Master Programs Comparison: Which quant program to choose?

Programs outside of the US are not really focused on employment stats. Their stats are rarely updated. Overall, they don't have the infrastructure to collect, survey and tabulate the employment data. As a result, the salary data is very low quality.
Here is the latest employment data for ETH Zurich from risknet
Employment rate 100%
Unavailable employment data 10%
Graduates in further study 11%
Graduates employed in Banking: 33%; consulting: 10%; FinTech: 24%; academia: 18%; other sectors: 15%
Post-master’s salaries $129,156
 
I'm an Indian and have got an interview invitation from ETH Zurich for their MQF program. I wanted to ask, how much easy are employment opportunities post the degree? I couldn't find any data points. I'd to let go of my UC Berkeley MFE Admission this year because of financial constraints ( I come from a low middle class income family ) and some negative reviews from UCB Alumini. ETH Zurich MQF seems cheap but I'm having double thoughts now on employment opportunities.

Current background:
Tier 1 IIT CSE Graduate from India
Currently working as a Quant Strat Associate at a BB (~3 years of Experience)

I'm wondering if I should wait for an year and apply to UC Berkeley again or go with ETH Zurich.

My motivation is to move outside India. I'm fine with both Europe or USA but don't want to do a degree that can impact my employment opportunities afterwards. Can someone share light for a non EU citizen how's the scene of employment for ETH Zurich grads?
trust, you'll win a absolutely ridiculous amount of money if you go to ETH and do things properly. just go on their website and look at their graduate placement. this master is the best in europe by far. given the cost, I wouldn't even hesitate if I was in your position (check my tracker :p)
 
Given a lack of historical data on the conversion rate from the waitlist, it may be wise to take the best offer. Bird on one hand proverb comes to mind.
Unless CMU gives you a decision by March 21, you are making decision based on historical data.
CMU yield rate is around 60% meaning 40% of admitted applicants will go somewhere else. Where you are in this waitlist is a mystery.
 
Hello guys, which of the following courses do you think would be better considering job prospects matter a lot. I have got an admit in tandon with 8k scholarship as well. Which one should I pursue? Also, I have gotten waitlisted for the UCB Financial Engineering program so I will continue to work on that as well.
 
Cornell MFE has a $10,000 total scholarship. I am out of state for NCSU.

Some comments: I have very little industry experience in general, not to mention finance, etc., so career services takes a little more precedence than usual. I am amazed to have gotten into a high ranking ivy league school. However, unlike NCSU, I have not found anything particularly standout about Cornell's career services and placement rates (In my case, placement rate is a little more important than salary outcomes, especially when the salary outcomes are comparable), and that is a resource (career services) I might want to lean on considerably for guidance/help. The tuition costs are quite steep for Cornell over NCSU, but that is not my biggest concern. I believe that Cornell's alumni network may be a lot more valuable than that of NCSU, but I fear (perhaps unreasonably) that with my lack of experience I will not make best use of this network and may have more reliable success with NCSU's career support services. Of course, the program as a whole is very important, including the education and everything tangential, but I just wanted to note this slight bias in my mind about the decision.
 
6 admits out of 8. Congrats and thanks for sharing the results on the Tracker. It helps other members tremendously.
My impression with NCSU and their good placement stat is that they turn its location disadvantage into an advantage by working closely with the regional employers in the Charlotte/NC area.
They have a small class size (20-30s) and no competition nearby. By building relationship with smaller firms and banks that have need constant need for risk roles, they carve out a special niche where their graduates don't compete directly in the crowded NYC market.
Cornell on the other hand.
 
As far as AI in Finance goes, I know that GaTech just launched a center for finance and technology and Dr. Chava, the program director, will lead the center. They seem to put a lot of resources into this AI. In one of the recent virtual workshops, the emphasis the AI focus on their upcoming curriculum update.
I reach out to one of the program's staff and she told me.
QCF students are an integral part of the Center for Finance and Technology. Through the center, they participate in experiential learning opportunities, fund management, workshops, treks and other opportunities that the Center is creating.

