GPA, Books... Need Advise

[sidd]

Hi All,

I am from INDIA and I have done my B.Tech from a state university called U.P.T.U (Uttar Pradesh Technical University). It was the second year of operation for the univeristy when I joined college, which is 8 years back. The college to which I took admission was relatively old ( approx 30 years old) but it was brought under this newly formed university because the authorities wanted all the colleges in the state to operate under one University.

I passed out with 66% marks which was a pretty good score. I scored an avg of 80% in the maths subjects which I studied in my first three semesters ( It was way ahead of others in the class). As I have not passed out from IIT (which is pretty famous in US), I am a bit scared as to how would the admission panel really know how good/bad the score is ?

Another issue was that a 70% was excellent for a student who did Electronics and Comm. from the University whereas it was easy for all pursuing Computer Science to manage 70+ from the university. The avg marks of students really picked up as the university got old as it became easier to study looking at the questions asked in previous exams.

Just wonder how would the admission panel really know all these things when they get down to accept/reject an application of a student.


I am worried because I have really put in a lot of hard work to prepare my application.

- I have 4 years of experience in C++ ( Non Finance Experience).
- I have good knowledge of Excel/VBA.
- I have passed the CFA level 1 and I have just given my CFA level 2
- I have got an excellent score in GRE Maths ( Subject Test )
- I have read quite a few quant fin preparatory books like
1. Amazon.com: The Concepts and Practice of Mathematical Finance (Mathematics, Finance and Risk): Mark S. Joshi: Books
2. Amazon.com: Introduction to the Mathematics of Financial Derivatives (Academic Press Advanced Finance): Salih N. Neftci: Books
3. Amazon.com: A Primer for the Mathematics of Financial Engineering: Dan Stefanica: Books
and few others....

Not sure whether mentioning the books you have read would really help. But I guess I had no other option as that was the only way I could have figured out whtether I am fit to enter this field. Your views on this too would be appreciated.

Looking forward to your comments/suggestions.

Thanks

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Don't worry about the admission committee doesn't know the difference between ITTs and what a 66% means. They have been in this business for so long (at least for the ones that open for over 5 years) and they are aware of what you learn in your Mathematics I, II, III or what First Class, Passing, mean.
IIT does carry weight because of the selection process to get in works as a very good filter.
The books you read definitely help. It would also help to look at the quant interview books in the master reading list to see what kind of things you are expected to know to get a job.
Now, you don't know if you will thrive in this business until you are in it. You can't be sure if you are made for a career in plastic surgery until you got into medical school, see blood and flesh, graduate school and work fixing people parts for years. You got my point.

What is your other alternative? Keep working in a non-finance role as c++ programmer?

 

[sidd]

Don't worry about the admission committee doesn't know the difference between ITTs and what a 66% means. They have been in this business for so long (at least for the ones that open for over 5 years) and they are aware of what you learn in your Mathematics I, II, III or what First Class, Passing, mean.

I would surely hope that they take all this into consideration.

IIT does carry weight because of the selection process to get in works as a very good filter.


The books you read definitely help. It would also help to look at the quant interview books in the master reading list to see what kind of things you are expected to know to get a job.

Can I know how would reading interview books help in getting an admit ? Are such questions asked in the interview to decide whether to admit/reject a candidate ?

Now, you don't know if you will thrive in this business until you are in it. You can't be sure if you are made for a career in plastic surgery until you got into medical school, see blood and flesh, graduate school and work fixing people parts for years. You got my point.

Yes I got your point. Any thoughts on how relevant it would be putting this on the application.

What is your other alternative? Keep working in a non-finance role as c++ programmer?

I want to shift asap but I have no option as no one is going to offer me a job just because I have read a few books. Can you suggest me something ?

 

[dstefan]

More important than the name of the school you graduated from is the overall strength of your profile. You seem to be an experienced programmer, and a very good GRE Subkect score would be impressive, indeed.

Good luck!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Can I know how would reading interview books help in getting an admit ? Are such questions asked in the interview to decide whether to admit/reject a candidate?

Some program does interview candidates (Baruch, CMU, UCB). You may never get asked the questions from the books. The point of reading the books is to prepare you for job interviews and for you to realize what you do/don't know.
Get you hand dirty coding something useful/relevant/current in C++/C#/whathaveyou. You can take a look at the questions being asked in the Computing/Pricing and Hedging forum to see what problem people at work are dealing with.

Try to trade stock, FX, other financial derivatives product on your own dime and time. If you are lucky enough, you come out even. Otherwise, you will learn some good lessons.

Go to industry events to network and get a sense of what you will be doing in the future. If you are lucky, you may realize this field ain't your cup of tea. You then don't have to waste time and money trying to realize some dreams. This isn't be all, end all kind of career.

Yeah, and try to get best GRE score you can.

 

[ramnik]

Try to trade stock, FX, other financial derivatives product on your own dime and time. If you are lucky enough, you come out even. Otherwise, you will learn some good lessons.

Or lose some phantom money on competitions.