COMPARE Imperial or NCSU?

[sag]

I have been admitted to Risk management and financial engineering at Imperial and financial mathematics at NCSU.
RMFE is a 1 year course housed in Imperial's business school which is very new and Imperial is mostly known for its engineering school not its business school. Then again it's in London.
NCSU has a 2 year course and coming from an engineering background it might give me more time to learn finance.Of course 1 year course has its own advantages.In short I am very confused!
Also being an international student (Indian) getting a job in UK after Visa change might be difficult.
Its easy to compare schools in US and schools in UK but comparing a UK and a US school is difficult.I don't prefer any one place over the other.My only priority is career after the course.I know I have very limited options but please advice!

 

[sag]

This site has been my main source of info throughout the application process. I will really appreciate comments from you guys.

 

[vincegata]

Did you read the review of NCSU?

 

[bigbadwolf]

RMFE is a 1 year course housed in Imperial's business school which is very new and Imperial is mostly known for its engineering school not its business school. Then again it's in London.
NCSU has a 2 year course and coming from an engineering background it might give me more time to learn finance.Of course 1 year course has its own advantages.In short I am very confused!
Also being an international student (Indian) getting a job in UK after Visa change might be difficult.

Well, for what it's worth, here goes. London can be a fast-paced and unfriendly city for a newcomer (I've lived in and around London for 11 years and still find it so). The Imperial program, if it's any good, will be intensive and high-paced. The additional pressure of looking for a job in a short time frame with an unfriendly visa regime could be the straw that breaks your back.

 

[vincegata]

@sag, why are you considering getting your Masters in the US and not in India? Is the comparable program in your home land?

 

[sag]

@vincegata, there are no similar courses in India. Yeah the ncsu review doesn't look so good.On the other hand, nobody has specifically said anything about Imperial.
@bigbadwolf: I really appreciate your views. I have always liked London whenever I have visited. There is a growing market for professionals with similar qualification in my country. So, I think I should be okay if I don't find a job in London.I just wanted to know if there is a job to be had in the foreign land which place might give me a better opportunity of finding it

 

[bigbadwolf]

@bigbadwolf: I really appreciate your views. I have always liked London whenever I have visited. There is a growing market for professionals with similar qualification in my country. So, I think I should be okay if I don't find a job in London.I just wanted to know if there is a job to be had in the foreign land which place might give me a better opportunity of finding it

Then -- assuming your pockets are deep, you've received no other offers, and that your world won't crash around your ears if you don't get a job in England -- go for Imperial.

 

[sag]

@bigbadwolf: I have offer from Rutgers. But, I guess it doesn't count.

 

[sag]

@bigbadwolf: I have offers from citibank and goldman sachs with IT profiles in my country.I really wanted to shift to finance. Should I wait for a year, gain some experience and apply to better schools?

 

[michel]

On the other hand, nobody has specifically said anything about Imperial.

Have you tried looking for information on the web?

Here are some discussion you might found interesting:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1268536
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?p=30003792&highlight=imperial RMFE
http://www.wilmott.com/messageview.cfm?catid=16&threadid=76851&FTVAR_MSGDBTABLE=
http://www.quantnet.com/forum/threads/rutgers-msmf-vs-imperial-college-rmfe.4230/
(Otherwise Quantnet, Wilmott, theStudentroom have a lot of topics on IC, so you can make a research on those)

Most of them are on the MSc mathematics and finance from IC but you can keep information relative to IC in general.
If you want to have a small picture of what does graduates do after IC, you can check some of them are on LinkedIn.

My opinion is that even if RMFE MSc of Imperial seems not to have an as good reputation as the mathematics and finance one, it is still a very good program (Most of the courses are in common between those MSc) and as you say: it is based in London.

I do not know that much about NCSU, but It seems to me that you are comparing MSc that are not in the same "league"

Hoping that this will be helpful for your choice

 

[bigbadwolf]

@bigbadwolf: I have offers from citibank and goldman sachs with IT profiles in my country.I really wanted to shift to finance. Should I wait for a year, gain some experience and apply to better schools?

That can only help. There's no hurry. It's a question of playing what cards you have in your hand correctly. If you have such offers, accept one of them and work at the job for not one year but two. Your working for such organisations gives you credibility in the job market when you finish your MFE. In addition, MFEs typically are involved with coding and relevant experience in the general area strengthens your hand.

This additional information changes the picture. Do not accept the NCSU offer. Work, learn more programming, study in your spare hours, and bide your time.

 

[sag]

@michel: thanks for the threads. They were very informative.

thanks a lot guys!!