"MFE program profile evaluation" master thread

[sleekmover]

I finally bought the book: "Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives with Derivagem CD (7th Edition) by John Hull ". Somehow, this seemed to be the most interesting out of the titles suggested in the "Master List" thread. And it has lived upto expectations. I have been working on the stuff covered in this book for quite sometime now as part of my day to day job. Initial domain trainings, self study using online Computer adaptive trainings and google search were the ways in which I gained knowledge on these subjects in the past. This book brings that all together at one place (for eg Black Scholes, Monte Carlo, Interest Rate Derivatives --- topics that I am quite familiar with) and also exposes to me a lot of new stuff that is quite interesting. My next buy will be a mathematics book from the recommended list.
Regardless I get in CMU, with the help of of advice available on this site (quantnet) and some good reading in next 15 days I am hoping to make a much stronger statement on my pending applications. Wish me luck

 

[sleekmover]

A little bit off topic: John Hull seems to belong to a school (Rotman) that is making some innovative experiments in the space of business education. I recently came across a new program that Rotman and a very few other schools (mostly in US and Canada) have started with the name of Masters in Business Design. It claims to prepare students to create new businesses/products/divisions with new designs and innovative thinking and is definitley different than a regular MBA. I am sure this kind of preparation will be needed quite soon in the Investment Banking space since it is coming out of recession and will benefit with a new and fresh approach on redefining its business/divisions/products.
Before it becomes a viable option for people who love to be in finance some questions need to be answered though:
1) General: How does the industry in general view this course? What is the acceptance in the industry for absorbing people coming out of this course?
2) Finance specific: Has the course been designed keeping the finance industry in mind? Are there enough classes that can help people learn finance and then be able to design businesses/divisions/products given the new paradigm that is emerging after the recession/regulation/investigations (permanent subcommittee on recent crisis)?

Though I am not considering it for immediate future but I feel it will be a very good addition after I would have completed my MFE, and spent some time (say at least three years in the industry).

Any thoughts?

 

[TRYHARD]

Hi, I am a prospective student who have a strong interest in Baruch MFE program for fall 2012. I would like to ask you for my profile evaluation before submitting an application because I need your feedback to improve my application to increase a chance of admission.

Profile:
International student
UGPA : 3.0/4.0 - very low...
- English speaking institution (Non-US), Top 5 in the country.
- majored in business and mathematics including:
3 calculus courses, 3 linear algebra courses, 5 statistics courses, 3 economics courses,
4 computer science courses, 7 actuarial science courses, 8 business courses, 3 accounting courses
2 combinatorics courses

GGPA : 3.6/4.0 (US)
- majored in statistics including:
probability theory, data analysis, ANOVA, mathematical statistics, sampling theory, numerical analysis, general linear model

Test scores

TOEFL : 104 (R:28, S:24, L:24, W:28)
GRE : Q800, V680, W4.0
GRE Subject math : 800
GMAT : 720

Work experiences

cumulative 2 years of work experience (all are internships)
companies in various industries.
I am not sure whether this experience is significant because it is not related to finance...

This is a brief summary of my profile...
Please feel free to provide a feedback. I appreciate your consideration in advance.
Thank you.

 

[onthesc]

Looks like you got pretty good amount of classes and stats. What kind of work experience were they?

 

[Harmandeep]

Hello Andy Nguyen,
i am an engineering student-Mechanical Engineering.(Bachelor's) from Thapar University,India.Igave my Gre last year with 1350 score( quant 800,verbal550).I got admitted to Claremont Graduate University with 20% fees scholarship every semester.Now i have got rejections from NYU, Columbia,Princeton,Illionois-Urbanna Champaigne, and i am waiting for results from Rutgers University and Florida State University.Now i am in this dilemma of choosing claremont.Possible reason of my rejection which i can make out is that i don't have any work ex.I have applied in my final year which is going to complete in this may,2011.My question is can u please guide me about the prospects of pursuing graduation from Claremont Graduate University, Drucker Business School keeping in mind the key factors of quality education and placements.Also because i am going to be an international student there will that play a major role into job entry there.

Waiting eagerly for your response.
Kind Regards
Harmandeep Singh Saini
harmandeepsingh07@gmail.com

 

[darth]

sounds good to me......

 

[Anbu]

Hello everyone! I've just completed my undergrad from the American University in Dubai. The degree is business administration with concentration in finance.

GPA: 3.99 (Our grading scale is same as US standard)

GRE - Q: 800 V: 370 AW: 4.0

Here are relevant courses that I've taken. My grades were A in everything.

