In-Major GPA or Overall GPA

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corbin

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Hey
I know every school's admissions are different but in general how do they weight your in-major gpa compared to your overall gpa. I'm doing honours in math and so far I have an in-major gpa of 3.9 but my overall is only a 3.5 (which seems to0 low to get into MFE). I really hope they focus on math courses and not my history/soc electives.
 
kk sweet i was hoping so, but i was also wondering how does your gpa transfer? I know my school (St.FX) gives A+ with a lower avg's than most schools, would an A+ transfer or do schools look at the % and use their own lettering system
 
Who said a 3.5 was to low for MFE? When the admissions commitee sees your B in sociology you think they toss your application? The strongest applicants are those that come off as real people who demonstrate dedication to learn and the capability to succeed.
 
CGiuliano said:
The strongest applicants are those that come off as real people who demonstrate dedication to learn and the capability to suceed.
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How do you know that?
 
yea i would have to agree, nobody wants to hire a robot like so many people become in quantitative fields, but does anyone know how GPA's are looked at? on most "standard" gpa scales mine would go down, but technically shouldn't mine stand because you can't compare what the work load is like from different schools? im pretty sure they made it easier for a reason at my school
 
The admissions committee will be aware of grade inflation, but the average GPA of admitted students was 3.53. Someone even got in with a 2.78. Get an 800 on the GRE quantitative and write a charged essay and I would bet you have a good shot at a top MFE. Your a math major? Where are you doing your undergrad?
 
yea im doing an honours in math but im actually doing it in Canada (dual-citizen) at St.FX (well known for the X-ring), thats why i'm wondering about gpa transfer to see how it would work when apply to schools in the States
 
CGiuliano said:
google & personal experience.
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Maybe you shouldn't give MFE admissions advice if you're still doing your undergrad, just a thought.

Most of your posts appear to be you repeating someone else's answer to a question you have already asked or read on this board. Do you really have personal experience with MFE admissions?

I think it's nice to try and be helpful, but I think it's important to not write posts like you are some sort of expert on the subject. There are many MFE students, and industry professionals on here that can provide the answers, and actually back them up.
 
joelb-- If you think I've given any false information then I would understand you calling me on it. I have experience with the admissions process it self and I believe my comment could be helpful. The fact is that many students get so flustered with grades and scores they forget that admissions is a group of human beings.

Here is a question for you: Did you really just browse through all my posts to fuel your personal attack?
 
Eh, I would always be careful to qualify yourself as an undergrad and not a MFE student/grad when giving out advice on MFE programs. I do see your points, which make sense logically, but I disagree with you in that the admissions committees to these programs generally do seem to look at your stats more than anything by far. Your GPA (of course normalized to control for which university you came from) - both major and cumulative, your courseload and your grades in particularly relevant classes, and your GRE quant score will pretty much determine the successfulness of your application if you're coming in straight out of undergrad. If you're applying after working a few years, then your work experience will become a factor as well that could benefit your application, but still not as much as your numerical stats. The only time that your work experience could really turn around your application is if you've been working for a long time, say 7+ years. I've seen people with 15+ years of work experience in these programs (this is probably where you get your 2.78 GPAs - if you have a 2.78 from undergrad but 15 years of relevant experience anyway, your undergraduate GPA is probably irrelevant). Your essay is important only in that you shouldn't sound stupid. All they want to see is that you've thought about this decision more than just "I want to be in finance because I want money and I see this as a way in, but I have no clue what I'm preparing for specifically". Recommendations are a good source of potential promise in academia and the job market, so these would probably be the next most important thing after the numbers.

Take a look at the makeup of the top MFE classes - they are made up of mostly nerdy quant geeks. But that's okay - we know we're nerds. And that's who you'll find are working as quants in the industry. The admissions at MFE programs are NOT like MBA admissions in that they're not really looking for diversity in personality at all, just the raw ability mixed with the adequate preparation to complete the program and either be successful in the quant job market or be successful in going further to a PhD and going the academic route.

All that said, a 3.5 CGPA with a 3.9 math major GPA should make you a very competitive applicant to all the top MFE programs. A 3.5 is not a low GPA at all - don't be concerned about it. All you need now is an 800 on the quant section of the GREs and some good recs and you're home free.



CGiuliano said:
joelb-- If you think I've given any false information then I would understand you calling me on it. I have experience with the admissions process it self and I believe my comment could be helpful. The fact is that many students get so flustered with grades and scores they forget that admissions is a group of human beings.

Here is a question for you: Did you really just browse through all my posts to fuel your personal attack?
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I don't share the same optimism unfortunately because my gpa would take a massive hit if normalize. You only need an 85% plus to get an A+ at St.FX, so on a gpa scale where 95% is A+ my gpa would drop significantly. However, getting a 95% is practically unheard of at St.FX so I hope that will be taken into consideration.
 
CGiuliano said:
joelb-- If you think I've given any false information then I would understand you calling me on it. I have experience with the admissions process it self and I believe my comment could be helpful. The fact is that many students get so flustered with grades and scores they forget that admissions is a group of human beings.

