Profile Evaluation: Already an Engineer with MBA-Finance Degree

[Sneha Reddy]

Hi,

I am interested in taking FM/FE/QF degree in USA. Kindly evaluate my profile and suggest colleges for which I could apply.Some might be wondering why I am taking up this course after MBA.There are to reasons for that
1. Planning to shift to USA and make career in this field.
2.My personal interest in Quant Fin

My profile:
Undergrad : B.Tech (ICT) ,DA-IICT (Among Top 20 Colleges India) 8.6/10
Masters : MBA-Finance ,NMIMS( Top 15 Colleges in India) 2.96/4

GRE Score : 1380/1600 (800-Quant,580-English,AWA Score -4)

Summer Internship : Algorithm Trading in Startup firm in Mumbai(2 months)
Implemented Sector Rotation Trading algorithms in MATLAB.

After MBA,I am currently working as a Management Trainee from past 6 months in a local firm.

Relevant Courses completed in Undergrad: Discrete Mathematics,Calculus,Basic Statistics,Intro to programming in C, Object Oriented Programming(Java)
Elective Courses completed in MBA: Econometrics,Intro to Quantitative Techniques,Statistics(Hypothesis Testing),Derivatives,Fixed Income Securities

Programming Skills : C, Java, Matlab,C#

Which Colleges should I apply for?

 

[moretodo]

Columbia MFE/MAFN/IEOR would be your best bet in my opinion! Also, you may wish to consider doing a MS in Comp Sci and trying to get a job in Quantitative Finance.

 

[Sneha Reddy]

I felt Columbia would be ambitious for me. I have noticed most students from India come from IITs .
I have shortlisted some based on the reviews on Quantnet and looking at the univ websites.
NYU MF
NYU-Poly FE
UMinnesota MFM
GIT,Atlanta MQCF
Rutgers MF
What would be my other safe options?

 

[Sneha Reddy]

@moretodo Waiting for your insights

 

[moretodo]

Well they do admit non IITians as well as long as they have relvant work experience which I think you have. Also, the admission selectivity for the MAFN and IEOR is lower than that of the MFE program. NYU MF is significantly more selective than Columbia MFE. If I were you, Id apply to both Columbia MFE and Columbia MAFN

 

[David C.]

I'm not sure if it's easier to get into the MAFN program than the MFE. Most people only apply to one program at the university. In terms of content, I think the MFE is more practical. If you want to really get into the rigorous aspects of probability theory (e.g. measure theory, continuous-time Markov Chains, etc.), you would be a better fit for the mathematics department at Columbia. They have world-class probability researchers like Karatzas teaching graduate Real Analysis. Almost everyone in the class is a PhD student (or a French student in MAFN), so there are some really smart people.