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COMPARE UCLA MFE vs. USC MFE vs. CGU MFE

docahk

Joined
3/22/11
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I have been accepted to all three. I have visited all three a number of times and I am currently of the state of mind that CGU>USC>UCLA. UCLA MFE is pretty new and it shows. It is a year long with a summer internship, which essentially makes it a 9 month program. This seems way too short for any sort of graduate degree. Also, it didn't seem very organized at all. USC MFE has a nice curriculum but I find it strange that its in the school of engineering. In my eyes, this is both good and bad. Bad for obvious reasons, its in the school of engineering which clearly doesn't have much to do with the finance side of things. Good because its in one of the best schools of engineering in the country and it certainly wouldn't hurt the resume to have a degree from their. CGU MFE seems to be the most solid out of the bunch. I was hoping to maybe get some more insight from people to help with this decision. Appreciate any feed back. Thanks much
 
Sound like you are in the west coast or study/live in CA area. Can you elaborate on "UCLA MFE is pretty new and it shows". The program started in 2009 and with one graduated class in Dec 2010.
It's basically modeled after the UCB MFE program. I would expect the folks from their business school would have this thing down pat so it's interesting to hear "it didn't seem very organized at all". What gives?
USC MFE loses a lot of score in my book when they jump onto the online MFE degree thing. Sounds like a money grab scheme to me.

I don't hear much about the CGU MFE program but one if their students is a member here @physEcon who speaks highly of it.

All these programs do not have a good reach into the financial market in the east coast so if you are fine with asset management type firms in the west (PIMCO), and enjoy the weather, life style, it's a reasonable choice.
 
Andy,keeping the online thing apart, could you please have a look at USC's MFE curricullum and share your view about it,since the programme is new and there is not much written about it(infact at all) on this forum.

Thanks
 
Andy - Thank you for your input.I have to stay in LA to take care of family so the three schools are the only options I really have. I did apply and get into schools back east but given some unfortunate events I have to stay as close to LA as possible. I'm not as worried about job placement as I plan to continue on to a either an MBA or Econ after.

When I went to visit UCLA the students I spoke with, complained constantly about the lack of flexibility in the curriculum. In fact, one of the students said "it almost feels like I'm taking a certificate program at the extension." It felt kind of like the program was being forced....I'm not sure how else to explain it. This was my first choice going into the application procedure and quickly went to #3 (This was also the case with many of the applicants that were visiting with me. In fact 3 are going to CGU instead). On the upside, Anderson is pretty great so its hard to pass up.

I completely agree with you at USC. I can't imagine taking any of the courses online. I also haven't found any info, outside of the USC website, on the program. Like I said, Vertibri is very highly ranked and clearly would look on a resume.

I had a couple of good visits to CGU. The curriculum seemed the most organized and I really got the feeling that the Math and Management departments worked hard to coordinate classes. The students seemed to really like the school. However, when it comes down to it, its Claremont Grad School and not USC or UCLA...if you get my drift.

I will read through the links you sent. Any additional advice is greatly appreciated.
 
docahk said:
When I went to visit UCLA the students I spoke with, complained constantly about the lack of flexibility in the curriculum.
Click to expand...

Even if the curriculum is not flexible, does it cover a lot? what's the length of the program?
If you look at CMU, the only flexibility it has is the choice of 3 out of 4 courses in the last semester. However, it uses mini semesters and it covers almost every topic covered in any other MFE program. So, don't really get scared of the inflexibility of a program. Plus, take a look at what they teach, perhaps its enough for you.

Good luck.
 
You should always pick the school that "fits" you best. It seems like CGU fits you the best but also remember that this is an MFE degree. The biggest gauge of a GOOD MFE degree is it's placement numbers. Curriculum is very good and fit is very important but if you cannot get a job after it is pointless. Now if you are a very pro-active person with contacts in the industry then it doesn't matter where you go and pick the place that suits you the best. But if that is not the case, I would suggest pick UCLA as they would have better placements than CGU and USC. CGU is a very good school and lots of opportunities might present themselves to you there, but it is a school where you will have to be relatively pro-active. I was seriously considering CGU at one point and did a lot of research. It looked very interesting. They have a dedicated career services member for the MFE program, the students can goto career fairs at the claremont colleges or take courses there.

