MFE program advice?

[Harish Kumar]

Hello guys, I'm a sophomore student from UC berkeley studying Computer Science and Statistics and will be graduating in Spring 2015. I am definitely planning on going to grad school, although I am not sure what to study yet. I have a couple of questions to ask you guys.

1. I have a not-so-stellar GPA(3.31) and am hoping to graduate with a GPA of >3.6. With MFE programs being so competitive nowadays, is there any chance of me getting into a good MFE program with a far from perfect GPA? If so, what can I do to distinguish myself more from other applicants. What does the admissions team look for previous relevant work experience/cool personal projects/anything else?

2.I am an international student, and thus require stable employment in order to obtain a green card and I know the financial industry is not known for being stable, so is going into quant finance a bad idea as an international looking to go through the route of F1 -> H1B -> Green Card.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[JackF]

Hey - I don't think I'm qualified to comment on your GPA or anything as I am a student myself, but are you set on working and living in the US? If it's what you want to do and you think you will really enjoy it then even if things didn't work out in the US there is London, Singapore, HK among just a few large financial hubs. Maybe thats no help to you but I always believe you should go for what ever you really want to do! (One student to another)

 

[Andy Nguyen]

From the admission perspective, programs are looking for people who go into this field for the right reasons and you have to explain it really well. It's a given that you have to be good at math, programming, have genuine interest in finance, good academic credentials, etc.
But many people have similar profile. You can't say you love to do an MFE program if you just discover it yesterday from your friend who works at a bank in the US.
Job security is not something that finance industry is known for. You may as well get an accounting degree and do that for the rest of your life. But you will hate it and burn out sooner or later.
You do what you love, get very good at it and the money and all good things will come.