Posts by RaaH

RaaH

Jan 3, 2016

Graduate / To finish my career goal, I choose Marshall Business School as a start in the profession - USC essay [7]

I hope you find my input on the last paragraph useful.

I believe the MAcct in Marshall Business School is the next logical step in furthering my career goals for 3 reasons. The curriculum not only focuses on professional skills but on communication skills. The knowledge acquired would help me achieve my professional goals of earning the CPA while the communication skills would be crucial in my relations with clients. Secondly the diversity of the MAcc class at MBS would not only provide me with an intellectual stimulating environment but also the cultural sensitivity required to excel in a client-facing role. Of particular interest to me is the percentage of international students, I look forward to contrasting the principles behind the PRC GAAP to US GAAP, the IFRS and other countries GAAP. Finally, I hope to take advantage of the strategic location of the University of Southern California. Los Angeles is one of the world's leading business cities. As a international trendsetter and cultural crossroads, it is a perfect city for me to gain work experience and broaden my business knowledge.

RaaH

Jan 3, 2016

Graduate / My career in the next 5 years. Oxford MSc Financial Economics Personal Statement [7]

I rewrote paragraph 1 and modified your CFA charter target to 2018 because it takes 3years to complete the CFA.

I got interested in the underlying mathematics and economic principles involved in modelling securities and assets during an undergraduate course in financial economics. I'm enthusiastic to learn more and see how this principles are used in investment evaluations and decision making in real time. Over the next 5 years I wish to build a thorough understanding of financial products through quantitative and qualitative analysis, this would help me excel as a research analyst in a buy side firm preferably in London or other cities in Europe. I plan to earn the CFA charter by 2018.

RaaH

Jan 3, 2016

Research Papers / "Occassional depression versus major depression within adolescents" research paper [4]

Your research paper is straightforward and easy to read. However i don't think you did a very good job of differentiating occasional depression and clinical depression. You need to consolidate some paragraphs, so your essay can be stronger e.g. the 3 stress paragraphs towards the end and the 8th paragraph on Adolescent pressure goes well with the 11th paragraph etc.

Research papers generally do better with more statistics and numerical trends. So i suggest you add more.
Finally, you use of reference makes it seem like you're quoting from blogs. That's dangerous and some statements needs to be referenced since you didn't carry out the experiment.

e.g. Stress is considered by feelings of ...

Most of the statements in the paragraph above needs to be referenced and placing one reference at the end of the paragraph implies you lifted the paragraph from that research.

RaaH

Dec 30, 2015

Graduate / "My overall educational goal is to become"and "Currently, I am" - Columbia financial economics essay [3]

Your 2nd essay would be so much stronger without the first sentence, because it is potentially problematic. Also the entry role for finance firms is the Analyst position and then you progress to the Associate position, you essay seem to reverse the order.

RaaH

Dec 29, 2015

Graduate / Applying to Georgia Tech Masters in Quantitative and Computational Finance [3]

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.