MIT Master of Finance Cover Letter:

Prepare a cover letter (up to 500 words) seeking a place in the MIT Sloan Master of Finance (M. Fin.) program. Describe your short-term and long-term goals and provide specific reasons why you want to enter the MIT Sloan M. Fin. Program. The cover letter should conform to business standards and be addressed to Mr. XX XXX, Director of Admissions.

Dear Mr. XX XXX, Director of Admissions:

If the Sloan M. Fin. Program seeks unique candidates from diverse backgrounds, I am that candidate.

By academic training, I was meant to be a civil engineer, with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees both in Civil Engineering at Tsinghua University, sometimes called “Chinese MIT”. Nevertheless, my academic excellence, valuable research experiences and achievements, and strong analytical caliber as an industry analyst associate during my internship at a securities company, convinced my current employer, China Securities Co. Ltd. (http://www.xxxxx.com/), of my full potential in the financial sector. Recruited by this leading securities company in China, I have been working over the past six months as junior analyst and have already been making indispensible contributions to the organizational growth.

I made this seemingly abrupt switch to a financial career because I am convinced China’s financial market will continue to boom and, correspondingly, I will enjoy unlimited space for career growth, fighting my way into a senior position. Obviously, such a position would be inconceivable without first-tier academic training in the field at a world-class institution. My deficiency of a financial background makes it all the more imperative for me to pursue your program.

I want to enter your M. Fin. Program for compelling reasons. Although I have been making investments in the stock market over the years and have been tirelessly self-studying finance knowledge, my existing knowledge is fragmentary and unsystematic. Working at China Securities, I realize that finance represents huge and complicated industry, involving stocks, securities, foreign exchange, futures, etc. In addition, despite my quantitative skills developed at university by studying some of the most difficult quantitative courses, I have only limited experiences of applying rigorous quantitative analysis to real-world financial projects. My insufficient grasp of mathematical modeling skills in the financial context constitutes a major gap between me and outstanding senior analysts, a gap which I sorely need to amend. In this regard, the Sloan M. Fin. Program is perfectly geared to my learning needs, critical for creating a complete transformation in me.

My short-term goal is to gain advanced and comprehensive education in all the major fields of finance, thus to acquire a broad picture of finance as an academic discipline. As a smart and fast learner, I will double my efforts to maximize my finance knowledge within the shortest time possible. Furthermore, Sloan’s unparalleled emphasis on quantitative tools and models would be a top priority for me, as exceedingly high requirements in quantitative analysis are being imposed on Chinese financial practitioners. At China Securities, I receive weekly specialized training in quantitative analysis and, when these combined with the training your program provides, I will definitely scale new heights and lay a lasting foundation for me to soar, becoming a senior analyst with superb expertise in the securities industry.

Goal-driven and ambitious, I am ready to face challenges. With a mounting sense of urgency and through unremitting efforts, I will endeavor to become part of your Sloan elite community and I will not be deterred in my journey of self-actualization.

With warm regards,

Cindy Wong