UCLA Anderson is a very popular name in the finance industry and will go far. Although the MFE is a new program it is still a top business school. The curriculum is around Berkeley MFE and the Berkeley program is very popular.
 
Alphaseeker - I got in last year and was permitted to differ due to family issues.

Joy - Thank you for the insight. I am not worried so much about job placement after as I have plenty of contacts and am considering possibly continuing my education after the MFE. Now a days many graduate schools aren't even posting placement numbers, and if they are, it seems they aren't very accurate. It's no secret that the job market is dismal and probably will remain so for a few more years, so the actual learning of the subject matter is whats most important to me.

Roni - Its actually much more flexible then the website suggests. If there is another course that better suits your needs, they will let you substitute it for one of the elective courses. I also like the fact that you can go abroad for a semester. Also, CGU has also told me I am able to get a Masters in applied math with the addition of 2 or 3 more classes.

decisions, decisions.....
 
I thought they don't allow deferral?

> Alphaseeker - I got in last year and was permitted to differ due to family issues.
 
docahk said:
Joy - Thank you for the insight. I am not worried so much about job placement after as I have plenty of contacts and am considering possibly continuing my education after the MFE. Now a days many graduate schools aren't even posting placement numbers, and if they are, it seems they aren't very accurate. It's no secret that the job market is dismal and probably will remain so for a few more years, so the actual learning of the subject matter is whats most important to me.

decisions, decisions.....
Click to expand...

If you are going to go for PhD in Finance or Economics, or any PhD, having a big name school aids A LOT. UCLA PhD Finance is top 10. If you go there I am sure it will only help. Then again, PhD Finance programs enroll 2-3 students max only.

If you have contacts and can get a job easily, go wherever you will have the most fun and is the best fit for you in terms of curriculum, classmates, professors.
 
abcdefh - from what I understand they normally don't, but I had already given my deposit and was ready to begin when the issues came up, so they let me differ. I guess its not so much a differ as a leave of absence.
 
I actually know a couple people who graduated from the UCLA program. They both had previous experience in finance or industry though. I believe one is working as a quant trading at a major firm, and another is in PE (not quant I know); both in California. I remember they said the school is still changing the curriculum from year-to-year. Basically adjusting how much programming there is vs other topics. The faculty is outstanding though since a lot of them teach at the Berkeley program as well.

From what I gathered, the UCLA program felt like pretty similar to what other top MFEs are: it will be tougher without prior work experience, the career service works but can only do so much depending on the economy. Overall it sounds like a solid program with tremendous potential. If you are bounded by geographic constraint, I would seriously consider UCLA over CGU or USC.
 
Are you talking about the regular deposit for commitment to the program or tuition for the semester? I know people who paid deposit but couldn't attend due to personal or family issues. I'm just curious if they had two different standards.

> abcdefh - from what I understand they normally don't, but I had already given my deposit and was ready to begin when the issues came up, so they let me differ. I guess its not so much a differ as a leave of absence.
 
Joy Pathak said:
UCLA Anderson is a very popular name in the finance industry and will go far. Although the MFE is a new program it is still a top business school. The curriculum is around Berkeley MFE and the Berkeley program is very popular.
Click to expand...
This is not exactly news. See my post back in 2008 on how UCLA MFE was supposed to be a joined project with UCB MFE in 2003. Looks how the fortune has turned for both of them.
http://www.quantnet.com/forum/threads/discussion-on-second-rated-mfe-programs.1206/page-4#post-14296
 
Also, there is a difference between USC MFE and USC MSMF.

MSMF is the more reputable one. I made this mistake as well, although fortunately it ended up being inconsequential.
 
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