UIUC Financial Engineering MS vs. Georgia Tech MSQCF – Which Path to Quant Finance? Or Should I Hold Out for NYU?

IshaPatro

IshaPatro

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I’ve received acceptance from UIUC MSFE (with data science concentration) and Georgia Tech MSQCF, and I’m wondering which program would be the best fit for a career in quantitative finance. Should I choose one of these or wait for NYU’s response?

Here are the metrics I’m considering:
  • Return on Investment (ROI)
  • Curriculum
  • Reputation and Ranking
  • Job Placement
  • Location and Networking Opportunities
 
Congrats on your offers. You may want to put the application timelines on the Tracker so people can help you better.
Without your profile, background and job target, it's impossible to give any input.
I'm sure you have done researches on these programs and have a good feeling which one is a good fit. It will be productive to share what you learn about each program so far and other members can give you some additional input or thoughts.
Otherwise, people will make the wrong choice for you and it will not serve you right. This is an important decision that will affect your future career so you want to tread this carefully.
 
I recently got accepted into NYU’s MFE program, which I know is highly prestigious and has a small class size (~15 students per course). My goal is to become a quant researcher.

My stats:

GPA: 8.8/10 Computer Science Background
GRE: 154V / 170Q
Work Experience: 3 years in MBS at a top fintech firm

The issue is that I have to pay NYU’s deposit by March 1st, but Columbia MFE is Ivy League and CMU MSCF is also a top quant program. I haven’t heard back from either yet.

1. How does NYU MFE compare to Columbia MFE and CMU MSCF for quant research roles?
2. When do Columbia and CMU typically release their decisions? I want to know if I have a chance to hear back before committing to NYU.

Would it be worth paying NYU’s deposit as a backup, or should I wait it out? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
IshaPatro said:
I recently got accepted into NYU’s MFE program, which I know is highly prestigious and has a small class size (~15 students per course). My goal is to become a quant researcher.

My stats:

GPA: 8.8/10 Computer Science Background
GRE: 154V / 170Q
Work Experience: 3 years in MBS at a top fintech firm



The issue is that I have to pay NYU’s deposit by March 1st, but Columbia MFE is Ivy League and CMU MSCF is also a top quant program. I haven’t heard back from either yet.


1. How does NYU MFE compare to Columbia MFE and CMU MSCF for quant research roles?

2. When do Columbia and CMU typically release their decisions? I want to know if I have a chance to hear back before committing to NYU.



Would it be worth paying NYU’s deposit as a backup, or should I wait it out? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Columbia MFE is having a bit of a slump right now so I am not sure if this year will be better for them than the last year or not. I would still think it to have better reputation than NYU MFE though. CMU MSCF is top notch and certainly a cut above NYU MFE. That being said, unless you are fine with waiting for another year, NEVER reject an admit. Take what you have and hope for the best. The initial deposit may seem high now but in the grand scheme of things where you’d be paying 80-90k tuition and seeking jobs paying 100-200k, the deposit is an insignificant amount and treat it as such. You don’t want to be pennywise and pound foolish.

Coming to you wanting to be a ‘QR’, it really depends on what you mean by that here. If you want to be a quant researcher, in general, you’d be good with NYU. It would get you a job. CMU may offer better opportunities but the reason behind CMU’s excellent employment stats doesn’t have as much to do with the program but with the fact that the best profiles usually end up going there. If someone at CMU got a job at Citadel, they would still have got just as good an offer had they gone to a ‘weaker’ school instead of CMU. The marginal advantage of going to a better program isn’t all that much after a certain point.
 
Thank you for the fantastic advice! Moving forward with securing my spot at NYU.
 
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