COMPARE Columbia University MFE vs Carnegie Mellon University MSCF vs Cornell University MFE

[Rika]

Hey guys!
I wanted some advice in making a decision about which program to attend for Fall 2021. I have received admits from all three programs and have not been offered any scholarships.

Brief background:
Final year engineering student from India (Electronics and Communication Engineering)
Three internships (Two are in financial services, one of them being a boutique firm and the other is a leading NBFC in India, both were mostly related to traditional finance)
Have a research paper published on the technical analysis of a stock index

Since I don't have any prior work-experience, I am open to working in different roles (other than risk) and would prefer a quant analyst role at a buy-side firm or a role in an IB on the sell-side.

I have spoken to a lot of current students and alumni and have received detailed feedback due to which I am considering the CMU and Columbia offer more.
I plan on working in the US in the long run for now and hence value employment statistics heavily as well.

I have not listed any pros and cons as I seek unbiased review ahah. I know about the CMU career services though and feel that it would be a great addition for someone that does not have any full-time work experience (like me). In the case of Columbia, they have very little information about employment statistics and seem to lack transparency regarding jobs and internships so if you have any information or thoughts regarding that, please let me know.

Lastly, my bias towards Columbia is mainly due to the Ivy-league name if I am going to be honest here. How much should I value that and does it really matter in the real world?

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!

 

[another]

Hi, may I ask what're the pros/cons are you thinking about Columbia vs Cornell? Thanks in advance!

 

[Onegin]

Not until @Rika tells us the winner

 

[prisonMike]

All the 3 programs have more or less similar brand name.
CMU has excellent career services but is in PA. (It is one the top ranked Engineering school in the world)
Columbia is not known for its career services but it is in NewYork.
Cornell's MFE program has 2 semesters in Ithica and 1 semester in NY so overall living expenses are less compared to Columbia but less networking time as well. (Cornell is also an Ivy league)

Columbia has a very diverse curriculum covering all the aspects of FE. I think CMU has more focus of programming(Not sure about this).
Since you are open to working in different roles, you can ignore the industry based placement stats.

There is no wrong choice in any of the programs, do what you feel is best for you. Opportunities will be similar in all 3 schools.

 

[Onegin]

CMU has a NYC campus, experience not substantially different from Pittsburgh. Professors closely connected w/ the street. . . We had some top practitioners teaching out of NYC

 

[Rika]

Not until @Rika tells us the winner

Hi guys! Sorry for this long gap in my reply! After a long decision-making process, I have decided to go ahead with CMU MSCF (PA).

 

[Rika]

Hi, may I ask what're the pros/cons are you thinking about Columbia vs Cornell? Thanks in advance!

I would not consider Cornell FE concentration to be in the same tier as the Columbia MFE. The program at Columbia is a top tier program and if choosing between the two, I would have gone with Columbia. This is mainly because of the program reputation, location and employment statistics (in which Columbia fares better than Cornell). Cornell is a very good program as well though!

 

[Rika]

All the 3 programs have more or less similar brand name.
CMU has excellent career services but is in PA. (It is one the top ranked Engineering school in the world)
Columbia is not known for its career services but it is in NewYork.
Cornell's MFE program has 2 semesters in Ithica and 1 semester in NY so overall living expenses are less compared to Columbia but less networking time as well. (Cornell is also an Ivy league)

Columbia has a very diverse curriculum covering all the aspects of FE. I think CMU has more focus of programming(Not sure about this).
Since you are open to working in different roles, you can ignore the industry based placement stats.

There is no wrong choice in any of the programs, do what you feel is best for you. Opportunities will be similar in all 3 schools.

Thank you for your response! I have finally decided to go with the MSCF program as the location advantage did not feel too solid especially in times like these where a lot of stuff is online.

 

[Rika]

CMU has a NYC campus, experience not substantially different from Pittsburgh. Professors closely connected w/ the street. . . We had some top practitioners teaching out of NYC

That's great! I'm super excited about the program!