Profile For 2026 MFE

[EthanXXX]

Hi, I'd like to get some advice on how I can improve my profile

Education: Graduating expected fall 2025 from US Top 40 Undergrad Program major in Finance and Economics, Minor in Mathematics and Quantitative Economics
Courses I have taken / plan to take:
Calc 1-4, Math Theory of Probability, Mathematical Finance (maybe the grad level), Introduction to Stochastic Processes
ML for Economics, Advanced Econometrics, Big Data and Forecasting for Economics, Computational Methods for Research in Economics
I have Been accepted into my school's accelerated program for FE so I will be able to take 3 courses in the MFE program (top 20), I plan to take: Analysis of Fixed Income, Derivatives, and Objective Oriented Programming (Python) / Indexing and ETFs
Current GPA: 3.92, I had a bad gpa first semester with random classes, but 4.0 every semester afterwards.

Languages: Python, C++ (plan on doing the Baruch certificate), R

Projects: Have done some work with derivatives pricing & greeks, will look to do more with ML & school projects in classes

Experience: not much relevant experience, had a corporate finance internship and tutoring for finance and economics classes

Scores: I have not taken the GRE yet but will take it this summer.

I still have time until I apply so what steps can I take to ensure I have the best chance of getting into a top 10 program? I'd really appreciate any advice!

 

[Arbitrary]

Always aim high, your profile is good. Try to get 1-2 additional finance (if possible quant) related internships under your belt, this will set you apart further (for internships, always aim for brand names - often people have such a bias for brand value that they deem the brand as a more important factor than the role itself). GRE seems to be getting less and less important, many schools dont even accept it anymore, i'd say still do it just to check off that box and dont neglect the verbal part (theres many students with Q170, but little who also have high V scores, this will also set you apart further). Also - essays are important, spend a considerable amount of time on them, theres so many good candidates who fulfil the other requirements, essays is what the universities look at to gauge personality, background, motivation and way of thinking in order further differentiate between candidates. At the end of the day, due to sometimes arbitrary admissions processes, its also a numbers game - apply to as many of the top ranked programs as you are able to without inflicting genuine financial burden onto yourself

 

[EthanXXX]

Always aim high, your profile is good. Try to get 1-2 additional finance (if possible quant) related internships under your belt, this will set you apart further (for internships, always aim for brand names - often people have such a bias for brand value that they deem the brand as a more important factor than the role itself). GRE seems to be getting less and less important, many schools dont even accept it anymore, i'd say still do it just to check off that box and dont neglect the verbal part (theres many students with Q170, but little who also have high V scores, this will also set you apart further). Also - essays are important, spend a considerable amount of time on them, theres so many good candidates who fulfil the other requirements, essays is what the universities look at to gauge personality, background, motivation and way of thinking in order further differentiate between candidates. At the end of the day, due to sometimes arbitrary admissions processes, its also a numbers game - apply to as many of the top ranked programs as you are able to without inflicting genuine financial burden onto yourself

Thank you! How important do you think recommendation letters are?