Interviewed
2008 August 9
I got a big shock the other day when ‘The Pakistani Spectator’ asked me for an interview as a Pakistani Blogger of note. But it was a very pleasant surprise nevertheless!
*eyes widen*
Here’s the interview. Check it out and let me know what you think about it!
Thank you for your interview.
I am the one who left comments on your other blog couple of days ago and I am not sure why my name did not go through. Any how, I am also looking to get a degree in finance, may be MS but not PhD. I have no back ground in finance but I am planning to take some courses in local college and some online courses to get some basis so hopefully I would be ready by Fall 2011 or Spring 2012. I know it is a long wait but given that I have no background in accounts/finance (except I was quite good in Maths/Stats) and have full time job here and then I have to write my GMAT too so I guess I should be realistic.
I have short listed HAAS School, Berkeley. I think the program is awesome, the degree is one year programme, HAAS has awesome reputation, it is closed to my current home so I would not have to move. There is just one problem, they are very highly selective so I have to score at least 720 in GMAT with almost 99 percentile in Quantitative section and have to make some basis in finance. The link for programme is http://mfe.haas.berkeley.edu/ . Actually it is financial engineering, not pure finance. If I don’t make it at HAAS then I would try Princeton or Cornell.
I would recommend you to consider top class schools, it is hard to get in but it is worth it. Having lived in US for last 5+ years, I believe it is worth it to have a shot a t big school.
By the way, I am glad that you are trying to get PhD, not many Paki gals have so high ambitions. All the best mate.
OMG! they asked me to interview too!!!! It was really funny because it was last dec. right around the time i left for my first trip to pakistan. and then all the bhutto stuff happened when i was there.
nice! is that a popular paki newspaper or something?
Hey Refugee-I have e-mail notification for all comment left on both blogs so i’m surprised i didn’t catch the previous ones. Thank you for taking the time out to read all of it and comment.
Or are you the guy who initially thought i was another guy? Those are the only two new comments i had on that blog.
On my ‘About’ page, i listed the Berkely MFE program as the place where i’ll study one day. WE might end up classmates, huh?
Might be next year, might not. I even have the brochure for that right next to my computer right now! I’ve gone through a lot of research as far as the Finance programs are concerned. A friend who has a PhD from a top University advised me to apply for PhD instead of MS because then i can
a) be a teaching assistant and thus not only get paid but also get a concession on tuition.
b) PhD programs are easier, relatively speaking, to get into than intensive MS programs.
The GMAT and the GRE are well prepared for, don’t worry.
I’m planning on a GRE Mathematics exam soon to compensate for not having mathematics as a major in my bachelors.
If you’re looking for a degree in Finance and already have a major in Mathematics, i would highly recommend an M.Sc. Mathematical Finance. Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial in the UK and Cornell, Stanford, and many other top tier universities in the USA are offering this program but they’re looking for Maths majors which I’m not.
If you’re serious about a higher degree in Finance, you hardly need any preparatory courses. They teach almost everything from zero. Take a Corporate Finance book and go through it. You’ll have touched every major topic at a basic level. I can recommend ‘Fundamentals of Corporate Finance’ by Ross,Westerfield and Jordan.
I’ve already learnt SPSS and some other programs in my Econometrics courses. An online course? They cost too much, man! A course costing $1000 is awfully expensive in Pakistan. Its about a third of what my dad earns in a month so its no-go, really.
The Brown Girl-Welcome to my blog! And where, may i ask, have you been? We never see you around at the Sometimes Sobia Forums anymore.
They interviewed you too? It feels so good, doesn’t it?
youngMuslimah Welcome to my blog! And no. The Pakistani Spectator is a popular Pakistani website. Sometimes, some newspapers quote comments from it in their current affairs section. But its a site quite well known by Pakistanis all around the world.
No, I never thought you were a guy but there was so much “bitching” on the blogspot blog that no guy could ever do that
. Okay, I am just kidding. Actually I left three comments there and found this blog link via pakspectator interview.
