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Hello, I'm an international student, and between accepted programs, I decided to choose my graduate program between two: Stevens MFE and Fordham MSQF.

I know these are not top-tier universities for financial engineering, so I think their difference isn't that big, but I want to make my best decision between the two.

I'll write some pros and cons for both programs from my point of view.

Stevens

• Pros:
  • Good location: close to NYC
  • Strong Mathematical Background: This program's origin was in the math department
  • Good curriculum(curriculum): I can clearly see what they would teach and which professor will take the class
  • Flexibility: It's an engineering school, so I can take some ML courses too.
  • Peers: Their undergrad students from CS/QF come to get an acceleration MS program at MFE, so it would be good for networking.
  • Recent ranking: It has been into the T20 since 2022
• Cons:
  • History: Idk the reason why, but this program had low ranking at Quantnet. Lower than Fordham for years. Now it's #19 for two years.
  • Reputation: Maybe slightly lower reputation than Fordham in the finance industry?

Fordham

• Pros:
  • Good location: Classes are in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan.
  • Good curriculum
  • Flexibility: It's not engineering school, but I still have some electives options in Data Science/ML classes (But idk how much it would be deep)
  • Peers: According to Risk.net, Stevens's acceptance rate is 90%, but Fordham's is 47%. So, Fordham is more selective than Stevens.
  • History: This program's ranking was high a few years ago. In recent two years, it has become lower than Stevens.. but still, it doesn't change this program has great graduate alumni in the market
  • Reputation: Maybe slightly higher reputation than Stevens
• Cons:
  • Low Detail about curriculum: The curriculum structure is great(curriculum) but I don't know who will teach that. Their faculty number (faculty) looks not enough to cover all the curriculum. So it means adjunct professors would cover most curriculums? I'm not sure who is going to teach me
  • Recent ranking: It was in T20, but recently, it has been out of T20.
  • Program director changed multiple times: maybe it is a minor issue, but their program director changed two times in 5 years.

Thanks for reading this. I'll wait for your wise advice!