COMPARE Columbia MAFN vs NYU Tandon MFE

[ApolloChariot]

Could you share broadly what you disliked about the program? I'd love to know what I should watch out for if I do decide to accept the offer from NYU. Also, was this before or after Dr. Carr took over?

I graduated before Peter Carr even started as a program director.

The program leadership and administrators didn't really care for the students, based on my impression. Some, if not most of the lecturers I had were "guest" professors that had well paying full time jobs which of course took priority over teaching. Lecturers would often miss office hours and TAs were poorly paid, underqualified, and more often than not unavailable. This was before NYU FRE got someone dedicated to job placement so the career services available were worse than a joke. The program leadership, without a doubt, demonstrated its apathy and gross incompetence on multiple occasions.

Take my review with a grain of salt, as it is a few years old, and I have a higher intolerance for incompetence and BS on the part of program leadership. If I attended another program, my review would likely be harsher than the average review for that program as well.

For its credit, NYU Tandon FRE does release its (in my opinion) incomplete or vague placement stats, far better than Columbia MAFN which does not and instead uses weasel language when providing placement information.

 

[pingu]

Yikes, it's pretty alarming to hear that the students of the MAFN program weren't that great. On the other hand, I wonder if it's a result of the supposed lack of career services and interview preparation at the program? In any case, if the reputation of the program among industry professionals is such, it sort of cancels out the value addition of the Columbia name to the résumé.

By the way, my experience was not during interview. These were people already working. They got the job but they were not good at it and their knowledge was lacking, both programming and modeling, and the applied analytics skills were not there either.

 

[Nth Root of N]

If you want the name in the diploma, also consider that Columbia has quietly become a commodity in terms of professional degree offerings; even the label is of questionable value.

I don't know anybody from MAFN, but I know someone who did quant Ph.D. under the ORIE.

 

[IntoDarkness]

If you want the name in the diploma, also consider that Columbia has quietly become a commodity in terms of professional degree offerings; even the label is of questionable value.

I don't know anybody from MAFN, but I know someone who did quant Ph.D. under the ORIE.

this... use columbia's name as your advantage while you still can... i graduated from another columbia program and both the columbia name and the program content helped me advance my career extensively

 

[Michsund]

I've worked in recruiting for a bit and I've seen some successful MAFN grads, even recently. I would say for now it probably has an edge over tandon as it is still a growing program.

 

[Shimai Zhang]

I share the same concerns with you... Have you made up your mind yet? The deposit of NYU Tandon is due on Feb 28,but I still can't make the choice between these two programs

 

[Michsund]

Well you can always sacrifice the 1000 but I would recommend looking into the classes and also looking into the resume books of the school.

 

[Shimai Zhang]

Well you can always sacrifice the 1000 but I would recommend looking into the classes and also looking into the resume books of the school.

Thanks for your advice! I think Columbia provides more machine learning courses that I'm interested in. I have looked into the resume book, and found that most Chinese students do intern only in mainland China instead of New York, which makes me a little bit worried... But personally I still prefer to Columbia mafn. Thank you again!

 

[Dessembrae Ultor]

I share the same concerns with you... Have you made up your mind yet? The deposit of NYU Tandon is due on Feb 28,but I still can't make the choice between these two programs

Personally I'm leaning towards NYU at the moment, mainly because the Columbia program offers little to no career support, which is not a problem for people who already have work experience in the financial services industry and can network their way into a new job, but for someone like me who has no background in the industry, it is a serious handicap.

 

[Shimai Zhang]

Personally I'm leaning towards NYU at the moment, mainly because the Columbia program offers little to no career support, which is not a problem for people who already have work experience in the financial services industry and can network their way into a new job, but for someone like me who has no background in the industry, it is a serious handicap.

Yes and this is my biggest concern as well... But now I prefer to Columbia. First, my undergradute school ranks only about 10th in China, Columbia's reputation attracts me a lot. Also, I find that the reason that people feel optimistic about Tandon is Peter Carr and Sarah, these two persons instead of the program itself, it actually makes me a little worried... Anyway, people have different opinions, hopefully we can get admissions of better programs later!

 

[Sophia Cao]

Yes and this is my biggest concern as well... But now I prefer to Columbia. First, my undergraduate school ranks only about 10th in China, Columbia's reputation attracts me a lot. Also, I find that the reason that people feel optimistic about Tandon is Peter Carr and Sarah, these two persons instead of the program itself, it actually makes me a little worried... Anyway, people have different opinions, hopefully, we can get admissions of better programs later!

