"MFE program profile evaluation" master thread

[maldini]

We have reviews for almost all programs in your list. Must take a look at them before you narrow your list down to a handful.
Program Review | Quant Network

I know it must be overwhelming at first with the number of school offering MFE degree.
People who are in this game for a long time can certainly list a handful of programs worth trying.
On paper, you have a decent enough profile to make it to most programs there. In reality, your personal essay, letter of rec will play an important roles and that are something to tell without seeing the whole application.

Well Id like to believe that my SOP is well written and I do have good letters of recommendations too . Keeping that in mind I feel the 2 areas where i lack a bit is my undergrad CGPA and no "related" work experience. I will be working as a Systems Engineer ( lots of programming with mainframes / java / .net etc etc ) ..and I will have one years experience before I leave for further education ....my job as of now is not quant heavy or finance related , but I do spend a lot of time reading John C Hull and FRM core readings purely out of interest.. I am preparing for FRM part 1 this november to keep in touch with Finance and related coursework to Fin Engg while i work as a systems engineer ..Will my experience a year from now count in the evaluation of my application package right now ???

I dont know what are my chances with the profile that I have.. But Ill be more than happy to have an admit from any of the 13 universities that I have mentioned...Which brings me to the point - I prob wont short list at all and apply to each and every one of them , since Im not sure about where I stand a chance of getting the admit....

Id like to know if anyone can pick universities which seem like a sure shot option for me from the list of 13..and just list a few if possible..

 

[latency]

my h1b is still valid, i.e i am still working, I did a master's and phd at ucla and used up one opt, can i go on opt again?

Why can't you get recommendations from your previous employer? What nis your current employment status?

What is your current visa status? Is your H1-B still valid? Have you applied for Green Card? Have you used up your OPT?

UC-Berkeley likes to take students like you with 3 years work ex in Finanace and PhD from UCLA with 3.96 GPA. But your visa status may create a lot of problems in getting a job post-MFE.

If you have already applied for Green card you cannot apply for F-1 student visa because it is a non-immigrant visa. If you already used up OPT you will not be eligible for fresh OPT after MFE. If you left your previous job, your H1-B may not be valid anymore.

---------- Post added at 08:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:26 PM ----------

What are my chances at CMU and UChicago. Also, does anyone know how placements are at UChicago,
Thanks a lot

Why can't you get recommendations from your previous employer? What nis your current employment status?

What is your current visa status? Is your H1-B still valid? Have you applied for Green Card? Have you used up your OPT?

UC-Berkeley likes to take students like you with 3 years work ex in Finanace and PhD from UCLA with 3.96 GPA. But your visa status may create a lot of problems in getting a job post-MFE.

If you have already applied for Green card you cannot apply for F-1 student visa because it is a non-immigrant visa. If you already used up OPT you will not be eligible for fresh OPT after MFE. If you left your previous job, your H1-B may not be valid anymore.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Placement at Chicago needs lot of help according to what we have seen so far.
Seeking changes, Chicago MSFM fired founding director | Quant Network
Review University of Chicago Financial Mathematics program | Quant Network

 

[TraderJoe]

my h1b is still valid, i.e i am still working, I did a master's and phd at ucla and used up one opt, can i go on opt again?



---------- Post added at 08:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:26 PM ----------

What are my chances at CMU and UChicago. Also, does anyone know how placements are at UChicago,
Thanks a lot

I think that you will certainly get admission in all three schools - UC-Berkeley, CMU, and Chicago. Your best option would be UC-Berkeley and your second-best option would be CMU. The Chicago MSFM program is based in the Math department and not in the Booth Business School where all the Finance Gods teach. Even though the program is very rigorous, you will probably not get the same type of job placement which you would get from UC-Berkeley (Haas), CMU (Tepper) or Booth. But with your profile of 3 years Finance work ex plus UCLA Engineering PhD with 3.96 GPA I am sure that all the schools would be thrilled to have you. But UC-Berkeley is for sure the best, regardless of what anyone else on these forums says.

