Profile Review for 2027 MFE Programs

[vamthem]

Educational Background
Economics Major at Top 5 IIT (GPA 3.5-3.6/ Minor in Mathematics and Computing with 3.5 GPA )
Have complete Prob&Stats course 9/10 Calculus and Linear Algebra (10/10) Algorithms (8/10)
Have a also taken some AI/ML courses (average GPA 3.5/4)
Have complete CFA L-1/FRM Part-1


Standardized Exams:
Have given GMAT (1st attempt looking to improve to 99%ile and Q90) : 695 (98%ile) Q87 (94%ile) IR 84 (90%ile)
Will give GRE and am Expecting similar results.

Internship/Work Experience:
Have interned at an Indian AMC (Credit Analysis/ Corporate Finance)
Will join one of top Global Asset Managers (expecting to work some years) as Financial Engineer (Role will mostly involve modeling & portfolio optimization)

College Projects:
Have Self Projects on Deep Reinforcement Learning & Portfolio Optimization / Technical Trading
Am expecting to get 1 LOR from college prof under whose guidance I have complete these projects

Planned Courses:
Stochastic Calculus (need recommendation for courses)
Real Analysis (need recommendation for courses)
Advanced Linear Algebra/Numerical Analysis (need recommendation for courses)
Should I pursue a C++ course given that in my job I will mostly be using Python?

I am looking to enhance my profile for a Top-tier MFE (Top 10 in US and Top - 3 in UK) program after which I am looking to work for Hedge Funds as Quant Trader.


Thanks in advance for the feedback!

 

[arohan]

Looks good. Give the GRE instead of GMAT. A lot of schools do not accept the GMAT. You really just need to focus on your LoRs and SoPs/Essays. I don’t think a C++ course is of much use unless you plan on going into HFT.

As for your career goals on ‘looking to work for Hedge Funds as Quant Trader’, I’d recommend working on that a little. First off ‘Quant Trader’ isn’t really a very common ‘hedge fund’ role. Very few hedge funds have QTs on investment teams, it’s mostly execution trading at hedge funds. Secondly, MFEs very rarely place in hedge funds and trading shops. So, on your application, mention some other, more reasonable, career goals as well (buyside QR/sell-side strat etc.).

 

[vamthem]

Looks good. Give the GRE instead of GMAT. A lot of schools do not accept the GMAT. You really just need to focus on your LoRs and SoPs/Essays. I don’t think a C++ course is of much use unless you plan on going into HFT.

As for your career goals on ‘looking to work for Hedge Funds as Quant Trader’, I’d recommend working on that a little. First off ‘Quant Trader’ isn’t really a very common ‘hedge fund’ role. Very few hedge funds have QTs on investment teams, it’s mostly execution trading at hedge funds. Secondly, MFEs very rarely place in hedge funds and trading shops. So, on your application, mention some other, more reasonable, career goals as well (buyside QR/sell-side strat etc.).

Hi, thanks for reply. Can you suggest some courses as well.

 

[arohan]

Hi, thanks for reply. Can you suggest some courses as well.

I do not think you particularly need to do any courses. You seem to have a strong enough mathematical background and ‘courses’ won’t improve your profile or make you a more competitive candidate than you already are. Go through this once and see if you’re comfortable with everything mentioned here: Prerequisites | Master of Financial Engineering | Berkeley Haas. If not, then I’d suggest read up on the topics you don’t feel comfortable with.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

My suggestion is to deep research on top programs. Even top 10 US programs may have different characteristics in job outcomes, admission profiles. Applying without knowing all these facts and then getting into the wrong is one of the most common mistakes I've seen over the years.
Finding a match between you and a program is a process executed by both sides. The programs will not admit you if your career goal after the program is not something they train you for or have success placing in.

Everything else is just procedural and you can learn how to perfect the craft. Things such as how to write convincing SOP, preparing for interviews, etc are mentioned here thousands of times. There are dedicated application discussions for most programs that you can join once you apply.

 

[vamthem]

I do not think you particularly need to do any courses. You seem to have a strong enough mathematical background and ‘courses’ won’t improve your profile or make you a more competitive candidate than you already are. Go through this once and see if you’re comfortable with everything mentioned here: Prerequisites | Master of Financial Engineering | Berkeley Haas. If not, then I’d suggest read up on the topics you don’t feel comfortable with.

Are there some refreshers which can help me revise through Calculus, PDE and Numerical Analysis parts.

 

[vamthem]

My suggestion is to deep research on top programs. Even top 10 US programs may have different characteristics in job outcomes, admission profiles. Applying without knowing all these facts and then getting into the wrong is one of the most common mistakes I've seen over the years.
Finding a match between you and a program is a process executed by both sides. The programs will not admit you if your career goal after the program is not something they train you for or have success placing in.

Everything else is just procedural and you can learn how to perfect the craft. Things such as how to write convincing SOP, preparing for interviews, etc are mentioned here thousands of times. There are dedicated application discussions for most programs that you can join once you apply.

Thanks will look in to it. Should I connect with alums to get more details at this stage or look into the brochures more. What will be your recommendation?

 

[arohan]

Are there some refreshers which can help me revise through Calculus, PDE and Numerical Analysis parts.

I would recommend using your course books and/or any other reference books you find on these topics. Just go through the Berkeley pre-req list. Read up and refresh the specific topics mentioned.

Thanks will look in to it. Should I connect with alums to get more details at this stage or look into the brochures more. What will be your recommendation?

Both. Brochures are a good place to start. But for most programs, they gloss over important distinctions (e.g. quantitative researcher building platform analytics for the investment team at a hedge fund isnt the same as a quantitative researcher building alpha models. Odds are, both will be classified as ‘hedge fund QR’ in most brochures). Alumni can certainly give you a more detailed insights. Also, when evaluating programs based on your career goals, there are two important aspects 1) the outcomes program produces 2) Your own assessment of your capabilities. Recruiting starts even before you start your program and the program itself is only a slight improvement of your profile and the interview calls you get will depend heavily on your existing profile. Be very mindful of this when you set your career expectations. If I were to comment, based on what you have shared about your profile, I’d say set your expectations as landing a front office QR role at an AMC as a realistic target while hedge funds as an ambitious target for your profile. Even this is quite ambitious given the outcomes of most MFE programs but, given your background, it would make sense to put on your SoP. Once you’ve set your expectations then shortlist programs which align with these expectations the most.