"MFE program profile evaluation" master thread

[Patty]

Hi Andy,
Thanks for the reply. From what I remember (need to brush up of course), financial math theory relies on and develops the assumption that change in a stock's price over time can be realized as a stochastic process where individual stock price movements are independent of one another (that is, the independent random variables in the process in question), so that it is possible to hedge against a potential loss with an option that does not depend on the price of the stock at a fixed or any point in time, given certain assumptions about the stock market. My background in probability theory and real analysis enables me to read and understand the proofs on which the theory relies, so that I can build a natural narrative from the theory to actual modeling using empirical data. I guess my biggest advantage over younger candidates is my considerable experience with actual applied mathematical modeling and the handling of numerical data, so that I am aware of the limitations of mathematical modeling and can spot potential problem areas as they arise. My background is in both pure and applied math, so I have the knowledge to make the necessary connections between different areas of math when differences arise between theoretical models and the algorithm-based numerical simulations on which the actual day-to--day practice of quant analysis relies. Also, as I mentioned before, I have seen financial math at the graduate level before, and often in math, the second time around is when you really learn and develop the confidence to deliver consistent results.
Thanks,
Patty

 

[bullion]

I don't know if Andy was asking how well you can do math. But rather

Work experience includes 1 year as a visiting assistant professor in a regional public university, part-time community college teaching, and 5+ years as a teaching assistant in a math department. I have decided not to continue in academia.

WHY?

... my biggest advantage over younger candidates is my considerable experience with actual applied mathematical modeling and the handling of numerical data, so that I am aware of the limitations of mathematical modeling and can spot potential problem areas as they arise.

Do you have any example? Can you cite any recent exampels where such limitations have been the case and caused problems? Do you have a solution to those limitations?

My background is in both pure and applied math, so I have the knowledge to make the necessary connections between different areas of math when differences arise between theoretical models and the algorithm-based numerical simulations on which the actual day-to--day practice of quant analysis relies.

Well, since you have no WE as a quant, what do you think "the actual day-to-day practice of quant analysis" entail?

Also, as I mentioned before, I have seen financial math at the graduate level before, and often in math, the second time around is when you really learn and develop the confidence to deliver consistent results.

There was actually a post by Aaron Brown about delivering consistent results and expecting more responsibility from quants. So to quote him, “Have you ever done a computation on which an important decision depended, and you have hard objective evidence that your answer was correct?”

I don't want to sound mean, but your answer is really generic. University of Miami is a fine institution, and a math PhD already speaks volume of what you can do with math and how you can probably chew stochastic calculus for lunch. So why MFE? What do you think MFEs do after graduation? What can MFEs do after graduation that a Math PhD can't do? As MFE programs are increasing fresh grad intake, you're literally down-selling your qualifications for lower pay. PhDs make up 5% of CMU's 2011 class and 10% of Baruch's, so you'll be a minority anywhere. PhDs also post interesting recruitment questions because fresh grad without WE are arguably the cheapest. Those with relevant WE are worth a little more because they know the in's and out's already. But by the time you get out, you'll be a "fresh grad" in finance yet everyone your age already has 4-6 years of working experience. Basically, you'll be overqualified for most junior level MFE positions, and you might not like result.

Nevertheless, there are many success cases with PhD/MFE. A lot of foreigners use it to transition into the US job market (at least in the past) and SOME career services are very much well worth the money (but then you should keep that in mind when applying/choosing programs). But if your qualifications, goals, and expectations do not align with their target recruiting partners, then MFE will just be another very nice looking wallpaper.

 

[Patty]

Hi bullion,
You raise very good points. Some of your questions I can answer by elaborating (though I won't necessarily do that here, would save them for an application), others I think were rhetorical in the sense that in your opinion (if I read between the lines correctly) they can't be fully answered without WE (although I have research experience, which addresses some of these very issues in a different context (again, won't elaborate here)).
Program-wise, I was considering Berkeley and Baruch, because of their placement record and career services, respectively.
Alternatively, I am considering the CQF. Any thoughts about that?
Thanks,
Patty

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Alternatively, I am considering the CQF. Any thoughts about that?

CQF makes the most sense if you are already working in the industry (IT MO/BO for example) and get your employer to pay the tuition so that you can learn a bit about quantitative finance and hopefully use it to move internally. I have never heard anything about their career services.
What you want is a best shot at career opportunities offered by programs that have success with people with similar background like yours. Many programs are happy to take your money but the best ones will be picking only applicants they are confident that they can help place in jobs.

 

[bullion]

I agree. PT/self-study programs are a lot more popular in Europe (with the exceptions of CFA and actuary exams), but generally speaking people tend to view non-FT academic work with caution.

