Depressing reply for query on MSF from Admissions at UFL

Thank you for your interest in the MSF Program at UF, https://www.cba.ufl.edu/msf.

We do not have fall admissions. The program begins each summer and runs through the following spring semester.

We look for incoming students to have above a 650 on the GMAT and 3.5 GPA. The class averages are >670 GMAT and >3.6 GPA. The GMAT may be substituted with the GRE, in which case we look for >1350. The MSF website has a few details about expectations, https://www.cba.ufl.edu/msf.

Assistantships and fellowships are almost exclusively reserved for PhD students in the Finance Dept. There is some scholarship funding available and all accepted students are automatically considered. This usually goes to a student wanted by the program who might accept an offer elsewhere. It is not always the student with the highest test scores or GPA.

All accepted students are expected to be able to pay full tuition, fees and living expenses.

I caution all serious international inquiries that this particular program receives about 250 international applications per year. For the current class we accepted two. Each has very unique placement plans and is completely fluent in English. In the past, when we have accepted more international students, they have had extremely difficult, frustrating, time consuming, and emotionally trying times attempting to get job placement in the U.S. We have had between 20 and 30 international students the past 6 years from Taiwan, China, India, South America, Nigeria and Germany all trying to get placement in the U.S. With the exception of four, they were all unsuccessful and returned to their home countries. Often the best avenue into the US for work is by excelling with a company in your home country which has offices in the US and working with the company to place you in the U.S. or by getting a US education in a field that does not have so many domestic students. Right now it is not difficult for companies to get finance employees who are US citizens.


One of the critical variables to the MSF application is the Statement of Purpose. The program seeks students who have well researched avenues for placement and can back it up with data. We also look for qualities in the applicant consistent with the people we have seen obtain those jobs.



Sincerely,

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Director of Admissions
Hough Program in Finance
The University of Florida