Chances for top MSF programs-Good GMAT from Non-target
I'm a rising senior at Fordham and I wish I can get a career in or other quantitative roles. Could anyone tell me my chances to get in top MSF programs? I'm considering the Master of Financial Economics program at Columbia, in quantitative finance at Fordham, MSF at MIT. For some personal reason I don't really want to leave New York, but I'm open to top schools in Northeast.
Background:
- Female
- Foreigner from China and came to the US 3 years ago. Almost no accent in English (lots of American friends said that)
- GPA: 3.56 out of 4
- Finance major, specialization in alternative investments. I know my undergraduate curriculum is not very quantitative, but I'm planning to take more advanced math class next semester and self-study VBA and other programming language this summer.
- GMAT: 740 (50Q 88%, 39V 89%)
- Speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, and a little German
EC:
- English teacher volunteer in Nepal
- Newsletter writer for alternative investments club at school
- Chief of magazine at high school; financially self-sufficient magazine and I successfully found ad sponsor and turned the magazine into profit.
- Drummer of a band (We had two shows last year in bars in Williamsburg)
Internship experience: (no full-time experience)
- Research intern at a boutique RE investment firm
- Broker intern at a stock brokerage
- Market research intern at a global commercial real estate firm
I would look into MSFs heavily, as you would be a good candidate with your finance background I think you have a good shot and CmK, WUSTL- apply to MIT as a reach
Thanks for your advice! I prepared for the test for about a month.
Q50 + V39 should be 720, how did you get 740?
You got a great chance with all the MSFs, so apply to all of them, MIT included.
Just work on your essays, then you are all good. Typical questions are, why do you want to obtain a MSF? What are your career goals?
And prepare for interviews, WUSTL and Vandy both required interviews, don't know about MIT, didn't apply. The interviews are pretty simple, mainly behavior based, but preparation doesn't hurt anyone.
Did you take your GMAT in the U.S. or in China? You have a shot at MIT MSF depending on how well you interview. Your gmat score, though strong, is not uncommon among the Chinese applicants at schools such as CMC, MIT and WUSTL. Your GPA is good but not great. It's going to come down to how good your English actually is.
I took the GMAT in the US. I know my GPA could be better. But our school has difficult core class such as theology, philosophy and art history in freshman year, when my English was not as good as now. Do I have any chance for the MS in financial economics program at Columbia? For some reason, I really wish I can stay in NYC. Even if I relocate, it would be somewhere close to NYC, such as Boston, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
Many thanks for the advice!
To be honest I'm not too sure. A lot of my friends that are enrolled in WUSTL's Quant MSF program applied to and were rejected from many top MFE programs. They came from solid undergrads (Berkeley, UVA, etc) and had great GMAT/GRE scores. I think those programs are extremely competitive. Either way, you do have a strong profile; definitely worth the app. Good luck.
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