"MFE program profile evaluation" master thread

GRE Subject is not required by any program, (maybe with the exception of Chicago MSFM) so if you are to invest time to do this, it only makes sense if you can ensure positive return on it. Can you score high enough to justify the time? By high, I mean 80-90% percentile.
It's not an easy cake like the GRE Q section.
 
Hi, so I received my GRE results today and I received an 800 on the math and 410 on the verbal.. with a 4.5 analytical. How detrimental is the 410 on the verbal to my application ?
 
Hi Guys!

I was wondering what you guys think my chances are for an MFE (Berkeley, Cornell,Baruch) or the CF @ CMU

Age: 27

Undergraduate: Mathematics and Computer Science BSc @ Imperial College London, got a 2-2 (58% missed 2-1 by 2%)

Postgraduate: Software Systems Engineering MSc (Now known as Financial Systems Engineering) @ UCL (University College London), received a distinction (6 A's, 1 B), including thesis was a research project with Citigroup IBank (also A)

Last 2-3 years: Joined top tier investment bank on graduate IT program, developing software for various applications (trading systems, risk and pricing software, portfolio management, market data validation etc), working closely with trading desks, middle office, etc

Programming Languages: Mainly C#, C++ (1 year), Java (University), SQL, Haskel

Still have to do the GRE in 2 weeks, if my profile could get me to the schools I want, want kind of GRE score do I need? (Do I need above the normal MFE accepted average because of my undergraduate?)

Thanks a lot!
 
illspeakerlondon said:
Hi Guys!

I was wondering what you guys think my chances are for an MFE (Berkeley, Cornell,Baruch) or the CF @ CMU

Age: 27

Undergraduate: Mathematics and Computer Science BSc @ Imperial College London, got a 2-2 (58% missed 2-1 by 2%)

Postgraduate: Software Systems Engineering MSc (Now known as Financial Systems Engineering) @ UCL (University College London), received a distinction (6 A's, 1 B), including thesis was a research project with Citigroup IBank (also A)

Last 2-3 years: Joined top tier investment bank on graduate IT program, developing software for various applications (trading systems, risk and pricing software, portfolio management, market data validation etc), working closely with trading desks, middle office, etc

Programming Languages: Mainly C#, C++ (1 year), Java (University), SQL, Haskel

Still have to do the GRE in 2 weeks, if my profile could get me to the schools I want, want kind of GRE score do I need? (Do I need above the normal MFE accepted average because of my undergraduate?)

Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...

For GRE scores: 800Q, probably about 500+ on the verbal and at least a 4.0/4.5 on the AWA. But the most important part is the 800 quant score.
 
Please advice on my profile

I need help regarding my University selection for MSFE program

My GRE score is 1380(quant-800, verbal 580)
I have done my B.Tech(Electrical and Electronics Engineering) from National Institute of Technology Karnataka(one of the top Ten engineering institute of India) with
CGPA 7.4/10.
I will have around 1.5 years work experience at a startup Financial consultancy by the time Fall 2011 batch commences. I have worked as Software developer on a Financial Software solution which includes pricing of Financial instruments(FX options, swaps , calculation of hedge effectiveness etc). I have also worked on statistical methods(regression analysis).

I am looking to pursue a masters in Quantitative/Mathematical Finance or related fields.
My prospective list of colleges so far are as follows

UIUC
Baruch(CUNY)
Michigan State Univ
Boston Univ
Vanderbilt Univ
Case Western
Columbia Univ
Rutgers
CMU
NTU
Kent State
Illinois Institute of Technology
Please classify the above list as safe, mod or ambi

Fell free to add more to the list and please give your comments.
 
seshadri,
The devils are in the details. What makes and breaks your application is what we don't see here. Your basic stats look fine and you should have a good shot at most if not all of the listed programs. I would limit the list to 6 or so. The more you apply, the more it looks like you just roll a dice and play your luck.

The more you research, you will find the number of "ideal program" for you are approaching less than a handful. Keep on researching.

Quant Network Program Selector | Quant Network
 
Well said Andy and thnx for the advice. I will narrow down my list. Do u have any idea about the average profile of students admitted to Univ of Illinois MSFE(new program) ?? I have one more question. Though I have relevant work experience I have not taken some vital courses like stochastic calculus or probability in my undergraduate degree. The GRE score posted(1380 -> 800q) is my second attempt at GRE my first attempt was 2.5 years back when my score was 1240(800 quant).. My consecutive cent percent do add weight to my application. Well is it enough to offset the absence of necessary pre-requisite courses?
 
