please help me evaluate my situation

Hey Jasmine,

I PM'ed you with my profile and further information.

Regards,

nbd

Hey, nbd,

I got into wustl MSF as well. What is your email address? Like to connect with you.

- sms2010

Jasmine,

First, I like your profile. I think you have good chances for any school you target. However, you shouldn't waste time in the US for anything less than Princeton or MIT. As for other programs, Cambridge MPhil is something you may also be interested to look at. Your GMAT is more than enough to get noticed, so before you retake you'd better ask Oxford if they are happy with your quant score.

Second, it is important to recognize that programs you apply for are strictly academic. That means that your application will be assessed by professors who read on those programs, not by adcoms like in bs. That’s why:
1. it’s your academic achievements what counts out there, not extracurriculars and leadership things. For selectors it's a strong indication of your ability to cope with their program and that’s all they care about. Therefore, it’s far more important to impress them academically (degree, courses, gpa, course works, research) rather than by things you would brag about in your business school application. And since you target finance programs, it will be an advantage if you demonstrate higher than gpa marks on math related courses.
2. You should select well-recognized recommenders from academia.

[quote="Lightmode"]
However, you shouldn't waste time in the US for anything less than Princeton or MIT.

This advice is pretty **** lightmode. Especially since she probably won't get into Princeton and MIT has ZERO placement record (paying 100K for an MSF is retarded, paying 100K for brand name without knowing anything about placement is even more retarded). WUSTL is definitely a good target school for Jasmine. Placement has been great for the past few years. The program is 5 years old and has a solid foundation.

Posted from my mobile device

First, op’s question was not “How probable are my chances at…?”, was it? No, it was “Do I have a shot at…?”. Is there anything you see in her description that does not meet the Princeton’s program requirements? No, there is not, is there? Therefore, she does have a shot at the program regardless of your perception of probability. And my answer was that she does have a shot at Princeton.

Second, op didn’t say anything like “I want to do masters in finance to be well placed in XYZ”, did she? Instead, she says she wants to do masters in finance. Period. Therefore, your balderdash on placement and 100k is way off the topic. Especially considering the fact, that MIT is from her own short-list, which means that 100K is not an issue for her right now.

Third, op says she is a student of well-known and highly respected uni. There is no much point to go to a) a uni in the same country unless it’s higher than the current one b) a less recognized uni from a more recognized uni? So, if op has a degree from Berkeley, what’s the benefit of taking a degree from a lower uni in the same country (except for that they decided to accept you, of course)?

In sum, before claiming someone’s advice ****, you have to a) learn how to read properly what you are asked and what people write; b) offer something useful. You don’t have anything to say apart from selling the program you got accepted to and you also made very clear that you cannot read. And this per se is yet another good reason not to apply for WUSTL.

Lightmode, what is your problem?....

He's pissed that I called his advice ****. I probably shouldn't have said it that way. What I meant to say was that I disagree with the advice you gave. I apologize if you were offended. My response came off a bit harsh I think.

Moving on, there were two things you said in your previous post that I don't get. 1) How can you judge a MSF program besides looking at placement stats? The whole selling point of this degree is the opportunity to have another opportunity for recruiting and to place in a great job. 2) You really think UCB is that much better of a school than Wash U in STL? I consider them peers and I think most people would agree. UCB is a top ten MBA school, WUSTL is top 20. Undergrad b-schools are very similarly ranked. I'm not sure why you see it as a drop from UCB to WUSTL.

In short, I think your reasoning is flawed. I am NOT just marketing for my school here. I think there are a few programs other than Princeton and MIT that are worth attending in the USA, WashU and Vanderbilt definitely qualify (but Vanderbilt isn't the best fit for her). OP only mentioned 4 schools so I was providing insight to a program I will be attending. You, on the other hand, don't seem to have any unique insight into these programs. I'm trying to give Jasmine facts to work with to make her decision, not just my opinion.

On a side note this question was posted by Jasmine in May - 2 months ago. I doubt she even checks this thread anymore. Why would you revive a thread this old?

Posted from my mobile device

Now we know that you have no understanding of unis in addition to being unable to read and comprehend.

