Profile evaluation and general advice

[HopefulAspirant]

Hi all,

I'm an Indian engineering undergrad looking to get into an MSF/MSFE program in 2018 (or perhaps even after that, if that would improve my chances) in either the US or the UK. Ending up in PM/Consulting/Equity Research (in that order) would be great but I'm not completely averse to other options either. However, I'd probably like to come back to India after working for 4-6 years.

I'm from a top school with a really low acceptance rate (and one of the few schools from which MIT takes students almost every year for their MFin - a program that I'd really love to get accepted into).

I'll finish with a GPA of 7.9/10 but my Mechanical Engineering major GPA would be 8.7/10 (It's an MSc Chemistry + B.E. Mechanical dual degree course). The GPA in my last 4 semesters would be >9/10 - a significant uptrend.

Here are the other points on my profile:

1) An A+ in LSE's Summer School (Options, Futures and other Fin. Derivatives) - one of only 3 students to do so
2) 4-6 week internships in (a) Equity Research (b) Asset Management (c) FO boutique IB firms that are well known in India
3) A one year full time internship (with really great work and a good profile) at a well known American Index provider - which would most likely convert to a full time position in the next six months (P.S. the job requires technical proficiency in SQL and Python)
4) A research paper on Portfolio Optimization (with some C++ coding involved) which would likely make it to an international journal (if not, a domestic one) with an impact factor of ~3
5) A 1st place finish in one of Asia's largest college tech fests for a project on wealth management
6) A 1st place finish in India and 26th overall in the BNP Paribas Ace Manager competition, 2015
7) Editor of the college's Fin magazine and managed the college's finance club's investment fund
8) University level and district level Table tennis player and I've dabbled in social work
9) Gave my CFA Lv. 1 examination this December and I'll give my Lv. 2 exam in June 2017 (provided I pass Lv. 1)
10) I'll probably be doing Berkeley's pre-program MFE courses in the coming 3 months

I plan to give my GRE/GMAT in August 2017. (I'm leaning towards GRE; would GMAT make more sense?)

What are the universities that I should be considering and where would I be competitive? Also, since I have a year before I'm done applying for these programs, is there anything else that I can do to improve my chances at top programs?

Thanks in advance!

 

[HopefulAspirant]

@Philip_Mitterrand,

Apologies for the intrusive tagging, but .. any opinions? I'd really appreciate any sort of insights that you could provide.

Thanks!

 

[Philip_Mitterrand]

You are in good stead but why would you need back to back education if you can get into the desired role with present qualifications? MS/MFE are professional courses with job as the end game and it's not a trophy collection exercise.

 

[HopefulAspirant]

Thanks for the reply, Philip!

So, the aim is to move and work in the US though (For at least 4-5 years, before I think about moving back to India). It's something that I believe would broaden my horizons immeasurably.

And it's not just about the work environment, but also about the education system in the US which is so vastly different from what we're used to here. It's something that I really want to experience.

The issue with wanting to come back to India sometime though, is that you need a really strong brand name to make it work here. Which may limit my options.

MIT is the dream but I lack conviction because of my CGPA. I'm silently hoping that the upward curve, the major GPA and the college name pull me through. Somehow.

What are the other universities I should be considering, keeping everything in mind? MFE programs, MSF programs in the UK/Europe?

 

[Philip_Mitterrand]

The margin for error is much much smaller in UK/Europe due to stricter immigration. You are a shoe in at most top places and I would utilize two admission cycles to spread my bets. Admits are a function of the overall applicant pool which is seasonal and not just not just how well prepared you think you are.

Thanks for the reply, Philip!

So, the aim is to move and work in the US though (For at least 4-5 years, before I think about moving back to India). It's something that I believe would broaden my horizons immeasurably.

And it's not just about the work environment, but also about the education system in the US which is so vastly different from what we're used to here. It's something that I really want to experience.

The issue with wanting to come back to India sometime though, is that you need a really strong brand name to make it work here. Which may limit my options.

MIT is the dream but I lack conviction because of my CGPA. I'm silently hoping that the upward curve, the major GPA and the college name pull me through. Somehow.

What are the other universities I should be considering, keeping everything in mind? MFE programs, MSF programs in the UK/Europe?

 

[HopefulAspirant]

Thanks for all the help! And extremely sorry about all the follow-up questions that follow but I'm pretty clueless about the whole thing and this is my only source of help/info as of now.

1) Is the stricter immigration less of a problem with top Europe programs such as LBS/Oxford/HEC? Or does that really not make a difference?

2) Where do MFE programs fit into the scheme of things and is my profile suitable to top MFE programs as well?

Do MFE students place into PM/Consulting/ER at all? And if they don't, how good are the chances of transitioning into those roles sometime later in one's career?

3) About the two admission cycles - if I do wait till 2019, I'd have 2 years of work-ex following the 1 year full time internship as an analyst (at the American Index provider) and a combined ~6 months at all the other places I mentioned in the initial post. Is that more than what MFin programs consider ideal?

And would considering MBA programs be more meaningful then? Not sure if my profile would be suitable to them, though. Plus top MBA programs would be so much tougher to get into, correct?

 

[Philip_Mitterrand]

1. Oxford MSCF is a Quant program. LBS/HEC is not.

2. If you don't enjoy Math/computation day in/day out MFE is not the right degree. If you already have thoughts about shifting track better yet focus on semi quant programs (w high brand value) or maybe finance leaning mba like chicago booth. You need to work for a stretch to know your calling than following some typecasted path. 2017/18 two admission cycles.

Thanks for all the help! And extremely sorry about all the follow-up questions that follow but I'm pretty clueless about the whole thing and this is my only source of help/info as of now.

1) Is the stricter immigration less of a problem with top Europe programs such as LBS/Oxford/HEC? Or does that really not make a difference?

2) Where do MFE programs fit into the scheme of things and is my profile suitable to top MFE programs as well?

Do MFE students place into PM/Consulting/ER at all? And if they don't, how good are the chances of transitioning into those roles sometime later in one's career?

3) About the two admission cycles - if I do wait till 2019, I'd have 2 years of work-ex following the 1 year full time internship as an analyst (at the American Index provider) and a combined ~6 months at all the other places I mentioned in the initial post. Is that more than what MFin programs consider ideal?

And would considering MBA programs be more meaningful then? Not sure if my profile would be suitable to them, though. Plus top MBA programs would be so much tougher to get into, correct?

 

[HopefulAspirant]

Amn't I too late for 2017?

Or do you mean applying in late 2017 for admission during the 2018 fall session?

 

[Philip_Mitterrand]

if you cant figure out these elementary details by yourself then you are just too stupid even to be admitted to a quant program

Amn't I too late for 2017?

Or do you mean applying in late 2017 for admission during the 2018 fall session?

 

[HopefulAspirant]

Appreciate all the help. Thanks for everything!

 

[Maharsh]

Hi,
I am thinking of applying for MFE program.
So, i have done my undergraduate degree in Commerce( B.Com) from University of Mumbai with a major in accounting and my GPA was 5.5/7 . I have passed 4 papers of Actuarial science from Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, UK. These Include:
CT-1: Financial Mathematics( SoA paper:Exam FM)
CT-2: Corporate Finance(SoA Paper: VEE-Corporate Finance)
CT-3: Probability and Mathematical Statistics(SoA Paper : Exam P)
CT-7: Business Economics(SoA Paper: VEE-Economics)
I gave my CFA level 1 this december.
And i have a 1 year work experience in Accounting.
GMAT Score : Q 48 , V 28 , Total :630
Please suggest me some MFE programs in US in which i can get into given my profile.