 

[latency]

Haas is out because of it's timing, I guess my options now are CMU and U Chicago. How is placement for US Citizens/Permanent residents at UChicago? Are there any other schools I should look at? How about UCLA?
Thanks all for your inputs.

I think that you will certainly get admission in all three schools - UC-Berkeley, CMU, and Chicago. Your best option would be UC-Berkeley and your second-best option would be CMU. The Chicago MSFM program is based in the Math department and not in the Booth Business School where all the Finance Gods teach. Even though the program is very rigorous, you will probably not get the same type of job placement which you would get from UC-Berkeley (Haas), CMU (Tepper) or Booth. But with your profile of 3 years Finance work ex plus UCLA Engineering PhD with 3.96 GPA I am sure that all the schools would be thrilled to have you. But UC-Berkeley is for sure the best, regardless of what anyone else on these forums says.

 

[TraderJoe]

Haas is out because of it's timing, I guess my options now are CMU and U Chicago. How is placement for US Citizens/Permanent residents at UChicago? Are there any other schools I should look at? How about UCLA?
Thanks all for your inputs.

My understanding is that all the US citizens and PR will get a job even from the second-tier schools, since 80% of the MFE students are international and will require h1-b sponsorship. If you have already used up your OPT, you should think carefully before going in for full-time program because the company will have to sponsor you for H1-B and get the work permit before you graduate. There is no room for working for a few months on OPT before going on H1-B. Many companies will not be willing to take such a risk.

 

[latency]

does anyone know where UChicago students end up in, its really hard to find this info, other schools like haas, ucla and cmu list the firms where their graduates end up in but chicago doesnt seem to care.

My understanding is that all the US citizens and PR will get a job even from the second-tier schools, since 80% of the MFE students are international and will require h1-b sponsorship. If you have already used up your OPT, you should think carefully before going in for full-time program because the company will have to sponsor you for H1-B and get the work permit before you graduate. There is no room for working for a few months on OPT before going on H1-B. Many companies will not be willing to take such a risk.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

You can simply email to the top - (interim) director of the program, deal of the dept, head of Chicago University media relationship asking for this info. It's often the shortest way to get a direct answer.

 

[atreides]

You can simply email to the top - (interim) director of the program, deal of the dept, head of Chicago University media relationship asking for this info. It's often the shortest way to get a direct answer.

Or if you have a large enough network on linkedin, you can search for folks that graduated from the program and see what they are doing now

 

[vipinanand]

Please evaluate my profile

Hi guys,
This is Vipin Anand. I am currently pursuing my Master of Science in Information and Operations Management from Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University and expect to graduate in spring 2011. I have an undergraduate degree (Bachelor in engineering) in Information Technology from Mumbai University-India with an industry experience of about 2 years.

While pursuing my masters, I took 12 credits (9 credits in fall 2009 and spring 2010 + 3 credits for the next fall semester) in finance as my out of the department courses. After studying those courses, I firmly believe that the knowledge gathered from them complements well with the computer application programming and mathematical background that I have derived from the bachelor degree. So, in order to transition myself into the field of quantitative finance, I intend to pursue Master of Science in Financial Engineering.

Please find the attached resume for more clarity on profile.

Awaiting your replies.

Thank you,
Vipin Anand

 

[Connor]

Welcome.

For top programs, your GPA is low, GRE quant score is low, and based on the courses you listed on your resume you don't have enough math courses.

Resume is too long, general guideline is one page so I would say cut the extracurriculars and hobbies section.

But you can retake the GRE to get a higher score and looks like you have time before you graduate to take some math courses (even undergrad courses would do).

You may want to also consider 2 other options. First as you seem interested in the IT/programming side of things you may consider doing a masters in computer science and targeting the more developer/programming side of quant finance. The other option is to get a job and get some relevant work experience. Based on your profile a programming position for a bank/financial firm would be good, but anything really could work. For example the Goldman Sachs programmer that made the news awhile back had experience programming real-time telecom routers I believe.

