Any chance of getting into Princeton MFin?

schen:

Nope.. I did a very short term internship at an insurance company in HK , and the other one is in education industry.
I do see someone else without previous finance experience admitted by Princeton, but I'm just not sure how overcome this weakness.

He may have overcome it by graduating from Polytechnique or Tsinghua and being a stochastic calculus master.

If you want a good chance of getting into Princeton, I'd try to land at a major bank or hedge fund. Your first job doesn't have to be in the front office, although it will save you 18 months if it is.

Once there your goal is to land a front office job where you can work with a number of PhDs.

After two years, apply again. Get the PHDs with published financial research to write your references.

50% odds this time. Not saying its worth it for Princeton (or anywhere close to worth it). But that route pays a lot of other professional dividends and maximizes your options. It leaves the door open for an MBA, PhD, MFE or just staying in industry with an undergrad degree and focusing on work. You may not even need an MFE to get the job you want.

For instance, I applied to MFE programs twice following that route. First time, Princeton interviewed me but rejected me. I got an internal transfer offer from sales and trading two weeks after that. Two years later, I reapplied to Princeton and got in this time. So don't feel bad if they turn you away the first time, especially if your circumstances have materially improved.

Apply early, apply often. Just don't get obsessed and don't turn into Brady.

Or save yourself two to four years and take the admit from Duke MSF or Cornell MFE. Or, who knows, you may get lucky and get in straight out of undergrad.

If your ultimate goal is a strategist or PM or researcher role, there's nothing wrong with going straight to industry for a few years. This is a game of Manhattan paths. If you're heading northeast, you cross the streets that the traffic lights suggest you cross, and when one light turns red, the other turns green. Be flexible and pragmatic, and choose the best option available to you (either industry or a master's degree) for getting you to your ultimate goal.

I think a bright kid with a 3.9 from a top 50 school can land somewhere at a BB. Maybe the front office. But if not, in a role that can position him to move there. If you can't get into MIT or Princeton, do that, move to the FO, and apply two years later saying, "so how you like me now?"