Hi Paul,I am an international student.Did my engineering back in India.Got bad grades in maths courses but managed to get overall GPA of 7.7/10 and even have work ex of 1.2 years for developing telecom s/w.Presently doing masters in electrical engg at University of Cincinnati,got scholarship for two years and teaching assistantship for 1 year.Overll GPA is 3.7/4.0 .Studied PDE and random processes from maths dept(got A's).Presently studying Computational finance(from Dr.Stojanovic) and Stat methodolgy and again hope to get A's.I am quite positive to get excellent LOR's and have 770 ,770 on quant and analytical section.All I could have done is take maths courses which I am studying.Can you please suggest me how can I convince the admission committee that my A's in masters is true reflection of my maths and does undergrad grades really matter when I will be having 4 maths courses(Grad level) from cincinnati at my transcript.Any feeedback will be greatly appreciated.ThanksMunish

Columbia's distance learning program will let you take courses non-matriculated.Look at www.cvn.columbia.edu. You can get a certificate in FE or in Maths by taking 4 core courses.The courses are a good start on graduate level finance/engineering. But there are no guarantees that by taking it non-matriculated that you will be accepted into their degree program. But it is a useful way to cover some very good courses, only downside is you are paying us tuition fees which are much higher than uk fees.One problem you may have is that most of these programs US/UK have very high demand. So you really have to be a superstar just to get in. They are flooded already with people who are very good at math from the undergraduate level. So you need to show howyou have something different to bring to the programme AND your excellent in math. best of luck

This book was all you needed to know 10 years ago ,Erwin Kreyszig Advanced Engineering Mathematics http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/047133328XI'd be interested to know if ppl had any other suggestions for (maybe more current) texts?

Vikram,I just started the Georgia Tech program - and my math background barely met the standards of admission. Couple things to keep in mind:1. Most schools have min reqt's - make sure you have met these, otherwise you will most likely be rejected out of hand.2. Most schools turn down applicants because they are worried the applicant can not handle the academic rigors. If you can prove the uni that you are a bright guy who has a knack for math - then whether you studied pottery or physics as an undergrad has not a lot of bearing. I have some other ideas specific to different schools I applied to, but those are ruminations we can take offline if you like.Best of luckTy

QuoteOriginally posted by: munishgHi Paul,I am an international student.Did my engineering back in India.Got bad grades in maths courses but managed to get overall GPA of 7.7/10 and even have work ex of 1.2 years for developing telecom s/w.Presently doing masters in electrical engg at University of Cincinnati,got scholarship for two years and teaching assistantship for 1 year.Overll GPA is 3.7/4.0 .Studied PDE and random processes from maths dept(got A's).Presently studying Computational finance(from Dr.Stojanovic) and Stat methodolgy and again hope to get A's.I am quite positive to get excellent LOR's and have 770 ,770 on quant and analytical section.All I could have done is take maths courses which I am studying.Can you please suggest me how can I convince the admission committee that my A's in masters is true reflection of my maths and does undergrad grades really matter when I will be having 4 maths courses(Grad level) from cincinnati at my transcript.Any feeedback will be greatly appreciated.ThanksMunishHi MunishG,I know you asked Paul but here are my 2 cents.......A lot of people from India get into decent MSFE programs (like Gatech, UMich etc) with nothing more than an undergrad engg (non IIT btw) or less and absolutely no work experience relevant or otherwise. I guess you will find quite a few indians doing MSFE on these boards who will be able to advise you better. So considering that you are doing an MS in the US and have already taken courses in Comp Fin I dont think you should have any problems. If you your grades in your US degree are good I doubt the colleges will nit pick about your undergrad grades from India.And yes, I completed a Masters degree in India earlier this year. I am now looking forward to studying some hardcore quant finance. Where are you planning to apply?Cheers,Vikram.

QuoteOriginally posted by: onlysimon2This book was all you needed to know 10 years ago ,Erwin Kreyszig Advanced Engineering Mathematics http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/047133328XI'd be interested to know if ppl had any other suggestions for (maybe more current) texts?For some reason I never liked Kreyszigs book. You need a magnifying glass (btw I have perfect eyesight fortunately) to read the print on the version of Kreyszig that Wiley sells here in India!. I prefer to read a number of books on specific topics rather a std engg text that covers them all. Tell me what topic you want to learn and maybe I will be able to reccomend some good books understandable from a non math persons point of view.Vikram.

QuoteOriginally posted by: TyVikram,I just started the Georgia Tech program - and my math background barely met the standards of admission. Couple things to keep in mind:1. Most schools have min reqt's - make sure you have met these, otherwise you will most likely be rejected out of hand.2. Most schools turn down applicants because they are worried the applicant can not handle the academic rigors. If you can prove the uni that you are a bright guy who has a knack for math - then whether you studied pottery or physics as an undergrad has not a lot of bearing. I have some other ideas specific to different schools I applied to, but those are ruminations we can take offline if you like.Best of luckTyTy,Thanks for the tips. I will send you a PM. I am glad my old post has suddenly generated some interest.There are quite a few Indians in this sessions QCF at GaTech right?Vikram.

Hi Vikram,Thanks for your reply.Actually I wrote the name of Paul,because just thought will get advice from experienced person.I agree with you but bit worried about the admissions.Do anybody have idea regarding the program at IIT-chicago,rutgers,purdue and stanford.one of the student from IIT chicago gave me very positive feedback and actually I too think because the faculty over there is from top unis and moreover its in CHICAGO.Regarding stanford at their website it seems they dont have tailored made program like UC-Berkeley or other unis.Any feedback regarding these 4 unis will be greatly appreciated.ThanksMunish

Hi guys, I have been considering a MSc in FE or mathfin......but i get the picture from ppl in this forum that now is not the time to apply...what with teh job market low and all thatAnyway...since you guys have done the research...could you enlighten me on - The average cost and time period of these programs- which is better MSc in FE or the Math fin- I have a 800/800 in my quant General GRE and have done an MSc in Economics with very strong math grounding.....can i maybe get scholarships with this thanks

HiI doubt if any uni offers scholarship.average cost per annum comes to 40K-65KHope this helpsMunish