 

[Princeton Man]

Evaluate my application !

I'm really curious as to know what programs i stand a chance of getting in to.

I know this is not detailed enough to make any rational decisions by the forum members but i think I've broadly summed it up.

I hold a BS in Mathematics with a 3.6 GPA and 3.8 Overall. Minor in Economics, Professional Risk Manager (PRM) designation. Associate of the society of actuaries. CFA Level 3 Candidate. Strong experience in pricing and risk management. Besides the standard Pre-req math courses. My advanced courses of study in college include: advanced programming, stochastic processes, montecarlo simulation, numerical analysis, investment science, financial instrument pricing.

 

[latency]

hi,
when do chicago and cmu let applicants know if they have been accepted?

Or if you have a large enough network on linkedin, you can search for folks that graduated from the program and see what they are doing now

 

[PennyLess]

Please evaluate!

.

 

[Connor]

@PennyLess - I think you have a very good chance of getting into a top program. Maybe the only thing for you to do before applying is self-study on programming to strengthen your application, but you are in a good position in my opinion.

 

[ankit]

Evaluate my Profile

Hi everyone

I will be applying for 2011 session. Here is my profile, please evaluate:

B.Tech in Civil Engineering (IIT Delhi)
CGPA: 7.7/10

Relevant Courses:
Intro to programming (C)
Data Structures (B-)

Mathematics - I (B) : covered Integral and Differential calculus, Ordinary differential equations of first and higher orders, Eigen vectors and their application to system of ODEs.
Mathematics -II (A-) : vector calculus,Complex analysis,evaluations of real integrals, Cauchy's integral theorem etc.
Differential Equations: Theory and Numerical Methods (A-)
Probability and Stochastic Process (C-)

Microeconomics(A-),Econometric Methods (B), Managerial Accounting and Finance (B-)

GRE: 1430/1600, 800 in the quant section

CFA Level 3 candidate

18 months of experience as a Risk Modeling Analyst in a Reinsurance firm.

Currently working (7 months) in the technology dept. of a proprietary trading firm as Junior Quant/Developer. Responsibilities include Trading tools development using C# on the dotnet platform.

I will get Recos. from my professors and one from my previous boss.

My concern is average grades (read below avg in a few) in some math and programming courses.

How does my profile fair as an applicant to good MFE programs (CMU,Stanford,Columbia,Chicago,Baruch,NYU,Berkeley).

 

[Connor]

If you already have a quant job then why do you need a MFE?

 

[Princeton Man]

Based on experience alone, you are a well qualified applicant. You should understand that financial engineering is highly mathematically rigorous. The concern is your grades. Especially the intro to programming and probability and stochastic processes. These are the underlying base of FE, so it wouldn't reflect well on your application. It seems you have done well in more of the theoretical courses such as analysis, rather then applied math courses.

 

[ankit]

I want to move from being a developer to algo trading/derivative pricing role. Moreover, I would like to work in the US market for the coming few years.

---------- Post added at 11:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 PM ----------

Hi Princeton Man,

I believe that my current experience as a developer might help in overcoming the poor grades in programming. And, as far as stochastic calculus is concerned, I would be game for it in MFE.

 

[Andy D.]

Hi there,

I'm thinking of moving over to the world of Quants and wanted some feedback as well:

First undergrad - Software Engineering

Subjects I studied I think are relevant included:

Formal Methods
Set Theory
SQL
C++ and Java
Web technologies
OOP/Design Patterns

Second undergrad (currently in progress)

Banking and Finance
A range of subjects including Economics, Mathematics and Stats.

I'm planning on taking a 1 year graduate certificate in Math after this finishes and will then consider an MS.

I have 8 years experience developing in Industry and have contracted to various Banks in the past developing web apps.

Thanks