Need suggestions

[Shen Wenjie]

I am a 3rd year undergraduate student in University of Waterloo majored in Math Finance. My GPA is only 3.6 now and I think I will graduate with 3.7 which is still not competitive at all. I have one project with a topic of copulas modeling and two internships in RBC and TD investing groups. Any suggestions about program selecting? Should I get into another MS program like Statistics graduating with a high GPA and then apply for a master in quantative finance?

 

[MRoss]

Do not do a masters to get into another masters. That would be a glorious waste of time and money.

Smash the GREs. Do an extraordinary project. GPA is just one of many things the admissions departments look at.

I've coached many students for MFE admissions, most having GPAs around 3.6-3.7. All got accepted.

 

[Shen Wenjie]

Do not do a masters to get into another masters. That would be a glorious waste of time and money.

Smash the GREs. Do an extraordinary project. GPA is just one of many things the admissions departments look at.

I've coached many students for MFE admissions, most having GPAs around 3.6-3.7. All got accepted.

Forgot to mention I got V167 and Q166 with (3.5). Should I do more projects or internships? Suggestions about which school I should apply for?

 

[MRoss]

Forgot to mention I got V167 and Q166 with (3.5). Should I do more projects or internships? Suggestions about which school I should apply for?

Is 166 competitive? I'm not up to date with numbers but I imagine anything under than 170 isn't super competitive for a quant program. Can/would you retake?

For context: I retook my GREs back in 2011.

 

[Lukee]

Is 166 competitive? I'm not up to date with numbers but I imagine anything under than 170 isn't super competitive for a quant program. Can/would you retake?

For context: I retook my GREs back in 2011.

I have no idea if 166 is competitive or not but I do know that if you look at class profiles of top programs (CMU, UCB, Columbia MFE, etc.) the average GRE quant score seems to be around 168-169

 

[Shen Wenjie]

Is 166 competitive? I'm not up to date with numbers but I imagine anything under than 170 isn't super competitive for a quant program. Can/would you retake?

For context: I retook my GREs back in 2011.

Yeah I would retake if it would be helpful. BTW does the verbal and writing score matter?

 

[Shen Wenjie]

I have no idea if 166 is competitive or not but I do know that if you look at class profiles of top programs (CMU, UCB, Columbia MFE, etc.) the average GRE quant score seems to be around 168-169

Sadly, I just spent too much time on verbal part. I am sure I can get 170 after retaking.

 

[muahmad]

Sadly, I just spent too much time on verbal part. I am sure I can get 170 after retaking.

Are they still requiring GRE? Most schools have made it optional?

 

[Shen Wenjie]

Are they still requiring GRE? Most schools have made it optional?

They require it but my prof told me schools don’t care GRE as much as they did

 

[MRoss]

Some still require, some don't. But if your GPA isn't top notch, you'll need a killer GRE score to compensate.