Advice on my profile

[RahulRaj]

Hello everyone

I have been silently reading this forum for quite some time and after having done enough reading, I wanted to post some questions to the wonderful people out here for your comments.

But before that a brief about myself.

I am a mortgage services professional based out of India for a top non-bank mortgage servicer in US. I joined this firm almost a year ago after having completed my post-graduate diploma in management (PDGM) (that is what best colleges of India a.k.a IIMs provide being autonomous bodies) from one of the top notch IIMs in India in the year 2016. Prior to that I was working in the semiconductor industry and IT industry for approx. 1.5 yrs each. I completed my engineering from one of the NITs of India in the year 2010. I have a GPA of ~9.1 on a scale of 10 for B Tech and ~6.5 on a scale of 9 for PGDM. Presently I am 30 y.o.

My professional work ex post MBA is basically into strategy and operations (involving reporting and data analysis using MS excel) for managing foreclosed real estate (REO) assets for my firm. My pre-MBA work mainly revolved around hardware testing (silicon chips) while at the semiconductor industry. And I used Oracle's ERP while on my job for 1.5 yrs in IT industry. I have a theoretical understanding of programming languages (C++, VHDL, R) while no professional ex to substantiate this. I also had the basic courses in numerical math and statistics while at NIT and IIM.

I don't have a valid GRE score yet, for which, I am planning to take GRE in October end. My pre-preparation score for GRE (through one of the free portals available online for GRE prep) is QA: 166, VA : 149.

I want to build my career into financial world with top notch banks and fin consultancies (Open to all possible roles IB/PE/Quants, no hard and fast preference for one).

Now my question

1. Given my acads and age what would be a good bet to target - MFE/ MFin/ 2nd MBA and from which college?
2. I have zeroed-in on MFE as-of-now. I am planning to join the class commencing 2018. Which colleges for MFE shall I apply/ target ?
3. What are my chances in Berkeley Haas, CMU - MSCF, Columbia, NYU, UCLA, Gerorgia Tech, Stanford? Are there any colleges where I can be pretty confident of an admission, if so which colleges (please feel free to add to the list of colleges mentioned).
4. Placement prospects, if one can suggest, given my background.


Heavy thanks in advance.

Rahul
India.

 

[RahulRaj]

Folks, earnest request for your suggestions.

Also, since there is not traction on the post, I am beginning to think if I posted it in an inappropriate forum/page. Please let me know if so.

 

[Ken Abbott]

I want to build my career into financial world with top notch banks and fin consultancies (Open to all possible roles IB/PE/Quants, no hard and fast preference for one).

Rahul, it's very hard to give advice when you specify as broad a spectrum of interests as that. Investment banking, private equity and quant finance are all very different, as are banks and consultancies.

 

[RahulRaj]

Thank you very much for your reply Ken. Let me say the specifics then.

I am targeting to enter into the quants role (I assume that is what an MFE course will prepare me for) at a top-notch bank. GS would be a dream firm to work for.

1. I am planning to join the class commencing 2018. Which colleges for MFE shall I apply/ target ?
2. What are my chances in Berkeley Haas, CMU - MSCF, Columbia, NYU, UCLA, Georgia Tech, Stanford? Are there any colleges where I can be pretty confident of an admission, if so which colleges (please feel free to add to the list of colleges mentioned).

Thanks in advance.

Rahul

 

[RahulRaj]

Hello Folks

Any comment on my chances for MFE and in which colleges would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Rahul.

 

[pingu]

Hello Folks

Any comment on my chances for MFE and in which colleges would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Rahul.

Did you apply? If you haven't applied, your chances are 0%.

If you applied already, your chances around 50% to each of the colleges.

 

[MRoss]

I haven't taken the GREs since the new scoring system came out, but isn't Q:166 really low for admission to an MFE program?

 

[IntoDarkness]

I haven't taken the GREs since the new scoring system came out, but isn't Q:166 really low for admission to an MFE program?

not really. i scored 165 and still got into one of the top programs. maybe my [Domestic Student] status helped...

 

[cl_nyc]

Your GPA of 9.1 seems good based on what I've seen on the trackers for Indian students. GRE Q 166 and V 149 would definitely be too low though. Quant seems to be 170 median, 169.x mean for the top programs -- maybe 4 years ago a 166 would've been do-able for the top programs. Though Verbal isn't weighted very much, I think you would want to be closer to 155 to be safe; 149 seems low.

I'm not sure if your age would be a problem as you're an international student. I know some programs accept students in their late 20s and early 30s, but I think they're usually domestic students with relevant work experience. A program would be taking a chance on you as you've been out of school for several years and already have a lot of IT-related experience on your resume, making it potentially harder you to find the target employment. Your story would have to be compelling. Some programs can be networked into -- Baruch is the obvious choice as you can interact with professors (who can be recommenders) in their pre-MFE seminars, if you can afford those courses and somehow come to the States. You'd have to be really hard-working and a self-initiating communicator for this option.

 

[RahulRaj]

Your GPA of 9.1 seems good based on what I've seen on the trackers for Indian students. GRE Q 166 and V 149 would definitely be too low though. Quant seems to be 170 median, 169.x mean for the top programs -- maybe 4 years ago a 166 would've been do-able for the top programs. Though Verbal isn't weighted very much, I think you would want to be closer to 155 to be safe; 149 seems low.

I'm not sure if your age would be a problem as you're an international student. I know some programs accept students in their late 20s and early 30s, but I think they're usually domestic students with relevant work experience. A program would be taking a chance on you as you've been out of school for several years and already have a lot of IT-related experience on your resume, making it potentially harder you to find the target employment. Your story would have to be compelling. Some programs can be networked into -- Baruch is the obvious choice as you can interact with professors (who can be recommenders) in their pre-MFE seminars, if you can afford those courses and somehow come to the States. You'd have to be really hard-working and a self-initiating communicator for this option.

Thanks for your valuable insights cl_nyc. I am willing to put in the extra efforts while gaining admission and later during the course. I will surely keep this post updated on my application statuses.

 

[RahulRaj]

Hello Wonderful people

I wrote GRE and scored 170Q, 161V. Now I am planning to apply for Columbia, CMU-MSCF, NYU and UCLA.

1. Shall I focus on more colleges or directing attention to these four would yield a better chance of admission.
2. I wanted to apply for UCB-Haas but their deadline is already over for Mar-2018 entry. Shall I wait for Mar-2019 entry or apply for fall-2018 entry in other colleges. I mean is it really worth the wait?

Thanks in advance
Rahul.

 

[MRoss]

Never wait a year for a brand name. Apply to the ones that interest you. People don't realize until after they graduate how valuable every year of their life (and work-life) is worth.

 

[cl_nyc]

Apply to Columbia, CMU, NYU, etc. If you get in, then just enroll in whichever you like most. If not, then you can still apply for Berkeley. They all tick off the same box of well-reputed program and will all open up pretty similar opportunities for interviews. Once you get the interview, the main determining factor is your own performance; the school matters far less.

 

[pridhvi]

Regards,
Pridhvi

 

[CarlosR]

In my opinion Apply to the ones that interest you.

 

[RahulRaj]

Yeah I will start applying to the ones where I think I will go (if admitted of course). Thank you for your replies. Will keep the thread updated.