Here is a question for you: Did you really just browse through all my posts to fuel your personal attack?
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No man, I just browse the education forum regularly. I have viewed enough threads that you have started, and the questions you have asked in the past. When contrasted with the answers you now provide, you have to wonder where it's coming from.

I'm not saying what you say is false, I am saying that you are not speaking from experience. You just said 'I have experience with the admissions process', is that really true? What experience? What year of school are you in?

However, to actually look at your specific posts: just 3 days ago you said I was considering applying to a few MFE programs. So I'm just wondering where all this MFE admissions experience is coming from, when you are only at the 'consideration' point for MFE admissions? Hey man, if you have some experience I am unaware of, my apologies.

It's not personal, it's about the integrity of information on the forum. It's nice that you want to help people, but I don't think you should be making assertions of anything regarding admissions, to people who are coming here for firsthand experience from actual MFE students and industry professionals. Isn't that why you came here in the first place?
 
Here's CGiuliano now insulting me via PM.

CGiuliano said:
I find it interesting that you use one of your first posts to take a shot at me. I have learned allot from QuantNet and tend to see the same questions being asked over again. This is what networking is about.

From the looks of it I will be finishing my undergrad when you finish your pre-requisites. I will enjoy getting accepted to MFE programs who will use your application to mop up spilled coffee.

It took allot of research and finesse to get into an Ivy League Mathematics program. So, maybe my posts can be helpful to some bloggers. Stick to business rather than repeating undergrad for MFE and being a deushebag to strangers on the internet. Good luck getting a job with that worthless degree. :tiphat:
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Nice guy. Something to keep in mind next time you think about helping the guy out, 'cause you know, this is what networking is all about
 
My ultimate point, "yes, they consider grade inflation; get an 800 on GRE Q and you will be fine with that GPA" was almost the exact same as financeguys (An experienced MFE grad). After reading a million similar posts, that information becomes fairly obvious.

The sprinkle of "admissions are humans" comes from my own experience with Cornell, Georgetown and NYU (and others) . I applied, along with several of my peers (some of them had better grades and SAT's) and I was the only one to gain acceptance to all three. This is because my profile fit into a tight picture and my essay was sincere and passionate. This personal experience caused me to respond to this post.

It seems that you are not after my actual point, but rather that my posts are meaningless because I am in my undergraduate. If you think so (and others may also) then take them with a grain of salt. I clearly labeled myself as an undergrad.

You are trying to protect the integrity of this forum? How nobel, deushe. If you have something valuable to add, I'm all ears. Otherwise, restrain from wasting space with your useless posts. Math>Business. Maybe you aren't smart enough to handle MFE.
 
CGiuliano said:
You are trying to protect the integrity of this forum? How nobel, deushe. If you have something valuable to add, I'm all ears. Otherwise, restrain from wasting space with your useless posts. Math>Business. Maybe you aren't smart enough to handle MFE.
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The real smart people are those who majored in History, English, Art, and other nonquant majors, who were able to not only get accepted into MFE but to graduate without years of math experience. I don't know about you, but I have a great deal of respect for those people.

^ And this is coming from a math student.

Majoring in math doesn't mean you're smarter than everyone - just that you are better educated than most.
 
I think the poster worries too much about things he has no control over. I can tell you that everything is taken into account. An 8+ average from IIT makes a lot of difference compared to a 3.8 from some state college. Everything is on a relative scale. It's the admission committee's job to sort out the best students and it's your job to present your application in the best light possible.
 
Everyone knows how Canadian marking systems work. Don't worry. When I said "normalize", I meant that admissions committees generally know how difficult it is to achieve a certain GPA at a certain school and so each have their own little way of scaling so they can compare apples to apples, kind of like how an OAS model would allow you to compare yields of bonds with different kinds of optionalities embedded within them. For example, a 3.9 GPA at SUNY Albany might be worth the equivalent of a 3.5 GPA at MIT (numbers are not accurate, just trying to illustrate a point). Getting an A at a Canadian school is usually just as hard or harder than getting an A at an American school even if 85% is the cut-off; they just mark papers more strictly and curve to a different average. So your A at St.FX will not be translated into a 85% then mapped to a B at an American schools - that would be quite silly. If that were true, no Canadians could ever go to an American grad school.

Where you will be at a disadvantage is that you went to St.FX, not McGill, U of T, Waterloo (for quant), or UWO (for business/finance). Since St.FX is not a top school in Canada, your GPA will probably be scaled down a bit relative to GPAs of students at those top Canadian schools.



corbin said:
I don't share the same optimism unfortunately because my gpa would take a massive hit if normalize. You only need an 85% plus to get an A+ at St.FX, so on a gpa scale where 95% is A+ my gpa would drop significantly. However, getting a 95% is practically unheard of at St.FX so I hope that will be taken into consideration.
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thanks for the answers guys, don't know how that whole argument came into play lol, yea st.fx isn't the top school in canada but it was rated the top undergrad school for 5 years in a row (recently went to 3rd), how bout i become the president of my student union should that get me in hahah i plan on running and winning next year
 
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