Through the Financial Services Innovation Lab, QCF students participate in AI + Finance research along with the many ML PhD students working in the Lab.
I don't know what kind of future jobs AI will play in finance. It may be exciting and lucrative. It may be overhyped like blockchain. Nobody knows.
It would be good to keep current with the latest trends. Just make sure your skills are sharp, especially your C++ and Python coding ability.
 
Hey everyone,


Looking for some advice as I navigate final decisions for Fall 2025. I applied to Columbia’s MFE program but was admitted to the MSOR (Master in Operations Research) program instead. Now I’m debating whether to fully commit or keep waiting for other decisions. While a number of schools on my list haven’t released their results yet, the main question on my mind is whether I should lock in the MSOR offer, or hold out a bit longer for Columbia’s MAFN program and Cornell’s MFE (ORIE)—both of which I’m still waiting on.


I’ve looked into the MSOR curriculum and noticed that two of their tracks offer coursework that overlaps significantly with Columbia’s MFE program. So from an academic standpoint, it seems like I could still cover similar topics and prepare for a career in quantitative risk. That said, I’m wondering if MAFN or Cornell’s MFE would offer stronger positioning in terms of recruiting, career outcomes, or employer perception—especially for someone aiming for quant risk or trading roles.


Would either MAFN or Cornell’s ORIE-based MFE put me at a noticeable advantage over MSOR, or is the gap smaller than it seems? Any insight from students or alumni of these programs would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 
Hi everyone, I’m an international student currently studying math in the U.S., and I’ve received offers from CU MAFN and Oxford MCF. I’m having a hard time deciding which one to accept and would love to hear your thoughts.

I’m aware that salaries in the U.S. are way higher than in the U.K., but I’m also concerned that the competition among students in the U.S. is more intense. Personally, I don’t really mind the weather—neither NYC nor London has great weather anyway!

My main goal right now is to gain international work experience and eventually return to the APAC region for my long-term career. Given that, does anyone have insights or experiences that could help me make this decision?

Thanks in advance!
 
Hi everyone, I’m an international student currently studying math in the U.S., and I’ve received offers from CU MAFN and Oxford MCF. I’m having a hard time deciding which one to accept and would love to hear your thoughts.

I’m aware that salaries in the U.S. are way higher than in the U.K., but I’m also concerned that the competition among students in the U.S. is more intense. Personally, I don’t really mind the weather—neither NYC nor London has great weather anyway!

My main goal right now is to gain international work experience and eventually return to the APAC region for my long-term career. Given that, does anyone have insights or experiences that could help me make this decision?

Thanks in advance!

Congrats on the offers. In terms of Mathematical Finance programs, Oxford MCF and Columbia MAFN are among the best in the world.

@Andy Nguyen has previously said something about this scenario. Basically, choose the American program if you want to work in America. If not, don't choose the American program.

Basing your goals (work experience + go back to Asia), my opinion is choose the Oxford MCF because the career service there will get the summer internship for you. So what they do in Oxford MCF is you do a dissertation joint with a summer internship in the third term of the program.

It would be great if you took the MAFN because that program is more spread out and gives more options but I'm just basing it off your goals. I heard Columbia is that thing where Asian students go to but then immediately go back to Asia. Although popular, you can save $50k by taking the Oxford MCF and with 100% probability, you will achieve you "main goal".

Also, in Asia, the ones with super high prestige are: HYPSM and Oxbridge right? - Columbia is totally amazing but your goals give only one winner: Oxford MCF.

Downside is Oxford MCF is as hard as Imperial MF so...good luck with that.
 
Hi everyone,

I received an admit from University of Chicago MSFM (20K scholarship) and Cornell MFE (10k scholarship). Currently I have a background in modelling/risk side and my target roles post MFE is QR/structuring. Any inputs regarding the programs would be helpful:)

My insights: The alumni/current students were supportive of their programs, respectively. Career services is also decent in both programs. UoC might be slightly focussed on theory and Cornell slightly towards Machine learning or application side. Chicago is more colder and unsafe compared to Ithaca but alumni mentioned it is manageable. Cornell Ithaca has a beautiful campus and the third Sem will be in New York. Chicago has 4 quarters compared to Cornell which has 3 sems, making Chicago relatively intensive.
Can you please provide background and goals?
 


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