Personal Statement

[samuel]

Hello all,

What are Baruch's guildlines for writing the personal statement required with the application?

Thank you

 

[Carl]

Do you mean guidelines other than what is stated on the application and the MFE homepage?

I think the guidelines are purposefully vague because the point is to see what you decide to write about, and how you do it.

 

[Aditya Chitral]

I believe the personal statement carries a lot of weight.

You should be writing in your strengths, your passion, why is it that you want to be here and why you chose it to be. Its pretty much like an answer in an interview with all the questions assumed.

Though the definitions might be vague, dont let that characteristic of vagueness creep in your statement.

 

[emil]

What are Baruch's guildlines for writing the personal statement required with the application?

I think the guidelines are specified very clear in the Application Process section of the Masters in Financial Engineering (MFE) - Baruch College :

- Why are you interested in Financial Engineering?
- Why do you want to study in the Financial Engineering MS Program at Baruch College?
- What career path do you envision after graduating from the MFE Program?

 

[samuel]

Fabulous,

I was working on statement letters for math phd programs aswell, and forgot that the site had this information. Thank you all very much.

Chao,

 

[DHaynes]

I have a question about the essay. I got a C in multivariable calculus and your site says that anything under a B doesn't count. I'm debating whether to touch on that in my essay. I didn't know it at the time but that class was more advanced than the standard curriculum. We covered the usual topics during the first half of the course and did stuff that's usually covered in differential equations 2 for the second half. The integral calc class before it also covered material usually not taught until differential equations. I had nothing but A's for the first half but got sick a couple weeks before finals. The course was split up into 3 tests and a final. The third test was 2 weeks before the final When I got sick it was 2 days before the third test and was sick until the end of the semester. I was unable to complete the last two exams because I got nauseated during both tests. As a result I got a C for the course. I then transferred to my current school which has the standard course content.

Should I mention this at all? I'm taking diff eq right now and some of the same material is covered. Would getting an A or B in the class be enough to ignore the C? I feel like the C makes me look incompetent when I actually do know the material that I was expected to learn as well as the extra stuff that they added on.

My current school has it's own issues as well but regarding grading policies. It turns out that a teacher can get fired for having too many A's and B's even if the students learned all of the material! It's rediculus. Many of the teachers will design tests so that the average score is artificially low (40-50%) so that they can curve the score for a perfect bell curve. They either add too many questions to complete in the alloted time or they give problems more complex than anything they've ever covered in class or homework. I can't tell you how many times one student scored 4 pts higher than another and got an A while the other got a C. 4 pts is as small amount with the avg problem counting for 8 pts. That's a 2 level difference due to partial points. My diff eq teacher has apologized several times for this and said he'd lose his job otherwise. Some teachers are starting to rebel about the policy but I'm graduating in a month and it's too late for me. Don't get me started on the way they compute GPAs in comparison to other schools in the area.

Should I just emphasize the positives or give a brief explanation?

 

[doug reich]

I would say explain it in 2-3 sentences where it fits in your essay. If you just say that it's an accelerated course graded on a curve, that should get the point across.

 

[doug reich]

One other thought: you should talk about it in a way that minimizes it as a liability. Say -- without sounding arrogant -- that it was a difficult course graded on a curve, and that you managed to beat out half the class despite missing a lot of class.

 

[dstefan]

I would explain it in a couple of paragraphs, but separately from the personal statement.

 

[getamplified]

Hi Aditya PLS help

I have a engineering degree .I have 2.5 yrs work ex but not in finance .
I have appeared GMAT also.

Please help me in the universities which accept GMAT score .I have strong marks in GMAT quant and throughout my career in maths

I believe the personal statement carries a lot of weight.

You should be writing in your strengths, your passion, why is it that you want to be here and why you chose it to be. Its pretty much like an answer in an interview with all the questions assumed.

Though the definitions might be vague, dont let that characteristic of vagueness creep in your statement.

 

[Sanket Patel]

Have you even tried to find out yourself? Every school lists its minimum requirements and choice of test on its website. That would be a good place to begin.

I have a engineering degree .I have 2.5 yrs work ex but not in finance .
I have appeared GMAT also.

Please help me in the universities which accept GMAT score .I have strong marks in GMAT quant and throughout my career in maths