COMPARE NYU MSMF vs UC Berkeley MFE vs Columbia University MAFN

[Iris T]

Hi everyone! I currently have three offers, Berkeley MFE, Columbia MAFN and NYU Courant Math Fin, and the deadlines to make deposits are really close. I have 4 years of work experience at a commercial bank in Asia as a management trainee previously and now a risk specialist (not quant). My goal is to find a quant/risk role in NYC. I am worried about the comments about Berkeley recently and I think a 1-year program will significantly lower the chances of getting a summer internship at a bank. Also, I think many graduates of the Columbia MAFN program get jobs outside of the US in regions such as HK. So this is really a difficult situation for me. Can you give me some advice? What are your reasons? Many thanks!

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Hi everyone! I currently have three offers, Berkeley MFE, Columbia MAFN and NYU Courant Math Fin, and the deadlines to make deposits are really close. I have 4 years of work experience at a commercial bank in Asia as a management trainee previously and now a risk specialist (not quant). My goal is to find a quant/risk role in NYC. I am worried about the comments about Berkeley recently and I think a 1-year program will significantly lower the chances of getting a summer internship at a bank. Also, I think many graduates of the Columbia MAFN program get jobs outside of the US in regions such as HK. So this is really a difficult situation for me. Can you give me some advice? What are your reasons? Many thanks!

Congrats on your admits. Many applicants wish they can be in your position.
We’d greatly appreciate it if you could add your application timelines to the Tracker! Your data helps us generate valuable insights and tools that benefit the entire QuantNet community. Thank you for your support!

The current job market is really tough so many MFE programs will find it challenging to place graduates into relevant high paying jobs in the US. Getting a visa sponsorship in the political climate is not what it used to be in the past.
Risk jobs are not as competitive as QT/QR/QD jobs. It's a good work life balance job and I know many people are happy with it.

 

[Iris T]

Congrats on your admits. Many applicants wish they can be in your position.
We’d greatly appreciate it if you could add your application timelines to the Tracker! Your data helps us generate valuable insights and tools that benefit the entire QuantNet community. Thank you for your support!

The current job market is really tough so many MFE programs will find it challenging to place graduates into relevant high paying jobs in the US. Getting a visa sponsorship in the political climate is not what it used to be in the past.
Risk jobs are not as competitive as QT/QR/QD jobs. It's a good work life balance job and I know many people are happy with it.

Sure, Andy. I have updated the tracker for these programs.

I think I'll probably decline the offer from UCB MFE. I'm concerned about the timeline as I think getting a summer internship at a bank is pretty important for me, but it just feels not so manageable when I'm still working full-time at my current company while taking all those preparation courses required by the program. I think this program will be better for someone fully capable of finding a summer internship themselves before enrolling.

I'm leaning toward Columbia MAFN instead of NYU Courant. I guess too many rigorous math courses will just take up too much time for job search, and I learned from previous Columbia MAFN students that most courses took place in the evening and I think this will allow for more time for interviews during the day.

 

[Ascle]

Sure, Andy. I have updated the tracker for these programs.

I think I'll probably decline the offer from UCB MFE. I'm concerned about the timeline as I think getting a summer internship at a bank is pretty important for me, but it just feels not so manageable when I'm still working full-time at my current company while taking all those preparation courses required by the program. I think this program will be better for someone fully capable of finding a summer internship themselves before enrolling.

I'm leaning toward Columbia MAFN instead of NYU Courant. I guess too many rigorous math courses will just take up too much time for job search, and I learned from previous Columbia MAFN students that most courses took place in the evening and I think this will allow for more time for interviews during the day.

I am a recent graduate from the MAFN and can confirm the program has been vastly improving in the last few years, thanks mainly to the work done by Izabela and the other members of the career service team. The new program director seems pretty ambitious on getting the overall quality even better. Feel free to DM me if you'd like to chat.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Nothing is better than from an endorsement from a recent graduate. Thank you @Ascle for your input.
We are looking forward to all the changes being made in the program.
Can I ask you to write a review for the program?

Columbia University - MA in Mathematics of Finance - Reviews

quantnet.com

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Hi @Iris T
Curious to see if you have made a decision on where to join? Have you found out any info that can be helpful to others in similar situation?

 

[Iris T]

Hi @Iris T
Curious to see if you have made a decision on where to join? Have you found out any info that can be helpful to others in similar situation?

Hi Andy, I will join Columbia MAFN. I've talked to several friends who have been through job hunting in the US. What I conclude is that I can't expect a program to work wonders. Students within a program can vary a lot, so instead of relying too much on statistics, I should try to have faith in myself and get prepared. I'm fine with risk management and have no intention to seek a quant research role, so a longer program that starts in the fall is safer for me. That's why I chose to decline the offer from Berkeley.

Also, I got an unofficial offer from GaTech QCF by the end of March asking if I was still interested. It was great talking with Laura in the interview and the program is more affordable than Columbia MAFN, but I declined this opportunity anyways since it came a bit late and I'm more familiar with NYC, and my application got withdrawn by them afterwards.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Hi Andy, I will join Columbia MAFN. I've talked to several friends who have been through job hunting in the US. What I conclude is that I can't expect a program to work wonders. Students within a program can vary a lot, so instead of relying too much on statistics, I should try to have faith in myself and get prepared. I'm fine with risk management and have no intention to seek a quant research role, so a longer program that starts in the fall is safer for me. That's why I chose to decline the offer from Berkeley.

Also, I got an unofficial offer from GaTech QCF by the end of March asking if I was still interested. It was great talking with Laura in the interview and the program is more affordable than Columbia MAFN, but I declined this opportunity anyways since it came a bit late and I'm more familiar with NYC, and my application got withdrawn by them afterwards.

Hi Iris,
Thank you for sharing your thought process. I'm sure it will be beneficial to other members as well.
It's interesting to learn about your GaTech QCF offer as well. I'm curious to see whether they will count you as an applicant or not in their admission stats.