- Joined
- 1/5/16
- Messages
- 18
- Points
- 23
Hello,
Who Am I: I am a quant, mainly focused in Commodities. I have spent 7+ years working in one of the top 5 sell-side firms across New York and London. I have been working for a multi-billion dollar hedge fund for the last couple of years. I chose my MFE program based on recommendations/rankings from QuantNet.
About My Company: A multi billion $ hedge fund trading across various asset classes and horizons.
Why Am I doing this: There is a perceived lack of information on what differentiates an excellent MFE application from a bad one. While communities like QuantNet help fill this gap, I feel a quick cheat-sheet of tips would be useful for the candidates to further refine their applications.
A successful MFE application has many components. I am listing what I think are the most important, in a decreasing order of importance.
Letters of Recommendation:
Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose:
Resume/CV:
Interview:
While I am not going to vouch for any particular MFE program, feel free to reply to this thread/send me a DM if you have any specific questions.
All the best for the process!
Who Am I: I am a quant, mainly focused in Commodities. I have spent 7+ years working in one of the top 5 sell-side firms across New York and London. I have been working for a multi-billion dollar hedge fund for the last couple of years. I chose my MFE program based on recommendations/rankings from QuantNet.
About My Company: A multi billion $ hedge fund trading across various asset classes and horizons.
Why Am I doing this: There is a perceived lack of information on what differentiates an excellent MFE application from a bad one. While communities like QuantNet help fill this gap, I feel a quick cheat-sheet of tips would be useful for the candidates to further refine their applications.
A successful MFE application has many components. I am listing what I think are the most important, in a decreasing order of importance.
Letters of Recommendation:
- This is one of the most important aspects of an application, but it is often the most overlooked
- Having an LOR from someone senior like an MD/CXO would add a lot of weight to an otherwise average MFE application
- Pick someone who knows you and your work quite well. For example, having it from a course instructor who barely knows you would dilute an application
Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose:
- It goes without saying that an excellent PS/SoP would be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful application
- Make sure that the story in the PS is coherent and answers the following questions:
- What attracted you to the field in the first place?
- What makes you a good potential candidate for an admit?
- What are your goals and how does the program help achieve them?
- Why choose the specific university and program?
- Have your CV/PoS reviewed by peers/seniors/alumni to address any gaps in them
Resume/CV:
- A resume will be very critical not just for the MFE application but beyond to while hunting for an internship/full time job
- Ensure that all the points in the CV show was the impact rather than what was done
- Try to add numbers where possible to highlight your impact
Interview:
- Most of the universities follow a specific structure for the interviews, asking questions from the following categories:
- Resume/Experience related questions
- Why MFE/Why this program/Why you?
- Integrity related question (Tell me a time when…)
- Future Goals
- Strengths & Weaknesses
- There are a lot of resources available on QuantNet on previous interview experiences. Leverage them and make sure you are fully prepared and have 2-3 stories ready for each of the questions asked
While I am not going to vouch for any particular MFE program, feel free to reply to this thread/send me a DM if you have any specific questions.
All the best for the process!