Getting Into Top MFE Programs

[wshopeful]

Let's say a prospective undergraduate student has covered all of the requirements for an MFE program. The person has solid grades (3.8-3.9 from state school), solid GRE (800 Q, 550-600 V), and somewhat relevant internship experiences. What differentiates those who get into a top program such as Columbia's from those who do not?

P.S. I've searched through the forums and I couldn't find a good answer. Everyone says make sure to have taken a lot of math, have programming experience, etc., but so many people have that background nowadays that it doesn't make you stand out anymore.

 

[TBeas]

You as a person.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

The numerical description sounds like hundreds of applications I read every year. Some are even more impressive. Not that any of these things will get an automatic Admit stamp from me.
I'm interested in seeing what the person writes in his essay, explain his understanding and reasoning for joining this. If you don't know much and can't really convince people, it's pretty easy to tell, especially when English is not your first language.
Letters of recommendation are interesting to read as well. Most of the time, they aren't saying much beyond the minimum effort required.

So make sure you really work hard on this because people pay attention. This is where 2 identical applicants will lead to 2 opposite results.

When someone who wants to apply to MFE programs and haven't heard of Quantnet (or any of the quant discussion forum), have not read any of the books on the master reading list, or read everything there is about his targeted programs, there is little to demonstrate a genuine interest in this field.