Princeton MFin Princeton MFin Admission Discussion

[tips]

I had my interview this week, primarily just behavioral- supposedly there aren't any further steps in the process besides maybe a math assessment though the interviewer seemed unsure about this; Seems different from 2019 where there were alumni interviews, but could be different primarily because of COVID?

 

[Michsund]

So you will have your behavioral with Mrs Collins where you’ll go over your resume, why mfin and why quant finance. After that if you do well you could or could not have a next round interview, but you don’t need the alumni interview to get into Princeton. You do need the initial however to get in.

 

[tips]

The interviewer this year is Mrs Bracken, might be part of why my experience was a bit different from past years

 

[Michsund]

Quick LinkedIn search shows she was just hired. She has much more experience in banking and trading so know the markets as well. Be able to answer basic things on the market as read the news daily. Also know some finance as well or atleast that’s what I would do if I were you

 

[Michsund]

I think I may have my Princeton interview notes somewhere, I’ll post them if I can find them. I was told I interviewed well and that if I had a higher gpa and GRE they would’ve accepted me so I’ll see what I can do

 

[yxxy]

Haven't received anything since application submission... Does it mean a rejection?

 

[needtoscore]

I think I may have my Princeton interview notes somewhere, I’ll post them if I can find them. I was told I interviewed well and that if I had a higher gpa and GRE they would’ve accepted me so I’ll see what I can do

That would be a great source of information @Michsund . Thank you.


Separately, could you enlighten us about yourself. I am a newbie to this forum. Apologies.

 

[Michsund]

I’m trying to find it to no avail. I’ll give it another shot, but if not sorry.

 

[abeloo]

I think I may have my Princeton interview notes somewhere, I’ll post them if I can find them. I was told I interviewed well and that if I had a higher gpa and GRE they would’ve accepted me so I’ll see what I can do

Hey Michsund, does that mean that you interviewed last year but didnt get in? Did you reapply this year? Also, do you know if invites are sent in some kind of alphabetical order (like first few letters week 1 etc) or is it on a rolling basis based on one's application?

Finally, if anyone is scheduled for a second round (alumni or technical), could you please post on this thread? Thanks a lot

 

[Michsund]

Hey Michsund, does that mean that you interviewed last year but didnt get in? Did you reapply this year? Also, do you know if invites are sent in some kind of alphabetical order (like first few letters week 1 etc) or is it on a rolling basis based on one's application?

Finally, if anyone is scheduled for a second round (alumni or technical), could you please post on this thread? Thanks a lot

I interviewed round one at Princeton with Wendell and didn’t get in. I was told if I reapplies next year with higher gre and get better grades in some math classes that they would accept me, unofficially. I ended up getting into CMU and decided to go there. I don’t think the interview letters come out on different days. Round 2 isn’t necessary to get into Princeton, but if you do get one it’s a good indicator that you could be. I hope that helps

 

[tips]

I had my interview this week and they explicitly stated that there either will not be a next step (alumni interview) this year, or if there is one, it will be some sort of assessment- not likely an alumni interview. I'm guessing the process has changed significantly with the change in leadership

 

[tips]

Also, for what it's worth, my last name is in the middle of the alphabet so I don't think they send it on an alphabetical basis

I'm guessing they either:
a. send it as soon as they're sure they want to interview you (as they process apps)
b. or they've already reviewed all the apps, and randomly selected applications for each interview period up through mid february

 

[anonym]

Also, for what it's worth, my last name is in the middle of the alphabet so I don't think they send it on an alphabetical basis

I'm guessing they either:
a. send it as soon as they're sure they want to interview you (as they process apps)
b. or they've already reviewed all the apps, and randomly selected applications for each interview period up through mid february

would you say that there is still hope for those who haven’t received an interview invite?

 

[abeloo]

I interviewed round one at Princeton with Wendell and didn’t get in. I was told if I reapplies next year with higher gre and get better grades in some math classes that they would accept me, unofficially. I ended up getting into CMU and decided to go there. I don’t think the interview letters come out on different days. Round 2 isn’t necessary to get into Princeton, but if you do get one it’s a good indicator that you could be. I hope that helps

CMU is great from what i've heard so congrats. What was your GRE quant out of curiosity if you don't mind me askin?

 

[abeloo]

I had my interview this week and they explicitly stated that there either will not be a next step (alumni interview) this year, or if there is one, it will be some sort of assessment- not likely an alumni interview. I'm guessing the process has changed significantly with the change in leadership

Thanks for the insights on this and your last name. Did you ask for next steps for the interviewer to talk about it?

 

[Michsund]

would you say that there is still hope for those who haven’t received an interview invite?

I would say no tbh. I believe interviews end around first week February

 

[Michsund]

CMU is great from what i've heard so congrats. What was your GRE quant out of curiosity if you don't mind me askin?

