COMPARE MIT MFin vs Columbia MAFN

[Jet Cheng]

hey guys, I have posted a poll couple of days ago. The things have gone even more complicated for me. I have received MIT MFIN admission and it will start in july 1.

for one whose interest lies in trading and asset mgmt, which is a better choice? CU mafn concentrates more in math and stats while MIT MFIN seems a little bit otherwise.

thank you for your inputs.

 

[GoIllini]

MIT is a stronger program if you just want a front office banking or consulting job.

Columbia has a great program, but it's getting too confusing with their plethora of graduate MS degrees. MSFE and MSOR are both great programs. MAFN I believe has a lot of part-time students who are working in back office IT during the day.

If you want a front office job, MIT is *probably* the better bet.

 

[Finance Applicant]

MIT for IB and consulting. MAFN for anything quant

 

[Jet Cheng]

MIT for IB and consulting. MAFN for anything quant

thx. this is kindof my worries too....quant or asset mgmt is my professional ambition but MIT seems to provide a bigger stage.

 

[Jet Cheng]

MIT is a stronger program if you just want a front office banking or consulting job.

Columbia has a great program, but it's getting too confusing with their plethora of graduate MS degrees. MSFE and MSOR are both great programs. MAFN I believe has a lot of part-time students who are working in back office IT during the day.

If you want a front office job, MIT is *probably* the better bet.

Thanks for your inputs..

I want to know what , as you mentioned, front office job is because sometimes it is a little bit confusing in different institutions.

 

[GoIllini]

Sure. A front office job in banking is Research, Sales, Trading, or working on some deal team in M&A or IPOs ("Investment Banking Division") They are the people who talk to clients and make money for the firm. Quants work in all of these divisions. They can also work in risk management or IT (not front office).

People in the front office tend to earn more and sometimes (not always) have more options with their careers than other people.

 

[C.Y.]

Hi Jet Cheng,

So I did read this post and can offer a different perspective. I did the Columbia MAFN part-time while working in my current job an EQD trader.

The MAFN is pretty quantitative and mathematical, but there are electives with which you can widen your breadth (i.e. graduate level business school classes). In my MAFN, there were still a few part-time successful traders, HFT quants (which I consider Front Office), junior PMs, research, etc. Few people in the middle of a successful career will forgo earnings and career momentum to go back to graduate school. But there will be a few who might consider doing graduate school part-time; so you will have some BO guys at MAFN trying to transition to FO, but you will also have a few FO guys within Columbia MAFN. So be open to the fact that there will be some people within MAFN that you might want to emulate or ask advice from. I find it hard to believe that the student body at MIT Fin is going to be more FO heavy than Columbia MAFN (due to location & part-time student body at MAFN).

Also, on material studied, I took a few business and EMBA (Exec MBA) classes as electives (specifically on fundamental evaluation and earnings quality since I knew least about them); those classes were definitely top notch. Columbia EMBA on the basis of being in NYC offers great networking opportunities. In terms of location, New York itself is much stronger in terms of networking than Boston if you want to pursue finance after graduation; you can get a drink with contacts at ease. Be sure to properly price the value of location.

Again, I didn't study at or ever meet anyone from the MIT Fin program, so it's hard to compare. The best is for you to seek out someone you know and ask them; they might be able to give you best advice. Hope the helps.

 

[xpl]

Hi everyone, recently I got admissions from these two programs. The deadline for deposit to Columbia is approaching and I can't decide between them. I want to be a quant in sell side after graduation, so Columbia's location is great. And compared to MIT's program, it has more quantitative finance courses. However, I read other threads and know that MAFN's employment rate is not that good. For MIT, it has great branding and better career service than Columbia, but the course schedule is not that quantitative.
Any idea or suggestion? Thanks.

