Ask an OwenBlogger

I'm going to take this post to reply to a question that has been posed regarding admission to the MSF program. Specifically, a question came in with someone with an Engineering background from India in "Food and Technology" not to mention relevant work experience in the finance industry.

The jist is of it is: given my background, am I eligible for the MS Finance program?

My response to that:
YES! One reason why Owen boasts such a high reputation is that it draws from the diversity of its students both ethnically and with respect to work experience. I can recall that during Orientation, there was someone in the MBA class who was working on Nuclear Missiles as an engineer. The rhetorical question being: what does a nuclear engineer and a derivatives trader have in common?

And while this may apply for the MBA class, there are also students in my own MSF class who do not have relevant work experience nor were they engineering concentrators (myself included). That said, I do not believe that the admissions committee has a "perfect" candidate but instead, is very flexible with the word and will look to admit those that they feel are COMPETENT to be successful in the program regardless of their educational/vocational experience.

Thus, I encourage you to apply to the program and do not be discouraged by what is on the website. If you've got a good analytical mind and know that two perfect substitutes should cost the same price (if not, arbitrage. Thanks, Corporate Finance), then by all means, apply to the program.

I hope that helps...and good luck with your application process!