Columbia MFE Columbia MFE Application Discussion

[bootstrap]

Is it just me or has the program become orders of magnitude more competitive over the years?

I know two people who graduated from this program in 2017 and 2019 and they were really not that spectacular in terms of their math, stats and finance background. One of them was an Econ UG from a T50 school with 3.6-3.7 GPA with no work exp.

Now, my sample size is quite small so this is not a statistical deduction....but I am just wondering if you guys get the same feeling the competition has gotten much tougher, perhaps even across all MFE programs?

 

[joe_boy]

Is it just me or has the program become orders of magnitude more competitive over the years?

I know two people who graduated from this program in 2017 and 2019 and they were really not that spectacular in terms of their math, stats and finance background. One of them was an Econ UG from a T50 school with 3.6-3.7 GPA with no work exp.

Now, my sample size is quite small so this is not a statistical deduction....but I am just wondering if you guys get the same feeling the competition has gotten much tougher, perhaps even across all MFE programs?

Sure... The moment I discovered that Princeton received almost 1200 applications or thereabout, I knew it was gonna be tough this year. Some of us didn't even attempt Princeton, we were probably discouraged by the single digit admit rate.

It is what it is bro. We move!!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I blame the new guys from Europe (UK especially) who suddenly showed up on QuantNet in huge number this year.
Just kidding, it's great to see many more talented members across the world sharing their stories with us. It surely raises the bar for competition quite a bit.
UK is now the second source of traffic on QuantNet after the US.

 

[kwatz]

I blame the new guys from Europe (UK especially) who suddenly showed up on QuantNet in huge number this year.
Just kidding, it's great to see many more talented members across the world sharing their stories with us. It surely raises the bar for competition quite a bit.
UK is now the second source of traffic on QuantNet after the US.

I'm actually surprised the second highest (or highest even) traffic isn't from India!

 

[joe_boy]

I blame the new guys from Europe (UK especially) who suddenly showed up on QuantNet in huge number this year.
Just kidding, it's great to see many more talented members across the world sharing their stories with us. It surely raises the bar for competition quite a bit.
UK is now the second source of traffic on QuantNet after the US.

Wow!
I knew something happened this year..
Not really surprising that more Europeans are getting interested in US programs.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I'm actually surprised the second highest (or highest even) traffic isn't from India!

You may be correct. I need to check for the time frame but these are for sure.
India has overtaken China lately. China has been our #2 source of visitors for so long. Now it's India.
UK has never been on our top 5 but they are in our top five. Somedays, they are our #2.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Is it just me or has the program become orders of magnitude more competitive over the years?

I know two people who graduated from this program in 2017 and 2019 and they were really not that spectacular in terms of their math, stats and finance background. One of them was an Econ UG from a T50 school with 3.6-3.7 GPA with no work exp.

Now, my sample size is quite small so this is not a statistical deduction....but I am just wondering if you guys get the same feeling the competition has gotten much tougher, perhaps even across all MFE programs?

If you watch the Tracker closely, you will find some very interesting instances where a member got admitted by a top 5 program but rejected by a top 15. I'm curious to see if a top 15 program knows that an applicant will most likely get in a top 5, do they bother admit him and get turned down? Or do they reject him to keep their acceptance rate low?
Just some thought.

 

[kwatz]

If you watch the Tracker closely, you will find some very interesting instances where a member got admitted by a top 5 program but rejected by a top 15. I'm curious to see if a top 15 program knows that an applicant will most likely get in a top 5, do they bother admit him and get turned down? Or do they reject him to keep their acceptance rate low?
Just some thought.

I don't know the reason for this phenomenon, but your reasoning does apply to firms coming for hiring in Indian colleges. If a firm's comp isn't that great (and they are aware of the fact) they will most likely reject candidates with a > 9 CGPA or a stacked resume, because it is more likely that the candidate will either bag a better offer or leave for Master's very soon and they don't want to expend resources on training someone who they know will leave.

So it is definitely plausible.

 

[Alex Ng]

If you watch the Tracker closely, you will find some very interesting instances where a member got admitted by a top 5 program but rejected by a top 15. I'm curious to see if a top 15 program knows that an applicant will most likely get in a top 5, do they bother admit him and get turned down? Or do they reject him to keep their acceptance rate low?
Just some thought.

Hi Andy. Since CU MAFN has a representative in our community now, do you think someone from CU MFE would be interested in coming in and answering questions as well?

