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Rutgers-Newark MQF

Joined
9/20/09
Messages
79
Points
16
I just got accepted into Rutgers-Newark MQF program. I saw a bunch of posts on MSMF program but not MQF. It would be great if someone can shed some light on the job/internship placements, courses, etc. Thanks!!
 
More expensive, longer to complete, you're in Newark, and you still only have the Rutgers name.
 
More expensive, longer to complete, you're in Newark, and you still only have the Rutgers name.

Even though Newark is not that good of a city comparing to Boston, would you still say that Rutgers benefits from the close proximity to Wall Street when it comes to job search? Also, Rutgers is ranked in the top 10 in Advanced Trading, though BU made it to the honorable mention list. Which school has better job placement, Rutgers-Newark MQF or BU math fin?
 
By accident, I stumbled upon this article on AdvancedTrading. Take a look at the comments below the article where some self-proclaimed Rutgers MSMF student claimed that the MQF program was added to the ranking by mistake and the people at AT didn't want to embarrass Rutgers by removing it.
Also, here is the article where the student referred to Almgren saying the reason he submitted MSMF program for its affiliation with the Math dept. That's the reason why MQF under the business school wasn't meant to be there.
http://www.dailytargum.com/2.5454/u-business-school-cracks-top-ten-list-1.844713

As usual, there are lot of smoke and screen and marketing speak so judge for yourself and make an educated decision. I don't know the story behind this AT ranking to comment on the validity of the claim.
 
Thanks a lot Andy for pointing this out. To me, it seems like Almgren is saying that the MQF program, which is in the Business School, also benefits from the strength of the Rutgers Math Department, which houses the MSMF program. That makes sense because MQF students have to take certain classes from Math Department as well. Quantnet ranking also suggests that they are both in the same tier. Either way, thanks a lot!
 
Rutgers MSMF Vs MQF, which is better?

So far i still can't figure out which program is better. Can someone write some detail comparison such as rank, location... Also, i heard Newark is not a safe place.
Many thanks for all the comments.
 
Andy, just a suggestion, perhaps rename the review navigation from 'pages' to 'reviews', and perhaps move the navigation to the top.

It wasn't clear that there is multiple reviews to be read. A different navigation method should be used, especially once you have a decent number of reviews. I would imagine a top list, with summary headlines of the review.
 
I got accepted into Rutgers-Newark MQF program with 12k scholarship. Just wondering if I can get more info from anyone.
 
i was accepted as well however, am considering taking finance courses next year and interning at a hedge fund this summer to strengthen my application for next year for other schools. already have a bachelors and masters in math but no finance besides a financial management (corporate finance) course. has anyone decided to attend for certain? the lack of placement rates and the recent reluctance on the part of the director to allow students to take math courses at new brunswick has me concerned if i will be in a better position after getting out of the program. $100k in loans is no easy matter - haven't been informed of any scholarships. i was also told that most us citizens werent given any - 99% of the time international students were given them to add incentive to attend.

andy any input on the matter? the point was raised earlier as well. dont want to attend a school and take out a mucho grande loan and then not be able to pay it off. i was suggested to try to make myself a better candidate and try with better universities. i just dont know if given my past/profile, i even stand a chance at anywhere else. i can improve my resume but i dont know if it can be improved to the point of acceptance to a tier 1/2 school. if rutgers is as good as it gets, is the $100k loan a reasonable risk to take?

i should also add that i plan on sitting for the december cfa level 1 exam in 2011. from what i have read, passing the first exam doesnt have a decision changing effect on an application. however i think it might show that i am serious about getting into the field. my background does not suggest strongly enough. looking at the notes of accepted students at programs i would like to attend, it seems either they all have 2-5 years of relevant work experience or have passed 1 or 2 cfa exams. in one year it seems rather difficult to accumulate 5 years of work experience :) but preparing for an exam should be entirely possible (i think).
 
1) The CFA is no substitute for work experience. As someone who has been hiring quant interns and quant analysts for over 10 years, I can assure you of that. Proving you can study for a test, be it CFA, FRM, PRM, Series 7, isn't proof you can do a job.

2) I'm an adjunct faculty member in the MQF program. I solicited suggestions (complaints) about the program and presented them anonymously to program administration. I think they head me, but you might ask them directly. If they don't answer to your satisfaction, that should tell you something.

