COMPARE Master Programs Comparison: Which quant program to choose?

I think you cannot go wrong with either program, but would give an edge to Cornell for their CFEM seminar series and the CFEM resources in general (Cornell Financial Engineering Manhattan | Operations Research and Information Engineering). The UCLA MFE does seem to place well into Los Angeles-based asset managers and hedge funds, e.g. WAMCO, Sancus, so if staying in LA is of interest to you and/or you are leaning towards wanting to work on the buy-side, I would perhaps place more weight on UCLA. Ending where I started, I really think you cannot go wrong with either.
 
There is a post by a UCLA MFE student sharing his thoughts on why he chose the program. Worth reading to get a first hand experience.
quantnet.com

UCLA MFE - Why UCLA Anderson MFE

If I were to sum it up in one word, it would be FACULTY. The professors in this program are subject-matter experts who love to teach. I have really enjoyed my learning experience. The students: My classmates come from various technical backgrounds with varied experiences. This makes the group...
quantnet.com quantnet.com
 
Hey Everyone!

I recently got accepted into both these programs - NCSU FinMath and BU MSMFT (with scholarship) and I was looking for advice on which program is better for my career path - Quant Research/ Quant Trading. I don't have any past quant internship and I'm currently more inclined to NCSU because of their career placement stats. Please advice.

Background : I started trading as a hobby in both forex and equity markets a few years back and decided to take it up seriously as a career. I've been experimenting with Algo trading and I've built trading bots, etc. I don't have any relevant past internships and I want to do Quant research/ Quant trading after graduation from my masters program.
 
MichaelLewis said:
It doesn’t look like many alumni go into quant research/trading when looking at the career paths of NCSU.

BU also has several trading related courses that could prove useful.
Click to expand...

According to NCSU's website it seems quant trading was among their alumnus career paths but I'm not sure what % of it was
 
First I'd say that Cornell has a fantastic program no doubt. I did not go to Cornell however I know they have professor Deprado on staff and provide a great insight into the financial applications within Machine Learning.

For perspective, I did my MFE at UCLA and what influenced my decision to attend UCLA was due to the fact that they were motivated to change their program for the future. They have continuously evolved their program over the past 5 years (3 years when I was looking at it). They have just brought in Eric Reiner from Berkeley to teach the derivatives courses and have incorporated python into the majority of their class assignments. They also provide answer solutions in math and in python code for many of the more complicated assignments that one will be given as well. That said, what the biggest benefit I experienced during the program was that the professors (for the most part) would actually teach you the material if you asked them directly for help along with the TA's. (What's the point of these programs if you're not going to get the help when you need help).

Opportunity wise, go to the New York trips. I had plenty of attention and opportunities from the New York banks and firms. If you're good you'll get your looks from employers that you're interested in however you need to go on the trips to ensure you have the proper networking experience.

This may change over time certainly, but the fact the current MFE administrators are interested in trying to produce the best quant program in the country is telling.

I hope that helps.
 
Hello, I have already receive the offers from the above three listed schools. I plan to apply for the PHD programs related to Finance after the completion of the master program.
Which program should I choose?
 
Fellows!

I want some advice in making a decision about which program to attend for Fall 2023. I have recently received admits from these two programs and need to make decision by the end of next week.

Brief background:
Final year Econ & Data Sci student from a US university, but an F-1 international
Have some finance related internships (but not quant related), had a research experience with a well known prof, and one TAship for a finance class
I am familiar with coding in Python and I have participated in several Kaggle competitions
I am currently wish to pursue a quant role at a buy-side firm or a role in an IB on the sell-side.

I am considering Cornell's FE because of its better employment statistics these years and its higher ranking this year, but also values Columbia's location
Also, I do plan on working in the US in the long run

Let me know your thoughts or pros/cons of the programs, especially if you are attending or have attended any of these programs.

Thanks in advance guys!
 
I am seeing a vast majority voting for Columbia MFE, but is there a reason why?
Pls pls pls share your insights on these programs, they will be crucial for me to make my final decision
 
I was admitted into both programs and am pretty split on making a decision between the two. I've attended the info sessions for both schools and am planning on meeting people from both programs in the coming weeks. Hoping to take away some wisdom from the crowds with this post ahead of those meetings to help guild me in the decision process.

Background on myself. I've been working on wall street for about 6 years now. Graduated undergrad from Cornell in 2017 with a BSc in Applied Economics & Management / Minor in Mathematics. Taught myself to code, and have been working as a Software Engineer inside a hedge fund. Tried getting a role as a quant trader/researcher on the buy side in either a multi-strat, systematic shop (Two Sigma/DE Shaw/AQR/etc.), or Prop Trading shop (Akuna/Jump/etc.). But, it was difficult to secure interviews, so I decided to get my masters to strengthen my resume.

Given that I am a bit older, have some industry experience, and am targeting buy-side roles imbedded in a systematic investment process, which school do you think is a better fit?
 
Go for Cornell, based on last year comparision. Also Columbia doesnot offer any scholarship I guess.
 
Hi guys!
I got admitted to all the programs except Columbia MFE and MAFN. I'm still waiting to hear back from these, though I will have to make a decision before the end of this month. I'm having a hard time choosing between these programs. I want to ideally get into Quant Research on the buy-side but I'm not shoehorning myself into any fields yet. I would also like to keep open the possibility of doing a PhD in Math/Statistics because I truly love these subjects and it will allow me to do highly mathematical roles, which I'm aspiring towards. I also got into UMass Amherst for Applied Mathematics with a full scholarship (tuition + living expenses). Although the university's reputation is not as good as the other ones (especially amongst top employers in the quant industry), the offer is undeniably attractive. I do not mind investing substantially more money into my education if it is truly worth it though. Given these details, I would really appreciate if you could provide some guidance and insight to resolve my dilemma. Thank you!
 
Worth noting that I have actually applied to the Data Science track for the Stanford CME course (also has a computational finance track). Which program should I go for? Would really appreciate some input from any alumni because I'm really struggling to pick. Thanks!
 
@ChristineCC Have you received offers from all three programs? I believe UCLA and Tandon are a tier above NCSU. As to which program to choose from the two, a lot depends on your priorities. UCLA places a lot of people in Asset management especially in the LA /Orange County /SF region. So if you like good weather it's a great choice. However if it's the east coast you want to be on, UCLA has a full time consultant based out of New York who has extensive contacts in NYC and help with placements there. I believe academically both programs are similar, however UCLA has Fixed Income legend Francis Longstaff and a new derivatives professor Eric Reiner (who is also the new faculty director) who has worked for years on derivates on Wall Street and a very proactive program management team.
 
I think you should maybe share more about your background, career aspirations, and also if money is a factor in your decision, so people will be able to help you better, even though it looks like Princeton is a clear winner here anyways :). Congrats!
 

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