hi,i am master a mechanical engineer from iran that my projet is about prediction of financial markets by anfis(adabtive neuro fuzzy inferance systems),so want to have another Ms in quatitative finance,is frankfurtt business school good? i am cinsidering warwick and lancaster in uk?which one do you suggest?please guide me
"MFE program profile evaluation" master thread
- Thread starter Yiping_Wan
- Start date
help with profle
hi folks,
I need your advise and comments on my profile, if it is suitable for a role in quant jobs, and is it good enough for admissions to good MFE courses like Berkeley, Columbia, NY Univ., CMU, Gerogia State, Princeton, Stanfors etc.
I have around 3 years of experience:
1) in Experiece Studies of Health, Life and Pension policy portfolios which leads up to pricing when the traty renewal comes up next yr between reinsurer and Insurer. Used Stata software in this role.
2) Predictive modelling, Catastrophe modelling, again in reinsurance company for their business with Insurer.
My Qualification:
I am an Associate actuary with just 1 paper left for Fellowship from Institute of Actuaries, UK.
MBA Finance. GPA 3.19 out of 4
Msc Actuarial Science, Univ. of Leicester, UK GPA 9.18 out of 10
SAS certified Predictive Modeller.
Have a very thorough knowledge of C++, Java, Stata, Matlab, VB.
Can you guys pls highlight any deficiencies, rooms for improvements, and if I have a strong profile for getting admit to the top ranked colleges:
hi folks,
I need your advise and comments on my profile, if it is suitable for a role in quant jobs, and is it good enough for admissions to good MFE courses like Berkeley, Columbia, NY Univ., CMU, Gerogia State, Princeton, Stanfors etc.
I have around 3 years of experience:
1) in Experiece Studies of Health, Life and Pension policy portfolios which leads up to pricing when the traty renewal comes up next yr between reinsurer and Insurer. Used Stata software in this role.
2) Predictive modelling, Catastrophe modelling, again in reinsurance company for their business with Insurer.
My Qualification:
I am an Associate actuary with just 1 paper left for Fellowship from Institute of Actuaries, UK.
MBA Finance. GPA 3.19 out of 4
Msc Actuarial Science, Univ. of Leicester, UK GPA 9.18 out of 10
SAS certified Predictive Modeller.
Have a very thorough knowledge of C++, Java, Stata, Matlab, VB.
Can you guys pls highlight any deficiencies, rooms for improvements, and if I have a strong profile for getting admit to the top ranked colleges:
Joy Pathak
Swaptionz
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Georgia State is pretty random among those universities lol Are you thinking of applying to their Mathematical Risk Management or MS Finance?
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@joy:
I believe he meant Georgia Tech, but if it's GSU that he is referring to, I comply with your lol. :D
I believe he meant Georgia Tech, but if it's GSU that he is referring to, I comply with your lol. :D
sorry guys I was referring to Georgia Tech, given that I have so far managed to reach associateship in Actuarial profession, I have very decent maths, and if there is an area which I have not covered like real analysis, and linear algebra, then I have the confidence that I will be able to do them pretty fine.
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I usually can tell if a guy can get into a program by reading his essay and LOR. Many profiles here only post the GRE/GPA which plays a very small part in the whole process.
Just point it out so you can have a better perspective
1) If you meet requirement for program X, apply there.
2) Work on your essay and get good LOR. These are things that provide a non-quantitative look into your personality, your life, your soul. It tells a lot more than a number that GRE/GPA can say. It can show how good your English is (regardless of what your GRE Verbal, AWA say). LOR can be a double edged sword. Pick a professor who barely remembers you and you can kiss your chance goodbye.
Chances for Canadian schools
Hey
Looking for any insight into what my chances are at getting into a Canadian school such as U of T MMF, or even UBC's Math Finance program next year. Just finished my 3rd year of undergrad and have completed almost all my necessary math courses. No Canadian schools require a GRE from Canadian undergrads.
I'm doing a joint advanced major in math and business at St. FX
Have a 3.59 overall gpa with a 3.86 math gpa
2 years (well summers) of research experience, will hopefully have a publication from one of them soon
5 marking positions
Tutored privately and hired by the school
C++ , MATLab, and Maple experience
I heard U of T actually favors Canadian's coming straight from undergrad, is that true?
Anyways thanks for your help!
Hey
Looking for any insight into what my chances are at getting into a Canadian school such as U of T MMF, or even UBC's Math Finance program next year. Just finished my 3rd year of undergrad and have completed almost all my necessary math courses. No Canadian schools require a GRE from Canadian undergrads.
I'm doing a joint advanced major in math and business at St. FX
Have a 3.59 overall gpa with a 3.86 math gpa
2 years (well summers) of research experience, will hopefully have a publication from one of them soon
5 marking positions
Tutored privately and hired by the school
C++ , MATLab, and Maple experience
I heard U of T actually favors Canadian's coming straight from undergrad, is that true?
