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Baruch MFE Baruch MFE Q&A (ask current students)

Joined
4/10/13
Messages
16
Points
18
Hi everyone,

My name is Weiyi, a current 2nd-year student at Baruch MFE. I'm starting this thread to receive any questions about our program.

All my classmates would be my colleagues and happy to answer your questions. We hope to provide best answers and clear insights towards your inquiries, but we might have different education and experience, so please feel free share a little bit about yourself, so that I could find a classmate most relevant to your background to join in this thread and help you.

A little bit about myself: prior to Baruch, I was a CS student at Tsinghua University. I have interned as quant dev at GS's reinsurance group, a stat-arb quant at a small hedge fund and a model-valid quant at Citi. I did my summer intern at BAML and will be joining there after graduation from Baruch.

Thanks,
Weiyi
 
Hi, all
I'm Yun Peng, also a 2nd year student at Baruch. You are welcomed to answer questions about the program and placement.

My background: I'm previously a math major PhD. After that, I interned at Goldman Saches Reinsurance Group and Wealth Management Division as Strategist. I will start my fulltime tenure at Goldman recently as an Asset Management Stategist.

Best,
Yun Peng
 
Hi,

My name is Scott, and I am also a second year student in the program. I will be happy to answer any questions alongside Weiyi.

Before Baruch I received my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. I also have taken the three Pre-MFE seminars before entering the full-time program.

I interned this summer as a quantitative developer at Alphadyne Asset Management where I am currently working part-time.

Looking forward to hearing some questions!

Thanks,
Scott
 
Greetings Weiyi, Yun and Scott,
I'm Chintan from India. I've pursued a Bachelor's in Commerce from Mumbai University, India. I have had 4 semesters of C++ and VB courses and 2 semesters in math/stats. Besides, I'm pursuing a Chartered Accountancy degree (equivalent to CPA in US).
With a fairly good deal of knowledge in finance I want to enhance it even further by supplementing it with programming skills.
I have worked at an investment banking firm called Ethos Capital Advisors in Mumbai as a Research Analyst.
How does this profile compare to other students at Baruch and what are my chances to get admitted?

Thanks.
 
Hi,

My name is Sam Pfeiffer. I'll be joining my classmates to answer any questions you may have.

A little bit about me...
I am currently a second year student at the Baruch MFE program. I received my undergraduate degree in financial mathematics at Brooklyn College with a minor in computer science. I interned this past summer on the Credit Strats desk at Morgan Stanley and will be returning there full time after I graduate this December. I also previously interned at Thalheim Capital, a small hedge fund in Long Island, NY.

Please feel free to ask us any questions!
 
Hi, all
I'm Yun Peng, also a 2nd year student at Baruch. You are welcomed to answer questions about the program and placement.

My background: I'm previously a math major PhD. After that, I interned at Goldman Saches Reinsurance Group and Wealth Management Division as Strategist. I will start my fulltime tenure at Goldman recently as an Asset Management Stategist.

Best,
Yun Peng


Thank you all for your time and devotion in this helpful thread. I've graduated two months ago as a Bachelor of Science in Economics(Finance), and I'm currently preparing to apply Baruch MFE program. I have some questions about the program and I'm glad to find this platform to seek answers.

  • How did you plan your career when you applied?
Did you know for sure that you are gonna stay and work in the U.S.? How does the uncertain luck of H1B visa affect your plan?​
  • How much training(except academic) does the program provide to help students to find a satisfying job?
Do you think the course content is more than enough to operate in Chinese financial market?
Do you think the social and academic connection built in the program also exert value when graduates seek positions in their own country?​
  • How to prepare for the phone interview?
I've never had a phone interview. What do I need to know to prevent "surprise attack"?​

You could always choose to answer some of them in one time. Besides, I'd like to give more info about myself: I'm a finance student with an overall GPA of 3.72 and a GPA of 4.36/5.0 in the last term for courses of Matlab, Data Mining, and ODE. I intentionally choose those courses to build a math and computer strength so that I better suit the demand of Baruch. Actually, I would go nowhere else. Hope I can get some tips based on my situation. Thank you a lot!

Yun Peng LIU
 
Last edited:
How did you plan your career when you applied?
I spoke to many alumni, second year students, and fellow classmates to find out details about different roles in the industry. This helped me to better understand what positions I wanted to apply for. I definitely suggest speaking to people in the companies that you apply to in order to better understand the roles and the culture.

In regards to interviews, work through as many interview books as you can. This will help immensely.

