Columbia MA Statistics

[Hemant Dua]

Hi guys,

Got an admit from Columbia for their MA Statistics. Hoping to connect with other people currently holding an offer to join this program.

Also, any opinions on this program and its reputation? Is it worth strong consideration from those looking for work in the financial services sector? I see there's a lot of flexibility (one can take five or more electives, including some from the B School).

I've read both good and bad things about the MA Stats on other forums, hence keen to have the inputs of the folks at QuantNet.

 

[Reyn S]

What is the good thing?

 

[diegosanaz]

The good is clear, you can get a very good education with the Columbia brand name. And given the amount of finance programs at the university, there are a lot of electives to choose from to gear towards quantitative finance.

I dont know about the reputation, but I do have someone very close to me that works at a major IB in NY on a quantitative area and decided to do the Stats program part time. Of course, he already had the job when he decided to do the masters, this doesn't say anything of how hard is to do it the other way around (from master to IB).

 

[Hemant Dua]

Thank you for sharing your opinion, @diegosanaz

As you've pointed out correctly, there's large enough a pool of electives to choose from for me to gear my curriculum towards finance. And of course there's the brand name.

I am quite keen to closely examine the negatives as well. I understand that, much as is the case with most programs housed in the Columbia GSAS, the Career Services is underwhelming, and more time and effort is put into placing undergraduates and PhDs than Masters grads.
Then there's also the claim that most professors teaching in the program are adjunct. I'm not sure yet how important a factor this is.

I should also point out that I am from India and have very little work experience (a mere 3 months). Would joining Columbia for what was never to begin with my preferred choice of discipline (Statistics) really be worth its weight in gold?

 

[Hemant Dua]

@Reyn S I'd much rather you share an opinion with me than simply saying "What is the good thing?"

 

[diegosanaz]

Personally, I don't think is a good idea to do a masters in [insert subject here] if one doesn't have an actual interest in [insert subject here] .

I do think the masters could be worth your while, but it depends on what other options you have. Remember there is always the chance of trying to upgrade your profile and give it another shot next year at other programs.

 

[CasanovaJ]

I understand that, much as is the case with most programs housed in the Columbia GSAS, the Career Services is underwhelming.

Not "underwhelming"... totally nonexistent.

Then there's also the claim that most professors teaching in the program are adjunct. I'm not sure yet how important a factor this is.

I'd say about half of my professors have been adjunct-- one was a dud, but the other ones were actually better than a lot of the full-time professors... this alone shouldn't be considered a negative.

I should also point out that I am from India and have very little work experience (a mere 3 months). Would joining Columbia for what was never to begin with my preferred choice of discipline (Statistics) really be worth its weight in gold?

MA Stats alone will not come close to getting you a job-- it would have to be MA Stats + demostrable programming skills + relevant work experience... If you have no work experience and stats wasn't even your first choice for a degree, you probably shouldn't be doing this...

 

[IntoDarkness]

i heard the 12-month unemployment rate for this program's graduates is pretty high

 

[CasanovaJ]

i heard the 12-month unemployment rate for this program's graduates is pretty high

Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me

 

[diegosanaz]

I guess the million dollar question is how does it fare against programs with ranking 10 or lower.

 

[Reyn S]

@Reyn S I'd much rather you share an opinion with me than simply saying "What is the good thing?"

Yeah, I have a friend attending in this program in the coming fall, according to his description, this program can not match the name of Columbia, so I just want to ask if there is any positive about it. However, it is said that some of the last alumni could also manage themselves into Barclays Capital. So, in my opinion, maybe it would not be too hard to get a job in US, especially considering its OPT of 29 months. But the point is that whether you could manage yourself into a good job in US, so it is very important to get yourself a nice orientation in this situation. Lastly, the curriculum of this program is OK. That's all.

 

[CasanovaJ]

Yeah, I have a friend attending in this program in the coming fall, according to his description, this program can not match the name of Columbia, so I just want to ask if there is any positive about it. However, it is said that some of the last alumni could also manage themselves into Barclays Capital. So, in my opinion, maybe it would not be too hard to get a job in US, especially considering its OPT of 29 months. But the point is that whether you could manage yourself into a good job in US, so it is very important to get yourself a nice orientation in this situation. Lastly, the curriculum of this program is OK. That's all.

The people in this program who end up with good jobs get them because of programming skills + past work experience... someone with no work experience or CS background is not going to get a job easily just because they're coming out of this particular program.

 

[Jedison]

The stats program at Columbia is top notch. The reason the employment for the stats ma is so poor is because this program is a cash cow for the department. They admit a ridiculous amount of students. Some are very bright and go on to do big things. Others not so much...