167 quant and I believe 156 on the verbal, which they told me was low. They preferred 169-170 and 160’s, which sucked cause I could’ve taken it one more time but I was content with my score

 

[tips]

I think that you still have a shot TBH, I got my interview invite like 4 days before my interview, so I'm fairly sure they're sending the invites on a rolling basis as they're ascertaining for each candidate whether to assign an interview or not. The email I got also said that they're doing interviews through late february -if you haven't heard anything by like Valentines day I would assume you aren't getting one

Also I don't know if it will help anyone in the future that looks back at this thread, but given that this is essentially the 2021 thread and since the folks who posted profiles in the 2020/2019 threads helped me out a ton, I figured I'd post mine for anyone looking back at this next year

Graduated from Top IVY Magna Cum laude with BA in Computer Science, Economics, won a top research prize (3.5 GPA.. but I had better than average grades in all my math courses)
Worked at Goldman Sachs/A prop trading firm for three years as a sell side data scientist and then a buy side quantitative researcher ( 1 yr Goldman + Internship, 2 year prop trading firm)
Built two profitable, AI-driven market making strategies at my current employer from the ground up, lots of c++/python/finance quantitative experience
Series 7/63 certified
Substantive rec letters from 2 professors that I did research with, and a managing director from Goldman that I worked with intimately (none from my current employer)
I worked in a volunteering organization during my undergraduate for 3 years and held leadership roles
Emphasized my athletics / writing passion
GRE Quant 169, Verbal 168, Writing 5.5

Main takeaway for anyone who had similar anxiety to me this application season, having a "low" GPA isn't a deal-breaker that will keep them from considering your application, if you have substantive experiences/great recs/a demonstrated passion for finance, you can still get an interview

 

[Qui-Gon]

I think that you still have a shot TBH, I got my interview invite like 4 days before my interview, so I'm fairly sure they're sending the invites on a rolling basis as they're ascertaining for each candidate whether to assign an interview or not. The email I got also said that they're doing interviews through late february -if you haven't heard anything by like Valentines day I would assume you aren't getting one

Also I don't know if it will help anyone in the future that looks back at this thread, but given that this is essentially the 2021 thread and since the folks who posted profiles in the 2020/2019 threads helped me out a ton, I figured I'd post mine for anyone looking back at this next year

Graduated from Top IVY Magna Cum laude with BA in Computer Science, Economics, won a top research prize (3.5 GPA.. but I had better than average grades in all my math courses)
Worked at Goldman Sachs/A prop trading firm for three years as a sell side data scientist and then a buy side quantitative researcher ( 1 yr Goldman + Internship, 2 year prop trading firm)
Built two profitable, AI-driven market making strategies at my current employer from the ground up, lots of c++/python/finance quantitative experience
Series 7/63 certified
Substantive rec letters from 2 professors that I did research with, and a managing director from Goldman that I worked with intimately (none from my current employer)
I worked in a volunteering organization during my undergraduate for 3 years and held leadership roles
Emphasized my athletics / writing passion
GRE Quant 169, Verbal 168, Writing 5.5

Main takeaway for anyone who had similar anxiety to me this application season, having a "low" GPA isn't a deal-breaker that will keep them from considering your application, if you have substantive experiences/great recs/a demonstrated passion for finance, you can still get an interview

When the rest of your profile looks the way yours does, of course a 3.5 isn’t going to be a deal breaker — especially given you’re coming from an Ivy. In general, I think a low GPA — with low grades in some important courses — absolutely can be a deal breaker. I don’t think GPA is left-fat tailed for top programs, and I think that’s because most with lower GPAs don’t have the other profile characteristics that you do.

Your background is stacked man. Good luck with all your apps.

 

[Andy Zhang]

I think that you still have a shot TBH, I got my interview invite like 4 days before my interview, so I'm fairly sure they're sending the invites on a rolling basis as they're ascertaining for each candidate whether to assign an interview or not. The email I got also said that they're doing interviews through late february -if you haven't heard anything by like Valentines day I would assume you aren't getting one

Also I don't know if it will help anyone in the future that looks back at this thread, but given that this is essentially the 2021 thread and since the folks who posted profiles in the 2020/2019 threads helped me out a ton, I figured I'd post mine for anyone looking back at this next year

Graduated from Top IVY Magna Cum laude with BA in Computer Science, Economics, won a top research prize (3.5 GPA.. but I had better than average grades in all my math courses)
Worked at Goldman Sachs/A prop trading firm for three years as a sell side data scientist and then a buy side quantitative researcher ( 1 yr Goldman + Internship, 2 year prop trading firm)
Built two profitable, AI-driven market making strategies at my current employer from the ground up, lots of c++/python/finance quantitative experience
Series 7/63 certified
Substantive rec letters from 2 professors that I did research with, and a managing director from Goldman that I worked with intimately (none from my current employer)
I worked in a volunteering organization during my undergraduate for 3 years and held leadership roles
Emphasized my athletics / writing passion
GRE Quant 169, Verbal 168, Writing 5.5

Main takeaway for anyone who had similar anxiety to me this application season, having a "low" GPA isn't a deal-breaker that will keep them from considering your application, if you have substantive experiences/great recs/a demonstrated passion for finance, you can still get an interview

Holy shit, your profile is so f***ing amazing! If you don't get into at least one of the top 5 MFE programs, I'm gonna assume the negativity of 2020 is still upon us. Honestly, and maybe I'm out of line for saying this (Idgaf), but any of the top 5 MFE programs would be lucky to have you. I've seen plenty of the resumes from Princeton MFin...I don't think yours is worse than the average Princeton MFin admit (assuming your interview went well). Did you also apply to Columbia? Asking because I am a MSOR alum and I had an opportunity to interact with some of the MSFE students there (some work at Citadel/Two Sigma). Feel free to DM me if you have any questions about Columbia and I'll try my best to give you answers