Applying to US Universities

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Financial Engineering is a multidisciplinary field involving financial theory, engineering fundamentals, mathematics and computer programming. Students of Financial Engineering learn to employ finance and computer modeling skills to make pricing, hedging, trading and portfolio management decisions. Graduates of the Master’s in Financial Engineering can pursue careers in Investment Banking, Corporate Strategy, Risk Analysis, Portfolio Management and Securities Trading.

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Most of the top business schools tend to conduct a phone interview for the short-listed candidates. The interview is not to test the applicant’s knowledge but a general discussion aimed to understand the candidate better and to determine if the applicant is really interested in that business school.

Some of the commonly asked questions in the interview:

Tell us something about yourself. Speak for about two minutes highlighting your key strengths. There is no need to tell your academics or GMAT score. They have it

What diversity do you bring to our program? If you are a Indian male techie, this is very crucial because they presume you do not bring any diversity to a applicant pool already filled with your type. Think about all your achievements and skills far from IT and Computers and make a strong case.

What are your long-term goals? Be yourself. Make sure you do not contradict your essays.

Why our program? Your answer should reflect that you have really read their webpage and understood the main strengths of that B-school. Also project as if this is your top choice and you are very excited about the possibility of studying there.

If you do not understand a question request the interviewer to repeat it. In the end thank the interviewer for her time. Now the most important piece of advice if you are an international applicant - most people have a tough time understanding the English accent of people from other countries specially on phone. So in a phone interview you need to speak clearly and very very slowly with lots of punctuations.

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Now you can get a prestigious Chicago GSB Executive MBA at Singapore. The Executive MBA is a 21 month program. The program begins in June and runs for 21 months. In each quarter 2 courses are offered and face to face classes are conducted for 2 weeks during a quarter. The faculty at Singapore comes from the main Chicago campus. The MBA degree is awarded by the University of Chicago.

Neither GRE nor GMAT is required but those with insufficient academic preparation may be asked to take GMAT. TOEFL is not normally required but you can be required to take TOEFL if you fail to demonstrate basic English proficiency.

It is not required to be a resident of Singapore for enrolment to the Singapore campus. Many students fly from other countries to attend this program. Some of the companies that recruit at the Singapore campus include GE Money, Deloitte Consulting, Lehman Brothers, Cargill, ABN Amro, Microsoft, Motorola, and many more.

Website of the Chicago GSB Executive MBA Singapore campus.

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Unlike BS, MS or PhD applications, there are usually three deadlines for MBA applications. Applications received by each deadlines are evaluated in one batch. You are restricted to apply in one round only. A large number of admissions are offered in the first round. So the probability of admission reduces significantly in the second round, and even more so in the third round. According to Harvard Business School MBA Applications webpage , “We encourage applicants to apply in the first or second round, as space in the class may be limited by the third round.”

Third round decisions are so late that often there is not enough time for visa related paperwork or for the English proficiency classes, if required. Admissions to top B-Schools are anyway competitive. It also takes a lot of time and efforts. If you want to maximize your chances, you should only apply in the first round. What if you miss the first round deadline? Apply next year, in the first round!

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The MS in Finance program is offered by some of the large Business Schools. The degree is designed for students who may want to specialize in Finance but do not want to go through the hassles and expenditures of an MBA program.
The courses provide detailed knowledge of the policies, principles, and techniques involved in financial decisions made by professionals in corporations, financial institutions, securities firms, and pension fund and mutual fund organizations. The M.S. program in Finance consists of 10 to 15 courses and is more flexible than the MBA, in terms of what courses one wants to take. It may be completed in one year.
The main advantage is that you save time and money and you learn more of Finance than a typical MBA graduate. The disadvantage is that you will be considered for niche jobs and may not have the brand name recognition that of an MBA degree.
Some of the reputable MS in Finance programs, are offered by:

Most MBA programs in US offer admission to full-time MBA only in fall. However a few Business schools offer spring admissions. The deadlines for spring intake is during August to October. Here is a list of MBA programs that offer admissions in spring semester: 

• Simon Graduate School of Business, University of Rochester 
• Illinois State University  
• Eastern Kentucky University 

Illinois State University and Eastern Kentucky University also offer summer admissions. Visit www.app2us.com for more information on admission process of US Universities.

For MBA Fall 2008 aspirants, the first round for the Top 20 is going to open soon. Complete your GMAT if not done already. 

If your GMAT is round the corner it is the time to put in some efforts for preparation and take practice tests. You should be finalizing your target Universities soon, at least four Universities, so that you may be able to report your GMAT and TOEFL score free of cost on the test date. Most essay topics are available. Start to write the first cuts. For MBA programs employer reco matters a whole lot more. If you want to keep your MBA application venture a secret from your current employer, it is a good time to contact your past managers for the letters of recommendation.

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