COMPARE Columbia University MFE vs MIT Master of Finance
- Thread starter charlesc
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA 02139
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Columbia University
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Columbia University
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While visiting Columbia last night, I attended the FE practitioners seminar. I met a hedgefund trader who told me he believed Columbia is more relevant to finance than MIT. I took his word for it. He graduated from NYU courant so he was sort of unbiased, maybe...
Another key advantage of Columbia is you can interview at firms all year long. The students there told me that they started to look for jobs right away; as early as september! It's much easier to interview for positions when they are only a few subway stops away, and there is a lot more finance in NYC. Therefore, you can just get a lot more interviews in, and do them all year round.
The biggest selling point: I think that getting a good job after the program is probably more of a numbers game than a dependency on some minor differences between the MIT/Columbia brands or educations. I could very easily be wrong, but I think Columbia will get you more interviews and subsequently more offers. (I attribute this to the age and reputation of the program, alumni network, networking opp at seminars, internship opp in NYC, and stellar placement stats)
Lastly, Columbia is more 'quanty' and Emanual Derman is awesome and really smart. When I met him, he seemed personally invested in the success of his students which is a nice quality as well.
MIT is halfway between MBA and quant degree. Honestly, I don't know enough about finance hiring to know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. My plan is to get a MFE now, I can always get an MBA later (if I find that I need one). MIT is also a young program that's going through changes. I don't doubt that MIT will be an awesome experience and prepare you for a great career in finance, I just think Columbia is a safer track to get into quant-finance.
I will say that if you are looking for a half MBA half quant degree, then MIT, no brainer. Similarly, if you are looking for something more managerial, or are unsure if you want to be a quant, then also pick MIT. If you are interested in something more startupy / entrepreneurial pick MIT. All else, pick Columbia.
Disclaimer: I am just regurgitating information that I was able to amass through various sources. I don't really know what I am talking about. Or maybe I do, I don't know.
Another key advantage of Columbia is you can interview at firms all year long. The students there told me that they started to look for jobs right away; as early as september! It's much easier to interview for positions when they are only a few subway stops away, and there is a lot more finance in NYC. Therefore, you can just get a lot more interviews in, and do them all year round.
The biggest selling point: I think that getting a good job after the program is probably more of a numbers game than a dependency on some minor differences between the MIT/Columbia brands or educations. I could very easily be wrong, but I think Columbia will get you more interviews and subsequently more offers. (I attribute this to the age and reputation of the program, alumni network, networking opp at seminars, internship opp in NYC, and stellar placement stats)
Lastly, Columbia is more 'quanty' and Emanual Derman is awesome and really smart. When I met him, he seemed personally invested in the success of his students which is a nice quality as well.
MIT is halfway between MBA and quant degree. Honestly, I don't know enough about finance hiring to know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. My plan is to get a MFE now, I can always get an MBA later (if I find that I need one). MIT is also a young program that's going through changes. I don't doubt that MIT will be an awesome experience and prepare you for a great career in finance, I just think Columbia is a safer track to get into quant-finance.
I will say that if you are looking for a half MBA half quant degree, then MIT, no brainer. Similarly, if you are looking for something more managerial, or are unsure if you want to be a quant, then also pick MIT. If you are interested in something more startupy / entrepreneurial pick MIT. All else, pick Columbia.
Disclaimer: I am just regurgitating information that I was able to amass through various sources. I don't really know what I am talking about. Or maybe I do, I don't know.
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This needs to go on my Business Card!
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but i heard that hedge funds and investing bank more likely to hire PHD in science not people in MFE
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Hard to decide which one is better. I am not necessarily work in quant in future. Could anyone provide some suggestions? Thanks.
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There’s been a lot of discussion, you’d be well served to look for posts from @devinconolly who is attending MIT.
MIT is a fantastic program with a solid grounding in corporate finance, which I think is a gap for a lot of other programs. Provided you already have a strong foundation in math / engineering , that could be a nice complement to your skills. Also, training makes IBD or PE potential destinations.
Columbia MFE is pretty well respected - I don’t know a lot about it though.
MIT is a fantastic program with a solid grounding in corporate finance, which I think is a gap for a lot of other programs. Provided you already have a strong foundation in math / engineering , that could be a nice complement to your skills. Also, training makes IBD or PE potential destinations.
Columbia MFE is pretty well respected - I don’t know a lot about it though.
From what I heard, I think you might have a broader spectrum in terms of finance at MIT but more technical stuff at Columbia.
If you are looking at a technical job I'd go for Columbia, if not necessarily, as Onegin mentioned, MIT is a very interesting option.
But as I told you last time, it also depends what you're looking for during your education and what you want to take from it.
If you are looking at a technical job I'd go for Columbia, if not necessarily, as Onegin mentioned, MIT is a very interesting option.
But as I told you last time, it also depends what you're looking for during your education and what you want to take from it.
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Hi all,
Hope all are doing well. As the title suggests I want to compare MIT MFin with Columbia MFE. Some background about me - I have an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and have been working at a leading IB for the past 2 years as an equities strategist. I am not keen on studying in a quant heavy program given my prior background. My long term goal is to become a portfolio manager based on macro strategies (hence my inclination towards MIT), if that doesn't work out then I will be looking for a rates trading job at any of the leading sell side firms.
Cost of the program ( tuition + living expenses ) is not a major constraint for me, also because I am being offered a dean's fellowship at MIT which has brought the cost of both the programs roughly same.
Any info / views / stats that can help me make a decision will be great.
