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MIT MFin Questions about MIT MFin

Joined
3/7/16
Messages
5
Points
11
Hi everyone!
I am Jason from China, and I recently got admitted to the MIT MFin program. Currently, I intend to do quantitative research on buyside hedge fund in US after my graduation.
I searched on Quantnet Forum and other Forums on the internet, and there are a few but not many reviews or comments on this program. Based on the info I know, many candidates of this program eventually went to big consulting firms or asset management companies (mainly in Boston I think) , which is not where I see myself, and only a few went to companies like BlackRock and JPM in NYC or Chicago.
Also, I consulted some of my friends studying at tier 1 US MFE programs (still at school but have attended some internship) that the reputation of this program is not that good on the Street when compared to other programs like Columbia MAFN, and Cornell MFE. They said some of their intern colleagues did not think very high of this program and its candidates quantitative ability. I know that there may be some personal bias, but I have limited sources.
Moreover, it is a 12-month program (for me right now) starting from July, which means no summer internship. And since it is not a STEM degree, I only got one chance for H1B after graduation.

Finally, my questions
1. Does anyone know the reputation of this program on the Street (buyside mainly)? Could you please compare it with Columbia MAFN, Cornell MFE, and perheps other programs you know?
2. Could anyone comment on the overall quality of this program, like its teaching quality (like whether there will be any practitioners from the Street teaching classes), the pros and cons of its location (and I would really appreciate it if anyone could tell me how long it would take me to network in NYC from Boston), whether its CDO has resources and would like to help people finding positions outside Boston asset management(joking, but i really want to know...)?
3. How important is a summer internship in US for an international student (who only have several not-big-name intern experiences in China) to find a buyside job in US ? Could this weak point be compensated by things like good performance in class/active networking/...?

I wrote so much and thanks for reading the whole post. Since MIT just sent out its offers, I think many people would have similar concern about this program, and I really appreciate any information you could provide here.
BTW, MIT MFin has a new financial engineering concentration, which provides more quantitative courses(not many though).
Thanks
 
It's not a STEM program, biggest drawback. Especially if you want to work for a hedge fund that normally has less international exposure than major banks, it's difficult for them to transfer you overseas. Do you have any other offers?
 
It's not a STEM program, biggest drawback. Especially if you want to work for a hedge fund that normally has less international exposure than major banks, it's difficult for them to transfer you overseas. Do you have any other offers?
Thanks for replying.
Just another Cornell Data Analytics which I think would be a even less preferable choice...And I haven't apply for the Columbia MAFN since it has a late application deadline, and right now I am considering whether I should apply for this MAFN program as a backup plan, which is the reason why i asked about the comparison about the Columbia MAFN and MIT MFin.
 
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