Got into BU MSMF and Cornell MEng (not FE but Applied Operations Research)

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nuttavutj

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Hey Folks,
As of now, I got offered admissions from both schools mentioned above. BU and Cornell. I applied to M.Eng at Cornell for FE concentration but was asked to consider AOR, Applied Operations Research, instead which makes sense since I have pretty decent to strong Industrial Engineering background from Georgia Tech (I believe that Tech is ranked #1 in this OP field).

Lets leave out BU for now just to discuss my main concern about Cornell,
I just started looking at their core courses and free electives at Cornell. The core courses are pretty much the same topics I learned at Tech but more advanced and demanding. I do not think I have problems continuing studying these IE/OR courses. The question is can I tailor my free electives to match with the FE concentration? And what is the chance that IB/financial firms will hire me over, lets say, students graduated from Cornell with FE concentration.

If the answer is no or highly unlikely, then here is another question building on top of the first one.
I also applied to Georgia Tech QCF track( quantitative computational finance) which I do hope I could get in. However, the placement rates and connections of Tech's QCF are not that strong thus the placement rate is very low. My question is would not I be better off continuing my master in IE/OR at Tech than going to Cornell(OR concentration) ?, given the fact that I cant tailor my OR at Cornell to at least match what FE students are doing AND Tech is definitely ranked better in this OR/IE field than Cornell. (I am sure IE/OR is useful in a finance industry because I am interning with IB, and some stuffs are related to what I have learned)

I am sure Cornell brand sounds a bit better/ better than Tech in a general sense. But I do know that courses and reputation of Tech in OR/IE are very strong. However, brand name can sometimes takes you far...

IF I have only three choices at the end, BU MSMF, Cornell (AOR), Georgia Tech( I can chosse the track later...IE or QCF or Statistics), what are your thoughts?

Im interested in FE (please dont ask me why, its another story. I hope my SOP can convince the admission committee). Should I go for BU program that is tailored especially for this field?

or go for Cornell and try to take electives to that are closely related or the same course to what FE students take. I know FE students have another semester solely for FE project in Manhattan.

or go for Tech and do what I do best- another master IE degree on top of my undergrad in IE. I think I would not do QCF track though if I go to Tech.

I know this is a long post and wordings might be a bit confusing. It's just that so many thoughts are pouring in into my head right now.

I would appreciate any serious thoughts on this issue! Thank you in advance
Nuttavut
 
I know this is a long post, but I would be thankful if someone could throw some light on my thoughts.
 
I would say choose Cornell. I think the big name itself will land you several interviews. BU Math Finance has tried successfully in recent years to make themselves into a competitive program. However, looking at their website, none of the top firms seems to recruit their students. Although you would be at a disadvantage to the FE students in terms of placement, I think having a graduate degree from Cornell would allow you to have more job offers coming out of school.
 
You already have a degree from GTech.

If as an AOR you can still take FE classes, or model you curriculum to be close to the FE concentration, then Cornell may be a more strategic move ... (location, brand, placement, etc )
 
Something a person here said, "companies first look at the name of the school and then at what you are studying", in such case, Cornell wins... however, I can't really comment on these programs...
Also, if you noticed, the placements for Cornell ORIE (not FE) are around 70% and I'm sure they tried to be optimistic with the stats.
Try speaking with alumni of both programs... perhaps they will be able to help you more.
 
Thanks guys! I think Im aiming for Cornell. I look at their electives, and I can model my concentration similar to the FE
 
also Cornell is near NYC so chances of finding jobs go up dramatically compared to being in Atlanta. I also know many people from IVY league OR programs getting into BCG , Mckinsey , Bain etc for consulting roles, if that's also your thing. Also these consulting jobs beats every quant job hands down if you care about your long term career. These consult jobs are at par with PE and M& A roles which top notch MBA students get
 
I did not read your post in detail but if you're choosing anything between BU and Cornell...Cornell all the way. Even Creative Writing from Cornell will get you a better job than anything from BU. Although the smartest kids from BU will be just as good as the people from Cornell and will get good jobs.
 
goldski said:
I did not read your post in detail but if you're choosing anything between BU and Cornell...Cornell all the way. Even Creative Writing from Cornell will get you a better job than anything from BU. Although the smartest kids from BU will be just as good as the people from Cornell and will get good jobs.
Click to expand...
Then, how do you explain the extremely low placements of Cornell ORIE (not FE)?
 
roni said:
Then, how do you explain the extremely low placements of Cornell ORIE (not FE)?
Click to expand...

If you're whack, you're whack everywhere. It's similar to the Columbia OR. But if you're comparing to BU, Cornell is definitely better. What is BU placement? From what I have seen posted here it is not any good either.
 
goldski said:
If you're whack, you're whack everywhere. It's similar to the Columbia OR. But if you're comparing to BU, Cornell is definitely better. What is BU placement? From what I have seen posted here it is not any good either.
Click to expand...
They only posted the internship stats (96%).
 
goldski said:
% means nothing. You need absolute values 20 of 24 got internships or something a long those terms.
Click to expand...
"During Summer 2010, 96% of students in the MSMF program successfully secured internships."
 
@JayNicholas
what are your reasons for Gatech?

@lonely
I agree with you. Most of my friends graduated from GT got into top five consulting firms. I believe that IE/OR are heavily used in that industry, trying to address clients' problems and provide solutions in many areas of business.

Im tempting to do IE at Gatech if the IEOR( given that I try to model my coursework towards FE concentration) at Cornell does not work out for me.
 
nuttavutj said:
@JayNicholas
what are your reasons for Gatech?

@lonely
I agree with you. Most of my friends graduated from GT got into top five consulting firms. I believe that IE/OR are heavily used in that industry, trying to address clients' problems and provide solutions in many areas of business.

Im tempting to do IE at Gatech if the IEOR( given that I try to model my coursework towards FE concentration) at Cornell does not work out for me.
Click to expand...

well, we can put Cornell and Gatech into 2-tier in all mfe programs, considering the influence of Gatech in Atlanta, it's my better choice.
 
Why would you put Ivy League school and the one of the oldest program with FE as 2-tier? Not to even mention some of the faculty? I don't agree and it is not because I am most probably going there. I just wouldn't spend money on 2-tier. I would try again next year. I did quite a lot of research and believe me it is not 2tier.
 
PRINCETON, UCB, STANFORD, CMU, COLUMBIA are my 1-tier schools
I really don't find any reason to put CORNELL in them.
 
Let us not change the idea of this topic. However, I would be happy to hear/read your reasons. Moreover having in mind the programs you mentioned are quite different. Good Luck.
 
I'm in the same situation, getting to choose between Cornell AOR and BU MF. Does anyone know if Cornell AOR can be extended to three terms, so that I can do a summer internship in between? With a EE undergrad and no previous work experience in finance, I don't think the prospect for employment will be good after only two terms.

@lonely
Can you please expand on consulting opportunities with an OR degree? I am quite interested in consulting positions (actually more so than quant, but would like to get an MFE to transition to the business side) but thought an MBA is more suitable for them. What areas in OR will be helpful?
 

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