Duke: MMS vs. Tulane M. Fin
Hey Everyone,
I am in a serious predicament here with my graduate school acceptances and need your insight/help. First of all, I am graduating with an Economics degree and have been accepted at Duke's MMS program and Tulane's M. Fin program. My goal is to get a dynamic job in the pits of Chicago or on Wall St. or anywhere else as dynamic as those places as an analyst or trader. But, I am not sure which program would be the best bet for this....
Tulane M. Fin is very specialized in that it only deals with finance classes and would seem to place me in a more exciting financial analyst type job...
Duke MMS is very new and very broad in that it deals with accounting, communication, economics, finance, marketing, etc.. BUT, it is Duke and is obviously known as a top 10 school.
They are both virtually the same price but very different. I am honestly leaning towards Tulane but don't want to make a terrible mistake. So, please let me know if anyone has any experience with either program and if there are any serious pros and cons that I am not thinking about for either program.
Thanks
how's Tulane's placement record?
....
Tulane's placement prior to the recession was 70% and the placed in places like Houston, NY, Boston, Chicago, Charlotte, and New Orleans.
Why didn't I apply to a better program? Well first of all, I think Tulane is a fantastic program being the only program with a student handled fund (see: Darwin Fenner Student Fund) and a very realistic trading room. Not to mention, they place very well in energy trading and I think it is a good idea to be as specialized as possible. Also, I couldn't have gotten into anywhere like MIT's MSc, my math scores suck something awful.
so
you aren't that good in quantitative areas, but you you want to be a trader?
define "suck something awful" vis a vis GMAT quant scores please
I placed in the 50th percentile in Math on the GMAT and 99th in Verbal ----> I personally don't think this reflects my quant score too accurately though because I studied for about a week prior and was overwhelmed with how much Algebra II I had forgotten rather than misunderstood.
maybe you should retake the test, and prepare for the math this time. and then get into a top program
So, you don't think of Tulane as good enough to place one in a position in the pits of Chicago or on Wall St?
Take if for what its worth. Posted on another message board.
"I can speak as to the quality of the Tulane MFIN program as I am finishing up my MFIN there right now. In terms of trading, they are fantastic. They have a great trading room and several courses specifically for trading (including a few energy trading classes.) I have a few friends that finished last year and the year before in the same program. I know 5 are trading on the CBOE (well, they are still in training) and one is on the NYMEX. NY firms definitely come down to Tulane too. We actually had 4 senior NYMEX traders, 3 of which were TU alum, come down to my Energy trading class last week to conduct an open outcry training class as well as to recruit. So, while U of Chicago is where'd I go initially if I wanted to trade in Chicago in the pits, but TU does do well there too. U Chicago is going to be much more difficult to get into though. Energy trading wise, Tulane is very heavily recruited and much easier for Energy Hedge funds and trading operations out of Texas to get to."
Yeah, the energy trading program is pretty fantastic. Former desk heads at Shell, Goldman and Sempra teaching classes, as well a new electricity trading class taught by a current trader for Entergy. You get a ton of practical experience and can make some good industry contacts if you can impress in the class.
People really confuse me sometimes. If you want the Duke name and brand why not get a MS in Econ or a masters in something sort of related. The MMS is designed for people with very little business exposure, looking to get a mini MBA. If you have a business undergrad and you go to the MMS you will learn very little. Look at the break down of UG majors, it is minimally business UG and mostly liberal arts.
Go to Princeton and get a Masters in something interesting and use the Princeton network to get interviews. Dropping 40K just for a name while not expanding your skill sets will bit you in the ass.
I guess Duke will fit me then, I am a engineer with zero business background.
I just don't know what MF program would not require a lot of upper division math for prereqs.
I have a lot of upper level math, I just didn't preform well on the lower level math that the GMAT is comprised of....
odd........
What "upper level math" did you take?
Eh
I care
50th percentile means you can hardly do math at all
This topic is getting off subject......I was trying to get people's opinions on the pros and cons of Tulane's Master of Finance and Duke's MMS.
Lets get back on track. Doing poorly on GMAT math is not indicative of math skills, just a persons ability to do GMAT math.
The problem with your question is that it isn't an apples to apples comparison. You are comparing an MSF program to a Duke name.
If you want to truly know finance at a graduate level then get an MSF. Look at other MSF programs also. If all you want if the Duke name then go to the MMS program.
MSF > MMS
Duke > Tulane
AnthonyD you continue to spew ridiculous comments. Doing poorly on the GMAT math says you are bad at math. Listen, GMAT math requires you to use no calculus what so ever all you will ever use is multiplication, division, subtraction, and addition and elementary equations such as pir^2 everything else is intuition. If you do poorly on GMAT math, i'm sorry, but you cant think on your feet.
GMAT math is akin to brain teaser math. It is asked in a specific way, set up specifically for the GMAT. If the OP has taken higher level math (Calc 3, whatever) then I don't think it will matter. Some people don't do well with the time requirements, some people don't like the way the questions are set up, data sufficiency questions, etc.
My advice is my opinion and directly relevant to the question on hand. Regardless, it cannot be anymore ridiculous than you randomly calling people "retarded".
1.) It most certainly isn't brain teaser math. That said, a valid argument is that GMAT requires quick thinking skills due to the time constraint. If the OP hasn't been exposed to that before, he might have started off on the wrong foot.
2.)What the previous posters' point is that a lot of trading doesn't actually require the higher level math. It does require the GMAT kind of quick thinking math.
i agree with dipset here
I'm not saying you need to get a 90th percentile to prove you are good at math or anything, but come on- 50th percentile? That means he was doing so poorly the computer was gently lobbing algebra softballs at him. That really does imply that something is lacking- whether it was lack of preparation or lack of maths ability, only the OP knows.
I will agree with many of your comments, and I do know where I was lacking and have taken steps to address that. Ergo, I am choosing between my top two programs and need some help choosing haha....
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