COMPARE NYU MSMF vs Stanford MS Stats

[Lyn Huang]

Hi everyone, I got accepted to these two programs. I want to find a job on Wall Street after graduation and I know NYU is a perfect choice for a career in the financial industry. But what abt the Statistics Master program at Stanford? Will it be easier for me to get a job in the financial industry (better on Wall Street)? Also in the long term, is Stanford a better choice due to its alumni network and brand name? Any comment is appreciated.

 

[Sushant]

From NYU MSMF program's resume book, I know that there is one current student in the MSMF program who joined it right after completing Stanford MS in Statistics.

 

[Lyn Huang]

From NYU MSMF program's resume book, I know that there is one current student in the MSMF program who joined it right after completing Stanford MS in Statistics.

Thx! Just saw his resume.
A friend of mine suggested I attend Stanford MS Stats first and then go to NYU... But that would be too expensive so I can only choose one. :pNYU is definitely top notch in financial engineering. The only things that stop me from joining NYU immediately are Stanford's reputation and network worldwide..

 

[Sandy_wen]

I think the reputation in wallstreet is what you need to consider, if you decide and insist to work in wall street. But, all over the world, especially in Asian countries, Stanford's reputation is very much better than NYU. You should think over about your long-term career path.

 

[IlyaKEightSix]

Unless you for sure know you want finance, then I say Stanford stats. I can't imagine an MSMF from NYU being THAT much more indicative of talent/ability than a statistics degree from Stanford. Just can't.

But as for Silicon Valley...not even a contest.

 

[Benjamin H]

If I were you, I would first go to Stanford. I would not constrain my career on finance. Also, it would a lot easier for you to "upgrade" to phd than external applicants. You can still work in IB with a math/stat phd degree.

 

[Lyn Huang]

I think the reputation in wallstreet is what you need to consider, if you decide and insist to work in wall street. But, all over the world, especially in Asian countries, Stanford's reputation is very much better than NYU. You should think over about your long-term career path.

Yeah I do hope to work in Wall Street, at least in the first few years after graduation. If I'm skilled enough in what I do by the time I go back to Asia, would you think NYU is comparable to Stanford?

 

[Lyn Huang]

Unless you for sure know you want finance, then I say Stanford stats. I can't imagine an MSMF from NYU being THAT much more indicative of talent/ability than a statistics degree from Stanford. Just can't.

But as for Silicon Valley...not even a contest.

My childhood dream is to run a business The reason why I chose maths and stats as my majors is that I think a strong background in maths will offer me most choices when applying to grad schools or hunting for a job. I don't want to become a faculty member, a scientist, or an engineer in the future so pure theory in Statistics or a career in Silicon Valley might not be the perfect path for me. I'm dead set on a job in Wall Street for the time being. Hesitated just because I'm wondering whether or not Stanford stats will get me there as easily as NYU MSMF.

 

[Lyn Huang]

If I were you, I would first go to Stanford. I would not constrain my career on finance. Also, it would a lot easier for you to "upgrade" to phd than external applicants. You can still work in IB with a math/stat phd degree.

Haha, if I successfully got accepted to Stanford stats phd program after graduation, it would take another 5 yrs before I could go hunting for a job. I'll be almost 30 then. I want a job with a master degree so I'm comparing these two programs directly~ Haven't taken a Ph.D. into consideration.

 

[wlfgngpck]

If I were you, I would first go to Stanford. I would not constrain my career on finance. Also, it would a lot easier for you to "upgrade" to phd than external applicants. You can still work in IB with a math/stat phd degree.

As someone who is finishing his PhD, I'd like to supplement this answer by saying that if you really are certain you want to work at an IB, then that is a terrible reason to do the upgrade to PhD. There are just too many years involved in getting a PhD, not to mention too much work.

I think I'm going to echo what Sandy_wen said. You should consider where you see yourself living and working. If you plan to work on Wall Street literally (i.e. stay and work in New York) and you're happy with that, then NYU is probably better and more applicable. If you're wanting to work more globally (or if you even just want to open up your options to more locations within the United States), then the Stanford name will help you a lot more. And I don't know how the Asian job market works, but I'd think that if you have a few years of experience, then that would count more than the name of your school (no matter where it is). Maybe I'm wrong, but I think a lot of people view hiring directly out of college as a bit of a gamble, and they seek to minimize that gamble by using the idea that if the applicant went to a famous school, they must be smart and are a safer bet. But that goes out the window if you've shown that you can do the job by having actually done the job before right?

Incidentally, if you come to NYU you'll get to meet me, since I'm starting there in the fall also! (Although maybe that's the statement that convinces you to go to Stanford haha :-P ).

 

[Lyn Huang]

As someone who is finishing his PhD, I'd like to supplement this answer by saying that if you really are certain you want to work at an IB, then that is a terrible reason to do the upgrade to PhD. There are just too many years involved in getting a PhD, not to mention too much work.

I think I'm going to echo what Sandy_wen said. You should consider where you see yourself living and working. If you plan to work on Wall Street literally (i.e. stay and work in New York) and you're happy with that, then NYU is probably better and more applicable. If you're wanting to work more globally (or if you even just want to open up your options to more locations within the United States), then the Stanford name will help you a lot more. And I don't know how the Asian job market works, but I'd think that if you have a few years of experience, then that would count more than the name of your school (no matter where it is). Maybe I'm wrong, but I think a lot of people view hiring directly out of college as a bit of a gamble, and they seek to minimize that gamble by using the idea that if the applicant went to a famous school, they must be smart and are a safer bet. But that goes out the window if you've shown that you can do the job by having actually done the job before right?

