How to apply to the Master of Finance (MFin) program

Source: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/mfin/admissions/how-to-apply

Master of Finance

How to apply to the Master of Finance (MFin) program

What’s your story? What experiences have shaped who you are today? We are on a quest to find curious, passionate, analytical candidates who will enhance the collaborative community here at MIT. Our goal is to create a vibrant learning environment rich in diverse ideas and life experiences. We welcome applicants from all over the globe. Above all, we seek thoughtful emerging leaders with exceptional intellectual abilities, determined to make their mark in the world – people who value dignity and respect. Here’s how to get started!

Application Deadlines

The Admissions Committee reviews all applications and will notify applicants of their decision on or before the stated deadlines. Please note that in the interest of confidentiality, official decisions will only be delivered via your online application.

All applications should be received by 3:00 pm EST on the deadline date. The Admissions Committee will release decisions on the dates listed above; however, decisions will be released early for candidates who have been denied admission without an interview.

Academic Transcripts

Please scan and upload your transcript(s) from all colleges and universities you attended or are currently attending. If you are currently earning a degree, please upload your most up-to-date transcript. We review transcripts carefully. Please double-check that what you have uploaded is legible.

Some important details:

• All applicants to the program must hold a four-year undergraduate degree or a three-year equivalent undergraduate degree from outside the U.S. by the time of matriculation.
• Do not mail any hard copies of official academic records or transcripts.
• If you received an undergraduate degree as part of a Master’s program, please include an undergraduate entry in addition to your Master’s degree.
• If your transcripts are not in English, please scan and upload both the original and the certified translation.
• We cannot accept "digitally signed" or encrypted transcripts. If you're having difficulty uploading your document, this may be the reason. Print out your transcript, scan it, and upload the PDF.
• We do not accept transfer credits. Any MIT classes taken pre-matriculation cannot be counted towards your degree at MIT Sloan. MIT undergraduate students who have taken specific Course 15 credits and candidates who have completed the MITx MicroMasters in Finance may be eligible to waive some of the summer term with prior MFin Program approval.

Once admitted to the program, you will be required to provide an official, signed, and sealed transcript from all schools attended. Any discrepancies between the scanned transcripts and official transcripts may result in a candidate's rejection or a withdrawal of our offer of admission.

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Letters of Recommendation

MFin applicants must submit three letters of recommendation.

A detailed recommendation can tell us a lot about you. Make sure you select individuals able to speak about your qualifications and impact.

• One letter must come from someone who can speak to your quantitative abilities.
• If you are a current student, you should submit two letters from your current school and one letter from a recent internship, preferably from a previous supervisor.
• If you are working full-time, one letter of recommendation should come from your most recent employer, and another letter of recommendation from an academic source, preferably a previous professor. The third recommendation can be either academic or professional.

Some important details:

• We do not accept recommendations from family members.
• Recommenders must submit their letters online.
• Recommendations may be either a letter or a short answer format.
• Recommendations should not exceed two pages.
• Your letters of recommendation must be received by the deadline date. It is your responsibility to remind your recommenders of the deadline date and to make sure it is submitted on time. ​​​

Please choose recommenders who are able to provide specific answers to the following questions:

• How long and in what capacity have you known the applicant?
• How does the applicant stand out from others in a similar capacity?
• Please give an example of the applicant's impact on a person, group, or organization.
• Please give a representative example of how the applicant interacts and communicates with others, including peers and superiors.
• Please give an example of how the applicant has synthesized and executed on an assigned task and/or mastered new material.
• Which of the applicant's personal or professional characteristics would you change?
• Please tell us anything else you think we should know about this applicant.

Please navigate to the Recommendation Letter section of the application and add your recommenders’ contact information; they will be sent instructions on how to submit their letter.

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Relevant Coursework & Professional Certifications

Our curriculum is rigorous. Knowing what courses you’ve taken will give us a quick way to assess how you might handle the MFin curriculum. Please list courses that you are currently taking or that you have completed in the following areas:

• Linear Algebra
• Multivariable Calculus
• Probability
• Statistics

Applicants are also welcome to submit other pieces of academic evidence, such as professional certifications or non-degree coursework, all of which may assist the Admissions Committee in its evaluation process.

We are also interested in learning about your proficiency in computer language programming. We prefer candidates with demonstrated proficiency in Python. While candidates may be admitted without Python, it is expected that admitted students will need to demonstrate proficiency in Python prior to matriculation.

