Princeton MFin Admisison Chances
Hi everyone
I'm a quantitative analyst at one of the more successful prop trading shops in Chicago. - I've built volatility models used by most trading groups - I've also built automated trading models which trades tens of millions of dollars notional every day - As an extra, I also lecture traders on stats and probability as a part of an education initiative
I graduated from a TOP 5 Engineering school with a degree in Computer Science (BS), Class 2015 My GPA is a rather unimpressive 3.50 with some Bs in quantitative courses as well. I've researched with 3 professors, nothing publishable though.
My GRE scores are 160V/169Q
I know my GPA is too low for Princeton... at the time I was engrossed in the start-up culture and put my education in the back seat. I missed homeworks and assignments regularly. No excuses there.
What do you guys think my chances are at Princeton? Is it worth a shot?
Thank you to everyone in advance
I honestly think you'd be a competitive applicant. GPA isn't really that bad either. Maybe IlliniProgrammer can opine further?
Thanks for the comment. Fingers crossed.
Yeah, UIUC CS (strongly suspected) -> QR at strong Chicago prop shop -> Princeton works.
Also, 3.5 GPA out of UIUC is not a dealbreaker for Princeton. (hem, hem)
Try to make yourself an interesting candidate. The Underwater Archeology Society of Chicago is doing a survey of a newly discovered shipwreck in Lake Michigan. Two weekends ago we were out doing a survey, laying down tape, getting measurements, trying to identify the wreck. You have the ability to get in on that. At some point, if everyone is clearly in the front office, if everyone already has the math abilities for the program, it gets hard to distinguish between candidates. All else being equal, we want more interesting people on campus. So the kid who runs marathons, who worked at NASA, who plays concert piano, the hang glider pilot-- the guy who did surveys on Lake Michigan shipwrecks etc-- the one with the interesting stories-- he gets the admit.
Why are you going back to school when you are likely making too much money for school to be worth it?
Strong word of advice man - don't get a masters in finance from Princeton/Berkeley etc. unless you want to be an academic. It will add no value for you. I was contemplating the same thing because I came from a strong math/quant background and was advised against by a family friend who is a full professor of finance at Berkeley. If you do want to be an academic however, Princeton for MF to Berkeley/UOC/Stanford for Phd is the route man. It's a pretty nice life too, the professor I know makes over 200k, sits on like 9 boards (collects the 15-30K for being a board member) and gets grant money for his research. All without the never ending stress of a boss/normal finance management.
Most MFins wind up back in industry.
Again, an MFE program is sort of like the loan department of a bank. It's easy to get a loan if you don't need the money. You're a competitive candidate for an MFE program if you're earning too much for an MFE to be worth it.
For me it kinda sorta worked out because I got the boost from a front office (ish?) sell side desk developer to a buyside QR. I suspect that with some fun hobbies (mine were motorcycle racing and hang gliding) you'd be a more competitive candidate than me. The number of applicants over the past few years has been lower than it was in 2012, so it may also be a little less competitive. But if you've clearly broken in as a QR, an MFE is a waste of time and money-- especially in terms of opportunity cost. Maybe consider doing UChicago's part-time MSMF?
If you're not happy as a prop QR, you may want to start asking yourself why and whether this career is sustainable for the long-term.
If it helps any, Princeton's grad program likes state schools and engineering schools more than liberal arts schools, and undergrad backgrounds like UVA, UIUC, UT Austin, UCLA, etc with work experience tend to have a good track record of getting grades and jobs. If you include me, there have been two UIUC CS admits over the past five years, so you're in good company.
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