Hi all,
My name is Akarsh. I am looking to enroll in an MFE program in the US, beginning fall '19. My first priority is a career doing quant work, post my education.
About myself
I live in India, and have graduated from the University of London International program, having completed a BSc in Economics and Finance, in 2018. I have no full time work experience, and will have only 3 months in a finance startup, with little quantitative work, by the time I submit my application. I have at least 6 months to pursue relevant work before the program begins.
When it comes to quantitatives, I am confident I have a strong background, with a GRE score of 170 in quants, and First class honours ( which I am told is 4.0 GPA ) in maths and statistics courses. We did not have a breakdown of courses such as linear algebra, calculus, etc.
As for programming, I have never received any formal education. To solve this, I am currently doing a course on data science : Link, which covers R, Python, and SAS, which should be completed by November. However, this does not cover C++.
What I want to know
1) Will I face any problem with regards to my lack of C++ certification? If the data science course I am currently doing is insufficient, will I have time post November to do a course on C++ for the fall intake?
While I am ready for all the hard work necessary, do you feel that the programming part of an MFE course will be difficult for me to cope with? My background focuses more on the Finance and Mathematics section of the course, but is lacking in programming.
2) Is my background in quantitative subjects sufficient? If there are any past instances of students doing my particular course, who got accepted into any MFE program, your advice will help a lot. My main concern is whether universities allow for differences in undergraduate course structure, and that I am at minimum meeting the prerequisites.
It will also be helpful if someone knows the GPA conversion that applies to my course.
3) I will be financing the program almost entirely through Private loans. This is quite a huge amount for me, and barring the most expensive university should still come to about $100k as per university estimates. My question is, does it make sense financially to go through with this, or should I wait and try to save up myself and reduce the loan amount necessary.
For example, is it farfetched to assume that I will be able to pay off my loans within -say- 3 to 5 years?
Any help is greatly appreciated, and any other advice is always welcome, especially if coming from someone in a similar position as me. If you feel there is something I can improve upon, please mention it.
Thanks for your time.
My name is Akarsh. I am looking to enroll in an MFE program in the US, beginning fall '19. My first priority is a career doing quant work, post my education.
About myself
I live in India, and have graduated from the University of London International program, having completed a BSc in Economics and Finance, in 2018. I have no full time work experience, and will have only 3 months in a finance startup, with little quantitative work, by the time I submit my application. I have at least 6 months to pursue relevant work before the program begins.
When it comes to quantitatives, I am confident I have a strong background, with a GRE score of 170 in quants, and First class honours ( which I am told is 4.0 GPA ) in maths and statistics courses. We did not have a breakdown of courses such as linear algebra, calculus, etc.
As for programming, I have never received any formal education. To solve this, I am currently doing a course on data science : Link, which covers R, Python, and SAS, which should be completed by November. However, this does not cover C++.
What I want to know
1) Will I face any problem with regards to my lack of C++ certification? If the data science course I am currently doing is insufficient, will I have time post November to do a course on C++ for the fall intake?
While I am ready for all the hard work necessary, do you feel that the programming part of an MFE course will be difficult for me to cope with? My background focuses more on the Finance and Mathematics section of the course, but is lacking in programming.
2) Is my background in quantitative subjects sufficient? If there are any past instances of students doing my particular course, who got accepted into any MFE program, your advice will help a lot. My main concern is whether universities allow for differences in undergraduate course structure, and that I am at minimum meeting the prerequisites.
It will also be helpful if someone knows the GPA conversion that applies to my course.
3) I will be financing the program almost entirely through Private loans. This is quite a huge amount for me, and barring the most expensive university should still come to about $100k as per university estimates. My question is, does it make sense financially to go through with this, or should I wait and try to save up myself and reduce the loan amount necessary.
For example, is it farfetched to assume that I will be able to pay off my loans within -say- 3 to 5 years?
Any help is greatly appreciated, and any other advice is always welcome, especially if coming from someone in a similar position as me. If you feel there is something I can improve upon, please mention it.
Thanks for your time.
