Soon to be law school dropout...help!

[misrablelawstdnt]

Hello-

I am currently a 1L at Duke. Just finished my first semester exams, haven't seen my grades yet, but I know "the law" isn't for me. It all looks so much more glamorous than it really is. And, after much money spent, and some maturity passed, I have realized that if I am going to do something for the next 40-years of my life, might as well be something I enjoy. Mathematics!

I am going to wait until after my 1L to drop out. Everything is paid for, so might as well see it through. Most of all, I am terribly fearful of telling my parents my new and improved plan. Which is why I am gathering as much information as possible before dropping the Hey-dad-I-am-dropping-out-of-law-school-BOMB. I am pretty sure I will be disowned. Apologies, just had to vent.

Now for the pertinent part of the discussion. My Background: I have a bachelors in Finance and my MBA as well. I have 2 years of employment experience in Investment Banking (Wealth Management). I am not looking for a career change per say, but just a different aspect of Finance. My parents live in DC so I am looking for a program in the area. Georgetown, being an obvious choice, has a MS App Math program. I believe it is American which has a Fin Math program. I guess my first question is, which MS is right for me? From what I understand GMAT scores are inapplicable. I have never taken the GRE. However, Georgetown says it is NOT required. Does this put students who have not taken the GRE at a significant disadvantage? It is Dec 26th and the early deadline for many programs is very close. Plus I am not sure if I will have enough time to prep for the GRE while keeping up with all of our law school case readings. How important is the GRE? I believe all other schools in the area do require it, but I could be wrong. Should I just go ahead and apply or should I just wait one entire year, take the GRE and then apply? Also, I am good through Calculus. Is this enough of a base?

I am sure I will have more questions as the thread develops. I am just freaking out right now! Mind you, I know some of the questions I have asked are addressed on web sites, but I just wanted a student's or a recent student's perspective. Thank you!

[misrablelawstdnt]

I forgot to mention that I am an international student. Not sure what difference that makes. Except, I guess the GPA calculations are different. Just though I let you know. Cheers.

[limeinthecoconut]

I don't know about the GRE subject test, if there is even one (so, I am in the humanities), but with your interest in math, I am fairly sure you can ace the quant section in the GRE general-- it's dead easy. It's not that different from the math section in the SAT, I think.

Good luck, and hope things work out for you!

[frankdux]

the GRE general test:

i'd study for a few weeks over your winter break and then take the damn thing. apply to some schools and see what happens. worst case, you do bad on the GRE and you dont get in anywhere. then just take it over again after you've had more time to prep and then take it again and apply to schools for the following year.

and the quantitative portion of the general test doesn't even go up to calculus. its mostly algebra and geometry, but with some tricky problems thrown in that require some good mathematical logic.

the GRE subject test:

apply to programs that don't require the GRE subject test this year.

if you don't get in, study over the summer and take the GRE next fall. then apply to more schools including those that do require the GRE subject test.

[yankervitch]

I'm in the Georgetown program right now - it's definitely good preparation for quantitative work in finance, but the focus is more on statistics and applied math (modeling/computing). Not sure what our placement is like for finance; a few students (mostly relatively fresh faces from undergrad, wherever that may be) have been using the program as a springboard for PhD work.

If you're worried about the GRE, don't be. If your interest is math, then the quant section will be a breeze. A lot of the students here have taken the GRE, but I think the majority didn't bother.

[Tinyboss]

If you want to do math for 40 years, you should be looking at PhD programs, not MS.

[sonofcioran]

I'm sorry if this is out of left field, but ever think about teaching High School math? You have a work visa or citizenship, no? No criminal convictions? There's lots of jobs in math ed. Pretty good field if you're outgoing and have a laid-back disposition. Good health benefits, 3 months off (and holidays! I'm off this week). All that. Starts at about 50k, too. Considering the hours, not bad. Plus it sounds like you really like math. That's always a plus.

I dropped out of LS a few years back. It sucked, I know all about it. I had an absolutely terrible job in customer service for 3 years after that. I teach (so yes, I'm a tad biased). It's honestly not that bad. If you did I-banking, you'll love the hours. The kids are a tad crazy and not very bright and they'll get on your nerves, but *eh* they're kind of cute.

Otherwise, why not just look for a job in the sub-field you're interested in? I doubt having another degree will help all that much in the current job market. At a glance, it seems like you're an academic refugee to me.

[frankdux]

I'm sorry if this is out of left field, but ever think about teaching High School math? You have a work visa or citizenship, no? No criminal convictions? There's lots of jobs in math ed. Pretty good field if you're outgoing and have a laid-back disposition. Good health benefits, 3 months off (and holidays! I'm off this week). All that. Starts at about 50k, too. Considering the hours, not bad. Plus it sounds like you really like math. That's always a plus.

starting at 50k as a math teacher? what?

perhaps with a masters and in a really upscale neighborhood. but first year teacher salaries typically aren't even in the 40k range. hell, the national average salary of a high school teacher is only in the mid 40k range.

[spoonyluv]

hey man,

are you sure you wanna do an applied math program? don't do it because you are desperate to get out of law school. I mean if you really love math and can see yourself doing it for the next 2-3 yrs then great, but if you aren't sure and think you may like it, then I urge you to reconsider and think real hard before you spend more of your precious time and money on this matter. it appears you haven't taken that many math classes....most faculty members, when making decisions on whom to admit, look at how many math classes a person has taken, especially at the 300-400 level. this is my situation. i am leaving the industry after 10 yrs to pursue a masters in math, but I didn't take many 300 level classes, so I am in the midst of taking them before I start applying. Math is fun and beautiful and despite the ass kicking I get sometimes from the difficult concepts, I still enjoy going to class to learn more.

any school worth their salt will require at the very least the GRE general test. i would be very very very wary of schools that don't require the GRE general test. such schools may have terrible/indifferent faculty, may not offer any good classes to teach or may have some other issues going on. I am surprised Georgetown doesnt require the GRE. is it the general or subject test they dont require? still as a general rule of thumb, i would be careful of schools that dont want the GRE general.

if I were you, I would first take some math and finance classes and then decide if I wanna go into Math or Financial engineering. To me Financial engineering is a far more complex subject than math and it can get hard very soon. you will make a lot of money sure with the degree in financial engineering, but the work can be pretty complex with a lot of grey area to deal with. if you are comfy dealing with grey areas then you should look into financial engineering

[MaximKat]

any school worth their salt will require at the very least the GRE general test.

is MIT EECS good enough for you? they don't require GRE general

[spoonyluv]

haha maximkat good one, but the MIT EECS program assumes you have won at least one Nobel Prize and having a 4.5 GPA out of 4.0.

[sonofcioran]

starting at 50k as a math teacher? what?

perhaps with a masters and in a really upscale neighborhood. but first year teacher salaries typically aren't even in the 40k range. hell, the national average salary of a high school teacher is only in the mid 40k range.

Depends on the school district. With a master's, I should start at 52k in the Fall if the school I'm at picks me up permanently. Major urban school district (NYC). About average for urban school districts, too. Hardly the suburbs.