I was wondering if someone could give some more detail? For example, did the course go to0 fast? Was the professor or TAs great? Was he or she accessible outside of class? Was the exams hard? Homework hard? Was it worth the money to spend to try to get into an MFE program? Is there any preparation you would do before taking those seminars? Thanks.
Purplyboy,
I took this seminar, and I have a very good experience.
The course was moving fast, but everything is fair and straightforward - I mean, you have the material that you need to study: Lectures, a book, a solutions manual, 2 TA-s, a forum for students, also we formed a study group. Professor Stefanica and the TA-s are very dedicated, and provide all the help.
There are 3 "subjects": calculus, finance, and programming, so you need to spend a considerable amount of time to study, and do the homework. If you could also do the excercises at the and of each chapter, that is even better (and the solution is provided). If you do all the homework, and understand them, you are well prepared for the final.
Definitely you need to prepare for the course in advance. The first chapter of the book has basic calculus (differentiation, integration, limit, etc), but I went through my old calculus books, and did some excercises for practice. I took calculus 10 years ago, but it came back after reviewing the material. I had a classmate, who told me, that he was preparing for this class for months, because he even had to review the pre-calculus before the calculus. (If you don't do math for a while, you could forget some of it. However, it seems he did well in the class. So, I guess, the preparation for the calculus, depends on your situation.)
You can program on any language, or even you can setup the formulas on Excel sheet (although, I'm not sure how it would work out for more difficult programming assignments.) My suggestion is to decide before the course what language you want to program in, and get the compile on your computer, plus you do some basic practice - this way you don't have to spend time on this during the course. (There is no lecture on programming, but the TA-s can help you with your codes.)
Out of the "3 subjects", probably you would struggle with 1 or 2, that you need to spend more time on it. I think, the key word of the course is the "time". If you spend considerable amount of time, you will succeed. While taking this (or these) seminar, try to put aside those things of your life, that you can, and focus on this.
We were recommended by a current MFE student, who took this seminar a year prior, to spend 15-20 hours. (This is what he did, but again, it depends on your background.)
By taking this course:
- Definitely helps you prepare for the MFE "technical interview" (for calculus, but I assume the same thing is true for the lin. alg. and prob. classes). Additional benefit, if you apply to Baruch, upon completion, a recommendation is given (so that covers you for 1 of the 3 recommendation letters).
- Helps you to decide whether you want to do an MFE program, and pursue a career in quant. It gives you a taste, how the MFE classes look like, and gives a sense what you are expected at a quant job. Both TA-s held a job in the finance industry, so they were able to give us "first-hand" advice
- Deepen your knowledge in the math background of financial concepts. In the class, there were finance professionals, whose goal was precisely this (and not to apply to an MFE program).
- You get to solve mathematical problems, those that are probably new to you, because all math problems are related to financial applications. (If you're interested in math, you would appreciate this.)
In addition:
- You wold get "real life" tips on quant job interview questions. (many times, it was pointed out, that this and that question was asked from a prospective applicant)
- Get to know other people, from different background, who are interested in this area
- Get "fun facts" - like the story of Ed Thorp, who developed mathematical methods to win in the Las Vegas casinos (his book is "Beat the Dealer"), and was also a hedge fund manager - I think this is a fascinating reading.
You asked about "dropouts" - unfortunately I was one of them. But I definitely don't have any regrets taking this course - I still think it is worth the time and money.
I dropped out for very personal reasons:
A full time job, 3 kids, and a graduate level "contemporary accounting course" at Baruch (I'm doing masters in accounting), and timing of the course. Because all of these, I was not able to spend enough time on this seminar, especially in December. There were so many assignments in my accounting class (readings, group project, paper, etc.), that I could not keep up with both classes, and with the other responsibilities. The finals were 2 days apart. I think, I could have finished this seminar successfully, if it were scheduled earlier.
Also, this seminar made me realize, that I won't be able to spend the required time to successfully finish an MFE program, and compete with other job applicants. I cannot leave my job and my family. If I were out of job, probably, I would do an MFE (even with kids).
So, I would recommend this course - in either case: If you're undecided, or if you are definitely sure, you want to apply, but you need a "boot camp" for the technical interview. (Plus, I think, for Baruch, the recommendations would really help you for getting selected for an interview.)
I'm very glad that I get to know "this world", and these people. It is interesting to watch how the future shapes.
He does review precalculus and Calculus too. It's free.
