COMPARE UMich QFRM VS Columbia MSOR

[wbx]

Hello,

I am an international student who recently got admission offers from UMich Ann Arbor QFRM and Columbia MSOR. Can you guys give me some advices on choosing which schools? It's really hard for me to decide.

It seems to me that UMich QFRM has a small class size of 20-25 this year, and their curriculums possesses high quality and good targets on the fields. I was told that their internship placement rate after first academic year was 80% for international students admitted in Fall 2015. I also heard the Ross Business school can attract many employers to UMich, but I don't know how much that can help on the job replacement of FE.
I am also wondering about the program's connection with employers in US. Besides, I heard there was a MFE program before at UMich, and it was closed because of the low job replacement rates. Is that true?

For Columbia, the class size is very big, over 100. Moreover, I heard that some important FE courses are for FE students only, but I am not sure whether that is true. Besides, the Columbia tuition is a little bit too expensive for me. However, maybe the MSOR's job replacement is much more higher than UMich?

Even though this question might be little bit stupid, I would be appreciated if you guys could provide me some accurate information. Plus, I am also looking for current students at UMich QFRM to chat with.

Thanks!

 

[wbx]

For people who votes for Columbia and UMich, could you guys give me some reasons why you support Columbia MSOR or Michigan QFRM? How much do you know about both of the programs?

Thanks very much!

 

[Lang Qin]

Columbia MSOR for sure. UMich is a great school and has extensive alumni networks, but its QFRM is too young to be broadly accepted in the quant finance industry. The location, one of the most dominating factors in landing a job in finance industry, of UMich is another fatal shortcoming. On the other hand, MSOR has got longer history, more mature curriculum, better student quality, and much greater location. When I looked up MSOR graduates on Linkedin, I was impressed by their placement.

 

[volmacro]

No employer is going to hire a Michigan QFRM just because they already hired 3 other Columbia students -- they'll hire by whoever seems the best in the interview. School simply helps you get the interview, and in this case, Columbia is the clear better choice. You'll be competing with the hundreds of Columbia MS students even if you go to Michigan QFRM, unless you're looking to place into somewhere around Michigan, which is probably the only place QFRM would give you a small advantage.

I think whatever job you want, if you cannot get it with a Columbia MSOR degree, then you're going to have as hard of a time, if not a harder time, getting it with a Michigan QFRM. One bright side of MSOR is that it is a broader subject area and would open other quantitative analytics jobs, including outside of high finance. You can also dedicate yourself to the financial aspects of MSOR if you're deadset on it. So, Columbia is a better name, broader degree but you can specialize yourself, and in NYC.

 

[wbx]

Hi, thanks for your explanations

I'm recently also got admitted to UW CRFM. Can you provide me some of the information of the program, they did not share much on the internet.

I would like to know about their career service for international students as well as their course qualities. Thanks