I’ve looked into the program and it looks good.
buyicide Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The glory days are over for a while (many of those > $250K jobs were for structired credit and the > like) but top MFE programs will still be placing > people on wall street. > > BTW: a BC MSF is light years from a > berkely/chicago MFE/MSFM. I’m always amazed how someone can believe that a piece of paper that says that you passed some classes can earn you 250K.
You are amazed that financial engineers were making $250K during the height of engineering/structuring? You got one thing in common with JTLD/IHIHM: neither of you know much about the job market for recent grads of elite biz programs.
buyicide Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You are amazed that financial engineers were > making $250K during the height of > engineering/structuring? > > You got one thing in common with JTLD/IHIHM: > neither of you know much about the job market for > recent grads of elite biz programs. “Elite biz program” 
Must be at Fidelity.
mo: Trust me, I’m not saying these guys SHOULD get paid that much. I find it it ridiculous that some guy gets accepted to a B-School based largely on his essays (Tell me about a time you received negative feedback) & extra-curriculars (I enjoy canoing and I volunteer at Habitat for Humanity every other Saturday) and uses the MBA prestige to land a $200K+ job picking stocks or making pitchbooks. I’m not bitter about it, though - I will probbably play the game and attend an “Elite biz program,” where I will learn nothing, network like crazy, drink beer for 2 years, and then triple my income.
Buycide, So I did some research to get some concrete numbers. The Forbes rankings of best MBA programs is based on what they call “Return on Investment”. As part of their calculation of ROI they look at how much an individual was making just before entering the MBA program and how much he is making 5 years after graduation from the program. the top program for 2009 was Stanford, these are the stats for the class of 2004 ( now in 2009 are 5 years after graduation): CLASS OF 2004 SALARY Pre-MBA: $82,000 In 2008: $225,000 As you can see even the top Elite MBA program did not lead to a 250K starting salary after school. The average graduate reached 225K only 5 years after graduating in 2004. I am sure there are outliers who made the 250K coming out of school, but the mythical jobs paying 250K for an entry level quant position are exactly that “mythical” (IMHO). Simply put yourself in the shoes of the fund manager or the hiring manager, why on earth would you be willing to pay 250K to someone who has no proven track record of anything other than studying ? http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/95/best-business-schools-09_Stanford_950008.html
That’s SALARY. Salary is just a portion - and in the case of those working for large investment banks, often a fraction - of total compensation.
buyicide Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That’s SALARY. Salary is just a portion - and in > the case of those working for large investment > banks, often a fraction - of total compensation. Actually it’s total compensation, the following is from the link I posted earlier. You can have more details about the break-down of total compensation, signing bonus, etc … if you look up MBA Forbes Ranking. 5-Yr total compensation after graduation
Just in case you have any doubts, this is from Stanford BS web site. Median TOTAL COMPENSATION for 2008 is 180K. http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/about/facts.html Placement: Top Industries MBA Class 2008 2007 2006 Management Consulting 27% 29% 14% Venture Capital/Private Equity 14% 15% 7% High Tech 12% 14% Consumer electronics /hardware 3% Technology software 3% Investment Banking 5% 5% 8% Median Total Compensation $180,000 $175,000 $160,000 Median Base Salary $120,000 $115,000 $110,000
So i applied. i was able to complete the app in time. that week was insane. anyway i underestimated GRE and ran out of time. i was terribly out of practice to do simplae division and square rooting by hand in a short period of time. i spent way too much energy into the written essay part. long story short the gre quant score was less than optimal - way less. i thought my chances were all but done. my brother made fun of me and said that i should have asked for gre exemption. and he’s right. anyway i thought the rest of my app was strong with good credentials and a wealth of professional experience. but gre quant is pretty important for these programs, no? so i thought my chances were over. then last week i get an email from a higher up in the program. they say that they evaluate the application as a whole but my quant score is low. they want me to retake it. i was like whoaaaaa. this is huge (maybe?). they probably like the rest of the app. so i send back an email the same day and ask if i could retake the gre on oct 12. i mentioned the earliest i could take is oct 7. i asked for them to advise. no reply. so over the weekend i started studying and then registered to retake it on oct 12. i sent them email and said i am retaking and will report my scores to them directly. no further reply. so now i am kind of having all these weird thoughts. i am of course glad that the app is still alive. but did i make a huge mistake by asking for oct 12? maybe they think i need to study hard for gre. i hear the quant guys who have been doing quant work can ace it with no preparation. i think i havent done a square root of a number without a calculator in years now. so i am thinking whether i shoudl have just taken it on oct 7. my brother says that if i dont get a good gre score this time then of course chances are damaged and he thinks that it was the right thing to suggest oct 12 because i want to make sure i get the score i need. but the deadline is over already. maybe they will start considering others before me who came with better gre scores and have the applications completed in time. i should have retook on oct 7, right? god its killing me.
