Hi,
I usually don't post on these forums but I am posting here because I have a unique situation that I haven't seen on here and would like some advice. Maybe other people are in the same situation and will find this helpful too.
I am a senior at Carnegie Mellon/Columbia/Cornell/MIT/NYU/Princeton/Stanford/Cal-Berkeley/U Chicago in a quantitative major. I'd prefer not to say which one in order to maintain some anonymity on here. I have taken many economics, probability and math courses and have a high GPA. I want to attend a quantitative masters finance program immediately after college. I currently have no finance related work experience, but I expect to get an internship this summer before entering a program.
Basically, due to AP credit from high school and the classes I've already taken at my college, (provided that I'm admitted into the program) I can graduate from my university with a bachelor's degree and a master's in 9 semesters total (confirmed by faculty). Other programs would take 10-11 semesters total to complete, counting undergraduate. This plan would save me a lot of tuition money and I could get a full-time job sooner. I am leaning towards just getting my master's degree at the same place as my bachelor's for the reasons above and being done with it, but I wanted to ask a few questions about getting a bachelor's and master's the same school. These are in no order of importance.
1.) Competitiveness: To people who attended the same school for grad/undergrad: how did the students in the undergraduate program compare to the students in the master's program? How did the courses in the undergrad vs. the master's program compare in terms difficulty? My major is one where many of the program's courses are offered so going from one department to another is not a factor here.
2.) Networking: I feel that going to a different school might give me better networking opportunity because I'd have two different alumni networks. Is that true at all?
3.) Education: Some people advise against getting a master's from the same place as your bachelor's degree because doing so limits the perspective a student gets on a subject. Do people here agree with that statement? Would getting a high GPA at 2 different schools be more impressive than just at one school?
4.) Prestige: I will very possibly get an MBA some day and would like to go to a top full-time program such as Harvard, Wharton, ect. Is there a big difference in how any these programs would be regarded to MBA admissions committees? Would they prefer to see degrees from two different schools or just one?
5.) Money. At the end of the day these are all just professional degrees designed to get jobs, which I could do from any of these places, and it doesn't seem like any of these factors would make a huge difference; all are great schools. To people who have actually had the experience of going through these programs: do you think any of the concerns I've listed above come even close to outweighing the considerable amount of money I'd save by just staying at my current school?
6.) Any other factors that I might be overlooking?
Any input would be appreciated.
I usually don't post on these forums but I am posting here because I have a unique situation that I haven't seen on here and would like some advice. Maybe other people are in the same situation and will find this helpful too.
I am a senior at Carnegie Mellon/Columbia/Cornell/MIT/NYU/Princeton/Stanford/Cal-Berkeley/U Chicago in a quantitative major. I'd prefer not to say which one in order to maintain some anonymity on here. I have taken many economics, probability and math courses and have a high GPA. I want to attend a quantitative masters finance program immediately after college. I currently have no finance related work experience, but I expect to get an internship this summer before entering a program.
Basically, due to AP credit from high school and the classes I've already taken at my college, (provided that I'm admitted into the program) I can graduate from my university with a bachelor's degree and a master's in 9 semesters total (confirmed by faculty). Other programs would take 10-11 semesters total to complete, counting undergraduate. This plan would save me a lot of tuition money and I could get a full-time job sooner. I am leaning towards just getting my master's degree at the same place as my bachelor's for the reasons above and being done with it, but I wanted to ask a few questions about getting a bachelor's and master's the same school. These are in no order of importance.
1.) Competitiveness: To people who attended the same school for grad/undergrad: how did the students in the undergraduate program compare to the students in the master's program? How did the courses in the undergrad vs. the master's program compare in terms difficulty? My major is one where many of the program's courses are offered so going from one department to another is not a factor here.
2.) Networking: I feel that going to a different school might give me better networking opportunity because I'd have two different alumni networks. Is that true at all?
3.) Education: Some people advise against getting a master's from the same place as your bachelor's degree because doing so limits the perspective a student gets on a subject. Do people here agree with that statement? Would getting a high GPA at 2 different schools be more impressive than just at one school?
4.) Prestige: I will very possibly get an MBA some day and would like to go to a top full-time program such as Harvard, Wharton, ect. Is there a big difference in how any these programs would be regarded to MBA admissions committees? Would they prefer to see degrees from two different schools or just one?
5.) Money. At the end of the day these are all just professional degrees designed to get jobs, which I could do from any of these places, and it doesn't seem like any of these factors would make a huge difference; all are great schools. To people who have actually had the experience of going through these programs: do you think any of the concerns I've listed above come even close to outweighing the considerable amount of money I'd save by just staying at my current school?
6.) Any other factors that I might be overlooking?
Any input would be appreciated.
