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Applying to Georgia Tech Masters in Quantitative and Computational Finance


RaaH 1 / 4 1  
Dec 29, 2015   #1
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.
hakuna_matata 1 / 2  
Dec 30, 2015   #2
epicentre

Hi Ikwueto, I really appreciate your motivation and the way it is presented in essay 1! for your second essay, I think it would be much stronger if you can talk about how your business 'Eggheader' developed your competencies in sourcing capital, cash management, capital market and investors relations, in stead of talking about the breach of law, because the former I think is exactly what attracts the admission committee.
smunozas23 2 / 5 1  
Dec 30, 2015   #3
Hello I indeed find your first essay to have a good list of informative business facts of Nigeria. I'd like to offer my opinions on it.

I believe you could cut out some of the facts that you state ,because it might make your essay too technical and possibly dull to someone who is not interested in the field of business, such as: "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." You can use this extra room to state your motivation and drive for the financial field.

I believe that you prove your point by only presenting one of these quick facts. I recommend you use only one of them. Like this one: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". But shorten it to something along the lines of: According to World Bank Nigeria ranks 110 out of 189 in countries in "Ease of Doing Business" and 120^th out of 140 countries in the "Global Competiveness"

Also,
"Deeply passionate about the Nigerian financial systems, I am eager to pursue a graduate degree in Quantitative finance to further its growth" What do you mean by Nigerian financial systems, what are they? Be a bit more specific if possible.

Answer the question of "Why are you passionate about the Nigerian Financial Systems?" Give an answer that persuades the reader that you sincerely care about the country's financial system maybe by implying that you want to see the country grow so its citizens can have a higher standard of living because of the poor living conditions a number of them live in and and cite examples of how the average Nigerian lives maybe. Instead of just stating humdrum facts about its economy you can use the fact that 60.9% of people in Nigeria live in absolute poverty. This can play to your advantage as it may pull the heartstrings of the reader and see that there is a noble reason for which you are pursuing this program. In short, make sure your passion and motivation are shown through your essay.

State how accomplishing your goals will be beneficial for the living conditions of Nigerian people.
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You can also state relevant clubs and jobs that you've had and the impact they've had on you and your career.

I hope this is helpful. :)


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