UW CF&RM or U of Michigan MFE

[Joey Zhao]

I got offers from both UW and UM. The thing is that I really want to live near Seattle. And it seems that UW has lots of summer internships and a dedicated career service. However, I know the reputation of UW. So which one should I choose? Thanks

 

[ElephantParks]

Hi Joey, reputation wise UW and UM are both very decent schools, though arguably UM is more well-known to international applications and employers. Besides that, have you compared the curriculums of the two programs? which one is more aligned with your career trajectory? While UM's program is housed under engineering, from I've learned in this forum it seems students have quite some access to Ross which is a plus given its reputation. On the other hand, UW's program is under Applied Maths and also taught by top faculty from Statistics, both of which are top tier as far as grad school is concerned.

 

[Joey Zhao]

Hi Joey, reputation wise UW and UM are both very decent schools, though arguably UM is more well-known to international applications and employers. Besides that, have you compared the curriculums of the two programs? which one is more aligned with your career trajectory? While UM's program is housed under engineering, from I've learned in this forum it seems students have quite some access to Ross which is a plus given its reputation. On the other hand, UW's program is under Applied Maths and also taught by top faculty from Statistics, both of which are top tier as far as grad school is concerned.

Thank you for your comment. I used to be a math major, but then I changed to Finance major last year. I like the materials in Finance but it is really hard for Finance students to get a job (I mean compared to math majors). So I kind of intent to get back to applied mathematics areas. In that sense, UW's program has an advantage in terms of curriculum. UW also has a dedicated career service. On the other hand, UM's college of engineering is among the top 10 engineering schools in the US and UM's Ross Business School is also among top 20. So UM's reputation is really good. However, the location is not.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Last time I heard, Michigan MFE program's career services are now handled by the Engineering school, not by Ross anymore.

 

[Joey Zhao]

Last time I heard, Michigan MFE program's career services are now handled by the Engineering school, not by Ross anymore.

Thank you very much, Andy. I heard about that too. I know the College of Engineering is among the top 10 in the US. However, the career service is not dedicated to MFE students. UW's program is offering more help in terms of career services. That being said, the internship is not guaranteed. Also, I know UW CF&RM is offering three options, namely the general program option, computing pathway option and RM pathway option. And the choice will also be contingent on the internship and extended part-time opportunities.

 

[Joey Zhao]

Last time I heard, Michigan MFE program's career services are now handled by the Engineering school, not by Ross anymore.

By the way, Andy, are you suggesting that Ross did a better job than College of Engineering? Thank you.