Incidentally, if you come to NYU you'll get to meet me, since I'm starting there in the fall also! (Although maybe that's the statement that convinces you to go to Stanford haha :-P ).

Aha I saw your profile in Tracker~ super strong! Thanks for your long reply!
I think doing a PhD first & going for a job after that is OK but neither "MS Stats --> PhD --> job" nor "PhD --> MSMF --> job" is in my plan~ Also I didn't apply to PhD programs:p

I like NYC, it's a lovely place (at least it looks attractive in the photos I've seen ) so even if I went to Stanford I would still try my best to get a job in NYC~ Looks like NYU is much better if I ignore Stanford name... Maybe I'll meet you at NYU this fall, haha

 

[Sandy_wen]

Yeah I do hope to work in Wall Street, at least in the first few years after graduation. If I'm skilled enough in what I do by the time I go back to Asia, would you think NYU is comparable to Stanford?

If you plan to go back to Asia, Stanford is much well-known than NYU. But years later, will you really go back to Asia? Who knows? It just start when you come to US, come to NYU or Stanford. Lots of choices are waiting for you!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

If people pay attention lately, a lot of discussion has been on stats program. We have recruiters mention MS Stats program may give more utilities than MFE programs, specially those that have a more financial application bend to it.
With talk of Big Data on the news, I feel it is opening more opportunities for Stats grads where finance industry is just one potential hiring field.
All the talk about brand name is nonsense. You don't want to miss the forest for the trees.

 

[wlfgngpck]

Aha I saw your profile in Tracker~ super strong! Thanks for your long reply!
I think doing a PhD first & going for a job after that is OK but neither "MS Stats --> PhD --> job" nor "PhD --> MSMF --> job" is in my plan~ Also I didn't apply to PhD programs:p

I like NYC, it's a lovely place (at least it looks attractive in the photos I've seen ) so even if I went to Stanford I would still try my best to get a job in NYC~ Looks like NYU is much better if I ignore Stanford name... Maybe I'll meet you at NYU this fall, haha

Haha thanks for the compliment. I saw your profile on the tracker also, very strong yourself! (Have you gotten into every school you've applied to so far? That is so good!) Doing a PhD just sucks in general, so be glad that's not in your plan haha.

Regardless of what you choose, it seems like you're going to have a lot of good options available. I'm sure that's exciting! Best of luck in whatever you choose.

 

[Lyn Huang]

If you plan to go back to Asia, Stanford is much well-known than NYU. But years later, will you really go back to Asia? Who knows? It just start when you come to US, come to NYU or Stanford. Lots of choices are waiting for you!

Thx for pointing that out, haha~ I know there must be so many choices awaiting either I go to Stanford or NYU. Going back to Asia is probably not in my plan in the next five to ten yrs. BTW I contacted the current NYU student that Sushant mentioned and he strongly recommended NYU regarding my career goal.

 

[Lyn Huang]

If people pay attention lately, a lot of discussion has been on stats program. We have recruiters mention MS Stats program may give more utilities than MFE programs, specially those that have a more financial application bend to it.
With talk of Big Data on the news, I feel it is opening more opportunities for Stats grads where finance industry is just one potential hiring field.
All the talk about brand name is nonse. You don't want to miss the forest for the trees.

Thx Andy I've studied Statistics for two years and I found that I'm somewhat talented at this major (excluding the measure theory part, haha). So if the managers or HRs prefer Stats grads I think I can self-study grad-level Statistics while doing a master in financial maths. My weakness is lack of knowledge in finance for the time being. That's why most programs I applied to are MFE programs.

 

[Lyn Huang]

Haha thanks for the compliment. I saw your profile on the tracker also, very strong yourself! (Have you gotten into every school you've applied to so far? That is so good!) Doing a PhD just sucks in general, so be glad that's not in your plan haha.

Regardless of what you choose, it seems like you're going to have a lot of good options available. I'm sure that's exciting! Best of luck in whatever you choose.

Not every school~ some stats programs throw me direct rejections~ and got a hold status from UCB due to lack in finance background (and many addl requirements like CFA along with that ). I've declined most of the rest offers. Now just having a hard time struggling between these two.:D

 

[wlfgngpck]

Not every school~ some stats programs throw me direct rejections~ and got a hold status from UCB due to lack in finance background (and many addl requirements like CFA along with that ). I've declined most of the rest offers. Now just having a hard time struggling between these two.:D

I see. Still pretty good though, and honestly not a bad choice to have to make right?

 

[Lyn Huang]

I see. Still pretty good though, and honestly not a bad choice to have to make right?

Here's what I thought like most Chinese applicants, 'although I know Harvard will reject me, I will regret for the rest of my life by not applying! (which means I cannot see the rejection letter with my own eyes:p)' -- and I did see it for myself in the end~

Having multiple options is what I haven't expected, haha. BTW one current MSMF student told me many of them live in Newport. Maybe you can check the housing info there if you haven't decided to live on campus or rented an apartment

 

[hammingbird]

Lyn, Congratulations on the great Admits!

BTW one current MSMF student told me many of them live in Newport. Maybe you can check the housing info there if you haven't decided to live on campus or rented an apartment

Newport / Jersey City / Hoboken are great places to live, and of course unbeatable access to NYC.