usagi Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 (edited) Hi all, new user here. I am from Australia and have just finished my honours year of my undergraduate degree (essentially like a masters but shortened to a 1 year research intensive degree). I am planning to apply to top 10-20 finance PhD programs in the U.S. My question is regarding the signalling aspects of maths units on your transcript. I have done a multitude of maths/statistics units throughout my degree, the units I have done include: (note: I scored 90+ for all of these units and for the majority of them I received the unit prize for being the top scorer). -Techniques for modelling (essentially undergraduate calculus) -Discrete mathematics -Multivariate calculus -Linear algebra with applications -Algebra and number theory -Probability and statistical inference -Introductory econometrics (essentially mathematical statistics) -Principles of econometrics (essentially covers all rigorous proofs related to MLE) -Bayesian time series analysis -Real analysis (both second year and third year) -Random and stochastic processes Do you think these units are enough for signalling aspects? I am asking this because next semester I want to take Differential equations (ODEs) and Complex analysis, however I am not sure how much marginal benefit these two extra maths units will provide in terms of signalling. In terms of practicality, I am already quite knowledgeable in both topics but I want to know whether it is worth it to do them simply for the high mark on the transcript. Keep in mind that doing these two units will eat into my research time. Therefore the question is: is it worth it doing those two units or should I focus on research and submit papers to journals? Thank you everyone! Edited July 22, 2014 by usagi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
setsanto Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 ODEs could be an asset, complex analysis is probably overboard. There are definitely some applications, but I think your time would be best spent doing other things (e.g. research). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usagi Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Thanks setsanto! How about time series analysis instead of complex analysis? Do you think that would be more beneficial? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insti Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Definitely! All of finance (except the pure theory papers) is time series analysis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linethan Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 You already have taken many math courses. I will suggest you to spend more time on doing research. You can have a good paper as a writing sample and let your advisor write a strong recommendation letter. You can also illustrate your math skill in your writing sample. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakeo Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Insti's right. If you have the opportunity to take TS, then do it. It's not an easy and trivial subject (if taught at the right level), and it is used very extensively in finance. So it's probably one of the most important courses you can take if you wanna do finance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usagi Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 Thanks everyone! I have enrolled in time series. Looking forward to it. Really appreciate all the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insti Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Thanks everyone! I have enrolled in time series. Looking forward to it. Really appreciate all the advice. Enjoy your time in hell :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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