That's an oversimplification of how the admission works. While GRE is the first stat they look at, there are at least a half dozen things people look at.
Many people here use the GRE as the be all, end all number and it may give the wrong impression.
I have seen many applications with strong GRE but failed to get admitted. The key is "strong overall" application.
 
Andy Nguyen said:
That's an oversimplification of how the admission works. While GRE is the first stat they look at, there are at least a half dozen things people look at.
Many people here use the GRE as the be all, end all number and it may give the wrong impression.
I have seen many applications with strong GRE but failed to get admitted. The key is "strong overall" application.
Click to expand...

Does this imply that I should not take the GRE again? I received a 410 on the verbal section.
 
I have seen countless examples of people in your situation who retook the GRE only to see their V improves but their Q drops. So it's not always clear cut if a redo will improve across the board.

You need to spend time to increase your verbal so it's a trade off between GRE and working on other things. I don't know who you are competing with and how your qualification compares relatively with them to make a good suggestion.
 
Andy Nguyen said:
I have seen countless examples of people in your situation who retook the GRE only to see their V improves but their Q drops. So it's not always clear cut if a redo will improve across the board.

You need to spend time to increase your verbal so it's a trade off between GRE and working on other things. I don't know who you are competing with and how your qualification compares relatively with them to make a good suggestion.
Click to expand...

I received an 800 on my q section and the quantitative section in my mind was a joke. I will have completed every required math course by this semester and I will be taking some extra classes in monte carlo simulations, stochastic processes, more programming classes, math of statistics etc so I think I am at least stronger in the math department. I can also submit a paper that I wrote estimating the difference between expected house values vs. the actual which simulates the housing bubble currently in which I used a statistical model including a few variables. I am a double major at actuarial science and economics at Baruch (I believe you went there as well :) ).The only problem is, since I am taking 7 classes and I am currently working at an economics database, I don't have much time to study for the verbal. I was never strong in verbal anyway as I studied for the SATs and I received an 800 on the math but a 540 on the verbal. Do you suggest that I still work towards retaking the verbal section? Thanks.
 
Andy Nguyen said:
That's an oversimplification of how the admission works. While GRE is the first stat they look at, there are at least a half dozen things people look at.
Many people here use the GRE as the be all, end all number and it may give the wrong impression.
I have seen many applications with strong GRE but failed to get admitted. The key is "strong overall" application.
Click to expand...

Thanks Andy.

I do realise is that is an oversimplification but what I wanted to find out what my chances with my profile are (just an idea, I thought that was the point of this thread). I do realise that there a lot of factors, but I want to know whether the schools I chose are out of my league,or if i'm 'average' applicant, or if with a good GRE score I have a 'strong' application.

I do however realise that a lot of other factors method, applicant pool, GRE percentile, recommendation letter, etc etc
 
One more year to go.. please guide

Hi, I am a regular reader of this forum; but this is my first post, so pardon me if I miss out on some details.
I am planning to return to school in 2012, so would like some feedback regarding my profile to be admitted into a good school and what areas can i improve upon.

EDUCATION:
CFA - Level 3 Candidate
MS Finance - GPA 3.95 - USA
Bachelors in Electrical Engineering - GPA 7.7/10 - INDIA

EXPERIENCE (4.5 Years)
2 Years - Hedge Fund - Working on Fixed Income Quantitative Research and Modeling
2 Years - Software development for Fixed Income Risk Analysis and Statistical Regression Modeling
6 Months - Software development - Product Automation

Programming:
C# & VB - 4+ years of programming experience
R, STATA, S-PLUS
Java, C courses Taken - no experience

Mathematics:
Calculus 1-2, Linear Algebra, Statistics for Business, Econometrics, Numerical Analysis and Operation Research

GRE
Q 800, V 640, A 3.0

CONCERNS:
Need to review mathematics

I would be really obliged, if someone could give me a feedback as to what can i improve upon.. what mathematics courses should I take? Also which universities should i ideally be targeting with this profile?