Anyways thanks for your help!
Advice on improving my profile
In college I took multivariable calc, ordinary diff eq, linear algebra, numerical methods and one semester of C++ programming. However I took these classes 5-10 years ago. No finance or statistics courses.
So right now I'm thinking of taking a C++ class and a class in basic statistics at a community college because of cost and easier to schedule around classes. I'm also going to take the CFA I this december.
Should this be enough to shore up pre-reqs?
Another thought would be to take the refresher courses some of the schools offer in the (probably naive) hopes that spending money on their courses would improve my chances of admittance.
Thanks in advance.
In college I took multivariable calc, ordinary diff eq, linear algebra, numerical methods and one semester of C++ programming. However I took these classes 5-10 years ago. No finance or statistics courses.
So right now I'm thinking of taking a C++ class and a class in basic statistics at a community college because of cost and easier to schedule around classes. I'm also going to take the CFA I this december.
Should this be enough to shore up pre-reqs?
Another thought would be to take the refresher courses some of the schools offer in the (probably naive) hopes that spending money on their courses would improve my chances of admittance.
Thanks in advance.
I'm junior of industrial engineering. there is an institute in my country that has a program in financial engineering ( this course is about 190 hours) and I can participate in this course during my study in university. so I'd like to know is it very effective for my chance to get admission by participating in this course? and is it valuable to give my time and money for this course?
aditshankar
Fuser
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advice
hi
im aditya from India. I am a mechanical engineer from BITS Pilani, a highly reputed institution with a gpa of 7.7/10.
I have a GRE score of 1500 (quant-800, verbal-700, AWA:5)
i have completed various mathematical prerequisites (atleast as far as columbia, NYU and Baruch go)...
I am currently an intern( which ll last for 3 months) at the Bank of America and want to apply for MFE in fall 2011.
I have 3 certifications from NSE (national stock exchange of india).
im a yellow belt in six sigma by KPMG
i am very keen in applying to Boston university, Baruch, gatech, UIUC and Umich.
also how can i further improve my profile... i have 4-5 months before i apply. Do you suggest i wait and get more work ex to compensate my average gap?
thanks
hi
im aditya from India. I am a mechanical engineer from BITS Pilani, a highly reputed institution with a gpa of 7.7/10.
I have a GRE score of 1500 (quant-800, verbal-700, AWA:5)
i have completed various mathematical prerequisites (atleast as far as columbia, NYU and Baruch go)...
I am currently an intern( which ll last for 3 months) at the Bank of America and want to apply for MFE in fall 2011.
I have 3 certifications from NSE (national stock exchange of india).
im a yellow belt in six sigma by KPMG
i am very keen in applying to Boston university, Baruch, gatech, UIUC and Umich.
also how can i further improve my profile... i have 4-5 months before i apply. Do you suggest i wait and get more work ex to compensate my average gap?
thanks
Joy Pathak
Swaptionz
- Joined
- 8/20/09
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- Points
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The stats you provided seem to be competitive. Make sure your LOR's and essay are compelling. Baruch is a good choice to apply to. You should apply to Columbia, CMU, Princeton,NYU,Mich, etc too just to hedge your risks since Baruch is very competitive.
Btw, my mom attending the same university (BITS Pilani) for her undergrad. She was one of the first women allowed at the university. 1970ish electrical engineering batch.
aditshankar
Fuser
- Joined
- 8/9/09
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- 13
- Points
- 11
hey joy
thanks for the reply..do you think i should give the cfa level 1 exam? the only reason why im asking is because i saw 2-3 profiles from the current class at NYU and CMU and all bitsians there had cleared level 1. Anyway the point is moot since i can give the cfa only by december and results come in april..so wont be able to add the achievment to my profile anyway.
But i was wondering whether i should give it anyway and add it to my prfile in case i apply for fall 2012?
aditya
thanks for the reply..do you think i should give the cfa level 1 exam? the only reason why im asking is because i saw 2-3 profiles from the current class at NYU and CMU and all bitsians there had cleared level 1. Anyway the point is moot since i can give the cfa only by december and results come in april..so wont be able to add the achievment to my profile anyway.
But i was wondering whether i should give it anyway and add it to my prfile in case i apply for fall 2012?
aditya
Can you list the main topics of your math courses?
2 years vs 2 summers of research experience are completely different =D
Yes, UofT MMF favors fresh undergrads, because they still remember their math.
