Georgia Tech QCF program - advice please, and alternatives?

amancalledaman · 2/3/22

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?

MundaneMatters · 2/3/22

Why only pudgy penguins on your ETH address?

ttpt · 2/3/22

You don't need to prepare for behavioural Interview, Its best given without preparation. After interview you will realize that you don't need any preparation for it. Just prepare the standard behavioural questions.

amancalledaman · 2/3/22

MundaneMatters said:
Why only pudgy penguins on your ETH address?

lol they're just right-click and saved

amancalledaman · 2/3/22

ankitsaw said:
You don't need to prepare for behavioural Interview, Its best given without preparation. After interview you will realize that you don't need any preparation for it. Just prepare the standard behavioural questions.

okay, thanks! are you at GaTech by any chance?

Alice or Mary · 2/3/22

I took the interview a few weeks ago. It's true that you do not need too much preparation for it. The interview is about thirty minutes long and I was asked about 6-7 questions. The interviewer is super nice and friendly!

I have the same question as you. I don't know if Atlanta is a good city for finance and especially for international students.

amancalledaman · 2/3/22

Alice or Mary said:
I took the interview a few weeks ago. It's true that you do not need too much preparation for it. The interview is about thirty minutes long and I was asked about 6-7 questions. The interviewer is super nice and friendly!

I have the same question as you. I don't know if Atlanta is a good city for finance and especially for international students.

Thanks! You must have been on the early deadline then, did you receive a response yet?
Could you also tell me what kinda questions were asked? Either here or if I could connect with you elsewhere?

Alice or Mary · 2/3/22

I can't say too much about the interview because some students have already taken the interview and some haven't. But just try to get familiar with your resume, your future plans, and also about the program. I think the interview is about telling stories and giving opinions. Good luck to you!

pkp · 2/3/22

amancalledaman said:
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?

Having received an early admit for QCF, I did a ton on research by speaking with people in the program, alums and people who chose QCF over Columbia, Cornell, NYU and Chicago among others and other way around too. Also, I went to the campus last month and explored the city too. Here are my thoughts,

1. First and foremost reason is ROI. Tution for QCF is substantially lower, add to that assistantships (TAs get semester fee waiver and plus monthly salary covering living expenses, RAs get a good salary) and finally cost of living in Atlanta is very low in comparison to NY, Chicago and SF. For 1000 dollars rent, you can get a penthouse with pool, in the heart of the city which is walking distance from the campus. If you wanted to save money, you can get a shared apartment for 500. As you can expect, you can’t get that in any other cities. That leads to my next point.

2. Location- There is no getting around the fact that NY and Chicago are where most finance jobs are. Atlanta does have firms like Bofa, Truist, ICE, Neuravest, Invesco and so on with many others in Charlotte. But there are two points which I would like to discuss, someone can correct me if I am wrong. Firstly, bulk of the QCF students end up in NY and Chicago ( you can check their website) after the program. Secondly, in the post covid world, location would have lesser emphasis for hiring. All the firms, after filtering through resumes sends online assessments which one has to clear to get shortlisted for next rounds. If one can clear the online assessment, regardless of where you are you get the interview call.

3. Dual degree- Not many can suggest you about dual degree with CSE program because it has officially been launched this year. But what I can say is especially for a international student it can add a ton of flexibility. GT is world renowned for CS. My CS friends at IIT, all have it as one of their dream schools. CS and CSE aren’t the same. But that’s good in my opinion because it’s more focused on topics like ML, HPC and M&S more relevant for Quant roles. Also, you can do a complete shift to Tech/DS (with the dual degree, Tech jobs during OPT won’t be an issue which would have otherwise been) and Atlanta has all the major tech firms, MAANG++.

I think it would eventually be down to personal choice too. I personally liked Atlanta a lot. People were friendly, weather was nice and culture is not only about career and money only. Having traveled to Chicago, NY and SF, for me as a student I think I enjoy I would enjoy Atlanta more.

amancalledaman · 2/3/22

pkp said:
Having received an early admit for QCF, I did a ton on research by speaking with people in the program, alums and people who chose QCF over Columbia, Cornell, NYU and Chicago among others and other way around too. Also, I went to the campus last month and explored the city too. Here are my thoughts,

1. First and foremost reason is ROI. Tution for QCF is substantially lower, add to that assistantships (TAs get semester fee waiver and plus monthly salary covering living expenses, RAs get a good salary) and finally cost of living in Atlanta is very low in comparison to NY, Chicago and SF. For 1000 dollars rent, you can get a penthouse with pool, in the heart of the city which is walking distance from the campus. If you wanted to save money, you can get a shared apartment for 500. As you can expect, you can’t get that in any other cities. That leads to my next point.

2. Location- There is no getting around the fact that NY and Chicago are where most finance jobs are. Atlanta does have firms like Bofa, Truist, ICE, Neuravest, Invesco and so on with many others in Charlotte. But there are two points which I would like to discuss, someone can correct me if I am wrong. Firstly, bulk of the QCF students end up in NY and Chicago ( you can check their website) after the program. Secondly, in the post covid world, location would have lesser emphasis for hiring. All the firms, after filtering through resumes sends online assessments which one has to clear to get shortlisted for next rounds. If one can clear the online assessment, regardless of where you are you get the interview call.

