COMPARE Georgia Tech QCF vs Columbia MAFN

[Junping Chen]

Hi, I just got adimission from these two schools and it is now the time to make a choice.
Since I am an international student and my goal is to work in US for few years after graduation, I really care about the placement for this two program.
For Georgia Tech, I really appreciate the placement rate for the previous years, alost all student could find a job in US. Another advantage is its tuition and living expense is much cheaper compare to Columbia.
For MAFN at Columbia, according to the data from QUANTNET, its placement seems not that good. But Columbia still has its big name.
I am sort of confused now so I hope if someone could give me some advice and info especially info about MAFN placement. Thank you!

 

[Xiaoyu.Du]

Hi, I vote for Git. It has a smaller student size and focus more on programming. which is better for every student to be cared in career service and have a good job in the US. (you know mathematics are not that practical at work);

 

[billyvan]

Columbia is still Columbia and Gatech is still incomparable. Many of these negative comments to MAFN were based on his gorgeous brand name, and from this angle, MAFN indeed somewhat fails his brand. Gatech, on the contrary, is definitely a Tier2 program and inferior to Columbia whatever MFE or MAFN. Go to NYC and you will never regret.

 

[Terry_Joe]

@billyvan What do you mean 'Columbia is Columbia'.
Every Engineering department of Gatech is far better than Columbia. Get your facts right before ranking the programs into tiers.
Gatech has low tuition, exceptional Math and ISyE departments, smaller class size and better placement rates than MAFN. All this makes it a better choice over MAFN at columbia.

 

[ysggsy]

Vote for Git. Placement rate won’t lie.

 

[Youlan Dai]

@billyvan What do you mean 'Columbia is Columbia'.
Every Engineering department of Gatech is far better than Columbia. Get your facts right before ranking the programs into tiers.
Gatech has low tuition, exceptional Math and ISyE departments, smaller class size and better placement rates than MAFN. All this makes it a better choice over MAFN at columbia.

I have seen so many "Columbia is Columbia. Mit is Mit. X is X." To be honest, if Columbia MAFN is a tier 1.5 program, better than GIT, then the bar must be higher and average quality of students should be better than GIT. However, better students have such low placement stat, there must be something wrong. Oh I see! MAFN is actually a tier 2 program, better students, poor placement stat, poor career service. I think you are living in a world of fantasy. Wake up.

 

[ApolloChariot]

Columbia MAFN has 37% placement rate at graduation according to the quantnet rankings chart. Plus, it compares VERY unfavorably with Columbia FInancial Engineering and Columbia Business School. I would have a hard time justifying picking it over Georgia Tech.

 

[billyvan]

@billyvan What do you mean 'Columbia is Columbia'.
Every Engineering department of Gatech is far better than Columbia. Get your facts right before ranking the programs into tiers.
Gatech has low tuition, exceptional Math and ISyE departments, smaller class size and better placement rates than MAFN. All this makes it a better choice over MAFN at columbia.

However better Git is it's not MIT Stanford, and Columbia has enormous brand name. Just search people from MAFN on Linkedin and you will find dozens of BB quants. If you despise such positions and I have nothing to say then. It's indeed inferior to Columbia MFE but the brand name says everything. People working in this industry have little time investigating your program and interview says everything, all they can see is a Columbia on your resume and they just recall maybe Tom and David and Bob as colleagues are all Columbia guys. This is why thousands of people all around the world want to get into IVY school. ALUMNI, alumni all over the world. As for GaTech, indeed his engineering is better than Columbia, but what about his brand name on the street? His job rate is due to less competition in Atlanta than in NYC, and you know most of MFE students in NYC are Chinese so relocation is another scruple and obstacle which lag them subjectively and objectively from seeking jobs outside away from NYC. If MAFN students aren't reluctant to do so, they can have similar placement statistics in Atlanta. MAFN students are not among the top in NYC so more difficult environment for them if NYC is their first choice. GaTech is just a regional strong school, it has its merit locally. Columbia is a world-famous school, it has his brand wherever you name. Totally incomparable.
Besides, the thread holder is an international student, US is just a choice as a start, he may choose HK, Singapore, wherever. Do you know in HK what a brand name like Columbia or MIT will bring you? Almost an offer to internship whatever your program is as long as the content is relevant. Students from MPP in Columbia get IB return offer in BB HK office every year. And MAFN guys get quant or S&T job in BB there every year as well. Seldom heard of GaTech has the same treatment. You may say no one has heard Baruch has the same treatment. You are correct. But Baruch is at better level and has better choices. GaTech doesn't.
Even if you would like to say MAFN's 37% is an insanely amusing and humiliating statistics, QUANTNET still ranks MAFN 5 slots higher than GaTech. I think rank says everything. If years later GaTech ranks higher than MAFN, all of my prior words will be nonsense. But now they all make sense.