Hi everyone,
I am seriously considering going to graduate school in financial engineering. So far, I based my preferences on the programs' rank (that I found here) and curriculum. Schools that stood out include CMU, University of Chicaco, Baruch, Berkeley, and NYU. It would be of great help and stimulus to me if anyone could advise me regarding how I should proceed during this year to maximize my chances of getting into the above mentioned schools, or suggest a different collection of schools that I am more likely to get into. Below I describe my current situation. I know it is lengthy, but I would be endlessly thankful if you took the time to read it.
General:
I had finished my undergraduate degree at University of California, San Diego with a GPA 3.4 and a double major in cognitive science and probability & statistics and a minor in economics in December 2009. My GPA in probability & statistics, considered alone, was 3.5. Also, I was a transfer student from a community college (does it matter a lot?).
Regarding GRE, I will begin studying today and take the actual test most likely at the end of July. I took a sample test yesterday and scored 500 on verbal and 780 on quantitative. Should I take CFA I exam as well? It seems like studying for it will be a great way to acquire further and more thorough knowledge of finance. In addition, I am thinking about taking math subject GRE as well just to test myself as well as learn some new things here and there. What score would justify my spending time of math subject GRE?
Recommendation Letters:
There is a teacher from the computer science department and a teacher from the mathematics department who will gladly give me recommendations. I took my first course in artificial intelligence from the prior and my last course in stochastic processes from the latter. Additionally, I should also have recommendations from my current boss (more info below) as well as from my mentor for the internship (more info below).
Mathematics:
In mathematics, I have taken just about 20 upper-division, though all undergraduate, courses including 7 (all of them) courses in statistics, 4 (all of them) in probability and stochastic processes, and 4 in artificial intelligence and statistical inference. I am currently learning Bayesian statistics from 'Bayesian Theory' by Bernardo and 'Probability Theory' by Jaynes. After looking at a lot of MFE programs, I should have everything that is needed and more in terms of mathematical prerequisites and recommendations.
Programming:
In terms of programming, I have been working as a programmer analyst while going to school for 2 years and used SQL, VBA, Access, and Excel. During my last quarter, I developed and adapted a green apple detector entirely in C for my project-based internship at a computer vision company that specializes in building harvesting robots. I am currently employed as an algorithms engineer at a search engine optimization and marketing company where I work with SQL Server, Java, Perl, Matlab, and R. Although I have not used C++ professionally, it is the programming language I am most comfortable and have most (personal) experience with. Although I feel confident that my programming skills should meet and potentially exceed the expectations of most of the MFE programs out there, I am not entirely sure. Please let me know if there is there anything I am missing here, ie should I explicitly take a course in C++?
Economics and Finance:
My major concern rests with the economics and finance side of my background. I took two upper division courses in microeconomics though only a lower division course in macroeconomics and public policy. Additionally, I took courses in decision theory, mathematical finance, econometrics and financial markets. Unfortunately, I completely screwed up the financial markets course. I forgot to bring my notes to the open-notes exam, and I missed a few lectures as well. At the moment I plan to either retake this course or to take the next course at UCLA this Fall. Should I retake the course? I already revisited the entirety of the material from that course, and I feel confident about every single concept in it now. This is where I need advise the most as I have no idea what I should do.
Regards,
Vitaly
I am seriously considering going to graduate school in financial engineering. So far, I based my preferences on the programs' rank (that I found here) and curriculum. Schools that stood out include CMU, University of Chicaco, Baruch, Berkeley, and NYU. It would be of great help and stimulus to me if anyone could advise me regarding how I should proceed during this year to maximize my chances of getting into the above mentioned schools, or suggest a different collection of schools that I am more likely to get into. Below I describe my current situation. I know it is lengthy, but I would be endlessly thankful if you took the time to read it.
General:
I had finished my undergraduate degree at University of California, San Diego with a GPA 3.4 and a double major in cognitive science and probability & statistics and a minor in economics in December 2009. My GPA in probability & statistics, considered alone, was 3.5. Also, I was a transfer student from a community college (does it matter a lot?).
Regarding GRE, I will begin studying today and take the actual test most likely at the end of July. I took a sample test yesterday and scored 500 on verbal and 780 on quantitative. Should I take CFA I exam as well? It seems like studying for it will be a great way to acquire further and more thorough knowledge of finance. In addition, I am thinking about taking math subject GRE as well just to test myself as well as learn some new things here and there. What score would justify my spending time of math subject GRE?
Recommendation Letters:
There is a teacher from the computer science department and a teacher from the mathematics department who will gladly give me recommendations. I took my first course in artificial intelligence from the prior and my last course in stochastic processes from the latter. Additionally, I should also have recommendations from my current boss (more info below) as well as from my mentor for the internship (more info below).
