Metallurgy to financial mathematics branch transfer..my chance?

[Vibhav jain]

Hello, I am part-IV undergradaute student( B.tech Metallurgical Engineering) of an IIT, one of the top ten engineering institutes in India. But I am interested in finance very much.And i am looking for a branch transfer from Metallurgy to Financial Mathematics.

My profile: I am very good at mathematics: Secured excellent grades in undergraduate mathematics courses
Cleared Indian statistical Institute Entrance examination
Stood among top ten candidates in mathematics( IIT- JEE)
I have very good programming skills: C, C++, PYTHON
I have worked on many projects based on MATLAB like.. Monte Carlo simulation etc..
My GRE: 314( 167 quant..147 verbal) TOEFL: 103( 24+ in each section)
Done projects based on Simulation and Modelling...
Completed courses like Advanced Calculus, Probability Theory, Statistics etc..
I am aiming for admission in MFM program at University of Minnesota, TC
I shortlisted these universities: for masters in financial mathematics NYU-POLY
NCSU
UMN,TC
IIT-CHICAGO
RUTGERS
Georgia IT
Washington University
Please Evaluate my profile... Is it possible for me to transfer my branch? or should i look for some work experience and then apply

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Not sure what you mean by "branch transfer" but you need to finish your bachelor degree and then apply to master program at the universities you mentioned.
There are hundreds or thousands of applicants with similar profiles applying each year so it's hard to know tell your chance. Just prepare properly and apply.

Get more work experience before going to graduate school is always a good idea.

 

[Vibhav jain]

Not sure what you mean by "branch transfer" but you need to finish your bachelor degree and then apply to master program at the universities you mentioned.
There are hundreds or thousands of applicants with similar profiles applying each year so it's hard to know tell your chance. Just prepare properly and apply.

Get more work experience before going to graduate school is always a good idea.

Thank You Andy Nyugen for your reply.That was useful.
By "Branch Transfer", i mean Departmental transfer. At present i am a major in Metallurgy,but I want to pursue my Masters in Financial mathematics, because I am much interested in Finance. So I was asking that is it possible for a guy like me to apply masters in Financial Mathematics ??
Yeah I will be completing my Bachelors degree by May 2013. So I am looking for admission next fall( That is during August In USA). Yes getting work experience is better advice but I am getting into a new field( Finance is new to me) , so I wont have relevant work experience, will that affect my chances of admission into universities like
U Minnesota , Columbia University.

 

[mfegrad]

what will help is if you have a clear, good reason for (and understanding of) why you want to enter finance. i don't see that anywhere above.

 

[Vibhav jain]

what will help is if you have a clear, good reason for (and understanding of) why you want to enter finance. i don't see that anywhere above.

Thank You mfegrad for your reply, I would like to support my side of why I am choosing Finance. Please evaluate my reasoning. Is it worthwhile ??
It was in the 2nd year of my under graduation I understood that Metallurgy is not my interest, because Mathematics is where my heart always lies. So then I started working on application of mathematics in my field, especially using Numerical Simulation( i used Monte Carlo Simulation) and C- programming, MATLAB.I even worked on SYSWELD, a welding simulation software in Bhabha Atomic research centre, bombay. And this brought a lot of interest in applied mathematics.
Financial Mathematics mainly because, during my under graduation i used to be member of khelostocks.com, one of the popular sites in india, which is a virtual share trading game of Indian stock market.It developed me interest toward this field.I later on used to follow news of financial markets because I wanted to know what results in fluctuations in stock markets. Thats how my interest towards finance started. this reached to an extent that i personally learnt many financial concepts , and they sound interesting to me.
Financial Mathematics provides me the opportunity to estimate the risks beforehand using mathematical models ( I have taken courses on advance calculus, probability and differential equations which are required to analyse in FM). As I am interested in mathematics from childhood, i thought of opting finance as my career.

 

[mfegrad]

sounds better than most, but you still need to figure out what area/products interest you and why. it would help if you are still trading, even if it's a paper account, or have written mock stock pitches/research reports or are still up to date on the news.

 

[Vibhav jain]

sounds better than most, but you still need to figure out what area/products interest you and why. it would help if you are still trading, even if it's a paper account, or have written mock stock pitches/research reports or are still up to date on the news.

Thank You mfegrad for your reply.... Please look at this when you get some time..and evaluate my profile:::::
In 5 years i would like to see myself as a FINANCIAL RISK ANALYST...because the my inclination to Finance started from there. because i used look at company profile which had recently lost its share price. this was mainly due to the effect of economic developments in the society around it. I used to feel that if a company had someone to look a step ahead of upcoming risks, it would have retained its position not losing its profits. and i personally feel that i want to be in that position building a strong portfolio keeping in mind the upcoming risks.
If those risks are identified beforehand, company wont face that situation. I feel its mainly due to lack of person identifying those risks.

