rupantor

You need math in Finance PhD for two reasons. First you need math courses on your transcript to be a competitive candidate for admission. Second, as you mentioned, to facilitate your understanding of course materials in the PhD program. Math requirement these days for admission purposes is very high. When other candidates will have many advanced math courses on their transcripts, you would not want to look light-weight candidate on the math side. From admission point of view, you need Calculus I, Calculus II, Calculus III and Linear Algebra at the minimum. Advanced math courses such as Probability Theory, Differential Equations, Real Analysis, and Stochastic Processes will further decorate your credentials in the admission process. When I started my masters program as a stepping stone for finance PhD, I had nothing but College Algebra and Trigonometry on my transcripts. I ended up taking all the math courses that I mentioned above during my masters program. So selection of masters program is important-- you need the flexibility to accomodate undergrad level courses in addition to the masters program courses. After getting into the doctoral program, your math requirement will depend on the sort of work you choose to do for your research. For theoretical research, you will need to be a heavy-weight on math. For empirical research, Calculus I-III, Linear Algebra and Probability Theory will be enough to get through the econometrics courses initially. But if you want to come up with your own econometric model to approach your research problem, you are back to the requirement of solid math understanding. Your ultimate math requirement will depend on the level of schools that you are shooting for. For top level schools, math are needed in the first place to get into and then you will need a solid understanding of math concepts to handle the top level research that you are expected to do while in school.

MS Finance and MBA programs are money-making machines for the schools. So do not expect to find a "fully funded" MS Finance or MBA program. If your GMAT/GRE is not spectacular, if you are out of school for several years, or if your grades in India are not competitive compare to the typical Indian applicant pool in US schools, then you may think about getting a masters degree. Since your maters program will simply be a signaling decive, you need to send as strong signal as possible. In this sense, strong performance in a masters program in Economics, statistics or mathematics will send better signals. However, if your math background is not good enough, then getting into in a statistics or a mathematics program out of question. In general, to get into a decent Ph.D. program in Finance, you should have: 1. Acceptable GMAT/GRE: As high as possible--at least 650 (if GMAT) 2. Decent Math Background: As strong as possible--at least 3 calculus (Integral, Differential and Multivariable), Linear Algebra and Probability Theory 3. Strong Recommendation and well articulated SOP

No Funding with the offer and prospect of future funding was not looking good due to severe budget cuts.

Thanks to all for your feedback. It certainly helped in my decision making.

Program: Finance GMAT Score: 660 AWA 4.5 Undergrad GPA: 3.67 in Finance (from overseas univ.) Graduate GPA: 3.97 in Economics (from 2nd tier state univ.) Publications/Research experience: None Math: Calculus, Lin.Alg. Diff.Eq., Porb Th., Real Analysis, Stochastic Proc. Attending: Tennessee Admitted: Tennessee, Southern Illinois, U Arizona, Binghamton, San Antonio Rejected: Maryland, Minnesota, UIUC, Vanderbilt, Boston College, WUSL, Rutgers, Missouri, Buffalo, Alabama, Connecticut

How you know that it was undated? As long as the LORS come in a sealed envelop with signature of the faculty...that should be alright.

I got e-mail from Chairman of the Finance Department. After that I called and had discussions with several faculty there. Most probably you talked to the College of Business Graduate Program Office-- they do not know anything yet. My e-mail came from the Finance department chairman and he mentioned that they are in the process of forwarding the decisions to the college of business. You may call and talk to the Department Chairman about your status.

Hi Rock, Yes, I received their offer on last Friday. I will make a decision latest by tomorrow.

After eliminating UT San Antonio, Binghamton and U of Arizona, I now am trying to decide between University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK) and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIUC) for Finance Ph.D. program. Here is some comparative info: 1. Faculty: Faculty research productivity is higher in SIUC 2. Funding: SIUC provides funding for 3 years whereas UTK funding is for 4 years 3. Micro Qualifying: SUIC does not have any micro qualifying requirement and does not even have micro course-sequence requirement. UTK requires students to take micro-sequence and a qualifying exam on micro. 4. Recent Placements: From Tennessee: University of Memphis (2008), King College-Bristol, TN (2008), Middle Tennessee State University (2008), University of Washington-Tacoma (2005), Adelphi University (2005), University of Findlay (2004), Georgia Southern University (2004), Loyola College of Maryland (2004), East Carolina University (2003) From Southern Illinois: University of Windsor, Canada (2007), University of Central Arkansas (2006), Louisiana Tech University (2006), Ain Shams University, Egypt (2005), Illinois College (2004), University of Houston-Victoria (2004), Northern Kentucky University (2003) Which one should I pick? I'd appreciate your inputs.

Not Yet. Thinking between Tennessee and Southern Illinois.

Got acceptance from Southern Illinois University. With that my application cycle offcially came to the end: 16 application and 5 admits.

Accepted in San Antonio.

I guess you never had to class from a genius professor who is crappy at teaching. Many of us did not have such a great luck.

AACSB accreditation is a 7-year process. So, by the time you finish your PhD. from UCSD, you will still be a graduate from a non-accredited program. If the program reputation is otherwise great, I am not sure how this non-accreditation factor will affect career choices.

One of my friend was waiting on Penn State Econ admission decision...at last he contacted them this week asking about decision. Reply was something like: We made the decisions and sent notifications long ago..you did not get that? Oh Sorry...here is your rejection letter".

Global Derivative School List on Masters in Quant. Finance They also have a ranking of quant finance programs.

Usually schools consider the highest score.

In Most cases, web status is not updated on time. It happened to me in many cases where the school received application materials but the web site status was not updated. In one school, I already received decision on my application, but the website status still shows application materials not received. So don't worry about what the web status says- if they confirmed receipt of application via e-mail, then you are fine.

I would suggest that you make school selection decision based on academic considerations. Staying near to family is important, but you should not sacrifice your career prospect for it. Even in you live in a city far away from your brother, you can still travel to spend time with him. Say you want to meet once in every 3 months: 4 times a year, $500 for each trip= $2000 per year and this sum up to $8000 in 4 years. I think $8000 is nothing compare to the sacrifices that you will have to make in future due to selecting a sub-standard school now. Bottom line: select school based on academic consideration. One last thing: When I came to the US first time, I had no one around. Believe me: people here are nice and you will soon start to feel great once you start to interact with people around in your school/neighborhood/community.

Southern New Hampshire University is not even an AACSB Accredited in Business. You must go to a school with AACSB Accreditation for future academic placement.

Accepted in University of Arizona. No interview and no funding either.

In his/her last post, he/she seemed really excited about getting interview from Maryland.

Where else did you apply?

Having Micro prelim Vs. No Micro Prelim--- which one is a good sign in selecting schools?

Finance Ph.D. Decisions from University of Arizona is now showing up on Gradcafe.