Berkeley has a great reputation and amazing career services, but the cost of living in Berkeley really adds up and I don't know if it's the best choice unless you are actually interested in potential opportunities on the West Coast (which might not be a bad choice given the saturation on the East Coast.) More than half of Berkeley graduates end up in NYC anyways and the director makes it a personal responsibility to place you as long as you put in the work. But a few years down the line, keeping close ties with your old school and living nearby can yield interesting opportunities (going to on-campus event for new opportunities, mentoring students, becoming an industry speaker, etc.) In addition to "networking for jobs," being in NYC has as lot of extra benefits just for meeting people from DIFFERENT industries (by going to local professional events) when you try to get a better idea of industry trends, and that's not something any one school can recreate in an academic environment.

Baruch offers pretty much the best deal around (as Andy can ellaborate on the return on investment in detail.) People should be really cautious about using prestige, acceptance rate, or placement rate as their primary criteria for choosing programs because those can be massive MASSIVELY distorted. But for American students who aren't focusing on carrying the school brand oversea, Baruch's has a very solid curriculum (actually, I think they are one of the few with growing and constantly evolving offerings) and really earned their reputation in NYC. Unlike many competing programs sugarcoating the rigor of quant finance, Baruch really hammers in the details and hard technical skills are a lot more transferable too (I think they are one of few that actually go into SQL in their curriculum, which every technical personal should know anyways.) Partly thanks to quantnet, Baruch has a very vibrant student/alumni community that really sets itself apart from peer programs.

Just a disclaimer, I'm not affiliated with either school, but I am applying so I am doing my due diligence as well.

 

[Bostonlover]

Hi, this is my first post on this website. Please could someone give me feedbacks about my profile?

I've got a Bachelor and a Master degree in Mathematics with the top grade in an Italian university (110/110 with laude)
I won one of the 40 Bachelor national scholarships, and I was placed 10th for the 6 Master national scholarships, both provided by INDAM (national high mathematics institute).
I've got no working experience.
GRE score: 165 Q, 151 V, 3.5 A
Toefl score: taken 2 days ago, I hope 100+.

I would like to apply to:
Carnegie Mellon University
Baruch College
Columbia University
Boston University
Imperial College (London)

Do I have any chance?
Thanks

Hey Andrea,

Just to let you know that you can get in all the programs you just listed.

Your GRE scores are descent and hopefully so will be your TOEFL score. Your lack of work experience can be counterbalanced by some motivated statements and some good recommendations.

I am currently enrolled in a MQF and got accepted in all the US programs you listed.

Gd luck

NB: I had lower GRE scores than you

 

[BBB]

Hi,
This will be my profile in 2-3 years when I plan on applying to schools. I want to know if I'll have a realistic chance at these programs so I know to go through with the extra classes I plan on taking or turn my focus elsewhere. I plan on applying to the CMU Online program, MIT, and Princeton.

• 2-3 years experience trading derivatives at Chicago prop shop
• GRE: 168Q, 162V
• 3.52 overall GPA, 3.90 major GPA in finance at top 30 undergrad b-school
• Take Calc III, Probability, Linear Algebra, and Diff Eq through UIUC Netmath - Earn an A in all courses
• Complete QuantNet's C++ certificate or C++ courses though UC Berkeley Extension or Northwestern night classes
• I have already passed CFA Level I
• Previous internship at BB

 

[gradaplicant]

Hi, this is my first post on this website. Please could someone give me feedbacks about my profile?

I've got a Bachelor and a Master degree in Mathematics with the top grade in an Italian university (110/110 with laude)
I won one of the 40 Bachelor national scholarships, and I was placed 10th for the 6 Master national scholarships, both provided by INDAM (national high mathematics institute).
I've got no working experience.
GRE score: 165 Q, 151 V, 3.5 A
Toefl score: taken 2 days ago, I hope 100+.

I would like to apply to:
Carnegie Mellon University
Baruch College
Columbia University
Boston University
Imperial College (London)

Do I have any chance?
Thanks

Your GRE is fine. Don't listen to thous that tell you otherwise. I scored a 162 on the quant section and have been accepted into Columbia, MIT and Cornell. Carnegie Mellon is off course more difficult to get into (they rejected me), but it wont hurt to have one of the schools you apply to a long shot, who knows!

 

[Eric.Z]

Hey guys,

My goal is getting in to the MMF program of UToronto.
I major in Math and Economic Management and minor in computer science with overal GPA 3.53. I have a couple of actuarial exams, which I doubt would be helpful in terms of admission and two internships in actuarial science.
I study in a liberal art college in mid-west where it is very hard to get into a IB or quant internships. I am kind of worrying about my lack of experience in finance and low GPA.
If anyone can give me some advises on my chance of getting into MMF in UToronto, that will be awesome. Any advice to improve my chances will be appreciated.