Thanks in advance
Hope all are doing well. As the title suggests I want to compare MIT MFin with Columbia MFE. Some background about me - I have an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and have been working at a leading IB for the past 2 years as an equities strategist. I am not keen on studying in a quant heavy program given my prior background. My long term goal is to become a portfolio manager based on macro strategies (hence my inclination towards MIT), if that doesn't work out then I will be looking for a rates trading job at any of the leading sell side firms.
Cost of the program ( tuition + living expenses ) is not a major constraint for me, also because I am being offered a dean's fellowship at MIT which has brought the cost of both the programs roughly same.
Any info / views / stats that can help me make a decision will be great.
Thanks in advance
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With the end goal of becoming a portfolio manager, MIT seems like a better fit.
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Given my interest towards investment management
Which is better if I want to go to a top hedge fund / prop trading such as Citadel? Which is better in general? If you are a hiring manager of a top hedge fund, and you see two resumes from these 2 programs, do you feel a significant inclination to pick one of them, or do you honestly feel indifferent?
Please note that for MIT MFin, i am talking strictly about the Financial Engineering Option, I have seen way too many post that do not isolate Financial Eng. option with others, of course, we do not expect the 3 other options to go the "Quant path". I feel that there is a lack of information on the Internet for this Financial Eng. option.
Please give me some insights, thank you!
Please note that for MIT MFin, i am talking strictly about the Financial Engineering Option, I have seen way too many post that do not isolate Financial Eng. option with others, of course, we do not expect the 3 other options to go the "Quant path". I feel that there is a lack of information on the Internet for this Financial Eng. option.
Please give me some insights, thank you!
If you target top hedge funds/trading houses, I think your profile and interview performance matter much much more than which program you are in. Both programs are able to get you interviews if your background is solid and then the programs make no difference.
For the programs themselves, personally I think Columbia's curriculum may be better structured for financial engineers than MIT's Fin Eng. concentration. But MIT's curriculum is more flexible and covers more financial theories, plus MIT's brand and reputation especially in Asia. So it all depends on your preference.
For the programs themselves, personally I think Columbia's curriculum may be better structured for financial engineers than MIT's Fin Eng. concentration. But MIT's curriculum is more flexible and covers more financial theories, plus MIT's brand and reputation especially in Asia. So it all depends on your preference.
URGENTLY NEED SOME ADVICE!
I am now in this difficult situation of choosing between Columbia MFE (eng) and
MIT Mfin (18 month track, Financial Engineering track). Could anyone shed some light on which program I should choose ?
My Plan:
Upon graduation, I plan to seek for job opportunities in HK, ideally in the buyside (AM，prop shop and hedge fund ).
I also consider the sell side （Quant AM in BBs such as QIS team so I can easily switch to Buyside later on)
From what I learned from the forum, MIT Mfin is normally considered as a tier 2 program while Columbia MFE is more solid and prestigious in area of Financial Engineering. Furthermore, MIT starts too early in the beginning of July, eliminating any possibility of completing a summer internship.
However, the fact that Columbia MFE has way larger class size and weak career service has made me hesitant on accepting the offer, Moreover, the reputation of Columbia is uncompetitive to that of MIT in HK.
I am now in this difficult situation of choosing between Columbia MFE (eng) and
MIT Mfin (18 month track, Financial Engineering track). Could anyone shed some light on which program I should choose ?
My Plan:
Upon graduation, I plan to seek for job opportunities in HK, ideally in the buyside (AM，prop shop and hedge fund ).
I also consider the sell side （Quant AM in BBs such as QIS team so I can easily switch to Buyside later on)
From what I learned from the forum, MIT Mfin is normally considered as a tier 2 program while Columbia MFE is more solid and prestigious in area of Financial Engineering. Furthermore, MIT starts too early in the beginning of July, eliminating any possibility of completing a summer internship.
However, the fact that Columbia MFE has way larger class size and weak career service has made me hesitant on accepting the offer, Moreover, the reputation of Columbia is uncompetitive to that of MIT in HK.
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Congrats! I would say MIT.
Eventually both school names/programs will get you the interview, but then it is your interview performance that matters.
Considering you are planning for a career in Hong kong, I think MIT's reputation will better help you succeed. The technical strength of the Mfin program really depends on which courses that you choose to take. Also, you said Columbia MFE has way lager class size so it is possible that Columbia MFE students receive insufficient career support.
I think what job you end up with really depends more on your personal efforts than the program you are in. So it is up to your preference.
My answer could be biased because I also got admitted to MIT for this fall
Eventually both school names/programs will get you the interview, but then it is your interview performance that matters.
Considering you are planning for a career in Hong kong, I think MIT's reputation will better help you succeed. The technical strength of the Mfin program really depends on which courses that you choose to take. Also, you said Columbia MFE has way lager class size so it is possible that Columbia MFE students receive insufficient career support.
I think what job you end up with really depends more on your personal efforts than the program you are in. So it is up to your preference.
My answer could be biased because I also got admitted to MIT for this fall
Congrats! I would say MIT.
Eventually both school names/programs will get you the interview, but then it is your interview performance that matters.
Considering you are planning for a career in Hong kong, I think MIT's reputation will better help you succeed. The technical strength of the Mfin program really depends on which courses that you choose to take. Also, you said Columbia MFE has way lager class size so it is possible that Columbia MFE students receive insufficient career support.
I think what job you end up with really depends more on your personal efforts than the program you are in. So it is up to your preference.
My answer could be biased because I also got admitted to MIT for this fall
Thank you so much for your reply and big congratulations to you as well ! I can't agree more that everything boils down to self-preparation and the performance at the interview.
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did you receive a hone call from MIT?
Yes I did. It was yesterday from my interviewer Sue Kline.
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