MFE Interviews

[kakimochi]

Are MFE program admissions interviews the same type of questions that will be asked by employers or are they more for student fit in the program? I see a lot of posts saying we must do interview preparations but I want to make sure I distinguish the two and prepare accordingly.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

There are two types: technical and behavioral interviews. Technical consists of questions on math, brain teasers, puzzle, finance or coding. This is similar to first round interviews for jobs.
This is done by program faculty or alumni.
The second behavioral interview type is more common. It is còn ducted by program staff or directors to gauge your interest, fit for the program. Like why this program, what your desired career path, etc.

Each program will choose their own approach based on their selection criteria. Some programs have no interviews at all. Some may rely on applicants to submit recorded video of themselves.

Baruch MFE will have several rounds of technical interviews by faculty. Just like a job interviews.
UCB MFE will have technical interview by alumni followed by behavioral interview by staff.
Most other programs will only have behavioral interview.
Hope this gives you some idea what to expect.

 

[kakimochi]

There are two types: technical and behavioral interviews. Technical consists of questions on math, brain teasers, puzzle, finance or coding. This is similar to first round interviews for jobs.
This is done by program faculty or alumni.
The second behavioral interview type is more common. It is còn ducted by program staff or directors to gauge your interest, fit for the program. Like why this program, what your desired career path, etc.

Each program will choose their own approach based on their selection criteria. Some programs have no interviews at all. Some may rely on applicants to submit recorded video of themselves.

Baruch MFE will have several rounds of technical interviews by faculty. Just like a job interviews.
UCB MFE will have technical interview by alumni followed by behavioral interview by staff.
Most other programs will only have behavioral interview.
Hope this gives you some idea what to expect.

I appreciate the response Andy. I’ll definitely look into some of the schools I’m shooting for. There weren’t much answers on this so this is really helpful.

I was thinking that schools wouldn’t ask too many technical questions because the whole point of an MFE I believe is to learn the things being tested.

Do you know of any information about Columbia MFE interviews? It just seems they are video submissions.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Baruch is most rigorous with making sure you are ready for recruiting on day one. This is why the have the pre-MFE courses for applicants who are serious about being properly prepared.
Other programs will mostly just ask what on your resume so make sure you can talk in detail about it.
Columbia MFE is not going to do this time consuming task due to the number of applications they have. You can get a lot of insights by tracking the dedicated application discussion. Same for other programs.