Inquiries regarding MFE application and GRE tests

[Mo Shen]

Hi all, Below pls find some inquiries regarding MFE applcations. I truly appreciate your kindness if can take a little time to answer them.

1. I have very long time experience in financial industry, most of which in asset management regarding derivatives products and funds products, given that backgroud is it appropriate for me to get an MFE degree in order to set up my own quantitative hedge fund in the future. Specifically, I am not as young as other applicants. I have got my bachelor and master degrees in Economics a decade years ago.

2. I had some experiences modeling asset allocation strategies and valuing derivatives structured products before. I am not sure how long time I should spend on strengthening my skills in C++ since I still have to take GRE to meet most programs’ requirements. Speaking of GRE, is it good enough to get 170 in Quant section regardless of the scores in Verbal or Writing? I have found in some other post here that MFE admissions care only about the Quant section of GRE, but I am not sure about that argument since it seems most applicants admitted by top programs have perfect scores in both Quant and Verbal sections.

I have taken GMAT already and my score is 770, so I think maybe I can make it equally good in GRE. Whereas my concern is that if I only need to score 170 in Quant section then this GRE task would be much easier for me. And I would like to spend less time in GRE so as to probably spend more time in honing my skills in programming, say C++.

 

[MRoss]

2. I had some experiences modeling asset allocation strategies and valuing derivatives structured products before. I am not sure how long time I should spend on strengthening my skills in C++ since I still have to take GRE to meet most programs’ requirements. Speaking of GRE, is it good enough to get 170 in Quant section regardless of the scores in Verbal or Writing? I have found in some other post here that MFE admissions care only about the Quant section of GRE, but I am not sure about that argument since it seems most applicants admitted by top programs have perfect scores in both Quant and Verbal sections.

I have taken GMAT already and my score is 770, so I think maybe I can make it equally good in GRE. Whereas my concern is that if I only need to score 170 in Quant section then this GRE task would be much easier for me. And I would like to spend less time in GRE so as to probably spend more time in honing my skills in programming, say C++.

Look at it this way. A (near) perfect score in Quant is mandatory since these are the skills you will be using in the program and on the job.

Now, every MFE program wants you to get employed: for your sake and for theirs. So it is important to them that you are either a native speaking American or at least do very well on the verbal section, demonstrating superior English skills. Your resume can only get you so far. When at a quant interview you would be surprised at how much your verbal abilities are considered. Soft skills are severely underrated. With superior verbal and interpersonal skills you can go twice as far (at least!). This is one of the reasons I am such a huge fan of Toastmasters...

Summary: If you are not a native American then do very well in verbal and enroll in a local Toastmasters on your spare time - it will also look amazing on your resume!