Math (6 courses):
- Calculus I
- Calculus II
- Multivariable Calculus
- Linear Algebra & Complex variables
- Probability & Statistics in Engineering
- Differential Equations

Programming, (just 1 course):
- Fundamentals of programming (This was all C++)

Finance (7 courses):
- Financial Modelling & Empirical Analysis
- Derivative Securities
- Investment & Portfolio Management
- Corporate Finance
- Financial Institutions Management
- International Trade & Finance
- Principles of Finance

Other:
- Applied Econometrics
- Introduction to Business Statistics

I've self studied analysis, numerical methods, more advanced probability etc. but since there's no way to prove that to the school I'm applying to, these skills are useless.

Can you please give me your honest opinion about my chances for admission. Where do you think I need to work harder? Thank you very much in advance..

 

[arjunagrawal]

hi...

UC-Berkeley MFE can place you into a front-office position which would be appropriate for your qualifications and experience. The other schools which I would recommend would be CMU, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Columbia, and Baruch. You will have adequate Math background from Engineering courses. Your programming background will be very weak and this is 90% of quant work. Make sure that you switch from H-2B to F-1 visa. This way, you will get 29 months OPT. You can also learn the programming stuff (C++, databases, SQL) and get an IT job. They are very short of IT people and are willing to sponsor H1-B for IT people. It is very difficult to get H1-B sponsorship for Finance roles. The better your programming and IT experience, the much greater will be the chances of getting the H1-B sponsorship.
You may also want to consider Finance PhD. In USA universities, they have very high regard for IIT and IIM degrees. Your IIM degree and 760 GMAT may get you a position in a Top 20 Finance PhD program. Then, if you are able to survive for 5 years, everything will be easy, including the Green Card. PhD students don't have to pay tuition and they get a stipend of around $2,000 per month.

hi... i am from india and just completed my engineering with a cgpa of 3.2/4 above... i had applied to US university for masters in financial engineering and i have been accepted to columbia for 2011-2012 program... along with that i had appeared for MBA entrances in my country with no serious preparation and have now been admitted to IIM Indore...

I had a talk with few of the seniors at columbia, and they were not really happy career services in columbia, and as mentioned here on quantnet, columbia's placement for the program have not been really impressive as well.. i believe that people get jjobs from columbia but not very easily, especially people from india and china, that too if somebody is without work experience like me...

though i have short internships in the field of securities, mutual funds, microfinance and a technical internship... but do not have any solid work experience...

can you please help with my thoughts as i think that i should go forward with IIM Indore and take specialization in the field of finance and thereafter work for 2 years (also in the mean while try my luck with CFA) and then apply apply to US universities again... this will broaden my job prospects there... please help.. i need to finalize everything as soon as possible as i already have my visa in hand and jus have to fly on 28th june...

 

[arjunagrawal]

hi...

UC-Berkeley MFE can place you into a front-office position which would be appropriate for your qualifications and experience. The other schools which I would recommend would be CMU, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Columbia, and Baruch. You will have adequate Math background from Engineering courses. Your programming background will be very weak and this is 90% of quant work. Make sure that you switch from H-2B to F-1 visa. This way, you will get 29 months OPT. You can also learn the programming stuff (C++, databases, SQL) and get an IT job. They are very short of IT people and are willing to sponsor H1-B for IT people. It is very difficult to get H1-B sponsorship for Finance roles. The better your programming and IT experience, the much greater will be the chances of getting the H1-B sponsorship.
You may also want to consider Finance PhD. In USA universities, they have very high regard for IIT and IIM degrees. Your IIM degree and 760 GMAT may get you a position in a Top 20 Finance PhD program. Then, if you are able to survive for 5 years, everything will be easy, including the Green Card. PhD students don't have to pay tuition and they get a stipend of around $2,000 per month.

hi... i am from india and just completed my engineering with a cgpa of 3.2/4 above... i had applied to US university for masters in financial engineering and i have been accepted to columbia for 2011-2012 program... along with that i had appeared for MBA entrances in my country with no serious preparation and have now been admitted to IIM Indore...

I had a talk with few of the seniors at columbia, and they were not really happy career services in columbia, and as mentioned here on quantnet, columbia's placement for the program have not been really impressive as well.. i believe that people get jjobs from columbia but not very easily, especially people from india and china, that too if somebody is without work experience like me...

though i have short internships in the field of securities, mutual funds, microfinance and a technical internship... but do not have any solid work experience...

can you please help with my thoughts as i think that i should go forward with IIM Indore and take specialization in the field of finance and thereafter work for 2 years (also in the mean while try my luck with CFA) and then apply apply to US universities again... this will broaden my job prospects there... please help.. i need to finalize everything as soon as possible as i already have my visa in hand and jus have to fly on 28th june...

