I'm applying to Georgia Tech QCF, kindly assess my essay and give advise on how to improve and shorten as I'm above limits in both answers.
Describe your motivation, both personal and professional, to pursue the QCF degree. What are your goals once you receive the MS-QCF degree? Limit of 1,500 characters (including spaces)
Deeply passionate about the Nigerian financial systems, I am eager to pursue a graduate degree in Quantitative finance to further its growth. With limited channels available to raise capital especially for the micro and small enterprises, the Nigerian financial system has yet to hit maturity and balance out the lop-sided effect of oil price fluctuations on the economy. Nigeria ranks 110th out of 189 countries on the World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" report and 120th out of 140 countries on the "Global Competitiveness Index". There are less than 200 companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, as companies cite difficulty in navigating regulatory hurdles as the major reason for not listing and the Bond market continues to be dominated by Federal government bonds accounting for over 70% of the bonds outstanding. This results in limited flow of capital into the companies with the highest comparative advantage, decreasing the competitiveness of Nigeria in the world market. Thus, I am keen to learn how a fully developed financial market works in the US by continuing my studies in the area of finance.
In nearest future, I see myself designing structured financial products by deploying cutting edge methodologies and sophisticated tools to cater to the above mentioned problems. To achieve this I would like to gain exposure to the latest practices adopted in the field of Financial Engineering and Risk Management. I would want to work with a leading investment bank or in Private equity firm, which would enable me to help corporations manage their risks and source capital efficiently. I would like to bring this acquired expertise back to Nigeria and use it to help companies thrive in a dynamic environment.
Discuss any unique aspects of your application that would give the Admissions Committee insight into your background. Limit of 1,500 characters (including spaces)
While in School I leveraged my network to start an investment group. Besides investing in the capital market we pioneered innovative solutions to problems faced on campus. Most notably was "Eggheader", a crowd sourced lecture audio database. This was achieved by providing various students with recording devices, after which the audio files were mastered and uploaded on eggheader.unn.edu to be downloaded for a token as subscription fee. Unfortunately the website had to be taken down and audio files confiscated as we were in breach of proprietary laws. While I was at the epicentre of the 3 businesses we were running, I realized my strong suites were in the financial aspects of these businesses; sourcing capital, cash management, capital market and investors relations.
Upon graduation I interned with Renaissance Capital during their introduction of a new payment system called RenMoney. I assisted in collecting data and analyzing them to aid company executive make sound decisions. I perfected leadership skills on numerous volunteer opportunities as project team leader on the "HIV/AIDS awareness campaign" and "Young Investors Scheme", powering my team to be crowned among the best teams. In my present role in Jubaili Moukarim Group, a power solutions firm, I serve as a financial analyst on a team that works very closely with the CFO. Designing inventory tracking and price simulation models and stress testing our products among other roles. Despite a busy work schedule I found time to prepare and pass the CFA level 1 exams and is currently preparing for the next level.
I bring a diversity of experience and skill set to the QCF class that would be enriching. I look forward to attending the stochastic Processes in finance course and joining the club maths.
Describe your motivation, both personal and professional, to pursue the QCF degree. What are your goals once you receive the MS-QCF degree? Limit of 1,500 characters (including spaces)
Deeply passionate about the Nigerian financial systems, I am eager to pursue a graduate degree in Quantitative finance to further its growth. With limited channels available to raise capital especially for the micro and small enterprises, the Nigerian financial system has yet to hit maturity and balance out the lop-sided effect of oil price fluctuations on the economy. Nigeria ranks 110th out of 189 countries on the World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" report and 120th out of 140 countries on the "Global Competitiveness Index". There are less than 200 companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, as companies cite difficulty in navigating regulatory hurdles as the major reason for not listing and the Bond market continues to be dominated by Federal government bonds accounting for over 70% of the bonds outstanding. This results in limited flow of capital into the companies with the highest comparative advantage, decreasing the competitiveness of Nigeria in the world market. Thus, I am keen to learn how a fully developed financial market works in the US by continuing my studies in the area of finance.
In nearest future, I see myself designing structured financial products by deploying cutting edge methodologies and sophisticated tools to cater to the above mentioned problems. To achieve this I would like to gain exposure to the latest practices adopted in the field of Financial Engineering and Risk Management. I would want to work with a leading investment bank or in Private equity firm, which would enable me to help corporations manage their risks and source capital efficiently. I would like to bring this acquired expertise back to Nigeria and use it to help companies thrive in a dynamic environment.
Discuss any unique aspects of your application that would give the Admissions Committee insight into your background. Limit of 1,500 characters (including spaces)
While in School I leveraged my network to start an investment group. Besides investing in the capital market we pioneered innovative solutions to problems faced on campus. Most notably was "Eggheader", a crowd sourced lecture audio database. This was achieved by providing various students with recording devices, after which the audio files were mastered and uploaded on eggheader.unn.edu to be downloaded for a token as subscription fee. Unfortunately the website had to be taken down and audio files confiscated as we were in breach of proprietary laws. While I was at the epicentre of the 3 businesses we were running, I realized my strong suites were in the financial aspects of these businesses; sourcing capital, cash management, capital market and investors relations.
Upon graduation I interned with Renaissance Capital during their introduction of a new payment system called RenMoney. I assisted in collecting data and analyzing them to aid company executive make sound decisions. I perfected leadership skills on numerous volunteer opportunities as project team leader on the "HIV/AIDS awareness campaign" and "Young Investors Scheme", powering my team to be crowned among the best teams. In my present role in Jubaili Moukarim Group, a power solutions firm, I serve as a financial analyst on a team that works very closely with the CFO. Designing inventory tracking and price simulation models and stress testing our products among other roles. Despite a busy work schedule I found time to prepare and pass the CFA level 1 exams and is currently preparing for the next level.
I bring a diversity of experience and skill set to the QCF class that would be enriching. I look forward to attending the stochastic Processes in finance course and joining the club maths.
