Chicago MSFM vs Columbia MFE

[escheffer]

Still cant believe Chicago is ahead of Columbia. Don't know if it is because we need to cast a vote to see the results, the cost factor or Chicago's performance has significantly improved. Had posted this a while back and got opposite results.

Choosing between grad schools

Hi Everyone, I received admits from UChicago MSFM(30% scholarship) and Georgia Tech QCF. I know that UChicago is much better in terms of rankings and Chicago as a city is much better to build connections than Atlanta. I even have started connecting with alums of Chicago to get their opinion and...

quantnet.com

Regarding the slightly higher salary (8% higher), we can also assume that most of it is in NYC, while UChicago might have a higher concentration on Chicago perhaps. NYC living costs can be up to 30% higher than Chicago, not considering taxes, so keep that in mind.

 

[shift]

From my research, I feel as though the actual course at UChicago is better. The course is extremely flexible allowing students to take classes that interest them and set them up for a career they want to pursue, as well as being able to take courses from other departments including Booth. The project lab is a great opportunity for those who lack prior experience to gain something worthwhile to put on their CV. In saying this, as an international student, I was under the impression that the Ivy League status of Columbia carries a lot of weight, leading me to believe that Columbia MFE would be a better choice - any thoughts on this?

 

[escheffer]

From my research, I feel as though the actual course at UChicago is better. The course is extremely flexible allowing students to take classes that interest them and set them up for a career they want to pursue, as well as being able to take courses from other departments including Booth. The project lab is a great opportunity for those who lack prior experience to gain something worthwhile to put on their CV. In saying this, as an international student, I was under the impression that the Ivy League status of Columbia carries a lot of weight, leading me to believe that Columbia MFE would be a better choice - any thoughts on this?

I made some research to get the “reputation” feeling in Brazil, and it is pretty much 50%-50% on both, with a higher tendency for Columbia for those in Management Consulting and in the Industry/Real Economy sectors, and for UChicago’s for those in the finance sector, especially related to quant finance; for IB/PE, it is roughly equal. I think the main difference really ends up on location (where do you want to work/live) and cost importance.

 

[jmansfield]

From my research, I feel as though the actual course at UChicago is better. The course is extremely flexible allowing students to take classes that interest them and set them up for a career they want to pursue, as well as being able to take courses from other departments including Booth. The project lab is a great opportunity for those who lack prior experience to gain something worthwhile to put on their CV. In saying this, as an international student, I was under the impression that the Ivy League status of Columbia carries a lot of weight, leading me to believe that Columbia MFE would be a better choice - any thoughts on this?

At this point, when you start comparing and contrasting such elite schools whether they are in the Ivy League or not doesn't really matter anymore. People know UChicago is an elite school at the same level as the Ivy's if not better. For example, think of schools like MIT, Stanford, Caltech, ... those are not in the Ivy League but you would still give them the same amount of respect and prestige as any Ivy. UChicago is the same, it is a top 10 school, even beating out several Ivy's, and garners the same amount of prestige and respect as any Ivy. I would also argue that this is especially true in the quant finance world as UChicago has been the epicenter of numerous significant contributions to Quant finance including the Black-Scholes equation, the Fama-French model, and the CAPM model which were all discovered by researchers at UChicago. Also, numerous massive firms have been founded by UChicago Alumni, DRW, AQR, and DFA just to name a few.

 

[quantchoices]

Are both schools safe?