How is the Placements for international students at the top MFE Programs?

[Utsav Basak]

I am an international student from India and am aiming to get into one of the top MFE programs in the US. From what I've gathered from the placement reports, it seems that all the students are placed comfortably. However, I am skeptical of how the scene is for international students who would need a visa sponsorship to work in the US. Is it equally easy for an international candidate to secure a decent job offer?

Some programs I am targeting:

1. Baruch
2. UC Berkeley
3. Columbia
4. Princeton
5. CMU
6. NYU
7. Cornell

Individual commentaries on each of the programs will be deeply appreciated.

 

[randomquant]

You need to convince the company that you are valuable enough to go trough the visa process, not easy and definitely risky. I have seen increased resistance towards international students, due to current environment.

 

[Utsav Basak]

Yes, in part my worry stems from the current environment. Yet most programs I've found that the international applicants constitute a considerably chunk of the class (often >50%), and the placement stats don't suffer. That is the only thing that gives me hope. I just wanted to know the real situation should someone know about it.

 

[randomquant]

Sure, keep in mind that as a STEM you will have 3 years of work. So I believe school placement looks good because companies can place students in high turnover positions. A bigger question you should ask yourself is what is the placement 5 years after graduation, how many are fully sponsored H1B-Green card, and how many just let OPT dry out or H1B dry out.

 

[dstefan]

For the Baruch MFE Program, the placement of international students is similar to those of US residents, with over 95% placement in the US; the numbers from the 2016-2018 Employment Report would be very similar if broken down for international students.

https://mfe.baruch.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/2016-2018_Baruch_MFE_Employment_Report.pdf

 

[Utsav Basak]

For the Baruch MFE Program, the placement of international students is similar to those of US residents, with over 95% placement in the US; the numbers from the 2016-2018 Employment Report would be very similar if broken down for international students.

https://mfe.baruch.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/2016-2018_Baruch_MFE_Employment_Report.pdf

Thank you so much for replying to me. It is very reassuring considering you are currently the director of the program. Is the same true for most such programs?

And what does Baruch look for in a candidate?