COMPARE Cornell Financial Engineering VS Yale Asset Management

[Xinyan_Lillian]

Hi everyone, I've received admits from these 2 programs. Ideally I plan to do quantitative research in an asset management company after graduation and strive to be a portfolio manager in the long run. But other kinds of work in this field (such as IB) are also acceptable to me.

From my understanding, both 2 programs seem able to provide useful resourses and training that support my career goal. Since Yale AM is a brand-new program, I do have some concerns about how it will be and no statistics can be provided for reference currently. However, uncertainty cannot be the convincing reason for me to give up Yale!

So I would like to seek your advice on which program would be more worth taking. Any vote or comment will be a big help for me! Thanks in advance .

 

[Onegin]

Congratulations - looking at the Yale program briefly, it's tough to say. This sounds really good - a lot of econometrics, quantitative investing. The challenge is those courses can be very easy or very hard. It's not clear what level of resolution they are targeting with the program.

Boston University had a "Masters in Investment Management" that was basically a glorified version of CFA Level I, for 30k. This doesn't seem to far off from that, but Yale has a legacy from Stephen Ross (a legend) and Goetzmann who is really good. Can you get sample syllabi or curriculum details?

Cornell seems like a great program, but the department is kind of a mess. NYC seems in the game, but Ithaca campus doesn't seem to really put a lot of effort out. I couldn't even get the Ithaca campus to respond when I tried to visit there after being accepted. Really solid program in any case. . .

 

[Xinyan_Lillian]

Congratulations - looking at the Yale program briefly, it's tough to say. This sounds really good - a lot of econometrics, quantitative investing. The challenge is those courses can be very easy or very hard. It's not clear what level of resolution they are targeting with the program.

Boston University had a "Masters in Investment Management" that was basically a glorified version of CFA Level I, for 30k. This doesn't seem to far off from that, but Yale has a legacy from Stephen Ross, Goetzmann, et al who were giants. Can you get sample syllabi or curriculum details?

Cornell seems like a great program, but the department is kind of a mess. NYC seems in the game, but Ithaca campus doesn't seem to really put a lot of effort out. I couldn't even get the Ithaca campus to respond when I tried to visit there after being accepted. Really solid program in any case. . .

Thank you so much for the response! No idea about curriculum details yet, but I will try to know more and post useful information here if possible.

 

[tips]

If you're planning on doing quant research (even if it's at a AM fund), going to cornell and having access to the excellent ML/CS courses will help you a lot more in the long term than whatever AM-specific coursework you might have in the yale program.

I think Cornell is miles better than Yale for anyone who is looking to do modern quant research; You're getting access to NYC + the brand name difference isn't really that big (in finance anyways) + you'll leave cornell with a more marketable skillset IMO

 

[tips]

I also went to Cornell for my bachelors, so I’m biased. But if you have any questions about the school beyond your program in particular I’d be happy to help

 

[Xinyan_Lillian]

If you're planning on doing quant research (even if it's at a AM fund), going to cornell and having access to the excellent ML/CS courses will help you a lot more in the long term than whatever AM-specific coursework you might have in the yale program.

I think Cornell is miles better than Yale for anyone who is looking to do modern quant research; You're getting access to NYC + the brand name difference isn't really that big (in finance anyways) + you'll leave cornell with a more marketable skillset IMO

Really helpful! Thank you