 

[darth]

Where did you get a four point GPA in India. Also MFE and MBA are entirely different things. Another point you can consider where you want to work after your graduation. Also you can consider getting a 1-yr work-ex and applying again to IIM's next year with preparation and hoping to make itno one of A and C.

 

[TraderJoe]

hi...

hi... i am from india and just completed my engineering with a cgpa of 3.2/4 above... i had applied to US university for masters in financial engineering and i have been accepted to columbia for 2011-2012 program... along with that i had appeared for MBA entrances in my country with no serious preparation and have now been admitted to IIM Indore...

I had a talk with few of the seniors at columbia, and they were not really happy career services in columbia, and as mentioned here on quantnet, columbia's placement for the program have not been really impressive as well.. i believe that people get jjobs from columbia but not very easily, especially people from india and china, that too if somebody is without work experience like me...

though i have short internships in the field of securities, mutual funds, microfinance and a technical internship... but do not have any solid work experience...

can you please help with my thoughts as i think that i should go forward with IIM Indore and take specialization in the field of finance and thereafter work for 2 years (also in the mean while try my luck with CFA) and then apply apply to US universities again... this will broaden my job prospects there... please help.. i need to finalize everything as soon as possible as i already have my visa in hand and jus have to fly on 28th june...

Hey, congrats on your admits to Columbia and IIM-Indore. Both are great schools.
If you have strong Math and Programming / IT background, you will most probably get a good job from Columbia with a good salary. If you are not able to get a job through the university or by yourself, you can contact one of the 100 IT body-shopping companies on this web site. http://classifieds.benchfolks.com/classifieds/viewscat.asp?id=10018
99% of these companies will hire you since you have 29 months OPT and Columbia degree. The pay is very low (about $70 K). But they will train you on some technology like C++ / Java / .NET and then they will place you on the project. Job is guaranteed. You can get 2-3 years IT programming experience and then try again for quant developer positions.
IIM-Indore is also very prestigious. If you work hard, you can get FO position in IB or MC firm with Rs 25 lakh base + Rs 10 - 20 lakh bonus. So you can get prestigious degree and also good work experience. Then, after 4-5 years, you can try for MBA from Top 5 Business school in USA, if you still want to come to USA.
As you can see, both paths will lead to successful career and lots of money. Risk / reward is higher with Columbia. So you have to choose yourself. I think you will be very successful with both choices.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Main schools I'm looking at are CMU and UCLA and UCB. It seemed like I just don't have the numbers for NYU and columbia. Maybe if I retake the GREs things will change but until then, would you do me the honors Andy?

I'm very familiar with admission process at one of the programs you mentioned and I do not believe you know the internal numbers they use to grade you.
770 is not the way to prove your quantitative ability nor your test taking skill so my order of the day would be to retake and get 800 or the max in the next GRE format.
C++ is another big void to fill.
Telling your story and why you need MFE is an important task, something majority of applicants did a terrible job with and ultimately eliminate themselves in the process.

 

[sazzu]

Hi all,
I recently gave my GRE
GRE:1320 quant:800 + verbal:520 AWA :awaiting
Undergrad CGPA:80% from National Institute of Technology Rourkela (Regional Engineering College) ranked 13th in India one of the most respected technological university of India .
TOEFL: Yet to give
B.Tech (Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering):80%
12th:78%
10th:82%
I have taken prerequisite mathematics courses for Financial Engineering program.
Finance Knowledge:
I cleared NCFM (National certification in Financial Market) modules with 85% marks on average .
I have applied for CFA Level I test this December 2011.
Work Experience :
I have been working with ORACLE's Financial Software Services division in Mumbai for last seven months so when i'll enter mfe course 2012 August my total work experience would be 1.5 years .
I have worked on C++,Java Technologies ,Oracle database .
I have certifications on Java technologies and Oracle sql .
I have worked on Flexcube for CITIBank .
Worked on Different softwares for Banks of USA and NAB of Australia .
Computer Language :
Had taken 1semester courses each on C and C++ during my B.Tech .
I were Microsoft Campus Club member during my B.tech career .
Please evaluate my profile for Financial engineering or quant course and suggest som specific university courses .And please suggest in the mean time what should i do to make my porfile better .

