My chance at UCB? Or CMU/MIT

JoeYang said:
May I know how many people are waitlisted last year?
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You can check the record of their information session on August 3. They said there were 15 people on the waitlist last year. As for this year, more students (probably doubled) are given WL without guarantee so I guess the it's more like a buffer after WL with guarantee holders.
 
FDneo said:
You can check the record of their information session on August 3. They said there were 15 people on the waitlist last year. As for this year, more students (probably doubled) are given WL without guarantee so I guess the it's more like a buffer after WL with guarantee holders.
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Does it mean that there has to be someone to drop the offer then people from the waitlist can have the chance? It is very close to the start of the program so I doubt if anyone would do so..
 
JoeYang said:
sad
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Not really. Based on the UCB feedback, you have some gaps.

Believe me - it's way worse to get accepted if you're not ready. You start on a path, a very expensive path, where you get smoked interviews, barely keep up with classes, and don't really get the value of the experience. This isn't stuff you can cram for - there's too much material and not enough time.

I took an extra year to prepare after getting rejected by my top choice (and some life stuff came up, too). I wouldn't trade that for anything, even though I'm mid-career and gave up a lot to do that.

You want to be the one coming into August (or March - sup UCB?) crushing hackerrank challenges, laughing about how easy probability and sto-cal are, and overloading on extra deep learning classes because you can finish the homework challenges. In the top programs, there are a lot of students in this category. I'm definitely not, but man I would be in deep trouble had I not built even the shaky foundation I have.
 
To be fair, UCB does seem to require contents that other programs don't (macro, audit, corp finance - I have none of these). But I agree that it's very important to have solid foundation in programming and maths.
 
Onegin said:
Believe me - it's way worse to get accepted if you're not ready.
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This applies doubly to starting the job. The top places everyone wants to get into will not hesitate to cut you in under 6 months if you don't perform. Which is why I also recommend not over-optimizing for the interviews and instead spending some time getting used to doing things you'd do on the job. There is obviously quite some overlap but still
 
Onegin said:
Not really. Based on the UCB feedback, you have some gaps.

Believe me - it's way worse to get accepted if you're not ready. You start on a path, a very expensive path, where you get smoked interviews, barely keep up with classes, and don't really get the value of the experience. This isn't stuff you can cram for - there's too much material and not enough time.

I took an extra year to prepare after getting rejected by my top choice (and some life stuff came up, too). I wouldn't trade that for anything, even though I'm mid-career and gave up a lot to do that.

You want to be the one coming into August (or March - sup UCB?) crushing hackerrank challenges, laughing about how easy probability and sto-cal are, and overloading on extra deep learning classes because you can finish the homework challenges. In the top programs, there are a lot of students in this category. I'm definitely not, but man I would be in deep trouble had I not built even the shaky foundation I have.
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Thank you very much for your advice. One thing I'd mention is that in my preparation list, there are no requirements for programming and machine learning. For corporate finance, I have just finished the Coursera introduction to corporate finance course. My preparation list seems quite short and I think it takes about 1 month or 2 to finish it. I am wondering what does UCB wanna see from me for an extra year, considering I am already doing full-time work for 2 years.? Or is it simply because they think I am not academically competitive enough based on my undergraduate GPA?
 
Onegin said:
Not really. Based on the UCB feedback, you have some gaps.

Believe me - it's way worse to get accepted if you're not ready. You start on a path, a very expensive path, where you get smoked interviews, barely keep up with classes, and don't really get the value of the experience. This isn't stuff you can cram for - there's too much material and not enough time.

I took an extra year to prepare after getting rejected by my top choice (and some life stuff came up, too). I wouldn't trade that for anything, even though I'm mid-career and gave up a lot to do that.

You want to be the one coming into August (or March - sup UCB?) crushing hackerrank challenges, laughing about how easy probability and sto-cal are, and overloading on extra deep learning classes because you can finish the homework challenges. In the top programs, there are a lot of students in this category. I'm definitely not, but man I would be in deep trouble had I not built even the shaky foundation I have.
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always on point
 
Today I joined the UCB's online information session on Pre courses, where I met Linda, Dave, Johan, Martin. Linda talked about why should we take the UCB pre course. They are good courses and I totally understand their importance. They also said that there are opportunities to interact with professors. And they do review and consider the performance in pre-courses regarding my final decision. It makes me feel that there is some chance for me to perform well and impress them? or is this just the "official" answer they give to everyone? What are your thoughts buddies!
 
JoeYang said:
Today I joined the UCB's online information session on Pre courses, where I met Linda, Dave, Johan, Martin. Linda talked about why should we take the UCB pre course. They are good courses and I totally understand their importance. They also said that there are opportunities to interact with professors. And they do review and consider the performance in pre-courses regarding my final decision. It makes me feel that there is some chance for me to perform well and impress them? or is this just the "official" answer they give to everyone? What are your thoughts buddies!
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Linda has a stellar reputation, and does not mince words. If her name is on something, you generally know it is high quality. If you need the knowledge for the courses, go for it. I'm biased towards Baruch pre-MFE, but I didn't really look at at UCB ever. It is definitely a chance to impress the professors. It's also a chance to disappoint them as well.
 
JoeYang said:
Today I joined the UCB's online information session on Pre courses, where I met Linda, Dave, Johan, Martin. Linda talked about why should we take the UCB pre course. They are good courses and I totally understand their importance. They also said that there are opportunities to interact with professors. And they do review and consider the performance in pre-courses regarding my final decision. It makes me feel that there is some chance for me to perform well and impress them? or is this just the "official" answer they give to everyone? What are your thoughts buddies!
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It is hard to impress professors in video recordings and naive assignments.
 
Hey,
My situation is quite similar to yours. I need a 90th percentile in quant. Can you tell me a bit about what was discussed in the info session you attended? Also, if I may ask what do you plan on doing?
 
youknowhoo said:
Hey,
My situation is quite similar to yours. I need a 90th percentile in quant. Can you tell me a bit about what was discussed in the info session you attended? Also, if I may ask what do you plan on doing?
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they emailed the recorded meeting, if you need the recording I could email it to you, just PM me
 
seems like it's becoming almost mandatory for everyone to take the classes regardless of your background.

I am taking the Math course, if anyone else is taking it and want to create a study group, please let me know.
 
m_s said:
they emailed the recorded meeting, if you need the recording I could email it to you, just PM me
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Oh, I was just curious as to why wasn't the recording sent to me. Have you already registered for the course?
 

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