I received interview notification for Princeton just after New Years. I had my interview around a week ago. I really couldn't say if they are done with sending out interview invites though, because I got the impression I was one of the first to be notified (I was offered a choice of interview date from any week-day during the month of January, which I assume doesn't happen for most?).
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Princeton MFin Princeton Master in Finance admission results
- Thread starter Andy Nguyen
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I received interview notification for Princeton just after New Years. I had my interview around a week ago. I really couldn't say if they are done with sending out interview invites though, because I got the impression I was one of the first to be notified (I was offered a choice of interview date from any week-day during the month of January, which I assume doesn't happen for most?).
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Have you checked the Tracker? Why you are there, please add your application timelines as well. It would help other applicants track and compare their own result.
Thanks
Hi guys,
I see this on the application instructions.
"Three electronic letters of recommendation written in English are required from faculty members or others well-acquainted with your academic work"
Does this mean all 3 of our references must come from professors in our respective university, and that a professional reference does not count?
Thanks
Bob
I see this on the application instructions.
"Three electronic letters of recommendation written in English are required from faculty members or others well-acquainted with your academic work"
Does this mean all 3 of our references must come from professors in our respective university, and that a professional reference does not count?
Thanks
Bob
diegosanaz
BU MSMF
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It would better if you ask this question to their admissions department
I asked this question a few years ago when I was applying. The response I got was something like this:
"If you have been working in industry for several years, we understand it can be very difficult to get academic letters of reference from professors who remember you... however at least one letter from a professor who can speak to your quantitative ability would be preferred."
In reality, I just went with three professional references. Two of those references were PhDs doing quantitative work at a bank, with published research, who had MFEs working for them; one was my current manager. I was admitted without any letters from professors, but I had also been working in industry for 4.5 years when I applied.
I would still check in with the staff. Melanie Heaney-Scott, Wendell Colllins, and Karen Neukirchen are all a bit more familiar with the admissions process than I am.
I have a feeling that all else being equal, if you must go with a professional reference, having a reference that meets some or all of these characteristics is more helpful:
1.) The referrer can credibly speak to your quantitative ability.
If you're a programmer or an engineer, you're probably set on this front. If you're a CPA at a Big Four firm, and surrounded mostly by people with accounting educations and backgrounds, you need to choose your reference a little more carefully. (Not that CPAs aren't quantitative, but we are talking about your ability to do calculus and stats as part of a graduate course of study.)
2.) The referrer is your current manager.
3.) The referrer has a STEM, Finance, or Econ PhD
4.) The referrer has published research.
5.) The referrer sits in a role at a financial institution that involves quantitative financial analysis and requires a quantitative PhD or Master's degree (there is some overlap with 3)
But please speak to Karen, Wendell, or Melanie and let us know what you hear from them.
http://www.princeton.edu/bcf/about/contact/
Phone: (609) 258-0770
Best of luck with your application!
"If you have been working in industry for several years, we understand it can be very difficult to get academic letters of reference from professors who remember you... however at least one letter from a professor who can speak to your quantitative ability would be preferred."
In reality, I just went with three professional references. Two of those references were PhDs doing quantitative work at a bank, with published research, who had MFEs working for them; one was my current manager. I was admitted without any letters from professors, but I had also been working in industry for 4.5 years when I applied.
I would still check in with the staff. Melanie Heaney-Scott, Wendell Colllins, and Karen Neukirchen are all a bit more familiar with the admissions process than I am.
I have a feeling that all else being equal, if you must go with a professional reference, having a reference that meets some or all of these characteristics is more helpful:
1.) The referrer can credibly speak to your quantitative ability.
If you're a programmer or an engineer, you're probably set on this front. If you're a CPA at a Big Four firm, and surrounded mostly by people with accounting educations and backgrounds, you need to choose your reference a little more carefully. (Not that CPAs aren't quantitative, but we are talking about your ability to do calculus and stats as part of a graduate course of study.)
2.) The referrer is your current manager.
3.) The referrer has a STEM, Finance, or Econ PhD
4.) The referrer has published research.
5.) The referrer sits in a role at a financial institution that involves quantitative financial analysis and requires a quantitative PhD or Master's degree (there is some overlap with 3)
But please speak to Karen, Wendell, or Melanie and let us know what you hear from them.
http://www.princeton.edu/bcf/about/contact/
Phone: (609) 258-0770
Best of luck with your application!
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A classmate got interview invitation last week...so this has been a week full of torture for me. Still heard nothing from PU, even I submitted my application quite earlier than the ones got interviews shown on the tracker. Any one got any ideas when will be the usually last day for an interview invitation? What a horrible thing that a Chinese-so-called "rejection in silence" might happen on me...
Hi Mic. Where are you applying from, and what is your profile? I can give you a sense of whether this might be a ding or not, though you have to be prepared for the answer- it may hurt. If you're concerned about posting it online, PM it to me.
