Quant programs choice

Yifeifu · 2/15/24

Hey guys, I’m struggle to choose which program to go. There’re six possible choices: CMU MSCF, MIT MFin, CU MFE, CU MAFN, UChicago MSFM and Cornell MFE.

Here are my concerns:
1. CMU MSCF. This program has the highest ranking. However, I’m not sure if I can survive through its overwhelming courses.
2. MIT MFin. Best title among these six. However not sure how the financial engineering concentration performs comparing to other top ranking programs.
3. CU MFE/MAFN. Good programs, but I’ve seen so many complaints about their career services.
4. UChicago MSFM. Very good program. However located in Chicago not NYC. Not sure if the position is important.
5. Cornell MFE. Also good program, small class size, but not sure what is it’s advantages comparing to the others.
Thank you in advance for helping!

Zihao_Liu · 2/15/24

Currently in UChicago but vote for CMU

macchiato · 2/15/24

Yifeifu said:
Hey guys, I’m struggle to choose which program to go. There’re six possible choices: CMU MSCF, MIT MFin, CU MFE, CU MAFN, UChicago MSFM and Cornell MFE.

Here are my concerns:
1. CMU MSCF. This program has the highest ranking. However, I’m not sure if I can survive through its overwhelming courses.
2. MIT MFin. Best title among these six. However not sure how the financial engineering concentration performs comparing to other top ranking programs.
3. CU MFE/MAFN. Good programs, but I’ve seen so many complaints about their career services.
4. UChicago MSFM. Very good program. However located in Chicago not NYC. Not sure if the position is important.
5. Cornell MFE. Also good program, small class size, but not sure what is it’s advantages comparing to the others.
Thank you in advance for helping!

Good questions. I’m getting ahead of myself since I haven’t heard anything from CMU. However, I would have a hard time deciding between CMU and CU. Having said that, choosing between these universities is a good problem to have, so no need to despair. Good luck!

Yifeifu · 2/15/24

Zihao_Liu said:
Currently in UChicago but vote for CMU

Thank you for your suggestion. Could u please illustrate more?

Yifeifu · 2/15/24

macchiato said:
Good questions. I’m getting ahead of myself since I haven’t heard anything from CMU. However, I would have a hard time deciding between CMU and CU. Having said that, choosing between these universities is a good problem to have, so no need to despair. Good luck!

I’m in the exact same situation as you. I would probably choose from CMU and CU too if I get the offer from CMU.

_quanty_ · 2/15/24

What's your background? Currently at CMU. It's definitely a grind but people from a variety of backgrounds succeed.

Andy Nguyen · 2/15/24

It's great to be able to choose among the top ranked programs in your list.
Keep in mind that MFE is a professional terminal degree with a very high price tag so the #1 priority for every student would be to get a good, high paying job that leads you to a long and satisfying career.
If you are concerned about career service (and you should), I strongly suggest reaching out to current students (ideally those recently graduated or about to) to learn about what type of dedicated career services the program offers.
Do not be mislead by the brand name because some times, it's all there is. I keep reading reviews from many MFE students that the only career services is the same office that offers general help to every students.
At good program, there will be a team that only works with MFE students to coach them on resume, interview mock sessions, and have their own network with employers and alumni. You will not be one among thousands of resume on a desk somewhere.

I see @_quanty_ reaching out to offer his insight. Take it and try to reach out to people at other programs. We have so many of them right here on QuantNet. Use the Tracker to reach out to them. These are very valuable data points to get.

bootstrap · 2/15/24

Yifeifu said:
Hey guys, I’m struggle to choose which program to go. There’re six possible choices: CMU MSCF, MIT MFin, CU MFE, CU MAFN, UChicago MSFM and Cornell MFE.

Here are my concerns:
1. CMU MSCF. This program has the highest ranking. However, I’m not sure if I can survive through its overwhelming courses.
2. MIT MFin. Best title among these six. However not sure how the financial engineering concentration performs comparing to other top ranking programs.
3. CU MFE/MAFN. Good programs, but I’ve seen so many complaints about their career services.
4. UChicago MSFM. Very good program. However located in Chicago not NYC. Not sure if the position is important.
5. Cornell MFE. Also good program, small class size, but not sure what is it’s advantages comparing to the others.
Thank you in advance for helping!

Just curious....why would you think the CMU curriculum is more challenging than the rest?

latus_rectum · 2/15/24

Hey @Yifeifu, did you received the result for MIT already? I have my interview scheduled for tomorrow. I was under the assumption that they will finish all the interviews first and then release the results.

QuantMonkey · 2/15/24

satyam_ said:
Hey @Yifeifu, did you received the result for MIT already? I have my interview scheduled for tomorrow. I was under the assumption that they will finish all the interviews first and then release the results.

MIT results are released on Mar.8th

nonomysquant · 2/15/24

Yifeifu said:
Hey guys, I’m struggle to choose which program to go. There’re six possible choices: CMU MSCF, MIT MFin, CU MFE, CU MAFN, UChicago MSFM and Cornell MFE.

Here are my concerns:
1. CMU MSCF. This program has the highest ranking. However, I’m not sure if I can survive through its overwhelming courses.
2. MIT MFin. Best title among these six. However not sure how the financial engineering concentration performs comparing to other top ranking programs.
3. CU MFE/MAFN. Good programs, but I’ve seen so many complaints about their career services.
4. UChicago MSFM. Very good program. However located in Chicago not NYC. Not sure if the position is important.
5. Cornell MFE. Also good program, small class size, but not sure what is it’s advantages comparing to the others.
Thank you in advance for helping!

