Recommendation for Prep courses

[pierreyvessojic]

Hello everyone,

I am currently a Bachelor's in Economics student and plan to apply to various financial programs in and outside the U.S. in January 2024. Even though I haven't made a definitive choice yet, here is a list of the programs I'm most probably going to apply:

• MFin Princeton
• MFin MIT
• MFE Columbia
• MAFN Columbia
• MSMF Chicago
• MSc Financial Economics Oxford

I am looking for recommendations regarding some prep courses I could take to strengthen my application and mathematical aptitudes. In order to give a better overview of my math background, here is a list of the math subjects I had exposure to:

- 2 semesters sequence of Calculus
- Multivariable calculus applied to microeconomics
- Tons of stats in econometrics and other stat courses. I am also a research assistant working on problems related to actuarial sciences.
- I had little (almost no) exposure to linear algebra
- The only programming language I had exposure to is R (mostly for stats/economics).

There are so many prep courses out there that I am a bit confused about which ones are relevant or not (and given the price of those, I would rather pay for one that is actually helpful). For example, I heard that the prep course from Chicago MSMF is basically only helpful if you plan to apply to that particular university. Is there any well-regarded prep course offered by a university that offers a certificate at the end that I could use to apply to all the universities mentioned? Given that I plan to apply in January 2024, the prep course should obviously take place before that.

Thank you!

 

[zephyrus]

What about Baruch Pre-MFE seminars?

 

[zhaox]

Similar background to you, currently an Econ & Philosophy major. Have similar university courses taken as you mentioned above, plus some philosophy of maths stuff (think advanced logic, set theory, not really relevant to FE tbh). Took Baruch Pre-MFE courses, and feel they are pretty well structured with experienced instructors.

Some other options include Berkeley MFE preparation courses and the prep course from Chicago MSMF you mentioned.

 

[NonTargetNerd]

Similar background to you, currently an Econ & Philosophy major. Have similar university courses taken as you mentioned above, plus some philosophy of maths stuff (think advanced logic, set theory, not really relevant to FE tbh). Took Baruch Pre-MFE courses, and feel they are pretty well structured with experienced instructors.

Some other options include Berkeley MFE preparation courses and the prep course from Chicago MSMF you mentioned.

I work and am based out of NYC, do you think Baruch Pre-MFE seminar would be the best bet for me?

I would rather go to Berkley/UChicago if granted the opportunity, should this be relevant to my decision?