 

[billyvan]

@billyvan What do you mean 'Columbia is Columbia'.
Every Engineering department of Gatech is far better than Columbia. Get your facts right before ranking the programs into tiers.
Gatech has low tuition, exceptional Math and ISyE departments, smaller class size and better placement rates than MAFN. All this makes it a better choice over MAFN at columbia.

And I was just misled by you. MAFN is not led by Columbia's Engineering School, MFE is. So Fu Foundation is actually inferior to GaTech and someone will select GaTech over Columbia MFE? No way. MAFN is sponsored by Math and Stat Department, as an ivy I will never doubt its academic strength. MAFN doesn't have a good reputation just because of the poor career service, if you focus on that and slam it hard, all right I dont deny it. It's not a top program so this is its defect. But all the other merits added up outweigh this stain I think.

 

[ysggsy]

I think the discussion has gone beyond the programs themself. If you merely pursue a school brand, a less relevant major in MIT or Harvard could give you a bigger brand than Columbia. But focus on the MEF programs, QCF is clearly more practical and rigorous than MAFN.

 

[Michsund]

My view on this is that if you are a top student at MAFN and take the most difficult courses there you will have a lot more value then if you go to Georgia tech. But if your an avarage student I would advise going to Georgia tech on the fact that on avarahe students have better placement and help.

 

[Youlan Dai]

And I was just misled by you. MAFN is not led by Columbia's Engineering School, MFE is. So Fu Foundation is actually inferior to GaTech and someone will select GaTech over Columbia MFE? No way. MAFN is sponsored by Math and Stat Department, as an ivy I will never doubt its academic strength. MAFN doesn't have a good reputation just because of the poor career service, if you focus on that and slam it hard, all right I dont deny it. It's not a top program so this is its defect. But all the other merits added up outweigh this stain I think.

CU MFE also infamous for its bad career service. Also you told me academic strength? If you are an undergraduate or PHD, that does matter. Master is job oriented who cares about your academic strength? Also, remember the program is called financial engineering, not engineering. If GIT is good at Finance, please let me know. I feel like you have a strong confirmation bias such that "you" are the world.

 

[ApolloChariot]

I think the discussion has gone beyond the programs themself. If you merely pursue a school brand, a less relevant major in MIT or Harvard could give you a bigger brand than Columbia. But focus on the MEF programs, QCF is clearly more practical and rigorous than MAFN.

Precisely. What good is a school brand if the program has horrendous career services and plays second/third fiddle to other programs within the same school? The placement rate speaks for itself

 

[Terry_Joe]

These are the placement stats as shown on the official GaTech website. Also, when comparing the salaries do take into account the cost of living in Atlanta vs New York.

link - Career Development

 

[Michsund]

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These are the placement stats as shown on the official GaTech website. Also, when comparing the salaries do take into account the cost of living in Atlanta vs New York.

link - Career Development

Well you shouldn’t take in the cost of living because we don’t know where the students end up working.

 

[idkmyname]

Vote for Columbia.
Y'all diss Columbia's 0 career service, but Git is not even a target school for some companies. Why don't you go to Worcester Polytechnic Institute? It has a 93% employment rate at graduation. Placement success takes up 55% in QuantNet Ranking, and Columbia still ranks top 10.

 

[ApolloChariot]

Vote for Columbia.
Y'all diss Columbia's 0 career service, but Git is not even a target school for some companies. Why don't you go to Worcester Polytechnic Institute? It has a 93% employment rate at graduation. Placement success takes up 55% in QuantNet Ranking, and Columbia still ranks top 10.

Wow, if name recognition is all that matters/the most important, then why not choose to take underwater basket weaving at an Ivy league university? What good is it if your school is targeted by the major financial firms IF they would prefer students from Columbia Business School or Columbia Financial Engineering instead?

Yeah, go ahead and just enter into a program just because of the "brand name" of the school, without taking into account its placement rates, the quality of the program, career services or if it is being treated as a cash cow by the school.

 

[Youlan Dai]

Wow, if name recognition is all that matters/the most important, then why not choose to take underwater basket weaving at an Ivy league university? What good is it if your school is targeted by the major financial firms IF they would prefer students from Columbia Business School or Columbia Financial Engineering instead?

Yeah, go ahead and just enter into a program just because of the "brand name" of the school, without taking into account its placement rates, the quality of the program, career services or if it is being treated as a cash cow by the school.

Hey bro. Don't feed those trolls. "Brand name" is the strongest weapon for some people at a prestigious institution to hide their incompetence or in other words, they are unwilling to face their lack of competence so they keep talking about the brand name.（Translation in Chinese: “名校"是某些无能之辈的遮羞布 ） Let them alone, let them go right ahead. Brand name is their last straw to save themselves.

 

[Michsund]

People are focusing on MAFN brand name for an argument, but there is a reason to go there. It has many advanced statistical courses which helps specialize them for quant research positions. If you think you can do very well in MAFN I would recommend going there.

 

[Michsund]

I wouldn’t go there for brand name, but rather for a more rigorous curriculum.