Advice for MS in Financial Engg. programs in US

[Pushkar]

Hello ,
I want to know which courses should I try for Fall 2013 programs on Financial Engg/Mathematical Finance.
My Scores
GRE - 32-/340
Toefl - 109/120

Thanks

 

[mfegrad]

probably the ones that look attractive to you and offer good value/career prospects for the money.

 

[Pushkar]

I just want to know which colleges will be safe to apply to and which ones will be too ambitious ....

 

[mfegrad]

that's what many ask and it's the wrong question

 

[Pushkar]

hmmm.... then what should Igoing about it... There's a lot of information online and I dont have any idea how to filter the colleges or what colleges will be good for me...I come from Electronics & Telecom background but I do have a strong knack for Mathematics and I have honed my programming skills for the last 1.5 yrs at an IT company .... I just saw the ranking and sent my four free scores to Boston MA , Rutgers NJ , NYU-poly , IIT Chicago.

 

[Pushkar]

*how should I be going about it ....??

 

[mfegrad]

a) figure out why you want to do the degree. this is where the vast majority of people who say they want to do an mfe fail. if you don't know why you're applying for this, you won't make a convincing application and you won't be convincing in interviews, so better to not waste your time and money.
b) figure out what job you would like to do, keeping in mind what job best suits your skillset.
c) start with the multiple guides andy has posted here. they are by no means exhaustive, but they are pretty comprehensive. go to the programs that are listed and see if the curriculum will help you get where you want to go and whether the program's placement can get you where you want to go. look for employer names, titles, etc., job placement and internship numbers.
d) if you find a few programs that you like, check their average scores and other information against yours. are you a good fit?
e) whittle it down to a handful of schools.
f) apply.

edit: a digression... the above steps should be obvious, but they aren't for most people new to this website. i wonder why that is.

 

[Pushkar]

for_digression : Well , I can answer that easily .... these are those people who are yet to do a complete analysis of their options ... in short they are yet to do the above steps ... plus they are not only new comers not only to this site but also in many other fields ...