"MFE program profile evaluation" master thread

AndrewChang said:
Seems like you fulfill all of the minimal requirements but you want to outshine everyone else to get in. It is a better idea to take a class like stochastic processes instead of econometrics/forecasting in my opinion. Also, I would recommend you learn C ++ as that is the language of choice for most of these programs. Mathematical Finance is very important as I think that is where you learn to derive the black scholes formula and that is probably one of the first things you would do in the program if not expected to know the derivation already and for the derivation of the black scholes, you would need to know at least some stochastic process. Seems like you have a nice profile but to be honest, the economics classes and accounting classes etc aren't as relevant as you believe they are. It is better that you be the best you can be at math and programming.
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Thanks for the response.

Even taking away all of the non-math/programming classes that I have taken, I will still have taken the following by the time I graduate:
Math - Multivariable Calculus, Elementary Diff Eqs, Elementary Partial Diff Eqs, Intro Linear Algebra, Linear Algebra, Probability Theory, Mathematical Statistics, Into Math Finance, Stochastic Models in Operations Research,
Comp. Sci - Intro to Comp Sci, Data Structures, Comp. Algorithms, Intro to Network Science (All in Java unfortunately)

Do you think this isn't enough? What other courses would you suggest I take?
 
Hello everyone,
I am interested in applying to MFE programs this cycle and I have two questions. First of all, how important is relevant work experience? Secondly, will the fact that I have only programmed in Java and Matlab (no C/C++) be an issue for me?

Thanks in advance!
 
Looking for any feedback...thank you in advance.

Rising senior studying computational applied math, and minoring in economics. I attend Kean University, a state school in NJ, not really prestigious at any level, chose to go there to play a sport and because I went on a full academic scholarship.(at the time of my decision I knew little about wall street and their obsession with "targets").

GPA: 3.8
major GPA 3.9

relevant course work: calc I -> IV, numerial analyis, diffy q, operations research, physics, linear algebra, data structs, computer programming...A's in everything but a diffy q I got a B.

-An upcoming fall asset management internship with a middle market firm.
-A summer internship with a boutique distressed equities trading firm
-A summer research internship in computational physics and supercomputing, had a paper published my junior year on the work.
-A small semester research project involving monte carlo option pricing on my schools cluster.

No real on campus involvements besides being an athlete there for my first two years. Earlier in the year I started to study for the GMAT because I initially thought a master in finance was more obtainable. Now that I am taking it in a few weeks there is really no changing the months of prep I have put in so I will have to make due with the GMAT. (aiming to score in the 710-740 range, 49-50Q).

Will be applying to: CMU, Baruch, UCLA, MIT, and a handful of Mfins. Just wanted to see what everyone thought of my chances. Honestly don't know how far off I am off from these schools, the current students at all are truly top minds. People have written me off for years now because of my schools name and I am not sure how picky these programs are. Again thanks in advance.
 
wshopeful said:
Thanks for the response.

Even taking away all of the non-math/programming classes that I have taken, I will still have taken the following by the time I graduate:
Math - Multivariable Calculus, Elementary Diff Eqs, Elementary Partial Diff Eqs, Intro Linear Algebra, Linear Algebra, Probability Theory, Mathematical Statistics, Into Math Finance, Stochastic Models in Operations Research,
Comp. Sci - Intro to Comp Sci, Data Structures, Comp. Algorithms, Intro to Network Science (All in Java unfortunately)

Do you think this isn't enough? What other courses would you suggest I take?
Click to expand...

It looks like you have covered just about everything. You seem like a strong candidate and good luck!
 
nociton said:
Looking for any feedback...thank you in advance.

Rising senior studying computational applied math, and minoring in economics. I attend Kean University, a state school in NJ, not really prestigious at any level, chose to go there to play a sport and because I went on a full academic scholarship.(at the time of my decision I knew little about wall street and their obsession with "targets").

GPA: 3.8
major GPA 3.9

relevant course work: calc I -> IV, numerial analyis, diffy q, operations research, physics, linear algebra, data structs, computer programming...A's in everything but a diffy q I got a B.

