Work Experience and early admission

[toiysam]

hi everyone, i've been lurking for a while at this forum. (sorry for the long post)

I am realy interested in the baruch program however i have a few concerns.

First, by the time i apply i wont have any work experience nor do i think i will have any internship related to finance. How much should i worry about that?

I am an international student, however i do not come from India nor from east asia. I am studying in Chile at a very good b-school(undergrad), it is ranked top 3-4 in latin america. I am studying commercial engineering. I have all the math prerequisites(dont have real analysis), however i dont have experiece with C++, just VBA, C# and .NET in general. Frankly i feel intimidated by the profiles of all you guys, PHD students, WE and other graduate degrees. Are people who just graduated from college admitted, i know it is not officially denied anywhere, but being realistic, do you think that is possible?

I did a practice GRE test and got 800 on the quant, so i dotn think that will be a problem for me. TOEFL is 270 ( ihave to retake it, older than 2 years).
We dont have a 4.0 GPA system, but a 1.0-7.0 grading system, where 7.0 is 100% and 4.0 is passing grade(however in most courses you need like a 60% for that 4.0, at some a 70%, depends on the course). my grade is 5.7, ranked top5% of class. my math grades are mostly around 5.6. 2 Finance courses, 3 accounting, 2 Micro, 2 Macro, econometrics, etc. i Speak 5 languages, 3 completly fluently, 1 very good:D

ohhh, is there a possibility to get an admission decision by Jan or Feb if i apply really early. The academic year here ends in late Dec. and I have a few back up plans in case the MFE thing doesnt go well(i.e master in economics in munich) which starts in march. so i would like to know if i am in before i start with my studies in munich.

What other programs would you recommend me to apply to? i know not Berkly and the like since they all have WE. what about princeton, chicago? are those including baruch too much for me?should i look lower? WUSL or the like?
thanks a lot

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Based on your question, I believe you are applying for Fall 2008 ?
Frankly, I don't think you have to worry much since you have little choices on those concern. You can aim for excellent GRE, GPA, SOP and hope for the best.
If you apply early, you may get a decision in late Jan or early Feb. You can track the status along the way.
For info about other MFE program, you can read here
Best of luck

 

[toiysam]

well, i am applying for 2008. i have checked other programs as you told me and i think that Baruch is a great match for me, i am really interested in Baruch, the low cost, great placement record, location plus i dont know why i feel that everyone is close in this program and that the director is trying really hard into getting good jobs for all the students.
what kinda loans can int'l students get besides the citibank one with the cosigner.(10.25% interest rate is too much, but if i dont find another source i might have to take it . and how is the timeline for someone who is gonna take a private loan. do they get the admission first, then apply for the loan, and then get the required papers for the visa? i know it is too early for this type of question, but just to see if i am gonna have to secure the financing from somewhere else BEFORE APPLYING. thanks a lot for your reply.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

well, i am applying for 2008. i have checked other programs as you told me and i think that Baruch is a great match for me, i am really interested in Baruch, the low cost, great placement record, location plus i dont know why i feel that everyone is close in this program and that the director is trying really hard into getting good jobs for all the students.

Everything you noticed is true. And that's not all the positive things about Baruch program. I had the same feeling that this is the program I want to study after I met Dan and attended the open house.

As for the loan process, you can read this or do a search on "loan" there

 

[toiysam]

frankly i cant wait till it comes the time for me to apply. After just two days of research Baruch made it to the top of my list hahha good job guys. And btw, i love how everything is so transparent in the program's website, i mean the admission stats and placement records.

 

[Muting]

Hi,toiysam:
Actually I am admitted for Fall 2007 and the lucky one who just graduated from college . I will graduate in this June. And as you have mentioned, I have submitted my application around mid-Dec last year. I got an interview on Jan 25th and got an admission from Prof. Dan after the interview. Thus, I guess you can find answers to some of your questions from my experience.

In my view, this program pays much attention to programming skills. Luckily, you know what you can improve before next Jan. I think your profile is very good. However, you still need to have strong RL and PS, as well as improvement in your c++ skills.

Good Luck with your application in 2008!:smt023

 

[toiysam]

well, my RL and PS are not gonna be a problem. this semester i am having a course that is like a programming workshop in which we should develop programs and websites, they prefer that we use C# however there are no restrictions, i think i will use C++ so that i learn well how to use it. As i said before, in here we graduate in Dec, so if i get admitted i will have plenty of time to do some serious C++ self-study. BTW, did you have WE?

 

[alain]

What are WE, PS and RL?

 

[toiysam]

work experience , personal statement, recommendation letters.

 

[Muting]

well, my RL and PS are not gonna be a problem. this semester i am having a course that is like a programming workshop in which we should develop programs and websites, they prefer that we use C# however there are no restrictions, i think i will use C++ so that i learn well how to use it. As i said before, in here we graduate in Dec, so if i get admitted i will have plenty of time to do some serious C++ self-study. BTW, did you have WE?

yes, primarily in the form of internship