My Profile

[Soumya]

Hi all,

Just thought would break the ice with a profile introduction:

Education:
Undergrad: B.E (electrical and electronics), graduated 2004
Post grad: M.B.A (Finance - major, operations - minor), graduated 2006

Work-ex:
Goldman Sachs: Global Investment Research as a financial/ business analyst. We cover the medical devices sector. Work out of Bangalore (India), but currently in Boston.

I hope you guys are enjoying the extended winter/ undependable climate changes due to global warming! I for one am enjoying experiencing all seasons in the last couple of weeks!

Hoping to interact with you all in the near future

:smt024

ps: amusing smiley list!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

:smt024

ps: amusing smiley list!

Nice way to star a conversation
You'll be amazed with other stuff we have around here.

So you are gonna study full time at Baruch ? Working in Boston and studying in NYC are hard to do at the same time
So tell us what you like to get out of the Baruch MFE program ? What is your plan after Baruch ? And tell us a bit more about yourself.

 

[Soumya]

Well, more about me:

My undergrad was completed from Madras University, Chennai, India and my post grad from SIBM, Pune, India.My background involves science, engineering and finance, so I have had some kind of exposure to all these fields. I am really interested in mathematics, and I thought my MBA didn’t give too much emphasis on that. So while I was schooled in the business angle and broad financial theory and analysis, I wanted something a little more number oriented. I have had a strong academic background, topper in econometrics, amongst the top in all mathematics and operations research courses, 98% on my final year engineering project (used genetic algorithms to size transistors for electrical circuit, coded using C++, generated simulations using SPICE). I am also certified by National Stock Exchange (NSE) in derivatives, commodities and wholesale debt market (NCFM: NSE's certification in financial markets). I completed my summer internship (part of our MBA program) from Standard Chartered Bank, Mumbai, India and my current work involves valuation, modeling, conviction calls and writing and publishing notes/ comments, and involves a great deal of excel proficiency.

I am interested in financial engineering, and I believe that Baruch covers the academic and student aspect with relevant and tailor made courses, and deep involvement and autonomy of the students (in developing a forum with information, taking active interest in the future batches, encouraging discussions amongst members etc).

I am looking to pursue a career in structured finance, and possibly move into trading. More specifically, I am interested in F&O (derivative) markets.

I believe that its not just the courses that one studies, but also the people one studies with that enhances knowledge and learning, and urges someone to better themselves and achieve greater heights. Looking at the current batches, and the prospective one, im sure that this will never be found wanting at Baruch, because everyone is extremely qualified, motivated and talented.

 

[pardasani]

Very interesting background.... I also did my electrical engineering (including some spice/cadence) and I think it will help you a lot... Also I completely agree that this batch, and more so the coming batch is a bunch of really smart guys and you will learn a lot from them

If you have any questions :- quantnet is the place to ask them !!!!

 

[Soumya]

Thanks. I was wondering, what are student run/ driven activities besides obviously the quantnet initiative and possibly mentoring of incoming batches. I guess I am just trying to get a feel for the depth of involvement. Also wanted to know what exactly is the capstone project (unless its the same as the one in UPenn).

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Do you mean activities geared toward MFE students or general Baruch students ?

If the latter, then there are tons of activities, clubs, talks from CEOs, one scheduled on top of another. It's almost a shame that we never participate in any of them because of the time conflicts, limited time we have for the homework and such.

If you mean activities by Quant Network Club, then if you look under the Events forum here, those are the events organized by the club this semester. If you look on the Baruch Math Dept, you can see all the talks we had last semester. Time permitting, we have outdoor things like BBQ, trip to NYSE, etc

Most of the time, we went to a bar after class once a week.

Bottom line is you have way more activities than you have time for and when you have to decide between doing hw and others, I bet that you will chose to do your hw.

 

[Soumya]

I did mean activities geared towards MFE students, and I guess I was asking about inviting speakers, paper presentations etc (not social activities ). Are all the classes held in the evening? How does a typical day outline for you guys (say a mid-semester day, not a just-before-the-exams day)? Also, is there some way that college procures laptops for incoming students or do they have to have bought it before hand. Do the classrooms have wifi?
Thanks

 

[pardasani]

I did mean activities geared towards MFE students, and I guess I was asking about inviting speakers, paper presentations etc (not social activities ).

We indeed have a lot of invited speakers --- once every 2 weeks in general : I guess another advantage of being in the city.... The profile of speakers varies a lot, recently we had a commodities trader, a Bear Stearns HR and an invited Professor for eg

Are all the classes held in the evening?

Yes, all classes are held in the evening typically 6pm - 9 pm : I guess it has been done to accomodate our part time students as well..

How does a typical day outline for you guys (say a mid-semester day, not a just-before-the-exams day)?