 

[sazzu]

Hi ,
I recently gave my GRE
GRE:1320 quant:800 + verbal:520 AWA :awaiting
Undergrad CGPA:80% from National Institute of Technology Rourkela (Regional Engineering College) ranked 13th in India one of the most respected technological university of India .
TOEFL: Yet to give
B.Tech (Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering):80%
12th:78%
10th:82%
I have taken prerequisite mathematics courses for Financial Engineering program.
Finance Knowledge:
I cleared NCFM (National certification in Financial Market) modules with 85% marks on average .
I have applied for CFA Level I test this December 2011.
Work Experience :
I have been working with ORACLE's Financial Software Services division in Mumbai for last seven months so when i'll enter mfe course 2012 August my total work experience would be 1.5 years .
I have worked on C++,Java Technologies ,Oracle database .
I have certifications on Java technologies and Oracle sql .
I have worked on Flexcube for CITIBank .
Worked on Different softwares for Banks of USA and NAB of Australia .
Computer Language :
Had taken 1semester courses each on C and C++ during my B.Tech .
I were Microsoft Campus Club member during my B.tech career .
Please evaluate my profile for Financial engineering or quant course and suggest som specific university courses .And please suggest in the mean time what should i do to make my porfile better .
If you can provide me few university courses options according to my profile where i could get into where it would be better to join .
What would you say Baruch MFE .Do i have a chance .I went to their website and its showing that GRE Verbal average is around 570 and mine is 520 .
I am looking after NTU but dont you think an MS from US is more worthier than Singapore .Pardon me if am wrong .
Thanks.

 

[jpglotzer]

Hi Andy and everyone else!

Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who has contributed to the wealth of information available on this website; it is truly amazing! And of course a special thanks to Andy for taking the time to evaluate our profiles!

OK now, by any normal measure, I believe my profile to be relatively weak, so I'm mostly writing here in hope of receiving advice on how I can improve this.

I have a Masters in Electronic Engineering from the University of Leeds, 58% average which is 1% below a 2:1. I didn't apply myself at undergraduate level at all (by that I mean I pretty much didn't attend anything, and read all lecture notes for the first time a day or two before the exam). I love maths and problem solving, but when most of a degree is memorizing processes and facts off by heart, it's difficult to find motivation. I did however have my moments; for instance, I did a year long MATLAB project in a week, and did it well enough that with a bit more work, it may be published. Ever since, my supervisor for this project has been pushing me to do a PhD with him, so I believe he would write me a good recommendation. I also enjoy probability and statistics and got 94% in that exam so I should be able to get a decent recommendation there.

Aside from my undergrad, I plan to take the GRE and I'm confident I can get 800 for quant and a good score for verbal.

I'm also registered to do the Baruch College ARPM bootcamp with Attilio Meucci this summer, which has credits towards the MFE. (Would this help if I do the exam and project in order to get the certificate?)

Other ideas are to get a certificate in C++...

So putting this potential profile together: a weak albeit mixed undergrad, 800 quant GRE, certificate in ARPM from Baruch, C++ certificate... where exactly do I stand? And what more can I do to improve my chances? Also, given my weak undergrad, can anything be done within reason to still get into a top MFE program?

And one more thing regarding the year long project that I did in a week... I know performing well under compromising circumstances can be impressive, but when I'm responsible for compromising the situation in the first place, does this mostly just make me look bad?

Thank you for any help!

Regards

 

[nanwang]

Hello all,

Next semester I will be a senior student, plan to apply MFE next semester. Following is my profile, I am very appreciate if people can give me some advices, which school is my reach/match/safe schools?

School: Colorado State University (I am international student)
Major: Applied Math + Statistics
Cumulative GPA: 3.45
First 2 year GPA: 3.17 (in china)
Junior year GPA: 3.94 (in US)
Math GPA : 3.5
STAT GPA: 3.9

GRE: V660 Q800

Math courses: Calc 1-3, Linear Algebra1-2, ODE, PDE, Advanced calculus in one variable, Abstract Algebra , Complex variable, Combinatorics, Mathematical modeling, Linear Program
STAT courses: Regression, stochastic modeling, DOE, probability and mathematical statistics
Programming: C++, Mathematic Experiment (MATLAB) , CUDA
Research background:
One year research in math lab doing data analysis. May deliver a paper this fall.
MCM meritorious winner

I probably want go to east coast, and I am afraid there is no working experience in my resume, many school like CMU prefer people have working experience, I am very appreciate if some people can give me some suggestion.

 

[Dcai]

An internship in the financial area can definitely help.
Also I would recommend taking 1-2 finance/econ classes and maybe take cfa level 1 if those classes do not fit in your schedule.
make sure you get good recommendation letters.

