Columbia MAFN Columbia MAFN Admission Discussion

[flamestrike]

I found an interview with Professor Choi, conducted by current MAFN students on Xiaohongshu (RedNote). The interview will be a brief behavioral one, and Professor Choi likes to get to know candidates. Below are two video links,

Episode 1: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/discove...FaTiXsuL01k4pW4dx1d5GeQ=&xsec_source=pc_share

Episode 2:

哥大金数MAFN Director Dr. Choi Q&A(下) - 小红书

后面的几分钟我们聊到了他与中国学生接触的经历，项目申请的变化以及对于申请学生的一些建议。印象最深的是他说希望看到申请者对于financial industry的热情，这可能比GPA或者GRE会更加重要。有问题可以随时留言或私信～ #MAFN #哥大金工金数 #哥大金数 #金工金数 #留美 #留美申请

www.xiaohongshu.com

Thanks I just found out about this too it is really informative !

 

[sephardicjew]

If you get accepted, does anyone know how long you have to reply to the offer?

 

[flamestrike]

If you get accepted, does anyone know how long you have to reply to the offer?

~12 days for me

 

[flamestrike]

Nobody knows since @jaehyukchoi just became the director early this year.
Interviews with directors like @dstefan will be pretty technical. Some other directors will conduct a behavioral interview.
Best of luck and let us know how it goes.

The interview is mostly behavioral, with some technical questions related to the work you completed during your internship and the coursework you've taken. Be well-versed with your resume and clear about what you want to achieve from the program, and you should be fine.

This might differ for each individual.

 

[quantape]

The interview is mostly behavioral, with some technical questions related to the work you completed during your internship and the coursework you've taken. Be well-versed with your resume and clear about what you want to achieve from the program, and you should be fine.

This might differ for each individual.

Thanks for sharing, approximately how long was the interview and how long after did you get a response!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Thanks for sharing, approximately how long was the interview and how long after did you get a response!

Detail is in his Tracker. Click on his username and Resources to link to all his trackers.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Thanks for sharing, approximately how long was the interview and how long after did you get a response!

If you get accepted, does anyone know how long you have to reply to the offer?

Any update from your end guys?

Hey guys, anyone still on the waitlist? GSAS has conducted a verification regarding my background information but still no decision released yet.
@IzabelaRutkowski Could you kindly give us some insight on the estimated time of the final decision? Thanks a lot!!!!

I see that you were still on the waitlist as late as July last year. I wonder if they eventually gave you an answer.

 

[Leggoo MFE]

If you get accepted, does anyone know how long you have to reply to the offer?

I got a week to reply, its crazy short. I wanna wait for columbia MFE results, have mailed them twice with my acceptance letters but no help.

 

[flamestrike]

I got an week to reply, is crazy short. I wanna wait for columbia MFE results, have mailed them twice with my acceptance letters but no help.

That's a v short amount of time to reply perhaps you can ask for some grace period ? I haven't heard back from Columbia MFE too but I will prob just stick to MAFN at this point.

 

[neill_gonz]

That's a v short amount of time to reply perhaps you can ask for some grace period ? I haven't heard back from Columbia MFE too but I will prob just stick to MAFN at this point.

Correct. The MAFN program itself is now better than the MSFE.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Correct. The MAFN program itself is now better than the MSFE.

Hopefully we can get some stats for future rankings to confirm one way or another. A program’s fortune takes years to be evident.
The recent reviews can give you some clear signal of where a program is headed.

 

[neill_gonz]

Hopefully we can get some stats for future rankings to confirm one way or another. A program’s fortune takes years to be evident.
The recent reviews can give you some clear signal of where a program is headed.

Yeah, we will see. It also depends on the ranking methodology of course. In most cases, placements are already determined by the quality/experience of the person rather than the program itself. Of course if a program tends to boast good placements, offer holders and applicants will also need to contextualize that into the cohort of the programs

 

[Andy Nguyen]

@IzabelaRutkowski has moved to a new job as Director of Alumni Relations at Columbia. She used to be assistant director of the MAFN program.

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Director of Alumni… | Izabela Rutkowski | 14 comments

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Director of Alumni Relations! | 14 comments on LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com

 

[Andy Nguyen]

@zhyimin had an interview and got admitted yesterday.

 

[chikitos]

Does anyone have any rough idea about how many people have already been admitted for Fall 2025?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Does anyone have any rough idea about how many people have already been admitted for Fall 2025?

This is not scientific but some ideas.
The program admits over 200 applicants every year for the past few years. Based on 2024 Tracker data, 21 got admitted and the 2025 got only 13 admits so far.
Both years have the same numbers of applications on the tracker (25).
Admission offers came out as late as early May last year.
Based on this, I would expect to see more admission results in the coming weeks.

 

[chikitos]

This is not scientific but some ideas.
The program admits over 200 applicants every year for the past few years. Based on 2024 Tracker data, 21 got admitted and the 2025 got only 13 admits so far.
Both years have the same numbers of applications on the tracker (25).
Admission offers came out as late as early May last year.
Based on this, I would expect to see more admission results in the coming weeks.

Thanks Andy for your insights

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I created a Whatsapp group for 2025 incoming cohort.
I have sent an invite via DM to @neill_gonz @Leggoo MFE @raph
If you have an admit and mark your tracker as Enrolled, I'll add you to the group so you can network with future classmates, finding apartments, etc.