MFin: Cambridge/Columbia/Yale thoughts?
Some MFin programs are discussed to death on this forum (MIT, Princeton, Oxford, LBS, LSE, Vanderbilt), but what about the other newer/less discussed programs?
Cambridge has 3 finance programs: Master of Finance (post-exp MFin), MPhil Finance, and MPhil Finance & Economics. The latter 2 are for fresh undergraduates and geared more toward research, so I'm not gonna touch those. For post-exp MFin, people normally would say just go to LBS MiF, but I searched on LinkedIn and people in the program have pretty good profiles and are able to get good jobs afterwards, i.e. lots of BB IB Associates, with some rare MBB or PE. Most people I saw have 3-4 years of exp; a few had only 2 at matriculation - they are usually IB analysts.
Columbia has MS Financial Economics (MSFE) which isn't discussed much; but they're 2 years and too expensive (~MBA) so that might turn people off. Columbia also launched MS Accounting & Fundamental Analysis (MSAFA) in 2017; I've seen a few people on LinkedIn breaking into BB IB from it. I guess the career services are pretty shit, but you're in Manhattan and have hordes of Columbia undergrad/MBAs at various banks. If you have decent networking skills, at least a few will vouch for you right?
Lastly, Yale launched MMS Asset Management (MMSAM) last year but the first class had to be deferred and will start this year due to covid. No record yet; but I've never seen Yale launching a half-ass program, so my hopes are high. However, the curriculum is too niche and will only benefit people who are gungho about entering the public markets. Not sure if you can leverage the Yale SOM name and get into something else?