Strat in Chinese hedge fund vs Cornell MFE

[sgaoxian]

I just got the AD from Cornell University MFE out of expectation and a work offer from a quantitative trading hedge fund in China. I am wondering whether it is better to go to Cornell MFE directly or work one year first. The competition of MFE is getting more and more competitive and my desire is to work in a USA buy-side firm as a trader. My dream schools are CMU MSCF and Columbia MFE, but CMU has rejected me and Columbia give no information (likely rejection in silence).

So my dilemma is that: if I reject AD from Cornell and work 1 year in the Chinese hedge fund, I have the opportunity to reapply again to get admitted to my dream schools and with work experience, it may be easier to find a job. But it may also happen that I cannot get admitted as the competition is more and more fierce. If I accept AD from Cornell and my career goal is to be a trader, I may not be competitive in US trader job market. Moreover, I heard that Cornell only did well in the career path of risk management. And I cannot see enough curriculum information on Cornell website. Can any Cornell alumni or current students give me more information about the quality of Cornell MFE?

 

[Eric Lim]

I would say gain work experience for a year or two and re-apply. You will definitely have an improved application and also it's highly likely that Cornell will accept you again. The fact that Cornell accepted you tells me you are a strong candidate and lack of work experience could be your weakness that other schools want you to improve.

 

[Keith Tan]

tough choice. follow your heart.

 

[yetanotherquant]

I would say gain work experience for a year or two and re-apply.

I would even say, after a year of work experience you may even not want to apply anymore.
Finally, we normally make an MFE to get a job, so if you already have (a good) one...
If you want to learn the stochastic calculus (at MFE level), just read Shreve (may be difficult if you have to work 10h+ but still).
And if you want to learn practical derivative pricing, delve into QuantLib or OpenGamma

 

[sgaoxian]

I would even say, after a year of work experience you may even not want to apply anymore.
Finally, we normally make an MFE to get a job, so if you already have (a good) one...
If you want to learn the stochastic calculus (at MFE level), just read Shreve (may be difficult if you have to work 10h+ but still).
And if you want to learn practical derivative pricing, delve into QuantLib or OpenGamma

Thank you for your advice. The main reason for reading a master is because of migration to US.

 

[yetanotherquant]

Thank you for your advice. The main reason for reading a master is because of migration to US.

Welcome in club!
(I mean, I managed to migrate to Germany via Ulm-University MFE Program).
In this context I definitely recommend you to gather some working experience and then (re)-apply for MFE.
I believe, I (by that time a foreigner with limited German) have found a job after graduation only because I already have several years of experience in Russia.
BTW, I had to sell myself at junior price but I caught up very quickly, despite of the crisis!

 

[C S]

Some people are equating all work experience, but some experiences are far more valuable than others. Frankly, I'm not sure how valuable the "average" buy-side experience is. In my experience, there are a lot of Chinese students that have such experiences. I have my doubts about how competitive that would make you.