Minimum GRE score for entry into quant programs

[keerti kodali]

noone can tell u if u stand a chance if u dont tell your profile completely. academic in which stream? which uni?

there are a lot of factors other than gre quant which decide whether you get into the school.

Stream : Civil engineering
University : National Institute Of Technology , Warangal

 

[rohitv]

All Indian applicants can find this Useful
Most Adcoms take the following into consideration (not in any particular order)
1. University (IIT>NIT> Regional engg colleges)
2. what you did in your University - academic projects, national/ international level paper presenations , anything related to Finance?
how can you link it to MFE?..are u a math whiz?..did u learn monte carlo simulation etc, have you worked on complex algorithms?
3. your grades, they also look for good math grades
4. GRE - old GRE quant 800 was a given for most Indian/Chninese applicants . so that alone wont garuntee you a spot at a good mfe program. verbal -its good to have 500+ and AWA - 4+
5. Work expereince if any and how is it revalent to MFE
6. certifications, awards etc..
7. most important imo..good convincing essays and recos - a horrible essay can screw up all the positive points above

Hope this helps

 

[holbond]

Hi can you evaluate my profile?
IIT Roorkee -- Chemical Engineering(actually its Paper Engineering) -- GPA 9.1-class of 2011
working for Broadridge financial Solutions ( since September 2011)
All Maths grades are good (most of them 10/10)
GRE 800 qunat verb 470
National Mathematics Olympiad All India Rank 7 (year 2001)
Certified courses in Finance from NYIF in Equity, ABS,FI,Brokerage operations (soon will complete the NYIF path)
Had courses in Finance and Economics
Lots of Extra Curriculars.. (made the college Basketball team and organized many events)

I am planning to apply for the following univ
NYU
Columbia (MSFE)
CMU
Georgia Tech
Univ of toronto
Princeton
Stanford
Cornell
Baruch

Please suggest wher I could possibly land?
Also any other univ's worth applying

 

[rohitv]

Hi can you evaluate my profile?
IIT Roorkee -- Chemical Engineering(actually its Paper Engineering) -- GPA 9.1-class of 2011
working for Broadridge financial Solutions ( since September 2011)
All Maths grades are good (most of them 10/10)
GRE 800 qunat verb 470
National Mathematics Olympiad All India Rank 7 (year 2001)
Certified courses in Finance from NYIF in Equity, ABS,FI,Brokerage operations (soon will complete the NYIF path)
Had courses in Finance and Economics
Lots of Extra Curriculars.. (made the college Basketball team and organized many events)

I am planning to apply for the following univ
NYU
Columbia (MSFE)
CMU
Georgia Tech
Univ of toronto
Princeton
Stanford
Cornell
Baruch

Please suggest wher I could possibly land?
Also any other univ's worth applying

NYU Stanford, Princeton and baruch will be difficult mainly because they have fewer seats and get the most number of applications. I beleive NYU had the most number of applications last year. with your Profile you might have a chnace at Columbia, Cornell CMU and Uof T but if the number of applications to quant programs continues to increase even this will be hard.

Gtech is not in the same league..its tier 2..you will get in here with ease.

 

[friendlyfire]

Yes, I took it on 18 October. I got a score range of Q:750-800, V : 550-650. I am keeping my fingers crossed at this moment, even though I am quite sure that I have got all questions right in the Quantitative Aptitude section. To be honest, the revised GRE score reports have been scary so far

I checked my revised GRE score report as well : Q: 170 V:156, AWA : 4.5. Now, I can completely focus on my application - I am really happy that I found out QuantNet which really helped me figure out if Quant Finance was the right career path for me or not. There was a time I was lost figuring out what to do with my interest in finance. I got interested in finance through trading stocks and learning technical analysis on my own - I had even contemplated pursuing CMT, but went for CFA Level 1 instead. Though it isn't of much help if one is wants to be a quant, but it helped me broaden my perspective of the financial tools and instruments.

People on Quantnet have been really helpful so far in answering my personal queries and I do hope to contribute to QuantNet in a better way in the future

 

[gradaplicant]

What my main concern is and what I meant to ask was that every school must surely have a filter, where they filter out applicants before really looking at the application (I doubt Princeton would spend time reading the SOP from a student with a GPA of 2.5 and a quant score of 600).

