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M.S. in Mathematical/Quantitative Finance, Is it feasible?


GenGRE

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Hi all, I am currently pursuing under-graduation (I'm in the final year of school). I have some queries regarding Mathematical/Quantitative Finance, they are as follows:

 

Query 1

 

Can anyone suggest some universities/schools(if they are less reputed)in the U.S that offer an M.S in Quantitative/Mathematical Finance?

 

 

Query 2

 

Assuming I managed to graduate in 2012,How are the job prospects for a person (particularly at Wall Street) who has acquired an M.S. in Quantitative Finance (say, from a less reputed school, not necessarily from Princeton, Berkeley etc)?

 

I am an international student;I have a pretty ordinary GPA, and my GRE score is 1350 (Quants-660; Verbal- 690;AWA- 4.0); I am planning of re-taking the GRE solely to bolster my Quant score (I feel it is too low for an M.S. in Quantitative Finance);My baccalaureate degree is in Computer Science, I have good grades in Math related courses at the under-graduate level.

 

In a nut-shell, I would like to know -- Is it feasible to pursue an M.S. in Quantitative/Mathematical Finance, are there any jobs that I may land up with (after graduation) at Wall Street or any other place?

 

Do provide some advice/replies/suggestions to my queries, Thanks in advance!

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  • 1 month later...

hahaha @ Rabenstein's post.

 

Global Derivatives list of universities with financial engineering programs is pretty good. Don't bother too much with the rankings, since it has been ages since they updated that.

 

Now, seriously, I don't think there's much value in going to a less-reputed program. Finance to a certain extent is 50% what do you know, and the other 50% is who do you know. That is, network really matters -- you'd want to be in a reputed program with a strong alumni network that can help you get the jobs you want. Else, what's the point of spending time and money if you're only going to be back at square one? In addition, I think there's a strong correlation between reputation and the strength of the academic program. Conversely, a less-known program might be an indication of a weak quality of instruction.

 

That said, if you still insist, you can go to IAFE's website. There should be few lesser known programs listed there.

 

The hiring conditions in 2012 is murky. I've been rather skeptical about it, yet some of my friends at bulge-bracket bank said that recruiting should pick up in late 2010. However, there's no guarantee that we'll not see a delayed return to glory in the financial sector: the compensation structure will probably change drastically, risk-taking at financial institutions will be scaled back, and government intervention will be more prevalent than before. Also, you're international, right? Don't forget about the pesky job visa rule.

 

But my advice to you in this situation remains consistent: should there be any hiring, they will go first to the top-tier programs. Thus, again, there's little value of attending lesser known schools. Heck, I'm going to Princeton and I'm still worried how things will pan out in two years!

 

P.S. There are no programs that admits you solely on strength of GMAT/GRE. Well, no program worth going, at least in my book.

 

P.P.S. Try to get the Math GRE as close as you can to 800. It's just one metric in a holistic process, but usually it's the first easy filter they use.

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I'm in a similar position as the OP, and inclined to agree to icebox. For me, it's too late to apply to a top programme 2009/2010, but I could get a master in strategy consulting from a rather unknown university. However, this is most likely a waste of time, given the amount of competition from the top universities.

 

So I guess I'll put my time into a 801/801 GRE and apply for 2010/2011 :P

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