Hello Shimai, I am currently a first-year student in MSFE from NYU Tandon. Congratulation on your admission of Columbia and NYU Tandon first. I want to share some experience in Tandon to provide some suggestions and hope that would help you make a decision. I know a lot of people in China cares a lot about the rankings of school or the reputation of the school, yes it is one of the factors that you should consider. But when the two programs are in a similar tier, I think it is more important to think about what you can learn and what you want to get from the Master program. The career service in Tandon is really great, our placement director Sara is very dedicated and that is what Columbia MAFN does not have. When you are finding an internship, school resources is very important and Peter and Sara do bring a lot of great resources. In Tandon, you also have a lot of opportunities to work with professors even with Professor Peter Carr, and this is a great chance to improve yourself. My experience in the U.S tells me that what really matters is what you have done and what you can do rather than what your school ranks. By the way, NYU also has a great reputation around the U.S, which does not really have much difference with Columbia. And you don't really need to worry about people came Tandon because of Peter Carr or Sara, they came for them is because they are actually making the program better and better. So it does not really matter why they came for them or the program itself, it is the same thing. Last year, I also received an offer from UCLA's MFE which is also a great program, but at last, I decided to come to Tandon, attracted by its various courses offered every semester. This course variety is very unique from other schools. And now I firmly believe that I make a great choice and really enjoin my life studying in Tandon. Looking forward to seeing you join us. Let me know if you have any concerns or questions.

 

[ApolloChariot]

The number of people shilling for NYU Tandon on Quantnet really is incredible. No other school/program has nearly the same number of people defending it. I don't know the exact reason, but some possibilities aren't good.

Look at NYU Tandon FRE reviews:

NYU Tandon School of Engineering - MS in Financial Engineering - Reviews

quantnet.com

Out of 27 reviews, EIGHT of them were 4/5 star reviews with the following dates in 2017:
June 11th, June 12th, June 13th, June 13th, June 13th, June 14th, June 18th, June 18th.

Anybody who believes, prima facie, that all those reviews are organic is out of their mind.

Keep that in mind as you read people touting the program.

 

[danielfang]

Last year, I also received an offer from UCLA's MFE which is also a great program, but at last, I decided to come to Tandon, attracted by its various courses offered every semester. This course variety is very unique from other schools. And now I firmly believe that I make a great choice and really enjoin my life studying in Tandon. Looking forward to seeing you join us. Let me know if you have any concerns or questions.

Hi Sophia, thanks for your genuine reviews regarding NYU Tandon MFE. Just out of curiosity, what made you choose NYU Tandon over UCLA MFE?

 

[Michsund]

The number of people shilling for NYU Tandon on Quantnet really is incredible. No other school/program has nearly the same number of people defending it. I don't know the exact reason, but some possibilities aren't good.

Look at NYU Tandon FRE reviews:

NYU Tandon School of Engineering - MS in Financial Engineering - Reviews

quantnet.com

Out of 27 reviews, EIGHT of them were 4/5 star reviews with the following dates in 2017:
June 11th, June 12th, June 13th, June 13th, June 13th, June 14th, June 18th, June 18th.

Anybody who believes, prima facie, that all those reviews are organic is out of their mind.

Keep that in mind as you read people touting the program.

Yeah while I feel like other programs such as Fordham are getting overlooked. I did in-depth research and found many students get front office jobs. I also saw class size is small so it made me apply there. The director interviews applicants himself and gave me a very strong impression that the program is legit, what I’m trying to say is do your own research and don’t buy into the hype.

 

[Sophia Cao]

Hi Sophia, thanks for your genuine reviews regarding NYU Tandon MFE. Just out of curiosity, what made you choose NYU Tandon over UCLA MFE?

Hello Daniel, as I said, I was attracted by various courses offered each semester in the NYU Tandon MFE program and small class size (about 30 people per course). Personally, I prefer to have more freedom to choose whatever we want to learn or develop. The various courses provide us a lot of choices to choose whatever we are interested in because I believe even among the same Financial Engineering background, there are still a lot of different directions students want to develop towards. Also, New York City is really convenient when you are interviewing with some companies because a lot of them are located in New York. The career service is really great in Tandon, there are a lot of resources and our program have our own career net to apply jobs, a lot of opportunities there, and I have already received an offer last semester. UCLA MFE is also a great program, but each person has their own opinion and different focus when making the decision. Hope this will be helpful to you.

