Columbia MAFN Columbia MAFN Admission Discussion

[WSBquant]

I’ve seen some threads on here suggest that columbia has a better name brand around the world than uchicago? I’m a us citizen and both of these programs hold equal name recognition in my view. But i wonder if there isn’t some self selection going on in the columbia programs (and mit) having a significant portion of students go back to their homeland after studying. just a guess. Or it could be like i suggested that relatively lackluster career services make it hard for international students to get a foothold in the us during the relatively short program length.

agree, would be good to know the class profile too. I don’t think program length is a factor since it can be done in 1.5 years too

 

[WSBquant]

@Andy Nguyen do you happen to have US employment stats for the earlier years?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

@Andy Nguyen do you happen to have US employment stats for the earlier years?

We only started doing the US salary for the last 2 rankings.

 

[ajjjw]

Which is why MAFN program has an option for you to do the program in 3 semesters instead of 2. The extra semester is extremely important for international students to stay current with their visa longer while they search for internship/job.

Is the MFE still only offering the 2 semester option? Seems like this would be a key differentiator between the programs for certain students

 

[WSBquant]

Is the MFE still only offering the 2 semester option? Seems like this would be a key differentiator between the programs for certain students

can be completed in 3 semesters too. It’s on their website

 

[nonomysquant]

nah i get what ur trying to say, but i don’t think landing ft = good career service experience, it’s more about the individual’s ability. But solely on career service’s mfe is pretty bad i’ve heard.

Abt uchicago’s mfin I’m uncertain, it’s a brand new program so.. still waiting on a couple other programs to see

I agree with this. MFE alumni from Columbia that I have reached out to have said that the career services are near zero and that certain events that are geared for the MFE students to attend end up being sold out super quickly. I am quite confident that students have been landing internships and have better job placement simply bc the students are more impressive, not due to career services. From MAFN alumni, I have heard the career dev is getting better, and there are things like mock interviews, networking events, and speaker events to help students prepare for a career. Now based on what I see on LinkedIn and personal experience, the associate director has been quite active in responding to potential students' concerns and answering questions (at the very least she did for me).

Other thoughts/questions I have been having:
-Columbia students are probably too focused on buy-side quant roles
-What kind of things are students expecting in terms of career services? I feel like no amount of career services will help anyone take shortcuts into quant positions.
-I would assume that following this year's rankings and the MFE program's placement percentage at graduation, there will be a focus on career development improvement

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Now based on what I see on LinkedIn and personal experience, the associate director has been quite active in responding to potential students' concerns and answering questions (at the very least she did for me).

Yes, @IzabelaRutkowski has been very responsive during my communication with her and I appreciate it a lot.

 

[IzabelaRutkowski]

from current columbia mfe, they basically said mfe has 0% career support, mafn has 30% support

MAFN students have 100% support as long as they use the plethora of resources that we provide.

 

[IzabelaRutkowski]

Yes, @IzabelaRutkowski has been very responsive during my communication with her and I appreciate it a lot.

Thank you, Andy!

 

[IzabelaRutkowski]

Columbia is not a school you go to if you’re looking for personalized bespoke career services. it does seem like you are sort of on your own, albeit with the bare minimum stuff like resume books and such. Places like Chicago seem to feature a lot more guidance and hand holding in the job search.

i got into both and have been trying to determine how important of a factor this is for me.

At MAFN program, students get a summer technical bootcamp, summer career development training, career development course, personalized Careers Development and access to school-wide career development office. The students have unlimited access to 1 and 1/2 advisors dedicated just for them for the duration of the program and after graduation. There are workshops, mock interviews, events etc. It is not fair to say that there is no personalized career services.

 

[ajjjw]

I wonder how much is attributable to career services vs competition. There’s like 6 programs in NYC that all are trying to feed into the same roles, so it shouldn’t surprising that not every graduate gets a suitable job in NYC. Where as uchicago is one of the only MFE programs in the region and likely faces less outside competition from other programs when feeding into smaller shops in chicago.

 

[ajjjw]

At MAFN program, students get a summer technical bootcamp, summer career development training, career development course, personalized Careers Development and access to school-wide career development office. The students have unlimited access to 1 and 1/2 advisors dedicated just for them for the duration of the program and after graduation. There are workshops, mock interviews, events etc. It is not fair to say that there is no personalized career services.

I was more so speaking to the reputation of the university as a whole (just from what i’ve heard from various undergraduates, business students, other grad students, etc), not any one specific program. This seems to not be the case for MAFN - great to hear!

 

[yylucas]

MAFN students have 100% support as long as they use the plethora of resources that we provide.

Thank you! I really like that reply! Do you happen to know when the results of those who got waitlisted on Feb. 26th will come out? Can’t wait to join the program!

 

[IzabelaRutkowski]

I was more so speaking to the reputation of the university as a whole (just from what i’ve heard from various undergraduates, business students, other grad students, etc), not any one specific program. This seems to not be the case for MAFN - great to hear!

Thank you for clarifying.

I'm unable to comment on the other programs/schools at CU, but the MAFN program appointed a dedicated career development officer in 2019. Consequently, the customized CD program initiated at that time continues to expand and enhance with each cohort.

 

[IzabelaRutkowski]

Thank you! I really like that reply! Do you happen to know when the results of those who got waitlisted on Feb. 26th will come out? Can’t wait to join the program!

The admissions committee meeting is happening today. That will give me more clarity on the timeline. Stay tuned!

 

[IzabelaRutkowski]

@IzabelaRutkowski have all the admits or waitlist decisions have been sent out yet ? Or are applicants that still have not received any update still considered ? And if yes, how do they stand compared to applicants that have been waitlisted ? Thank you

Everyone who applied so far is getting a consideration. The committee reviews applications on a rolling basis - they give out offers and the rest of the applications are being moved back to the consideration pool. The pace of decisions as well as the number of offer depends on the acceptance rate, the number and the quality of the incoming applications.

 

[Arbitrary]

I’ve seen some threads on here suggest that columbia has a better name brand around the world than uchicago? I’m a us citizen and both of these programs hold equal name recognition in my view. But i wonder if there isn’t some self selection going on in the columbia programs (and mit) having a significant portion of students go back to their homeland after studying. just a guess. Or it could be like i suggested that relatively lackluster career services make it hard for international students to get a foothold in the us during the relatively short program length.

Outside of the US Columbia is probably more known simply based off the fact that its an ivy league. In my country, few people know of UChicago. Good amount know about columbia

 

[IzabelaRutkowski]

The admissions committee meeting is happening today. That will give me more clarity on the timeline. Stay tuned!

Some portion of waitlist offers will be send for processing this week. Others will remain in the waitlist pool for a bit longer

 

[Alex Ng]

Some portion of waitlist offers will be send for processing this week. Others will remain in the waitlist pool for a bit longer

Hi! Will the next batch of decision also be mostly if not all waitlists?
Any timeline for those who have not received any decisions yet?

 

[Charles CZ]

Does that mean only those in the waitlist will be considered for offer?