Need a guide as my chance is 0

[Rebelex]

I'm a math junior at the University of Mississippi. Because the fact that I'm not an Ivy League student, I'm worried about the chance for me to get into the MFE program of any from any of the top 10 schools. I'll be graduated in another 3 semesters and I think I really need to do something now to boost my chance to get into the program. Coming from a OK school and without any experience in either finance or programming area, can someone here tell me what I should do to be more competitive?
I really appreciate that....

- let me know if you wanna see my resume first

THANKS

 

[koupparis]

Get experience in the finance and programming areas Seriously if you can, take a couple programming courses, C++ is a must. Learn some VBA on the side. Maybe take a finance course or study some standard textbook on the side. As a math major, take the courses that will best prepare you for an MFE degree.

Don't know what you're doing in the summer(s) before the MFE route, but try to see if you can score an internship, if not, see the above suggestions regarding independent readings.

 

[Yike Lu]

Koupparis's advice is very solid and practical. To kind of give you my mindset, here's some more food for thought:

If you go to a middle of the road school, you need to set yourself apart. This can actually be a good thing in some cases. Given the choice
1) Mediocre student from a stellar school
2) Stellar student from a mediocre school

A lot of people would choose the latter.

Since you are not far from graduation, this is not totally under your control. So, I'd say you should show an aggressive, competitive personality, willing to go the extra mile to make up with hard work whatever you may lack in talent.

 

[Rebelex]

Get experience in the finance and programming areas Seriously if you can, take a couple programming courses, C++ is a must. Learn some VBA on the side. Maybe take a finance course or study some standard textbook on the side. As a math major, take the courses that will best prepare you for an MFE degree.

Don't know what you're doing in the summer(s) before the MFE route, but try to see if you can score an internship, if not, see the above suggestions regarding independent readings.

I'm trying to get another degree in finance. I had taken Java last year and about to take C++ next sem. But I don't think it helps a lot because
(1) it's not a well-known school
(2) I don't have any related working experience......
I've been looking an internship now and then. I've sent my application to some of the top investment firms like JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutche Bank etc. None of them accept me, I didn't even have an interview with any one of them because the same two facts I mentioned above....even I told them I would work for FREE!!!

So, seriously, I feel like no chance at all for me to get into the top MFE program.....

 

[koupparis]

An internship isn't a must to get into a good program, neither is graduating from a well known school.

Showing that you're prepared, committed and motivated is a lot more important. Graduate with a good GPA, do well on the GRE, have the prerequisite background, and have a good statement of purpose. Those should all be in your control.

 

[Rebelex]

An internship isn't a must to get into a good program, neither is graduating from a well known school.

Showing that you're prepared, committed and motivated is a lot more important. Graduate with a good GPA, do well on the GRE, have the prerequisite background, and have a good statement of purpose. Those should all be in your control.

I always described myself as higly-motivated. Although I'm not from an Ivy League school and I don't have any working experience in finance or programming area, I financed my school through works and scholarships. I work 40 hours a week ( 2 jobs) while taking 15 credit hr in a semester. My GPA now is 3.55

Still, I don't think that would be good enough for me to compete to those from Ivy League or have some related working experience......

 

[Yike Lu]

It sounds like you've made up your mind that you can't compete.. Given this, why ask for advice at all?

 

[Stuart Truax]

If you are certain you want to do an MFE, pull all out all the stops. Generally speaking, finance is hard to get into.

 

[Andy D.]

Rebelex - Hopefully my advice will be helpful, I'm not a quant first of all. I am a software developer who has contracted to banks and worked for companies where we do work for banks. I'm tailoring my career towards being a quant but don't have an Ivy League background.

First of all - Get good at programming. Look at it like this, say you can't get into the quant program you want or you need to spend some time doing extra study - being a good programmer can provide you with a career and a source of funds (and if you pick something to specialize in, you can make some VERY good money) if nothing else it is something to fall back on.

With good programming skills you can get contract jobs at banks. You can build up some skills and get to know the industry and people. You can also save up money for when you are ready to do a quant course.

I would say don't stress about the whole Ivy League thing. If you are good at Mathematics, a good programmer and open to taking jobs that open doors (but may suck at times) then you have a good chance of getting where you want to be.

Oh and btw if you get the chance take advantage of BUNAC etc. and do some work abroad.

Check this out:

Internship Program, Graduate Internship Program, Internship in UK


That is the intern programme. They also offer work visas I believe.

 

[Dylan]

If its any consolation, I was in basically your situation (3.5, state school), and just landed a job as an HFT developer.

First, make sure you really are as good as the top university grads.

Your quantitative skills are based entirely on the number and difficulty of the problems you have solved. State school courses are, unfortunately for us, far easier, so we sometimes miss out on this practice. But theres nothing that says you cant do problems not assigned- find the hardest problems in your textbooks (or in other ones- Art of Computer Programming is a great source of them) and do them.

To reap the rewards from doing this, participate in math/programming competitions. Placing well in these provides pretty good evidence that your quantitative skills are among the highest in the country. Generally this means spending alot of time practicing old questions from the competition. It also probably takes a few attempts. But if you do place highly in one of these, suddenly your alma mater doesnt matter anymore.

 

[Rebelex]

I took Java in my first semester and got an A. But the thing is I still feel like I'm not really good at it.