Thanks a lot
 
You have very good/relevant work experience and programming skill. CFA is a plus.
The math needs a few more courses.
Take them from the local colleges, Calculus-based probability, Cal 3, PDE, etc
Take a look at the Quantnet ranking of the top 20 or so programs, see where you want to study and work, and see what math courses they require and proceed accordingly.
 
thanks andy

thanks andy for the quick response.. i am planning to take 2-3 mathematics courses at my university.. Based upon time constraints, if i take only 2 classes... what do u think would be the most useful course to leverage my profile...
thanks again.
 
Hi, I recently joined the quantnet network and i would first want to thank everyone for the informative posts, articles and reviews.They have been the best source of information regarding financial engineering/ quantitative finance programs. This is my first post, so excuse me if i leave out some details.
I am planning to pursue ms in financial engineering/ quantitative finance coming fall 2011, so i needed some feedback regarding my profile and the kind of colleges i should apply.

Education:

Bachelors in Electronics and Communication Engineering - GPA 8.2/10 [top 5%] - INDIA
Mathematics GPA 9.4/10

Mathematics topics covered in undergraduate:
Calculus 1-2-3, Linear Algebra1-2, Probability theory 1-2,Fourier series and transforms,Infinite series, Curve fitting and optimization .

Experinece: august 2010 to current
Currently working as project assistant at indian institute of science( bangalore) on biometrics- face detection and recognition algorithms( lot of mathematical modeling)

Programming:
C, C++, Matlab

GRE
Q 800, V 700, AWA waiting for results

Though i dont have prior experience in the finance sector, i have been reading up a lot on financial markets, derivative pricing, pricing models etc.
I have also gone through the book-A primer for the mathematics of financial engineering by Dan Stefanica.

I would be really obliged, if someone could give me a feedback as to what can i improve upon. What mathematics courses should I take?

I have been using the quantnet financial engineering ranking as a basis and i would like to know which programs i should be targeting with my profile.


Thanks a lot.
 
Hello all, I am curious as to what kind of attraction these top programs would have towards someone with a masters in physics as well as a bs in physics and chemistry. I have recently become interested in financial engineering as a career during graduate school as a physicist and was unsure if it would be likely for to gain admittance to a respectable program.

Would these programs realize the relevance of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics to the financial industry? I have taken courses in C++ programming as well and am able to maneuver around other languages. I have taken 3 different courses in quantum and statistical mechanics each receiving A's in all and 800q 600v 4awa on the GRE, I have also taken diff eq. linear algebra and 3 calculus courses. Having only taken introductory finance and economics courses from my university's b school, I am just curious how this would look to admission committees or perhaps I should take a lot more finance courses. A girl 2 years ahead of me got into Cornell and Columbia with a similar background only having an undergraduate degree from China in CS. Being new to the scene I would appreciate any help, direction, advice, or support! Thanks!
 
tjbcats said:
Hello all, I am curious as to what kind of attraction these top programs would have towards someone with a masters in physics as well as a bs in physics and chemistry. I have recently become interested in financial engineering as a career during graduate school as a physicist and was unsure if it would be likely for to gain admittance to a respectable program.

Would these programs realize the relevance of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics to the financial industry? I have taken courses in C++ programming as well and am able to maneuver around other languages. I have taken 3 different courses in quantum and statistical mechanics each receiving A's in all and 800q 600v 4awa on the GRE, I have also taken diff eq. linear algebra and 3 calculus courses. Having only taken introductory finance and economics courses from my university's b school, I am just curious how this would look to admission committees or perhaps I should take a lot more finance courses. A girl 2 years ahead of me got into Cornell and Columbia with a similar background only having an undergraduate degree from China in CS. Being new to the scene I would appreciate any help, direction, advice, or support! Thanks!
Click to expand...

I would you say that you have the background that programs are looking for in terms of math and programming. You should be able to get an admit somewhere.

How are your letters of recommendation? And you will need to be clear on your essays why you want to move into finance.
 
Connor said:
I would you say that you have the background that programs are looking for in terms of math and programming. You should be able to get an admit somewhere.

How are your letters of recommendation? And you will need to be clear on your essays why you want to move into finance.
Click to expand...

My letters of rec would definitely be strong through professors Ive had in those modeling classes, however my thesis is in engineering, so my advisors who would write strong recs would be doing so from outside of the field of finance. I still have 2 semesters before I would be applying so in the mean time I will be trying to beef up my finance background and take programming courses. Thanks for the response though!
 

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