Master Programs Comparison: Which quant program to choose?

MikeLawrence said:
Yeah, this is all true. From what I've read, most of El Karoui's cohort comes from the M1 and I chose not to make the distinction as the prerequisites are the same. Have you gathered the same?
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Surprisingly, I would argue the opposite. From the LinkedIn research that I have done using their database of alumni (I searched probably about 50+), I realized that most of the students actually did not come from this M1. I have not done any concrete statistics so don't quote me on that, but from what I remember, a majority seemed to come from other master programs in Paris
 
Hi everyone, I've been accepted to both these programs and would greatly appreciate your insights on their respective pros and cons.

A bit about my background : degree in applied maths (equivalent to a master's degree) from Ecole Polytechnique (top French engineering school). Would like to work as QR in the buy-side.

Thank you !
 
CJ_D said:
thanks for replying, could you tell me more about it? like, why say so?
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if you are talking about the in person program then it has the best employment stats according to the rankings. USC is a scam do not go there. You can make an argument for UIUC but none of these programs can guarantee you a BB job let alone hedge fund.
 
Hello Everyone!

I hope you have been accepted from the MFE programs that you dreamed of, and if not, I hope you get acceptance letters from there asap.
I have received admissions to Boston MSMFT and Stevens MFE, and I have had difficulty deciding where to enroll.
I only have a few days to make the final decision, so it would be really helpful if you could provide some insights on the two programs.

Some background about me: studied Economics + Computer Science in my undergrad, have full-time experience for 1.5 years in quantitative research(mostly handling factor models/portfolio optimization), International student

My goal is to 1) get a quant job in the US right after my master's graduation, 2) ideally QR in sell-side banks, and 3) finally, get a Macro QR role in hedge funds.

Heae are some information I have collected:


Reputation & alum network:
  • BU undergrad has a better reputation than Stevens, but their graduate business school rankings are similar in the US News ranking.
  • Based on BU's historical Quantnet ranking and LinkedIn, the BU alumni network would be great, but Stevens's ranking has been growing since 2021, and their BS Quantitative Finance program outcome has been amazing. Some of them choose an acceleration master's program in their school, so on Wall Street, the influence of both programs would be similar or not that different I guess.
Employment statistics:
  • According to Quantnet's job placement data, BU's employment rate has been declining since 2022. I'm also confused by the discrepancy between Quantnet's job placement data and their webpage job report data.
  • Stevens's employment rate has been growing. However, I'm unsure how many roles are related to the quant research role.
Career Service:
  • BU's career service includes a resume/CV coach, job search strategies, a mock interview, and interaction with industry experts.
  • Similarly, Stevens's career service provides personalized support through resume reviews, interview preparation, industry advice, internship and career leads, networking opportunities, and more.
  • I heard BU's director changed in 2021, and I'm not sure about BU director's industry connection.
  • Stevens's director also changed in 2019, and the director seems to have many industry connections since he has worked in various IBs on Wall Street. But I'm not sure program director's connection would be a major factor...
Curriculum:
  • Many people have said that BU's curriculum is quite rigorous mathematically, and their theoretical side is balanced with the practical one since some lecturers come from the industry side.
  • Stevens curriculum, as they said, has been renovated to provide the most relevant skills and information. Thus, there are many electives, and I like the core courses (Stochastic Calculus, Pricing, and Hedging, Computational Methods in Finance, Portfolio Theory, and Advanced Derivatives). But there's no review about Stevens's recent curriculum, so I'm wondering how hard these courses are to get me through, landing me into Hedge Funds eventually. (I know with an MFE degree, it's hard to get quant researcher roles in Hedge Funds just after graduation, but I want to know at least the necessary knowledge that I have to know for that role)
Location:
  • This is a huge point for me unfortunately. You can criticize me for this point, lol. I've never lived in NYC and only visited there last year. I really liked that moment, and I want to live there for at least a year. When I look at Boston pictures, I feel bored. Even though I can come back to NYC after graduating from BU, I don't want to postpone because I could eventually be stuck to the Boston area if I get a job there. But if there's any weak point in Stevens MFE compared to Boston MSMFE, I'll enroll in MSMFT.
  • Besides my affection for NYC, I want to start my first quant job at Bulge bracket banks because I heard these employees support visas well. So, because of this, attending the university near NYC and doing extensive networking would be better.

In short, I have concerns to BU MSMFT about its low ranking and job statistics in recent years, and its Boston location.
Stevens MFE, about the low reputation and the lack of recent curriculum reviews.

I would greatly appreciate any additional information you could provide to help me make a decision, even if it's a small or obvious one.

Thanks for reading this and have a good day!
 
Hi
A bit about my background - Trader for a proprietary trading firm (US and UK commodities) since the past 3 years. Want to broaden my horizon in the field of finance. Later want to work in a HFT firm.