 

[Anthony Maylath]

Hi all,
My name is Anthony. I have already been accepted into 3 programs: Fordham, Rutgers (MQF), and NYU Poly. Furthermore, I have been rejected by MIT, Baruch, and NYU Courant.
I was thinking of applying to Columbia. The deadline is May 31. I have a 3.96 GPA in Finance with minors in math and economics (I took multivarible calc, diff eq, etc...), my GRE quant is 161 (86%), and I am a legacy since my father graduated from Columbia with a MS in EE.
I realize my GRE scores are weak, but I am debating whether it would be worth it to retake the test just to apply to Columbia. I have taken practice GREs with power prep and kaplan. My scores for the practice test range from 152-167 (61%-95%). Since there is a lot of variation in my scores, I am inclined not to retake the test.
Should I apply to Columbia? Moreover, if I had to choose a school from the three that I got into, which one should I pick?
Thanks guys

 

[SIddarth R]

I took GRE today and my score was 311.
Verbal:151 and Quant:160. What are the programs I should be aiming for? For which will I have a realistic chance of getting in. My undergrad score is 8.7/10. Major in computer science and engineering. Now working for a mnc as a software engineer. I wish to change my domain to finance and thus looking to do Masters in Financial Engineering. I was looking at
Michigan MFE
Columbia MFE/MS&E
Baruch MFE
NTU MFE

 

[marvinw]

I was considering pursuing a MFE straight out of undergrad school.

Currently I'm a second year student, bachelor finance&economics

My GPA is 3.5/4
I did a summer internship at an Austrian Bank (retail division), and currently have a part-time job at a small commodity trading firm.

Also I finished a courses in MatLab (introductory level), Advanced Excel and Borland Delphi (when I was much younger )

Through my undergrad school I had a semester of Calculus, Probability and Statistics...

I did not take the GRE test yet, but I'm preparing for it slowly..

Do I have a chance at being admitted to a good Mfe program in the USA?

P.s. Have in mind that I'm a second year student, so I have some time to adapt.

I would be sincerely grateful for any opinions and advice.

 

[seekingMFEdetails]

Hi,

I am currently working in back-office of largest hedge fund and want make change in my career by moving to Quant. So would like to pursue MFE from top college in US or UK, below are the details of my profile:

1) 10 class total 77%, Maths 95%marks
2) 12 Class total 84%, Maths 97%marks
3) Engineering in Textile Technology(Tier II college in India) Total 70%, Maths marks 71%, 78%, 73% three semester maths.
4) MBA Finance ICFAI Business School (tier II college in India) 8/10

Work experience of more than 5 years in largest Hedge Fund in Financial Operation/Back office.No programming experience.

Would be great if you can evaluate my profile and advise if i would be eligible for MFE program, if yes please guide me which college I should target.

Thanks.

 

[rawbucks]

Worked as a trader from 2003-2012.(Options 2003-2004, Futures 2004-2012)
Was let go from the company that I traded at from 2006-2012 in March
GPA 3.0/4.0 from a top 100 undergrad school, finance major graduated in 2003
GPA of only my finance courses 3.7/4.0
Took the GRE 1 time a week ago very little preperation 150 V 155 Q
Can get lor from previous employer
I want to get a MS Finance possibly a dual MBA/MS Finance.
I have virtually no programming experience but working on that now. My goal is to get into IIT(chicago) but I'm cutting it close with their deadline being Aug 1st
I want to acquire the quant and programming skills necessary to get a job as a quantitative analyst and hopefully a quant trader or portfolio manager after graduation. How likely is it that I'll be accepted into IIT this close to their deadline? Aside from learning C++ asap what else should I try to learn, if I get accepted, before classes start?

 

[Kartik Maheshwari]

I am a junior undergrad studying CSE at IIT Delhi. I am planning to apply for MSFE programs next year. So, just wanted to have experts' check on the chances of getting a good school and improving them as I have an year to go. I have an average GPA (8.4) and have taken up courses in Discrete Mathematics, Stochastic Calculus, Introductory Financial Derivatives, Financial Mathematics, Probability and Linear Algebra.

As far as the work experience is concerned, I did an internship with the Analytics team in retail banking sector for an overseas bank in one summer and at a non-finance IT firm in the other. I worked with an algorithmic trading start-up for a very short time.
In the coming one year, I plan to write my Btech Thesis on "machine learning applications in pricing of derivatives".

