UCB Pre-program courses - a short review

[mzqef]

Hi everybody,

Honestly, I was rejected by the UCB MFE program one week ago because "the application for the Berkeley MFE program is closing and that we were unable to recommend you for admission from the Hold status for the Spring 2017 term", so I am neither impartial nor independent.

The MFE mathematical foundation course is fine, but too easy. When I was interviewed by a UCB student, the interviewer said "your math background is strong" and did not prepare a math question for me at all. But why was I asked to take this $1800 course? This course is not bad but too easy and everyone who knows freshman calculus, linear algebra and ode can master this course.

However, the C++ programming course is even easier! I can not understand why they asked me to take this course after knowing I've taken graduate courses on programming and numerical analysis. I think this course may be good and well organized for people without any programming experience, but it is easier than any course on numerical analysis and C++ I've heard of.

The MFE statistics course does NOT exist! Okay, it's a joke. But until the instructor answered the question posted about one week ago by one student, and upload the solution to assignment 9 we asked for, I will treat this course as a $1800 joke. The materials are messy and some files are from last year's course without necessary updates. The instructor never appeared on the course discussion board and the TAs left so many questions on the board unaswered. I feel so lucky that I have never asked a question on the board.

At last, they are just three online courses and they do not lead to the UCB MFE program.

 

[Berkeley MFE Admissions]

Thank you for your feedback, mzqef. We are sorry to hear that you did not have a positive experience with the pre-program courses and would be happy to schedule a time to speak with you by phone to go over your concerns. As always, we can be reached at mfe@haas.berkeley.edu or at 510-642-4417/510-642-6983.

Generally speaking, students in the pre-program courses find them challenging, and the feedback we collect every year unanimously suggest that the courses are very helpful in preparing our students, even those with advanced backgrounds, for the rigor of the MFE program. Even though a student may have covered the material in courses taken during an undergraduate or graduate degree program, we find that students feel that they benefit from having a review of the topics as well as seeing the financial applications of the concepts.

With respect to the communication problems you had during the statistics course, there must have been a misunderstanding. As stated in the course syllabus, students were supposed to send any questions for the professor or the GSIs by e-mail to a special gmail account. The discussion board was used only for communication among students.

We hope that helps to clarify things but as always, please reach out to the admissions team if you have questions or wish to set up a time to talk with us.