Did you know for sure that you are gonna stay and work in the U.S.? How does the uncertain luck of H1B visa affect your plan?
I'm an American citizen so I'm not the right person to answer this.

How much training(except academic) does the program provide to help students to find a satisfying job?
I can't see how they could possibly do a better job at this! Dan Stefanica makes this a top priority and does an excellent job at helping students prepare for and find job interviews.

Do you think the course content is more than enough to operate in Chinese financial market? Do you think the social and academic connection built in the program also exert value when graduates seek positions in their own country?
I'll let one of my Chinese classmates answer these.

How to prepare for the phone interview? I've never had a phone interview. What do I need to know to prevent "surprise attack"?
The same way that you'd prepare for an in person interview. Make sure you study many interview questions. Know the background of the person interviewing you since he/she is more likely to ask you questions from their specialty topic. Ensure that you can answer any questions about topics you claim to know on your resume. I'm not sure what you mean by "surprise attack"
 
Hi Yunpeng Liu,
What a coincidence we have the same name! You are welcomed to Baruch here.
About your questions:
1. I planned to find a investment bank quant job in New York mostly. I am quite confidence to achieve this, actually, most of students in our program have this confidence.
The H1B application is a headache, but every foreign student has to face it :)
2. I will say we have a lot trainings in your soft skills in interviews. It's extremly helpful. The program has a lot connections and alums that help graduates locking their jobs. And these connections are one reason that makes us a top MFE program.
Chinese Market has its own rules and laws which is not controlled by quants. I think the techniques in general are same, but it may not be directly applicable to Chinese Market.
3. That's a little bit sensitive. I will say generally your tech skill including math and finance problem solving will be tested. In addition, the communication ability is also very important to count for final decision.
There is always uncertainty or surprises during interviews. Try to calm down and don't always afraid to give wrong answers.

Best,
Yun Peng
Wechat: youyuanfeima





Thank you all for your time and devotion in this helpful thread. I've graduated two months ago as a Bachelor of Science in Economics(Finance), and I'm currently preparing to apply Baruch MFE program. I have some questions about the program and I'm glad to find this platform to seek answers.

  • How did you plan your career when you applied?
Did you know for sure that you are gonna stay and work in the U.S.? How does the uncertain luck of H1B visa affect your plan?​
  • How much training(except academic) does the program provide to help students to find a satisfying job?
Do you think the course content is more than enough to operate in Chinese financial market?
Do you think the social and academic connection built in the program also exert value when graduates seek positions in their own country?​
  • How to prepare for the phone interview?
I've never had a phone interview. What do I need to know to prevent "surprise attack"?​

You could always choose to answer some of them in one time. Besides, I'd like to give more info about myself: I'm a finance student with an overall GPA of 3.72 and a GPA of 4.36/5.0 in the last term for courses of Matlab, Data Mining, and ODE. I intentionally choose those courses to build a math and computer strength so that I better suit the demand of Baruch. Actually, I would go nowhere else. Hope I can get some tips based on my situation. Thank you a lot!

Yun Peng LIU
 
I spoke to many alumni, second year students, and fellow classmates to find out details about different roles in the industry. This helped me to better understand what positions I wanted to apply for. I definitely suggest speaking to people in the companies that you apply to in order to better understand the roles and the culture.

In regards to interviews, work through as many interview books as you can. This will help immensely.


I'm an American citizen so I'm not the right person to answer this.


I can't see how they could possibly do a better job at this! Dan Stefanica makes this a top priority and does an excellent job at helping students prepare for and find job interviews.


I'll let one of my Chinese classmates answer these.


The same way that you'd prepare for an in person interview. Make sure you study many interview questions. Know the background of the person interviewing you since he/she is more likely to ask you questions from their specialty topic. Ensure that you can answer any questions about topics you claim to know on your resume. I'm not sure what you mean by "surprise attack"

Thanks for the useful tips, and I will try to build connections. :)
 
Hi Yunpeng Liu,
What a coincidence we have the same name! You are welcomed to Baruch here.
About your questions:
1. I planned to find a investment bank quant job in New York mostly. I am quite confidence to achieve this, actually, most of students in our program have this confidence.
The H1B application is a headache, but every foreign student has to face it :)
2. I will say we have a lot trainings in your soft skills in interviews. It's extremly helpful. The program has a lot connections and alums that help graduates locking their jobs. And these connections are one reason that makes us a top MFE program.
Chinese Market has its own rules and laws which is not controlled by quants. I think the techniques in general are same, but it may not be directly applicable to Chinese Market.
3. That's a little bit sensitive. I will say generally your tech skill including math and finance problem solving will be tested. In addition, the communication ability is also very important to count for final decision.
There is always uncertainty or surprises during interviews. Try to calm down and don't always afraid to give wrong answers.