 

[bootstrap]

If you watch the Tracker closely, you will find some very interesting instances where a member got admitted by a top 5 program but rejected by a top 15. I'm curious to see if a top 15 program knows that an applicant will most likely get in a top 5, do they bother admit him and get turned down? Or do they reject him to keep their acceptance rate low?
Just some thought.

I understand your point. I know that this phenomenon does occur in MBA admissions.

But then....Columbia is itself a top 5. And while I possess a solid background I am for sure not at the Princeton/Baruch tier.

Going into the application process, I THOUGHT I was comfortably at the Columbia, UCB, NYU (Fin Math), Chicago level and that if I applied to all of them I would at least get into one. Turns out I probably overestimated myself lol. So far, the only interaction I have had with theses schools was an interview with a UCB alum last Friday. Radio silence from the other four.

 

[Alex Ng]

I understand your point. I know that this phenomenon does occur in MBA admissions.

But then....Columbia is itself a top 5. And while I possess a solid background I am for sure not at the Princeton/Baruch tier.

Going into the application process, I THOUGHT I was comfortably at the Columbia, UCB, NYU (Fin Math), Chicago level and that if I applied to all of them I would at least get into one. Turns out I probably overestimated myself lol. So far, the only interaction I have had with theses schools was an interview with a UCB alum last Friday. Radio silence from the other four.

On the same boat. No hear back from Chicago/Columbia/NYU MFE

 

[bootstrap]

On the same boat. No hear back from Chicago/Columbia/NYU MFE

Just curious, are you applying from Hong Kong too? I wonder if that could be a disadvantage lol.

 

[Alex Ng]

Just curious, are you applying from Hong Kong too? I wonder if that could be a disadvantage lol.

Nationality wise yes. I am a Hong Kong citizen, but my college education is in the U.S. I don't think nationality is a difference maker, but I can't say anything about the nuances. However, I do know that a lot of these programs have a very high international student percentage according their class profiles.

 

[Lukee]

If you watch the Tracker closely, you will find some very interesting instances where a member got admitted by a top 5 program but rejected by a top 15. I'm curious to see if a top 15 program knows that an applicant will most likely get in a top 5, do they bother admit him and get turned down? Or do they reject him to keep their acceptance rate low?
Just some thought.

This is also pretty common in undergrad admissions, they call it 'yield protection'. Higher yield rate and lower acceptance rates make the programs look more selective

 

[bootstrap]

Nationality wise yes. I am a Hong Kong citizen, but my college education is in the U.S. I don't think nationality is a difference maker, but I can't say anything about the nuances. However, I do know that a lot of these programs have a very high international student percentage according their class profiles.

I see I see. There's a reason why I bring this up. I once spoke with somebody who used to work in a T7 MBA admissions team.

So how they evaluate applicants is that they would put them into geographic & functional buckets and compare them with others within the same bucket. They don't advertise this publicly but they also effectively implement soft country quotas (at least during the time when she worked in MBA admissions).

I am not sure if MFE admission teams following the same practice though.

 

[Alex Ng]

I see I see. There's a reason why I bring this up. I once spoke with somebody who used to work in a T7 MBA admissions team.

So how they evaluate applicants is that they would put them into geographic & functional buckets and compare them with others within the same bucket. They don't advertise this publicly but they also effectively implement soft country quotas (at least during the time when she worked in MBA admissions).

I am not sure if MFE admission teams following the same practice though.

That's interesting. I think admissions vary from program to program, even within the same school. I do know that many programs evaluate international applicants differently, but I have also seen that some programs have a significant number of students from China.
Moreover, MBA is a little different from my perspective. MBA graduates typically take on managerial roles, while graduates of MFE programs tend to take on functional roles.

 

[bootstrap]

Sure... The moment I discovered that Princeton received almost 1200 applications or thereabout, I knew it was gonna be tough this year. Some of us didn't even attempt Princeton, we were probably discouraged by the single digit admit rate.

It is what it is bro. We move!!

wow 1200 for 30-40 seats? good luck to all those who have applied!

 

[nisha]

Has Columbia started to send declines? I just saw somebody put declined in the tracker.

 

[Market_Wizard]

Has Columbia started to send declines? I just saw somebody put declined in the tracker.

It was a mistake

 

[LeoMessi]

This is also pretty common in undergrad admissions, they call it 'yield protection'. Higher yield rate and lower acceptance rates make the programs look more selective

Is the yield rate a factor in the ranking of a school or program? Does it help them get the right kind of students they are looking for, or is it just something that makes them look more selective?