 

[Shimai Zhang]

Hello Shimai, I am currently a first-year student in MSFE from NYU Tandon. Congratulation on your admission of Columbia and NYU Tandon first. I want to share some experience in Tandon to provide some suggestions and hope that would help you make a decision. I know a lot of people in China cares a lot about the rankings of school or the reputation of the school, yes it is one of the factors that you should consider. But when the two programs are in a similar tier, I think it is more important to think about what you can learn and what you want to get from the Master program. The career service in Tandon is really great, our placement director Sara is very dedicated and that is what Columbia MAFN does not have. When you are finding an internship, school resources is very important and Peter and Sara do bring a lot of great resources. In Tandon, you also have a lot of opportunities to work with professors even with Professor Peter Carr, and this is a great chance to improve yourself. My experience in the U.S tells me that what really matters is what you have done and what you can do rather than what your school ranks. By the way, NYU also has a great reputation around the U.S, which does not really have much difference with Columbia. And you don't really need to worry about people came Tandon because of Peter Carr or Sara, they came for them is because they are actually making the program better and better. So it does not really matter why they came for them or the program itself, it is the same thing. Last year, I also received an offer from UCLA's MFE which is also a great program, but at last, I decided to come to Tandon, attracted by its various courses offered every semester. This course variety is very unique from other schools. And now I firmly believe that I make a great choice and really enjoin my life studying in Tandon. Looking forward to seeing you join us. Let me know if you have any concerns or questions.

Hi Sophia, thanks for your sharing! The helpful career service in Tandon actually attracts me a lot. I also heard that many current students have found internship in the US. Are you doing intern now? Do you mind sharing your company and position? At the same time, how do you like the professors teaching in Tandon? Because I saw there are some negative comments about several professors... Thank you so much for your kind word again!

 

[Sophia Cao]

Hi Sophia, thanks for your sharing! The helpful career service in Tandon actually attracts me a lot. I also heard that many current students have found internship in the US. Are you doing intern now? Do you mind sharing your company and position? At the same time, how do you like the professors teaching in Tandon? Because I saw there are some negative comments about several professors... Thank you so much for your kind word again!

Hello Shimai, yes the career service is great and a lot of students have found intern/full time in the U.S. I have already received an offer from RBC last year, quant position, which is what I am interested in. The opportunity is gained through department resources. Until now, most professors I met are great and willing to help. It is just about how you like their teaching styles. No matter what schools, you will meet different professors with different teaching styles, some of them you would really like but some you may not. But at least now, the professors who teach me are great, even they have different teaching styles, they are very willing to help students if you have questions either through email or office hour. So I do not think you need to worry a lot about the professors' rating. Most professors have a lot of experience in the industry, so they would also share their stories or recent news, which is fun. So you do not really need to worry about the rating of the professors. Everyone has different styles and every student also might prefer different teaching styles, so those comments can only be a reference but I do not think it is a crucial factor to determine whether to join Tandon or not.

 

[danielfang]

Hello Daniel, as I said, I was attracted by various courses offered each semester in the NYU Tandon MFE program and small class size (about 30 people per course). Personally, I prefer to have more freedom to choose whatever we want to learn or develop. The various courses provide us a lot of choices to choose whatever we are interested in because I believe even among the same Financial Engineering background, there are still a lot of different directions students want to develop towards. Also, New York City is really convenient when you are interviewing with some companies because a lot of them are located in New York. The career service is really great in Tandon, there are a lot of resources and our program have our own career net to apply jobs, a lot of opportunities there, and I have already received an offer last semester. UCLA MFE is also a great program, but each person has their own opinion and different focus when making the decision. Hope this will be helpful to you.

thanks for your two cents and congrats on your job hunting.

 

[cge]

Hello Shimai, yes the career service is great and a lot of students have found intern/full time in the U.S. I have already received an offer from RBC last year, quant position, which is what I am interested in. The opportunity is gained through department resources. Until now, most professors I met are great and willing to help. It is just about how you like their teaching styles. No matter what schools, you will meet different professors with different teaching styles, some of them you would really like but some you may not. But at least now, the professors who teach me are great, even they have different teaching styles, they are very willing to help students if you have questions either through email or office hour. So I do not think you need to worry a lot about the professors' rating. Most professors have a lot of experience in the industry, so they would also share their stories or recent news, which is fun. So you do not really need to worry about the rating of the professors. Everyone has different styles and every student also might prefer different teaching styles, so those comments can only be a reference but I do not think it is a crucial factor to determine whether to join Tandon or not.

still you did not say where you do your internship, also how is the registration for classes going?

we all know... small class, but you see---it is per course...which means... many students cannot take the class they want, right? Maybe you can indulge us and describe the registration process for classes.

 

[cge]

Yes and this is my biggest concern as well... But now I prefer to Columbia. First, my undergradute school ranks only about 10th in China, Columbia's reputation attracts me a lot. Also, I find that the reason that people feel optimistic about Tandon is Peter Carr and Sarah, these two persons instead of the program itself, it actually makes me a little worried... Anyway, people have different opinions, hopefully we can get admissions of better programs later!

try to get "admit" to top 6 programs, if you do, you may have more options.
Keep in mind that a program director name will not get you a job - at the end it's you and what you have studied so far.

2019 QuantNet Rankings of Financial Engineering (MFE) Programs

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