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Resume

Please submit a one-page resume. This will help us easily track your academic and career path. For jobs and internships, try to focus on your results, not just your title or job description. Here are some pointers on formatting:

• One-page limit
• Times New Roman font
• Size 10 font
• Word or PDF formats only

Provide the following information in reverse chronological order:

• Education: Please include relevant awards, scholarships, and professional societies.
• Full-Time Work Experience:Full-time work experience is defined as more than four months of post-degree work. This should be paid and full-time. Please include company name, your title, results-oriented bullets that demonstrate your skill set, and dates.
• Internship(s):An internship is categorized as officialwork done through a company. Your internship may either be paid or unpaid, as long as you were hired directly by the Human Resources department at the company. We should be able to call Human Resources to verify that you participated in the official internship. Please include company name, your title, results-oriented bullets that demonstrate your skill set, and dates.
• Other Work Experience:If you worked with a mentor or someone with relevant industry experience, or if you participated in a project or research that was not official(i.e., you were not hired by the Human Resources department), PLEASE LIST THIS EXPERIENCE ON YOUR RESUME. Include details of your experience, who you worked with, results-oriented bullets, and dates.
• Additional information: Please include extracurricular activities/community service, technical skills/certifications, special skills/interests, and languages spoken (if applicable).

Applicants admitted to the MFin program will complete a verification process. Any internships and full-time work experience will be verified by a third party. Any discrepancies between the application and verification may result in a candidate's rejection or a withdrawal of our offer of admission.

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Short-Answer Questions

The mission of the MFin program at MIT Sloan is to create the next generation of principled, global financial leaders able to apply the latest modern finance theories and methods. We’re interested in students with the drive and ambition to go on to advance financial management practice and improve the world. Using relevant, verifiable details, such as awards, rankings, media references, etc, applicants are asked to respond to three short-answer questions. Responses should be 200 words or less.

• Question 1: Please discuss your past academic and professional experiences and accomplishments that will help you succeed in the Master of Finance program. Include achievements in finance, math, statistics, and computer sciences, as applicable.
• Question 2: Tell us about your short-term and long-term professional goals. How will our MFin degree help you achieve these goals?
• Question 3: What personal qualities will enable you to contribute to the advancement of our mission?

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Test Scores

Submission of a standardized test, such as GMAT (Focus Edition or 10th Edition) or GRE, is optional when applying for the MFin program. If you have a GMAT or GRE score, you are strongly encouraged to submit it as an additional data point to be considered by the Admissions Committee. Those without a test score will be reviewed as is, with no negative inferences.

We will accept self-reported test scores by the application deadline, and welcome scores from exams delivered both online and at test centers. Official scores should also be sent using the following school codes:

• GRE School Code: 3845
• To share your GMAT score, please enter Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - MIT Sloan School of Management.

The GMAC BWA, TOEFL, and IELTS are not required to apply to MIT Sloan, but you are welcome to submit a score if you wish.

If you took the GMAT Exam, please ensure that you select the correct edition from the dropdown in the application. The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) launched the current version of the GMAT exam (the “GMAT Focus Edition”) in November 2023. This is the only version of the GMAT exam currently available, offered both online and at test centers. The current GMAT (GMAT Focus) Total Score range is 205–805. If you took the previous version of the GMAT exam, the Total Score range was 200–800. Although the score ranges appear similar, the underlying scales differ to reflect updated percentile distributions. Learn more about GMAT exam scores here.

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The World That Shaped You

The Admissions Committee is excited to learn more about you. In 250 words, please respond to the following question:

How has the world you come from shaped who you are today? Please use this opportunity to share more about your background.

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Video Question 1

Introduce yourself to your future classmates. Here's your chance to let your personality shine through, be conversational, and be yourself. We can't wait to meet you!

Videos should adhere to the following guidelines:

• No more than 1 minute (60 seconds) in length
• Single take (no editing)
• Speaking directly to the camera
• Do not include background music or subtitles

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Video Question 2

All MFin applicants will be prompted to respond to a randomly generated, open-ended question.

Video Question 2 is a part of your required application materials and will appear as a page within the application, once the other parts of your application are completed.

The question is designed to help us get to know you better; to see how you express yourself, and assess your communication style. It does not require prior preparation and will not be a technical question.

Applicants are given 10 seconds to prepare a 60-second response. Applicants will only have one opportunity to record their response. No re-recordings are allowed.

The following are examples of questions that may be asked in Video Question 2:

• What achievement are you most proud of and why?
• Tell us about a time a classmate or colleague wasn’t contributing to a group project. What did you do?

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Application Fee

The non-refundable application fee of $150.00 USD must be paid online before submitting your application.

Please note that we cannot grant retroactive fee waivers if the application fee has already been paid online. If you are submitting a request, please wait to hear back from us.

You may be eligible for a fee waiver if any of the following apply:

• Current Peace Corps Members
• Veteran or Active Duty U.S. Military Personnel

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The Interview Process

Interviews are by invitation only. They are a required step in the process. An invitation to interview signals that your application has reached an advanced stage of consideration, but it does not guarantee admission.

Candidates will be invited by email.

Interviews will be conducted virtually and will be scheduled in local Boston time.