C++ Online Programming Course Testimonials

[Antonin]

The course is great at learning the basic of C++ from level 1 to 8 and then applying them to a financial environment during level 9. If you wish to become a quant or are curious about learning this domain, this course is a go to.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

I find the materials, homework and quiz given helpful, especially when I was reviewing the course for the final exam. I would say preparation for final exam contribute 50% to my understanding of knowledge taught in this course.
However, I do feel that watching the videos is not efficient for learning in my case. They are helpful, but can be improved.
Lastly, the level9 part was really hard for me. I don't think the materials explain enough to understand what's happening. Maybe more materials could be given. They don't have to be thorough, just explain the theory behind the codes as plain as possible, with necessary graphs etc. I spent about 3 weeks to understand PDE, lattice, etc., mainly relying on Internet.
Overall, I learnt a lot from this course. Above are just some suggestions that might make this course better.

I have written several books on PDE/FDM, geared up to finance. And many articles I wrote and posted on QN.
Other PDE stuff on internet is like learning karate whereas the goal was to learn judo.

Books :: Datasim

www.datasim.nl

// In general, it is always good to ask TA or myself if you have queries. That's what we are here for.

@APalley
@Paul Lopez

 

[hiroxima]

I’ve enjoyed the course, the last levels were quite challenging, but provided a good introduction to the financial pricing component, rarely present in other courses.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

I’ve enjoyed the course, the last levels were quite challenging, but provided a good introduction to the financial pricing component, rarely present in other courses.

And the next steps?

Online Courses :: Datasim

www.datasim.nl

 

[Yildiz]

I enrolled in this course with the intention of applying for the Baruch MFE program. I discovered the course on their official website. Initially, I had reservations about taking it due to some negative comments I had come across, which mentioned outdated video recordings and difficulty in comprehending the content. However, I soon found the course forum to be an invaluable resource. The ability to engage with the community and reach out to the TAs greatly enhanced my learning experience.

 

[HXWang]

I found this course from a blog about how to apply for the Baruch MFE programme. According to the blog, this course is really helpful in terms of enhance fundamental programming skills in C++, which is important in computational finance. As for myself, I am not so good with C++ programming, even though I have learned it in Bachelor’s course. The reason is that only basic syntax were taught, but we don’t know exactly how our programming skills will be used. Therefore, the course suits my need to put knowledge into computational practice. Additionally, my score on this course could be of a certificate on my programming ability.

 

[johncoltrane]

I come from 0 experience in programming and I took this course during my summer break while doing a summer Internship. My reason to take the course was to learn C++ and to prepare my profile for admission into MFE programs.

The course is well planned and I feel like I know a lot about C++ now. I think one of the main reasons to take the course is the support one can get from the QN forum.

 

[TonyZ]

The experience is overall great! Lessons are clear and well structured. The only thing is that the lesson is a little bit old, which was taken 10 years ago. But Fair Enough

 

[convex]

1-I took it as suggested by Baruch and some other good schools.
2-Although I had coded before in Python and R and SQL, I never had a proper mental map, and structural and design way of looking at what I code. My coding was very disorganized. It has improved better and at least I can now communicate the lingo.
3-I lacked a proper school-related proof that I have actually coded, and despite showcasing some small projects in github, I wanted a more reliable proof to show that I have learnt it in a disciplined and academically acceptable way.
4-C++ might be needed for some finance positions, and I wanted to keep my options broad and open.
5-The modular structure of the course, where each HW builds on top of the other is extremely good as it encourages learning by repetition.
6-The design of the HWs is good and drills the subject matter well.
7-I found the HWs to require alot more time than suggested on the forum.

 

[Gao Yichen]

I got to knew this course from my classmates and found it a nice way to get a solid grounding in programming. While taking this course, I found the instruction in the video very clear and the homework very challenging, especially the project in level 9. All these things trained my programming skills.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

Level9 is to get you acquainted with Monte Carlo and PDE. The full story is here.

Numerical Methods in Computational Finance: A Partial Differential Equation (PDE/FDM) Approach

<p>This book is a detailed and step-by-step introduction to the mathematical foundations of ordinary and partial differential equations, their approximation by the finite difference method and applications to computational finance. The book is structured so that it can be read by beginners...

www.wiley.com

 

[Akshaytak]

It was a great experience. Lots of ups and downs but at the end a worth it course. Definitely very expensive in my national currency. Very rigorous and supperb attention from TAs. @APalley And @Paul Lopez

 

[fefefe]

The course provided a comprehensive introduction to C++ for beginners like myself. It systematically covered the fundamental syntax of C++ and its application in options pricing. I believe this content is perfectly tailored for individuals who want to study further in Financial Engineering area.

 

[kevsbel]

This course was really great in almost all sense. The forum is quite useful for those moments in which you need a clue on how to continue your coding task or to understand the reason why some concept applies to a certain situation.

I found this course looking into the requirements for Baruch MFE, indeed I asked first the college before starting the course. My main reason to take this course was my desire to pursuing a masters degree in financial engineering, special that one from Baruch college. Since the course has some applications in financial engineering topics, it was the perfect fit for my to refresh my knowledge in plain vanilla options and the greeks.

 

[MikeLawrence]

I found this course after weeks digging around online. I was starting to get serious about searching for quantitative finance positions, but knew that I was underprepared. This course was a lot of work (many late nights spent debugging after getting home from the office), but when I talked with people who had taken the course, and those who made it, I knew that if I was serious about this path for the long-term there might be no better options available, certainly not any that I knew of. This course is meant to build a strong foundation that can be used to launch into deeper areas with confidence, and that is exactly what I have now that I've finished.

 

[Meng Yang]

I found the course due to recommendation from my peers, who also will be applying for MFE programs like me. I have really learnt a lot from the course, not only the advanced concepts like inheritance, generic programming, skills like using STL and boost libraries, but also the experience to apply these skills to option pricing. It prepares me well for the upcoming challenges of graduate studies. PS, The TA s are super nice! I also love the course community.

 

[Leila]

It's a challenging but wonderful experience! The professor teaches very well, and the TAs help me a lot. My consultant recommends this to me because I want to pursue a financial engineering graduate program, but my undergrate school doesn't provide a C++ course.

 

[Nikita.syd]

The course has a good reputation. I believe it has a very good content and exercises. However, I believe videos could be updated and that the course could adapt for Visual Studio Code and MacOS users (especially Project E Level 9).

 

[Daniel Duffy]

The course has a good reputation. I believe it has a very good content and exercises. However, I believe videos could be updated and that the course could adapt for Visual Studio Code and MacOS users (especially Project E Level 9).

AFAIR Visual Studio is mandatory?
I don't use Mac, so personally I can't help here. Sorry

The original VS2015 is embedded/ hard coded in the videos. It is a question of learning each new version of Visual Studio.It is a bit annoyng, but not the end of the world.

There is lots of support on QN regarding the transition. And Microsoft

Create a new project - Visual Studio (Windows)

Learn how to create a new project in Visual Studio.

learn.microsoft.com

 

[JamesXiao]

The lecture notes were extremely detailed and helpful.
In short, I was able to given solid understanding of the basics of C++
The homeworks were a bit convoluted at times, as often it required using code from a previous lecture.