  
• Essential Studies (UND's term for general education)
  
• University Graduation Requirements (note that it requires 36 semester hours overall of upper division [upper level] credit)
  

UND describes accepting CLEPs and DSSTs towards some Essential Studies requirements, and offers its own language placement tests and some course challenge tests. See

• Tests for College Credit
  
• Special Examinations for Credit
  
• Essential Studies policies
  

Note also at that last link that students transferring in with a US-accredited AA or AS (but not AAS) will have Essential Studies Breadth of Knowledge requirements waived. There might be a case for a tactic like taking a UMPI or Big Three AA or AS to UND to waive those requirements.

UND's Transfer Evaluation System database indicates it has reviewed ACE alt-credit from other providers including Sophia and Study.com – their courses are listed under the institution name "American Council on Education."

This does not guarantee they will accept any given course – even that has a past apparently favorable listing in the database – into your degree, or that they won't bounce it down to a lower level or to elective credit that wouldn't meet a specific course requirement in your plan.

UND states pass/fail courses do not qualify to transfer in.

UND will potentially accept nationally accredited credit in transfer. Might be something you could do with that.

Is there a more recognized university that would be a good option for my situation?

I would be surprised if there's a US university with an online bachelor's in math and a reputation higher than the University of North Dakota in a way material to your application to a top university master's in quantitative finance.

[Frederico.Sandoval]

Thank you for the help! After looking a bit more into the University of North Dakota, I found that the price for those 30 credits would greatly exceed my budget (they have a higher price for international students). With this, I have decided to go with TESU for my math degree and, if possible, I will try to double major in computer science. Thank you all again for the help!   Do you guys have any recommendations on making a degree plan? For now, I will try to sign up to TESU as soon as possible to see how my current university credits transfer and then try to do gen ed credits as described in the forum through sophia.
Also, can anyone help me with the transfer process? From what I understood, I will need to send the individual program for each course in english as well as my grade in each one of them. Is that right? Will the transfer affect my current degree in any way?

[Jonathan Whatley]

I have decided to go with TESU for my math degree and, if possible, I will try to double major in computer science.

An alternative to keep in your sights, a bit less work than a double major, could be to complete an Undergraduate Certificate in Computer Science concurrently with your BA in Math. An Undergraduate Certificate in Computer Information Systems is also available.

Do you guys have any recommendations on making a degree plan?

The degree plans published by TESU itself are your first authorities. The degreeforum wiki and forum will show you courses from elsewhere that people have mapped out to TESU's requirements in the past.

For now, I will try to sign up to TESU as soon as possible to see how my current university credits transfer and then try to do gen ed credits as described in the forum through sophia.
Also, can anyone help me with the transfer process? From what I understood, I will need to send the individual program for each course in english as well as my grade in each one of them. Is that right? Will the transfer affect my current degree in any way?

You will need to pay to have your foreign transcripts evaluated by a foreign credential evaluation service TESU lists as acceptable.

If you're concurrently pursuing a degree at another school, special rules will apply at TESU and may apply at that other school. You should inform both schools ASAP and follow their guidance.

[bjcheung77]

TESU BACS/Math seems like a great option and I also mentioned adding a second degree, BSBA because you're transferring your previous studies or degree... Basically, the general education and electives are done for both BA/BSBA degrees, you just need to finish off the major for CS/Math and the Professional Business requirements. You have 15 residency credits to complete at TESU, or if you decide to pay the residency waiver fee, you need the cornerstone/capstone.