"MFE program profile evaluation" master thread

[Andy Nguyen]

800/530 is nothing to sneeze at. Now, if you get your AWA to be at least 4.5, then you can safely focus your time on essay, etc.

 

[achilles]

800/530 is nothing to sneeze at. Now, if you get your AWA to be at least 4.5, then you can safely focus your time on essay, etc.

thnx a lot Andy for the response. But I am apprehensive since CMU's current class has a Verbal avg of 575 , for Baruch it was - 570 or sth . So, do I still stand a serious chance for NYU, Columbia, Cornell ? I am thinking twice before going ahead with TOEFL registration. In my current situation, I would be better off doing a MBA from a tier 2 Indian B-school than a tier 2 MFE program - Michigan, UIUC, Gatech, BU .
I also looked at Cambridge - Mphil in finance. It looked good - and it accepts GRE scores too. Kindly advice would it be worth applying with this GRE score ?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

If you are confident you can get 800/800/6 next try, by all means, do it. there is a certain point when further time invested in improving GRE score will result in diminishing return.

The way average number is calculated, enough folks with 800 verbals will skew the number and give the wrong impression.

You realize that Baruch also reports a full-range quartiles of their admitted class? You are in the 1st quartile.
Admission Statistics | Master of Financial Engineering Program at Baruch College

This is the proper way to report numbers as it give a better picture of their class instead of relying on a single average number.

This is also one of the biggest complains about MBA admission reporting. MFE programs still need years before they can be compared with MBA programs in term of transparency.

Some programs like MIT MFin uses a curious way of reporting. I don't know why they use middle 80% instead of quartile. And why 80%
Class Profile Master of Finance Program
Average GRE Quant 795
Middle 80% GRE Quant 780-800
Average GRE Verbal 592
Middle 80% GRE Verbal 420-730

 

[achilles]

I completely agree that I fall in Baruch's1st quartile , I saw it yesterday while going through average class scores for MFE programs. Though I strongly believe that the guys entering the class with low scores are those who had prior work ex or must have definitely compensated for their scores in some other areas. I am a recent undergrad and my profile would be looked upon with GPA, GRE scores and Quant grades which all appear avg. I would be gaining a work ex of a month at max (in programming field ) at the time of application.

Baruch's way of revealing the class profile seems comprehensive .
I think the reason behind MIT's middle 80 % is that there are exceptions at the extreme that may affect the average improperly.

 

[mhayes]

I've been lurking here for a while, but I haven't done a lot of posting . Here are my qualifications:

-University of Florida
-Double major in Mathematics and Finance
-Minor in Spanish
-GPA: 3.87/4.00
-GRE: Haven't taken it yet (I will within 2 weeks), but I predict about 800Q and 600V
-I've taken all the relevant math/finance classes, C++, and some operations research (and Russian, if that helps at all)
-Research: I've worked with a fairly well-known economist for about a year. Nothing ever seems to get published, though.
-Extracurriculars: Treasurer of Investment Club, Co-founder/Treasurer of Strategic Gaming Club
-Awards: 1st place in a national investment management competition, various academic things (honor rolls and such)
-Recommendations: a math professor, the economics professor whom I work for, and the head of UF's financial engineering department.
-Citizenship: US and UK
-Weaknesses: I attend a large public university and I don't have any relevant work/internship experience other than my research job.


My advisors have never heard of quantitative finance and they have no idea what to tell me. Which programs do you think are within my reach? Where should I focus my efforts for applications?

Thanks for your help!

 

[AndrewChang]

Hi all, I am wondering if interning at an economics research firm would help my chances in applying for financial engineering. It is an international firm in New York City and I will be performing roles in checking macroeconomic policies of not just the United States, but Europe and Asia as well. Again, thanks in advance.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

-Weaknesses: I attend a large public university and I don't have any relevant work/internship experience other than my research job.

Your weakness is not knowing what you want. Your profile is pretty average, being dual citizen helps.
I'll start with our 2009 ranking and work through the programs there.

 

[Connor]

Hi all, I am wondering if interning at an economics research firm would help my chances in applying for financial engineering. It is an international firm in New York City and I will be performing roles in checking macroeconomic policies of not just the United States, but Europe and Asia as well. Again, thanks in advance.

It won't hurt. Other alternatives?

 

[AndrewChang]

It won't hurt. Other alternatives?

My other alternatives are working as an intern at a small finance firm doing basically excel work. I feel as if I will actually learn more in the economics firm but I am unsure of my decision as of yet.

 

[Connor]

My other alternatives are working as an intern at a small finance firm doing basically excel work. I feel as if I will actually learn more in the economics firm but I am unsure of my decision as of yet.

Did depends on what you career goals are and what this finance firm does. If this finance firm does things that are part of your career goals then that would probably be a better option. The economic research intern also sounds interesting and seems like a good opportunity but it depends on what you ultimately want to do.

I think of careers in terms of building blocks, either internship will provide a good foundation but will lead to different end results.

 

[AndrewChang]

Did depends on what you career goals are and what this finance firm does. If this finance firm does things that are part of your career goals then that would probably be a better option. The economic research intern also sounds interesting and seems like a good opportunity but it depends on what you ultimately want to do.

