Master Programs Comparison: Which quant program to choose?

[Jorge Luis Montano Aguilera]

Could someone elaborate on why it's hard to find a job or get a visa after graduation in the UK? (for international students) I got an offer from UCL in their FRM programme and would greatly appreciate your comments

 

[sidg]

Evan.. I think I am driven towards the US, mainly because of the variety of job opportunities offered by the country. I have applied to some other unis in the US and I am awaiting their decisions. But from what I hear, the Asian market for financial services is thriving, and so is Singapore. And also SMU is way cheaper than most unis in the States. Which is why I'm considering it. Unless I'm hit by an irrefutably amazing offer from the US unis, Singapore would be on the list.

 

[evan guggenheim]

Evan.. I think I am driven towards the US, mainly because of the variety of job opportunities offered by the country. I have applied to some other unis in the US and I am awaiting their decisions. But from what I hear, the Asian market for financial services is thriving, and so is Singapore. And also SMU is way cheaper than most unis in the States. Which is why I'm considering it. Unless I'm hit by an irrefutably amazing offer from the US unis, Singapore would be on the list.

@sidg , Thanks for the info. I've wanted to work in finance in south east asia since UG, but it was a challenge getting internships due to language barrier they created. I'll have to look into the SMU, that seems interesting. At any rate, I agree with you, it is booming over there and if you get there in time you probably will get a slice of the pie.

 

[PranavD]

I just want to mention that we have reviews of CQF by their delegates

Review of Certificate in Quantitative Finance (CQF) program

This review was submitted on 1/24/2010 by a student who studied in the certificate program from 1/2010-6/2010 Can you tell us a bit about your background? University Gold Medalist in Information Technology, Linux Kernel Developer, Was working as analyst in Lehman Brothers and knew the basics of...

quantnet.com

And reviews for over dozen MFE programs

Resources

www.quantnet.com

I am not able to access the reviews. Please help

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I am not able to access the reviews. Please help

The links have been updated and fixed.

 

[blahblah]

Hey there, wanted to get an idea of the strengths of both programs and specifically, which one is better for a fresh undergrad - from the job perspective and the environment in both schools.

Thanks!

 

[kabirrr]

Hey guys,

I got an admit from the above 3, could you please help me list out the pros and cons for each.
I'm also adding a poll!

Thanks!

 

[kabirrr]

Hey guys,

I got an admit from the above 3, could you please help me list out the pros and cons for each.
I'm also adding a poll!

Thanks!

Bump for more replies

 

[blahblah]

bump.

Any insights would be helpful - thanks in advance!

 

[wayne_g]

Hello everyone for 23Fall I applied all these 4 quant programs and recently I've already heard from NYU (admitted) and Cornell (waitlisted).

I know all of them are very prestigious programs in preparing competitive quant students for a long time, and I really wish to hear more updated information & opinions from people in comparing these programs.

By the way, I have to deposit for NYU by the end of March while Cornell informed me that the last decision for me would by 15th, April. Should I email Cornell with offer from NYU to ask for the decision ASAP? I'd really appreciate every comment you left here, thank you so much!

 

[CourantMathFinance]

I think the right choice is obvious, but maybe I'm biased. I just want to say that if you have any questions about the Courant Math Finance program that will help you decide, please post here or message me.

 

[wayne_g]

I think the right choice is obvious, but maybe I'm biased. I just want to say that if you have any questions about the Courant Math Finance program that will help you decide, please post here or message me.

My primary concern is the career service actually. I have talked to several of my seniors, one of them is in Cornell CFEM Class 2022, he suggested Cornell has a better career service than any other comparable program in NYC, but maybe he is biased considering he is from Cornell...

 

[johnnyb]

I think there is bias everywhere -- but my North Star for choosing a program has been reaching out to as many alumni as possible, asking the same questions to pick their brains, and then choosing which school aligns with your best interests and where you can see yourself. Sounds cliche, I know. All of these schools are great programs and it ultimately comes down to what role you think you are seeking after graduation and what school will help you the most in achieving that.

 

[wayne_g]

I think there is bias everywhere -- but my North Star for choosing a program has been reaching out to as many alumni as possible, asking the same questions to pick their brains, and then choosing which school aligns with your best interests and where you can see yourself. Sounds cliche, I know. All of these schools are great programs and it ultimately comes down to what role you think you are seeking after graduation and what school will help you the most in achieving that.

Definitely second that. Perhaps all potential MFE students should learn as much as possible about different available programs before their ultimate decision, especially from alumni.

 

[kabirrr]

Hi could you all please help me with a pros and cons analysis of both these universities!

Thanks

 

[AppliedMath]

From the 2023 rankings

3	University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA Financial Engineering 4.75 star(s)20 reviews	93	4.0	88%	100%	87%	$169,634	$78,142	78 FT, 7 PT
4	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA/New York, NY Computational Finance 4.92 star(s)38 reviews	91	4.1	88%	96%	88%	$132,291	$92,534	96 FT

Berkeley is a 1-year program. That goes against them. You're paying 78K to do portfolio-building projects, get the brand name and make a quick career transition. What do I mean by this? 1 year @ Berkeley = Projects + Rebranding. Example you take someone adept Statistics, and intro them to Data Science. They realize it's 80% the same, learn the other 20% and do DS-based projects that potential employers would like. Berkeley pro vs CMU... California. Even though the city of Berkeley itself is a bit run down and overpriced, in comparison to NYC it's cheap, and you have the rest of the Bay Area of California to enjoy.

If you want to learn quant finance, do a 2-year program, and in this case go to CMU. CMU downside... New York City. Yes. It being in NYC is worse than the 93K price tag. Haha.

You should do a course curriculum comparison. Also, talk to representatives of the program to find out which elective can be taken and why. Sometimes electives require enough people to sign-up/vote/enroll in, for them to take place. See if and when that is the case.

Also, where do you want to work? Which state would you prefer? Which companies? Buy or Sell? You should message people who went to those programs on LinkedIn to get some insight.

 

[QuantEnthuYash]

When did you recieve the admit for UCLA?
I just got an email, they have recieved my interview and they are going decide on rolling basis.

 

[Ridmod]

Replying for better visibility

 

[Qui-Gon]

I think you cannot go wrong with either program, but would give an edge to Cornell for their CFEM seminar series and the CFEM resources in general (Cornell Financial Engineering Manhattan | Operations Research and Information Engineering). The UCLA MFE does seem to place well into Los Angeles-based asset managers and hedge funds, e.g. WAMCO, Sancus, so if staying in LA is of interest to you and/or you are leaning towards wanting to work on the buy-side, I would perhaps place more weight on UCLA. Ending where I started, I really think you cannot go wrong with either.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

There is a post by a UCLA MFE student sharing his thoughts on why he chose the program. Worth reading to get a first hand experience.

UCLA MFE - Why UCLA Anderson MFE

If I were to sum it up in one word, it would be FACULTY. The professors in this program are subject-matter experts who love to teach. I have really enjoyed my learning experience. The students: My classmates come from various technical backgrounds with varied experiences. This makes the group...

quantnet.com