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COMPARE In a Dilemma: Got Acceptances from Columbia MAFN and NYU Tandon

Personally I'm leaning towards NYU at the moment, mainly because the Columbia program offers little to no career support, which is not a problem for people who already have work experience in the financial services industry and can network their way into a new job, but for someone like me who has no background in the industry, it is a serious handicap.
Yes and this is my biggest concern as well... But now I prefer to Columbia. First, my undergradute school ranks only about 10th in China, Columbia's reputation attracts me a lot. Also, I find that the reason that people feel optimistic about Tandon is Peter Carr and Sarah, these two persons instead of the program itself, it actually makes me a little worried... Anyway, people have different opinions, hopefully we can get admissions of better programs later!
 
Yes and this is my biggest concern as well... But now I prefer to Columbia. First, my undergraduate school ranks only about 10th in China, Columbia's reputation attracts me a lot. Also, I find that the reason that people feel optimistic about Tandon is Peter Carr and Sarah, these two persons instead of the program itself, it actually makes me a little worried... Anyway, people have different opinions, hopefully, we can get admissions of better programs later!

Hello Shimai, I am currently a first-year student in MSFE from NYU Tandon. Congratulation on your admission of Columbia and NYU Tandon first. I want to share some experience in Tandon to provide some suggestions and hope that would help you make a decision. I know a lot of people in China cares a lot about the rankings of school or the reputation of the school, yes it is one of the factors that you should consider. But when the two programs are in a similar tier, I think it is more important to think about what you can learn and what you want to get from the Master program. The career service in Tandon is really great, our placement director Sara is very dedicated and that is what Columbia MAFN does not have. When you are finding an internship, school resources is very important and Peter and Sara do bring a lot of great resources. In Tandon, you also have a lot of opportunities to work with professors even with Professor Peter Carr, and this is a great chance to improve yourself. My experience in the U.S tells me that what really matters is what you have done and what you can do rather than what your school ranks. By the way, NYU also has a great reputation around the U.S, which does not really have much difference with Columbia. And you don't really need to worry about people came Tandon because of Peter Carr or Sara, they came for them is because they are actually making the program better and better. So it does not really matter why they came for them or the program itself, it is the same thing. Last year, I also received an offer from UCLA's MFE which is also a great program, but at last, I decided to come to Tandon, attracted by its various courses offered every semester. This course variety is very unique from other schools. And now I firmly believe that I make a great choice and really enjoin my life studying in Tandon. Looking forward to seeing you join us. Let me know if you have any concerns or questions.
 
The number of people shilling for NYU Tandon on Quantnet really is incredible. No other school/program has nearly the same number of people defending it. I don't know the exact reason, but some possibilities aren't good.

Look at NYU Tandon FRE reviews:

Out of 27 reviews, EIGHT of them were 4/5 star reviews with the following dates in 2017:
June 11th, June 12th, June 13th, June 13th, June 13th, June 14th, June 18th, June 18th.

Anybody who believes, prima facie, that all those reviews are organic is out of their mind.

Keep that in mind as you read people touting the program.
 
Last year, I also received an offer from UCLA's MFE which is also a great program, but at last, I decided to come to Tandon, attracted by its various courses offered every semester. This course variety is very unique from other schools. And now I firmly believe that I make a great choice and really enjoin my life studying in Tandon. Looking forward to seeing you join us. Let me know if you have any concerns or questions.

Hi Sophia, thanks for your genuine reviews regarding NYU Tandon MFE. Just out of curiosity, what made you choose NYU Tandon over UCLA MFE?
 
The number of people shilling for NYU Tandon on Quantnet really is incredible. No other school/program has nearly the same number of people defending it. I don't know the exact reason, but some possibilities aren't good.

Look at NYU Tandon FRE reviews:

Out of 27 reviews, EIGHT of them were 4/5 star reviews with the following dates in 2017:
June 11th, June 12th, June 13th, June 13th, June 13th, June 14th, June 18th, June 18th.

Anybody who believes, prima facie, that all those reviews are organic is out of their mind.

Keep that in mind as you read people touting the program.
Yeah while I feel like other programs such as Fordham are getting overlooked. I did in-depth research and found many students get front office jobs. I also saw class size is small so it made me apply there. The director interviews applicants himself and gave me a very strong impression that the program is legit, what I’m trying to say is do your own research and don’t buy into the hype.
 
