I am RE professional, I currently manage self owned portfolio of residential and commercial real estate. I am looking into full time programs in Real Estate focussed on investing/Asset Management to help me attain my goal to have my own REIT in future. After graduating I want to work for a REIT and then venture into establishing my own. I am planning on going full time. I am confused between both the programs. Please advise.
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What are you confused about? They have websites you can read about the program.
They both have websites and information sessions which i have been to. NYU accepts a lot more students each year with higher acceptance rate as opposed to cornell with class size of 25-30 each year. NYU has 42 credit program as opposed to 60 credit program at Cornell. I was sold on NYU until I went to Cornell. I want to know if it will make any difference in attaining my goal (job placement, Networking etc) . I hope i was specific..
I personally think Cornell carriers a lot more weight for those who are in the industry.
True Schack accepts more students, but Schack gives you more opportunities to interact and network with the real estate players in NY. The who's who of Real Estate are on the board of Schack. But ultimately its what you make out of it.
Yes you are in NYC so you have more opportunity to network which is obviously key in real estate. The difference however is anyone and everyone can get into schack and it is viewed as such in the industry. Cornell is a better program and the Alumni is stronger because it is a tight knit group. If it was me I would pick Cornell all day....assuming you can manage living in Ithaca for a while which is a big IF.
Completely agree. It's unfortunate how easy it is to get into schack.
I would add that NYU's program given its deep industry connections, location and format allows students to obtain and rack up several pre-grad internships -while- they study which is the key (or rather difference) in finding a good position after graduation. Their career board, the school's weekly and monthly networking events/seminars/'brown bag' lunches with top industry professionals (from BlackRock/Blackstones of the world to abc random REIT) and from professor recommendations (many of whom took the job at NYU because it allowed them to still run their firm in NYC while also fulfilling their desire to teach) and even fellow students who may have an opening and offer a rec at their firm before the spot goes on the open market or gets posted to a job board.
Do your own empirical digging on Linkedin's real estate/investment section and see what trends you notice, and how they match your goals. Linkedin is pretty chock-full of NYU Master's students who parlayed those 2 or 3 internships into very solid positions just after graduation (or in some case started their own shop with a fellow student). Do a similar Linkedin search for Baker students and suss out their trajectory. Incidentally, you will see a lot of Cornell undergrad (especially econ majors and those from hotel school) and Columbia students at NYU for their master's fwiw. (Another note: I have looked at a post-grad pay reports for several MS-RE programs and the numbers all seemed too high or conflated which may be a result of many degree holders getting promoted from a pre-existing position, like associate to vp, post-grad or having already obtained a post-grad degree/cert like a cpa, mba, jd, CFA, etc prior to entering into a MS-RE program).
In terms of the education - if you finish the 42 finance and investment focused credits at NYU you will have a very solid and practical foundation in financial modeling and the various fundamentals that drive the RE investments. Its Finance and Investment track is very targeted and pragmatic, and is highly regarded in the industry given its specificity.
The latter means nothing of course unless you get to practice it in the real world which is why the internships and network connections one makes are so important. This point cannot be stressed or overstated enough. There is a well worn/credited formula for successful post-grad employment, and it consistently runs that internship(s) route.
In terms of acceptance - I don't think any real estate master's program in the US will ever serve as an adequate proxy or sorting heuristic for applicant IQ, etc. And this goes for a litany of MS degrees these days for what it is worth.
Even most top MBA programs (with rare exception of H/S/W) don't have grads that approach 'class uniformity' clustering at the 95%+ in the entry standardized test scores and academic criteria. The type of percentile clustering which could create a 'known quantity' in a candidate pool (which would allow a employer to hire with greater confidence). The only degrees that are truly a solid proxy in that regard would be a T3 MBA, any domestic MD, a domestic Top Tier JD, an elite Master's in Finance (Princeton's program for sure), CFA (given the finish percentage when you collapse the passage rates for all 3 levels).
More directly stated: If one is looking to get a pedigree redo/makeover/upgrade from a Real Estate Master's Degree -- then they are in the wrong academic genre altogether. The degrees are meant to be highly practical in nature and provide actionable 'day-one' skill-sets and, like business school, industry contacts that should pave the way for internships and post-grad employment and future partnerships. I would be looking to check these specific boxes when investing in a post-grad degree (and evaluating its ROI) in an area like real estate.
Im suprised why you didnt consider MIT program? Isnt it considered better than NYU and Cornell, and is considered actually THE program. Would you all agree that the career opportunities coming from MIT would top NYU, Cornell and Columbia´s?
THanks everyone for your views and comments, I looked into MIT program and student profiles but felt it was focussed on RE development and most of people pursuing it were either architects or developers. on the personal side, nyc and upstate locations suit me better as opposed to Boston.
...why do you want to run a REIT in the future and not your own company?
A REIT could be his own company if he is the main shareholder.
I am a current Schack student so I can provide an overview of the program along with it's positives and negatives.
The Good:
1) New York City location (you can intern at various RE investment shops WHILE you obtain your degree and, as someone mentioned, this can and often does lead to getting a good job offer after you graduate). In fact, my friend did exactly that and ended up with a good job at a major REIT in NYC after he finished.
2) The Real Estate Finance and Investment concentration is very well regarded. Columbia only offers a one-year full-time Master of Science in Real Estate Development, which is definitely more geared to the development side. At Schack, you will take courses that teach you how to create DCF pro-formas and really analyze a real estate transaction from a financial perspective.
3) Flexibility. The program can be done either full-time in 18 months or part-time. There is a good mix of people who do both options and you can network with your classmates
The Bad:
1) Questionable admissions standards. The program does accept a lot of people, which initially was a concern of mine but real estate is really what you make of it. If you can get internships and network I don't think this really matters.
If you are looking at focusing on the finance side of real estate, I strongly recommend NYU's Schack Institute of Real Estate both for its valuable location in the heart of New York City as well as the job opportunities it can provide you IF you take advantage of the internship and networking opportunities.
With that said, MIT is arguably the best regarded program in the country for real estate and Cornell isn't far behind. Both would be academically stronger than NYU but you must decide if you can be in Boston or Ithaca, New York.
Hope this helps.
Seems like a great summary of the program. I considered the program for a while part time however concluded it wasn't a fit for me and that I would not be able to take advantage of any internships ect. working full time. I am looking to do either the MIT program or my MBA a couple years from now instead.
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