COMPARE NYU vs Columbia MSOR: internship, job, quality of life etc...

[drtictac]

Hi everyone! First of all, thanks for this awesome website, I found a lot of very valuable information here. I got admitted to NYU and Columbia MSOR and I'm still wondering which one I should choose...
I got a few specific questions to help me make a decision.

1. I have a French engineering degree in quantitative finance (master equivalent) and I did only one intership in the economic departement of a French Embassy. I don't have an experience in finance. Given that the MSOR ends in may/june, is it possible to get an intership (I don't care if it's much longer than a summer) and then a full-time job as trader or structurer ? I see on banks website that you usually need to apply for a full-time position 6 to 9 months ahead... and I guess you can't get a job when you haven't done an intership yet.

2. I checked my unviersities alumni website and saw that most of the students who gradueted from NYU got more quantitative oriented jobs: algo trading, quant, structurer, one exotic options trader while those who gradueted from Columbia got more trading oriented jobs. Is that a general trend ?

3. Also, a 2010 Columbia MSOR alumni told me that there is very little difference between the MSFE and MSOR apart from the summer courses that only MSFE take. I already received an extensive training in quantitative finance so these extra-courses do not really make a difference to me. That alumni told me that even banks make little difference between MSOR and MSFE. Is that true ?

4. Is the NYU courses schedule made to to fit part-timers with most of the courses held during late evening ? In that case, what do students do during the day. How is it different from Columbia ?

5. NYU is much better located than Columbia. However, I don't know if there is a kind of campus atmosphere in Columbia ; I refer to housing on campus, sport fields, students parties etc... I wonder also how expensive it is to live near NYU rather than near Columbia since NYU is in Soho...

I was first prefering Columbia over NYU because the Columbia brand is more prestigious and the program's length is shorter which also makes it less expensive when you consider all living expenses ($80.000 9 months vs $100.000 16 months). Now I am switching to NYU because I doubt finding a job just after an intership will be doable.

Thanks!

 

[iniesta]

NYU

 

[drtictac]

- Why did you get into that program ?
- Because iniesta told me so

 

[Lin]

- Why did you get into that program ?
- Because iniesta told me so

lol

the dude takes so much time and effort to ask his questions and all he gets is NYU!!
Andy, I think its high time you banned one word answers

 

[Sherlock]

The courses of the two programs are pretty different. See which ones fit your interests and goals better. I guess you don't want to end up studying something you don't really enjoy. Abroad Columbia's name is of course bigger than NYU, but in NYU and especially in the finance world I believe people would respect NYU Mathematics of Finance program more than Columbia MSOR. About the internship I have read many many times that it is really important to have one. I would therefore go with NYU in case the money is not a problem. Good Luck.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

- Why did you get into that program ?
- Because iniesta told me so

It pretty much describes how many people have chosen their future
I'm afraid you are comparing apple and orange. MSOR is not designed to be comparable to Columbia MSFE or NYU MSFM program. It's true that some MSOR graduates end up in similar jobs like graduates of the two aforementioned programs but keep in mind that many MSOR students wanted to get into MSFE program in the first place.

Do you like to work in consulting, operation research roles that is traditionally for MSOR grads or you must be in quant finance? If it's the later, then go to NYU.

Not so long ago, NYU was pretty popular with French students. I would see many of them from the elite Ecole Poly. That trend is not that visible in the recent years. And when admitted to both NYU and Columbia MSFE, many of these Frenchmen chose Columbia because it comes down to one thing: brand name.

5. While Columbia has a traditional campus compared to many universities in the city, you are not likely to enjoy any of those campus perks. You will go to class, go study, go home for one quick year/ year and a half without having time on other things like an undergrad student can. So in this sense, being at Columbia has marginal benefit over being at NYU, or for that matter, being housed in a few rooms at CMU MSCF.
They are there for you but you won't have time to use or even notice them. How much would you be willing to pay extra for them?

4. Any program that has part-time students will have class starting at 5:30-6pm. NYU, Baruch, CMU are in that group. Full-time only programs usually have earlier classes. Regardless, students everywhere will spend the time outside of class studying, doing HW. The benefit of having earlier class is that you can get out earlier and can attend industry/networking events that are usually after hours. Getting out of class at 9PM and trying to make it home in the winter is really tough.

3. Of course an MSOR alumni will tell you they are no second class to MSFE students. Why would he said otherwise?

2. I do not know if you refer to graduates of the two universities or two respective programs we are discussing here. In any case, a trading related job is pretty ambiguous term and is far from a trader position which many graduates with no relevant experience will not get, regardless of which university.

1. You can extend the program another semester to fit in an internship. That's what they offer for the MSFE students. Check with the MSOR program. As I mention in 2), you should not expect to become a trader right of school with no relevant experience. If you are lucky and interview with a group that is run by a Frenchman from your alma mater, you may get as close to an ideal position as you can. So time to go searching for those Frenchmen and networking with them.