COMPARE BU math fin vs umich MFE

[rashna]

Hello all,
I have been admitted to the BU math fin program as well as umich MFE. From what I've heard, BU has better placements while umich is a better school on the whole. Getting a job after graduation is a top priority for me. Can someone please give me inputs to help me decide?

 

[babinu]

Could you please elaborate more on your profile ? Getting a job after graduation would not be fully dependent on the school where you alone. It depends on your strengths as well.

These are the main questions you need to ask yourselves.

1. Do I have relevant work experience to get a job after graduation ?

2. Do I have good programming skills to get a decent job ?

Thanks
Babinu

 

[rashna]

babinu,
My Profile:
Undergraduate: Major in Information Technology Engineering from Mumbai University, India.
Aggregate: 67%
GRE :1480 (Q:800; V:680; AWA:4.0)
No major work experience except for an internship at a broking firm

 

[babinu]

Lack of relevant work experience can definitely be a blocker for you to get the first job after graduation (See initial part of the post by Trader Joe in https://www.quantnet.com/forum/threads/mfe-from-usa-vs-mba-from-iims-india.9157/#post-86198 )

However to see which of the 2 is better, I am sorry I do not have much contact with alumni over there. I strongly suggest you contact alumni of both the schools and decide on this. It would not be a bad idea to have relevant work experience and apply next year as well.

 

[rashna]

Okay. Thanks!

 

[rashna]

Can anyone connect me to alumni who can give me useful insights on either school?

 

[catchuec]

Can anyone connect me to alumni who can give me useful insights on either school?

You will need to put some efforts in getting in touch with alumni/students from UMich/BU. Try contacting them on LinkedIn/QuantNet/Facebook. I personally know a few students in Michigan MFE who will be graduating in 2013.

As babinu suggested, getting a job depends on many factors other than school's brand name and location.

 

[rashna]

catchuec
I have been actively talking to alumni from both schools for a while now. But the feedback I'm getting isn't consistent. My 2 main questions are:
1. Does BU have a definite advantage over umich in terms of placements in the finance field because of it's location?
2. Umich places in the top 15 schools overall while BU barely makes it to the top 50. However FE, even as per quant net rankings, they rank the same. So how much does the BRAND VALUE of umich over BU matter?