Can I make to a Quants program?

[Quasar Chunawala]

Hi all,

I am Quasar and I hail from Mumbai. I have five years of work-ex as an IT programmer. For the last two years, I have worked for BNY Mellon - on a money markets fund application. I am fond of coding.

While at it, I formed a genuine passion for finance and the markets. I passed my CFA Level I, and I am preparing to take CFA Level II, this June. I am doing the necessary pre-requisites; brushing up my college math - calculus, probability and measure theory, statistics skills; some general finance reading - derivatives by Hull. I am also taking online courses on R and statistical programming.

I am interested to apply for MSFE courses in the US.
I want to understand if I can make a strong case, for myself. Any insight and experience would be of great help.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Hi all,

I am Quasar and I hail from Mumbai. I have five years of work-ex as an IT programmer. For the last two years, I have worked for BNY Mellon - on a money markets fund application. I am fond of coding.

While at it, I formed a genuine passion for finance and the markets. I passed my CFA Level I, and I am preparing to take CFA Level II, this June. I am doing the necessary pre-requisites; brushing up my college math - calculus, probability and measure theory, statistics skills; some general finance reading - derivatives by Hull. I am also taking online courses on R and statistical programming.

I am interested to apply for MSFE courses in the US.
I want to understand if I can make a strong case, for myself. Any insight and experience would be of great help.

You will have to fund yourself. And the same advice that's been given umpteen times before on this forum: get admitted to one of the handful of leading programs or don't bother at all. Any number of second-tier programs will be happy to take your money and hand you a meretricious certificate.

 

[Quasar Chunawala]

Thanks @bigbadwolf , I understand. I will be taking a student loan, and partly funding my education on my own.

And are there any rankings for MFE courses, that I can browse. How do I judge, what are the reputed courses out there, and which one's aren't worth the money.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Thanks @bigbadwolf , I understand. I will be taking a student loan, and partly funding my education on my own.

And are there any rankings for MFE courses, that I can browse. How do I judge, what are the reputed courses out there, and which one's aren't worth the money.

Well, that's a problem. Try to get into Baruch if you can -- arguably the best value for money. All the others are much more expensive -- Haas, CMU, Columbia, Princeton, MIT. And then it starts to shade off into second-tier with Cornell, Georgia Tech, UCLA, ....

Remember what you're buying: 1) A computation-intensive program that weds finance and trading theory to coding, and plays to your coding strengths, and 2) A strong placement program. That's where the ~$100,000 goes.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

And are there any rankings for MFE courses, that I can browse. How do I judge, what are the reputed courses out there, and which one's aren't worth the money.

https://www.quantnet.com/mfe-programs-rankings/