COMPARE Princeton vs. CMU scholarship

[ferdowsi]

I have until Sunday to decide to which school I'll be going next year. Princeton is 2 years, vs. 1.5 years for CMU, plus I have a rather substantial scholarship to CMU. Princeton's network, though, seems more impressive. I've been contacted by both junior and senior industry people encouraging me to attend Princeton and letting me know they can answer any questions I have.

When I started the process, I would have been extremely happy with either of these offers, but having to turn one down makes this choice a bit excruciating.

What do you guys think? I'd appreciate any advice, especially from industry recruiting/hiring perspectives.

 

[alain]

when in doubt, you can always use my "flip a coin" technique.

 

[DMD]

The programs are very different. Which curriculum, faculty, location do you like better?


Congratulations, by the way.

 

[toucheternalck]

i am in position to advice you about this but i am seriously intrigued looking at your tracker. you have been rejected by Cornell and Columbia and admitted by CMU and Princeton i mean how does this happen?

 

[gradaplicant]

i am in position to advice you about this but i am seriously intrigued looking at your tracker. you have been rejected by Cornell and Columbia and admitted by CMU and Princeton i mean how does this happen?

Yes, I would think that if you are accepted into CMU and Princeton, that Columbia and Cornell would be a sure thing! I myself got rejected by both CMU and Princeton, but accepted into both Columbia and Cornell.

If I were to say my own personal opinion, I would choose Princeton. The name is just to damn big to reject!

 

[Oxer]

I would bet my odds on the weightage the schools assign to your GRE scores. my vote would be for Princeton although holistically both programs are top notch. IMHO, If cash is an issue go for the scholarship, otherwise go for Princeton.

 

[DMX]

1. do you want to a super quant education or a more general finance education peppered with quant classes (CMU for the former, Princeton for the latter) 2. how much is the cost difference? will you go into debt? unless you can save 60K+ by going to CMU I would do Princeton. Like most people said, the name is just too big to ignore. Congratulations on amazing offers and I am sure you will do fine whereever you go

 

[ferdowsi]

when in doubt, you can always use my "flip a coin" technique.

By that, I assume you mean flip a coin, and if I want to flip again, then just choose the other result? The problem is that will lead me to the emotional response, which may not be the right one.

 

[ferdowsi]

The programs are very different. Which curriculum, faculty, location do you like better?


Congratulations, by the way.

Thanks. Location would be almost the same: NYC vs. NJ suburbs. Trying to investigate Princeton's curriculum a little more.

 

[ferdowsi]

i am in position to advice you about this but i am seriously intrigued looking at your tracker. you have been rejected by Cornell and Columbia and admitted by CMU and Princeton i mean how does this happen?

Actually, my Cornell WL got turned into an acceptance today. Not sure about Columbia. Stranger still is getting rejected to MIT, which seemed to happen to a few Princeton acceptances. I assume I got rejected to Chicago too since they seems to have sent out many acceptances but no rejections.

These things happen. I did my undergrad at Harvard; I knew several people, including myself, that got into Harvard and Yale but got WL to Brown.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

These things happen. Admission process has something to do with raising yield and if you are perceived as having little chance to enroll if admitted, it's conceivable that you may not get admitted.
The ultimate goal for admission officers is to have lowest acceptance rate and highest yield possible while attracting the most qualified candidates. They usually can only get 2 out of the 3.

As for OP, it's not a bad place to be in when you have to pick between the #1 and #2 ranked program in the 2011 Quantnet MFE ranking.

 

[bigwx]

Actually, my Cornell WL got turned into an acceptance today. Not sure about Columbia. Stranger still is getting rejected to MIT, which seemed to happen to a few Princeton acceptances. I assume I got rejected to Chicago too since they seems to have sent out many acceptances but no rejections.

These things happen. I did my undergrad at Harvard; I knew several people, including myself, that got into Harvard and Yale but got WL to Brown.

just because you guys are overqualified

 

[ferdowsi]

1. do you want to a super quant education or a more general finance education peppered with quant classes (CMU for the former, Princeton for the latter) 2. how much is the cost difference? will you go into debt? unless you can save 60K+ by going to CMU I would do Princeton. Like most people said, the name is just too big to ignore. Congratulations on amazing offers and I am sure you will do fine whereever you go

Thanks. I do want a quant education, but my finance background is very weak. I have no work experience in finance (though some in energy trading). The difference is quite substantial. Ignoring opportunity cost, the difference is probably a little under 60K. I've spent a lot more time in school than working, so I'll definitely be going into debt for Princeton, and possibly for CMU too once living expenses are factored in. I don't mind going into debt. I assumed I would when I started applying to MFE programs.

 

[toucheternalck]

Actually, my Cornell WL got turned into an acceptance today. Not sure about Columbia. Stranger still is getting rejected to MIT, which seemed to happen to a few Princeton acceptances. I assume I got rejected to Chicago too since they seems to have sent out many acceptances but no rejections.

These things happen. I did my undergrad at Harvard; I knew several people, including myself, that got into Harvard and Yale but got WL to Brown.

hmmm, i believe no selection process is perfect! while there are a few deserving candidates who get rejected, there must be some undeserving candidates who are admitted..anyways congrats on your Cornell conversion!

 

[DMD]

Actually, my Cornell WL got turned into an acceptance today. Not sure about Columbia. Stranger still is getting rejected to MIT, which seemed to happen to a few Princeton acceptances. I assume I got rejected to Chicago too since they seems to have sent out many acceptances but no rejections.

These things happen. I did my undergrad at Harvard; I knew several people, including myself, that got into Harvard and Yale but got WL to Brown.

Harvard undergrad, soon to be Princeton M.Fin. You're going to be beating the women (and recruiters) off with a stick.


Princeton is the better choice, in my opinion. Reasons include: "Princeton", tight-knit program, less vertical curriculum, no MBAs to deal with, strong faculty, beautiful campus, etc...

 

[jhstal]

You mentioned that I'd appreciate any advice, especially from industry recruiting/hiring perspectives.

And you don't care be in debt.

So, I suppose that you gonna be into industry when done with your master. Investigate the curriculum and people of both programs, then find the one most suitable for you.

PS: As you did undergrad at Harvard and choose princeton probably also for its big name ... if you wanna go CMU, get a reason to convince you first.