Funding Options for MFE programs

[doubleohseven]

Hello all,

I will be starting a MFE program in Fall 2021 (program currently undecided) and have been assessing my financial situation. I am a US citizen and I have completed FAFSA and am waiting to hear back from individual school's financial aid offices. However, I have been trying to find other sources of funding with little success. Are there any private organizations that offer scholarships/grants/alternative funding methods for this specific field? With the vast number of programs and scholarships available, it is tough to find options that apply to me.

 

[IntoDarkness]

just take out some loans it's ok everybody does

 

[bigbadwolf]

Are there any private organizations that offer scholarships/grants/alternative funding methods for this specific field?

Not that I am aware of. That's why it's so important to get into a good program, to know the placement rates, and to make sure you are prepared and hit the ground running, so to speak. Also, it's false economy to choose some bum program merely because it's a little cheaper. This has to be a calculated gamble.

 

[mutz]

Not that I am aware of. That's why it's so important to get into a good program, to know the placement rates, and to make sure you are prepared and hit the ground running, so to speak. Also, it's false economy to choose some bum program merely because it's a little cheaper. This has to be a calculated gamble.

What's a bum program in your opinion? Anything outside top 10? 20?

 

[bigbadwolf]

What's a bum program in your opinion? Anything outside top 10? 20?

I don't have a fixed opinion on this. There seems to be a loose consensus here on this site (or there used to be) that the top 7 programs were the ones to aim for. There are quite a few "bum programs" in the top 20. They're cheaper than the top programs for a reason -- the teaching isn't great, the faculty isn't great, the quality of students is lower, the placement rate isn't great (and even when the graduates find jobs it's not at the same pay and same prospects as graduates from, say, Carnegie Mellon, Princeton or Baruch). But of course this applies to most areas, not just quant finance: a Ph.D. in physics or mathematics from the U of Iowa or U of Wisconsin is not the same as a Ph.D. from MIT or Princeton.

 

[doubleohseven]

I don't have a fixed opinion on this. There seems to be a loose consensus here on this site (or there used to be) that the top 7 programs were the ones to aim for. There are quite a few "bum programs" in the top 20. They're cheaper than the top programs for a reason -- the teaching isn't great, the faculty isn't great, the quality of students is lower, the placement rate isn't great (and even when the graduates find jobs it's not at the same pay and same prospects as graduates from, say, Carnegie Mellon, Princeton or Baruch). But of course this applies to most areas, not just quant finance: a Ph.D. in physics or mathematics from the U of Iowa or U of Wisconsin is not the same as a Ph.D. from MIT or Princeton.

Perhaps you can answer this question: Schools like Georgia Tech and NC State are significantly cheaper due to the fact that they are public, state schools. Obviously there is a a difference between these schools and a school like CMU, but I'm having trouble making sense of the huge gap in price between schools that are ranked similar. I've researched these schools and they seem like good programs, is it really worth the extra 20-30k to attend a school that only ranks higher by 1 or 2 spots?

 

[bigbadwolf]

Perhaps you can answer this question: Schools like Georgia Tech and NC State are significantly cheaper due to the fact that they are public, state schools. Obviously there is a a difference between these schools and a school like CMU, but I'm having trouble making sense of the huge gap in price between schools that are ranked similar. I've researched these schools and they seem like good programs, is it really worth the extra 20-30k to attend a school that only ranks higher by 1 or 2 spots?

The decision is yours (and I'm glad I don't have to make it). Just make sure the salary figures and the placement rates you get for the programs are accurate. Baruch is a good program but not expensive. Private schools are more expensive than state schools, true. Quite a few people think they're not worth the extra money. I'm sympathetic to that point of view. Ordinarily I would stop here. But it reminds me of another discussion I started recently (on this forum) about wristwatches. To my mind a Rolex is over-priced. If the sale price for a particular Rolex is $10,000 , the dealer is acquiring it at $6,000. At the same time, I know that Rolex maintains its price on the used market better than many other brands. That brand name, in other words, has a cachet that endures. Likewise for a degree in quant finance from Princeton or CMU: the brand name has enduring value.