U of Chicago Fin Math
Would you recommend this program? I really like University of Chicago and I want to go to prop shops or do HFT for my future career. I think a financial math master degree will get my foot in the door.
But I feel hesitated since there were many negative comments about this program online (most from 2010,2011, can't find much recent info). Some people say that the program gets better after they changed the director a couple years ago. True? Any insights? I cannot find a lot of information about this program, nor any placement stats.
I will really appreciate any suggestions/comments/insights!!
THANK YOU!
Well there is a reason why placement info is not published. I looked at that program this year, but it's utterly mediocre. Yes, they have a new career services director, but i have not heard any concrete improvement in the job placement front. A lot of the students have a very hard time finding jobs, so they just return to their home country. Having said that, i would think uchicago msfm would get you interviews at solid chicago prop shops such as spot, allston, optiver, ronin, peak 6, etc., but i guess it depends on your knowledge and experience.
I think the placement strength of the U.S. mfin/mfe programs are as roughly as follows:
If you want to throw in the U.K. programs, i would place LSE MSc finance somewhere in the cmu/nyu range, Oxford mfe in the columbia mfe/mit range, and LBS mif in the uchicago msfm range.
Thank you so much! That was really helpful. I was concerned because people said that Chicago's program "stinks at laSalle Street". I am not sure if the comment is just some biased judgement, or if the program itself is just not great. Though I really love U of Chicago, I do not want to end up graduating with no job offer; but I do agree that it ultimately depends on my knowledge and experience.
No problem. Glad I could be of help.
HFT is not an interesting industry at all unless you are a diehard programmer who can write code all day. Otherwise, you would freaking shoot yourself. And the days of giant bonuses for HFT guys in their 20's is pretty much over, although good money can still be made.
If you did target undergrad in math, cs, or any hard science, you should be able to get an entry-level gig at a chicago prop shop. And yes, uchicago msfm is not that highly regarded. Lot of their recent alums don't have jobs, and the internationals are often forced to go back to their home countries. It's also not that selective; they accept a ton of foreigners who can pay the full price and admit a lot of people who took the uchicago msfm math prep course.
Just a quick question/curiosity. I can't help notice that you rank Cornell's mfe lower than UChicago msfm. Is there a reason for that? I think Cornell's program is really good and it ranks high in quantnet rankings. In terms of admission, it is obviously more selective than UChicago's. So why you feel its placement strength is lower?
Yeah, that one was a toss-up. I know cornell's program is more selective, but i've met so few of their alums, and being in ithaca is a disadvantage. But it could go either way if i saw more evidence to the contrary. My ranking is based on talking to students and alums of these programs, people in the industry, career placements on school websites (if available) and looking at linkedin profiles.
Do you think the situation has changed now? how would you rate the current MFE programs?
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