I think of careers in terms of building blocks, either internship will provide a good foundation but will lead to different end results.

Thanks a lot Connor! I would use my first paycheck to treat you to dinner as you have helped evaluate my financial engineering profile and helped me choose an internship but that would be kind of creepy :D. Thanks again.

 

[genev]

I've been a long-time reader at quantnet, and just now decided to finally register and post in this thread.

My first-choice school is UCB, simply because of its location (I'm in NorCal), and their great placement stats.

Here's what I have going for me:
3.75 from a state school. BS Economics
780Q GRE score
Taken or will take all the needed math and programming classes.
3 years of work experience in tech
1 year in finance

Plan: Currently studying for CFA I test in December

I looked at the current student profiles, and they're pretty impressive:
Meet Our Current Students, Master of Financial Engineering Program - Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley

With ~25-33% acceptance rate at UCB, what do you guys think?
What can I add on to improve?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Connor]

Applying to only one program is risky.

800Q GRE
Take more than the bare minimum math and programming courses
Great statement of purpose
Good letters of recommendation

 

[genev]

Thanks for your reply Connor.

I will be applying to more programs, but UCB is my first choice.

As for the letters of recommendation, I do have my 2-3 professors/employers picked out. What kind of things should I nudge them to mention in the letters?

 

[achilles]

800/530 is nothing to sneeze at. Now, if you get your AWA to be at least 4.5, then you can safely focus your time on essay, etc.

Hi andy

just received my awa - 4.0 (45 %ile )

wud it cause problems ?? or is it fine w.r.t gud programs.
P.S: kindly do not write , "my comments wont make a difference , apply and see " :P :D
U hav experience being in an adcom , wud appreciate ur comments .

 

[AdamsW]

PLS help to evaluate my profile.

Profile:
BA: Harbin Institue of Technology(HIT), China, Mechanical Engineering, GPA:3.3/4
MA: Tsinghua University, China, Mechanical Engineering, GPA:3.3/4
GRE:V550,Q800,AWE4.0,math subject 95%;
Tofel 108;
CFA Level 2 passed;

Work Experience:
1)6 month internship in Ericsson as a mechanical engineer
2)2 month internship in a chinese brokerage firm as an assistant analyst
3)1 year of Financial Leasing Experience as a project manager;
Programming: C++,MATLAB
Recommendation letter: from a professor of Mathmatics in Tshinghua,and my Tutor

Question:
1.what are my chances to get in a prestigious FE program? And would you pls
recommend to me some programs on the basis of my profile (general GPA and EX)?
2.what can i do to make my background more stronger?

THx

 

[bansalmohit]

Please Please Please Evaluate my profile

I want to apply to the best of MFE programs for Fall 2012. If you can advice me what all should i do in next 1 year before the summer to boost my chances of getting in the MFE programs. I really really need your feedback


Profile:

Honors BS in Computer Science (Expected May 2011)
State University of New York at Buffalo
Concentration: Data Intensive Computing
NSF certification in Data Intensive Computing
Comp Science GPA 4.0
>Know almost all languages really well

BA in Mathematics (Expected May 2011)
State University of New York at Buffalo
Math GPA: 4.0

Math Courses taken:
Calculus 1
Calculus 2
Calculus 3
Differential Equations
Linear Algebra
Probability
Financial Math 1
Financial math 2

Thinking of taking next semester:
Mathematical Statistics

Overall GPA: 3.98


Spring 2010: Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for Comp Science Dept
Spring and Summer 2010: Undergraduate Research Assistant on NSF grant leading to an Academic Excellence award at the University

Fall 2008: Vice President of University ACM chapter
Spring 2009: President of University ACM chapter


Few Academic Performance awards

GRE: Planning to take in April 2011, not started preparing yet
Essays: not started working yet
Application: not looked in any as of now

Thinking of doing Honors thesis in something related to Derivatives
-------------------------------------------------------------

I am an international student in USA natively from India
During the summers mostly managed my fathers portfolio back in my home country. Now i have 1 year to go from here before i submit my application and i needed your feedback as to what i should do in this semester and the next to boost my chances of getting into best MFE programs.

Will go to any lengths to get into the best program.

Thanks
Please do leave feedback as it will really help to create a future

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Go online and ask the directors directly.
The next one is with CMU director scheduled in an hour

Admission Chats with Directors of MFE Programs | Quant Network

 

[Connor]

I agree with Andy, being able to ask the program directors directly in these admission chats is the way to go.

You say that you know all languages really well. Not to be critical but I doubt that. Focus on 1-3 languages including C/C++ and know them deeply.

You have a good profile, but I would recommend taking more math courses. What CS courses have you taken?

Get to know some professors and get outstanding letters of recommendation.

 

[TraderJoe]

BansalMohit: Your profile looks good for almost all the top MFE programs. If you want to be competitive for UC-Berkeley, you should do CFA Level 1. You will also find the courses Numerical Analysis 1 and 2 useful to learn Matlab. How did you manage a 4.0 GPA at SUNY-Buffalo. That school is a GPA killer for most normal people.