Master of Science in Quantitative Finance - Personal Statement Example

The paper "Concerning Career Prospects in Finance" is a perfect example of a personal statement on finance and accounting. I still remember what my feeling was for the first time when my parents asked me to take the Olympiad mathematics class in primary school. I could not understand why I needed to learn the things which were beyond my means. At first, I tried my best to get a higher grade in the class in order to avoid the blame from my parents. However, something interesting happened to me after several months’ study in Olympiad mathematics.

I found that mathematics is a very interesting subject as it was not only about problem-solving but also related to thought spreading. Almost all the mathematics problems could be solved in a number of different ways, and I tried to find the easiest way for each one, therefore, I spent a lot of time in reading mathematics books, and solving mathematics problems. Since my primary school days, I was regarded as one of the best students in the area of mathematics.  My passion for mathematics remains to date and this is the most important reason that I selected mathematics as my major for undergraduate education.

Also, finance as an academic area has always captivated me since my school days. I am of the view that my interest in this area comes from the fact that business and finance runs in my family. Therefore, I have continued interacting with business as well as finance-related activities right from a very young age. This is no doubt an important factor that made me choose Economics as my second major.Because of my interest in Mathematics and Business, my career goal is to engage in an industry related to both subjects; such as Investment Company, Securities Company, and banking.

In order to achieve my goal, I saw it necessary to continue my studies and focus on finance for my post-graduate education. Through my Mathematics study, I have a deep understanding of Mathematics, and also I have chosen some mathematics classes which are useful for my future careers, such as probability, statistics, and stochastic process. Still, I know that merely mathematics is not enough, I have learned microeconomics, macroeconomics, industrial organization, and some other useful economics classes.

Through the study of both majors, I found that I always possessed strong competencies in the fields of problem-solving, logical and mathematical skills and I am quite concerned about combining my understandings, abilities, and skills of mathematics within the business arena. I also want to be an expert in the field of finance. We all know that the Chartered Financial Analyst Program is a professional credential offered to investment and financial professionals, and I plan to take the level I of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) test in the year 2013.

After the completion of the level I of CFA, I will continue to prepare for the next two levels, and get the CFA charter. I will be more competitive when I get the CFA charter, as it is easier to work with the stock and some other finance-related subjects. Presently, I have decided to apply for the program MSQF at Fordham University. I did some research on this program and I found that this program is in my favor from an academic perspective. Although I never took Finance classes during my undergraduate studies, I strongly believe that my knowledge of Mathematics and Economics will be much instrumental in my Finance studies.

As we are aware, Finance deals with numbers and analysis and my Math major will be of good help to me. On the same note, Economics is related to business and therefore my bachelor’s degree will act as a good foundation. Because I am an international student, I will also be able to interact with individuals from diverse cultures of the world in the university. This will boost my understanding regarding the world that we live in, as well as share knowledge and culture that I have. I am highly concerned about my career prospects in finance.

In this regard, the kind of prospects and contentment provided at American University is quite encouraging for me. This has stimulated me to dream about obtaining higher education from the American University. If I am able to obtain a chance of studying in the American University, I will certainly make special contributions to the institution as well as gain invaluable academic and practical knowledge, since I am highly passionate about studying finance and mathematics.