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Chances of getting into a top MSCF program?

paperstudent

paperstudent

Joined
4/8/24
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Hello all,

I'm an undergraduate student graduating with a degree in Computer Science / Minor in Mathematics from a no-name university with a 3.75 GPA. I am very interested in quantitative analysis and have been doing side projects related to finance/trading the past year. My dream is to do a top MSCF program as a way to break into the quant world, and also because the classes look like tremendous fun, but reviewing my profile makes me wonder if it's even worth trying.

Experience:
I have done two machine learning internships, one for my university and one for my state's government, and a SWE internship at CMU. I've also worked as a Systems Engineer for a DoD company for the past six months. None of this experience was related to finance at all.

Academics:
I have a lot of the recommended math courses under my belt (Calc 1 - 3, Linear Algebra, Calculus-based probability, and Statistics/ML). However, the big things I'm scared of are: some B's in math and zero finance classes.

Time to Prep:
Since I'm working full-time, the most I'll be able to do this summer/fall is prep for the GRE, take 1 - 2 finance classes, and 1 - 2 more math classes.

At this point, is it worth applying, or do I need significantly more time to prep? The time and effort it's going to take to prep and create well-crafted applications for grad schools is significant, especially when you work full-time, and I feel like I need a sanity check here. Has anyone here with minimal finance background from a non-name university tried and been successful getting into top MSCF programs?
 
I would say: have a plan (always plan everything) to get into a top MSCF masters and have a plan to grow in your career if you don't get into a top MSCF master - and make sure these two plans are the same, or at least overlap as much as possible to optimize your time. If you really want to get into quant finance, the truth is that you don't really need a masters. I know plenty of people working in the industry who just made their way in through self-studying and networking. That being said, things that would probably overlap both plans that I would probably do:

1) Have a strong math background (as you said, multivariate calculus, partial diff equations, linear algebra and stats/prob/ML). As a tip, take a look at Baruch's QBE list of topics and make a deep review in all of that if you already don't know everything. At first, don't spend too much time becoming an expert in everything, but enought to allow you to talk to one. Also, if possible, take the required prerequisite classes for the masters while you're still at university and make sure you get an A on those - this might or might not automatically fail your application.

2) Know the basics of portfolio management (try to get access to the materials related to these topics - they are scattered accross the Level I, II and III material. If possible, start studying for the CFA or take a class related to investments/finanace if you haven't done yet.

3) Once you have the basic prerequisites for applying for a masters, only then start studying for GRE. Half of the masters program put it as optional, so don't focus much on it. You'll still be able to apply to a handful of them even without it.

4) Participate in finance clubs/competition while at university to show your interest and build some more experience.

5) Grow your network, ask advice on linkedin, connect to people from the industry. If you have enough project to showcase, start posting it on linkedin to make your work known. Be bold, expose yourself to those NO's and don't be afraid to ask for recommendation/jobs that are relevant to you.

Doing this, even if you don't get accepted, you'll still have done a favor for your career - that's the beauty of having a plan that works well on multiple scenarios.
 
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