Princeton M.Fin Experience Sharing

Hi all,

I am from China. I moved to the UK for my undergraduate studies, reading physics in top 2 schools in the UK. I took the GMAT but I only got 690, 5.5. Then I applied for both Princeton and MIT's M.Fin Programme.

I had two finance-related internships and pretty strong extracurricular activities as Cambridge. The admission process is very long. The deadline is 1 December. You need to write a 1000-word Statement of Academic Purposes, submit a GMAT/GRE score, and 3 letters of recommendations.

This requires kind of a long term planning. I took the GMAT in April 2011, then I asked the general manager of the bank I worked in the summer to write me a letter of recommendations along with two professors at Cambridge. I was very busy when my school term started in Oct 2011 because of university recruiting for major banks in London office. I spent hours and hours talking to bankers and further confirmed my interest in investment banking and private equity. I wrote my statement os academic purposes in a week before the deadline. I wrote 950 words only, and I do think writing a concise statement would be better than a rambling 1200-word statement.

The statement should include:

Your short and long term career goals?
How Princeton's more academic approach would benefit you and help you achieve your goals? (verify by stating which classes would help you)
How you can fit into Princeton's progeamme and culture? ( i.Academically, Princeton is very Quantitative. If you study Maths, Sciences, Economics or Engineering, that would be a big plus. They are not very interested in business or finance major, since scientist, mathematicians, engineers and economist are generally smarter and better in problem-solving. ii. Socially, how you can fit into the American culture?)

Letter of recommendations:

I would suggest recommenders to adopt the MIT suggestion format, since that is relevant. I asked three of my recommenders to focus on the areas that MIT suggested. (Princeton doesn't have a suggested format.)

Probably, two from your academic professors if you are still in university, and one from your previous employers.

GMAT/GRE Scores:

They said they prefer GRE, but they also accept GMAT. They focus more on the quantitative side on your test scores. Your Undergraduate results or GPA outside UK, would be valued with your test scores together. I got a high grade in my undergraduates studies but a low GMAT, they still accept me.

Interview:

They interview only the top 100 applicants and the interviews are conducted throughout January. Then, they admit around 30 students. The admission rate is usually less than 5%.
The interview itself is kind of like a first round IBD interview with a BB Bank. It is competency-based, and they are interested in your leadership experience and teamwork skills, etc. Basically, it is a test of whether you can get a job in BB Banks or top tier hedge funds and private equity firms. They will ask you if you are having an internship with any top banks in the summer.

In my opinion, the interview is kind of easy compare with those IBD final round interviews when you are drilled by technical questions.

Admission Decision:

They release results in mid-Feb so you would have time to prepare your application to other schools having a 1 March deadline, if you are not successful.

The Programme itself:

The Programme is very academic, so there are a lot of theories that you need to understand and study. It is a flexible programme that you can graduate in one year or two years. The placement record is 100% since the course is established, since the school has a great alumni network and the relation director is fantastic in contacting top firms with job opportunities. It is definitely the best M.Fin Programme in America.

I hope all these help.

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