Sudden increase in the number of applicants to MFE programs

[choejms]

Does anybody know why the number of applicants for top MFE programs suddenly spiked this year?
It looks like the number doubled for Imperial and Princeton, and I expect a similar trend for other programs as well.

 

[bootstrap]

Perhaps the sector has not been doing as much hiring as in the past and many fresh grads coming out of college has not been able to land good jobs. The obvious alternative is to go to grad school.

That said, I am feeling a little nervous now, as my chance of getting into these programs has been cut in half (from an unconditional probabilistic standpoint).

 

[zhaox]

I feel this is due to BBs, HFs, and Prop firms having lower return rates for interns across the board this year. There might be firms with still decent return rates but the overall impression is a much lower return rate than in previous years. Thus the typical high-achievers who land a job straight out of undergrad are now applying for MFEs.

There may have also been a small group of juniors who were recently laid off who have applied as well. However, I don't think this is the major reason for the ramp-up in application numbers.

 

[kombuchalover]

Census Shows Great Recession's Impact on College Enrollment

A challenging economy can drive people back to college to learn new skills but what happens when the labor market improves?

www.census.gov

In general, there’s a pretty strong correlation for college enrollment rates to rise when the global economy is in a recession because people don’t have jobs and would rather go back to school than not have a job or have a part-time job.

hopefully, most of us realize that we have been in a recession for most of 2023; thus, the spike in applications is not so surprising!

 

[bootstrap]

Census Shows Great Recession's Impact on College Enrollment

A challenging economy can drive people back to college to learn new skills but what happens when the labor market improves?

www.census.gov

In general, there’s a pretty strong correlation for college enrollment rates to rise when the global economy is in a recession because people don’t have jobs and would rather go back to school than not have a job or have a part-time job.

hopefully, most of us realize that we have been in a recession for most of 2023; thus, the spike in applications is not so surprising!

Technically, the US economy isn't in a recession. But anecdotally, there seems to be a recession for skilled labor, a white collar recession if you will.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

The demand for skilled labor is much higher than the supply right now as economic data released today shown. It has been pretty resilient, despite predictions from many economists that we will be for a long time now.
The perception of a recession may play a part in the increasing number of MFE applicants but I suspect there may be some other factors too. Could be a new generation of college age applicants who discover the quant field recently.
We will see in a few months whether the increase is across the board or it's just happening at the few top programs.

 

[Lukee]

That said, I am feeling a little nervous now, as my chance of getting into these programs has been cut in half (from an unconditional probabilistic standpoint).

Its worth mentioning that Dan Stefanica (Baruch's MFE director) said that they do not have a set class size. They simply take whoever they think is qualified, so if you're applying there then the increase in applicants shouldn't discourage you.

 

[rodeo]

Given this trend, would it be a wise step to wait for an year and improve my profile for a top program admit or do you think that as the trend continues, more firms will be willing to hire from lower ranked programs as the overall quality of admits will improve across the board.
Feeling a little discouraged! (Want to go for a quant trading role, where I've heard program reputation matters quite a bit)

 

[demoralizer]

Given this trend, would it be a wise step to wait for an year and improve my profile for a top program admit or do you think that as the trend continues, more firms will be willing to hire from lower ranked programs as the overall quality of admits will improve across the board.
Feeling a little discouraged! (Want to go for a quant trading role, where I've heard program reputation matters quite a bit)

I'm afraid that increased awareness about the lucrative salaries and perks of quant roles will bring up a herd of software engineers, finance majors and math majors into the field and heavily increase the supply thus creating a bad job market for employees. some kind of a nash equilibrium.

 

[MikeLawrence]

I'm afraid that increased awareness about the lucrative salaries and perks of quant roles will bring up a herd of software engineers, finance majors and math majors into the field and heavily increase the supply thus creating a bad job market for employees. some kind of a nash equilibrium.

If I were ever concerned about the supply/demand problem on here I'd simply remember the ratio of QN users who have passed the first C++ course to those who have passed the second and then move on about my day.

All of them knew the second course existed, but only a small fraction of them went to the trouble to take it. I don't think it's terribly difficult (in that you'd need serious outside influence) to turn into an exceptional candidate, or at least get close, if you see what needs to be done while still in the 2-3rd year of undergrad (afterward, it is admittedly, on all accounts, much harder; and it wasn't easy before). The total talent applying to these jobs probably is increasing, as in the sum number of people with any talent at all, but the total number of exceptional talent probably isn't - not at anywhere near the same rate. That doesn't help most of us, but it should give us hope and a game plan.

Goal: beat out almost everyone who is applying.
Problem: we don't know ALL the attributes of EVERYONE applying.
Sub-goal: beat out almost all the people in some smaller pool that you can measure: gradually learn more about what you need to do and increase the size of the pool you understand and play in.

Start by beating out all the users who didn't get distinction on the QN courses. We are all here, we all have access to them (if we can pay). It's an obvious step.

Given that distinction in just one of the C++ courses often plays a large role in landing users a spot at CMU, Uchicago (or similar) AND often with a scholarship... don't drop the ball.

 

[bootstrap]

Its worth mentioning that Dan Stefanica (Baruch's MFE director) said that they do not have a set class size. They simply take whoever they think is qualified, so if you're applying there then the increase in applicants shouldn't discourage you.

To be honest, I did not apply to any school with a single digit admission rate in 2023. I thought the expected return wasn't worth the time. So I did not apply to Baruch.

I hope other schools I apply to also follow the same policy.