COMPARE NYU MSMF vs Columbia MFE

[lffei]

Go to NYU. Columbia's career services is s**i. There isn't enough resources for all the students to recruit. Also the OR program cuts into the employment poll. Dont do it... So not worth it.

 

[adam.adam]

Go to NYU. Columbia's career services is s**i. There isn't enough resources for all the students to recruit. Also the OR program cuts into the employment poll. Dont do it... So not worth it.

Are you an MFE student at Columbia?

 

[ranpo]

I'm now facing the same problem...

 

[adam.adam]

I'm now facing the same problem...

Me too... Columbia's March 3rd deadline is coming up so fast!

 

[lsjaaa]

Me too... Columbia's March 3rd deadline is coming up so fast!

I'm now facing the same problem...

Send a brief email to NYU to ask for early decision; it is free to send an email.
Tell them that you have been admitted by Columbia.

We will receive unexpected surprise~!

 

[adam.adam]

Send a brief email to NYU to ask for early decision; it is free to send an email.
Tell them that you have been admitted by Columbia.

We will receive unexpected surprise~!

I've been admitted to NYU too It's just tough to decide between the two!

 

[Varun Dubey]

I've been admitted to NYU too It's just tough to decide between the two!

Depends on what you want to pursue after getting the degree

 

[adam.adam]

I'm interested in quantitative strategy and trading...

Depends on what you want to pursue after getting the degree

 

[ranpo]

I'm interested in quantitative strategy and trading...

Me too…

 

[Varun Dubey]

I'm interested in quantitative strategy and trading...

Me too…

NYU MathFin is more inclined towards research and strategies making it a suitable choice for you.
All in all it's more hardcore and selective than Columbia MFE, plus a stronger career service (smaller applicant pool and resume books being sent out).

Just my $0.02

 

[Mensa]

Columbia MFE definitely has better placement result and reputation than NYU's MMF.

I have a friend in NYU, who told me he screwed up in a quant interview because he don't know C++. He wanted to answer questions by JAVA, but the interviewer said "I don't know JAVA and our work never use it as well."

Everyone likes to mention the Courant Institute at NYU, but man you are going to attend a M.S. program, employment - oriented, instead of Ph.D.

PLUS: my friend finally got offer from another big IB. NYU MMF is always one of the top programs, with almost 100% placement rates for summer internship. That's just a point I proposed for you to consider.

 

[Varun Dubey]

Columbia MFE definitely has better placement result and reputation than NYU's MMF.

I have a friend in NYU, who told me he screwed up in a quant interview because he don't know C++. He wanted to answer questions by JAVA, but the interviewer said "I don't know JAVA and our work never use it as well."

Everyone likes to mention the Courant Institute at NYU, but man you are going to attend a M.S. program, employment - oriented, instead of Ph.D.

And how is NYU responsible for that? You're supposed to research the company beforehand. You're expected to have a strong programming background before attending these programs as they will only guide you in solving certain problems instead of teaching you languages in totality.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

I have a friend in NYU, who told me he screwed up in a quant interview because he don't know C++. He wanted to answer questions by JAVA, but the interviewer said "I don't know JAVA and our work never use it as well."

Did your friend not know beforehand?

 

[Mensa]

And how is NYU responsible for that? You're supposed to research the company beforehand. You're expected to have a strong programming background before attending these programs as they will only guide you in solving certain problems instead of teaching you languages in totality.

That's why I said "he screwed up" -- his own responsibility. But NYU MMF candidates mostly graduated with math degree, so many of them didn't have enough programming experience before. You can definitely learn those necessary stuff by yourself, but it takes you more extra time, especially under the intense mandatory studies.

 

[Mensa]

Did your friend not know beforehand?

He knew, probably, so that's his responsibility for screwing up, but not everyone is able to/has enough time to learn C++ by themselves.

 

[DanImp]

He knew, probably, so that's his responsibility for screwing up, but not everyone is able to/has enough time to learn C++ by themselves.

I don't know your experience with programming, but they generally do not teach you programming languages at an MFE, if you know what I mean. Java is definitely a negative side, as I said, but it can't be considered as an important factor to decide which program to choose! I am also worried about that, since I am not a good programmer and I only have a little experience with C++, but I need to take into account also more concrete things... It's going to be up to me to learn C++ and this would be the same both at NYU or at Columbia.

