Princeton MFin Princeton MFin Admission Discussion

[madkao]

The results should be released by tomorrow, good luck everyone

if the results are released tomorrow, how come you're already admitted on the tracker?

 

[dwcamic]

if the results are released tomorrow, how come you're already admitted on the tracker?

Did I? I'm very sorry, I remember selecting 'pending' must be too nervous ... I've updated it

 

[KareemK]

You scared all of us! lol

 

[Rvm]

I called them up today.. They said not all decisions have been released and we should expect a reply before March 1. I so wish that these things were defined.. a fixed date to release all interviews and a fixed date to release all the results!!!

 

[echokiwi]

I was admitted!

 

[Cornholio]

Congratulations!!

I presume this will be your destination this fall?

 

[KareemK]

I was admitted!

In his tracker application it seems that he got his result from calling the school. Anyone else try this?

 

[echokiwi]

I AM NOT SURE. I am waiting for another program.

Congratulations!!

I presume this will be your destination this fall?

 

[GoIllini]

Looks like someone is on the fence about an MFE vs. a PhD or an MBA.

I think I'd take one of the top five ranked PhD programs over a Princeton MFin on the basis of free tuition, at the very least.

I am not as sure about an HBS or Stanford GSB admit. I wouldn't feel bad if someone turned us down for an MIT Finance PhD, but I'm not sure that someone who wanted to do finance could really do better with an HBS or Stanford MBA. Within finance, a Princeton MFin is more or less an H/S/W MBA who can also do stats or work on a stochal problem. So I'm not sure it's worth a tuition premium to give up the quant option, assuming one wanted to do finance.

Wherever it is, best of luck!

 

[madkao]

got an email saying that I am placed on a waiting list and that they are reserving a final decision until they know whether they will be able to make additional offers of admission.

does anyone know how long this will take and/or what are the chances (if any) of getting an admission from this, from past years' experience?

 

[jetforcegeminix]

You will probably have to wait until April 15 since that is the deadline for admitted students to accept the offer.

 

[Hongchi Zhang]

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!

Thank you so much for sharing your insight. This is really helpful!!

 

[Hongchi Zhang]

How important are the PS for Princeton application? What do you guys think

 

[Hongchi Zhang]

Anybody applying for the 2015 Princeton Mfin Program? Profiles?

 

[zyz]

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 ...

 

[Hongchi Zhang]

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 ...

Around 5 people straight out of Business program (some with Econ major)

 

[zyz]

Around 5 people straight out of Business program (some with Econ major)

Yeah, I believe @Ivan Nikolenko, the guy who is fielding questions here, also has a similar profile to those that you mentioned.

 

[Ivan Nikolenko]

I applied to Princeton but didn't get in. However, a girl with a very similar profile was admitted. Economics major from a Russian university, straight from the undergrad program, no FT WE, solid technical skills.

 

[Hongchi Zhang]

I applied to Princeton but didn't get in. However, a girl with a very similar profile was admitted. Economics major from a Russian university, straight from the undergrad program, no FT WE, solid technical skills.

Got you!! What does "FT WE" mean by the way?

 

[Hongchi Zhang]

How important is PS for Princeton Mfin?? I have heard for general MFE programs, they don't look at PS much. They mainly focus on technical skills? Any difference for Princeton Mfin