And any idea about my scores..please evaluate if possible...i have two scores 315 ( 165 q, 150 v)
314 (167 q, 147 V) which score is better to apply?

 

[mfegrad]

the higher quantitative score is better.

i think a risk analyst does something a bit different from what you wrote above. you might want to check out the guides that have been posted and other posts in this forum to gain a better understanding of the different roles.

 

[Vibhav jain]

the higher quantitative score is better.

i think a risk analyst does something a bit different from what you wrote above. you might want to check out the guides that have been posted and other posts in this forum to gain a better understanding of the different roles.

Thank you mfegrad..I will look at each job profile again asap and get to you again.
I have one question, I have report my higher quant gre score, in that test i have low verbal gre 147..wont that matter in admission process. i have heard that some colleges have sectional cutoffs..That's why please confirm if u have any idea

 

[mfegrad]

no idea. not an admissions officer. but 3pts in verbal shouldn't be that big of a deal. the higher quantitative score will help. that's just my opinion though.

 

[bigbadwolf]

So I was asking that is it possible for a guy like me to apply masters in Financial Mathematics ??

You're asking the wrong question. There are quite a few second- and third-tier schools that will be happy to take your money and give you a worthless credential at the end. Your question should be not whether you will get accepted (you probably will) but whether the credential will help you. Ask for the placement statistics for some of these programs you mention. If you don't get them, that should send off an alarm in your mind.

 

[Vibhav jain]

You're asking the wrong question. There are quite a few second- and third-tier schools that will be happy to take your money and give you a worthless credential at the end. Your question should be not whether you will get accepted (you probably will) but whether the credential will help you. Ask for the placement statistics for some of these programs you mention. If you don't get them, that should send off an alarm in your mind.

Thank you bigbadwolf for your reply..
I have looked at their websites ..every college report its placement statistics as good. and me being a international student dont have contacts and can do nothing other than looking at their sites.
But i have looked at profiles of students from that colleges in Linked In, and they were awesome even that of international students.
However i finalised these universities at last for applying. please comment on them if u have some time.
U Minnesota, Twin cities
North Carolina State University
NYU- POLY
Columbia University
Rutgers University

Thanks in aadvance

 

[bigbadwolf]

Thank you bigbadwolf for your reply..
I have looked at their websites ..every college report its placement statistics as good. and me being a international student dont have contacts and can do nothing other than looking at their sites.
But i have looked at profiles of students from that colleges in Linked In, and they were awesome even that of international students.
However i finalised these universities at last for applying. please comment on them if u have some time.
U Minnesota, Twin cities
North Carolina State University
NYU- POLY
Columbia University
Rutgers University

Thanks in aadvance

*Shrug* -- it's your money and your time. If you're aiming for a job in the USA, what you propose to do is probably a bad bet. Some of these institutions have poor placement records. Even ranking programs are struggling to place their people. In the US market you won't be able to compete for the same jobs as those from first-tier programs. No program has an incentive to tell you the truth about either its placement record or your chances.

 

[Vibhav jain]

*Shrug* -- it's your money and your time. If you're aiming for a job in the USA, what you propose to do is probably a bad bet. Some of these institutions have poor placement records. Even ranking programs are struggling to place their people. In the US market you won't be able to compete for the same jobs as those from first-tier programs. No program has an incentive to tell you the truth about either its placement record or your chances.

Thank you bigbadwolf for your reply...
Yeah i am aiming for a job in USA definitely...I need some advice regarding this.
Is the program ( Financial Mathematics) that I have chosen is a bad bet...OR moreover my profile on the whole ?
what do u say if I apply only for first-tier programs ..my chances for jobs increase ?
OR should I chose some program other than Financial mathematics?
please reply if have some time..

Thanks in advance

 

[ssinghvi]

Hi Vibhav, I am also a metallurgy student working in derivatives for 3+ years and applying this year. No, there is no problem in switching courses. But you need to know your reasons first. Paper trading should help, but in my opinion colleges would be more interested in looking at internships/work experience to see if you are really interested ( That might also help you to understand if you are really interested, I am not sure if you are currently). Playing trading game might not hold much ground ( Brutal way to say it would be, I used to play business in my kindergarden, so I want to do business now . I hope you get the gist).
If you are in final year and have no option of internship in financial domain, then you must look for job in financial sector this December (I guess that's when your placement season starts). Working for one year understanding industry might not do any harm. But your call if you want to apply this year.

