"MFE program profile evaluation" master thread

[nikhilrajendra]

Please advice

Hi everyone, I had posted this request a few days back,since i hadnt received any reply i am reposting it now. Any advice would be highly appreciated.
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.

Thank you.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

nikhil,
You have a fine profile. No obvious glaring red flags. This is only from the quantifiable parts, not the rest of your application.

Picking a program is as much a personal experience as buying your first house. Have you encountered anyone from that program that gives you a good vibe? Do they come across to you as someone you want to be friend/colleague with?

Do they communicate with you in a professional and personal way? Do they answer all your questions and request?

Have you read the first-person reviews of these programs? I believe we have reviews of a majority of these programs in our ranking

Program Review | Quant Network

Take a look and let me know if you have questions about specific program. I'm not going to tell you which program to apply.

 

[chiadam]

Strength of MSFM Chicago app.

Thanks all in advance for your evaluation.

Educational Background
University of Illinois
Double Major BS Economics and Finance
Minor in Mathematics
Courses: Calc 1-4, Mathematical Stats and Probability, Linear Transformations and Matrices, Diff Eq, Combinatorics
GPA: 3.68 (3.86 within my business majors)

Work Background
4 years of trading equity options
- 3 as a market maker on the CBOE
- 1 at a volatility arbitrage firm

Letters of Recommendation
1 from former math professor
1 from former econ professor
2 from former work colleagues

GRE
Exempt

Additional Note
I am currently enrolled in their prep course for the MSFM program, which I assume is smiled upon.

Let me know if there's some more info that could help you assess my chances. Thanks.

 

[Connor]

Thanks all in advance for your evaluation.

Educational Background
University of Illinois
Double Major BS Economics and Finance
Minor in Mathematics
Courses: Calc 1-4, Mathematical Stats and Probability, Linear Transformations and Matrices, Diff Eq, Combinatorics
GPA: 3.68 (3.86 within my business majors)

Work Background
4 years of trading equity options
- 3 as a market maker on the CBOE
- 1 at a volatility arbitrage firm

Letters of Recommendation
1 from former math professor
1 from former econ professor
2 from former work colleagues

GRE
Exempt

Additional Note
I am currently enrolled in their prep course for the MSFM program, which I assume is smiled upon.

Let me know if there's some more info that could help you assess my chances. Thanks.

How are you exempt from the GRE? The only instance I've heard of not having to take the GRE for admissions is if you already have a PhD.....

 

[chiadam]

How are you exempt from the GRE? The only instance I've heard of not having to take the GRE for admissions is if you already have a PhD.....

From their website:

Both the GRE General Test and the GRE Math Subject Tests are required. However, if you received your bachelor's degree prior to June of 2007, you are exempt from any GRE requirements.

 

[rabit]

Please suggest

Hi Everyone,

I am Fall 11 aspirant for MS in Financial Eng./Comp. fin.

My profile goes as follows:
SSC:88% (Maths-141/150)
HSC:87% (Maths-96/100)

BE (EXTC) from Mumbai University, 2009 pass out.
Avg over 8 sem:74% maths grades (77,84,86,85,74,83)
Final year project with Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing. Co. Ltd
GRE:1150 (Q800 V350 AWA 3)
TOEFL:appearing on 14th nov

Learned programming languages at first yr of engineering-C,C++.
Stood topper in college for C programming (80/100)

Work Exp:will be having 2 yrs of work exp in analytic department of J.P.Moragan Chase as a Risk Analyst
Below is short summery of job profile:
•Responsible for formulating Credit Risk Strategy and providing functional analysis of its business impacts using Simulation tests.
•Experience in Data Analytics (SAS/SQL), Risk policy/strategy development, and Statistical Analysis.

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
·Programming Languages: SQL, SAS, C/C++, MATLAB, VBA (Excel Macros)
·Software Packages: SQL Developer, SAS, MS Office Suite


I wanted to evaluate my profile for Tier1 colleges in MFE.

It will be great if you suggest some good programs that I can get into with my profile.

Please advise.

Thanks

 

[TraderJoe]

Just apply to all the top 10 MFE programs and hope for the best.
Que Sera Sera.

 

[vikrantkhadilkar]

The Course I would like to apply is Financial Engineering / Financial Mathematics/ Quantitative Finance/ Computational Mathematics
The following is my profile:

GRE : 1300 q-730 AwA : 3.5
Toefl: 111
Undergraduate degree : IT Engineering.. overal percentage 68.3
from VESIT ( top college in Bombay), University of Mumbai

Mathematics marks for 4 semesters :
Sem1 : 95
Sem 2 :87
Sem 3: 92
Sem 4 :74


Work Ex : No Work experience
.
1 month internship at a brokerage firm as a research analyst

Programming languages : C , C++ , Matlab , java

Besides this background I have pursued
4 certifications from BSE(Bombay Stock Exchange) Which include :
1. Technical Analysis
2. Fundamental Analysis
3. Investment Analysis and Wealth Creation
4. Understanding of behavorial Finance

3 certifications with NSE ( national stock exchange)
1. Basics of financial markets
2. Equity Derivatives
3. Currency Derivatives