Interviews are typically finished by the end of January IIRC. And they often will contact you about a week in advance to schedule it.
I should caution that there are anywhere from 500-800 students every year who think they have a good enough shot at an admit to pay the $90 application fee, but there are typically spots for only about 20-40 students. So that means that the majority of students won't be interviewed.
In any case, I know what it's like to get that form letter starting with "We regret to inform you...", or to worry about getting it.
If it makes you feel any better, I was rejected over and over again by the Ivies. Both for undergrad and for grad school, and it hurt both times. Every time I got rejected, I got more determined to prove them wrong. And I managed to find my success on Wall Street without help from the Ivies. You will be able to too, if necessary. That is the mindset you need to have through this process. Incidentally, it's the mindset that will also help you get into Princeton.
Interviews are typically finished by the end of January IIRC. And they often will contact you about a week in advance to schedule it.
I should caution that there are anywhere from 500-800 students every year who think they have a good enough shot at an admit to pay the $90 application fee, but there are typically spots for only about 20-40 students. So that means that the majority of students won't be interviewed.
In any case, I know what it's like to get that form letter starting with "We regret to inform you...", or to worry about getting it.
If it makes you feel any better, I was rejected over and over again by the Ivies. Both for undergrad and for grad school, and it hurt both times. Every time I got rejected, I got more determined to prove them wrong. And I managed to find my success on Wall Street without help from the Ivies. You will be able to too, if necessary. That is the mindset you need to have through this process. Incidentally, it's the mindset that will also help you get into Princeton.
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hes a current 2nd year student with a return offer from a pretty good company
Yes, I'm a 2nd year student. But I should also mention that Princeton rejected me twice- once for undergrad and once for grad school (yes, the MFin program). So I've been rejected more times than I've been admitted.
I've been through the rejection cycle. Yeah, I guess it's easier to say that now that I'm a student. But it still hurt. And I've been there.
I don't think we can rule out OP's chances yet. But I'd rather have OP focused on saying "Screw Princeton, I can make it without them". This general mentality in the weeks approaching it will both help him with the interview and help him on the off chance he winds up like me on 2 out of my 3 tries at the school. Finally, when he lands at Columbia, graduates at the top of his class, and winds up running some quant fund, I don't want him remembering some decision by Princeton as a ruling about the validity of his career when I am trying to get a job working for him in ten years. I hope he has the confidence to realize he doesn't really need Princeton, that Ivies screw up on admissions decisions all the time (2 out of 3 times for me) and it's just two words on a diploma.
OP still has some shot at an interview, although the door is going to close in the next two weeks.
Maybe it would also be helpful to talk about all of the times I've been rejected when trying to recruit at hedge funds and consulting firms, for jobs I thought I was perfect for, with whatever recruiting boost Princeton gives you. I will save that for another thread and another day.
It's tough and I empathize with OP. Sometimes recruiters and admissions committees don't have the ability to see who you really are and the value in that. But we all eventually come to our senses in the end.
I've been through the rejection cycle. Yeah, I guess it's easier to say that now that I'm a student. But it still hurt. And I've been there.
I don't think we can rule out OP's chances yet. But I'd rather have OP focused on saying "Screw Princeton, I can make it without them". This general mentality in the weeks approaching it will both help him with the interview and help him on the off chance he winds up like me on 2 out of my 3 tries at the school. Finally, when he lands at Columbia, graduates at the top of his class, and winds up running some quant fund, I don't want him remembering some decision by Princeton as a ruling about the validity of his career when I am trying to get a job working for him in ten years. I hope he has the confidence to realize he doesn't really need Princeton, that Ivies screw up on admissions decisions all the time (2 out of 3 times for me) and it's just two words on a diploma.
OP still has some shot at an interview, although the door is going to close in the next two weeks.
Maybe it would also be helpful to talk about all of the times I've been rejected when trying to recruit at hedge funds and consulting firms, for jobs I thought I was perfect for, with whatever recruiting boost Princeton gives you. I will save that for another thread and another day.
It's tough and I empathize with OP. Sometimes recruiters and admissions committees don't have the ability to see who you really are and the value in that. But we all eventually come to our senses in the end.
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Golllini, cannot express my gratefulness for your kind comforts and encouragement. Many many thanks!
I am a current mathematics student in one of the top UK universities, extremely high academic records, not a high GRE, strong reference, a couple of academic publications (should've applied a PhD!), and several summer interns in famous global IB and Insurance company (technical work such as RM and actuarial dept.)...never count on Princeton, but will feel a little bit disappointed if an interview is not even given...especially some classmate got one...
Still keep hope alive...and might kill it a week later...
I am a current mathematics student in one of the top UK universities, extremely high academic records, not a high GRE, strong reference, a couple of academic publications (should've applied a PhD!), and several summer interns in famous global IB and Insurance company (technical work such as RM and actuarial dept.)...never count on Princeton, but will feel a little bit disappointed if an interview is not even given...especially some classmate got one...
