Do I have a chance at a top MFE program?

[pplstuff]

I'm looking to get opinions on whether or not I have a chance at being admitted to a top rated MFE program. Below is a brief description of my credentials.

Education:
-BSBA Finance & Real Estate (double major) at a state school. GPA - 3.3
Coursework in Financial Models, Financial Derivatives, Portfolio Analysis, Monte Carlo Sim., Econometrics, Investment Analysis, Calc., many stats classes, etc.
-MBA at the same state school (currently 1 year completed of 2 year program) GPA - 3.7
Work:
-Economic Development Intern (built a database to monitor commercial trends within my city, 2 semesters)
-Data Management Intern (essentially a data analyst, learning VBA and SQL, 1 semester)
-Economic Modeler full-time Co-op (designing financial models embedded with thermodynamic algorithms to calculate IRR, NPV, payback period, etc.)

Does this background seem appropriate for a top MFE program (assuming GRE quant > 780)?
Feedback appreciated!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Your profile is light on the math/programming side. If you want to have a realistic shot, address these issues.
GRE Q is a convenient filter for schools and should not be a problem for you to score at the top percentile. (>167 on the new test). Even if you score perfect on the quantitative part, keep in mind more than 50% of your competitors have the same perfect score.

 

[pplstuff]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to beef up my programming background? I program/debug VBA macros occasionally at work, but never C++ or matlab (the most common I see on this site).

Should I take the C++ course offered by Quantnet? (Will that really help gain admission to a top program?)
Or, should I try to take some undergrad CS courses on OOP/C++ if they're offered? (What coursework would be best to help improve my probability of admission?)

 

[Connor]

Taking a few CS courses would be helpful if you have no exposure but a few courses aren't really going to be enough. I would recommend focusing on self-learning and then actually doing various projects. What's more impressive: I took an intro to C++ course or I built XYZ using C++?

 

[toucheternalck]

hi I have been admitted to Columbia MSFE, and want get a headstart by covering as much of programming portion beforehand as possible. Can you suggest some c++ books that i should study, I have basic OOP knowledge but want to take a deep dive into the applications of c++ in fin, currently i am reading c++ designs and derivative pricing by Mark S Joshi. thanks in advance

 

[Connor]

https://www.quantnet.com/forum/thre...uants-mfe-financial-engineering-students.535/