Best,
Yun Peng
Wechat: youyuanfeima

哈哈,本来不同的名字在异国他乡却变得一样!

Thanks for sharing. The admission is gonna be tough and I still have a lot of work to do. It feels great getting first hand experience and support. :)
 
Greetings Weiyi, Yun and Scott,
I'm Chintan from India. I've pursued a Bachelor's in Commerce from Mumbai University, India. I have had 4 semesters of C++ and VB courses and 2 semesters in math/stats. Besides, I'm pursuing a Chartered Accountancy degree (equivalent to CPA in US).
With a fairly good deal of knowledge in finance I want to enhance it even further by supplementing it with programming skills.
I have worked at an investment banking firm called Ethos Capital Advisors in Mumbai as a Research Analyst.
How does this profile compare to other students at Baruch and what are my chances to get admitted?

Thanks.

Hi Chintan, you definitely have chances to attend our program given your combined background with quantitative education and financial experience, but whether you could actually get admitted also depends on the performance of those courses (transcript) and the interview.

I could see your strength is financial knowledge with practice, that's definitely a good thing as you understand the business of financial world. But another thing I suggest to improve is your quantitative knowledge, though you've taken several courses, application of them in big projects is also important, especially programming (as I believe Baruch MFE is a programming heavy-weighted program). Also, prepare the interview earlier, you would have more chances. Hope it helps.
 
Thank you all for your time and devotion in this helpful thread. I've graduated two months ago as a Bachelor of Science in Economics(Finance), and I'm currently preparing to apply Baruch MFE program. I have some questions about the program and I'm glad to find this platform to seek answers.

  • How did you plan your career when you applied?
Did you know for sure that you are gonna stay and work in the U.S.? How does the uncertain luck of H1B visa affect your plan?​
  • How much training(except academic) does the program provide to help students to find a satisfying job?
Do you think the course content is more than enough to operate in Chinese financial market?
Do you think the social and academic connection built in the program also exert value when graduates seek positions in their own country?​
  • How to prepare for the phone interview?
I've never had a phone interview. What do I need to know to prevent "surprise attack"?​

You could always choose to answer some of them in one time. Besides, I'd like to give more info about myself: I'm a finance student with an overall GPA of 3.72 and a GPA of 4.36/5.0 in the last term for courses of Matlab, Data Mining, and ODE. I intentionally choose those courses to build a math and computer strength so that I better suit the demand of Baruch. Actually, I would go nowhere else. Hope I can get some tips based on my situation. Thank you a lot!

Yun Peng LIU

Regarding your third question, I'm actually a loser in phone interview (might be the person failed most times at phone interview in our program), but still have some exp to share with you. There are two parts to prepare -

1. Solid knowledge. Read interview books earlier, Quantnet has lots of suggestions on these books, try pick one and get familiar.

2. Be confident. This is what Yun said, always calm down and never be afraid of giving wrong answers. To equip this, you should be prepared with the previous condition and do lots of mock interviews. If you like, I'm happy to mock with you when you are ready. : )
 
Regarding your third question, I'm actually a loser in phone interview (might be the person failed most times at phone interview in our program), but still have some exp to share with you. There are two parts to prepare -

1. Solid knowledge. Read interview books earlier, Quantnet has lots of suggestions on these books, try pick one and get familiar.

2. Be confident. This is what Yun said, always calm down and never be afraid of giving wrong answers. To equip this, you should be prepared with the previous condition and do lots of mock interviews. If you like, I'm happy to mock with you when you are ready. : )

Finished math/programming related courses in June; got a GRE result in July; passed TOEFL(110) this month; and I'm currently pursuing an online C++ Certificate. Getting ready for the interview might well be the last part of the big picture, and I can't address enough how a mock will help me re-examine my weakness and relieve my concern. No matter what the final result is, I owe you so much. I'm all grateful.
 
Hi, I have a question about the C++ certificate program. It says that it is required to finish all the sections in 12 weeks, so do students take a curriculum to follow the track of courses or they can finish the courses according to their schedule? Thank you in advance.
 
