UCB MFE Review of UC Berkeley MFE program

[ApolloChariot]

Btw, why are you so certain that what I am saying is untrue? You seem to have a strong opinion and are quite argumentative.

Never posted or suggested, let alone with certainty, that placement rates this year are as good as previous years. Stop lying. You're the one attributing certainty to an estimate based on unverifiable, anecdotal evidence.

I'm not discrediting the possibility that placement rates for 2019 may be lower than previous years.

I'm not saying placement rates are either higher or lower than your estimate of 65%

 

[bigbadwolf]

There is trouble brewing at UCB MFE. 2019 placement is way down this year - currently at 65% one month after graduation! The 2020 cohort has increased by almost 20% above 2019, so how will UCB MFE find jobs for so many additional people?

Perhaps other elite programs have similar figures today? In other words perhaps it's a sign of the times and Haas is not culpable?

My sense is that Haas sees the MFE as a cash cow.

Just about every MFE is a cash cow. Haas is not an anomaly in this respect. What prospective students have to figure out is whether the "expected value" of the investment in time, money, and effort makes going through the program worthwhile. With 65% I suppose the expected value goes down.

 

[hulim]

Not when we have a list of all the students and know for a certainty that X% are to-date unemployed and have no concrete offers. We are aware that a few people do have offers that are not yet accepted and that almost everyone is interviewing. Btw, why are you so certain that what I am saying is untrue? You seem to have a strong opinion and are quite argumentative.

Thank you for sharing this information with us. Just curious what is % of students that currently have no offers. I realize that you are quite certain about the 65% placement rate. Did your friend conduct a survey and ask everyone else or this number was from Linda or some official sources? Just felt quite shocked since other tier 1 programs like CMU MSCF and Columbia MFE claimed that their latest placement rates were around 90% in mid Feb (two and a half months after graduation).

 

[Abhinay]

Hey Guys,

Recent graduate student of UCB MFE (2019 Graduate) here! After graduation, everybody dispersed and nobody knows the actual placement rate. I would have to assume that it's above 65% as I personally know on my anecdotal evidence (!!!) that most students are getting placed at top firms (I try to keep in touch with my classmates through phone)

I also felt that most of the students in my cohort focus on getting placed in a top firm rather than getting placed early. For example, some people were placed at firms like TwoSigma one or two weeks after graduation. Some people even rejected their post-internship offers as well after going to firms like PIMCO, Morgan Stanley, etc. I think to wait for the right firm takes patience and time. Linda always makes sure to place students not only as soon as possible but also where the students want to go.

Everybody in my class trusts Linda with all their hearts. There is a lot of time as well! Most programs report placement rate 3 months after graduation and it has been only 1 month since graduation. I think you, I and everyone else have to wait for the actual statistics to be posted rather than just make assumptions. Not every student is keeping track of the actual percentage of students being placed every week (at least nobody called me to check my status)

IMHO, pursuing UCB MFE program was one of the best decisions I've ever taken in my life.

 

[travybel]

Hi Munish
Is CFA helpful???

I attended the MFE infosession and they said that CFA is only helpful if you are coming from a non econ/finance background or major. If you majored in econ or finance in undergrad, CFA is pointless. They'd rather you focus on the quant classes. If you are already from a quant background though, you should look to complete the CFA level 1.