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fa3oor89
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Joined: 12 Jun 2010
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Profile evaluation for Oxford Said MFE 21 Jul 2010, 04:33
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Hello,
I am currently interested in the Oxford Said MFE program. I am a quite concerned my academic qualifications as to whether I do stand a good chance or not, especially concerning my undergrad. I wish that you can help in assessing my profile:

BA, Finance with a 3.62/4.0 GPA and a 3.8/4.0 GPA in my upper division finance courses.
4 years work experience in investment banking.
CFA charterholder and currently preparing for the FRM designation.
GMAT score: 770
Took Calculus 1,2 &3, Applied Statistics, Differential Equations and Linear Algebra as a non-degree student, got straight A's in all of them.
Although my profile does look good, the details in my undergraduate transcript don't, which really worries me. During the first 3 semesters in college I was a real slack-out; ending up with 2 F's and 2 D's; although I repeated them and got A's. During my last 5 semesters in college i aced all of my courses getting almost straight A's. Yet I am worried about those F's and D's that made my transcript look pretty ugly. Do you think that those F's and D's will affect my chances negatively?
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collector
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Last visit: 15 Dec 2011
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Profile evaluation for Oxford Said MFE 21 Jul 2010, 06:19
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Focus more on your essay and LOR.
Your profile looks rly good! What uni did you go? Which courses did you get D's and F's on?

BUT with 4 years of experience in investment banking, isn't it better to look at an MBA ?
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fa3oor89
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Profile evaluation for Oxford Said MFE 21 Jul 2010, 12:46
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collector
Focus more on your essay and LOR.
Your profile looks rly good! What uni did you go? Which courses did you get D's and F's on?

BUT with 4 years of experience in investment banking, isn't it better to look at an MBA ?
Show more

Well concerning the MBA, i really look forward to more technical jobs rather than managerial jobs. In addition to that, I want the MFE to be a stepping-stone to continue doctoral studies in the near future. An MBA wont provide that. I got D's in music(LOL) and intro to micro-economics. and F's in fundamentals of financial accounting and basic statistics. I repeated all of them and got A's which replaced my F's and D's when they calculated my GPA, however they still appear on my transcript which really scares the life out of me. And by the way thanks for your help :)
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dan2012
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Joined: 09 Mar 2009
Last visit: 27 Jul 2010
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Location: Toronto
Concentration: Finance, Strategy, Accounting
Schools:Oxford MFE (Accepted & Attending), Columbia ED (rejected), Chicago (Round 1, 2, 3 waitlist --> Rejected), Toronto (Accepted)
Posts: 24
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Profile evaluation for Oxford Said MFE 23 Jul 2010, 12:49
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fa3oor89
Hello,
I am currently interested in the Oxford Said MFE program. I am a quite concerned my academic qualifications as to whether I do stand a good chance or not, especially concerning my undergrad. I wish that you can help in assessing my profile:

BA, Finance with a 3.62/4.0 GPA and a 3.8/4.0 GPA in my upper division finance courses.
4 years work experience in investment banking.
CFA charterholder and currently preparing for the FRM designation.
GMAT score: 770
Took Calculus 1,2 &3, Applied Statistics, Differential Equations and Linear Algebra as a non-degree student, got straight A's in all of them.
Although my profile does look good, the details in my undergraduate transcript don't, which really worries me. During the first 3 semesters in college I was a real slack-out; ending up with 2 F's and 2 D's; although I repeated them and got A's. During my last 5 semesters in college i aced all of my courses getting almost straight A's. Yet I am worried about those F's and D's that made my transcript look pretty ugly. Do you think that those F's and D's will affect my chances negatively?
Show more

Your stats are very impressive, and I think that if you position yourself well in the essay - which looks like you won't have a very difficult time doing - you should be a lock for getting the interview.

Judging by the difference I saw in the response I got from MBA programs (none of my top choices really showed any interest) and the MFE programme (the process went very smoothly, and I'll be attending in Sept), Oxford places a lot of value on undergraduate marks in senior years and major topics, as well as the GMAT. From those angles you are fine, but I think there is a little more to it. I went to an under-represented university (University of Toronto) with little to no business/finance pedigree, and I've worked for a no-name consulting firm in Toronto for 2 years. However, I worked very hard in my essay to position myself as a quantitative guy with great math skills (questionable in reality, haha) and an appetite for a career in finance. That's what got me the interview IMO, and during my discussion with the interviewing professor, I basically used as much time to be personable, conversational, and kind of show her that I'd be employable coming out of the MFE programme.

All in all, I think you have all the stats you need, and more (much more than I have). Pay special attention to how your essay comes across, focus on why you need an MFE and not a "more managerial" degree, and show crisp personality in the interview.

Best of luck,
Dan
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fa3oor89
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Profile evaluation for Oxford Said MFE 23 Jul 2010, 15:23
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dan2012
fa3oor89
Hello,
I am currently interested in the Oxford Said MFE program. I am a quite concerned my academic qualifications as to whether I do stand a good chance or not, especially concerning my undergrad. I wish that you can help in assessing my profile:

BA, Finance with a 3.62/4.0 GPA and a 3.8/4.0 GPA in my upper division finance courses.
4 years work experience in investment banking.
CFA charterholder and currently preparing for the FRM designation.
GMAT score: 770
Took Calculus 1,2 &3, Applied Statistics, Differential Equations and Linear Algebra as a non-degree student, got straight A's in all of them.
Although my profile does look good, the details in my undergraduate transcript don't, which really worries me. During the first 3 semesters in college I was a real slack-out; ending up with 2 F's and 2 D's; although I repeated them and got A's. During my last 5 semesters in college i aced all of my courses getting almost straight A's. Yet I am worried about those F's and D's that made my transcript look pretty ugly. Do you think that those F's and D's will affect my chances negatively?

Your stats are very impressive, and I think that if you position yourself well in the essay - which looks like you won't have a very difficult time doing - you should be a lock for getting the interview.

Judging by the difference I saw in the response I got from MBA programs (none of my top choices really showed any interest) and the MFE programme (the process went very smoothly, and I'll be attending in Sept), Oxford places a lot of value on undergraduate marks in senior years and major topics, as well as the GMAT. From those angles you are fine, but I think there is a little more to it. I went to an under-represented university (University of Toronto) with little to no business/finance pedigree, and I've worked for a no-name consulting firm in Toronto for 2 years. However, I worked very hard in my essay to position myself as a quantitative guy with great math skills (questionable in reality, haha) and an appetite for a career in finance. That's what got me the interview IMO, and during my discussion with the interviewing professor, I basically used as much time to be personable, conversational, and kind of show her that I'd be employable coming out of the MFE programme.

All in all, I think you have all the stats you need, and more (much more than I have). Pay special attention to how your essay comes across, focus on why you need an MFE and not a "more managerial" degree, and show crisp personality in the interview.

Best of luck,
Dan
Show more

I went to a way more unknown university, Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait. Although it ranks 1st in Kuwait and an AACSB candidate. But in terms of professional work I had pretty good internships in Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and The Central Bank of Lebanon as an equity research assistant. I'm currently working in the National Bank of Kuwait, investment banking division as a senior portfolio analyst. I hope that my professional background can overcome my university's quite unknown name. Just wanted to ask you a question though, does passing the MFE with distinction guarantees me an unconditional offer for their D.Phil program?
Thanks for your help
Mohammad