Hi, I have a question about the C++ certificate program. It says that it is required to finish all the sections in 12 weeks, so do students take a curriculum to follow the track of courses or they can finish the courses according to their schedule? Thank you in advance.
You have 16 weeks to complete the program and submit all the homework, at your own pace.
The suggested studying plan is:
1. See the lectures
2. Do the homework / consult existing threads and post questions, if any
3. Pass the level's quiz -- you have as many tries and won't affect your grade
4. Submit your homework
5. Get feedback from your TA and fix your mistakes, if any
6. Move on to the next level

Once you complete a level's homework and pass the quiz, you will have access to the next level's material.

After submitting level 9, you will receive a message from your TA about scheduling the final exam. The final exam can take place after the 16 week period, as long as you submit your work and pass all quizzes prior to the end date.

Check this threads for more info:
https://www.quantnet.com/threads/faq-c-for-financial-engineering-online-course.7376/
https://www.quantnet.com/threads/c-online-programming-cert-testimonials.9227/page-6

:)
 
Last edited:
You have 16 weeks to complete the program and submit all the homework, at your own pace.
The suggested studying plan is:
1. See the lectures
2. Do the homework / consult existing threads and post questions, if any
3. Pass the level's quiz -- you have as many tries and won't affect your grade
4. Submit your homework
5. Get feedback from your TA and fix your mistakes, if any
6. Move on to the next level

Once you complete a level's homework and pass the quiz, you will have access to the next level's material.

After submitting level 9, you will receive a message from your TA about scheduling the final exam. The final exam can take place after the 16 week period, as long as you submit your work and pass all quizzes prior to the end date.

Check this threads for more info:
https://www.quantnet.com/threads/faq-c-for-financial-engineering-online-course.7376/
https://www.quantnet.com/threads/c-online-programming-cert-testimonials.9227/page-6

:)
Thank you very much. I'll take a look.
 
hello everyone
first of all let me use this opportunity to say a big thank you to all you guys
i want to know what you guys think of my c.v? do i have a chance to get accepted to baruch or not

1. i'm 26 years old
2. from Iran (please just keep on reading -_- )
3. MBA in finance from Sharif university (best university in my country / 251 in world / 40 between young universities)
4. GPA 3.93 out of 4 (highest in the history of program )
5. CPA and CFA chart holder (and some other certifications namely equivalent of series 7 and 63 in my country )
6. 5 year of work experience ( 2 years in accounting department of a private holding / 3 years in ER, buy side of the biggest broker in my country)
7. have 16 ISI papers
8. I started programing when i was 18 ( i know some c++, full python and excel vba and a little matlab / recently i've been studying r)
8. some other things i don't think are important (1st in national entrance exam, translated some finance books, can speak English, Japanese, Persian some Chinese and a little Arabic, play classical guitar and so on)

in my own country i'm a well respected individual, but even considering the best case scenario i'm a big fish in a small pond, i would like to try my luck outside of Iran and i have confidence in myself, but sadly no one takes someone like me seriously, now i want to know what you guys think?


and so i would really appreciate your help

kamyar ^_^
 
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Hi Guys!

Thank you very much for taking the time to assist us with our questions. I wanted to know if there is a math course that can be done online which enables the prospective students to show their mathematical skills similar to the way in which Baruch's online C++ course helps in the C++ component of the application. I know about the GRE Math subject test but due to the few dates available, I was wondering if there were any other options?

Thank you!
 
hello everyone
first of all let me use this opportunity to say a big thank you to all you guys
i want to know what you guys think of my c.v? do i have a chance to get accepted to baruch or not

1. i'm 26 years old
2. from Iran (please just keep on reading -_- )
3. MBA in finance from Sharif university (best university in my country / 251 in world / 40 between young universities)
4. GPA 3.93 out of 4 (highest in the history of program )
5. CPA and CFA chart holder (and some other certifications namely equivalent of series 7 and 63 in my country )
6. 5 year of work experience ( 2 years in accounting department of a private holding / 3 years in ER, buy side of the biggest broker in my country)
7. have 16 ISI papers
8. I started programing when i was 18 ( i know some c++, full python and excel vba and a little matlab / recently i've been studying r)
8. some other things i don't think are important (1st in national entrance exam, translated some finance books, can speak English, Japanese, Persian some Chinese and a little Arabic, play classical guitar and so on)

in my own country i'm a well respected individual, but even considering the best case scenario i'm a big fish in a small pond, i would like to try my luck outside of Iran and i have confidence in myself, but sadly no one takes someone like me seriously, now i want to know what you guys think?


and so i would really appreciate your help

kamyar ^_^
Sounds like you have a very solid finance background. Do you also have the necessary mathematics background (see the prerequisites section)? I'd say that you have a chance at being accepted. However, my opinion isn't the one that matters ;)
 
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