US Ranking https://www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings/
World Academic Ranking https://www.arwu.org/ARWU2009.jsp
World University Ranking https://www.4icu.org/top200/

I don’t see how #191 can be considered a peer to #4 (or #3 from academic ranking). And who are those “most people” who would agree with your statement? You and who else?

Again, op neither asked you “to give her facts to work with to make her decision”, nor asked me “to have any unique insight into these programs”, nor “judge a MSF program…”, nor “to provide insight to a program you will be attending”. She asked very explicitly two simple things:
1. Does she have a shot at those programs?
2. Help to expand her short-list?
Not more, not less. And my earliest post addressed exactly these two questions. So what is **** about it? You can call something **** if and only if you are able to prove it. And in the next post I explained my answer to you very clearly, even though I shouldn’t have to do so. It is you who should prove me your claim that my advice was ****, not me to prove the opposite. However, you were unable to prove anything and have demonstrated that you can neither read nor comprehend what you read and that you have absolutely no idea of even university rankings. Therefore, next time get someone to read it to you and explain it to you before you even think to reply to people.

According to the "World University Ranking" ~ #6 Michigan State > #42 Harvard. Michigan State is also higher than Yale, Duke, Cornell, etc. No offense to Michigan State but that's BS. I don't think I need to say more about the credibility of the only ranking system you quoted. Am I supposed to believe that UCB is the 4th best school in the world? Really? The only ranking of those three that has any credibility with people on this forum is businessweek.com. No one even cares about the other ones (ask someone else if you don't believe me).

He has to be a troll or something. This thread is turning into a joke with all his crazy a** ranting and raving. There is no way someone could be this angry about something so stupid...

Yeah, this ranking: World University Ranking https://www.4icu.org/top200/ is a serious joke. Purdue, Indiana, and Michigan State higher than Harvard, Cambridge, etc? At the top of the page it says web ranking, so I am guessing this is based on number of searches.

I do believe that in the states WUSTL is considered a peer to Berkeley, at least by academics. Look at the following link: https://colleges.usnews.rankingsandrevie ... s-rankings

U.S. News is generally considered the best, most reliable, ranking in the States. The Berkeley brand is much better known throughout the rest of the world though. Lightmode, is it correct to assume that you are not American? Not that it even matters much...

You missed the point again and now we are getting really embarrassed for you. The whole point was to show you that UCB is ranked higher than WUSTL according to any sources available. So, whether UCB is 4th or 10th is not that important at all as long as it’s ranked higher than WUSTL. If you trust businessweek, that’s fine, read it or get someone to read it for you. Ask them where Berkeley and WUSTL are and then get back to us with a shocking revelation.

I'm not sure I can explain this in a way you could understand. Your argument that "UCB is higher ranked than WUSTL in any source available" is wrong because:

a) The rankings are ridiculous. Harvard is #42 on the world ranking. UCB is #4. According to this UCB is far superior to Harvard. That (along with Michigan State ranking at #6) destroys the credibility of the rankings and, in turn, your argument.

b) it's simply not true. See the link below.

https://colleges.usnews.rankingsandrevie ... s-rankings

End of discussion. I'm not responding to any more posts on this thread. Have fun arguing if you want. I think you've embarrassed yourself enough with your childish insults and maniacal ranting about rankings that no one will listen to you anyway.

Posted from my mobile device

All those rankings have methodology. And what's your methodology? Acceptance to WUSTL, right? Ok, and what's wrong with businessweek you declared credible? They didn't know that WUSTL accepted you so they accidently put UCB higher than WUSTL. But that's not a problem - next rating from them will surely take that into account.

The whole idea of the thread was to help op in her question and not to waste time on anything like explaining some know-nothings what is what. However, I'm very glad that you finally decided to keep your mouth shut.

I had no clue my thread had turn into this until nbd52 pmed me.

Dear Lightmode, I your comments on my profile and you defending my undergraduate university. However, i do not think your latter comments toward nbd52 are all that appropriate. nbd52 has given me a lot of good advices, advices that i did not ask for in my original post but are essential and extremely useful in making my next academic move. I appreciate his help very much.

As nbd52 said, he will make no further reply to this thread. I also think that this argument should be put to an end. Thank you all for participating in this heated debate.