COMPARE Princeton University MFin vs Stanford University MCF

Rank
Program
Total Score
Peer Score
% Employed at Graduation
% Employed at 3 months
% Employed in the US
Compensation
Cohort Size
Acceptance Rate
Avg Undergrad GPA
Tuition
Rank
1
Princeton University Princeton, NJ 08544
4.86 star(s) 7 reviews
1
Princeton University
100 3.7 95 100 90 259.9K 35 4.32 124.8K
NR
Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305
0.00 star(s) 0 reviews
NR
Stanford University
- - - - - - 4 3.14 -
Princeton isn't only the most established, it's by far the best brand value / reputation / quality of the programs you listed. Stanford/LSE are not at the same level or quality.
 
@lim
you're not an EU citizen right?
have you considered the supposedly unfriendly immigration regulation in the UK?
 
Why is MIT not in the same level as princeton? I would assume their prestige and reputation and brand value would be the same/similar.
 
Thank you everyone for your input! This is really helpful. Last point, I was checking Stanford's faculty for the Mathematical and Computational Finance - it feels like they have a stronger faculty that publishes books in the mathematical finance/stochastic field, much more than that of Princeton. Should I be taking this into consideration?
 
Thank you everyone for your input! This is really helpful. Last point, I was checking Stanford's faculty for the Mathematical and Computational Finance - it feels like they have a stronger faculty that publishes books in the mathematical finance/stochastic field, much more than that of Princeton. Should I be taking this into consideration?

What you want from an MFE/MFin program along with a solid education is access to and reputation among recruiters in the financial industry. Princeton is at the top in both. You are not in a 2 year masters program to do research. If that's your objective, go get a PhD.
 
Thank you everyone for your input! This is really helpful. Last point, I was checking Stanford's faculty for the Mathematical and Computational Finance - it feels like they have a stronger faculty that publishes books in the mathematical finance/stochastic field, much more than that of Princeton. Should I be taking this into consideration?
do you want to publish books or work in finance? do you want to do academic research in finance or work making money on the street?
 
Based on what @lim said, I'm thinking that MIT finance might actually fit more or less all the requirements here:

It's not in New York, so if OP wants to live in another state for a year and see what's up there, it's a good choice (If you don't mind the weather ;) )
It can be tailored to be as quantitative as you want it to be while at the same time leaving doors open for regular finance jobs. just google: master finance MIT quantitative analyst site:linkedin.com
and see people working as quants or financial engineers (play with the keywords) who have the MIT Mfin degree.
I'm assuming the quality of education is top notch, so no need to discuss that.
Boston is a financial hub, and MIT has great reputation in New York so no problem there.

for me the best choices are Princeton and MIT. At the end of the day, you could call that a 1st world problem because it's not a choice between a no-name school and a M7 school. if OP is feeling a bit adventurous I say go for MIT, you'll make a fine Irish I have no doubt!
 
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do you want to publish books or work in finance? do you want to do academic research in finance or work making money on the street?

Well.. ideally I want to be a trader or a quant.. not someone who is in academia! :)
 
Based on what @lim said, I'm thinking that MIT finance might actually fit more or less all the requirements here:

The only reason (apparently) that OP cites as not being too excited about Princeton is that it is in the NY region. Both fit the requirements but Princeton far surpasses MIT in quality, reputation on the Street, and alumni network. Personally I would never choose a less reputable program just because I want to experience living in another city. I can do that whenever I want, after I start working. Need to think long-term here, not short-term. I'd regret my decision later if I chose MIT in this scenario.
 
No.. I am really not trolling. All of your advice really helps and I greatly appreciate all the time you all have spent persuading me about each program. And after hearing from all of you, I am leaning very much towards Princeton. Thank you so much for advising and guiding me along the way :)
 
'Princeton MFin v. Stanford ICME MCF' was merged into this thread.
A little background: I am graduating this spring with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and have been admitted into both these programs. I am very interested in the growing fin-tech field and looking to get into the programming side of finance. Any thoughts or advice on the differences and pros/cons to each? Thanks.
 
Stanford MCF hasn't released its placement stats, and as far as I know, the program is heavily academic; some graduates went to PhDs afterwards.

In contrast, Princeton MFin has maintained impressive placement results in the past few years.

That's to say, if you have a plan for PhD, Stanford might be better, but if you really want to break into a top IB, go Princeton for sure.
 
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