Hi Sophia, thanks for your genuine reviews regarding NYU Tandon MFE. Just out of curiosity, what made you choose NYU Tandon over UCLA MFE?
Hello Daniel, as I said, I was attracted by various courses offered each semester in the NYU Tandon MFE program and small class size (about 30 people per course). Personally, I prefer to have more freedom to choose whatever we want to learn or develop. The various courses provide us a lot of choices to choose whatever we are interested in because I believe even among the same Financial Engineering background, there are still a lot of different directions students want to develop towards. Also, New York City is really convenient when you are interviewing with some companies because a lot of them are located in New York. The career service is really great in Tandon, there are a lot of resources and our program have our own career net to apply jobs, a lot of opportunities there, and I have already received an offer last semester. UCLA MFE is also a great program, but each person has their own opinion and different focus when making the decision. Hope this will be helpful to you.
 
Hello Shimai, I am currently a first-year student in MSFE from NYU Tandon. Congratulation on your admission of Columbia and NYU Tandon first. I want to share some experience in Tandon to provide some suggestions and hope that would help you make a decision. I know a lot of people in China cares a lot about the rankings of school or the reputation of the school, yes it is one of the factors that you should consider. But when the two programs are in a similar tier, I think it is more important to think about what you can learn and what you want to get from the Master program. The career service in Tandon is really great, our placement director Sara is very dedicated and that is what Columbia MAFN does not have. When you are finding an internship, school resources is very important and Peter and Sara do bring a lot of great resources. In Tandon, you also have a lot of opportunities to work with professors even with Professor Peter Carr, and this is a great chance to improve yourself. My experience in the U.S tells me that what really matters is what you have done and what you can do rather than what your school ranks. By the way, NYU also has a great reputation around the U.S, which does not really have much difference with Columbia. And you don't really need to worry about people came Tandon because of Peter Carr or Sara, they came for them is because they are actually making the program better and better. So it does not really matter why they came for them or the program itself, it is the same thing. Last year, I also received an offer from UCLA's MFE which is also a great program, but at last, I decided to come to Tandon, attracted by its various courses offered every semester. This course variety is very unique from other schools. And now I firmly believe that I make a great choice and really enjoin my life studying in Tandon. Looking forward to seeing you join us. Let me know if you have any concerns or questions.
Hi Sophia, thanks for your sharing! The helpful career service in Tandon actually attracts me a lot. I also heard that many current students have found internship in the US. Are you doing intern now? Do you mind sharing your company and position? At the same time, how do you like the professors teaching in Tandon? Because I saw there are some negative comments about several professors... Thank you so much for your kind word again!
 
Hi Sophia, thanks for your sharing! The helpful career service in Tandon actually attracts me a lot. I also heard that many current students have found internship in the US. Are you doing intern now? Do you mind sharing your company and position? At the same time, how do you like the professors teaching in Tandon? Because I saw there are some negative comments about several professors... Thank you so much for your kind word again!
Hello Shimai, yes the career service is great and a lot of students have found intern/full time in the U.S. I have already received an offer from RBC last year, quant position, which is what I am interested in. The opportunity is gained through department resources. Until now, most professors I met are great and willing to help. It is just about how you like their teaching styles. No matter what schools, you will meet different professors with different teaching styles, some of them you would really like but some you may not. But at least now, the professors who teach me are great, even they have different teaching styles, they are very willing to help students if you have questions either through email or office hour. So I do not think you need to worry a lot about the professors' rating. Most professors have a lot of experience in the industry, so they would also share their stories or recent news, which is fun. So you do not really need to worry about the rating of the professors. Everyone has different styles and every student also might prefer different teaching styles, so those comments can only be a reference but I do not think it is a crucial factor to determine whether to join Tandon or not.
 
Hello Daniel, as I said, I was attracted by various courses offered each semester in the NYU Tandon MFE program and small class size (about 30 people per course). Personally, I prefer to have more freedom to choose whatever we want to learn or develop. The various courses provide us a lot of choices to choose whatever we are interested in because I believe even among the same Financial Engineering background, there are still a lot of different directions students want to develop towards. Also, New York City is really convenient when you are interviewing with some companies because a lot of them are located in New York. The career service is really great in Tandon, there are a lot of resources and our program have our own career net to apply jobs, a lot of opportunities there, and I have already received an offer last semester. UCLA MFE is also a great program, but each person has their own opinion and different focus when making the decision. Hope this will be helpful to you.
thanks for your two cents and congrats on your job hunting.
 
