Georgia Tech QCF program - advice please, and alternatives?

[amancalledaman]

Hi everyone, first post here - 2 questions in all

1. I've received an invite for the QCF interview for Fall '22, could anyone help me out with a general idea of how the interviews are generally? I think its with Laura, and its supposed to be 'behavioral' but apart from understanding that it is not technical, I'm not sure how to prepare. Any pointers?

2. I've only recently joined this website. I'm a CS undergrad looking to expand into finance/fintech, and for that reason having a Computational side in any Finance course was essential for me. Hence I haven't applied to any Financial Mathematics programs but I have applied to Georgia Tech's CSE as well, as they have the possibility of obtaining a dual-degree.
Only yesterday did I notice that not everyone on here thinks GaTech/Atlanta is the best place to be for finance and studying in NY or Chicago is much better(I'm an international student btw). Are there any other similar computational programs that exist in these cities or are they all mainly math-heavy?

I know CMU's MSCF has a computational side, and maybe even UCB, but always thought getting in was too ambitious for me. Any other alternate comparable courses you guys can suggest?

 

[amancalledaman]

Does anyone have any guesses why QCF went from 10 to 13 in the rankings this time?

 

[ttpt]

Someone has got an offer from the program. Again I have no news. What about you guys? Will they send the offer at a different time?

When he has applied ?

 

[Alice or Mary]

When he has applied ?

He submitted the application on 01.15. Mine on 01.14. He took the interview on 01.26, the same as me. See why I am worried.

 

[amancalledaman]

He submitted the application on 01.15. Mine on 01.14. He took the interview on 01.26, the same as me. See why I am worried.

Oh I wouldn't worry, they'll give soon.
Is QCF your first choice?

 

[ttpt]

He submitted the application on 01.15. Mine on 01.14. He took the interview on 01.26, the same as me. See why I am worried.

Me and my friend was on 21, Lura said they will give in 1 month, It makes us worried too because GaTech looks only optimistically possible for us, but let's hope and wait can't do much. Most results will come by Mar end.

 

[Alice or Mary]

Well, considering my situation I think it is the best program that suits me. Columbia and CMU are of course better, but I think it is pretty hard for me to be admitted~
The interviewer told me hopefully the result will come before March. But she was not sure.

 

[pkp]

Thanks for the info!

As @WorkofArt mentioned, one has to apply after they come to campus. CSE isn’t the only option, Analytics, Statistics etc. are also possible but shared credit would be only for 2 courses i.e 6 credits. Whereas CSE it would be 4 courses i.e 12 credits. So one can comfortably finish both degrees in 2 years. Since the policy is relatively new, details are still being figured out and should be in place by the Fall in it’s entirety. That’s the reason it hasn’t been actively publicised.

 

[amancalledaman]

As @WorkofArt mentioned, one has to apply after they come to campus. CSE isn’t the only option, Analytics, Statistics etc. are also possible but shared credit would be only for 2 courses i.e 6 credits. Whereas CSE it would be 4 courses i.e 12 credits. So one can comfortably finish both degrees in 2 years. Since the policy is relatively new, details are still being figured out and should be in place by the Fall in it’s entirety. That’s the reason it hasn’t been actively publicised.

The other way to do the dual degree would be to apply to both programs right now for Fall 22. Deadlines have passed already though. That is what I have done. It is only by chance that I know this, as I spoke to Laura during one seminar in October.

Not sure if it is easier to get in to CSE after getting into QCF though. I am guessing it is easier, as there are electives offered from the CSE department anyway.

 

[amancalledaman]

Two things I am interested in knowing though
- why did it fall in rankings this year
- why would they have extended the deadline by another 15 days

The 2nd point makes me think that maybe they didn't receive as many applications as usual? Though they have a pretty small batch size so I would expect they've got enough anyway. That is probably one reason why they haven't released as many results yet.

Also,

Well, considering my situation I think it is the best program that suits me. Columbia and CMU are of course better, but I think it is pretty hard for me to be admitted~
The interviewer told me hopefully the result will come before March. But she was not sure.

I think it's the best program that suits me too. What are your reasons? CMU has a decent amount of "computation", not sure about Columbia.

 

[pkp]

Two things I am interested in knowing though
- why did it fall in rankings this year
- why would they have extended the deadline by another 15 days

The 2nd point makes me think that maybe they didn't receive as many applications as usual? Though they have a pretty small batch size so I would expect they've got enough anyway. That is probably one reason why they haven't released as many results yet.

Also,

I think it's the best program that suits me too. What are your reasons? CMU has a decent amount of "computation", not sure about Columbia.

There were quite a few who received rejects in the early round. If they were really worried about number of applications they would have sent waitlists instead. I know for a fact there are atleast 20-30 folks in my personal circle (from tier 1 unis in India) who have applied to GT. Now looking at rankings, there are two possible reasons why ranking has gone down, one is peer review which makes up 20% of ranking methodology (opaque) and 2nd possibly undergrad GPA factor within student selectivity (such a bad factor in rankings as GPA in IITs BITs etc. are not the same as other tier 2, 3 unis and even if they are using external orgs such as WES, 7.5 at IIT would translate to something like 3.1-3.2 which would NOT accurately capture the student ability. There are obvious cases of grade inflations in many US unis so don’t know how they are handling the data). There are other opaque factors within placements which make up 55% of ranking methodology, so can’t really say. Don’t want to take names but some other programs with lower salaries in substantially higher COL places and fees are ranked higher. One thing to keep in mind is avg salary details are calculated based on number of people reporting. Earlier rankings used to show % of people reporting. If the % of people reporting is low then it’s highly probable something is fishy (people without a job wouldn’t participate in surveys, duh). I don’t know these numbers so can’t make any conclusive statements but you can decide for yourself.

