Applied Math and Finance Extracurriculars

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There are a variety of ECs you can do to boost your application file if you are interested in Applied Maths or Finance.

1.) Join the Math Club or STEM Club and work toward holding a leadership position like President.

2.) Start a Finance Club if there isn't one. You can meet and talk about various Finance topics like the "interest rates", "stocks", "bonds", "OTC derivatives" like futures and options, etc. Perhaps you can also trade virtual portfolios and see how your performance as a group improves over time as you understand the market drivers.

3.) Read about Applied Maths and Finance in your free time. There are a plethora of serious books out there, many you can take out from your library or buy used copies on eBay. For instance any of John C. Hull's textbooks on Futures, Options, and Derivatives (he's like one of the top finance educators in the world who penned the Hull-White 1-factor or 2-factor interest rate futures model.

4.) Learn how to code and be an expert at spreadsheets like XL. Try creating your own option pricing model for example in a spreadsheet using 3rd party add-ins.

5.) Get a student license of MATLAB and learn how to use expert visualization programming tools that show math results.

6.) Subscribe to various Maths and Finance youtube channels and roll up your sleeves and learn about these subjects outside the classroom.

7.) Take an eDx.org course from MITx or HarvardX or DavidsonX in Maths or Finance and earn some certificates for successful completion.

8.) Talk to people in Applied Maths and Finance and ask them what they do and see if you can "shadow" them at work for a day or a week.

9.) Start looking at colleges that are strong in Applied Maths and have specific programs for Financial Engineering like Carnegie Mellon University. DO a survey of what those degrees look like and what kind of topics will be studied and explored. These are very rigorous programs and you have to be super committed and dedicated to succeed in them.

10.) Join Poets and Quants which is an online blog like collegevine for Undergraduate Finance or business-school types. Every year they rank undergrad business schools and have a huge following.

As you start to scratch the surface, you will find there is a very large complicated world of information and opportunities awaiting you.

Good luck.