Hello Shimai, yes the career service is great and a lot of students have found intern/full time in the U.S. I have already received an offer from RBC last year, quant position, which is what I am interested in. The opportunity is gained through department resources. Until now, most professors I met are great and willing to help. It is just about how you like their teaching styles. No matter what schools, you will meet different professors with different teaching styles, some of them you would really like but some you may not. But at least now, the professors who teach me are great, even they have different teaching styles, they are very willing to help students if you have questions either through email or office hour. So I do not think you need to worry a lot about the professors' rating. Most professors have a lot of experience in the industry, so they would also share their stories or recent news, which is fun. So you do not really need to worry about the rating of the professors. Everyone has different styles and every student also might prefer different teaching styles, so those comments can only be a reference but I do not think it is a crucial factor to determine whether to join Tandon or not.

still you did not say where you do your internship, also how is the registration for classes going?

we all know... small class, but you see---it is per course...which means... many students cannot take the class they want, right? Maybe you can indulge us and describe the registration process for classes.
 
Yes and this is my biggest concern as well... But now I prefer to Columbia. First, my undergradute school ranks only about 10th in China, Columbia's reputation attracts me a lot. Also, I find that the reason that people feel optimistic about Tandon is Peter Carr and Sarah, these two persons instead of the program itself, it actually makes me a little worried... Anyway, people have different opinions, hopefully we can get admissions of better programs later!

try to get "admit" to top 6 programs, if you do, you may have more options.
Keep in mind that a program director name will not get you a job - at the end it's you and what you have studied so far.

 
still you did not say where you do your internship, also how is the registration for classes going?

we all know... small class, but you see---it is per course...which means... many students cannot take the class they want, right? Maybe you can indulge us and describe the registration process for classes.
Well, as I said I will do my internship in New York City. I said the class size is small but not per course. That is a huge difference, some popular courses or core courses will have different sections offered each semester, and each section will have a class size of around 30 people. So you do not really need to worry about you cannot get into the class you want. At least now, I did not hear anyone saying that they did not get into the class they want. For each section, there are about 30 people, and core courses usually have 3 or 4 sections offered each semester, so all the students can get into the course they choose. The registration process is just like all the U.S colleges, second-year students choose first and all the students in the same year have their enrollment appointment at the same time. So there is never "many students cannot take the class they want". At last, I like your saying that at the end it's you and what you have studied so far, but remember when the program is trying hard to help every student, with your personal hard working, you will get much more than working alone. What I see in this MFE program is that they value every student and tries hard to help every student whatever in job searching or academia.
 
Well, as I said I will do my internship in New York City. I said the class size is small but not per course. That is a huge difference, some popular courses or core courses will have different sections offered each semester, and each section will have a class size of around 30 people. So you do not really need to worry about you cannot get into the class you want. At least now, I did not hear anyone saying that they did not get into the class they want. For each section, there are about 30 people, and core courses usually have 3 or 4 sections offered each semester, so all the students can get into the course they choose. The registration process is just like all the U.S colleges, second-year students choose first and all the students in the same year have their enrollment appointment at the same time. So there is never "many students cannot take the class they want". At last, I like your saying that at the end it's you and what you have studied so far, but remember when the program is trying hard to help every student, with your personal hard working, you will get much more than working alone. What I see in this MFE program is that they value every student and tries hard to help every student whatever in job searching or academia.

Sophia, you said you received an offer and not that you accepted as well, the confusion comes from there. Congrats.

To me your post is more “recruiting students” post which is fine. However, it makes me wonder, does the program need this, it is not doing well?


You said:

“The registration process is just like all the U.S colleges, second-year students choose first and all the students in the same year have their enrollment appointment at the same time”.


About this, if you want to help prospective applicants, you should check with an administrator in your program since it may be misleading future applicants, we do not talk about colleges in US but about MFE programs right? Interesting twist…

This does not happen in many other programs. By the way, did you write this or you had some help? ;)

Now to all applicants, prospective applicants:
Good luck and be careful what you read, do more research, use all information you can get. Do not do the “wishful thinking”.
Once again, if you cannot aim for top programs, then extend your search to the top six programs.