3) The best students in the MQF program are as good as any I've seen at NYU or elsewhere. I've gotten many students interviews and more than one has led to a job offer.
 
disclaimer - this post contains a lot of whining.

starting with high school going up until at least after grad school, an unreasonable amount of weight is given to standardized tests. now all of a sudden the tests mean very little. seems rather annoying. in my particular case, i have degrees in math and my only work experience is teaching. last semester i taught 7 classes. this semester i am teaching 8. it goes against the norms of modesty, but i am a pretty good teacher. however, me caring about students doing well and meeting with them outside of office hours for at least 10 hours every week (time that i dont get paid for) plus voluntary review sessions on sunday dont get seen as me taking my job (whatever it happens to be) seriously. of course any exam is no substitute for work experience however, it seems that to get your foot into the door with an internship you should already have had your other foot into the door. i have sent out my resume to 28 banks/firms/companies/hedge funds etc and 19 of them have emailed me back saying i have no prior work experience so i cannot be given an internship. i had an interview with a hedge fund manager today but he called me 3 hours prior to the meeting saying the position had been filled with an sophomore business major from another university. i fail to understand what a second year business major can do in a position that requires extensive use of matlab and numerical methods - a position, that one would assume, a math major who has had a few courses in numerical analysis and has been using matlab for a few year for would be good for. but thats neither here nor there. (just wanted to bitch/moan a little and this place just popped up).

anyhow, at least in a 100 mile radius of where i am no one seems to want to hire a graduate math student. how does one get this work experience then required to get THE work experience necessary to get into a tier 1/2 program? what else does one do in such positions?

re. the suggestions you made to the dept...i hate to sound like a petulant child but i dont understand that part. you mention that you made suggestions for improvement to them without stating what they were. i find this rather unhelpful. a phone call to the director could of course me made but it would be rather foolish to ask him an open ended question, "hey, someone asked you to fix something. what was it and what have you done to fix it?" unless prior conditions are known, how does one compare to see if the situation has improved or stayed the same? i have been up for 2 days now trying to finish grading 8 midterms (drop date is sunday) and working on my time series homework so forgive me if you answered these questions implicitly or otherwise. i have tried calling regarding placement statistics but i get different responses from different people ranging from "we dont keep track of such meaningless statistics" to "oh 97% but we cannot disclose how that number was calculated." perhaps i am not asking the correct questions. a hint here would be much appreciated.

i have studied with students from clemson university and those that graduated from mit with a top 15 putnam finish every year and found the clemson student to be brighter. of course, a good student will flourish regardless of the university or the environment they end up in. however, it is foolish to maintain that a genius from the slums of kenya will have the same opportunities as a not so bright student from south henrietta institute of technology. this is not to say that there arent any bright students at tier 3/4 programs but just that there are very few exceptional ones. those students cannot be made the norm when talking of programs as a whole. if that were the case then rutgers mqf would be better regarded. there are bound to be people who end up, due to extenuating circumstances, at programs that dont seem to match well with their intellect but in my personal opinion (which doesnt count for much here) there arent too many such cases.

i started my undergrad years at a top 10 university in the us but by way of wasting time doing things i shouldnt have been doing (messing with vintage audio gear), i managed to get placed on probation twice and then got suspended from said university. in high school i took 21 ap courses - got 5's on all of them, graduated top of my class a year early (skipped a few grades growing up in india), got a perfect score on the sat's, blah blah blah. greatest nerd resume. however, the first 2 years of my undergraduate program will never leave me alone as they screwed up my gpa pretty horribly. ended up having to go to community college for a semester to come back to good academic standing and then started attending a local university where i have done quite well. a lot of hard work went into getting to the position i am now in but just those 2 years seem enough to condemn me to a lifetime of nonsense. i have worked my way back to the same ethic i had in high school and consider myself fairly competent mathematically despite my failure to get an 800 on the gre general test (have taking the stupid exam 3 times now with 790s all 3 times). having said all this, even if i go in for an interview, most people are turned off just by the fact that i dont go to a top 10 university therefore i much not be as smart. obviously no one has the time to read all this crap but at the same time, not having the big name on my resume prevents them from even investigating my case further. hence the question, "is rutgers good enough to justify a $100k loan?" of course i make what i want of the program and my time there but on the street personal accomplishments sometimes get overshadowed by a resume with a big school name on it.

/back to playing with lyapunov exponents :(

ps. feel free to whittle away whatever whining deemed unnecessary.
 
Nice rant @Cjs.... sometimes it may feel like all the cards are stacked against you..but all it takes is one YES from an employer to show what you've got

http://ofilispeaks.com/it-only-takes-one-yes/

one-yes-two.jpg
 
I had no financial industry experience when I got into a "top tier" MFE program...

My suggestion, cjs, is the following - you are clearly very frustrated at your current situation. Be careful that that frustration does not seep through the cracks and materialize on interviews and in your work life, should you get a position.

Life is full of ups and downs, and it is what you make of it. I haven't had an easy path to where I am right now. You just have to continue to try to keep moving forward.

If you are that frustrated, perhaps you should take the offer and go to Rutgers.
 
my apologies for going off last night. everything seemed to converge last night and not in a good way.

havent had any interviews so far so havent had a chance to screw them up but thanks for the reminder. i shall certainly keep it in mind.

it almost seems as if the easy way out of this hole would be to go get another undergrad degree just to put a different gpa on my resume :p could do it in like 2.5 years.

on a serious note, i have not ruled out rutgers completely. i just cant find good reasons for me to attend other than settling. at any rate, i fear i have derailed the thread enough. if anyone has good concrete information to offer regarding the program, please present it. the accepted students, myself included, will be thankful for it.
 
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