Mathematics:
In mathematics, I have taken just about 20 upper-division, though all undergraduate, courses including 7 (all of them) courses in statistics, 4 (all of them) in probability and stochastic processes, and 4 in artificial intelligence and statistical inference. I am currently learning Bayesian statistics from 'Bayesian Theory' by Bernardo and 'Probability Theory' by Jaynes. After looking at a lot of MFE programs, I should have everything that is needed and more in terms of mathematical prerequisites and recommendations.
Programming:
In terms of programming, I have been working as a programmer analyst while going to school for 2 years and used SQL, VBA, Access, and Excel. During my last quarter, I developed and adapted a green apple detector entirely in C for my project-based internship at a computer vision company that specializes in building harvesting robots. I am currently employed as an algorithms engineer at a search engine optimization and marketing company where I work with SQL Server, Java, Perl, Matlab, and R. Although I have not used C++ professionally, it is the programming language I am most comfortable and have most (personal) experience with. Although I feel confident that my programming skills should meet and potentially exceed the expectations of most of the MFE programs out there, I am not entirely sure. Please let me know if there is there anything I am missing here, ie should I explicitly take a course in C++?
Economics and Finance:
My major concern rests with the economics and finance side of my background. I took two upper division courses in microeconomics though only a lower division course in macroeconomics and public policy. Additionally, I took courses in decision theory, mathematical finance, econometrics and financial markets. Unfortunately, I completely screwed up the financial markets course. I forgot to bring my notes to the open-notes exam, and I missed a few lectures as well. At the moment I plan to either retake this course or to take the next course at UCLA this Fall. Should I retake the course? I already revisited the entirety of the material from that course, and I feel confident about every single concept in it now. This is where I need advise the most as I have no idea what I should do.
Regards,
Vitaly
- Joined
- 12/13/09
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- Points
- 38
GPA is a bit low
For a top program you will need 800 on the quant section of GRE. I'm told GRE math is super hard, only take it if you are really sure you can do well. Look to score 75+ percentile
Math and programming sound pretty good
CFA level 1 isn't necessary but it will teach you some basic finance and show your interest/commitment to finance (if you take it make sure you pass)
Some self-study in finance would help your application. Look at the master reading list here and pick up a few books that interest you.
Overall I think your application is strong but the only way to know for sure is to apply, good luck
For a top program you will need 800 on the quant section of GRE. I'm told GRE math is super hard, only take it if you are really sure you can do well. Look to score 75+ percentile
Math and programming sound pretty good
CFA level 1 isn't necessary but it will teach you some basic finance and show your interest/commitment to finance (if you take it make sure you pass)
Some self-study in finance would help your application. Look at the master reading list here and pick up a few books that interest you.
Overall I think your application is strong but the only way to know for sure is to apply, good luck
Linear Algebra, (A)
Multivariable Calculus, (A+)
Differential Equations (A) and Partial Differential Equations (A-)
Real Analysis I (A)
Probability Theory (A+)
Intro to Science Stats (A+)
Numerical Methods for PDEs (will be taking this year, hopefully will get an A )
few more but they are probably irrelevant for this line of work
Summer research was on Fractals last year (lots of linear algebra) and is on MathBio this year, lots of PDEs and Matlab. Will be writing the first Actuary exam (nice plan B) this summer.
Think I've got a shot? I've got decent marks but I am from a smaller school St.FX
aditshankar
Fuser
- Joined
- 8/9/09
- Messages
- 13
- Points
- 11
hi
im aditya from India. I am a mechanical engineer from BITS Pilani, a highly reputed institution with a gpa of 7.7/10.
I have a GRE score of 1500 (quant-800, verbal-700, AWA:5)
i have completed various mathematical prerequisites (atleast as far as columbia, NYU and Baruch go)...
I am currently an intern( which ll last for 3 months) at the Bank of America and want to apply for MFE in fall 2011.
I have 3 certifications from NSE (national stock exchange of india).
im a yellow belt in six sigma by KPMG
i am very keen in applying to Boston university, Baruch, gatech, UIUC and Umich.
also how can i further improve my profile... i have 4-5 months before i apply. Do you suggest i wait and get more work ex to compensate my average gap?
thanks
im aditya from India. I am a mechanical engineer from BITS Pilani, a highly reputed institution with a gpa of 7.7/10.
I have a GRE score of 1500 (quant-800, verbal-700, AWA:5)
i have completed various mathematical prerequisites (atleast as far as columbia, NYU and Baruch go)...
I am currently an intern( which ll last for 3 months) at the Bank of America and want to apply for MFE in fall 2011.
I have 3 certifications from NSE (national stock exchange of india).
im a yellow belt in six sigma by KPMG
i am very keen in applying to Boston university, Baruch, gatech, UIUC and Umich.
also how can i further improve my profile... i have 4-5 months before i apply. Do you suggest i wait and get more work ex to compensate my average gap?
thanks