3. Dual degree- Not many can suggest you about dual degree with CSE program because it has officially been launched this year. But what I can say is especially for a international student it can add a ton of flexibility. GT is world renowned for CS. My CS friends at IIT, all have it as one of their dream schools. CS and CSE aren’t the same. But that’s good in my opinion because it’s more focused on topics like ML, HPC and M&S more relevant for Quant roles. Also, you can do a complete shift to Tech/DS (with the dual degree, Tech jobs during OPT won’t be an issue which would have otherwise been) and Atlanta has all the major tech firms, MAANG++.

I think it would eventually be down to personal choice too. I personally liked Atlanta a lot. People were friendly, weather was nice and culture is not only about career and money only. Having traveled to Chicago, NY and SF, for me as a student I think I enjoy I would enjoy Atlanta more.

This is such a nice answer! The ROI is definitely a big plus. Didn't know about the penthouse with pool, thanks for that info. I agree with the covid thing too. The average salary for the batch was around 100Kish, do you know how it compares to the unis in NY and Chicago?

The CSE one is a big deal for me. I definitely want to keep options open. It's almost the same as CS because you can take CS electives, but with less flexibility due to some core courses being mandatory, and that's fine. If I get in I am definitely going. You say you went to the campus last month - did you just receive an admit then? Are you definitely going?

Also, costs aside, which other programs would you say are similar to GaTech's? In terms of being coding heavy? TIA!

pkp · 2/3/22

One big thing to consider is class sizes. I had considered Data Science programs too but most of them have huge class sizes. Upenn has 250 for example. So in that sense GT exp class size of 55 is great. CMU is definitely a great option, it’s also no. 1 for CS so is UCB. MFE programs in general are very niche. There was video of Steve Shreeve (CMU prof) mentioning this too. So it’s important you really want to be in this field because it’s too much work if you are not really interested and only doing it for jobs. If you are not sure in that case GT program does provide the flexibility with CSE dual degree.

pkp · 2/3/22

Follow- up to previous answer on why it’s important to be sure about MFE/FinMath. It isn’t for everyone.

amancalledaman · 2/3/22

pkp said:
One big thing to consider is class sizes. I had considered Data Science programs too but most of them have huge class sizes. Upenn has 250 for example. So in that sense GT exp class size of 55 is great. CMU is definitely a great option, it’s also no. 1 for CS so is UCB. MFE programs in general are very niche. There was video of Steve Shreeve (CMU prof) mentioning this too. So it’s important you really want to be in this field because it’s too much work if you are not really interested and only doing it for jobs. If you are not sure in that case GT program does provide the flexibility with CSE dual degree.

pkp said:

View attachment 42853
Follow- up to previous answer on why it’s important to be sure about MFE/FinMath. It isn’t for everyone.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your inputs. I agree. I may not be ready for a 100% full time, absolute math role. I'm sure of that. GaTech makes most sense in that regard. I've also applied to the new Masters in Digital Financial Technology at NUS. Loved the curriculum.

You mentioned earlier that you talked to people who chose GaTech over the rest, and also vice versa. What are the reasons for vice versa? Is it only restricted to location with respect to the job market? By ROI and curriculum (tech oriented) I don't think others can beat GaTech, am I right?

pkp · 2/3/22

Ivy League tag and location. Columbia has professors like Proff Derman and Proff Ali Hirsa, who are pioneers in their fields. Also, generally people tend to stick to status quo. This year should be interesting though now that dual degree is official.

amancalledaman · 2/3/22

Yes.. but I don't they have it up on the website yet. I only came to know about it by attending a seminar! I was also surprised by the fact that I got a reply so quickly and that they pushed the deadline back to Feb 1 from Jan 15. Maybe I'm overthinking? Anyway, lets see what happens. Mind if I connect with you offline?

hridaypurohit · 2/7/22

pkp said:
3. Dual degree- Not many can suggest you about dual degree with CSE program because it has officially been launched this year. But what I can say is especially for a international student it can add a ton of flexibility. GT is world renowned for CS. My CS friends at IIT, all have it as one of their dream schools. CS and CSE aren’t the same. But that’s good in my opinion because it’s more focused on topics like ML, HPC and M&S more relevant for Quant roles. Also, you can do a complete shift to Tech/DS (with the dual degree, Tech jobs during OPT won’t be an issue which would have otherwise been) and Atlanta has all the major tech firms, MAANG++.

Hey! Just wanted to inquire a bit more about the dual degree option.
I wanted to understand, how do I opt for it, was it present in the application? Or should it be mentioned during the interview?

WorkofArt · 2/7/22

hridaypurohit said:
Hey! Just wanted to inquire a bit more about the dual degree option.
I wanted to understand, how do I opt for it, was it present in the application? Or should it be mentioned during the interview?

You need to apply for it after getting admission to the QCF program. Mentioning it in the interview as one of the reasons you want to pursue the degree is okay, but you'd still need to apply separately. The program is fairly competitive though, you'd need a solid CS background

Note: You can choose the second degree from any of the three participating departments - Math,Business and ISyE. CSE and Analytics seem to be the most popular choices but you could potentially pursue a graduate degree in Statistics too. You'd need to take the core courses of the second degree you would want to do before counting the overlapping QCF credits. I'm not sure if they've changed the rules now, this is information I have from Fall 2021. @pkp seems to have this information in detail at this point, he could help you out with some of the other specifications

hridaypurohit · 2/7/22

WorkofArt said:
You need to apply for it after getting admission to the QCF program. Mentioning it in the interview as one of the reasons you want to pursue the degree is okay, but you'd still need to apply separately. The program is fairly competitive though, you'd need a solid CS background

Thanks for the info!

Alice or Mary · 2/7/22

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?

amancalledaman · 2/7/22

I think they will tell you by March, once they're done with 2nd round interviews