• C++ Programming for Financial Engineering
    Highly recommended by thousands of MFE students. Covers essential C++ topics with applications to financial engineering. Learn more Join!
    Python for Finance with Intro to Data Science
    Gain practical understanding of Python to read, understand, and write professional Python code for your first day on the job. Learn more Join!
    An Intuition-Based Options Primer for FE
    Ideal for entry level positions interviews and graduate studies, specializing in options trading arbitrage and options valuation models. Learn more Join!

where the hell do you get the money from?

throll

Joined
1/8/11
Messages
56
Points
18
my question is related to the cost of the quant programs, i see numbers like 50k$, and 70k$ which i find insane!!
i'm wondering where students, whom they've already spent lots of money in their undergrad studies, can find resources to pay for Master degrees?
i need to give you some details about my background so you can understand why i'm amazed by this.
i'm from tunisia, i earned an engineering degree from the top university of the country, there, education is free and because it was the top engineering school i had a scholarship too.
i also completed an Msc in financial engineering in Paris, most of the programs in france's universities were free (or almsot the cost was around 700$ most of which is for medical insurance)
since my graduation i started working as a model validation quant in a tier2/3 bank in london.
now i'm dreaming about the US and working in front office in a tier 1 bank but i got to understand that without an Msc from a sexy university i'll have zero chance for interviews.
even though i earn a lot more in gross terms i found the cost of the programs very expensive and the current environment around banking in general and the dying business of derivatives make the whole investment very risky, so how do you go to fund your education? loans, scholarships? and how easy to get them?

thanks for your tips
 
throll said:
even though i earn a lot more in gross terms i found the cost of the programs very expensive and the current environment around banking in general and the dying business of derivatives make the whole investment very risky, so how do you go to fund your education? loans, scholarships? and how easy to get them?
Click to expand...

No scholarships (that I know of). Hence either more loans or family support. If you realise an American MFE is a dicey proposition, why go for it? For the last two or three years experienced posters on this forum have been uttering doubts and issuing caveats about the advisability of doing an MFE. Dominic Connor, if memory serves, has advised doing a master's in statistics, which is cheaper and more general. The terrain has changed, the party's over, so why do an American MFE?
 
https://www.quantnet.com/threads/mfe-financial-aid-how-do-you-pay-for-the-degree.8315/
https://www.quantnet.com/threads/how-does-one-pay-for-a-mfe.9256/

In short, US residents pay by a combination of student loans. Oversea students take loans or got their family pay for it. Some governments such as Singapore have a scholarship that cover full tuition for the degree.
You already got an MFE degree so there is absolutely no point in doing another. Use your work experience to move to the jobs you want.
 
My undergraduate was part-scholarship part-loan. I am paying for my MFE with a loan. Yes I will have ~$50k debt when all is said and done. But I will god-willing be able to make enough to pay it off within a few years.
 
thx for the replies guys.
to answer bigbadwolf's question, well i thought my only hope to move to the US was by doing a american MFE and start over again. now i have to think of somethin' else..
 
Back
Top