MIT 12 MSF or Toronto MMF?

[Li Wang]

Hi guys,

I recently got two offers: one from MIT master of finance 12-month format and another one from University of Toronto, Master of Mathematical Finance Program. May I ask you guys' suggestion on how to pick school from this two offers?

MIT has better reputation, and because I want to go back to my home country China in the long run, that definitely is a plus . However, I have heard the program is not very quant. What worse is, if I enroll in the 12-month format, I don't even have enough time to pick up the necessary quant knowledge by myself. So basically if I go to MIT, I will target non-quant job. However, since I am an international student, it would be very hard for me to find well-paid non-quant job in US, so may be my best choice will be just IB/consulting opportunities in mainland China (I have heard it's even hard to find front desk jobs in HK if enrolled in 12-month program as HK BBs usually hire from interns, but 12-month program won't allow me to do an intern ).

Toronto's advantage compared to MIT is its 100% placement rate and cheaper tuition. The program has good reputation on Bay Street. But most graduates from this program work in Risk Management field. Personally I am more interested in quant trading. So I don't know if I have a chance to do trading upon graduation from this program. I also concern my long term career path if I do risk management, since I want to go to work in HK/mainland China in the long run and I don't know if there is a need for risk management back in China.

Thank you so much!!!

 

[dgk]

I am perhaps at a similar stage of career development as you are and also an Asian (Not a Chinese). Thus, my message may not (or should not) carry a significance. But, if I were in your shoes, I would have contacted MIT to inquire whether they could extend the program to an 18-month format based on your current situation. My underlying rationale is two-fold. First, it gives you the flexibility to enroll in non-quant courses that would form the basis of the job of your preference. Second, brand names do matter in Asia. I expect you would encounter and collaborate with other Asians who are not well acquainted with quant finance. Then, people would judge you based on your credentials. In this regard, MIT outweighs University of Toronto. I am not looking down upon the quality of the program at University of Toronto. Rather, I am talking about perceptions in Asia.

 

[NancyYang]

If you go back to China you should defiantly choose MIT due to its reputation