Best grad school for active equities traders

University of Chicago. A great MBA program and it has a finance focus. You will also have access to the prop firms in Chicago. The plus side to going to a school like this is that you have the option of exploring what else the finance world has to offer. Perhaps you will want to go to a hedgefund or a bank. It will be immensely easier from a school like that. From what you have described you could get into the school.

If you are making 200-300% pattern trading, no school will help you hone specific skills. But it will open your eyes to other aspects of finance and trading.
 
Quote from WS_MJH:

First off, thank you for your service!

As to grad school, it depends on what your goals are. If you want to get hired by a fund, prestige matters. In general, you want to go to a top 10-15 mba program or the equivalent M.Fin program, eg MIT, Princeton. Outside of that, you can learn most of what you need to learn by yourself, such as studying for the CFA exam, which is much cheaper than a program. No program will teach you how to "trade," but you will get a greater understanding of the finance sector and the economy as a whole, which'll help if you're more of a fundamentals trader, than a TA trader. For the most part, trading is like any other skill set; it takes time to learn and master. This can't be done at school.

Good luck!
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WS_MJH,

I am not sure I want to trade for a Hedge Fund or not. I have interned at two mutual funds as an analyst, one that is #1 in its Morningstar peer group, and really enjoyed the experience, however once I started day trading, it was Nirvana.

I think prop trading is really where I want to be.

I think a lot of people do finance for the prestige and I am not entirely concerned about that. I am not even necessarily concerned about the money. For me it is about playing the game and winning.

After my third knee surgery I couldn't kickbox anymore so I started playing video games competitively. To me trading the market is simply the most engrossing and competitive game I have played.

That being said I have only interacted with the market taker side. Market makers, institutional trading desks, and hedge funds aren't something I have been involved with, so maybe the jury isn't out. It is however, hard for me to think or something I have enjoyed more than day trading.
 
Quote from tomdavis:

Go to the BEST, most competitive graduate school you can get into. Compete head-to-head with the smartest people you can find. Develop your critical thinking skills and learn to criticize your own work before some fellow student asshole, or the professor, makes a complete fool of you in front of your classmates. You'll be razor sharp and breathing fire by the time you get your degree.

You will learn nothing and prepare yourself for nothing if you go to a school where you're the smartest guy in the room.
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tomdavis,

Great point. I couldn't standing thinking 'what if' if I hadn't applied to the top schools for my grads, but I also need to have a good contingency, and I want to be at a place that I can identify with other aspiring traders, build a good trading team for competitions, and hone my skills.

I underestimated that peer advantage going to a state school, even in the honors classes there just isn't a lot of people with fire in their belly.

If I keep it up my trading wins might just pay for all those $250 dollar applications:)
 
Quote from newwurldmn:

University of Chicago. A great MBA program and it has a finance focus. You will also have access to the prop firms in Chicago. The plus side to going to a school like this is that you have the option of exploring what else the finance world has to offer. Perhaps you will want to go to a hedgefund or a bank. It will be immensely easier from a school like that. From what you have described you could get into the school.

If you are making 200-300% pattern trading, no school will help you hone specific skills. But it will open your eyes to other aspects of finance and trading.
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newwurldmn,

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I really like the city of Chicago. Seems like you could live a lot better there than in NY while starting up.

I think I need to delete my performance on my post as it is irrelevant because of the size of line I have: 'just' enough for to have pattern trading account. I only show it to say that it seems like something I could be good at. That being said there isn't a large enough sample size for anyone to consider me a good trader.

I am pretty green. Last week I shorted into a silver rally and didn't take a quick loss because I thought I was right, as opposed to listen to what the market was telling me. Since then I have put a sign above my trading desk that says "Shut the F*** up and Listen to the Market."

I have a lot of stuff I want to learn and I am sure a larger line would bring new challenges and a new learning curve.

University of Chicago (Booth) is definitely on the list of places I would like to go. There is a lot of trading in Chicago, although I see mostly market making/HFT/algo functions.

Are you alum there, or trade in Chicago? And what is your opinion of University of Illinois, I see a lot of chicago prop firms Spot Trading like Jump Trading, DRW, Optiver, Peak6, and Chicago Trading Company, actively recurting on the UIUC campus and not UofC, which seems odd to me, since UofC is hands down the more prestigious school.
 
Quote from Bourbon84:

WS_MJH,

I am not sure I want to trade for a Hedge Fund or not. I have interned at two mutual funds as an analyst, one that is #1 in its Morningstar peer group, and really enjoyed the experience, however once I started day trading, it was Nirvana.

I think prop trading is really where I want to be.

I think a lot of people do finance for the prestige and I am not entirely concerned about that. I am not even necessarily concerned about the money. For me it is about playing the game and winning.