Still keep hope alive...and might kill it a week later...
Any sports? Leadership?
Princeton may be shifting more conservative this year. One of the more common themes among some interview candidates who have contacted me for advice is that they have prior full-time work experience. Given your profile, I am also a little surprised that you havn't received an interview offer. However, you are an international applicant, even if from a school like Oxford, Cambridge, LSE or Manchester. And you're probably up against the salutatorian from Ecole Polytechnique where there are ~10 seats and perhaps 25 interview slots for all of the European applicants.
I can't explain a potential ding between you vs the other applicant from your school. Sometimes it can be random and you can't take these decisions as an up or down vote on you vs someone else. I do know that if I had applied as a European undergrad, I would have gotten dinged.
I can certainly empathize with a potential ding. In high school/ secondary school, I was known as the brainiac who got a perfect score on the SATs and was heavily involved in Boy Scouts and on the Swim Team. But I got rejected from Princeton while other students from my high school got in. Watching other kids that I didn't think were smarter or harder working than me traipse off to ivy league schools while I went in-state was a tough experience. (To be fair, I also didn't have the money for a private school.) But in the end, it didn't matter. When I graduated, I wound up in the same place as them, with $100K less in debt. It will likely be the same for you.
But I'm not sure they're done handing out interview invites yet, either. So as much as I want to offer folks comfort on this, I'm not sure anyone's been dinged yet. My hunch is that five people are going to show up next week saying they got interview invites, and one of them will be someone who posted on quantnet thinking they got dinged unfairly.
Princeton may be shifting more conservative this year. One of the more common themes among some interview candidates who have contacted me for advice is that they have prior full-time work experience. Given your profile, I am also a little surprised that you havn't received an interview offer. However, you are an international applicant, even if from a school like Oxford, Cambridge, LSE or Manchester. And you're probably up against the salutatorian from Ecole Polytechnique where there are ~10 seats and perhaps 25 interview slots for all of the European applicants.
I can't explain a potential ding between you vs the other applicant from your school. Sometimes it can be random and you can't take these decisions as an up or down vote on you vs someone else. I do know that if I had applied as a European undergrad, I would have gotten dinged.
I can certainly empathize with a potential ding. In high school/ secondary school, I was known as the brainiac who got a perfect score on the SATs and was heavily involved in Boy Scouts and on the Swim Team. But I got rejected from Princeton while other students from my high school got in. Watching other kids that I didn't think were smarter or harder working than me traipse off to ivy league schools while I went in-state was a tough experience. (To be fair, I also didn't have the money for a private school.) But in the end, it didn't matter. When I graduated, I wound up in the same place as them, with $100K less in debt. It will likely be the same for you.
But I'm not sure they're done handing out interview invites yet, either. So as much as I want to offer folks comfort on this, I'm not sure anyone's been dinged yet. My hunch is that five people are going to show up next week saying they got interview invites, and one of them will be someone who posted on quantnet thinking they got dinged unfairly.
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Yike Lu
Finder of biased coins.
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I interviewed with them a few years back (2010). They emphasized in that interview that "We train leaders, not quants."
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Paul Tudor Jones:
'Everything happens for a reason.'
"So here is the point: you are going to meet the dragon of failure in your life. You may not get into the school you want or you may get kicked out of the school you are in. You may get your heart broken by the girl of your dreams or God forbid, get into an accident beyond your control. But the point is that everything happens for a reason. At the time it may not be clear. And certainly the pain and the shame are going to be overwhelming and devastating. But just as sure as the sun comes up, there will come time a time on the next day or the next week or the next year, when you will grab that sword and point it at that dragon and tell him, 'Be gone, dragon. Tarry with me and I will cut your head off. For I must find the destination God and life hold in store for me!'"
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/life-lessons-from-hedge-fund-managers-2013-2?op=1#ixzz2qJnlKxEz
'Everything happens for a reason.'
"So here is the point: you are going to meet the dragon of failure in your life. You may not get into the school you want or you may get kicked out of the school you are in. You may get your heart broken by the girl of your dreams or God forbid, get into an accident beyond your control. But the point is that everything happens for a reason. At the time it may not be clear. And certainly the pain and the shame are going to be overwhelming and devastating. But just as sure as the sun comes up, there will come time a time on the next day or the next week or the next year, when you will grab that sword and point it at that dragon and tell him, 'Be gone, dragon. Tarry with me and I will cut your head off. For I must find the destination God and life hold in store for me!'"
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/life-lessons-from-hedge-fund-managers-2013-2?op=1#ixzz2qJnlKxEz
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How important are the PS for Princeton application? What do you guys think
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Anybody applying for the 2015 Princeton Mfin Program? Profiles?
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I have been checking out studet profiles and two things that caught my atention 1) a solid STEM degree (mostly from French Unis) and 2) no prior work experience (FT, not internships). I would say this group of students accounts for about 60%+ of the class ...
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Around 5 people straight out of Business program (some with Econ major)
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