The colleges which I have shortlisted are :
1. The City University of New York – Baruch
2. Polytechnic University, Brooklyn Campus
3. Claremont Graduate University
4. Hofstra University
5. Illinois Institute of Technology
6. North Carolina State University
7. Rutgers State University
8. University of North Carolina Charlotte
9. University of Southern California
10. Carnegie Mellon University
11. Georgia Inst of Technology
12. University of Texas at Dallas
13. University of Michigan, Financial Engineering
14 Kent State University, Financial Engineering
15. Florida State University, Financial Mathematics
16. University of illinois MSFE

Which of these can be considered as Safe and which as Ambi ..
Kindly help ..
Thank you

 

[Naman]

Hey....Vikrant ! I am Naman from Ahmedabad.....got ditto same GRE and TOEFL scores and am too interested in MSFE for fall 2011.....the funny thing is I am confused regarding which colleges to apply.......need a buddy here......seems we are riding on same boat

 

[rabit]

Hi Vikrant/Naman

Please count me as well(though my GRE is less).

 

[Andy Nguyen]

@vikrantkhadilkar
Q 730, V 570, AWA 3.5
That's not a competitive profile and you are wise to select a wide range of schools that you have a shot at. Take out 1) and 10)
The rest is mix bag and I don't really see a point of you radically transform into a competitive profile by going to any of those. You probably will get into somewhere but what would you expect coming out?

 

[vanillasky]

Possible to go for a MFE?

Hey people,
I am currently suffering from making a decision whether or not to pursue a MFE in an at least tier 2 program(say, top 15 of quantnet ranking). My background is as following. could people here kindly give me some suggestions? Any advice or comment would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
/*
BS in China with GPA 3.7 in EE. Math courses are great. C++ is great.
Now doing a ME master, second year, in Tufts with a GPA like 3.4. Fluid Mechanics, Heat transfer, Solid mechanics are low while stats, stochastic, numerical methods, financial economics are A. TA and RA for one year, respectively.
did internship in GE China when undergrad and two technology companies here in Boston as a marketing intern and R&D Intern.
Will take CFA level 1 next June
*/

 

[Andy Nguyen]

What is your question exactly?
1) Can you get in an MFE program?
Sure, if you target is top 15 of Quantnet ranking. Outside of a handful competitive programs, the barrier to admission drops out a bit. As long as you have all the required courses, work hard on your application package, and don't make some of the common mistakes, you have legitimate shot.
2) Why do you want to do MFE?
This is more important question. The vast majority of applicants are over-qualified but that doesn't mean many of them should do MFE.
You didn't mention any reason so I don't know what else to suggest.

 

[vanillasky]

Thanks Andy,
My first thought came from great interests in math courses i took, like calculus, stochastic and numerical method, as well as CFA book and My life as a quant. Apply math and programming skills in making money makes me excited. This might seems to be sort of naive but it is what i tought.

 

[vikrantkhadilkar]

@vikrantkhadilkar
Q 730, V 570, AWA 3.5
That's not a competitive profile and you are wise to select a wide range of schools that you have a shot at. Take out 1) and 10)
The rest is mix bag and I don't really see a point of you radically transform into a competitive profile by going to any of those. You probably will get into somewhere but what would you expect coming out?

@ Andy : Thank you for your reply

All i want is to Get to a good college for Financial engineering / Quantitative finance. I believe that I can get through the course and compete for Jobs at the top level.
I screwed up my GRE quant section but i have strong determination to do well in the college I get.

 

[night]

Andy, would you please assess my profile and help me select target schools for application of MFE?<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>​

My profile is not outstanding compared with other applicants, but what I want is a list of target schools which may give me opportunities to study FE, so please help me. Thank you very much.<o:p></o:p>​

<o:p> </o:p>​

My 1<SUP>st</SUP> GRE score is 1280(quant-730, verbal 550); My 2<SUP>nd</SUP> GRE is Q-790, V-400
I got a Bachelor Degree of Computer Science from one of the top 5 University in China with
GPA 4.14/5.
I had internship of IBD Dept. in the headquarter of one Commercial Bank in China. I also participated in a short-term financial program in Hong Kong University.
I am looking to pursue a master in Quantitative/Mathematical Finance or related fields.

<o:p></o:p>​

My prospective list of colleges so far is as follows:
UIUC
Michigan State Univ
Boston Univ
Vanderbilt Univ
Case Western
Rutgers
NTU<o:p></o:p>​

RPI<o:p></o:p>​

HKU
Kent State
Illinois Institute of Technology<o:p></o:p>​

Please classify the above list and give your comments. <o:p></o:p>​

<o:p> </o:p>

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I screwed up my GRE quant section but i have strong determination to do well in the college I get.

There is no good reason to rush doing it this year.
Retake the GRE, improve your profile, get a relevant internship, job and if you still like to study after working, do it next year.
MFE programs aren't going to disappear overnight. There is no reason to go to a so-so program when you can reapply to a better program next year. The cost of doing the wrong program far outweighs the cost of one lost year.

 

[rabit]

Andy,

It would be great if you can please advice me.

I posted my profile below.

Thanks

 

[Andy Nguyen]

@rabit,
I'm no longer impressed any bit by the Q 800 (it becomes less relevant as an indicator) so my first impression is that your English is weak.
Everything you posted just says you are a technical guy. Schools would be able to judge your other qualities when they have your full profile.

I don't pick programs for people so you should go through our ranking, wiki, reviews and find a few that meet your personal needs.

 

[night]

ANDY, please give me some advice. Thx millions~