-An upcoming fall asset management internship with a middle market firm.
-A summer internship with a boutique distressed equities trading firm
-A summer research internship in computational physics and supercomputing, had a paper published my junior year on the work.
-A small semester research project involving monte carlo option pricing on my schools cluster.

No real on campus involvements besides being an athlete there for my first two years. Earlier in the year I started to study for the GMAT because I initially thought a master in finance was more obtainable. Now that I am taking it in a few weeks there is really no changing the months of prep I have put in so I will have to make due with the GMAT. (aiming to score in the 710-740 range, 49-50Q).

Will be applying to: CMU, Baruch, UCLA, MIT, and a handful of Mfins. Just wanted to see what everyone thought of my chances. Honestly don't know how far off I am off from these schools, the current students at all are truly top minds. People have written me off for years now because of my schools name and I am not sure how picky these programs are. Again thanks in advance.
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School you came from doesn't really matter. Learn financial mathematics and I guess the basis of deriving black scholes as this is important and know more probability. You seem to know everything else pretty well.
 
DavidVizsolyi said:
Hello everyone,
I am interested in applying to MFE programs this cycle and I have two questions. First of all, how important is relevant work experience? Secondly, will the fact that I have only programmed in Java and Matlab (no C/C++) be an issue for me?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Work experience can only help. If you apply to Baruch MFE, C++ is a hard requirement, no alternative programming language accepted. At other programs, it's more flexible as you can replace it with Matlab/Java/VBA and even SAS.
At CMU MSCF, if you have good experience in C++, you can get waiver from the first computing course, save you a bunch of money and time.

So learning C++ can only help.
 
AndrewChang..thanks for the input. I forgot to mention I also have also taken a prob and stats course, and have experience in Java, C, MATLAB, Mathematica, Lindo/Lingo, and some of the API's in supercomputing like OPENMP, MPI, and little experience in CUDA.
 
Would appreciate it if I could get feedback on my credentials:

Education:
University of Texas at Arlington, BS Economics / Double minor in Math and CSE (Graduating in May-Summer)
GPA: 3.97 / 4.00 (Only B is in Political Science..)
GRE: 780Q 490V (Waiting on Analytical which I expect to be much higher relative to my verbal score, also certainly considering retaking the GRE for the 800Q I earned on the powerprep. Was so frustrating seeing that 780!)
Relevant Coursework: Multivariable Calculus (A), Business Statistics (A), Linear Algebra (A), Intro to Econometrics (A), Discrete Structures (A), Intro to Computer Science [Python] (A), Intermediate Programming [C] (A), Intermediate Microeconomics (A), Intermediate Macroeconomics (A), Money and Banking (A)

Expected Coursework: Differential Equations, Real Analysis or Numerical Analysis (thoughts?), Proofs, Intro the Math Econ, Economic Forecasting, International Finance, Data Structures and Algorithms, Databases, OOP [Java]

Work Experience:
None in financial. I did however work for Gamestop at their headquarters doing order verification and some coding with VBscript macros.

Extracurricular:
Member of NABE

Research:
None

Do I have any chance at the following?
Columbia MFE
Cornell MFE
Carnegie Mellon MCF
UCal Berkeley MFE

If not, I was also considering applying for a good math masters program (within the top 50 schools). Is it likely this would this be worth my time/money? And if so, would I be better pursuing a Applied, Pure, or Statistics focus?
 
Need a Profile Evaluation and Advice on MFE programs

GRE 1350 (Q-800,V-550,AWA 3.0)
BE Computer Science From University of Mumbai
1st 6 semester Average @ 68% - Rough Approximation 3.3 to 3.6 GPA converted
TOEFL yet to be taken

Attended Summer School @ London School of Economics for a Course In
Futures Options and other derivatives - Hence Well versed with Stochastic Calculus and financial Models like BS etc. Scored B+ ranked 14 in class of 136

I have mixed Grades in Maths ranging from A to C in 4 Semester of Applied Maths I have taken in Engineering

Won a National Level IEEE Technical Paper Presentation Contest for a paper which was an improvement to my Profs paper in his PhD(rel to comp sci) thesis , involved heavy C++ Coding - So Programming is not really a problem

Very Well versed with C++,Java,Oracle(SQL),matlab

I have No Work Exp.