 

[WorkofArt]

Two things I am interested in knowing though
- why did it fall in rankings this year
- why would they have extended the deadline by another 15 days

It fell only one place in the ranking list if you ask me. MIT was left off the 2021 ranking list and Courant's program(a top 5 program imo) had a one-off year of bad placements. Both programs are higher ranked than Georgia Tech's and the 2022 ranking reflects it. The only program that leapfrogged QCF was UCLA's MFE. Afai, they've revamped their administrative staff and are focusing on their placements.

Don't take the rankings to reflect the overall sentiment of the program though. There's been an improvement in average salary and placements. Georgia Tech QCF has a Linkedin page, which I'm sure you're aware of at this point, that mentions their students' recent full time and internship positions. They've objectively improved, but maybe not as much as the other programs.

There are other "hidden" factors, like the peer assessment and the reviews by employers evaluating the quality of students graduating from these programs.

 

[amancalledaman]

There were quite a few who received rejects in the early round. If they were really worried about number of applications they would have sent waitlists instead. I know for a fact there are atleast 20-30 folks in my personal circle (from tier 1 unis in India) who have applied to GT. Now looking at rankings, there are two possible reasons why ranking has gone down, one is peer review which makes up 20% of ranking methodology (opaque) and 2nd possibly undergrad GPA factor within student selectivity (such a bad factor in rankings as GPA in IITs BITs etc. are not the same as other tier 2, 3 unis and even if they are using external orgs such as WES, 7.5 at IIT would translate to something like 3.1-3.2 which would NOT accurately capture the student ability. There are obvious cases of grade inflations in many US unis so don’t know how they are handling the data). There are other opaque factors within placements which make up 55% of ranking methodology, so can’t really say. Don’t want to take names but some other programs with lower salaries in substantially higher COL places and fees are ranked higher. One thing to keep in mind is avg salary details are calculated based on number of people reporting. Earlier rankings used to show % of people reporting. If the % of people reporting is low then it’s highly probable something is fishy (people without a job wouldn’t participate in surveys, duh). I don’t know these numbers so can’t make any conclusive statements but you can decide for yourself.

Agreed. I have thought about tweaking the code to make the weights more suited to my own criteria. Agreed about the GPAs as well. I think CMU has the clearest salary-related information on its website. I guess I was overthinking and wondering why the deadline was extended.

 

[pkp]

Agreed. I have thought about tweaking the code to make the weights more suited to my own criteria. Agreed about the GPAs as well. I think CMU has the clearest salary-related information on its website. I guess I was overthinking and wondering why the deadline was extended.

I think it’s too soon to even think let alone overthink. Everyone who applied gets to interview so hold your horses for now. Think about this after you have all your offers.

 

[Alice or Mary]

Two things I am interested in knowing though
- why did it fall in rankings this year
- why would they have extended the deadline by another 15 days

The 2nd point makes me think that maybe they didn't receive as many applications as usual? Though they have a pretty small batch size so I would expect they've got enough anyway. That is probably one reason why they haven't released as many results yet.

Also,

I think it's the best program that suits me too. What are your reasons? CMU has a decent amount of "computation", not sure about Columbia.

Well, Columbia's MFE has a better rank and it has a better location. The best students in my major aim to go there. But just now I find you are talking about the double major. I didn't know this before!
Same as you. I am more interested in computer science/analytics than math.
And "the 2nd point makes me think that maybe they didn't receive as many good applications as usual" Hahahaha~

 

[karan_kumar]

Yes, CSE may have some advantages, but I think the gatech program has much weakness too that made the rank lower:
1. location: Most of the programs are NY based. There is some reason to it; I talked with UCLA alumni he told me he is able to find a job in NY not in west coast. After the program, if you have several offers, you have a choice. Yes, Gatech people also got placements, but as I talked with gatech alumni, they told me not to come to Gatech, go to better programs like cmu, columbia, cornell, Nyu. If you want to go to trading, Chicago is the best place. Most companies don't care about your university, but if you need to go to New York several times for the interview rounds, then it's not feasible. From the point of internships, it is far easy to get internships in New York, and you can commute from your home.
2. Program Structure: It keeps me down as I see the program's core structure. Compare the core structure of the program with other universities. Electives you can take from other departments, but you don't have many courses from the point of quantitative finance.
3. As I talk with Gatech alumni, The placement support is inferior.

 

[amancalledaman]

Well, Columbia's MFE has a better rank and it has a better location. The best students in my major aim to go there. But just now I find you are talking about the double major. I didn't know this before! And considering the low tuition, QCF seems more and more attractive! Now I can say if admitted, I will go there. Just give me an offer
Same as you. I am more interested in computer science/analytics than math.
And "the 2nd point makes me think that maybe they didn't receive as many good applications as usual" Hahahaha~

@Alice or Mary Haha I didn't say "good" applications, I just said applications . There are profiles much better than me all around so I would not say that.

@karan_kumar from your point of view is applying to NY or Chicago is the best and any other location is inferior?

Program structure - yeah, it is different. Now whether it is good different or bad different is up to an individual, I guess. For me I think it is good.

With regards to placement support, I have also heard similar stuff. They do help with creating profiles, mock interviews, etc but in the end applying and getting an interview is in your hands. Is it different in other places? Do other unis help with getting good internships?