Well I guess that depends on whether you are planning to take the course full time or part time...
If you are a full time student, I guess most of the mornings/ afternoons you would be working on your homeworks (probably in the quantnet lounge) and/or working on your student job... If you are regular through the Monday - Thrusday week then you mostly will get the weekends off...

Its more difficult if you take the course part time in which case its like weekdays mornings off to work, weekdays evening classes and weekends HW to do ..

Also, is there some way that college procures laptops for incoming students or do they have to have bought it before hand.

I am aware that one can borrow laptop at the library but its cumbersome as you have to renew it after every 3 hours and they must be used within the library building.... Also given the amount of programming/reading, etc we need to do sometimes I think its nice if you have a personal laptop...

Do the classrooms have wifi?
Thanks

Yes, the classrooms do have wifi

 

[woody]

Many of the talks are on Friday nights, since this is the only night without class. As a part-time student, I cannot easily go to any day-time events.

All my homework is usually finished Sunday night or the night before it's due since I can't work on it during the day. I take two classes and depending on how much reading I want to do, I spend 15-30 hours of study outside of class (I also read about 1/3 of the textbook before the semester begins). Some of the sharper students may need less time

 

[Soumya]

Sounds like you are managing quite effectively, your work, class and personal reading!

What is the mode of teaching: do students prepare for the class before it starts and basically spend the classroom session debating/ clearing doubts or problems, or are things taught from scratch?

With all these discussions, it almost makes me feel like im actually studying there. Thank you all for your patience.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

When you officially become a student in our program, you will be given full access to all of our course materials on this forum.

You are reading about 1/4 of the materials we have here. The other 3/4 are homework assignments, tons of discussion. We have more than 6000+ posts on QN and 4000+ posts are HW-related the last 1 year alone.

You will have access to courses syllabi, hw discussions from previous years, etc so it's up to you how to prepare for the course. If you have time, you can look at the syllabi and be proactive.
After the assignments posted on QN, our students go here and study together, get feedback from the TAs, professors, etc. This is quite a unique feature here at Baruch that everyone spends lot of time working together in class and online.
I personally couldn't imagine how we can survive without Quantnet. It's been really helpful in term of getting help from the teaching faculty and fellow students. I can only expect that the incoming students will take advantages of this and get more out of Quantnet than the current students already have.

Just wait till you become a student here, you will experience first hand the real community we have here on QN and at Baruch

 

[Soumya]

Hi

Hope you had a great easter weekend.

Just wanted to know how much the overall course would cost (tuition, down payment, books, stay etc)

Also, where do people find accomodation there? If im not wrong, the classes are situated pretty centrally in manhattan.

Thanks

 

[pardasani]

Hi

Hope you had a great easter weekend.

Just wanted to know how much the overall course would cost (tuition, down payment, books, stay etc)

The complete fees for the course is $6,100 per semester * 3 semesters ~ $18,500 (which as you may note is very less compared to other such programs)... Including books and laptop you can approximate it to be about $20,000...

The living/ stay costs preety much depend on how much you want to spend .... But I guess something like $1,000 per month give or take is a good estimate (specially if you are a full time student).....

Also, where do people find accomodation there? If im not wrong, the classes are situated pretty centrally in manhattan.

Thanks

Most of us live in the subrubs : queens, jersey city, etc.... because of the nice public transport system, the commute times are like 45 minutes door to door...

Just to add summer internship provide some relief in terms of expenses (and they look good on resume )... And since all the classes are evening classes you can always work during the school term

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Most of us live in the subrubs : queens, jersey city, etc.... because of the nice public transport system, the commute times are like 45 minutes door to door...

Just to add summer internship provide some relief in terms of expenses (and they look good on resume )... And since all the classes are evening classes you can always work during the school term

Sudanshu hit every questions correctly and nicely but I'd like to add a few more clarifications.
SP meant to say boroughs instead of suburbs
NYC has 5 boroughs and most of us lives in the other four (Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, State Island). There are only few lucky ones who live in Manhattan (and I'm sure they pay rent through their noses :D ). If you love the nightlife and can afford the rent, Manhattan is a terrific place to live.

There are others who live across the stateline in New Jersey. The commute for most of us is around 45m-1hour via subway, metro, path train. Baruch is located near main subway lines so it's very convinient. You will most likely rent in Queens or Brooklyn. Do some research on the neighborhood you want to live.

As SP pointed out, since classes start from 6-9pm you have the whole day to do whatever you want.

 

[Yuriy]

Some people, like me, travel 1h 45min (sometimes more) each way and I live in Brooklyn.

 

[Soumya]

Hey

Thanks a lot for throwing so much light on various subjects.

Just wanted to tell you all, that I am in ......

Guess we shall be meeting soon .... looking forward to it.

Thanks again

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Just wanted to tell you all, that I am in ......

Welcome onboard.
It's good to hear that you finally made up your mind. Get ready for an experience of a life time. (we call it Baruch MFE experience )

You should be emailing me your bio and picture shortly.