COMPARE UCB MFE vs Chicago MSFM

[dkrivet]

I am an Engineering undergrad and have received offers from both the Berkeley MFE and Chicago MSFM programs. I am not sure yet what job I want to pursue in the finance industry, but I am also set on doing a PhD before entering the work force so this is also a big consideration for me between the two programs. Any advice on which school I should choose would be appreciated.

 

[Michsund]

PhD in what?

 

[dkrivet]

In quantitative finance, particularly machine learning in finance

 

[Michsund]

To be honest if you want a PhD a mfe is probably not the best bet. I would do a ms in some other field which would be cheaper

 

[dkrivet]

Luckily I've been offered a good scholarship from Chicago, so Im lucky enough to not have to worry about the cost, I just wanted to know if it would be possible to transition to a PhD from these types of programs; I realize it's not the ideal prep course for a PhD.

 

[Michsund]

I would go with the cheaper choice and take classes which are relevant to my PhD choice. I would also look at the professors of both schools and see which you can do research with, this would be a huge plus in applying to PhD programs.

 

[ninolight]

Hi guys,

I want to ask for your advice/suggestions/thoughts to choose between 2 programs.
I got admitted to UCB MFE (details of prerequisites not posted yet) vs. Uchicago Finmath (with 70% tuition waive). I have paid 3000 deposit to Uchicago to secure the spot as i received UCB MFE later than Uchicago deadline (i asked the school to extend for me already).
The concerns i have is:
1) i prefer Uchicago curriculum better than UCB MFE which is more theoretical/quantitative
2) i know UCB job placement is better than Uchicago and I have very clear plan to go back to buy side ( I have quite long work expereinces working as execution trader at buy side, so have quite strong network already, but want to come back to buy side as quant pm instead of trading).

The major conflict/trade off is between curriculum vs. job placement.
The minor trade off is that Uchicago would be cheaper for me and UCB starts later (next Spring so I have longer time to wait for my promotion at my current job - hopefully this year to VP)
if you have any suggestion or gut feels for me - would really appreciate for your help!!

 

[Youlan Dai]

70% waive is very attractive. They give you this because you are strong. And I think, a candidate can get a good job at the buy side not because the program is strong, but the candidate himself is strong. Let me say that the UCB program is good and it's a ticket to the buy side firms (most mfe programs are tickets to sell side) , and that's probably why their placement is better. But it seems that you have been already in this market for some time, therefore I don't think you need the ticket anymore. What you need is the skills and resources because your ultimate is goal is to get the jobs you want. Just my 2 cents

 

[ninolight]

70% waive is very attractive. They give you this because you are strong. And I think, a candidate can get a good job at the buy side not because the program is strong, but the candidate himself is strong. Let me say that the UCB program is good and it's a ticket to the buy side firms (most mfe programs are tickets to sell side) , and that's probably why their placement is better. But it seems that you have been already in this market for some time, therefore I don't think you need the ticket anymore. What you need is the skills and resources because your ultimate is goal is to get the jobs you want. Just my 2 cents

Hi Youlan,

Thanks so much for your advice and thoughts - it definitely makes sense to me that skillsets is by the end what you need to get the jobs and function well. I got bit scared and timid cuz it was not a very smooth transition for me to move from trading to PM role (couple internal opportunity but didn't work out due to some logistic reasons, etc.) and that was one of the reasons for me to go back to school (to learn something and rejoin the market). Therefore, I might be quite frustrated to go back as an execution trader again, rather than quant pm. Thanks again for your warm advice.

 

[IcySugar]

Hi, did you accept UCB MFE in the end? I was in exactly the same position...trying to move from execution trader to quant PM.

 

[varunchan]

Please advise

 

[kitkat]

Hey folks,

Luckily I got offers from the top 2 in my list.

My heart goes to UCB MFE, and below are my thoughts. Would appreciate any thoughts/feedback!

Pros for UCB MFE (in contrast to U Chicago)
- a consistently high ranking, with a much higher placement average $
- inside Haas School of Business

Cons for UCB MFE (in contrast to U Chicago)
- no tuition wavier, plus a bunch of precourse to pay extra ~$5000
- not in Chicago

I can justify the cost part for the choice of UCB MFE because this is a life-time investment... Not being in Chicago is a disadvantage, but perhaps being arguably no,1 on the west coast is a counter?

Online reviews have been pretty positive for both programs, but UCB MFE appears to be better.

Thank you!

 

[OoozeDonatin]

go ucb mfe

congrats

 

[kitkat]

go ucb mfe

congrats

The votes appear to say so too!
Thank you sir!

 

[SD_]

Hey folks,

Luckily I got offers from the top 2 in my list.

My heart goes to UCB MFE, and below are my thoughts. Would appreciate any thoughts/feedback!

Pros for UCB MFE (in contrast to U Chicago)
- a consistently high ranking, with a much higher placement average $
- inside Haas School of Business

Cons for UCB MFE (in contrast to U Chicago)
- no tuition wavier, plus a bunch of precourse to pay extra ~$5000
- not in Chicago

I can justify the cost part for the choice of UCB MFE because this is a life-time investment... Not being in Chicago is a disadvantage, but perhaps being arguably no,1 on the west coast is a counter?

Online reviews have been pretty positive for both programs, but UCB MFE appears to be better.

Thank you!

Congratulations @kitkat
Go for UCB MFE. I am biased ofcourse, lol.

As far as I know the Python Pre-program course can be waived if you can demonstrate that your work experience was very coding-heavy.

 

[kitkat]

Congratulations @kitkat
Go for UCB MFE. I am biased ofcourse, lol.

As far as I know the Python Pre-program course can be waived if you can demonstrate that your work experience was very coding-heavy.

Thank you Sudhansh! Yes, I do use Python intensively during my job. I will argue for that at some point. Thanks for the suggestion!

Do you think there is a chance to get a waiver for the math course too? I think I have a good amount of evidence to support that too.

 

[DegenTrader]

Keep me updated about your choice pls, it can also help me. I also got accepted into UChicago with a scholarship and am considering applying to CMU and UCB.

 

[SD_]

Thank you Sudhansh! Yes, I do use Python intensively during my job. I will argue for that at some point. Thanks for the suggestion!

Do you think there is a chance to get a waiver for the math course too? I think I have a good amount of evidence to support that too.

I would not recommend waiving Math and stats.

Moreover, UCB doesn’t allow waiving them, as I think, no one got a waiver for them this year.

 

[bubbleHead]

I would not recommend waiving Math and stats.

Moreover, UCB doesn’t allow waiving them, as I think, no one got a waiver for them this year.

I agree with this. I am not going to comment much about the university choices, and even though I come from a Mathematics and statistics undergrad background, I can say both the pre-program courses were excellent and one can learn a lot from them within a short span of time.

 

[kitkat]

Keep me updated about your choice pls, it can also help me. I also got accepted into UChicago with a scholarship and am considering applying to CMU and UCB.

Hey Degen, I have pretty much made up my mind to go to UCB. Already accepted their offer.