I think you made a huge mistake by taking it to begin with. You graduated before 2007, right? http://finmath.uchicago.edu/new/msfm/prospective/plan_admission.php Application requirements There are several application requirements. The application form itself provides more details about each of the requirements. Both the GRE General Test and the GRE Math Subject Tests are required. However, if you received your bachelor’s degree prior to June of 2007, you are exempt from any GRE requirements.
Your only mistake is that you annoyed them with all your emails. A simple thank you email with “I will have the new results sent directly to you” was enough, this is not 1st grade, they don’t care when you take it or of you have to review some stuff to ace it (as long as it’s within a reasonable time frame).
buyicide Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think you made a huge mistake by taking it to > begin with. You graduated before 2007, right? > > http://finmath.uchicago.edu/new/msfm/prospective/p > lan_admission.php > > Application requirements > > There are several application requirements. The > application form itself provides more details > about each of the requirements. > > Both the GRE General Test and the GRE Math Subject > Tests are required. However, if you received your > bachelor’s degree prior to June of 2007, you are > exempt from any GRE requirements. I agree with you but now its a catch 22. i have to retake it because i’m asked to. i do feel that they like me to even allow this though.
mo34 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Your only mistake is that you annoyed them with > all your emails. A simple thank you email with “I > will have the new results sent directly to you” > was enough, this is not 1st grade, they don’t care > when you take it or of you have to review some > stuff to ace it (as long as it’s within a > reasonable time frame). Agree with this. I am being too eager.
needhelp Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So i applied. i was able to complete the app in > time. that week was insane. anyway i > underestimated GRE and ran out of time. i was > terribly out of practice to do simplae division > and square rooting by hand in a short period of > time. i spent way too much energy into the written > essay part. > > long story short the gre quant score was less than > optimal - way less. > > i thought my chances were all but done. my brother > made fun of me and said that i should have asked > for gre exemption. and he’s right. > > anyway i thought the rest of my app was strong > with good credentials and a wealth of professional > experience. > > but gre quant is pretty important for these > programs, no? so i thought my chances were over. > > then last week i get an email from a higher up in > the program. they say that they evaluate the > application as a whole but my quant score is low. > they want me to retake it. > > i was like whoaaaaa. this is huge (maybe?). they > probably like the rest of the app. so i send back > an email the same day and ask if i could retake > the gre on oct 12. i mentioned the earliest i > could take is oct 7. i asked for them to advise. > no reply. so over the weekend i started studying > and then registered to retake it on oct 12. i sent > them email and said i am retaking and will report > my scores to them directly. no further reply. > > so now i am kind of having all these weird > thoughts. i am of course glad that the app is > still alive. but did i make a huge mistake by > asking for oct 12? maybe they think i need to > study hard for gre. i hear the quant guys who have > been doing quant work can ace it with no > preparation. i think i havent done a square root > of a number without a calculator in years now. so > i am thinking whether i shoudl have just taken it > on oct 7. my brother says that if i dont get a > good gre score this time then of course chances > are damaged and he thinks that it was the right > thing to suggest oct 12 because i want to make > sure i get the score i need. > > but the deadline is over already. maybe they will > start considering others before me who came with > better gre scores and have the applications > completed in time. > > i should have retook on oct 7, right? god its > killing me. man, you sound like a chick. lost all your cool points needhelp. im sorely disappointed.
Good luck, it looks like a fantastic program and taught by actual practitioner.
hey guys, i lost my cool and calm because this is kind of a big deal for me. i will readily admit that i havent been very suave about this. but this is my ticket to taking my career to that next level, and i want it bad. thanks for the encouragement.
needhelp Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > hey guys, i lost my cool and calm because this is > kind of a big deal for me. i will readily admit > that i havent been very suave about this. but this > is my ticket to taking my career to that next > level, and i want it bad. > > thanks for the encouragement. youre still alright in my book buddy. dont second-guess yourself at this point and ace that quant section.
No, you will be fine. 5 days won’t make or break. A bad GRE score will. You did the right thing. Don’t be worried by the lack of email response. It’s not like you are a client – they feel no pressing need to get back to you. Take the GRE and kill it. They like you a lot. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have wasted their time. Good luck! This is a dream program.
what are you doing to prepare? I took it in Dec 2006 and even with all of my math background, could not have done well without preparation, as this isn’t my normal line of work so I don’t agree with “i hear the quant guys who have been doing quant work can ace it with no preparation.” (It’s the time pressure and format of the test that people have to prepare for, it’s not the material, though overpreparation does not hurt!) Get busy preparing, use Barron’s GRE prep and if you are taking the subject test, get prep books for that too. you don’t have too much time… good luck!