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Do I have a chance?

Tulips

Joined
7/11/12
Messages
5
Points
11
Hello all,

First post here so a little background. 24 years old, graduated with a degree in finance and been working in performance/P&L analystics since graduation. The past year has really solidified my desire to pursue a degree in math/financial mathematics but my undergrad course work has minimum calculus and I've got very little programming experience. So to catch up, I went back to my undergrad school and enrolled in a second undergrad degree - Math. I've also got some reading material to start teaching myself some C++. I'm eager, I learn quick but I'm agraid that I won't stand a chance when applying for a program such as the NYU mathematics in finance program. That's what I've got my eye on.

Would love to receive feedback from you guys. Am I on the right track? If not, what can I do/what should I be doing now?
 
Fellow finance u-grad. I believe it is difficult for a finance major to get into one of these programs. It is a good start that you're going for a Math degree. You should ask yourself, will an MFE actually teach you anything? Or are you simply using the MFE for a platform to Wall Street? With a degree in Math + Finance/Econ (and substantial programming exp) you've probably gained 90% the knowledge of an MFE program. So you have to justify if an Ivy on your resume, the networking, and career services will be worth $100k plus 18 months of your life.

Instead of doing another BS in Math... Have you considered an MS in Stats/Econ/Finance?

Remember, quant roles are competitive and a math/econ/physics/engineering PhD will generally trump you. Instead of going the education route, maybe just apply for a different job at a small hedge fund of some sort. I don't live in a large financial center, but I've seen postings for Financial Analyst/Programmer roles at small local shops. Experience like that may be a better way to gain acceptance into a top MFE program if that is your ultimate role.

I'm commenting because I've been considering the same move as you (going through all the math at an u-grad level). I'm not trying to talk you out of it, but I believe there are other ways to obtain a quant role rather than an MFE.


To your questions:
Yes, you're probably on the right track. But, you should 1) Get A's, 2) Get a perfect GRE Q score, 3) Prove you know some programming.
 
Thanks for the reply.

To be honest, education is my primary motive for pursuing financial mathematics. I want to continue my schooling but the usual choice for undergrad finance graduates is to go ahead with an MBA. That is not my cup of tea at all; I looked into Stats...sounds alright but I'd rather first give this my best and then see what happens. I love math and I think I can find myself a place in the field. Not choosing it as my major earlier on was a mistake.
 
Are you willing to go someplace that is not NYU? Sometimes admission to the very prestigious schools is arbitrary because of how many qualified applicants they have.

I don't see why you wouldn't get into at least one reasonable program if you do well in the Math classes you are now taking. I'd also think doing a complete second Bachelor's is not even necessary assuming you still take the general MFE prereqs and maybe some extra Math and coding courses.
 
You can look up the prereqs for any program that your interested in by visiting their website. Most will list what coursework is required.

It's probably good research to look this up for more than one school. FWIW, at my school the prereqs are 5 semesters of calculus, probability (calc based) and a CS 101 type course.
 
Jose Thomas said:
FWIW, at my school the prereqs are 5 semesters of calculus, probability (calc based) and a CS 101 type course.
Click to expand...

Five semesters of calculus?! Does that include advanced calculus/real analysis? In my experience, at most schools you're done with multivariate calc after 3 semesters.
 
What I refer to as 5 semesters of Calculus is -

Calc I - Differentiation
Calc II - Integration
Calc III - Multivariate
Calc IV - ODEs
Calc V - PDEs or an Advanced Engineering Mathematics course

This categorization is used at Rutgers where I took many undergrad and grad courses. Maybe it is not standard? Sorry if I was not clear ; hopefully the above clarifies.

Also, there is one other prereq I forgot to mention which is Linear Algebra.
 
Ye, I was a bit shocked when I read 5 semesters. I did some research on the prereqs and its pretty much consistent with the above. Thanks for the info!
 
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