I did not read your “about” section
so did not know about your Berkeley Plan. I actually want to go to Berkeley because it is one year plan with emphasis on “engineering”. Stanford is just one mile from my home so may be I would end up applying there too. It all depends on my GMAT score which I would be taking in next one year. I took GRE back in 2002 and found its Maths quite easier than GMAT maths. Either I am not in touch with basics or I am grown too old and losing my skills so when I look at Maths section of GMAT, I find it tough 
or may be I am lacking serious motivation.
When you are TA then you don’t get concession, your fees almost get 90% waived. When I was RA in my MS programme then I guess I paid like 3K for fees and actual fees was some what 60K for whole programme and besides that stipend was also cool with no taxes at all.
By the way, I thought you had scholarship and when you have scholarship then your acceptance chances get increase for PhD programmes because universities know that you already have funds and they won’t have to support you.
There are many sites that have free online lectures. One is MIT open courseware. They have videos for their lectures for many courses. You can search MIT web site and also try their youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/MIT
I do not know yet why I am opting for another degree. May be I am tired of my life as programmer and don’t feel any interest in pursuing career any more in that or I just want some thing new. I even do not know where I would end up in next 6 months. Pak/Canada/US/UK , that’s why my nick is refugee
. I will let you know if I would need any help about course selection. And if you do need any GRE/GMAT preparatory books from US which are not available in then let me know, I might be coming Pakistan for eid isnhAllah(50-50%) so I can get you then(you can drop me am email).
I will pray for you that you get what you wish for. Just keep in mind, 1- Always shoot for the moon, even if you miss then you will fall among stars. 2- Always keep your self surrounded with more smarter people than you.
By the way, you could also try to work with some LUMS professors to get publish to increase chance of acceptance and get good recommendations.
So very interesting. I got a comment asking for an interview as well, and I think I’ve seen the same comment on a couple of other blogs. At least this time they actually got a real pakistani
I declined the offer.
Specs in the Spectator. You’re famous now!! Shucks and I stopped blogging to be in your top 5
Well done! You answered so well mashaAllah.
Forgot to ask..Are you married?
All I have to say is come to Scarborough and we’ll see some donkeys!!!
Refugee-LUMS=Burger. No thanks.
Amir-Why? Is it the privacy issue?
Brainsmoke-LOL! Niiiice! Oh you’re top five but you don’t blog anymore. I was so sad when you stopped writing, seriously. The adventures of the brave mousehunter were always worth a read!
Tasmiya- Thank you! And a warm welcome to my blog.
HAHAHA, rofl! No i’m not. Now what’s next? Why?
BobaEr, no thanks. I can see some donkeys here whenever i want haha. I’ll come to see Boba though…you know her? Nice gal, she is.
It was good interview and you answered very well. Yes, you’re famous now.
How one can think you’re a guy? You’re absolutely a woman. Your femininity is completely sensible.
sorry i’ve been AWOL!!!
rock on 
great stuff on your interview
xoxoxoxox
Shahrzad-Oh thank you for the femininity comment. I think I’ll do a post about make-up now and then!
Meow-And what a surprise this is! Welcome back! Thank you for the encouraging words.
Congrats on the interview Specs!
I enjoyed reading it
Liya-Thank you!
MashAllah! I remember reading your interview a while back. I got an offer too to be interviewed but I declined because I didn’t feel right since I am not Pakistani!
Organica-Thank you. You got an offer too? Oh you should’ve given it regardless; i would’ve loved to know more about you!
Hey, sorry for being late. But I am still catching up with all the interviews of bloggers in my network.
Nice interview. Really liked it where you mentioned that Pakistani blogs can help in correcting the pre-defined image people have of Pakistan and Pakistanis.
Ordinary Girl Thank you.
I believe in that pretty firmly so i’m glad i found a fellow Pakistani blogger with the same belief!