MFE Application - Letters of Rec

[threesixtyquickscope]

Hi all,

I am currently in the process of trying to put together a competitive MFE application for this cycle. However, I am in quite a difficult situation as I do not have an upper-level mathematics professor I feel I can ask for a letter of recommendation.

Background:
- Started at a small no name school on an athletic scholarship in 2018 as a mathematics major (Only took Calc 1, Calc 2, and Discrete)
- Transferred to a large school in 2020, during the pandemic, and my first year was taught completely virtually.
- My 2021 - 2022 classes were taught in person but with strict guidelines and mask mandates.
- I graduated with a BS in Mathematics in Spring 2022
- Currently work at a prominent financial services company with somewhat relevant experience (my role involves working with trade data, BestEx, and TCA solutions)

I never got to know any of my professors well enough to ask for a letter of rec, and even some professors I reached out to said they could not write me one because they did not work with me 1 on 1. I took all of my advanced math courses during the two years affected by the pandemic and am scrambling to figure out who I should ask for my third recommendation.

My current letters of rec:
1. College coach
2. Current manager
3. ??

If anyone has any advice on the below, it would be super helpful. Thank you in advance!
1. Will not having a mathematics professor as a letter of rec significantly hurt my application?
2. Should I mention my situation somewhere in my application to explain why would not have a math prof rec?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Generally, I don't think it's a rule where you must have a letter of recommendation from a math prof. If you got all As in all the standard courses, there isn't much value they can provide. The value is when you take a more advanced course and the teacher can talk in length about your mathematical maturity. This is pretty rare.
On the other hand, get someone who can provide in depth essay about your background, personality, strength, weakness, etc. Your coach or boss are just as good as any to provide insight into who you are.
Covid and remote learning are so common that your situation is not unique. I don't know if you should mention it unless you rather say something more important.