This is very impressive. I didn't even know CU MAFN decisions started coming out as historically they seem to be making decisions the latest. Just some things I have heard from talking with alumni:
- MIT Mfin: I believe the curriculum isn't necessarily quant or FE driven unless you take that sort of "path", while your other programs seem to have all students under one boat
- CMU MSCF: Heard this program is getting better year by year but is more computationally driven which isn't a bad thing unless you don't have strong enough programming skills
- CU MFE/MAFN: I've also seen some complaints but I have also heard from students, specifically in the MAFN, that the career services are improving year by year and there are a good amount of services such as mock trials, networking events, industry presentations

Please take this all with a grain of salt and do further research before you decide but good luck!

Yifeifu · 2/15/24

Andy Nguyen said:
It's great to be able to choose among the top ranked programs in your list.
Keep in mind that MFE is a professional terminal degree with a very high price tag so the #1 priority for every student would be to get a good, high paying job that leads you to a long and satisfying career.
If you are concerned about career service (and you should), I strongly suggest reaching out to current students (ideally those recently graduated or about to) to learn about what type of dedicated career services the program offers.
Do not be mislead by the brand name because some times, it's all there is. I keep reading reviews from many MFE students that the only career services is the same office that offers general help to every students.
At good program, there will be a team that only works with MFE students to coach them on resume, interview mock sessions, and have their own network with employers and alumni. You will not be one among thousands of resume on a desk somewhere.

I see @_quanty_ reaching out to offer his insight. Take it and try to reach out to people at other programs. We have so many of them right here on QuantNet. Use the Tracker to reach out to them. These are very valuable data points to get.

Hi Andy, thank you so much for this kind suggestion. I’m now trying to reach out to current students at different schools, and I’ll try to collect all the feedbacks and post them here.

Yifeifu · 2/15/24

bootstrap said:
Just curious....why would you think the CMU curriculum is more challenging than the rest?

I have many friends studying in CMU. I’ve also heard of many voices talking about the stress from CMU on the Internet.

Yifeifu · 2/15/24

latus_rectum said:
Hey @Yifeifu, did you received the result for MIT already? I have my interview scheduled for tomorrow. I was under the assumption that they will finish all the interviews first and then release the results.

No they haven’t released the decision. They will release all the decisions on March 8th at the same time.

Yifeifu · 2/15/24

nonomysquant said:
This is very impressive. I didn't even know CU MAFN decisions started coming out as historically they seem to be making decisions the latest. Just some things I have heard from talking with alumni:
- MIT Mfin: I believe the curriculum isn't necessarily quant or FE driven unless you take that sort of "path", while your other programs seem to have all students under one boat
- CMU MSCF: Heard this program is getting better year by year but is more computationally driven which isn't a bad thing unless you don't have strong enough programming skills
- CU MFE/MAFN: I've also seen some complaints but I have also heard from students, specifically in the MAFN, that the career services are improving year by year and there are a good amount of services such as mock trials, networking events, industry presentations

Please take this all with a grain of salt and do further research before you decide but good luck!

Thank you for the feedbacks. They help me a lot. Yes you are right, CU MAFN has not released its decision yet. I put it here because I need some feedback so I can choose one or two programs to pay the deposits. The deposit deadline is pretty close…

Andy Nguyen · 2/15/24

Yifeifu said:
Hi Andy, thank you so much for this kind suggestion. I’m now trying to reach out to current students at different schools, and I’ll try to collect all the feedbacks and post them here.

Thank you. Please encourage them to post a review for their programs here. That would benefit everyone and make the most impact.

marcusaurelius · 2/18/24

bootstrap said:
Just curious....why would you think the CMU curriculum is more challenging than the rest?

I'm at CMU's MSCF myself and it does seem that when speaking to people at Columbia and UChicago's programs, we consistently get grinded to the bones pretty hard (~20 page homeworks every week, x4 courses). At the end of the day, people have different needs and different programs will cater to those needs. I chose CMU specifically because of the ability to take CS/ML courses at the CS faculty, while taking the standard courses an MFE degree would offer (they pretty much align altogether). Speaking to a more senior quant from QuantNet, who went to Berkeley's MFE, it also seemed like quite a grind there, but perhaps because of the nature of the timeline (1 year versus 1.5 for most programs)? At the end of the day, I believe more into retaining the information and connecting different concepts than just grinding for the sake of grinding. I'd say CMU's curriculum is pretty well-thought-through in that regard, and was vetted by MDs at different firms, to make sure what we're learning is what is needed in most jobs.

Mid-way through the program myself, and therefore in retrospect,I would suggest for someone to investigate career outcomes, the quality of teaching (not simply looking at the curriculum but speaking to people in different programs and inquiring about the quality of teaching, which definitely differs. Here, I would try to maximize overall teaching quality, as there will always be one or two professors that are a 'hit-or-miss'), and the ability to choose solid electives.

If anybody has applied and is waiting on their decisions, I would happy to give my two cents. Hope this helps!

marcusaurelius · 2/18/24

macchiato said:
Good questions. I’m getting ahead of myself since I haven’t heard anything from CMU. However, I would have a hard time deciding between CMU and CU. Having said that, choosing between these universities is a good problem to have, so no need to despair. Good luck!

I'm happy to connect with you and give you my perspective on CMU, should you get an offer from CMU, if you wish! Feel free to DM me

Andy Nguyen · 2/18/24

marcusaurelius said:
I'm happy to connect with you and give you my perspective on CMU, should you get an offer from CMU, if you wish! Feel free to DM me

I can confirm that @marcusaurelius was quite active during this application stage and researched programs very thoroughly. He is very generous with his time helping out the QuantNet community.
Anyone interested in learning about the CMU MSCF program from first hand experience should reach out to him.

Quant programs choice

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