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Series Exams

Joined
7/28/08
Messages
9
Points
11
Are series exams a good application booster? I have a friend who is a finance major (no intentions on fin engineering) and he's doing them. They seem like a good thing to put down, but do they help?
 
If you want to get into quant work, I don't think it helps. I looked at the material for Series 7 before and it looked so easy compared to CFA, grad classes, etc. Plus, I thought you needed company sponsorship to do it anyway.
 
To get Series 7 you need to be sponsored by brokerage company I believe. So, in this case you will have relevant working experience in finance which helps to improve your application. Series 7 itself won't give you much credit.
 
I had another question and instead of starting a new thread, I'll just post it here!

How much does it hurt when applying straight from undergrad with no work/internship experience?

Schools I'd like to consider are: Baruch College, Columbia University, New York University, Princeton University, Cornell University, Stanford University.
 
That in itself will not disqualify you assuming you meet all the prerequisites.
You then will have to compete head to head with those "undergrad with no work/internship experience". If you have better GPA/GRE/recommendation/essay, you will come out better.
That said, you will always compete with people better than you. It depends on how you present/sale yourself/your strengths.
It will be very difficult to get into the programs you mentioned next year.
 
That is one of many reasons. When recession comes, people go back to school. It's well documented. That applies to all field, not MFE.
Admission to top MFE programs has always been tough, more so now than ever.
The Baruch MFE program admitted only 11% of all candidates this year and I will not be surprised if the acceptance rate is in single digit next year.
To put it in perspective, among the programs you listed, Baruch is the youngest. It graduated the first students in 2003-2004.
If I were you, I would also apply to the less competitive programs. The complete list of those is in the wiki at www.quantnet.com/wiki
 
Well wouldn't it show interest in the industry ? I hear people say that all the time. There's nothing more practical then a S7 in this perspective. Plus it will definitely help land a job in the future. Not everyone that finishes MFE goes into a trading desk, sometimes you need to go around it .... operations, middle office etc. S7,3,55 etc will definitely be very helpful.

Be advised that if you have no experience S7 exam is really hard, in the sense that you have to memorize everything out of the book and that becomes hard if you're not "practicing" the material every day at work.
 
It may show interest but the belief is you need to be sponsored by a company in order to take it:

How do I receive sponsorship from a member firm...?

I agree that any certification you can take "shows interest". Whether or not they turn out to be a waste of time is the real question. But if you're willing to take that chance, then go for it. It can hurt.
 
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