Application Common Questions

I graduated first in my class at the XYZ Institute of Technology where I carried out many projects in mathematics applied to finance. Working at ABC Bank for the last three years, I implemented a derivatives modeling system that earned US$50 million in its first six months of operation. I have attached my curriculum vitae and copies of publications. Could you please give me an informal assessment of my chances for admission?

You sound like an excellent candidate for our program! Unfortunately, we cannot give any opinions about admission until we see your full application, including transcripts, test scores, and letters of recommendation.

Please send me information about financial aid for your program. I am very interested in obtaining a research assistantship or teaching assistantship.

We do not offer any financial aid, though student loans may be available in some cases.

I am interested in your program but do not currently have the math background you require. What courses should I take in order to remedy this situation?

The program runs a preparation course which is specifically tailored to prepare people to successfully apply to the master's program. This course covers the linear algebra and calculus background used in the Financial Mathematics courses. This course can also be taken remotely on the web. For information about the contents, click on "Preparation Course" under the "Application" heading at the left. At other universities you would want to take courses with similar content.

I work full-time and would like to enroll part-time and take two or three years to complete the program. How does this affect my admission and the cost of the program?

We accept many students for part-time enrollment. It has no bearing on our admission decision, and each year you only pay tuition for the courses you register for. Note that we require that you take the math sequence before (or concurrently with) the other courses in the program.

I would like to study for a PhD in Financial Mathematics at Chicago.

We do not offer a PhD in Financial Mathematics as such. The only possibility would be to apply to the regular graduate programs in Mathematics (with specialization in Applied Mathematics), Statistics, Economics, or the Graduate School of Business. Those are completely separate admissions processes from ours.

I am disapponted I was not accepted and want to know what I can do to improve my chances of being accepted in the future?

Many applicants, most of whom are well-qualified, write to us asking for an explanation and suggestions if they are turned down for admission. We generally will not respond to these letters as we receive too many of them, and in many cases our only answer is that we did not have enough spaces for all of the qualified applicants. However, there are two aspects of the application whose importance we like to emphasize. First, it is crucial that you have taken a course in differential equations (and preferably some other advanced math courses) and that your transcripts clearly indicate this. Otherwise, you need to make it clear to us in what courses you studied advanced math subjects. Second, you should get a strong recommendation from a math professor if possible.