So my question is, is there a chance I will be filtered out at any of these schools before hand because of my 162 (770-780) quant score? I have a GPA of 3.95 and an interesting story/work history that could weigh up the low quant score. All I was thinking was: Is the quant score to low for them to even consider the application?

 

[dillshau]

I attended the NYU Math Finance talk a few weeks ago and many people were asking about GRE scores.

While the speaker (one of the program committee members) did refuse to give a specific cut off point for the quant section, he did say that he considers any differences in the 750-800 range, noise. So I think you should be ok with a 770 equiv.

What I wonder is if the new gre format has raised the bar on what you need to get so that you do not get thrown in the garbage because of your quant score?

Based on the GRE admission statistics reported on a number of the top schools, I think it's fair to say that a quant score of 770 would not put you in the automatic reject pile for any program. But with a 162/170, there is plenty of room for people in between that score and a perfect 170.

Perhaps the new gre format has opened up the results at the top of the distribution for a closer inspection... I know that the percentiles are still there as they were in the old test. It will be very interesting to see the admission statistics next year when they are reported on the new scale.

 

[Shounak Dasgupta]

Hi,
I am interested in MFE program.

My Profile: I gave my GRE today, and got 161Q, 145V. I have BE-Electrical Engg. from Oriental Institute of Science & Technology, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, with 71.2% aggregate (2003). I have 10 years of work experience in IT industry, where 6+ years into financial software solutions (Domain: Capital Markets &, Portfolio Management). I have about 5 certifications from National Stock Exchange (NSE), India, termed as NCFM (NSE Certification in Financial Markets). However, i do not think that NCFM will give any boost to my profile.

Questions: What are my chances towards MFE program? What are the minimum GRE scores for the following universities: NYU-Poly, CUNY-Baruch, SUNY-Buffalo, Stevens. What are my chances in these universities? Which universities will be safe for me?

 

[PrashanthV]

Hello everyone,

I gave my GRE recently but didn't score too well. I got a score of 303(154 on Q and 149 on V). I was pretty stressed out in the exam and couldn't perform better. My math scores are especially disappointing, since I always did well in math right from high school. I am highly interested in getting into the field of financial engineering. I did my bachelors in metallurgy and materials technology. I took quite a few math courses and finance related courses in engineering. But I recently did a certificate program in business analytics and that fueled my interest in this field. I did a project on Target Marketing using predictive analytics and also another project on "Stock Price Prediction" using Statistical Modeling techniques. I am now working with a scientist on a project - portfolio allocation strategies for minimizing Value at Risk along with overall risk in capital markets using techniques like Time Series Analysis and Monte Carlo simulations. I am comfortable with the R package and also C++. My undergraduate CGPA is 3.38 and I also have about 2 years of work experience, working as a business development executive.
Do you think I will stand a chance for Master's programs in Financial Engineering? My primary reason for choosing this field is because I am highly interested in the analytical aspects of financial markets. I am pretty keen on working in fields relating to portfolio allocation and investment management, using mathematical models to reduce the risk across investments. I believe that this degree will help me understand these aspects and work in those areas.

 

[Azamat Bagatov]

@Abhinav.Raghavan while your profile is really good, your Quant scores might or might not hurt your chances if you're shooting for Columbia MFE and UChicago. You can't exactly tell since adcoms look at your profile cumulatively. As someone said earlier, there's a 9 point gap between a perfect score and your score. You will be able to see from tracker that most students at these programs had near perfect score in Quant. You might also notice that some students with a similar score made it to good universities. What I suggest is to go ahead and apply to a couple of safe schools too and hedge your chances.

Good luck!

 

[Azamat Bagatov]

Great. Read through forums and analyze tracker data. You may find more colleges you want to add to that list.

 

[Azamat Bagatov]

I may not be able to tell you what colleges you would definitely get into. You should be able to see from tracker but then it only represents a set of applicants from hundreds that actually apply. If I were you, I would improve my Quant score by 5-6 points atleast. That would put you in a position where you can aim for top ones and worry less about your credentials and more about your statement/LORs.

