Baruch MFE Baruch Pre-MFE Questions...

[gpunukol]

Hi everyone,

I was doing some research on the Baruch pre-MFE program (Registration opens up in a few days) and had a few questions I was hoping someone might be able to answer.

1. What are the general requirements of the program? I read somewhere that only about 50% of the applicants for the spring batch were accepted and was wondering on what grounds people are rejected.

2. Are these seminars sufficient for proving ability for MFE applications? I'm an economics major with a computer science minor and I did not pursue mathematics as diligently as I ought to have during college. After spending a couple years in working I think pursuing an MFE (maybe in conjunction with an MBA) will be helpful in moving to the areas of finance I find most interesting. As it stands I'm never going to be able to go back and become an engineer or physics major and was hoping that the pre-MFE courses (calculus, prob stat, and linear algebra) would give me the mathematics and, to a lesser extent, C++ credentials to pursue a financial engineering or financial maths degree at a top institution (Baruch, Columbia, NYU).

3. Are there alternatives to these programs that may provide better academics or better value for money? The course curriculum and cost seem pretty good so I'm not too worried. I'm just wondering if there is something out there that I may have missed.

 

[jzavala]

Hi, if you do a search (maybe for for math courses) you'll find the math courses suggested for admission. In addition, if you search different programs (UCB, Columbia, NYU, UCLA, etc.) they normally give a list of courses they feel are more or less required for admissions. It always says recommended but from this forum, you can deduce that these classes are pretty much mandatory.

 

[nociton]

I am also interested in this topic. I am looking to apply to MFEs this year straight from an unknown undergrad. How is this program looked upon when applying to MFEs and what advantages might it have in my applications.

 

[Devdeep]

I am also interested in this topic. I am looking to apply to MFEs this year straight from an unknown undergrad. How is this program looked upon when applying to MFEs and what advantages might it have in my applications.

A) You will learn a lot of stuff required for MFEs

B) The admissions committee will see that you are genuinely interested and tried to do everything you could

C) If Baruch is your target MFE school as well... then I would definitely take these and score A's...

I believe rajanS will be able to provide more insight...

 

[dstefan]

Hi everyone,

I was doing some research on the Baruch pre-MFE program (Registration opens up in a few days) and had a few questions I was hoping someone might be able to answer.

1. What are the general requirements of the program? I read somewhere that only about 50% of the applicants for the spring batch were accepted and was wondering on what grounds people are rejected.

As seating is limited, taking the seminar should be in line with our short term goals - which could be either applying in the future for graduate MFE programs, or improving in an area that would improve your on the job performance.

Registration Process:
To apply for enrollment, send an email to baruch.mfe@gmail.com with the following documents:
- a current version of your resume
- a one page statement detailing your career and educational goals, as well as how does taking seminars in the Pre-MFE Program align with those goals
- indicate which seminar(s) you intend to register for
If approved for enrollment, you will be contacted via email within a week of submission of the documents above with further information.

2. Are these seminars sufficient for proving ability for MFE applications? I'm an economics major with a computer science minor and I did not pursue mathematics as diligently as I ought to have during college. After spending a couple years in working I think pursuing an MFE (maybe in conjunction with an MBA) will be helpful in moving to the areas of finance I find most interesting. As it stands I'm never going to be able to go back and become an engineer or physics major and was hoping that the pre-MFE courses (calculus, prob stat, and linear algebra) would give me the mathematics and, to a lesser extent, C++ credentials to pursue a financial engineering or financial maths degree at a top institution (Baruch, Columbia, NYU).

The Pre-MFE seminars cover boh mathematics and financial applications. Successful completion certifies that you have strong background knowledge, and will be a competent student. Letters of recommendations are provided upon request.

3. Are there alternatives to these programs that may provide better academics or better value for money? The course curriculum and cost seem pretty good so I'm not too worried. I'm just wondering if there is something out there that I may have missed.

The lending of math and finance in the seminars ensures that you will learn in-depth exactly the topics hat are most used in practice, and which are most likely to be needed in your future education as well.

Good luck.

 

[rajanS]

I am also interested in this topic. I am looking to apply to MFEs this year straight from an unknown undergrad. How is this program looked upon when applying to MFEs and what advantages might it have in my applications.

Generally, regardless what school you came from, the admissions department will interview you and access your knowledge. Also, if you are planning on taking the pre-MFE program at Baruch, you should make sure to allocate enough time to successfully complete the program. I have seen few people who sign up and finally drop the program due to the rigor of the course work. Read the cirrriculum carefully and see if its for you. Every week, you will be given homeworks that are due the following week comprised of mainly 10 questions with a mix of programming, mathematics and finance. Also, the ACFE seminar covers a chapter per week so you should be on top of your reading. Each seminar covers about 20 pages of reading per week followed by homeworks. Students interact on a private forum on quantnet which stimulates the learning environment and allows students to share their ideas and ask questions which are promptly answered by the TAs and the professors themselves. You will come out learning a lot from the certification program. I wish i could redo the preMFE seminars all over again but it was very fun. I believe by doing exceptionally well, the admissions committee can gauge your performance and determine whether you will be a successful candidate, not only in the program, but also in the workforce. Good luck...