COMPARE CMU MSCF vs Berkeley MFE

[KevinY]

I guess there are already tons of discussions on this two programs; either has its advantages and drawbacks.
I am admitted to both programs and I think I will go for Berkeley, but before making my final decision, I am trying to list my reasons and perhaps I will be inspired by someone here.

Background: 26, Male, Asian, ME for undergrad in China, Applied Math for master in US, CFA level 1, working in financial software in Equity area for about 2 years now, located in NYC.
Applied two schools and got admitted to both.

· Time/Cost
o MSCF starting this fall; MFE starting next March ->MFE in Berkeley fits the bonus cycle and gives me more time to prep and read the crazy book list (thanks quantnet J).
o MSCF is 18 months while MFE is 12 months -> half year opportunity cost for salary
o MSCF is 54k(21k scholarship), MFE is 51k -> almost the same
o It’s possible to transfer to part time for the last semester, working while finishing the school -> it won’t be easy tho.
o Living in NYC costs more than Berkeley -> I ignore this part as I am sure I will enjoy life in both places.
· Program setting
o MSCF is a program designed by four department while MFE is taught in Haas Business school
o MSCF is more tech focused (programming classes for example) while MFE is more finance focused (lots of great finance professors)
o Both programs are not flexible in terms of their courses – MFE has 16 units required; 9-11 elective(choose from a certain course list) and 1-3 finance project; MSCF has 6 minis and all the course are basically fixed (can exempt up to 2 courses, but can’t replace them with others in NYC)
o Both offers pre-program courses, which will be somewhat helpful to refresh my knowledge
· Location, location, location.
o NYC vs Cali – Live in NYC for 2 years and love it, with friends to hang out and tons of activities; visited San Francisco 5 times and it’s one of my favorite cities.
o NYC location is awesome, next to Wall Street, with the chance to ask alumni for a coffee or lunch meeting. It helps to build up the network on the street; California, oh well, the weather is just awesome. It might be tough to keep in touch with all the activities on the east coast, but long distance conference tools can help.
o MSCF is more focused to land you a job in east coast; MFE is focused to land you a job globally – with tons of their students go to Asia and Europe. They are both doing a really good job.
· Students/Alumnus’ network
o Both are in Business schools so that the students can take advantages on that – MSCF in NYC is kind of isolated from MBAs; MFE is at least study in the same place with MBAs with lots of social events (mostly still just hang out with MFEs J).
o MSCF is younger while MFE has more working experience in general
o MSCF has a great network on the street; Haas is not either
o Haas is better than Tepper, especially for the reputation in Asia.
· Career service
o Both are doing great as I mentioned before
o MSCF will try to get a job as associate level as MFE is almost all associate level (students have the working experience)
o MSCF is great for trading/sales; MFE is more about finance, so slightly more diversified (not much).
o Starting salary for the same level should be almost the same for both schools
· And after all, it’s Berkeley (irrational here).

And based on the above reasons (all personal opinions), I think Berkeley would be a better fit for me. I read lots of posts in quantnet and thanks for all the help. Hope someone can share their opinions and I am letting my decision sit there for a while before making up my mind.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

You did not mention where do you want to do/be after the program and 5 years from now. Knowing that and learning how each program can help you moving into that direction give you a better idea.
What is most important to you? A brand name, a network of alum you can tap in, technical skill, a broad knowledge in finance, access to some specific job/companies?

Many of your analysis is hard to quantified. How do you know if the name of one is better in Asia than the other? How do you know if one program has better network on Wall Street than the other?

I would be interested in the kind of data you used to come up with these. Quantnet has current students and alum of both programs on board so I hope they can chime in.

 

[enthusiast]

Sounds like you know what is a better fit for you (which is great). Both programs are excellent and you can't go wrong selecting any one.

 

[KevinY]

Thanks Andy.

I want to be a trader as a start (which is hard under current market condition) and as for 5 years, there are too many uncertainties and I don't want to think that far. But the typical way is from sale side to buy side as I am getting older (more experienced I hope). Both schools are good in terms of landing a job after graduate and I honestly believe that the real difference would be skill set/networking/opportunities and in the end, the soft skills are more important. And that's why I think a brand name is more important in the long run.

And yes, all of my analysis is just a feeling - with some facts. I have talked to both programs' directors, current students; alumnus (work with some); and went to some of their social events. Berkeley is well know as one of the top schools in the world and Haas ranked very high by economists. But CMU has longer history and lots of people knows it on the street. Both are good and slight different.

I guess both are good options and in the end, personal preference is the key.