COMPARE CMU MSCF vs Columbia MAFN

[mhy]

I was admitted to Columbia MAFN and I'm waiting for the result from CMU MSCF after my interview last week. If admitted to both, I have only 3 days to decide and will have a tough choice to make. Both of them will be part time.

Background: CS degree with mathematics minor from a US school, working in NYC in financial firms as a developer.

Career goals/aspirations: Move to quant dev / quant analyst from a pure developer role. Not decided which area yet but hope to be on the buy side if possible.

CMU MSCF
Pros:
- Structured & rigorous curriculum
- Respected on Wall St, and good career services
- Flexible schedule, all lectures recorded.
- Focus on practical aspects

Cons:
- Expensive $$
- Course sequence is fixed

Columbia MAFN
Pros:
- Ivy League name
- Flexible curriculum, can take different electives
- Cheaper.

Cons:
- Career services doesn't seem as established
- Not sure if lectures are recorded / available online?
- Some classes might be too theoretical since the program is in the mathematics dept.

From what I have researched alumni from both programs are employed in similar positions.

Can anyone comment on the nature of the two programs and / or content of coursework (how much math vs programming vs other, for instance)? My impression is CMU focuses a lot on programming and Columbia is more on the math side, with electives for programming classes.

I've contacted some alumni and hope to visit Columbia this week. It seems that the MAFN program has less info available online than the MFE program. I tried to search for info on Quantnet as well but wasn't able to turn up a lot of threads (I found some Columbia MFE / CMU MSCF comparison though)

Thanks for any advice!

mhy

 

[diegosanaz]

I would visit both schools to not be biased towards one.

I actually feel both programs are quite different because of the points you just mentiones. CMU developes students that can be parachuted into anything, while you can tailor MAFN into what you want to do. I would love to go to MAFN, however I feel the biggest flaw of the programs is that there is not a programming for finance class, you can just take generic programming classes from the Computer Science departement or hope to be let in one of the programming MFE electives. If you are already a developer my guess is that you are already a good programmer, so this wont be a huge concern for you.

I vote for Columbia given your work experience and that you already broke into the finance field. However, I get the feeling from Quantnet that CMU is regarded in the work industry as a better program.

 

[mhy]

I've made my decision and will be joining CMU MSCF this fall. I like the curriculum a lot, and I feel like given my background, it is a better fit for me. The courses in the MAFN program seemed to be basically PhD-level math/stats courses and designed for someone who potentially could go on to a PhD program, which I am not currently considering.

Also, I think it would be wiser for me to do what suits me more, since I am studying for my degree part-time while working. (no life for 2.5 years except summers)

Now, I better start relearning/reviewing all that calculus, probability and statistics I have forgotten over the last 5 years!

 

[Canuck]

I've made my decision and will be joining CMU MSCF this fall. I like the curriculum a lot, and I feel like given my background, it is a better fit for me. The courses in the MAFN program seemed to be basically PhD-level math/stats courses and designed for someone who potentially could go on to a PhD program, which I am not currently considering.

Also, I think it would be wiser for me to do what suits me more, since I am studying for my degree part-time while working. (no life for 2.5 years except summers)

Now, I better start relearning/reviewing all that calculus, probability and statistics I have forgotten over the last 5 years!

just remember:

 

[unhappy_mscf]

CMU failed 6 students this year in New York. Welcome aboard!

 

[Lyosha]

CMU failed 6 students this year in New York. Welcome aboard!

???

CMU's fault in that does not go beyond admitting unqualified candidates. You expect your $50 grand comes with a graduate school transcript pre-loaded with straight As?

 

[SYau]

Yah, CMU is not Harvard.