COMPARE NYU MSMF vs UC Berkeley MFE vs Columbia University MAFN

  • Thread starter Thread starter Iris T
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Rank
Program
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Peer Score
% Employed at Graduation
% Employed at 3 months
% Employed in the US
Compensation
Cohort Size
Acceptance Rate
Avg Undergrad GPA
Tuition
Rank
4
University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA 94720
4.17 star(s) 41 reviews
4
University of California, Berkeley
88 3.6 79 92 83 168.2K 86 17.96 82.90K
Rank
9
Columbia University New York, NY 10027
4.65 star(s) 17 reviews
9
Columbia University
77 3.4 49 75 60 129.2K 109 22.11 98.93K
Rank
13
New York University New York, NY 10012
4.64 star(s) 11 reviews
13
New York University
69 3.6 40 49 49 118.3K 30 18.31 84.96K
Joined
7/21/17
Messages
15
Points
263
Hi everyone! I currently have three offers, Berkeley MFE, Columbia MAFN and NYU Courant Math Fin, and the deadlines to make deposits are really close. I have 4 years of work experience at a commercial bank in Asia as a management trainee previously and now a risk specialist (not quant). My goal is to find a quant/risk role in NYC. I am worried about the comments about Berkeley recently and I think a 1-year program will significantly lower the chances of getting a summer internship at a bank. Also, I think many graduates of the Columbia MAFN program get jobs outside of the US in regions such as HK. So this is really a difficult situation for me. Can you give me some advice? What are your reasons? Many thanks!
 
Hi everyone! I currently have three offers, Berkeley MFE, Columbia MAFN and NYU Courant Math Fin, and the deadlines to make deposits are really close. I have 4 years of work experience at a commercial bank in Asia as a management trainee previously and now a risk specialist (not quant). My goal is to find a quant/risk role in NYC. I am worried about the comments about Berkeley recently and I think a 1-year program will significantly lower the chances of getting a summer internship at a bank. Also, I think many graduates of the Columbia MAFN program get jobs outside of the US in regions such as HK. So this is really a difficult situation for me. Can you give me some advice? What are your reasons? Many thanks!
Congrats on your admits. Many applicants wish they can be in your position.
We’d greatly appreciate it if you could add your application timelines to the Tracker! Your data helps us generate valuable insights and tools that benefit the entire QuantNet community. Thank you for your support!

The current job market is really tough so many MFE programs will find it challenging to place graduates into relevant high paying jobs in the US. Getting a visa sponsorship in the political climate is not what it used to be in the past.
Risk jobs are not as competitive as QT/QR/QD jobs. It's a good work life balance job and I know many people are happy with it.
 
Congrats on your admits. Many applicants wish they can be in your position.
We’d greatly appreciate it if you could add your application timelines to the Tracker! Your data helps us generate valuable insights and tools that benefit the entire QuantNet community. Thank you for your support!

The current job market is really tough so many MFE programs will find it challenging to place graduates into relevant high paying jobs in the US. Getting a visa sponsorship in the political climate is not what it used to be in the past.
Risk jobs are not as competitive as QT/QR/QD jobs. It's a good work life balance job and I know many people are happy with it.
Sure, Andy. I have updated the tracker for these programs.

I think I'll probably decline the offer from UCB MFE. I'm concerned about the timeline as I think getting a summer internship at a bank is pretty important for me, but it just feels not so manageable when I'm still working full-time at my current company while taking all those preparation courses required by the program. I think this program will be better for someone fully capable of finding a summer internship themselves before enrolling.

I'm leaning toward Columbia MAFN instead of NYU Courant. I guess too many rigorous math courses will just take up too much time for job search, and I learned from previous Columbia MAFN students that most courses took place in the evening and I think this will allow for more time for interviews during the day.
 
Sure, Andy. I have updated the tracker for these programs.

I think I'll probably decline the offer from UCB MFE. I'm concerned about the timeline as I think getting a summer internship at a bank is pretty important for me, but it just feels not so manageable when I'm still working full-time at my current company while taking all those preparation courses required by the program. I think this program will be better for someone fully capable of finding a summer internship themselves before enrolling.

I'm leaning toward Columbia MAFN instead of NYU Courant. I guess too many rigorous math courses will just take up too much time for job search, and I learned from previous Columbia MAFN students that most courses took place in the evening and I think this will allow for more time for interviews during the day.
I am a recent graduate from the MAFN and can confirm the program has been vastly improving in the last few years, thanks mainly to the work done by Izabela and the other members of the career service team. The new program director seems pretty ambitious on getting the overall quality even better. Feel free to DM me if you'd like to chat.
 
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