About Finance Certifications and improving my profile

[CHAITHANYA]

Hi,

I applied for Financial Engineering for Fall 2008 in Rutgers (MSMF), Columbia, University of Toronto and Nanyang. But I was offered admission only by the Rutgers University.

I have an undergraduation degree in Electronics and an experience of 2 years in computer engineering. My GRE and TOEFL scores are 1420 and 101. I also provided three good recommendation letters from my professors in college and manager in the present company.

I feel that, though i've got great interest in the field of finance and good understanding on its processes, lack of real-time experience or absence of a Finance Certification on my profile has greatly reduced the possibility of my getting admission in good universities. I think experience and certifications in the related field play a key role in conveying to the colleges the message that one is very much interested in the course and can excel in the field.

So, before applying again for fall 2009, I'm planning to do a finance certification and what i have in my mind are PRMIA, FRM and also CFA.

Please suggest me the certification that best suits my situation now. Any advice about the certificatons or for improvement of my profile is very much welcome.

Thanks a lot.

 

[MikeK]

Note that the CFA is a 3-year test. Regardless, I think there are other ways to improve your candidacy. Personally, I'd take some financial math classes as a non-credit student to get some more exposure to the subject matter. Not only is it beneficial for you, but it shows graduate admissions boards that you are dedicated to improving yourself. At the very least, take all of the prereqs--linear algebra, probability theory, multivariable calculus--if you haven't already.

What was the breakdown of your GRE scores? Verbal doesn't really matter at all. If it was low, it may be worthwhile to take it again.

 

[curioUno]

hi,

If there are no financial classes that you could take nearby -- try working in software companies that develop financial software. Also, you could read a few good books/pulications and write your analysis in the SOP. Basic thing is you need to show more that an average level of interest in the field.

 

[fatboyslim]

why spend time doing financial certifications instead of going to Rutgers...

 

[CHAITHANYA]

Note that the CFA is a 3-year test. Regardless, I think there are other ways to improve your candidacy. Personally, I'd take some financial math classes as a non-credit student to get some more exposure to the subject matter. Not only is it beneficial for you, but it shows graduate admissions boards that you are dedicated to improving yourself. At the very least, take all of the prereqs--linear algebra, probability theory, multivariable calculus--if you haven't already.

What was the breakdown of your GRE scores? Verbal doesn't really matter at all. If it was low, it may be worthwhile to take it again.

Thanks for your suggestion.

Almost all of the prereqs like Linear Algebra, Probability theory, etc i have covered as part of my Engineering curriculum and clearly showed that in my application to the colleges.

Please tell me how to join as a non-credit student in finanical math classes (I do not live in the US and can apply for a US student visa only on producing the I20 from a college). Please elaborate on this.

And about Finance certifications, i'm looking at PRMIA as the one which can improve my profile. I am also looking forward to join in a Financial Services company upon getting a certificate from PRMIA- the work experience in a finance company can really help me a lot. Please tell me to how extent PRMIA certificate will be useful for a software engineer for 2 years to find a job in finance field.

Finally, my individual GRE scores are: Verbal- 640 and Quant- 780.