COMPARE Master Programs Comparison: Which quant program to choose?

ssbes said:
Thanks for the advice. Do you know anything about career placement in quant for the MSOR? I just want to make sure I'm not disadvantaged for choosing MSOR over MSFE.
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To be honest, I wish I did. I know at least 2 people from my year are at Citadel (yup, the appealing stuff first I guess lol), at least 1 at Millenium. I'm currently at AB doing FI QR stuff. There's people at Goldman and JPMC. Others I'd probably have to LinkedIn search...

From my interview experience, I'd say to know the following well:
- optimization (dynamic programming--Goldman favorite, graphs--asked by Morgan Stanley and a FinTech I don't remember)
- stochastic modeling (you'll definitely be asked probability)
- data structure and algorithms (CS department has a course on this)
- stochastic calculus if you're into desk quant stuff and some for risk too
All this stuff is in the green book (w/ the exception of graphs) and MSOR covers the first two in core courses.
 
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Hi everyone, I recently got admitted to both MIT MFin and CMU MSCF. Both are good programs. Looks like MIT MFin are more diverse, and CMU MSCF focuses more on the quant career track. Based on the admitted student list, around 80% of CMU MSCF admitted students are Chinese students with strong math and programing backgrounds. MIT MFin has a more diverse demographics with a student body of very different ethnicities and includes students who are interested in ibd/pe/vc and on the traditional finance track. I'm interested in the quant career track, but I'm not that determined and am open for exploration. Interested to hear your thoughts on these two programs.

I'm not interested in pursuing a career in ibd or pe. Rejected a return offer for ibd at a BB and will not go back to the same role in the future.
 
What non-quant career paths would you be exploring at MIT besides IB and PE?
 
I'm unable to compare the two programs, but I want to say that we would welcome your presence in our program. You'll be able to provide a valuable real world perspective to your classmates based on your work experience. I would add that, in our experience, a student like you usually does very well in our program, because you have a clearer view of how what you're learning will be used in practice. So I hope you'll come!
 
My pick would be NCSU for the following reasons:

1. I'm doing an industry switch so employment opportunity is my most important criteria having limited experience. NCSU is located in one of the prime locations for Banking and Risk management. I will be trying to crack into Trading as well on the side but incase that doesn't workout I will fallback to risk management (will obviously have to take relevant courses in both so this plan works out)

2. Small cohort size- more focus on students and the career team seems to be focused on individual students

3. Growing program reputation year on year

4. One of the top universities in applied mathematics (especially statistics)


For UCLA and NYU I wasn't too confident in their career placement stats and ik this depends on the students as well but it feels less customized to better the students chances of placement
 
The choice between these two isn’t make or break for your chances to land a quant role. Just pick if you prefer to do school in NY or Boston
 
I have been admitted to both these programs and having a hard time deciding, can the forum members and past alumni weight in?
Wanted to know if the higher tuition fee at Cornell (about $22K) is worth the Ivy tag and does it matter in the long run?
Found great reviews about UChicago but very few reviews about Cornell.
Please share pros and cons about both programs.
Background : Computer Science Engineer
Career Expectations : Targeting Quant Trading roles

@Andy Nguyen
 
Curious to learn a bit more about why so many people vote for UCB vs UChicago.
The Chicago program timeline appears to be better suited for FT placement in companies (and I also assume that the Chicago location is better than Berkeley).
However, i find it weird that there aren't a lot of UChicago reviews out there (would refrain from contacting UChicago office to get a review from alumni as they are obviously biased).
Looking at LinkedIn, I see many of the students from UCB that graduated just now still looking for FT placement, this is a big concern for me...
 
I recently received offers from these two programs. However, it is really hard for me to decide which program is more suitable for me. My background is major in quantitative finance and computer science with two internships in quant finance. Additionally, one unpublished portfolio optimization paper. Currently, I am interested in asset management and aspire to pursue a long-term career path as a portfolio manager in the US, so trying to stay in the States would be my top option. I think my biggest deficiencies maybe my weak math background. There are pros and cons I consider about these two programs.

UW CFRM
Pros:
1. High employment placement rate.
2. Prestigious school in computer science.
3. Many curriculums are designed for data science.

Cons:
1. Curriculum may be hard to become a trading quant.
2. Fewer math courses.
3. Location and less financial company.

BU MSMFT
Pros:
1. Rigorous curriculums.
2. Ideal location for asset management.

Cons:
1. Many courses are designed for Q-quant, but my career goal is toward the buy side.
2. Hard course with a lower GPA.
3. Lower employment rate based on the stat in quantnet. Hard to stay in the US?

I would appreciate it if you give some honest reviews of these two programs.
 
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I was in the same position and I thought it was very close decision but ended up going with BU because of location. If I didn't have a GF and didn't receive a good scholarship I probably would have ended up at UW.

In my mind it depends on how much you weight the potential of a tech career pivot.

UW is also like half the price so that would sway my decision if I didn't get a scholarship.
 
Hi,

So I just got an admit to UCB and I accepted the offer extended by Columbia. Want to be sure before I choose between the two programs and would be helpful if people can help me do this

Thanks a lot :)
 

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