COMPARE University of California, Berkeley MFE vs Carnegie Mellon University MSCF

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3
Carnegie Mellon University New York, NY 10005 | Pittsburgh, PA 15213
4.70 star(s) 53 reviews
3
Carnegie Mellon University
93 4.2 89 99 97 165.2K 101 16.8 100.6K
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
I know, MSCF students don't know how to get jobs, especially compared to MBA students, which have better numbers. I can't wait until this years numbers come out.
 
this.

a lot of it is on the students, as well. most come from environments where getting good grades has always been enough. newsflash: that won't cut it anymore. many students don't follow the markets at all, couldn't give you an investment pitch (for any product), and say that they want to trade without knowing anything about trading or what products they want to trade and why.

cmu teaches you a lot and brings employers to students, but the students have to close. cmu can't drag you across the finish line.

granted, some students might just have a string of bad luck, but i'd be willing to bet a good amount of money that those cases are far less common than students going into interviews and dinging themselves within the first few minutes.
Agree with this here. CMU is doing a lot by bringing employers and preparing students. The rest of it is on the students.
 
" The majority of the people go to S&T or quant programs at major banks." This isn't true.
depends on how you define majority, but CMU did has the higher percentage of student going to S&T and FO quant compare to other MFE program. Through me stat if I am wrong. Do not quote my sentence and throw back question mark!!!
 
Hi All,

Thank you very much for sharing your opinion. I think one factor that goes in favor of cmu is that

(a) Location = NYC
(b) classes are in the evening -- from 5:30-8:30 pm
(c) all lectures are video recorded, so if you miss a class, you can cover up by watching the video lecture

The way I am looking at this, is that cmu provides you the opportunity to network with people on the street (you can meet them for coffee while they are at work, since you are in NYC + you don't have classes going on during the daytime). on the other hand, Berkeley is far from NYC, so networking is not physically possible.

Can any cmu students comment whether this is any advantage in the real world?

Thanks guys !!
 
I think the advantage of NY is minimal, if any. People usually don't have time to meet students for coffee and personally, I'd find it over-the-top. If you have specific questions, you can just send an email and people will reply at their convenience. Don't be surprised if people don't even reply to your emails, so you can imagine that a meet-up would be even less likely. Unless you're well-polished with MBA-level networking skills, that meetup for coffee strategy could also backfire on you if you do something stupid.

I think the main advantage is less travel time for your interviews and/or company visits. Living in NY could be more fun also, that is if you manage to find some free time. Other than that, I don't see much of a difference.
 
Hi, I may be the first one here vote for PhD program. I know you are not sure whether you want to go into Finance, however Mathematical Finance is more math than Finance in my opinion. From your maths background, I think you will do well in PhD program and enjoyed another 4-5 years relaxed time (appear younger than people working in banks, lolx). After PhD, you still can join the industry.

It pays more working in financial industry. However not many people can go far to make it to manager or someone who really matters. Of oucrse it depends on personal preference. PhD + some industry experience may lead to a MFE professor in the future!
 
It gives me no pleasure to report that 2013 recruiting numbers are up for MSCF. They are worse than last years and average salary is down too. Almost 1 in 5 students don't have jobs and half the class that do have jobs will be making less than $88k.

Neoz and I actually agree on a lot of what goes on in the program, but we drew different conclusions. His/her view seems to be more of a "end justifies the means." I am skeptical of this, but especially when the "end" is no longer there. Some may say its the economy, but I think its the opposite. I think the only reason the program had acceptable numbers previously is because the bull market was covering up all the shortcomings of the MSCF program. I'm glad we exposed some real issues with the program, but we barely scratched the surface. I hope anyone who decides to matriculate does his/her own research outside of this forum. I'll admit I did not do enough of this and I regret it. I find it very difficult to recommend this program to anyone.
 
again, some of it is the economy and a lot of it is on the students themselves. since 1/3 or more of the class is most likely fresh out of college (if previous years are any guidance), that should absolutely lower the starting salary.

if i purchased a honda accord and expected it to seat fifteen and fly, i'd also have a difficult time recommending it. the program isn't perfect, but your issue is with yourself, if you're truly being honest.
 
Couple of Qs for CMU current students / alumni --

1. Do you have lectures every day of the week ? How many hours of lectures do you have in a week?
2. Roughly how many hours do you spend on homework in a week?