Can Some One Please Evaulate My profile For
Columbia , CMU , Stanford , Cornell , NYU abd other Universities


Would you advice to go for Work Ex -or does it makes sense to Complete your Education once and for all ?!


 
Viviktesh
Your AWA is weak so at some point, you may want to consider retaking it.

MFE will be there for you so there is no need to rush. If you can get a few years of relevant work experience, it would strengthen your profile and give you a better direction on your career.
 
Hey guys, this is my first post; I've been interested in FE/FM ever since I discovered it several months ago (my reaction was something like "I can get paid to apply my practical math skills to finance? Incredible," and has been ever since). Any idea what my outlook is with something like this?

Ohio University- Double major in psychology and mathematical statistics
3.25/4.0Cum. GPA; 3.75/4.0 junior-senior year; 3.50/4.0 in math courses. GRE 1420 (800 Q, 620 V, 5.0 Writing)

Coursework in Calc (4 quarters worth), stats theory (3 quarters), stats in the social sciences (2 quarters), statistical computing, prob theory, diff eq., actuarial science, linear algebra (2 quarters), financial acct'ing, econ (micro and macro), applied complex variables, discrete optimization.

Fluent programming in R (S-Plus), Very comfortable (but can't write code) in SPSS and Excel.

Have 1.5 years of research experience using SPSS, 6 months using R.

Good amount of extracurriculars/community service type stuff, plus worked a sales job (industrial job, nothing to do with FE) for 3 years.

At this time, my top choices are NYU (MSFM), Chicago (MSFM), IIT (MSMF), UNC-Charlotte (MSMF), and NC State (MSFM).

Also, I have room for one more elective in my schedule prior to graduating; would a course in C++ improve my chances of acceptance?

Thanks in advance everyone, hope I can find help here, because ATM I'm completely lost as to where I stand.
 
  • Hello everyone
    Firstly I would really like to thank everyone on quantnet here for sharing all the information and in a way helping many students like me to get a gist of what FE actually really is.
    The following is my profile:

    GRE : 1210 q-760
    Toefl: 104
    Undergraduate degree : Electronics engineering.. overal percentage 59.6
    from K J Somaiya College of Engineering, University of Mumbai

    Work Ex
  • :1) Currently working as a SENIOR TECHNICAL ASSOCIATE for BANK OF AMERICA in INDIA for the GLOBAL CORPORATE COMMERCIAL AND INVESTMENT BANKING TECHNOLOGIES .
  • I am working with Mainframes technology .
  • I am planing for fall 2012 .
  • My work experience at Bank of America would then be more then a year.
  • 2) 3 years part time Teaching assistantship ..held the position of an Adjunct Faculty Associate at an institute recognised by the government of India to teach Object oriented programming(basically C and C++) and Business Statistics(maths basically)
  • 3) 2 month internship at a financial technology firm...basically got exposure to trading applications and softwares for technical analysis .
  • 4) 2 month internship at a brokerage firm as a research analyst trainee...basically into equity analysis....daily MTM estimations etc..

    Programming languages : , C , C++ , Matlab , VBA.

    Besides this background I have pursued
    4 certifications from BSE(Bombay Stock Exchange)

    I am totally aware that my Gre Quant marks are some what on the lesser side.
    Also due to time constraints I would not be able to retake the GRE.
    Can anyone please let me know what are my chances of getting in the following programs...
  • 1. MICHIGAN MFE
  • 2. COLUMBIA MSOR
  • 3. CORNELL MSOR.
  • 4. UIUC
  • 5. NYU POLY
  • 6. RUTGERS MSMF
  • 7. RUTGERS MQF
  • 8. CMU
I have mentioned the MSOR program at COLUMBIA and CORNELL because i really liked the course
structure.
Waiting in anticipation
Thanks in advance.
 