Cambridge (20% Scholarship) vs Columbia (No Scholarship). Tuition cost and living in NYC will literally cost 1.7x comparatively.
I am really confused between these two programs. Columbia's program is quant focused and Cambridge's is a bit balanced. I am not very good with programming. Which one do you reckon fits my aspirations the best.

Thank you in advance.
 
Figure out where you want to work after school. London or NYC? Cost of living in NYC is higher but salary will also be higher.
Getting a job out of Columbia MFE would probably be more challenging since you will be competing against thousands of other candidates from many other programs.
If you are not good at programming, let's face it right now. You will get more job opportunities if you are better than the other graduates in coding. You will be interviewed and tested your coding ability anyway before you get an offer.
Why don't you take the C++ or Python course we offer here? They are the best on the market to prepare people for the quant industry.
 
I saw quite a few people with MFin Cambridge background (was even considering it myself) but honestly not sure if it helped them to break into the industry (especially HFT). While the Mfin programme content is ok, for Algo/Quant roles most people would still look for MMath /Statistics/Engineering from Ox/Cambridge/Imperial rather than MFin. Columbia MFE seems like a better option (and presumably more expensive) especially if you are targeting US market.

P.s. I had an interview with the candidate from Columbia once and it was all nice until he was asked to do a Python test...
 
What @Rey_De_Leon said is true. If you want to break into a more technical role where stats/machine learning/coding is involved, you need much more than what the MFin program can give.
Even if we assume the MFE programs in the US are more technical than the MFin programs, the graduates need to differentiate themselves during the screening/interview process. In the US, it's brainteaser, online coding, etc so it's a wise investment to equip yourself with a stronger coding ability when your competitors don't.
Consider you are paying 100K on average for a degree in the US, don't cheap out on the inexpensive cost to make you a stand out from the crowded market place.
 
Rey_De_Leon said:
I saw quite a few people with MFin Cambridge background (was even considering it myself) but honestly not sure if it helped them to break into the industry (especially HFT). While the Mfin programme content is ok, for Algo/Quant roles most people would still look for MMath /Statistics/Engineering from Ox/Cambridge/Imperial rather than MFin. Columbia MFE seems like a better option (and presumably more expensive) especially if you are targeting US market.

P.s. I had an interview with the candidate from Columbia once and it was all nice until he was asked to do a Python test...
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Out of curiosity, what do you mean by the last line - did he not perform well?
 
gggui said:
Out of curiosity, what do you mean by the last line - did he not perform well?
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Interested in this too - what types of skills does your firm test for in coding screens?

IME I feel like coding abilities of mfe graduates have a pretty wide distribution. are we talking like inability to write basic loops and function?
 
Having a really tough time choosing between these two. I'm looking for whatever will give the best opportunities post-grad. NCSU would be significantly cheaper but I'd rather pay the extra money if it is going to lead to significantly more opportunities when I graduate.
 
Would like to hear any insights or opinions. Appreciate your votes.

Pros of Rutgers is the location, which is Newark, closer to New York City(and my friends and bf are there). Pros of NCSU is their career service and 100% placement rate. The tuition is almost the same after the scholarship from Rutgers. I don't expect QR career after graduation. Quant risk or sell side quant are already ideal for me.
 
Would it be worth it to pay 3-4x total expenses per year to attend Stanford MCF instead of EPFL MFE?
 
Have you made your decision yet @thcreech ?
GaTech and NCSU have distinct job profiles for their location. Take a look at the main employers, job types from these programs to see where it aligns more with your career goal.
 
nlgh said:
Would it be worth it to pay 3-4x total expenses per year to attend Stanford MCF instead of EPFL MFE?
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Think of it this way. Most of your tuition goes into paying for the F1 visa, which allows you to work in the US for 3 years subsequent to graduation.

Studying a MFE is not really about the lectures or the coursework. It's about getting a job in your geography of preference. And there's relatively little chance you can land a good job in the states graduating from Switzerland.
 
Where do you want to work? MCF is a better program, two years long and rigorous- despite what @bootstrap says you will learn a ton. It is not like most MFE's, it only sorta fits into that mold, their graduates often go into Ph.D. programs. It is an academically elite program with a very applied focus.

I believe EPFL has a full semester for a required project - so even less courses- it is great if you want to work with a company nearby but not if you want to end up in the US.
 
I am from Hong Kong and hope to get a job in quant field. Overseas is preferred. Second is Hong Kong.

I was so confused.

UCB: Linda's exit impacts the program so much. most of the current students are having a hard time getting placed (most of them on Linkedin are with Open to work tag).

No helpful for getting into a good Ph.D. program in the future
IC: Less job opportunities in the UK.
 


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