Winter break is coming. I'm planning to use the break to learn some programming languages to boost up my skill. I would like to start from the basic. Pretending like I never done any programming before.
Should I learn C++ or Matlab? Which one is more useful in a quant career?
Any recommended book or website?

Btw, thanks for all the comments here.......

 

[Rebelex]

Rebelex - Hopefully my advice will be helpful, I'm not a quant first of all. I am a software developer who has contracted to banks and worked for companies where we do work for banks. I'm tailoring my career towards being a quant but don't have an Ivy League background.

First of all - Get good at programming. Look at it like this, say you can't get into the quant program you want or you need to spend some time doing extra study - being a good programmer can provide you with a career and a source of funds (and if you pick something to specialize in, you can make some VERY good money) if nothing else it is something to fall back on.

With good programming skills you can get contract jobs at banks. You can build up some skills and get to know the industry and people. You can also save up money for when you are ready to do a quant course.

I would say don't stress about the whole Ivy League thing. If you are good at Mathematics, a good programmer and open to taking jobs that open doors (but may suck at times) then you have a good chance of getting where you want to be.

Oh and btw if you get the chance take advantage of BUNAC etc. and do some work abroad.

Check this out:

Internship Program, Graduate Internship Program, Internship in UK


That is the intern programme. They also offer work visas I believe.

I looked through the website. That's really something I'm interested in.
Did you take the program before? How was that?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

There is link to books in my signature

 

[Ezra]

I always described myself as higly-motivated. Although I'm not from a Ivy League school and I don't have any working experience in finance or programming area, I financed my school through works and scholarships. I work 40 hours a week ( 2 jobs) while taking 15 credit hr in a semester. My GPA now is 3.55

Still, I don't think that would be good enough for me to compete to those from Ivy League or have some related working experience......

Completing a math major full time with that GPA while working 2 jobs 40 hours per week is more impressive to me than simply having attended an brand name school. It seems your biggest weakness is your confidence, not the brand of your undergraduate school.

You might want to consider taking the pre-MFE courses offered by Baruch. They offer an exceptional value, they will teach you a lot that is immediately applicable, and it gives you the opportunity to make yourself known personally to the faculty. If your bright, motivated, and really interested in the subject, it will shine through to the instructor and could lead to a strong letter of recommendation that will likely carry more weight than the name on your degree.

I'm currently enrolled in the program and I think its an excellent value and is a wonderful way to learn more about the field and what studying for an MFE is like (spoiler: it is not a cakewalk).

I believe Berkeley also offers something similar to the pre-MFE but I cant speak to it specifically.

 

[Yos Feit]

A few points.

The finance industry is huge, and quant related jobs are a tiny fraction of that industry. If you like finance and you do not have the confidence to apply to the quant section first, aim for some other capacity, say in research, computer programming or desk support. By desk support I mean assisting traders, sales people or middle office analysts by answering the phones, writing documents and spreadsheets, gathering data and all the other odds and ends. If you are thinking of more education, also look at programming, business or CFA programs. If you can't build a resume of completed business projects at a major bank, or any profit making enterprise for that matter, try doing something for a charitable organization.

The internship in UK link mentioned below looks a bit fishy to me. It looks like you have to find the actual internship on your own. If so what good is this organization? The quoted living expense cost of $2500 for six months is highly suspect. A monthly London Oyster pass is over 100 pounds, so just your daily transit eats up most of that budget. Do they want you to sleep in a paper bag down on the docks? The economy in the UK is terrible right now. My daughter just finished a graduate economics program at the London School of Economics and is not having an easy time getting a job.

 

[Andy D.]

Yos Feit - Bunac is British Universities North America club. It actually covers more then just the UK, US and Canada these days, but also Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
The organisation however is not "fishy" in any way. A lot of students in the UK use it for visas to go backpacking in Australia where they have permission to work.
I used BUNAC to gain a work visa for Canada for example. A good number of Irish and British folks I met had gone to Canada on a BUNAC, been offered full time jobs and visa sponsorship and stayed.

The internship program is in fact one of many they offer, you can if you are under 30 apply for a 1 year work visa for example. The visa allows you to apply for most jobs in the host country.

I know a good 8 - 10 people who have used it and had a great time.

I agree on the cost of living in London though!

A few points.

The internship in UK link mentioned below looks a bit fishy to me. It looks like you have to find the actual internship on your own. If so what good is this organization? The quoted living expense cost of $2500 for six months is highly suspect. A monthly London Oyster pass is over 100 pounds, so just your daily transit eats up most of that budget. Do they want you to sleep in a paper bag down on the docks? The economy in the UK is terrible right now. My daughter just finished a graduate economics program at the London School of Economics and is not having an easy time getting a job.

 

[Rebelex]

I just talked to one of their staff. Is it true that I have to find the internship by myself?
I'm still confusing about the process of getting the internhsip program....

Yos Feit - Bunac is British Universities North America club. It actually covers more then just the UK, US and Canada these days, but also Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
The organisation however is not "fishy" in any way. A lot of students in the UK use it for visas to go backpacking in Australia where they have permission to work.
I used BUNAC to gain a work visa for Canada for example. A good number of Irish and British folks I met had gone to Canada on a BUNAC, been offered full time jobs and visa sponsorship and stayed.

The internship program is in fact one of many they offer, you can if you are under 30 apply for a 1 year work visa for example. The visa allows you to apply for most jobs in the host country.

I know a good 8 - 10 people who have used it and had a great time.

I agree on the cost of living in London though!