Profile Evaluation for MFE 2025

[mudit]

I am a prospective MFE applicant from India, planning to enroll in Fall 2025. Before submitting my application, I am seeking advice on target schools and whether they align with my background and goals. I have reviewed profiles on Tracker and LinkedIn, but would appreciate a second opinion to ensure I’m on the right track.

Education:

• B.Tech in Computer Science from National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK), 2023 (Tier 1 college in India) GPA: 8.15/10
• Relevant Courses: Engineering Mathematics, Linear Algebra and Matrices, Probability Theory, and Applied Machine Learning, with an average of a grade 9/10 in the math courses.

Skills:

• Proficient in Python, C++, SQL, and machine learning models.
• Actively trading for the past 2-3 years, with a focus on quantitative strategies.

Internship/Work Experience:

• 1.5 years as a Software Engineer at Nutanix, focusing on backend systems and scalable infrastructure.
• Summer Analyst at Goldman Sachs, worked on refactoring the cards division.
• Junior Machine Learning Engineer at Omdena, worked on collaborative AI projects.

Additional Experience:

• Hackathon participation (HackVerse, Code For Good).
• Finance-related work at an NGO, managing chapter finances since past 3 years.

Standardized Scores:

• GMAT Focus: 695 (98th percentile). Q95 V76 DI96
• TOEFL: Planning to take.

Target Schools:

1. UC Berkeley MFE
2. CMU MSCF
3. Columbia MSFE
4. Georgia Tech QCF
5. Cornell CFEM
6. UCLA MFE
7. Oxford FinMath
8. EPFL MFE

I hope my list is well-balanced, but if there are other schools that might align with my background, please do suggest. Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for your time and help!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

You shared your background but not goals so impossible to know which may align with your goals.
You deliberately avoid Baruch and Princeton so it's safe to assume you don't believe you will get in those programs?

 

[mudit]

With a strong passion for math, algorithms and a few years of trading experience, I’m looking to deepen my financial knowledge and blend it with my technical and coding skills. My aim is to pivot into quantitative researcher roles, where I can build models for market analysis.

Yeah, as I lack any relevant finance prior experience, and even my cgpa isn't that attractive enough, I feel Baruch/Princeton/MIT are at a little stretch, better save my application fees. Do you think, I should try applying with my profile? @Andy Nguyen

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Quant Researcher roles are tough to crack right out of school. You are competing with PhDs. It may be attainable after a few years of relevant experience.
There are plenty of different roles for MFE graduates that people with your background can apply.
I know you will get 0% chance if you don't apply. If you have all the requirements at those programs, apply away.

 

[Itachi]

With a strong passion for math, algorithms and a few years of trading experience, I’m looking to deepen my financial knowledge and blend it with my technical and coding skills. My aim is to pivot into quantitative researcher roles, where I can build models for market analysis.

Yeah, as I lack any relevant finance prior experience, and even my cgpa isn't that attractive enough, I feel Baruch/Princeton/MIT are at a little stretch, better save my application fees. Do you think, I should try applying with my profile? @Andy Nguyen

As you interned at goldman and have ML work ex, I'd apply to those 3 as well if I were you.I think there have been multiple cases where ppl made into one of these 3 but were rejected from schools on your list(especially CMU,Oxford and columbia).

 

[mudit]

@Andy Nguyen @Itachi thanks for taking out time and reviewing my profile. Will definitely consider applying to the 3 colleges as well.

Do you think waiting out for a year, and completing CFA level 1 will give me better odds of getting into top programs, or my profile just as is good enough and will be able to get an admit into a few programs?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

If you can afford to wait another year to beef up your profile, it will give you better chance to get into top programs.
Do not waste time with CFA. It's not something as relevant to quant programs as they were many years ago.
Have a good plan with the extra time to tackle important topics.
Use this for inspiration

Baruch MFE Thread 'Feedback on plan for building profile for Baruch MFE Fall 2026?'

9/2/24

Hi everyone,

I posted here around a month ago, and have since put together a plan for the next year in order to bolster my application, as well as fill most of the quantitative holes from my undergrad degree. Any feedback/suggestions would be much appreciated!

A little background:
I graduated in 2021 with a BBA in Economics/Finance from Baruch College. My GPA was not good (~3.00), but I’ve since gained 3.5 years of experience in industry. My career so far has been in data engineering, software project management, and data science. I consider myself very proficient in Python, SQL...

• grxthy
• Replies: 8
• Forum: US Quant Programs

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