Profile Evaluation - what are my safety school options?

[Anika]

Hello all,

I am in a bit of a dilemma. I did not do very well on the quant section of GRE.

My GRE scores are:
Quant: 155
Verbal: 193
Writing: 4

My background:
I majored in Finance at Rutgers for my undergrad with a 3.95/4.0 GPA. I worked for 2.5 years in valuation at a Big Four, then I worked for 2.5 years at a large investment bank doing product control for their counterparty credit risk group. While I was at the IB, I decided I wanted to quantitative modeling. I started taking math classes in evening. After doing that for a year or so, I realized that I had so many prereqs to complete that it would take years to finish the classes part-time. I took the plunge and left my job last summer to finish the prereqs in time to apply for fall 2014. I got mostly As in the prereqs except for one B+.

My plan is to apply to:
Columbia (Mathematics of Finance)
Rutgers
NYU
Fordham
Boston
NYU-Poly

I was going to apply to Baruch. But based on admissions statistics (6% acceptance), is it even worth my time?
Are any of the schools above even considered safety schools for me? What is a good safety school for me? Thanks in advance! I appreciate all and any advice!!!

 

[Dataminer]

Verbal score of 193? I thought the max you can get is 170.

 

[Anika]

opps I meant 164! It's the 93rd percentile.

 

[moretodo]

Give your GRE again

 

[Anika]

My GRE scores are:
Quant: 155
Verbal: 164
Writing: 4

 

[Andy Nguyen]

@Anika
@moretodo meant you should retake the GRE test again for better Q score.

 

[Anika]

What if I can't though? Some of the applications are due by the beginning of Feb. Also, I already applied to Boston and Rutgers.... I feel like the GRE quant score is an anomaly in my application.

 

[Anika]

Are there any other safety schools I can consider?

 

[pacman]

Master's of Science in English

 

[Anika]

That is obviously not the degree I am trying to pursue. I am asking for constructive feedback please. I have As in all my math courses, so the score is not indicative of my mathematical abilities. It is an outlier. Is this the right place to come for constructive feedback or will I just be mocked?

 

[IntoDarkness]

honestly, for ur case, its probably not a good idea to have "safety schools" but rather "floor schools" that u will actually wana go if ur dream school admission never comes

 

[Anika]

honestly, for ur case, its probably not a good idea to have "safety schools" but rather "floor schools" that u will actually wana go if ur dream school admission never comes

and what are these floor schools?

 

[Dataminer]

and what are these floor schools?

This is probably a bad advise, but Rutgers allows students who are enrolled in other MS programs to get 2nd MS in other departments...so I guess you could try that route as a "floor". Apply to other "quanty" program at Rutgers and Apply to MSMF as a current student in case you don't get into any other program.

There's a guy here whose kinda done that. You can look at his posts.
https://www.quantnet.com/members/minsuk-chang.15226/

 

[moretodo]

Retake your GRE and apply to Tier 1 schools. Your definitely under shooting!

 

[Anika]

Thank you @Dataminer and @moretodo . My first choice is Rutgers. I went there for my undergrad and really loved it. I'm going to see if I can meet with an admissions counselor there.

 

[Dataminer]

Just keep in mind that what I've told you about doing 2nd MS in MSMF is not a guarantee. Although misuk told me that it's almost a guarantee, ( cause the school can make more money...)

http://www.finmath.rutgers.edu/index.php?d=admissions&p=phdandmsmfseconddegree
For current graduate students not in MSMF.

 

[Jedison]

Retake your GRE's even if it means applying next year (though for Columbia MathFin I know you have time). You have a excellent background, don't let 40 brain teasers keep you out of a top program.

 

[Dhananjai Kalyanraman]

My GRE : 314 (165 Q , 149 V, AWA 3) ,
TOEFL: 97
CGPA : 7.8 (Btech Computer Science)
CFA Level 1 Candidate

Applied to :
1. RIT Ms finance ( got admit)
2. IIT C Ms finance ( got admit)
3. NYU Poly Ms financial Engineering
4. Boston College MSQF

Have I chosen the right universities??? Please guide.

 

[Faisal]

Master's of Science in English

I do not understand why some members on this forum become so hawkish when it comes to GRE score. For aspiring quants, it is surprising to note the importance they attach on a trivial exam which has no correlation to your ability to do mathematics. Most decent programs also require a resume as a part of your application which is probably given a cursory glance like that of a job applicant applying online. A good background and experience should be sufficient to hold on to the applicant. Programs probably value a candidate's strength of experience a hundred times more than their weakness in a stupid exam over the course of three hours.

 

[Jedison]

I do not understand why some members on this forum become so hawkish when it comes to GRE score. For aspiring quants, it is surprising to note the importance they attach on a trivial exam which has no correlation to your ability to do mathematics. Most decent programs also require a resume as a part of your application which is probably given a cursory glance like that of a job applicant applying online. A good background and experience should be sufficient to hold on to the applicant. Programs probably value a candidate's strength of experience a hundred times more than their weakness in a stupid exam over the course of three hours.

I agree in the sense that your gre quant score isn't a great measure of ones mathematical ability. For someone with a quant background it's more a test of concentration and attention to detail as none of the problems pose any difficulty when time isn't a factor. Coming from a finance background, however, I think the score is more important. Admissions officers don't have much proof that you're good at math. Moreover, for competitive programs a low gre score is any easy way decide between the many well qualified applicants.