MFE application

[TonyHu]

Hi,

I am going to apply for a MFE program. I am in my final year in Bachelor of Finance with minor in math. Please suggest which programs I should apply, and how to stand out from numerous applicants from all over the world.

My profile:
gpa: 3.8/4.0
GRE: 163+168+3
Math courses: Calculus, linear algebra, analysis, probability & stat, ODE, PDE.
Programming: C/C++, python, VBA.
Other softeare: MATLAB, SAS
Working experience: nealy zero. Only intern in securities.

Thanks for your help.
Tony

 

[Christopher lee]

depending on your undergrad school you're gonna be very competitive. although the lack of work experience is a little disappointing. think anywhere between top 5 and 12 ish on the rankings

 

[TonyHu]

depending on your undergrad school you're gonna be very competitive. although the lack of work experience is a little disappointing. think anywhere between top 5 and 12 ish on the rankings

I am not from a top school. I am from Asia, and unfortunately my university doesnt seem to have a good academic reputation in the US. So sad.

 

[ygmwy]

I don't know much about schools in Asia, but my class only had students from: Bei Da, Tsinghua, Zhejiang, and maybe HKU. Only a handful from 2nd tier Asian schools, and absolutely nothing below that. This was a trend I kept seeing throughout all the top US quant programs.

I think the problem is that US schools have difficulty determining the rigor of the curriculum of lesser known schools, so while you may have a 3.8 gpa, a 3.5 from Bei Da might be better. They have no point of comparison, so they just don't know. Your best chance is to prove to them that you took the toughest classes, won some awards, and can really compete with those perfect GRE and gpa students from Bei Da. Maybe win a few olympiads, or something like that.

 

[TonyHu]

I don't know much about schools in Asia, but my class only had students from: Bei Da, Tsinghua, Zhejiang, and maybe HKU. Only a handful from 2nd tier Asian schools, and absolutely nothing below that. This was a trend I kept seeing throughout all the top US quant programs.

I think the problem is that US schools have difficulty determining the rigor of the curriculum of lesser known schools, so while you may have a 3.8 gpa, a 3.5 from Bei Da might be better. They have no point of comparison, so they just don't know. Your best chance is to prove to them that you took the toughest classes, won some awards, and can really compete with those perfect GRE and gpa students from Bei Da. Maybe win a few olympiads, or something like that.

Which programs are you in? My university is abou the same level as Zhejiang.

 

[ygmwy]

I attended Columbia. What is your university? I'm confused how your university can be as good as Zhejiang and not be competitive in the US.