Various Questions About Quant Master's Programs

[despitetheodds]

Please keep in mind that I'm a new user and not in college yet, so my knowledge is very limited. But I'm passionate! Please correct me if I'm wrong in these statements.

1) Since Master's Degree programs are based around acceptance rates, and that Quant Finance is a highly competitive field (Baruch's single digit acceptance rate for example), what do you do if you get rejected? If you went to a college with the sole purpose of being a quant and then you're rejected, are you stranded at that college? What do you do in the meanwhile? Dorm fees are still going (if I go to a college distant from home) and you can't just immediately reapply. Do you apply for it before you complete your Bachelor's, and then enter it once you've filled out your Bachelor's credits? Or initially go to a college with a safer quant acceptance rate and apply to other competitive quant master's programs as a safety net?

2) Building off of the previously asked question, how much does prestige really weigh in Quant? I've heard "what you do" is more important than the college name, but I've also heard name has quite a bit of weight in the field of finance.

3) Would you recommend UF and UCF's MSF/MFE (Or other master's pertaining to Quant) programs?

4) I see that there's different flavors of quant, developer, researcher, engineer, trader, how do I know which one is for me?

 

[Chuanzhen Wang]

I'm a junior student at a Chinese university. I've completed two internships in quantitative research at hedge funds, and I also plan to apply for an MFE master's program in the future. Maybe I can help answer your questions to some extent:

Applying to competitive quant programs can be pretty daunting. What if you get rejected? It's common to apply to multiple programs to keep your options open. Most students apply during their final year of undergrad so they can start right after graduating. If you don't get in, you might consider gaining some work experience or enhancing your skills before reapplying. As for dorm fees, you typically wouldn't be paying those unless you're enrolled, so you wouldn't be financially stranded at a college you're not attending.

Does prestige matter in quant finance? Prestige does play a role, especially in finance, but it's not everything. Employers often value what you can actually do—your skills, projects, and internships. So while attending a well-known school can help, perhaps building a strong skill set is even more important.

Recommendations for UF and UCF's programs? I don't have personal experience with their MSF/MFE programs, but I've heard good things. It might be worth researching their curriculum, faculty, and job placement rates to see if they match your career goals.

Figuring out your quant path? It's tough to decide without some hands-on experience. You could explore different areas through electives, online courses, or internships. Based on my experience, an internship in quantitative strategies, quantitative development, or quantitative trading is the most helpful! This might help you discover whether you're more into development, research, trading, or perhaps pursuing another industry altogether.

This is just based on my personal experience and opinions. Please remember that I'm also an undergraduate student like you. Anyway, I hope I've been able to help you and wish you all the best in your journey!!

 

[despitetheodds]

Pardon the delayed reply, thanks for the response!

I understand the gathering of work experience or skill enhancing prior to reapplying. However, since you're in college in your last year of undergrad and you get hypothetically rejected from the master's degree, you're still attending the college that you did your undergrad at, and therefore wouldn't you need to keep up with the dorm fees of your college that you're currently attending for undergrad. Also, wouldn't you be stuck in a limbo of not being able to take classes since you can't move on to master's? (Will reword this if this was weirdly asked)

Will research UCF and UF, thank you.

Will look at such internships.

You've helped! Also, what specific programming skills are commonly used in quant? I know it's probably related to C or Python, but the programming skills/frameworks/well-known algorithms that are used vary substantially field from field and I want to know what's in quant particularly. (I have little to no programming skills)