I want to know what chances do I stand for an MSFE program at one of the top 10 schools. And how can the lack of a quant-internship be made up for on the resume ?

 

[Apa]

Hello!

I am considering applying for MSFE/MSMF programs. I would helpful if someone could evaluate my profile.

I have done a M.Sc integrated (5 yr) course in Mathematics and Scientific computing from IIT Kanpur.
Relevant courses(grades): probability & statistics (B),data structures (C),principles of numerical computation(A),Apllied stochastic process (B),
mathematical modeling (A),ODE(A), PDE(B),numerical solutions of pde (A), Statistical simulation and data analysis(B), parallel numerical algo(A),
regression analysis (A), time series(A), econometric methods(A)

GPA : 3.4/4
GRE : V 156/Q 170/ AWA- Waiting
toefl: waiting

I will have fairly good recommendations from profs. I don't have relevant work experience in Finance, currently working in market research/analytics industry but i did a 3 month corporate internship on option pricing and my m.sc thesis was on -analysis of stock return distributions using extreme value theory, that's it...

I have fairly strong programming background,know Java(undergrad course )and C++ (learnt in school,hv done a couple of projects),Python (used during an 3 month internship), MATLAB (used during M.SC thesis) and currently working on SAS and VBA in the analytics industry.

Which programs i should look for? I am thinking for NYU, baruch. unable to choose btw others.
i am looking for programs which would not cost me a bomb, but are reputable and have good career search services for internships and placements.
Anyway, do i have any realistic chance for CMU/Princeton ?
Please suggest..

Thanks

 

[jak]

Applying to MFE/MQF/MBA-Finance programs at Columbia, NYU, Rutgers and Stevens. B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at a top 50 school (top 20 for engineering), but GPA is 3.13/4 . Took BC Calc, Multivar Calc, Linear Alg, DifEq's, Intro to C prog, Probability and MicroEcon, with mostly A's in those. GRE Q/V/A: 167/168/4.5 Taking GMAT soon.

Spent my 7 years since undergrad working at a top hedge fund in NYC as assistant/junior pm in fixed income. Learned C# on my own for job and passed Series 7 and CFA level 1. Laid off, and looking for best fit for masters degree. MFE seems like the best fit considering my undergrad and experience. I also like the shorter time to completion. On the other hand, if I somehow get accepted into MBA at Columbia or NYU, seems like a sure path to success. I am married with children and it would be nice if I weren't the only such person.

I would greatly appreciate any advice. Specifically, I would like to know what full-time program(s) might be a good mesh for me personally, as I am closer in demographics to those in the part-time programs.

 

[Vijendra]

Hi,

I am a software professional from India with 5 years of post bachelors experience currently working for a Fortune 100 company and considering applying for MSFE/MSF programs in US. Your help in evaluating my profile would be of great help.

To give a short background:

Bachelors of Engineering in Computer Science GPA 3.0/4.0

Have taken relavant mathematical courses like probability ,Numerican Methods, Discrete structures,Data Structures and Algorithms, Design and analysis of Algorithms, C++, Java.

GRE V 151/Q 162/AWA-4
TOEFL 100

I can get a good recommendation from professor as well my supervisor with the current employer.

Have done good programming with C++,Java during engineering and hands on experience with VB Script, Excel Programming,SQL and other databases.

I am looking for programs that cost not more than 50k USD. I have listed few based on reviews from internet. Let me know if you would like to recommend changes by suggesting new or removing based on level of acceptance.

Bentley College
New York University
NYU Polytechnic
Boston College
Rutgers Business School
University of California LA Anderson
University of Michegan
University of Illinois
Georgia Tech
University of Texas at Austin
Purdue University

Thanks,
Vijendra

 

[ajithbp]

Need profileEvaluation.

Degree : Engineering
GPA : 62% VTU, Belgaum India
Post Graduate : PG in Securities Markets at NISM SEBI India. SEBI is SEC equivalent in India
GPA : 70%

Did a Forensic Accounting Project , first of its kind done in India.

Work Ex
32 months : Infosys Technologies as Software Engineer
Credit Rating Agency
5 months

Cleared CFA Level 1 and FRM Level 1
Appeared for CFA Level 2 in June 2012
Appeared for FRM Level 2 Nov 2012

Currently working in Vluation of Structered Products. Exotic options and Derivatives

GRE: 323
Quant : 169
Toefl : 106


Planning to apply to
Princeton
Cornell
Georgia Tech
UCLA
Columbia
Haas California
Boston
rutgers


PLease Evaluate my profile

 

[abhaypatil]

Hi...
This is my first post here..
I would like to know if anyone has applied for MSCF course at CMU ?
I have a few queries regarding the application.
Thank you.