Can I become more competitive with a certificate of Quant finance from Columbia?

C

curiousgeorge

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4/25/13
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Hi guys and gals, my undergrad gpa right now is 3.3 with a major in economics. I wont go into it but I had lots of difficulty in my UG. I'm a us citizen so immigration is not an issue. I have 2.5 years of financial experience, with the last 5 months at a trading firm.

I am considering getting an MFE and wanted to just gauge my chances of admission

I was recently admitted into the certificate program for quant finance at columbia and I was hoping that by taking this course which is 12 credits, I could improve my chances. This certificate program is graded and covers the pre-reqs for most programs.

If I can do well in the certificate program, I'll get a separate transcript with my grades giving the adcoms a better idea of my ability.

Here's a link to the program:

http://ce.columbia.edu/certificates/quantitative-studies-for-finance

I know its expensive but I think that it could be worth the investment, having columbia on my resume I think would mean alot more to adcoms since the name commands respect.

Do you think that I have a sensible plan.

This is not taking the GRE into account.
 
MFE applicant pool is crowded with people with high GPA/GRE/many relevant high level math courses from Asia. I'm afraid having that certificate, or FRM, CFA, etc would do little help while the underlying foundation is not very competitive.
I know some people who keep trying a few years and even got in an MFE program but I would suggest that you build on your current job experience or any relevant/technical job and apply later if you still want to do it.
 
There are some students looking through the tracker who have gotten in with a 3.2 gpa, just wondering if that was the norm or the exception for people with work experience in finance and if being a us citizen makes the req less since I dont need sponsorship etc.
 
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