After my third knee surgery I couldn't kickbox anymore so I started playing video games competitively. To me trading the market is simply the most engrossing and competitive game I have played.

That being said I have only interacted with the market taker side. Market makers, institutional trading desks, and hedge funds aren't something I have been involved with, so maybe the jury isn't out. It is however, hard for me to think or something I have enjoyed more than day trading.
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Hey: I'd second the University of Chicago. It has a great part-time program and concentrates on finance. You can do it part-time and even just on the weekends. It seems like you can move around. NYC has NYU part-time, and Berkeley in SF, and Kellogg in Chicago as well. There's lots of trading jobs in Chicago, but more fund jobs in the tri-state area. You got a good gpa and gmat, so you should be set. BTW, most MBA programs love ex-military. However, you will need some work experience to get in. Your military exp should do that for you.

I can't say enough, go to a top 10-15 program because if you ever trade with other people's money, they are going to want credentials, whether you own the shop or work for others. Seems like you found your calling. Work hard and learn the trade, and do the rest part-time. Have a good night.
 
Are you alum there, or trade in Chicago? And what is your opinion of University of Illinois, I see a lot of chicago prop firms Spot Trading like Jump Trading, DRW, Optiver, Peak6, and Chicago Trading Company, actively recurting on the UIUC campus and not UofC, which seems odd to me, since UofC is hands down the more prestigious school.

BTW, Chicago's placement value is above these prop shops; Chicago would set you up for doing prop trading for investment funds, and not just at prop shops. UChicago is the big leagues, as is Berkeley, Northwestern and NYU.
 
Your gmat is above average. Military experience was in a command position?

Get a admissions consultant and apply in round 2 for Wharton.

Don't sell yourself short. Prop firms are dime a dozen and markets are not going anywhere. Learn to swing trade, more money less work.
 
Quote from WS_MJH:

Hey: I'd second the University of Chicago. It has a great part-time program and concentrates on finance. You can do it part-time and even just on the weekends. It seems like you can move around. NYC has NYU part-time, and Berkeley in SF, and Kellogg in Chicago as well. There's lots of trading jobs in Chicago, but more fund jobs in the tri-state area. You got a good gpa and gmat, so you should be set. BTW, most MBA programs love ex-military. However, you will need some work experience to get in. Your military exp should do that for you.

I can't say enough, go to a top 10-15 program because if you ever trade with other people's money, they are going to want credentials, whether you own the shop or work for others. Seems like you found your calling. Work hard and learn the trade, and do the rest part-time. Have a good night.
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WS_MJH,

Thanks for the help! You have some great points.

I am getting the notion that 'prop shops' aren't loved by all. I hear very contrasting stories on the quality of their training versus investment firms/BB. I have talked to people at SMB and JSC in NY and they said they would never do anything besides being a prop trader.

I like the notion of trading an agile 2mm line and making 90% versus a large line and making 10%, but I know little about the quality of training programs, differentiation in strategies, and exit ops. Would be great to hear from successful traders on both side of the equation.

I have heard that from a lot of MBA admin, however most of the MBA candidates I see are prior officers: I went Marine enlisted to state undergrads. I have had varying answers on from top schools on how they value prebac military experience.

You bring up a great point in that UofC/NYU's night/weekend programs are lot less competitive than their full time counterparts. For full time programs it is 3.52 GPA/715 GMAT and 3.42/715 respectively versus their part time programs which are 3.42/687 and 3.40/674.
 
I am an Engineer who went to U of C grad school evenings.

No person can deny impression that the University of Chicago has made upon serious economists.

Having said all of that, please be advised that a Bank or Fund or big Prop Group only uses said credential as a recruiting filter. No school will make you into a "trader".
 
Quote from MWycliff:

Your gmat is above average. Military experience was in a command position?

Get a admissions consultant and apply in round 2 for Wharton.

Don't sell yourself short. Prop firms are dime a dozen and markets are not going anywhere. Learn to swing trade, more money less work.
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MWycliff,

Thanks for responding. My military experience was as a enlisted Marine. I was a platoon Sergeant, but that is overseeing a shop of 15, not a Company or Battalion.

I got out in 08 and finish my undergrads in 2012.

The more I have learned about the market, the more I have found out I need to learn! The strategies I have now work but I keep adding to a growing 'to learn' list. Swing trading is next in line.
I would at minimum like to learn to extract reliable profits from each security class and basic trading style. The more tools the better!

I am working on my essays at the moment and will be getting an admissions consultant soon.

I wanted to hear from successful traders such as yourself on how they got into trading, why they went to school where they did, and how they think that impacted them.

Thanks so much for your contribution.
 
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