 

[Diego Ocampo]

Hi can you evaluate my profile?
IIT Roorkee -- Chemical Engineering(actually its Paper Engineering) -- GPA 9.1-class of 2011
working for Broadridge financial Solutions ( since September 2011)
All Maths grades are good (most of them 10/10)
GRE 800 qunat verb 470
National Mathematics Olympiad All India Rank 7 (year 2001)
Certified courses in Finance from NYIF in Equity, ABS,FI,Brokerage operations (soon will complete the NYIF path)
Had courses in Finance and Economics
Lots of Extra Curriculars.. (made the college Basketball team and organized many events)

I am planning to apply for the following univ
NYU
Columbia (MSFE)
CMU
Georgia Tech
Univ of toronto
Princeton
Stanford
Cornell
Baruch

Please suggest wher I could possibly land?
Also any other univ's worth applying

You should consider Rutgers FSRM program, they pretty much just consider the quant score.

http://fsrm.rutgers.edu/

 

[Diego Ocampo]

Hi, I gave my GRE, got 161-Q and 159-V , I have got a month's internship working in a bank in the Market Risk division, Apart from that my gpa is 7.55/10 and i'm going to publish a paper. I'll also be pursuing a 3 month internship with Reuters, I want to know how much more i need to accomplish to get admitted into Columbia fr MFE and University of Chicago fr their Financial Math program. Can somebody please tell me what more I need to do?

you might consider retake you GRE if you want to apply to Columbia, just to give you an example, the FSRM Rutgers program (Which is not yet a top program) the min GRE score is 164 Q and 150 V.

http://fsrm.rutgers.edu/images/stories/Articles/Rutgers_Brochure_Final.pdf

 

[vaishnaviiii]

Hi there!

Any idea about the minimum GRE scores for MS&E at Stanford?
Their website has given an average score range, so does that mean if we don't fall into that score range, it is almost impossible to get an admit?

 

[Azamat Bagatov]

Any idea about the minimum GRE scores for MS&E at Stanford?
Their website has given an average score range, so does that mean if we don't fall into that score range, it is almost impossible to get an admit?

You should rather look for the range than average. And it doesn't definitely mean that it's impossible to get an admit. Good math grades, GPA and other aspects make up for it most of the time.

 

[PeterT]

Hi guys,

Looking for some guidance on chances of getting into a top program. I just took the GRE and got 162 quant and 156 verbal. I have a 3.54 cumulative GPA from Rutgers (graduated 2009) with majors in Econ and Stat, although I did 5 years of school since I had switched to those majors after my freshman year. I also passed all 3 levels of the CFA on the first attempt (not sure if this holds any weight). My work experience has been 3 years in trade support roles supporting fixed income desks at a large investment bank and currently >1 year experience at a hedge fund in a similar role, but with more of a focus on pricing/valuation. What kind of work experience is valued, if any? What else can boost my chances to get in?

 

[yogesh.gandewar]

Hi Guys ,

I need help to choose university. I am targeting for Financial Engg/ quant finance spring 2015. My GRE Score is quant 163 and verb 143. Is there any chances to get any university at such low score ?

My background
1> B. Tech from VJTI ( MUmbai university) 7/10
2> M.B.A. in finance (BITS Pilani) CGPA: 9.2/10
3> 3 years of work ex in Amdocs as C++ developer (pre MBA)
2 years of work ex in Credit Suisse as Market risk analyst (Post MBA)
4> Sun certified Java Programmer
5>CFA level 2 candidate
6>FRM level 2 candidate
7> Projects in stochastic,risk management

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Take a look at the Tracker and sort the profiles by programs and Admit, you can then see the GRE Q of those getting admitted to those programs.
There are instances of people getting admitted with GRE Q of 163 but they have something else special to compensate.

 

[AbhishekMI]

I have 10+ years Development Experience all in C++(Investment Banks).BE in Computer Science, University RGTU Bhopal, Q163,V147 awa 3. Do i stand any chance in any decent college under top 30. If yes, In which colleges I should apply? should I retake GRE?