 

[Michsund]

Hi everyone, recently I got admissions from these two programs. The deadline for deposit to Columbia is approaching and I can't decide between them. I want to be a quant in sell side after graduation, so Columbia's location is great. And compared to MIT's program, it has more quantitative finance courses. However, I read other threads and know that MAFN's employment rate is not that good. For MIT, it has great branding and better career service than Columbia, but the course schedule is not that quantitative.
Any idea or suggestion? Thanks.

What’s the difference in tuition. And what’s your status as in citizen, resident or foreign visa holder

 

[xpl]

What’s the difference in tuition. And what’s your status as in citizen, resident or foreign visa holder

Hi, I’m an international student, so I hold F1 visa. And for tuition, MIT is above 100k for 18m program, and MAFN is around 70k I guess? But tuition is not the deciding factor to me.

 

[Michsund]

Hi, I’m an international student, so I hold F1 visa. And for tuition, MIT is above 100k for 18m program, and MAFN is around 70k I guess? But tuition is not the deciding factor to me.

Mafn has a very rigorous curriculum which would be great if you want to be a quantitative researcher. Mit mfin is not so quant focused but you could choose to take classes to focus more on what you want. What career do you wish to pursue.

 

[xpl]

Mafn has a very rigorous curriculum which would be great if you want to be a quantitative researcher. Mit mfin is not so quant focused but you could choose to take classes to focus more on what you want. What career do you wish to pursue.

I really want to be a quantitative researcher. And that’s the reason that I can’t decide between them. I feel like maybe it’s harder for students in Boston to recruit such position in NYC’s big bank than students in NY, because there are many other great FE programs located in NY as well.

 

[Michsund]

I really want to be a quantitative researcher. And that’s the reason that I can’t decide between them. I feel like maybe it’s harder for students in Boston to recruit such position in NYC’s big bank than students in NY, because there are many other great FE programs located in NY as well.

Mafn’s Curriculum is much better for quant researchers and I would recommend you go there if that’s what you wish to pursue

 

[diegosanaz]

My brother did his masters at Columbia. The problem with MAFN is that there is this bunch of electives, some classes are large, some others not so much. But then there are students that choose all the easiest possible electives just to pass and have an easy time and those who choose the most hardcore ones and are eager to learn.

So an MAFN alumni can be a really smart guy that ir ready to do everything or a guy that can't do anything. Doing research of which electives/lecturers are good is important.

 

[xpl]

My brother did his masters at Columbia. The problem with MAFN is that there is this bunch of electives, some classes are large, some others not so much. But then there are students that choose all the easiest possible electives just to pass and have an easy time and those who choose the most hardcore ones and are eager to learn.

So an MAFN alumni can be a really smart guy that ir ready to do everything or a guy that can't do anything. Doing research of which electives/lecturers are good is important.

Thanks for your share! I really do think there are many useful electives in Columbia. And do you mind to share more opinions about MAFN’s employment?

 

[xpl]

For those who choose MIT in the vote, can you please share your reason to choose MIT? Thx a lot!!

 

[bettyqueen]

Mafn’s Curriculum is much better for quant researchers and I would recommend you go there if that’s what you wish to pursue

Agreed - between the stronger quant courses curriculum and the greater access to NYC, seems like MAFN makes a lot of sense for you. Easier to network and apply for quant roles from there. Well done getting into both of these.

 

[gautamcity]

Mafn’s Curriculum is much better for quant researchers and I would recommend you go there if that’s what you wish to pursue

Think Michsund said it best!Good luck w ur decision

 

[jackflash]

Quant Employers have an easier time understanding the Mafn Curriculum. Going the MFIN route can work, but you will have to 'market' the MFIN degree as well as yourself to quant employers, to convince them you have learn enough quant skills at MFIN. You can focus employer conversations on YOU coming out of Mafn - curriculum speaks for itself.

 

[xpl]

Agreed - between the stronger quant courses curriculum and the greater access to NYC, seems like MAFN makes a lot of sense for you. Easier to network and apply for quant roles from there. Well done getting into both of these.

Thank you. And also I’ m concerned about competing with other great fe programs in nyc if I choose MAFN. Do you have any comment on that?