Graduate / Masters in Quant Financial Economics - Personal Statement - Oklahoma State University [3]

Please evaluate my essay. Looking forward to your valuable suggestions. Thanks!

Question:Explain why you have decided to pursue a graduate business degree at OSU. Describe how your experiences, both personal and professional, have led you to pursue this degree at OSU.

What are your career aspirations? How will this degree aid you in achieving these goals?
What personal strengths will help you attain your goals? What personal weaknesses must you overcome to attain your goals?

Personal Statement:

India has recently been in the news for 2 reasons. One for its sluggish growth of 4.4% after enjoying a stable growth of more than 7% for over a decade, rupee depreciation, and high current budget deficit with dwindling foreign investment. The other is the recent appointment of the former IMF chief economist and Chicago Booth professor Mr. Raghuram Rajan as the Governor of Reserve Bank of India - India's Central bank - to tackle the road ahead by implementing new policy measures to contain inflation and stabilize rupee. Following the 2007 - 2008 financial debacle, Indian Banks are geared up for implementing Basel III regulations - international accounting standards for banks - to strengthen capital and liquidity regulations, and improve the banks' ability to absorb the economic and financial shocks. The adoption of Basel III will require that banks migrate to advanced risk management and control systems that establish a credible single source of truth for risk management and that keep banks secure and profitable.

These developments have generated a need for personnel who have specialized skills and knowledge in strengthening risk management capabilities that generate adequate and qualitative data. The current Indian economic crisis and my genuine interest in Finance have strongly created a desire to develop the financial skills and expertise needed to do just that and I am convinced that nothing short of MS in Quantitative Financial Economics (MSQFE) - Risk Management track will propel me towards my goal. I am drawn to the Oklahoma State University (OSU) for 2 reasons. First, OSU offers a unique blend of core courses along with the flexibility to tailor the program by choosing electives among Financial Engineering, Risk Management, and Investment Management tracks and the applications of Quantitative Finance in these tracks. Second and equally important to me is to engage with intellectually challenging individuals from diverse backgrounds which is highly encouraging to international students like me.

My short term goal post MSQFE would be to work as a Financial Risk Analyst, conducting statistical analysis to evaluate risks using SAS and other tools, forecasting and monitoring market trends, and developing contingency plans to deal with emergencies. This role would prepare me by building competencies required to earn a Financial Risk Manager (FRM) certification, making me qualified to realize my eventual goal. My long term goal would be to work on a leadership position in Consumer Risk Analytics in Retail Banking, analyzing the performance of unsecured consumer portfolios and closely working with consumer banking processes to enable growth of the bank's customer franchise. I wish to bring this expertise back to India and use it to help financial institutions to manage risks and thrive in a dynamic environment.

I believe that my educational background has instilled in me the qualities required to meet the rigor of the field of Finance. My interest for engineering surfaced during my high-school years and I developed a strong desire to pursue Bachelors in Computer Science and Engineering. My engineering background has left me with solid mathematical foundation in Multivariate Calculus, Linear Algebra, Matrix Methods, Probability and Statistics. I am also equipped with strong programming skills such as C, C++, Java, and Visual Basic. Thus it has inculcated in me strong analytical skills and problem solving abilities.

Working with Wipro and Honeywell after my graduation has broadened my technical experience in the SQA function and developed my supervisory skills. Thereafter the 2 year Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) not only gave me a solid grounding of statistical and financial fundamentals along with specializing in Marketing and Systems but also taught me the invaluable skills to manage, analyze problems, and execute decisions from a business perspective. Courses such as Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Corporate Finance, Managerial Economics, and Strategic Cost Management have established understanding of basic financial concepts, creating a launch pad to further my knowledge in Finance. I have also acquired hands-on experience with advanced statistical techniques such as Analysis of Variance and Covariance (ANOVA and ANCOVA), Linear Correlation, and Multiple Regression in MS Excel.

The PGDM opened doors to my dream job as an Associate Consultant with Infosys. I was primarily tasked with customization of Siebel 8.0 CRM for Service, Logistics, and Finance modules. During one of the Oracle consulting trainings at Infosys, I was briefly exposed to Oracle Fusion Governance - Enterprise Governance, Risk, and Compliance Manager (GRC), that provides end-to-end support for industry specific industry specific GRC processes. At that time, another Siebel team was working on Financial Services Customer Order Management for a US banking client. The concept of banking was so tempting that I could hardly wait to get hands-on. After discussing with my supervisor and evaluating my options to extend my work in such projects, I realized that I needed specialized skills to design and deploy customized Banking solutions. To add to my disappointment, the Banking project needed people only from Finance background. These experiences left me with wanting for more knowledge in the area of Banking and Financial Risk Management.

I was forced into a break from my job at Infosys owing to unfortunate family circumstances. I had to look after my father who was unwell at that time. During the break, I did some research on Finance related programs and I was left with an overwhelming sense to take a slight turn in my career. Out of the thought process emerged a strong desire to get a formal education focused in Finance.

After a thorough analysis of various options, I'm convinced that OSU's MSQFE is the crucial link to realize my goal. If selected to be in this program, I foresee myself being able to build conceptual knowledge and application in your cherry-picked courses in the areas of Econometrics, Derivatives, and Quantitative Finance. The rationale to specialize in Risk Management was strongly backed up my industry experience and the need to overcome the barriers in my previous position with limited opportunities. Specializing in Risk Management is an immediate need given the current Basel III implementation in Indian Banks. With MSQFE I hope to develop my capabilities by building knowledge in implementing and validating risk models, interpreting statistical analysis, deploying critical and secure IT systems that comply with new regulatory initiatives such as Basel III, and conducting stress testing and scenario analysis. Given my academic credentials and experience, I can quickly grasp financial concepts, tools, and techniques that require significant analytical abilities. I bring in a strong grasp of fundamentals in Finance, Business, Statistics, and Engineering, IT experience with problem solving capabilities, and a zeal for learning from the diverse group of student community.

I have been taking advantage of my personal break to explore relevant academic courses. I am enrolled in an online course "Financial Engineering and Risk Management" - Columbia University, and "Mathematical Methods for Quantitative Finance" - University of Washington offered by coursera. Moreover, I have enrolled as a Beginner in Forex trading using real time simulation trading station platform - Forex Capital Markets (FXCM) in order to get a first-hand experience in trading. I find this interesting as executing effective trading strategies judiciously requires closely monitoring the daily market, the weekly trading forecast, understanding trading terminologies and processes, and creating and studying charts such as Candle Sticks and Moving Averages Convergence - Divergence (MACD) to observe trends and patterns. As Forex trading is highly volatile and risky, this knowledge will aid me in getting an insider's view of the trading market to predict possible risks and devise effective risk management strategies as a future risk management professional.

Finally, I sincerely thank you for the opportunity to present my academic and professional credentials to enable you make a decision.