 

[Mensa]

I don't know your experience with programming, but they generally do not teach you programming languages at an MFE, if you know what I mean. Java is definitely a negative side, as I said, but it can't be considered as an important factor to decide which program to choose! I am also worried about that, since I am not a good programmer and I only have a little experience with C++, but I need to take into account also more concrete things... It's going to be up to me to learn C++ and this would be the same both at NYU or at Columbia.

I have a Bachelor's degree in Information System. I systematically learned both C++ and Java in undergraduate, and I am also proficient in Matlab and Python. I am now a Columbia student, and I did also take a C++ for Financial Engineering course last semester.

Yes, MFEs never teach programming languages and coding, but they teach how to implement models, simulations and computational methods by programming, and give you homeworks/projects, as well as sample codes, to solve certain problems. Hence, if the programming course is JAVA-based, you have to use JAVA a lot, and through learning-by-doing, you could get proficient in JAVA.

But the problem is: it is a different thing to do that all by C++. Then you have to learn C++ by yourself, because C++ is ESSENTIAL.

If you are already a good programmer before attending this program, it is never a problem for you. To take myself as an example, I learned JAVA in my fresh man year, and then I found everything became much easier when I moved to C++, not to mention Matlab and Python. But if you have very little experience in C++, you should consider this factor carefully.

This does not affect the quality of NYU's MMF, but that's a factor I proposed for you to consider.

PLUS: Many of my friends who took the QuantNet C++ course found it's very useful. If you would like to join NYU, you may take it to enrich your programming experience.

 

[DanImp]

I have a Bachelor's degree in Information System. I systematically learned both C++ and Java in undergraduate, and I am also proficient in Matlab and Python. I am now a Columbia student, and I did also take a C++ for Financial Engineering course last semester.

Yes, MFEs never teach programming languages and coding, but they teach how to implement models, simulations and computational methods by programming, and give you homeworks/projects, as well as sample codes, to solve certain problems. Hence, if the programming course is JAVA-based, you have to use JAVA a lot, and through learning-by-doing, you could get proficient in JAVA.

But the problem is: it is a different thing to do that all by C++. Then you have to learn C++ by yourself, because C++ is ESSENTIAL.

If you are already a good programmer before attending this program, it is never a problem for you. To take myself as an example, I learned JAVA in my fresh man year, and then I found everything became much easier when I moved to C++, not to mention Matlab and Python. But if you have very little experience in C++, you should consider this factor carefully.

This does not affect the quality of NYU's MMF, but that's a factor I proposed for you to consider.

PLUS: Many of my friends who took the QuantNet C++ course found it's very useful. If you would like to join NYU, you may take it to enrich your programming experience.

I'll definitely try to enrich my programming skills. The real question is, why do they prefer Java to C++? I really don't get it. Moreover, is it still the case that the program is Java based or they have now shifted to C++ after complaints by some students?

 

[Mensa]

I'll definitely try to enrich my programming skills. The real question is, why do they prefer Java to C++? I really don't get it. Moreover, is it still the case that the program is Java based or they have now shifted to C++ after complaints by some students?

I also don't know why NYU chose to go JAVA-based…And you should ask them whether they provide an alternative choice for C++.

I remember there was a discussion about why C++. You can search that thread on QuantNet. Based on my internship experience, I find that's because many companies have their quant systems built by C++. And your work is going to implement things based on that system, so they generall require you to know C++ well. In addition, you should also be familiar with Python, Matlab, SQL, and at least one statistical software, like R, SAS, because they have a lot of work in quant analyses.

 

[DanImp]

I also don't know why NYU chose to go JAVA-based…And you should ask them whether they provide an alternative choice for C++.

I remember there was a discussion about why C++. You can search that thread on QuantNet. Based on my internship experience, I find that's because many companies have their quant systems built by C++. And your work is going to implement things based on that system, so they generall require you to know C++ well. In addition, you should also be familiar with Python, Matlab, SQL, and at least one statistical software, like R, SAS, because they have a lot of work in quant analyses.

I am learning C++ and Python now and I am pretty good with Matlab. The decision can't be based on Java vs C++ and I am just trying to understand from someone with experience of one of these programs what are the real pros and cons of each one...