Andy Nguyen said:
curltron
Being a domestic student works in your favor but you need to amp up the technical side. Taking C++ would help.
UCB MFE would want you to pass CFA L1. That's a few months of studying the material.
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Thanks a bunch for the eval, Andy! One more question for you now that you've led me to the upcoming C++ certification course you're offering:

Do you expect that course to virtually replace my need to minor in CSE? If so, I would love to be able to virtually double MAJOR in Math rather than double minor Math and CSE.
 
I don't know what that CSE minor entails.
The online C++ course we will offer is in essence a heavily customized Intro to C++ course for students who plan to do Financial Engineering. In my estimate, it would cover as much as 2 college courses in C++ and the unique "Applications in Financial Engineering" part.

My take is that if you are serious about C++ with an eye for MFE in the future, you should consider it. It in no way can replace the CSE minor. And from an admission point of view, that minor wouldn't help much if you can't demonstrate a good working knowledge of C++.
 
Andy Nguyen said:
I don't know what that CSE minor entails.
The online C++ course we will offer is in essence a heavily customized Intro to C++ course for students who plan to do Financial Engineering. In my estimate, it would cover as much as 2 college courses in C++ and the unique "Applications in Financial Engineering" part.

My take is that if you are serious about C++ with an eye for MFE in the future, you should consider it. It in no way can replace the CSE minor. And from an admission point of view, that minor wouldn't help much if you can't demonstrate a good working knowledge of C++.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I'm disappointed in the CS (Comp. Sci) program we have here, no C++ as far as I can tell. Everything is taught in C, Java, or Python, so I'll likely be signing up.

Thanks again for the help, Andy!
 
nociton said:
Looking for any feedback...thank you in advance.

Rising senior studying computational applied math, and minoring in economics. I attend Kean University, a state school in NJ, not really prestigious at any level, chose to go there to play a sport and because I went on a full academic scholarship.(at the time of my decision I knew little about wall street and their obsession with "targets").

GPA: 3.8
major GPA 3.9

relevant course work: calc I -> IV, numerial analyis, diffy q, operations research, physics, linear algebra, data structs, computer programming...A's in everything but a diffy q I got a B.

-An upcoming fall asset management internship with a middle market firm.
-A summer internship with a boutique distressed equities trading firm
-A summer research internship in computational physics and supercomputing, had a paper published my junior year on the work.
-A small semester research project involving monte carlo option pricing on my schools cluster.

No real on campus involvements besides being an athlete there for my first two years. Earlier in the year I started to study for the GMAT because I initially thought a master in finance was more obtainable. Now that I am taking it in a few weeks there is really no changing the months of prep I have put in so I will have to make due with the GMAT. (aiming to score in the 710-740 range, 49-50Q).

Will be applying to: CMU, Baruch, UCLA, MIT, and a handful of Mfins. Just wanted to see what everyone thought of my chances. Honestly don't know how far off I am off from these schools, the current students at all are truly top minds. People have written me off for years now because of my schools name and I am not sure how picky these programs are. Again thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Any other advice/tips?? Again everything is greatly appreciated..this site is a great resource.

Also its hard not to notice that most MFEs are dominated by Asian/Indian students. Does being a domestic applicant help my chances at all??
 
Given similar academic credentials, domestic students will have the edge in
  • Language skill (native speaker)
  • Employment opportunity (no visa required)
  • Diversity (no programs wants to be seen as attracting only foreign South East students)
The keyword here is "similar academic credentials". This applies to female applicants as well.
 
Andy Nguyen said:
Given similar academic credentials, domestic students will have the edge in

Language skill (native speaker)
Click to expand...
Overheard today by a friend of mine on the NYC subway:

"I'm, like, a teaching intern at a charter school. It's, you know, so cool! The kids get, like, a packet of pencils, notebooks, you know, at the start of the year. It's, like, all about structure. It's really great, you know, all the kids pass their grade, they all pass their standardized tests, they all, like, graduate. You know, it's like, No Child Left Behind."
Click to expand...
 

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