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Columbia MFE class profile

Joined
9/22/13
Messages
95
Points
118
Hello everyone! I would love to be accepted in Columbia's MSFE, In fact, I already submitted my application. I have a question for current or past students..... Are women from South America frequently admitted in Columbia's MSFE?

Maybe @Andy Nguyen , do you know??
 
I don't know of any. But that could be a good thing in terms of diversity. Then again, there are manyproblems I see with this. Usually Columbia MSFE plays favorites with the schools it recruits from overseas. This is mostly because unless the school is American, the admissions committee has no way of verifying the individual quality of education an arbitrary institution provides. Therefore, they only recruit from universities that they know and trust. They look for either strong academic profiles, or strong work experience.

For you, I wouldn't worry about things you can't control. Focus on building your profile. If you get accepted, I'll see you in New York. Good luck!
 
No- few of them apply. That's why you probably have a significant advantage. (1) You're a woman applying to a program that's 65-70% guys (2) You come from an under-represented region of the world.

You will probably not be the only Spanish or French speaking person in the classroom (you may be the only Portuguese speaking person), and you will certainly not be the only woman in the classroom.
 
No- few of them apply. That's why you probably have a significant advantage. (1) You're a woman applying to a program that's 65-70% guys (2) You come from an under-represented region of the world.

You will probably not be the only Spanish or French speaking person in the classroom (you may be the only Portuguese speaking person), and you will certainly not be the only woman in the classroom.
I agree, but I wouldn't go so far to say that this is definitely an advantage. It may be, and it may not be. For Princeton, things are very different. Princeton likes to accept the most interesting and diverse group of people from around the world. Columbia plays favorites from my experience. They only took Chinese people from the top three schools and they admitted this openly. If you don't go to a school that's on their list, then you need to back it up with very good work experience to be safe.

It's possible that they will look at your profile and want the diversity, but given their past behavior, I would not count on it. If you want to leverage your diversity, apply to Princeton. But like I said before, focus on you. Not your nationality.
 
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