Profile Evaluation for MFE 2023

[pranayranka]

Hi All!
Please help me evaluate my profile for MFE fall 2023. I did not do well academically in my undergraduate degree. But the degree itself is aligned from the pre requisite point of view. I also have solid work experience required for eligibility to MFE programs. Listing the details below.
Goal:
Become a Quantitative Trader with a Prop Trading Firm.

Academic Details:
1. Dual Degree with a B.E. in Electronics Engineering + MSc. in Mathematics from BITS Pilani. (tier 1 college in India). Graduated in 2021 with CGPA 6.4/10. Second Division.
2. My curriculum was heavy on probability, statistics, numerical methods, advanced calculus, pure mathematics, abstract algebra, linear/non linear optimization etc.
3. Scored a C, or a C- in all above courses.
3. Had a C Programming course in College. Scored a B there.
4. Absolutely did not study in college because I was busy with Quant finance extra-curricular stuff all throughout.
5. Haven't given GRE, but you can safely assume (for the sake of this discussion) that I will hit a 170 in Quant and 165 in Verbal.
6. Will receive 2 strong LORs from professors wrt Mathematical acumen and English acumen, and 1 LOR from my current employer at Alphagrep.

Professional Details:
1. Quantitative Developer/Researcher at Alphagrep Securities. One of the top prop trading firms in Asia. 1 year. (will be 2 years by the time I apply for the fall programs. (skills: C++, bash, Python)
2. ML Engineer at a Biometrics Startup. (1 year). Primary Focus: writing low latency code for mobile application, train and integrate models into the app, etc. (skills: python, TensorFlow, C++, Java, Kotlin)
3. Research Consultant at WorldQuant LLC. (2 years). Focus: Write high sharpe, low turnover algorithms for US, Asia and European markets.
4. Product Developer at an Indian Wealth Management Firm. Focus: Developed and curated entire Portfolio Optimization software for the firm in C#
5. Have really strong C++, Python, SQL production development knowledge.

MS Goals: Basically the below list of colleges in no order of priority.
1. MFE at Baruch
2. MSCF at CMU
3. MFE at UCB
4. MF at Princeton
5. MFM at UChicago
6. MFE Cornell.

PS: I know the GPA requisite will mostly kill all my masters prospects, but I am hoping to see if there is any way I could increase my chances.
Please tell me about my chances in any of these programs, and if there is anything I could do to improve my chances. Also, please tell me if you feel I should drop my dreams for Masters given my low GPA.

Thanks,

 

[LeFed]

don't drop your dream of a masters, just apply to some other programs because the the ones you mention are definitely ambitious given your cgpa and your grades in the relevant courses

apply to the next tier of programs, you might have a shot given the decent work experience

 

[SD_]

You have very good experience and can apply to the top universities highlighting the reasons of your low GPA during your undergrad in the essays. (UCB, Columbia, etc..)

Some universities, however, are very strict on their GPA thresholds. Not sure, but I think CMU and Princeton will fall in this category. But if I were you I would give it a shot!

 

[pranayranka]

You have very good experience and can apply to the top universities highlighting the reasons of your low GPA during your undergrad in the essays. (UCB, Columbia, etc..)

Some universities, however, are very strict on their GPA thresholds. Not sure, but I think CMU and Princeton will fall in this category. But if I were you I would give it a shot!

Cool, so I can drop CMU, Princeton. I primarily want UCLA or UCB. Do you think doing certain paid college courses on the math/ stats side will recoup the lost influence of my undergrad courses?

 

[pranayranka]

don't drop your dream of a masters, just apply to some other programs because the the ones you mention are definitely ambitious given your cgpa and your grades in the relevant courses

apply to the next tier of programs, you might have a shot given the decent work experience

Yes, Applying for the next tier would be an option. But in the end it will always come down to GPA. As for dropping my dream of masters, well, I am already in the industry. If I want to do a MFE, I would rather do it from one of these unis, or not do it at all.

 

[SD_]

Cool, so I can drop CMU, Princeton. I primarily want UCLA or UCB. Do you think doing certain paid college courses on the math/ stats side will recoup the lost influence of my undergrad courses?

Yes, you can do some courses on PDE and linear algebra if you want. Considering that you already are working as a Quant researcher, I don’t think you need to complete these courses just to apply though.

Moreover, UCB has Pre-program courses on Math/Stats, and if they would think that you need some work done, on let’s say PDE or any other course in which you might have scored low during your undergrad, before starting those pre-program courses, they will ask it as a requirement in their checklist.

Don’t know anything about the UCLA’s program.