Thanks!
 
Couple of Qs for CMU current students / alumni --

1. Do you have lectures every day of the week ? How many hours of lectures do you have in a week?
2. Roughly how many hours do you spend on homework in a week?

Thanks!

1. saturdays have TA hours, and sundays have no classes.
2. 168 - hours spent in class - hours you need of sleep - hours to run and grab some food. basically...a lot.
 
Couple of Qs for CMU current students / alumni --

1. Do you have lectures every day of the week ? How many hours of lectures do you have in a week?
2. Roughly how many hours do you spend on homework in a week?

Thanks!

1. we have classes 3 or 4 days a week depending on the semester. Saturdays have TAs as mentioned by mfegrad, but they are not required (or you could watch them online)

2. it depends on the class and on your skills. But yes, it's a lot of work. If you are able to manage your time, you have also some free time here and there.
 
As long as you're on the subject of free time, here's a question...

Is it possible to do sports during the program (MSCF or MFE)? I'm talking about 2 hrs practice every day... Is it possible to create that much free time for yourself or is that just too much time taken away from the important stuff?
 
I would say that if you are able to correctly manage your time, you will have time to practice sport
 
There is a ton of misinformation on this forum about MSCF. I agree and would choose Berkeley.
... you want a job in Cali and not in NYC?

It's really a toss up. You can scream bloody murder all you want, but a couple of years ago a student from Berkeley came forward and did the exact same thing, strongly disputing the employment figures that that university officially publishes. At least you're not saying that the info CMU puts on its website is fabricated.

The toss up goes as follows:

Berkeley, being a state school is cheaper (and also shorter). Also much nicer weather and California-based jobs.

CMU gives you access to NYC. Which will either open unbelievable amounts of doors to you, or be something you squander completely. I interviewed with a hedge fund that only interviewed me and a couple of candidates from MSCF. They were only there because the guy that runs the hedge fund could walk to the MSCF campus and ask them for a resume book. This is what Berkeley just cannot give you, no matter how much they spin the whole "we're on the bank recruitment circuit too!" line. (the part they omit - "along with everyone else")
 
... you want a job in Cali and not in NYC?

It's really a toss up. You can scream bloody murder all you want, but a couple of years ago a student from Berkeley came forward and did the exact same thing, strongly disputing the employment figures that that university officially publishes. At least you're not saying that the info CMU puts on its website is fabricated.

The toss up goes as follows:

Berkeley, being a state school is cheaper (and also shorter). Also much nicer weather and California-based jobs.

CMU gives you access to NYC. Which will either open unbelievable amounts of doors to you, or be something you squander completely. I interviewed with a hedge fund that only interviewed me and a couple of candidates from MSCF. They were only there because the guy that runs the hedge fund could walk to the MSCF campus and ask them for a resume book. This is what Berkeley just cannot give you, no matter how much they spin the whole "we're on the bank recruitment circuit too!" line. (the part they omit - "along with everyone else")

You can't be farther from the truth when you say "... you want a job in Cali and not in NYC?"

While I would not deny that CMU will give you the next door access, I would refute your claim that Berkeley grads do not get NYC jobs(in Banks/HFs/others) or that Berkeley can't provide you with enough opportunities in NYC.

As much as 52-55% of my class had their internships in NYC(including me). About 25% went to West coast firms(Hedge funds like Blackrock and others). Every year around 50% of the class gets full time offers in NYC. Funnily enough, the same holds true for CMU grads. Roughly 50-55% of them get FT work in NYC as reported on CMU's website( Source:http://www.tepper.cmu.edu/corporati...raduates-compensation-by-geography/index.aspx)

If both schools are placing same percentage of students in NYC, I believe Berkeley does an incredible job of placing students in NYC, given its so called "Location Disadvantage".

I know at least 3 students who turned down offers in NYC to stay back in the Bay Area or were actively recruiting only in the Bay Area for Personal(and very practical) reasons. As for myself, I have ONLY interviewed with NYC based companies,both for my internship and Full Time recruitment.

I have nothing against CMU MSCF program. I believe it is a very very strong program and have often commented on its worth. But, I had to write this post to dispel some of the misconceptions about the Berkeley MFE.
 
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