And In case you decide to apply:

1)THERE ARE MORE PAGES IN ANY PROGRAM WEBSITE THAN CAREER STATISTICS. IF YOU DON'T FIND ANY CAREER STATISTICS..RUN AWAY. BUT DO LOOK WHAT DOES THE PROGRAM OFFERS AND DOES IT MATCH WITH WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. Personally, When I chose which universities I would apply I ignored career statistics at first and rather researched what is offered at institute. You will be amazed to know that other pages help you more in getting idea about strength of the program. I definitely looked at career statistics, but did not based my decisions on it. Sometimes its just booby trap to lure ill informed candidates like you.
2) Have a good mix of high ranking as well as medium rankings just as a hedge. Ideally, I would not look for rankings but rather fit. Just as an example: MIT MFin is more generalized program and require less programming which you can obviously customize according to you fit (again, you need to know how you will mix and match). On the other hand programs like CMU would be hard core computational.
3) Does the program has internship ( if i assume you apply and get through and never had any internship then these programs would be better fit)
4) Course is offered by MBA schools/Engineering/Mathematics department. Exposure in all would be bit different in all the schools. Again you need to know your reasons.
5) Duration/Scholarships/Loan/Cost
6) And many more

And few personal opinions:
Vaibhav Jain: "I would like to support my side of why I am choosing Finance. Please evaluate my reasoning. Is it worthwhile ??"
Don't think for reasons for moving to finance/Your career goals as you are writing your SOP. That part should come much later.
Vaibhav Jain : "I will look at each job profile again asap and get to you again"
I think talking to senior already in the field be of much more help. Linkedin profile reveals nothing.
Vaibhav Jain "It was in the 2nd year of my under graduation I understood that Metallurgy is not my interest"
Never ever say that again in your life, atleast not in front of any admission director/Job interview. That's just naive. 1 semester of Metallurgy (which also included non core subjects) made you loose intrest in the branch you selected... ahem ahem...
Vaibhav Jain: "because Mathematics is where my heart always lies"... if that is the case advance mathematics course might also be other option for you .
FINANCIAL RISK ANALYST... that might be too focused.. make sure you know exactly what your "FINANCIAL RISK ANALYST" does...
Vaibhav Jain:"and me being a international student dont have contacts and can do nothing other than looking at their sites."
try www.google.com that's what every one does. ( No offense, just like being sarcastic sometimes :p)


Going for masters is not like your JEE where you choose your program according to rank. Its much more than that. So think about it. And regarding profile: its ok, but depends on other factors as well

I hope I was able to help.

 

[Shantanu Kumar]

Thank you bigbadwolf for your reply...
Yeah i am aiming for a job in USA definitely...I need some advice regarding this.
Is the program ( Financial Mathematics) that I have chosen is a bad bet...OR moreover my profile on the whole ?
what do u say if I apply only for first-tier programs ..my chances for jobs increase ?
OR should I chose some program other than Financial mathematics?
please reply if have some time..

Thanks in advance

Obviously your chance increases if you apply for first-tier programs similar to you study at IIT or some unknown college in India. Its not a bad bet but risky given that you don't have work experience and you are not a US resident.
Worst case scenario is after the degree you may have to come back to India and imagine you got a degree from some not so known US university then the return on all the money/time you invested won't be worth it.
That's the reason of bigbadwolf skepticism.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Is the program ( Financial Mathematics) that I have chosen is a bad bet...OR moreover my profile on the whole?

They are two sides of the same coin. The second- and third-tier programs lure international students whose profiles are not strong enough for the first-tier programs.

Be wary of programs that are outside financial hubs: the contacts and networking will not be there, the faculty will likely not have industry contacts.

 

[Jayanthan]

Thank you bigbadwolf for your reply...
Yeah i am aiming for a job in USA definitely...I need some advice regarding this.
Is the program ( Financial Mathematics) that I have chosen is a bad bet...OR moreover my profile on the whole ?
what do u say if I apply only for first-tier programs ..my chances for jobs increase ?
OR should I chose some program other than Financial mathematics?
please reply if have some time..

Thanks in advance

"Always aim for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."

If you happen to cold call or network to find a job, brand name will come into the game. It is easy to cold call some firm and say "I graduated from Harvard than some 2nd or 3rd tier schools"

 

[Vibhav jain]

Obviously your chance increases if you apply for first-tier programs similar to you study at IIT or some unknown college in India. Its not a bad bet but risky given that you don't have work experience and you are not a US resident.
Worst case scenario is after the degree you may have to come back to India and imagine you got a degree from some not so known US university then the return on all the money/time you invested won't be worth it.
That's the reason of bigbadwolf skepticism.

Thank you for your reply Shantanu Kumar,
Yeah I'm not sticked to any plan regarding working in US only. If i dint find any job, I would return to India and would like to work in Indian corporate firms. Is that advisable ?
How about job opportunities in India for quants..

 

[Vibhav jain]

"Always aim for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."

If you happen to cold call or network to find a job, brand name will come into the game. It is easy to cold call some firm and say "I graduated from Harvard than some 2nd or 3rd tier schools"

Yeah thats true Jayanthan... Thanks for your reply...I would try to apply for first-tier programs on whole