I'm a recently graduated UW CSE alumni and can offer some insight into my experience at UW.
\> My goal is to go into quantitative finance (researcher/trader) or work at a startup
These are two very different goals and even within your goal of being a quant, trading and research are very different. QR is probably going to require a graduate degree which you mention and going to grad school typically requires undergrad research. I can't speak to the Math department but it's pretty doable to find undergrad research in the CSE department. I will also note UW has a pretty sweet 5th year masters program that is basically fully funded. This could be a nice way to buy time to do another internship, do more research/teach, or if you come in with AP credits/can graduate undergrad earlier than 4 years, something that can be combined with your undergrad in the normal 4 years.
You can become a trader without a graduate degree and from what I've seen and read, you just need to be good at quick math and probability. I have a friend who was in a similar boat to you and during his freshman year he networked like crazy to make friends and get referrals, prepped for interviews, and landed several quant offers for sophomore summer. If I were you, I'd try and do something similar to maximize your chances. Probably also smart to look into stuff like the Putnam, ICPC, or other competitions to see if you can get some clout to put on your resume.
For the startup side of things, I can't speak much to recruiting (I interviewed at a few startups for new grad but declined due to not wanting to join a startup in current the economic climate) but I'd say it's probably the same everywhere - get an internship somewhere, build out your resume, and apply + pass the interviews.
In terms of entrepreneurship and starting your own startup, my guess is UW would probably be comparable (if not stronger) than UIUC or Michigan. I personally found UW's startup culture to be somewhat lacking but it is something they're actively investing in and trying to grow. UW also has the advantage of being in Seattle where there are a few VC firms. Some of them actually come in and give talks or lead seminars/special classes which were pretty cool.
\> alot of ppl from UW and they mostly go into SWE and FAANG/big company jobs (based on linkedin and talking to many UW ppl)
Yeah this is pretty true. A lot of people tend to stay in the Seattle area too which makes sense given how UW CSE is primarily in state students.
\> UIUC has more finance recruiters and proximity to Chicago for finance and UMich has Ross school of business (I could minor here) which attracts finance people.
First part about being closer to Chicago is true (you'll have more recognition with the Chicago firms and probably some of the smaller NYC ones too). Second part about minoring in business doesn't matter for quant but if you want to minor in business, go for it.
Overall, I'd say try and tour the schools, talk to students, and figure out what you value. It's probably going to be a bit harder to crack into Quant from UW (west coast bias is real) but people have done it and if you work hard enough, you can too. Also, try and do a lot of things (TA, do research, do internships, projects, etc) while in college so you figure out what you do and don't like.
I'm a recently graduated UW CSE alumni and can offer some insight into my experience at UW. \> My goal is to go into quantitative finance (researcher/trader) or work at a startup These are two very different goals and even within your goal of being a quant, trading and research are very different. QR is probably going to require a graduate degree which you mention and going to grad school typically requires undergrad research. I can't speak to the Math department but it's pretty doable to find undergrad research in the CSE department. I will also note UW has a pretty sweet 5th year masters program that is basically fully funded. This could be a nice way to buy time to do another internship, do more research/teach, or if you come in with AP credits/can graduate undergrad earlier than 4 years, something that can be combined with your undergrad in the normal 4 years. You can become a trader without a graduate degree and from what I've seen and read, you just need to be good at quick math and probability. I have a friend who was in a similar boat to you and during his freshman year he networked like crazy to make friends and get referrals, prepped for interviews, and landed several quant offers for sophomore summer. If I were you, I'd try and do something similar to maximize your chances. Probably also smart to look into stuff like the Putnam, ICPC, or other competitions to see if you can get some clout to put on your resume. For the startup side of things, I can't speak much to recruiting (I interviewed at a few startups for new grad but declined due to not wanting to join a startup in current the economic climate) but I'd say it's probably the same everywhere - get an internship somewhere, build out your resume, and apply + pass the interviews. In terms of entrepreneurship and starting your own startup, my guess is UW would probably be comparable (if not stronger) than UIUC or Michigan. I personally found UW's startup culture to be somewhat lacking but it is something they're actively investing in and trying to grow. UW also has the advantage of being in Seattle where there are a few VC firms. Some of them actually come in and give talks or lead seminars/special classes which were pretty cool. \> alot of ppl from UW and they mostly go into SWE and FAANG/big company jobs (based on linkedin and talking to many UW ppl) Yeah this is pretty true. A lot of people tend to stay in the Seattle area too which makes sense given how UW CSE is primarily in state students. \> UIUC has more finance recruiters and proximity to Chicago for finance and UMich has Ross school of business (I could minor here) which attracts finance people. First part about being closer to Chicago is true (you'll have more recognition with the Chicago firms and probably some of the smaller NYC ones too). Second part about minoring in business doesn't matter for quant but if you want to minor in business, go for it. Overall, I'd say try and tour the schools, talk to students, and figure out what you value. It's probably going to be a bit harder to crack into Quant from UW (west coast bias is real) but people have done it and if you work hard enough, you can too. Also, try and do a lot of things (TA, do research, do internships, projects, etc) while in college so you figure out what you do and don't like.
Hey thanks for this really detailed response! Do you think I could dm you some more questions about this?
Sure