Columbia MFE v.s. NYU MathFinance

[jjhou]

Hi, I got admitted to Columbia MFE and Courant FinMath, which are both my dream programs.
I am having a difficult time to make a decision. It seems to be a tie.

Could anyone share your insights on the pros and cons of the two programs, and which one would you suggest?
would welcome any subjective or objective discussion!

 

[CourantMathFinance]

Please let me know if you have any questions about our program.

 

[Qui-Gon]

Hi, I got admitted to Columbia MFE and Courant FinMath, which are both my dream programs.
I am having a difficult time to make a decision. It seems to be a tie.

Could anyone share your insights on the pros and cons of the two programs, and which one would you suggest?
would welcome any subjective or objective discussion!

Go with Courant. I don’t see Columbia commenting on here showing students how much they care. The programs are on par with one another in terms of reputation, coursework, and placements, but speaking frankly, I think Math in Finance at Courant has career services that are levels above what you will find with the Columbia MFE. Courant’s program has nearly 3x fewer students. Also, I think Dr. Kolm is a legend.

 

[jjhou]

Go with Courant. I don’t see Columbia commenting on here showing students how much they care. The programs are on par with one another in terms of reputation, coursework, and placements, but speaking frankly, I think Math in Finance at Courant has career services that are levels above what you will find with the Columbia MFE. Courant’s program has nearly 3x fewer students. Also, I think Dr. Kolm is a legend.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[EasyOneThree]

Before I would make any recommendations, I would need to know more about what you are looking for in a program, and how you rank these preferences.

As someone who was in the same position last year, I'll say this. Do not discount your happiness in the process. If you get into CMU, NYU Courant, Columbia, etc. The students are largely the same, in a distributional sense. Meaning, the internship you land, will largely be about who you are before entering the program, as opposed to who you will be. I firmly believe I would've landed the same, or equivalent internship regardless if I chose Courant or Columbia. I could go into more detail, but I'm a little busy this week. I could give you more insight in a week or so if you would like. In the end though, the decision I would recommend would be based off what your personal preferences are. I would highly suggest including those into your equation. Do not discount your happiness. Trying to edge out an optimal choice based on perceived rankings is useless. Come super day, you are all the same, and no career service, brand name, etc will help you from there.

Congratulations and good luck!

 

[CourantMathFinance]

Before I would make any recommendations, I would need to know more about what you are looking for in a program, and how you rank these preferences.

As someone who was in the same position last year, I'll say this. Do not discount your happiness in the process. If you get into CMU, NYU Courant, Columbia, etc. The students are largely the same, in a distributional sense. Meaning, the internship you land, will largely be about who you are before entering the program, as opposed to who you will be. I firmly believe I would've landed the same, or equivalent internship regardless if I chose Courant or Columbia. I could go into more detail, but I'm a little busy this week. I could give you more insight in a week or so if you would like. In the end though, the decision I would recommend would be based off what your personal preferences are. I would highly suggest including those into your equation. Do not discount your happiness. Trying to edge out an optimal choice based on perceived rankings is useless. Come super day, you are all the same, and no career service, brand name, etc will help you from there.

Congratulations and good luck!

I am biased of course, but I think this is good advice.

 

[jjhou]

I am biased of course, but I think this is good advice.

Before I would make any recommendations, I would need to know more about what you are looking for in a program, and how you rank these preferences.

As someone who was in the same position last year, I'll say this. Do not discount your happiness in the process. If you get into CMU, NYU Courant, Columbia, etc. The students are largely the same, in a distributional sense. Meaning, the internship you land, will largely be about who you are before entering the program, as opposed to who you will be. I firmly believe I would've landed the same, or equivalent internship regardless if I chose Courant or Columbia. I could go into more detail, but I'm a little busy this week. I could give you more insight in a week or so if you would like. In the end though, the decision I would recommend would be based off what your personal preferences are. I would highly suggest including those into your equation. Do not discount your happiness. Trying to edge out an optimal choice based on perceived rankings is useless. Come super day, you are all the same, and no career service, brand name, etc will help you from there.

Congratulations and good luck!

Hi, thanks for the advice! There has already been comprehensive comparisons in quantnet. This is exactly what I've been looking for and I couldn't agree more. I don't think I can go wrong with either, as both Columbia and Courant are excellent choices.

It all boils down to my personal preference, or your mention of happiness, I guess.

 

[CourantMathFinance]

Please feel free to ask more questions.