UCB MFE UC Berkeley MFE Application Discussion

[grad_student_descent]

Hi everyone,

Just got a technical interview for Round 1, can someone who did one recently let me know what to expect? Particularly should I expect a traditional Leetcode style technical interview or more finance+brainteasers kind of interview?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Haxor]

Hi everyone,

Is there a whatsapp group for people joining in the batch of 2026? Want someone to send me the link of the group if it exists. Looking forward to connecting!

Wanted to add onto this and ask if there are any groups. For reference, I applied 1/14 and got admitted 2/14.

Look forward to meeting new people!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Wanted to add onto this and ask if there are any groups. For reference, I applied 1/14 and got admitted 2/14.

Look forward to meeting new people!

Haxor
Congrats. Can you add your timelines to the Tracker.
I will create a group and invite you there.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

There are only 19 active trackers for the 2026 cycle compared to 34 for the 2025 cycle.
This discussion is less active compared to this time last year.
If anyone has applied or have not applied, please chime in to give us an update.

 

[smapacha]

Haxor
Congrats. Can you add your timelines to the Tracker.
I will create a group and invite you there.

Hi @Andy Nguyen ,

Thanks for taking the initiative. May I please request to be added to the group as well?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I have created a Whatsapp group for 2026 incoming students and sent an invite via DM to @Haxor @smapacha
If you want to join, you must have a 2026 tracker with Enrolled status

 

[sheylaw]

Did anyone from round 2 get any updates yet?

 

[jyoung]

Hello, I was just accepted to Spring '26 Cohort, but am apprehensive after seeing all of the recent negative reviews. Was wondering for some advice. My background is double major in CS and Comp Fin at a top school for CS. Interested in/have experience in ML quant research (academic not industry, only swe industry experience), but can struggle with the brainteaser/mental math interview questions at times. I am used to the cutthroat/cheating environment, but I think that the career placement uncertainty coupled with the high cost from these recent reviews is a huge red flag.

Are these negative reviews more so from the fact that the program was in a transitionary period for career advisors and ED, or would people expect these uncertainty to still be the case next year too?
Would be curious to hear other prospective student's opinions as well. I do think that the program can definitely change over the next year to remedy the complaints, but don't want to risk it if nothing changes.

 

[Haxor]

Hello, I was just accepted to Spring '26 Cohort, but am apprehensive after seeing all of the recent negative reviews. Was wondering for some advice. My background is double major in CS and Comp Fin at a top school for CS. Interested in/have experience in ML quant research (academic not industry, only swe industry experience), but can struggle with the brainteaser/mental math interview questions at times. I am used to the cutthroat/cheating environment, but I think that the career placement uncertainty coupled with the high cost from these recent reviews is a huge red flag.

Are these negative reviews more so from the fact that the program was in a transitionary period for career advisors and ED, or would people expect these uncertainty to still be the case next year too?
Would be curious to hear other prospective student's opinions as well. I do think that the program can definitely change over the next year to remedy the complaints, but don't want to risk it if nothing changes.

Hi, as a recent Berkeley MFE enrollee and someone from a similar background, I wanted to give my thoughts.

For me I always take reviews with a grain of salt due to bias. People only write reviews of something that had a big impact on them. And typically for something like this (same with apartments, hotels, etc) people only write reviews if it was particularly negative. This isn’t to discredit anything said in the reviews, but something I keep in mind in terms of a full sample.

In addition, the jobs market (especially for technical jobs) is not very good. Plenty of people from any type of great program are struggling to find jobs, so especially if it’s someone who needs a working visa (already at a disadvantage) just relying on the ED is not a good idea.

For me the best thing to always do is to look at the case studies, projects, professors, and classes you’re exposed to. No program is a one size fits all and college is really what you make out of it. I always look for what is the best opportunity, with the goal of making use of that opportunity. To me I liked all that Berkeley had, which was far better than some other programs.

In my own bias too, I live in LA and wanted to work my current full time job, so being in a program where I can still do that and remain in California is good.

 

[wzynoooob]

Hi everyone,

I'm invited to a brief technical interview, and in email they wrote "We want to discuss your interest in the Berkeley MFE Program".
What should I expect from this interview?

Thanks!

 

[Albert H. Zeng]

UCB MFE program may give offer after 1 or 2 interviews, and I've experienced 2 tech interviews already.

I think I performed well in the 1st but not-so-good in the 2nd. The second interviewer kept asking CS questions while I mentioned my math background for 2 times during the interview...

I'm wondering several things:

1. whether the two interviewers were required to asked questions of different areas. If that's the case, I don't think the second interview looks so bad - it's normal for an undergraduate (without full-time work experience) to not be able to balance math, statistics, finance, and programming at the same time.
2. what's the probability of getting rejected after 2 interviews, with gaps between the two interviews of more than 7 weeks...
3. There was an accident between the two interviews, the interviewer didn't show up without any notice, and I was not able to contact the interviewer and committee. It wasn’t until five days later that I received a response about this. So will there be any sympathy bonus points for that?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

UCB MFE program may give offer after 1 or 2 interviews, and I've experienced 2 tech interviews already.

Hey Albert,
When did you get the Waitlisted result? Your tracker says 3/27/25 but it doesn't make sense given your second interview on 7/31.
In any case, I think having interviews are good, better when you have 2. It shows their interest in your candidacy.
A waitlist is a second best outcome, after a straight admit so hang in there. In many cases, applicants will be asked to complete a to-do list.
Where else are you applying?

 

[sheamusthegreatkhali]

Any W/A group for accepted people for year 2026?

Also for the people here, I had a chat with some of the current students, and it seems like the internships for this year have improved and majority of people have Fall Internships so I think that's a good sign for UC Berkeley MFE given for past years, reviews were a little shaky.

 

[lv_sreenivaas]

Hi @Andy Nguyen , pleased to make your acquaintance . Would you mind extending the Whatsapp group invite for UCB MFE 2026 with me as well please ?

 

[chruizc]

Hi @Andy Nguyen, thank you for your support. Would you mind sharing the WhatsApp group invite for UCB MFE 2026 with me as well?