I would be curious to know which one you choose out of
CMU, Columbia, NYU and maybe UCB later, and why.
I have read many threads in quantnet, comparing the top programs in one combination or the other. Also looked at WallStreetOasis. Till now, more inclined towards
CMU because of the curriculum having more focus on data science, statistical applications compared to other programs (I already have worked on StoCal applications so won't give much weight on such courses and volatility being record low, vol-exotic product offering have significantly shrunk in volume) and
CMU in general being very reputed in ML community (got few friends in
CMU MSCS).
I also think that it's more efficient if the business school runs the career services initiatives, which is the case for
CMU, UCB. No matter how much we all like to discount, I think communication, networking skills are very important (even for quant roles) in finance industry, that too when thousands of worthy candidates graduate every year.
I know that many people might choose NYU/Columbia/UCB/Baruch over
CMU and don't mean to say their choice is wrong or incorrect in any way. All these programs are best at what they do. I just expressed my choice depending on my background and future goals.