Alright well I decided to go to BU, but I finally got an email back from USC and I figured I'd share it.
Also I should note that I tried unsuccessfully to find the answers to all of these questions on the website. I also called, and the secretary said she was going to connect me with the FE people, and I was sent to the Electrical engineering department, which was a message that not only was there nobody there to answer the phone, the message said that the phone doesn't take messages and they didn't staff to answer that particular line, ever. Yet the secretary connected me with them anyway.
I got this email back 5 days later:
Below are some of the answers. Please see the Financial engineering website for further inquiries:
http://mapp.usc.edu/mastersprograms/degreeprograms/EE/MSFE.html
On May 23, 2011, at 1:01 PM, Jason wrote:
Hi,
I was accepted into the financial engineering program, and I have a few questions.
How long is the program?
1.5-2 years. 27 units total.
When is the graduation date?
See above.
How many credits/semester do I take, and what do I do during the Summer of 2012?
If there are course available that count towards the major that you wish to take, you can take those.
In the webpage
http://mapp.usc.edu/mastersprograms/currentstudents/AcademicAdvisement.htm, why is there no link to a financial engineering adviser?
Currently, the EE department advises the Financial Engineering majors, there is not a specific department as it is a collaboration from various departments/schools at USC.
when is my nonrefundable deposit due?
There is no required deposit for masters students.
where is a list of courses?
http://mapp.usc.edu/mastersprograms/degreeprograms/EE/MSFE.html
what services does the school provide to help students get jobs?
we have a Career Services Center within the Engineering school as well as one serving the greater USC population, this is a service you must actively pursue on your own.
what firms come to specifically recruit financial engineering students?
I would suggest doing some research on this on your own.
I didn't submit my supplemental form in time for the May 2nd deadline, can I still qualify for any financial aid?
please reference the financial aid website: http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/ OR speak to Student Financial Services for anything regarding financial aid: http://fbs.usc.edu/depts/sfs
Thank you,
Jason
Thank you for your inquiry,
EE Student Services
studentinfo@ee.usc.edu
This is a laughable response. "
I would suggest doing some research on this on your own."
are they kidding? I make an important inquiry about their program that is very difficult to find, and they don't provide any help at all.
Please see our website for the outline of courses available: http://mapp.usc.edu/mastersprograms/degreeprograms/EE/MSFE.html
Obviously the person who sent this answer didn't go to that page themselves. You can go see whats on that page if you want, but basically this is the extent of the information on that part
- 3 required courses: 9 units
- 2 advisor-approved electives in the areas of finance, business, and economics: 6 units
- 3 advisor-approved electives in the areas of optimization, simulations, and stochastic systems: 9 units
- 1 advisor-approved elective in the areas of systems and controls: 3 units
- Minimum of 18 units must be taken from within the Viterbi School of Engineering.
- A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 is required for graduation.
Thats it. I couldn't even find the "3 required courses"
How long is the program?
1.5-2 years. 27 units total.
When is the graduation date?
See above.
I asked this because their supplemental financial aid form requires you to put whether you are graduating in December or May. However, 1.5 years from August is Feburary, and 2 years is August. Thus I don't know what to put on the form.
Pretty sloppy, apathetic, and late response. Even if they did get back to me before the Wednesday BU 1k deposit deadline, I couldn't have chosen them.
cliffnotes: prob don't go to U$C