UCB MFE UC Berkeley MFE Application Discussion

[Andy Nguyen]

Sky
Can you add your timelines to the Tracker?

 

[Sky]

Yes, you may. What info do you need for that?

 

[RAWMUSCLE]

I submitted my application 31st Aug. I will be doing the second round interview on Monday.

 

[ICQuant]

RAWMUSCLE
hey raw! Did you good in the first one? I understood that sometimes they do only 1 interview and sometimes 2! have you heard about anybody who got accepted?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

RAWMUSCLE, ICQuant
Tracker would be a nice way to keep track of the timelines and progress.

 

[RAWMUSCLE]

I had a total of two interviews. The first interview was a bit technical and i think i did well, while the second one was very brief. I was told that I would be given an offer at the end of the second one.

 

[KnowledgeSeeker]

so did anyone hear back on the results for the R4?

 

[ICQuant]

so did anyone hear back on the results for the R4?

Well. I didn't yet and it is quite annoying because they specify a date for decisions announcement and they don't stick to it! How many interviews did you do?
Shall we contact the admission office or just wait?

 

[KnowledgeSeeker]

I had only one interview and that was fairly recently - much later than others (going by the tracker where the average interview date is scheduled around 50-52 days after the date of submission and going by the posts above) . Don't know what that could mean.

Was waiting so eagerly for the results yesterday all day. :/ I am also contemplating contacting them today. It says on the site to refrain from contacting the admissions office till the results deadline. Thats already up. What about you?

 

[ICQuant]

Well, I submitted 2 days before the deadline and did the interview on the 19th of October (exactly 51 days)!
I also waited yesterday. Maybe we have the same status! Do you believe that this signifies a probable denial? What are your other options?

 

[KnowledgeSeeker]

I have no clue what it could mean. Though, as you may have, I too have thought of many plausible scenarios to explain this. One very plausible explanation could be that they are running late with their selection process.

Anyways, let me know if you hear anything. Or in case you decide to call up MFE. I will inform you too.

Best of luck (to us both)!!!

 

[Sky]

I just got my pseudo-reject (application being held for further review) letter today. It reads:

We would like to inform you that your application for spring 2012 admission to the Master of Financial Engineering Program at the Haas School of Business is being held for further consideration. If you have any questions, please call Christina Henri at (510) 642-4417.

We advise you to complete the following:

• Successfully complete the preprogram courses in C++, Mathematics, and Statistics offered by our department
• Read Crack’s Heard on the Street, Hull’s Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, Brealey, Myers, and Allen’s Principles of Corporate Finance and Zhou’s A Practical Guide to Quantitative Finance Interviews and read the Wall Street Journal regularly
• Retake the GRE/GMAT and raise your analytical writing score to a 5 or higher and quantitative score to 90th percentile or higher.
• Successfully complete coursework in Corporate Finance and Macroeconomics.

There is no guarantee that you will be recommended for admission if you fulfill these requirements. The admissions committee will review your file regularly and make a final decision before the close of the admissions cycle in March 2012.

Our preprogram courses, which are offered by our department in January, are available online for students who cannot be in Berkeley until March. If you have any questions, please call Christina Henri at (510) 642-4417.

We would like to continue to consider your candidacy. We appreciate your interest in Haas and the MFE Program at Berkeley.

This really sucks. I thought my phone interview went really well, so this comes as a shock. I'm concerned how thoroughly they looked at my application, because (1) I have a BS degree in applied mathematics (it has only been 2 years since I graduated, and I -- like many other fairly recent grads -- have been struggling to find a job, so I took whatever came my way, which didn't happen to use any of my degrees at all) and (2) I already took a macroeconomics course in my economics minor, as well as having corporate finance knowledge from other courses.

I guess I'm just not good enough for Berkeley (I wonder if I'm good enough for Carnegie Mellon or Baruch...). It's like you have to have all of the knowledge that comes out of an MFE degree before you even start the degree itself.

Does anybody know what the acceptance rate is for somebody who has been put on hold status (that is, assuming he / she completes all of the required stuff in between)?

 

[bansalmohit]

seems like you got below 90 percentile in your GRE or GMAT. That must would have been the biggest putoff

 

[Sky]

I understand that my GRE wasn't as good as it could be (it's funny -- on the verbal section, none of the words I studied for 3 months straight were on the GRE -- but that is a whole other story), but I thought that the fact of having 4 BS degrees would compensate for that. (By the way, I got a 770 on the GRE -- so, I wasn't too far off. I just freaked out toward the end of the quantitative section with absolute value equations that required double the time to solve, which, by the way, weren't on any of the study materials / books that I used.) I'm just pretty bummed out right now.

 

[bansalmohit]

well personally i have heard that if u have more than 2 undergrad degrees that can be little put off too as it shows u didnt know wht u wanna do. especially if the degrees were not connected . i will recommend retaking gre and ace it. Also the applications seem to have increased exponentially this year. Almost whole of India and China wants to be quant and boy they are smart

 

[ICQuant]

Hardluck Sky. There is no clear evidence but I estimate that this rate is really low. At the same time, I believe it works on a case by case basis, so if you worked really hard and you did all what they asked for, you shall have a chance. I saw so because I read somehwere in the reviews that some people got accepted only two weeks before the start of the program, which means that it's still possible that they accept you if you do all that. Meanwhile you can hedge yourself and apply for other programs as well so that you have other options. I suppose no news for you KnowledgeSeeker!

 

[KnowledgeSeeker]

Sorry to hear, Sky. Best of luck!
EDIT: Also, Sky how many interviews did you have? And around when? Thanks

ICQuant - Not yet. I tried their number yesterday but it went straight to the answering machine. Had thought of mailing them today but as Sky received his result, I am assuming the results must be on their way. <Fingers crossed>

 

[ICQuant]

Due to the fact that all accepted students I knew got a 2nd interview during which they were told about the offer of admission, I suppose that the abscence of an email calling for this interview means the abscence of an offer! Thus, I am not optimistic and not anymore in a hurry for the decision email. Decision email is Rejection email.

 

[KnowledgeSeeker]

Are you sure about that? Cos from what I have gathered is that the second interview is done usually when the first interview was not good/inconclusive. And a lot of people get in with just one interview too (Source: Global-derivatives, Quantnet)

Also, if you notice the Tracker, many of the applicants have gotten their results on the R1/R2/R3 deadline dates (not all, but a lot). I know its inconclusive, I'll use that also as a sign of people being intimated by e-mail on deadline day.

I am still hopeful.

 

[Kittu]

Are you sure about that? Cos from what I have gathered is that the second interview is done usually when the first interview was not good/inconclusive. And a lot of people get in with just one interview too (Source: Global-derivatives, Quantnet)

Also, if you notice the Tracker, many of the applicants have gotten their results on the R1/R2/R3 deadline dates (not all, but a lot). I know its inconclusive, I'll use that also as a sign of people being intimated by e-mail on deadline day.

I am still hopeful.

I am matriculating at UCB this Spring for MFE and I never had two interviews. I go my admit decision via an email.

EDIT: I would also like to add the fact that majority of suitable candidates(the candidates who are worthy of a place in the class according to adcom) will get a WL in R4. The reason being most of the class is full by this time. A few guys would be admitted while others will be put on WL. The admits which are handed a couple of weeks before the start of program are usually against any last minute drop outs and from the WL.