UCB MFE UCB MFE Admission Discussion

[forgetieverlived]

what is the difference between pass by value and pass by reference? what is used in python?
what is list comprehension? can you use if else inside the list comprehension
what are lambda functions in python?
what is the diamond problem in python?
conditions for linear regression?
what can you do for robustness of parameters in linear regression?
why multicollinearity is bad? what happens to the pseudo inverse we use in the closed form for the solution of a linear regression problem, the inverse of XT X?
what is overfitting and what is underfitting? how to tackle overfitting?
you talked about lasso regression, give an intuitive explanation.
what is eigenvalue decomposition, how is it different from diagonalization?
1 out of 1000 coins is biased with the two sides being heads, now I randomly pick out a coin and toss it ten times to get ten heads, what is the probability that the coin is biased?
3 dice are rolled together, probability that the 3 numbers are in strictly decreasing order?
3 dice are rolled in some order, probability that the 3 numbers are in strictly decreasing order?
what is bond duration, convexity?
what is the role of central banks? What are they trying to do?
why do you want to join the program?

 

[quantmage]

What were the interview questions like?

 

[forgetieverlived]

@quantmage @Phil Xu @Shannnnn This might be a dumb question, what is the difference between a waitlist and a conditional acceptance with a checklist? As a first guess, I think the waitlist means that the person has a chance of being accepted. A conditional acceptance with a checklist also has chances of not being accepted. Could someone please explain the difference between the two?

 

[MikeLawrence]

Conditional acceptance means that you will get in, absolutely, if you complete the tasks on the checklist.

If you are waitlisted, you might get in if a spot opens up AND they decide to let you in. There is nothing you can do to GARANTEE acceptance.

The difference is that with C.A. the ball is in your court. If you complete the tasks, congratulations! You have a seat at the table.
With waitlisting, you are still at their mercy.

Edit: forgot to 'reply' to the question so I'll just tag you. @mrityunjaisingh

 

[Yifeifu]

Just giving an update that I got an admissions offer after being waitlisted. Good luck to all!

Hey, just wanna ask is there any further interview after being placed on the waitlist?

 

[GWeitz]

Hey, yes. I had an interview with an alumnus after I convinced admissions to take off some of the pre reqs I had on the list.

 

[Yifeifu]

Hey, yes. I had an interview with an alumnus after I convinced admissions to take off some of the pre reqs I had on the list.

Thank you for replying. Congratulations!

 

[Tori]

Hi, does anybody know whether the interview is mandatory in order to get admitted? I would appreciate it if those who got waitlisted will be invited to the interview afterwards. Thank you.

AFAIK, interview is almost mandatory. I haven’t heard anyone who gets admitted without interview

 

[Alice Laurance Swift]

What were the interview questions like?

Questions about maths, statistics, programming, machine learning, finance, market news and etc. Some questions will be related to your CV experiences. The interviewer, who is a MFE alumnus, will be selected to match your background. So if you are not a computer science student, chances are that they will not let you answer programming questions. This book, A Practical Guide to Quant Interview, also called the green book, will be highly useful for this interview.

 

[Shubhankit]

Hey for the pre-program courses, how did you finish them as I gathered that the pre-program courses only open up for registration in October.

 

[excaliburrata]

Some people had completed it last year as part of their previous year application but I am yet to complete this part myself!

 

[Shubhankit]

BTW were you interviewed before the waitlist and in which Round did you apply ?

 

[excaliburrata]

I was interviewed after being waitlisted. I applied in R1. How about you?

 

[Shubhankit]

I was interviewed before the waitlist, but I applied very late in R3. What all prereqs do you have btw?

 

[Shubhankit]

Also does everyone have the pre-program courses as a part of the prereqs.

 

[excaliburrata]

I think everyone has the same pre-program courses.

Pre-reqs I had Macroeconomics, advanced stats, PDE, python, ML, and a few others I don't remember right now. What did you have to complete?

 

[Shubhankit]

ML, Linear Algebra, Numerical Analysis and Econometrics. Did you also have books as your pre reqs ?

 

[excaliburrata]

I had Numerical Analysis and Econometrics as well. Yes, books are a part of mine too!

 

[Satoru]

For reference, there were about 40 waitlisted students based on the number of students who took a pre course in January 2023. All the seats were fully placed, so you can calculate the conversion rate!

 

[excaliburrata]

What do you mean by all seats were fully placed?