 

[nanwang]

An internship in the financial area can definitely help.
Also I would recommend taking 1-2 finance/econ classes and maybe take cfa level 1 if those classes do not fit in your schedule.
make sure you get good recommendation letters.

Thank you! I may ask the professor who I did research with to write one recommendation. can you give me a list of school I probably can get admission, and which school can be the safe school?

 

[RocioPineda]

Current Profile
Dear Andy, a friend of mine who works as an Economist at the WorldBank highly recommended your blog (he considered doing an MFE program but ended up getting a PhD in Econ).
I am an Economics major, and thought that I wanted to get a PhD in Economics. Until I realized that the only classes that I really enjoyed were my econometrics classes. I started taking math classes in the College of Science because they were more challenging than the ones offered by the college of Bussines. Last semester I took a Finance class I highly enjoyed it – have been reading the WSJ and finance journals ever since. I did some research for master program that combine math, statistics and finance and ended up finding MFE programs. Here is my profile, starting next semester I will be a senior, but I decided to extend my graduation date until spring 2013 to finish my minors.
Also I am international student, I am originally from Mexico City
I will highly appreciate any recommendations or feedback. Thanks
Education:
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
Bachelor of Science, Major in Economics / Cumulative GPA 3.78
Concentration: Empirical Economic Analysis, Minors: Mathematic and Experimental Statistics
Dean’s List (Fall 2008- present) Recipient: International Honor Award (2009)

Work Experience:
LSU Division of Economic Development and Forecasting, Research Assistant-Student Worker
My job involves doing a lot of online research for the Employment Outlook Forecast (the most important project for the division). Clean and update data using EViews and Stata (Statistical Software). Thus far I have worked in five important government projects.

Research Experience:
“Consumers Preferences and Heterogeneous Markets: Study Conducted in Mexico City for Tortillas “- I found that tortillas are both a normal and inferior good in Mexico City. The reason is that based on the quality of their inputs of production (corn) they become heterogeneous goods, thus they end up competing in two different markets…

Leadership Experience
Vice president – Economics Club
Resident Assistant

Relevant Coursework:
Note: ** will be completed upon graduation
College of Business
Economics Courses
Senior Level
Econometrics I – A
Econometrics Forecasting and Analysis – A
International Finance – A
Central Banking and Monetary Policy – A
Aggregate Economic Analysis- A
Business Finance – A
Economic Growth Analysis- A
Applied Intermediate Microeconomics: Labor Economics –A
Intermediate Microeconomics – B
Public Finance – B
Financial Econometrics - **
*Finance Courses
Business Finance – A
Investments - **
Security Analysis and Portfolio Management-** (senior level)
*Information Systems and Decision Sciences Courses
Business Statistics – A
Statistical Methods and Models - A

College of Science
<Math Department>
Analytic Geometry and Calculus I -A
Analytical Geometry and Calculus II -A
Multidimensional Calculus - **
Linear Algebra and Differential Equations - **
Probability - **
Senior level
Advanced Calculus I- **
Advanced Calculus and Several Variables- **
Mathematical Statistics-**
Numerical Linear Algebra- **
<Experimental Statistics Department>
Statistical Analysis I **
Statistical Analysis II **
Senior level
SAS programming **
Grad level course (still undecided)

 

[Andy Nguyen]

To @anyone who mentioned my name and ask for profile evaluation, I can't and don't have answer/time for each individual person/program.

I can give general suggestions that will be beneficial to any programs that you may apply.

1) GPA: There isn't much to discuss or do about here. There are too many factors involved to generate a single number. Leave it to the admission people to interpret it.
2) GRE: Just get 800Q, don't ask why. Get 500+ verbal and 4.5 AWA to be mildly competitive. The new GRE will have different scale so do a ballpark comparison.
3) Courses: take as much math/CS course as you can while try to put on some introductory finance derivatives courses. If you are not good student or don't enjoy the subject, it will shown in 1)
4) Programming: take at least one or two C++ course in college and do some project that you can demonstrate or talk about. Better if the project is financial related. This can be something you do at internship or your own initiative.
5) Show genuine interest in the field. This is a very crucial to survive in this field, at the very least, this is something MFE admission and employers look for in a candidate. If you heard about MFE only last month and now decide to become a quant, it's a very hard sell. Join a professional, industry association would be a good indication because it costs money to be a member. Joining and asking question on Quantnet is another strong indication because you can't do research on MFE programs without coming across Quantnet during any of your research. Reading trade journals, websites, go to conference, finance workshops are time consuming but these are the things people will ask you.

If you have done none of this, they will just simply pick someone from the pool of 1000+ applicants applying to the same program/job.