• C++ Programming for Financial Engineering
    Highly recommended by thousands of MFE students. Covers essential C++ topics with applications to financial engineering. Learn more Join!
    Python for Finance with Intro to Data Science
    Gain practical understanding of Python to read, understand, and write professional Python code for your first day on the job. Learn more Join!
    An Intuition-Based Options Primer for FE
    Ideal for entry level positions interviews and graduate studies, specializing in options trading arbitrage and options valuation models. Learn more Join!

Graduate school advice? Unique situation.

TheNadir

Joined
7/2/16
Messages
2
Points
11
Hey all, I'm currently considering applying to graduate school in the US. A brief summary of my situation:
  • Went to a #1/#2 CS/ECE program in the US (think CMU/Berkeley/MIT) and this school is known to be grade deflated within the CS community.
  • I started out as an ECE major and had a decent GPA (3.5ish) but did well in a Math finance class and the professor convinced me to switch to become a math major sophomore year onwards.
  • Sophomore year I got an internship as a quant at a FI powerhouse BB (JPM/BoA/Citi). I got a return full time offer to be a both quant or a trader for the following year - non deferrable. So I basically had to complete all of my math requirements remaining in the last year, completing college in 3 years.
  • Took really hard classes (had the won't have the chance to take them again) including 2 PhD level Math classes and GPA dipped below 3.0. However, I managed to complete all my requirements and graduate. Classes I took included graduate Calculus of Variations, Real Analysis I and II, Advanced Stochastic Analysis (Shreve's Volume II).
  • Was on the interest rates floor for two years, first trading Mortgages and then Swaps. Was near the top of all analysts and offered an associate spot on one of the most profitable desks at the bank. In applying for my H1B petition, HR realized that I had never renewed my EAD card on getting an OPT extension, causing them to flip and I was let go on the spot (the bank is exposed to having me employed without valid status).
  • All was supposed to be ok and the intention as to re-hire me in London. However, this got complicated due to strict headcount issues, the difficulty of sponsoring a visa for non-EU citizens, and now Brexit.
The bank I worked for is trying to find a spot for me globally but unlikely anything will happen unless someone on an interest rates desk quits in London or Asia. I am currently looking for a job but it is difficult from back home, especially after Brexit and as a foreign national.

I believe applying to Graduate School would be a good option. However, I'm worried my GPA is going to be a major issue. A lot of programs I'm looking at have minimum GPAs of 3.0. In fact, I believe graduate school can be a good way to prove that I can perform in an academic setting. I did a decent amount of programming at work and have good recommenders for graduate school applications. I'm not sure how I can express that my GPA is not a good indicator of my academic/work potential. I'm sure graduate schools get a huge amount of applications and GPA is probably a good pre-screening filter. I'm also studying for the GREs while brushing up on machine learning/programming through Kaggle and other projects.

Any advice from guys on the schools/programs I can look at? Currently I intend to apply to Georgia Tech and UCB for Spring admissions... Is it generally easier for Spring since there are less applications? Will my GPA be a huge black spot on my application despite the relevant, and good work experience? I'm also fairly confident that if I get into graduate school in the US, I will be able to get employed post graduation.

Sorry about the long post, and appreciate anyone reading/with advice.
 
I got into a "top 10 MFE program" with a 3.1 GPA. With a well-written essay explaining the sub-par grades and that dispels any fears about your ability to handle the tough math curriculum, solid full-time work experience (especially front-office time at a bank) and nailing the GRE can more than compensate for bad undergraduate grades.

With 2 years of experience as a derivatives trader and being able to say you got through Shreve as an undergrad, as long as you don't massively blow the essay and the GRE I'd be surprised if you're not admitted to every program in the country.
 
^ I am not as optimistic as the previous poster. While you have a strong profile, I don't think you are guaranteed admission to all MFE programs by any means.

Yes, your GPA is a black mark. You'd be in the bottom quartile of most top MFE programs. What I did was talk to the admission officers of the programs that I was interested in before submitting my application. I found this to be very helpful in understanding what the admissions committee were looking for when writing my essay and filling out my application. Several top programs have hard minimum GPA cutoffs, but I remember in one of my conversations, an admission officer mentioned accepting someone with a 2.9 GPA in a previous class due to extenuating circumstances.

Good luck!
 
Last edited:
I got into a top 10 program as well. 3.3~ undergrad gpa. Did not have your work experience. Don't worry. You'll be fine. Work experience is huge. Schools want to know, not how well you did in school, but how employable are you going to be after graduating from their program.
TheNadir said:
Hey all, I'm currently considering applying to graduate school in the US. A brief summary of my situation:
  • Went to a #1/#2 CS/ECE program in the US (think CMU/Berkeley/MIT) and this school is known to be grade deflated within the CS community.
  • I started out as an ECE major and had a decent GPA (3.5ish) but did well in a Math finance class and the professor convinced me to switch to become a math major sophomore year onwards.
  • Sophomore year I got an internship as a quant at a FI powerhouse BB (JPM/BoA/Citi). I got a return full time offer to be a both quant or a trader for the following year - non deferrable. So I basically had to complete all of my math requirements remaining in the last year, completing college in 3 years.
  • Took really hard classes (had the won't have the chance to take them again) including 2 PhD level Math classes and GPA dipped below 3.0. However, I managed to complete all my requirements and graduate. Classes I took included graduate Calculus of Variations, Real Analysis I and II, Advanced Stochastic Analysis (Shreve's Volume II).
  • Was on the interest rates floor for two years, first trading Mortgages and then Swaps. Was near the top of all analysts and offered an associate spot on one of the most profitable desks at the bank. In applying for my H1B petition, HR realized that I had never renewed my EAD card on getting an OPT extension, causing them to flip and I was let go on the spot (the bank is exposed to having me employed without valid status).
  • All was supposed to be ok and the intention as to re-hire me in London. However, this got complicated due to strict headcount issues, the difficulty of sponsoring a visa for non-EU citizens, and now Brexit.
The bank I worked for is trying to find a spot for me globally but unlikely anything will happen unless someone on an interest rates desk quits in London or Asia. I am currently looking for a job but it is difficult from back home, especially after Brexit and as a foreign national.

I believe applying to Graduate School would be a good option. However, I'm worried my GPA is going to be a major issue. A lot of programs I'm looking at have minimum GPAs of 3.0. In fact, I believe graduate school can be a good way to prove that I can perform in an academic setting. I did a decent amount of programming at work and have good recommenders for graduate school applications. I'm not sure how I can express that my GPA is not a good indicator of my academic/work potential. I'm sure graduate schools get a huge amount of applications and GPA is probably a good pre-screening filter. I'm also studying for the GREs while brushing up on machine learning/programming through Kaggle and other projects.

Any advice from guys on the schools/programs I can look at? Currently I intend to apply to Georgia Tech and UCB for Spring admissions... Is it generally easier for Spring since there are less applications? Will my GPA be a huge black spot on my application despite the relevant, and good work experience? I'm also fairly confident that if I get into graduate school in the US, I will be able to get employed post graduation.

Sorry about the long post, and appreciate anyone reading/with advice.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks guys. Will update and let you know what happens. Appreciate any further advice on schools to look at, etc.
 
Back
Top