Good luck to you all to get in your “dream” program (not college ;))
 
Sophia, you said you received an offer and not that you accepted as well, the confusion comes from there. Congrats.

To me your post is more “recruiting students” post which is fine. However, it makes me wonder, does the program need this, it is not doing well?


You said:

“The registration process is just like all the U.S colleges, second-year students choose first and all the students in the same year have their enrollment appointment at the same time”.


About this, if you want to help prospective applicants, you should check with an administrator in your program since it may be misleading future applicants, we do not talk about colleges in US but about MFE programs right? Interesting twist…

This does not happen in many other programs. By the way, did you write this or you had some help? ;)

Now to all applicants, prospective applicants:
Good luck and be careful what you read, do more research, use all information you can get. Do not do the “wishful thinking”.
Once again, if you cannot aim for top programs, then extend your search to the top six programs.

Good luck to you all to get in your “dream” program (not college ;))

Isn't the program part of the college.... I did not see any confusion or misleading here and I am not twist anything here. Of course, if someone really wants to be confused, no one can stop him.

Anyway, I really hope that this sharing from a current MFE student is helpful for those who are really choosing a program to go or really in a dilemma. What I am sharing is my true experience in MFE, and if you have more questions regarding the registration process, you can also email the registration office to get a more official answer.
 
Isn't the program part of the college.... I did not see any confusion or misleading here and I am not twist anything here. Of course, if someone really wants to be confused, no one can stop him.

Anyway, I really hope that this sharing from a current MFE student is helpful for those who are really choosing a program to go or really in a dilemma. What I am sharing is my true experience in MFE, and if you have more questions regarding the registration process, you can also email the registration office to get a more official answer.

Thank you for sharing your experience, Sophia. As a prospective student, I can assure you it didn't come across as misleading or confusing, not to me at least. I appreciate the insights you gave us here.
 
I
Sophia, you said you received an offer and not that you accepted as well, the confusion comes from there. Congrats.

To me your post is more “recruiting students” post which is fine. However, it makes me wonder, does the program need this, it is not doing well?


You said:

“The registration process is just like all the U.S colleges, second-year students choose first and all the students in the same year have their enrollment appointment at the same time”.


About this, if you want to help prospective applicants, you should check with an administrator in your program since it may be misleading future applicants, we do not talk about colleges in US but about MFE programs right? Interesting twist…

This does not happen in many other programs. By the way, did you write this or you had some help? ;)

Now to all applicants, prospective applicants:
Good luck and be careful what you read, do more research, use all information you can get. Do not do the “wishful thinking”.
Once again, if you cannot aim for top programs, then extend your search to the top six programs.

Good luck to you all to get in your “dream” program (not college ;))
I agree that this Sophia person seems sketchy. They made an account on Tuesday and so active on it as well. What’s the chance you make an account to tak about how much you love NYU mfe just before the deadline ???
 
I am sorry for asking a basic question: Columbia Mafn means - masters in Financial Engineering course are you talking about? I got an offer from Columbia Financial Engineering and NYU Tandon and UCLA. so I am also confused. But the fact that Colmbia offers many programs, i wanted to confirm if we are talking about same financial engineering course or something else.
 
I am sorry for asking a basic question: Columbia Mafn means - masters in Financial Engineering course are you talking about? I got an offer from Columbia Financial Engineering and NYU Tandon and UCLA. so I am also confused. But the fact that Colmbia offers many programs, i wanted to confirm if we are talking about same financial engineering course or something else.
mafn means master in mathematics finance. Congrats on the MFE admission! It's a tier 1 program better than Tandon and UCLA (tier 2 I think). Do you mind sharing some info about your backgroud? Still waiting for Columbia MFE stressfully...
 
GRE - 325 , CFA level 3 cleared and work ex in Investment bank Global Market dept.

Do you know approx cost for Columbia MFE?

and they are sending out invites on weekly basis. Last Friday they started. then Today few admits were sent out. so be positive :)
 
GRE - 325 , CFA level 3 cleared and work ex in Investment bank Global Market dept.

Do you know approx cost for Columbia MFE?

and they are sending out invites on weekly basis. Last Friday they started. then Today few admits were sent out. so be positive :)
Thanks a lot! Sorry I don't know the cost... It will be more expensive than Tandon, but I believe this program worths it!
 
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