Greetings

[manik]

Hello Everybody,
I am Manik, from India.

My Background is:
1) Bachelor of Technology in engineering physics, Indian Institute of technology, Mumbai-2005
2) Software designer/developer @ E2EInfotech / Orc Software (trading s/w firm based out of sweden), technologies involved in the work. Unix (solaris 9,X), Linux, Java, c,c++ and a little bit of assembly. (2.25 years)
3) Quantitative Derivatives Analyst @ pyxis systems (risk management consultancy), worked in implementing standard pricing methods for Interest rate and fx derivatives using trees, BSM, volatility models, some work on equity portfolio Var (MC, delta gamma) besides some other consultancy/implementation work such as Vol modelling using Proprietary models from clients, worked on VBA, sql, Matlab, Visual c++ with STL.

I am also pursuing PRMIA certification and CFA L1 (hoping all goes well).

I want to get back education (especially places like Baruch) because I want a nice blend of c,c++, advanced computing and Mathematics and finance and also work on a trading floor, like the one Baruch has to offer.


Things I see as a -ve in my profile:
1) Bad (below 3) gpa.
2) Never really worked in an Investment Bank or done stuff like prop trading, synthetic equity, product control, attribution and/or worked on live data .... (trying to get in to a job that helps me do all this though)
3)Age (Mid twenties)

I hope to pick people's brains to help me improve my profile so I can be sure of getting into places like Baruch.

Cheers all.

 

[IlyaKEightSix]

Hello Manik, nice to have you on board...

I think I'll say this ahead of time before someone else does...

A below 3.0 GPA is not good. Maybe not fatal, but a huge minus. It means you're running less than a B average in most universities, and competition in the financial sector is cutthroat.

But enjoy your stay here.

 

[Uncle Max]

GPA below 3 is challenging. You will really have to explain this fact on your essay as well as get 790-800 GRE quant score.

No relative experience is not that bad. After all, you are going to the school to switch your career. However, out of the three main parts of MFE: math, C++, finance you will have to be proficient with at least two to get into the top program.

Good luck!

 

[manik]

GPA below 3 is challenging. You will really have to explain this fact on your essay as well as get 790-800 GRE quant score.

I hope to get the said quant score. I see my GPA as something not indicative of my ability, but I take your point that I will have to explain it, I hope to be able to do the same.

How far does CFA L1 + PRM go for the finance part and besides this I think I will be able to handle the C++ part.

 

[manik]

But enjoy your stay here.

Thanks, I hope to be here long.

 

[Uncle Max]

How far does CFA L1 + PRM go for the finance part and besides this I think I will be able to handle the C++ part.

CFA and PRM will teach you to "talk" finance with people but I don't think they will be considered by admissions committee as a sign of financial proficiency.

What about your Math? Did you take probability/calculus courses during your undergrad? What grades do you have if you took them?

 

[manik]

What about your Math? Did you take probability/calculus courses during your undergrad? What grades do you have if you took them?

Four courses in Math these include linear algebra, calculus (PDE-Complex analysis), no specific course on Stats but there is a course on statistical Physics but it is different from the stuff I see in books such as "Probability and statistics" by Walpole.

Please pardon me for this, I dont have my transcripts with me presently but I think the math grades were mostly B's and C's.

I am also finding it difficult to find courses offered in India that can help me make up for any bad grades (may be people from India can help with some info, what about the correspondence courses by Actuaries society of India?).

Can you suggest anything to fix the finance part? I sure just dont want to "talk" finance.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Can you suggest anything to fix the finance part? I sure just dont want to "talk" finance.
Get Hull, Stefanica, Shreve, Wilmott. That will help with the math and finance part.
Take some extra math courses at a local college and get A
Getting the maximum on the standard tests GRE, TOEFL would probably help.

Things I see as a -ve in my profile:
3)Age (Mid twenties)
You are kidding right? When did twentysome become old or have any effect on a college application?

 

[manik]

Can you suggest anything to fix the finance part? I sure just dont want to "talk" finance.
Get Hull, Stefanica, Shreve, Wilmott. That will help with the math and finance part.
Take some extra math courses at a local college and get A
Getting the maximum on the standard tests GRE, TOEFL would probably help.

I have read Hull (except for credit), and I have some hold on Baxter, is Shreve essential? Which book from Wilmott are you speaking of. Paul wilmott introduces Quantitative Finance?

 

[manik]

Any people here from IIT, Mumbai?

 

[curioUno]

I thought IITs graded on a GPA of 10..so how did you conclude your GPA on a 4.0 scale?

I do not know whether to laugh or cry at your comment about 25 being too old..(Andy's question )

Anyway GPA not being close to the highest is a negative, but as you can see the stats from the baruch MFE website--the cohorts are a diverse mix.. Applications are evaluated on an overall basis. so as long as you are good overall (not consistently bad everywhere) you have a fair chance with the app process. Also the admissions committee will have a very good idea of what a certain GPA in a school like IIT means.

Good luck!

 

[bohemian]

i guess there is a GPA, resultant of ALL the courses one does and there could be a GPA which is more relevant. for example in MFE case math(Lin Alg, Diff Eqs, Calculus) and Programming & Economics(electives if one has taken) courses could be given much much higher weightage compared to irrelevant(to MFE) courses to compute a different GPA. you could rest your hope on that different GPA.

do MFE colleges in US take normal GPA or this different GPA into account while comparing candidature of applicants.

 

[IlyaKEightSix]

i guess there is a GPA, resultant of ALL the courses one does and there could be a GPA which is more relevant. for example in MFE case math(Lin Alg, Diff Eqs, Calculus) and Programming & Economics(electives if one has taken) courses could be given much much higher weightage compared to irrelevant(to MFE) courses to compute a different GPA. you could rest your hope on that different GPA.

do MFE colleges in US take normal GPA or this different GPA into account while comparing candidature of applicants.

Sadly my lowest grades in college have been in programming. That said, I only programmed for the first time in college. And after a bumpy first three programming courses, got an A in web programming ^_^