I Just Finished my Applications for Next Year!!

[DeltaVega]

Hello Folks!
So I just submitted my applications for graduate studies for next year! I applied to 7 programs, here they are in my order of preference:
Columbia - CMU - NYU - Cornell - Princeton - Stanford - Baruch
I'd be happy to study at any one of them however!

I'm sharing my experience with you in this thread and will update my application process later on for the benefit of those applying in the later years.

Applying is a rather hectic process and it takes a lot of hours and money (close to $1000 in my case). I've submitted my info in the tracker, but here's my app info in a nutshell:

U 0f M Dearborn - Mech Engineering GPA:3.9+
Engineer at one of the Big Three Auto Companies (1yr)
GRE: 800Q (equivalent to a 166) 630V (equivalent to a 162)
GMAT: 760 = 50Q and 42V
Essays: IMHO better than the average admitted student but not stellar (Grade: 8/10)
LORs: Supervisor/Professor/International Business Partner = All will give me the best recommendation (some asked me to draft a letter for them - and that is NOT an easy task)

So, I have a good feeling, I would say despite the close to 5% admittance rate of most of these programs I still have a good chance getting into at least one
Let's see where this takes us!
I'll have to start thinking of paying for my degree, and getting some work experience in the financial industry before next fall (SO YOUR OPINION HERE IS MUCH APPRECIATED)

If you any questions for me, feel free to post them here!

Good Luck to all this year's applicants!
Happy holidays to you all!!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Best of luck DeltaVega and I look forward to your tracker's results turning green

 

[JDawg]

How do you know how well your essay is compared to the average admitted student?

 

[DeltaVega]

Thanks Andy! this website has been pretty helpful all around my application process by the way, thanks for managing this! I'll be glad to help keeping this in any possible way!

 

[DeltaVega]

How do you know how well your essay is compared to the average admitted student?

Good Question JDawg! I knew someone would ask this
All universities indicate what they expect from essays. I assumed that a student who strictly meets this criteria has written the average 5/10 essay! Of course some will write worse essays and still get in and some will write better. I can say my essays are good: I reviewed them a lot, and made sure they not only convey what the adcoms want to see by that my writing is clear and eloquent and transitions between paragraphs are smooth! I also worked on my introduction and conclusion parts, and made sure to specialize them, mentioning a specific detail of every program, like notable alumni or specific course. I think there are still areas of improvement in my writing though so I gave it an 8 (assuming a 10/10 is the essay that comes once or twice every year...)

 

[DeltaVega]

future readers of this thread - because i know few people are interested in this currently:
as of today, i have have one acceptance and three rejections... I did get accepted to CMU and will join regardless of what turns out from my other apps since i think the CMU experience is much better than that of the other schools... this site has been very helpful in the process!!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

We are there with you all the way, buddy and I'm glad that you finally got into a program that you want. Glad to hear that you find Quantnet to help you along the process. Members helping other members is what makes Quantnet what it is so I hope you will come back, share with us what you learn in the CMU program and long after you start your job in the industry.
We are going to need your inside info and review of CMU

 

[DeltaVega]

Andy Nguyen thanks for putting up this website man! you mentioned you are planning an outing for Quantnet members in the East Coast, i'll be joining the NYC campus, so please invite me (but i'll still be stuck in MI till mid summer) i can't wait to start giving back to this site's visitors, whenever you want feel free to shoot me a PM

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Sure thing. We organize a picnic in Central park the past few years (we skipped last year) with students and practitioners in many programs turn out.
https://www.quantnet.com/forum/threads/2010-annual-quantnet-central-park-picnic.4556/

I'm glad to see we have Quantnet members in virtually every MFE programs. I'm going to organize some other networking events in the future so our members and meet and expand their own network.