Applying for US masters as a French Undergrad

[thierryrioiual]

Hello,
I am looking to apply for MFE programs in the US for Fall 2024, and would like to have some advice for European applicants. I would also appreciate an evaluation on how competitive my application would be, and know what are my chances of getting into top programs.

Background:
French citizen
Double Major Bachelors Degree in Pure Maths / CS from Sorbonne University (Top 3 French University, Top 25 European)
Mark average 18/20 (Top 2%)
No prior work experience or Internships

Target Schools:
Princeton
Columbia
Berkley
UCLA
MIT

Additional Information:
- The undergraduate program I am currently enrolled in is a 3 year program, but very condensed (35 to 40 hours of class per week not including homework + additional summer semester in second year).
- Some alumnus from my program got admitted to universities like Stanford, MIT, Imperial, Oxford (but not for any finance related programs) with a 16/20 mark average, one was admitted to LSE for MSc Financial Mathematics, but they all had some sort of internship experience.
- I looked up Princeton's MFin resume book, and the only french applicants enrolled were graduates from Ecole Polytechnique (the best French engineering graduate school), but I am an undergraduate

Am I being too ambitious with these applications ? How can I further improve my resume on top of having good grades ?
Does having an internship drastically improve my application ? Should I take a gap year to do internships and gain experience before applying ?
I am still unsure if I want to be a Trader, a Financial Engineer/Analyst or Quant Researcher
Should I purse a PhD instead of a Masters ? (I heard Princeton's ORFE program is also very good) Which would be the best in terms of returns on investment ?

Thanks in advance!

 

[pierreyvessojic]

Sorbonne is one of the best universities in the world when it comes to mathematics, so this is definitely a good thing for you. Now, all the programs you cited are professional masters, so not having any job experience, not even an internship, is not so good, I think. This might not completely break your chances, but you should definitely try to get at least one internship on your resume. Given your university, I think you have a good chance of getting an internship at Goldman or JP (or any other BB) in Paris at a trading desk or something related. Now, I guess there is no harm in applying anyway; even without experience, you never know.

Note that Princeton Mfin's deadline for Fall 2024 was this Tuesday 3rd, so if you didn't apply, you will have to wait until next year's intake.

Regarding the choice between a PhD and a Master's degree, I don't think you should ever pursue a PhD because it has a "better return on investment". It is really a huge commitment, and if you decide to choose that path, you should do it because you are really passionate about a subject and want to do advanced research in the field, not with the expectation of getting a higher salary in the future (that's just my opinion though).