Columbia University
This review was submitted on 1/7/2010 by a student who studied full-time in the program from 07/2009-05/2010
Can you tell us a bit about your background?
Majored in Applied Math in Columbia and had two summer internships at Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.
Did you get admitted to other programs?
Yes, NYU Math Finance and NYU-Poly MFE.
Why did you choose this program (over others, if applicable)?
Its reputation and my love for the Columbia community that I developed as an undergrad.
Tell us about the application process at this program
Very timely process
On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade the accessibility of the faculty and staff?
8
Programs like Baruch MFE, UCB MFE have refresher courses for incoming students. Does this program offer such courses? How useful was it?
They had a stat course, a stochastic processes course, and an intro to financial engineering course, all of which were very useful.
On a scale of 0-10, how would you grade the usefulness of these refresher courses?
9
Tell us about the courses selection in this program. Any special courses you like?
Optimization, monte carlo, data analysis, continuous time models… all very useful.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade the flexibility of the curriculum?
8
Tell us about the quality of teaching
Some were great and some were not so great. All were brilliant though.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade the quality of teaching?
8
Materials used in the program
Mainly class notes. Few textbooks were used.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade the practicality of the curriculum?
9
Programming component of the program
Matlab, vba, c++, sql. There was a decent amount.
Projects
There weren’t many projects in the courses I took. There were many hw assignments.
Career service
They had a resume book, and a career website. There were also many networking events. Columbia is relatively good at placing people, but does not do so well in a bad economy.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade the career service for internship and full-time job?
8
Can you comment on the social interaction between students of different ethnics, nationalities in the program?
There were some language barriers, but everyone seemed to get along just fine.
What do you like about the program?
Smart teachers who have worked in the industry.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade the value of the program for the price tag?
7
What DON’T you like about the program?
Some of the teachers could be better at teaching.
Suggestions for the program to make it better
Perhaps have online notes for each class to allow students the opportunity to teach themselves.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade your experience in the program?
7
What are your current job status? What are you looking for?
I will be working at Morgan Stanley in July 2010
On a scale of 1-10, would you recommend this program to others?
8
Other comments
None
Click here to submit a review of your program
This review was submitted on 2/6/2010 by a student who studied full-time in the program from 7/2009-5/2010
Can you tell us a bit about your background?
Mathematics and Economics backround wit no work experience prior to the program – only 1 internship.
Did you get admitted to other programs?
Cornell MFE, CMU MSCF, LSE Applicable Math.
Why did you choose this program (over others, if applicable)?
Best brand name among offers.
Tell us about the application process at this program
There was no problem, a timely email response.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade the accessibility of the faculty and staff?
8
Programs like Baruch MFE, UCB MFE have refresher courses for incoming students. Does this program offer such courses? How useful was it?
It offers 3 introductory courses, which refresh some undergraduate knowledge: Statistical Inference, Stochastic Processes, Foundations of Financial Engineering
On a scale of 0-10, how would you grade the usefulness of these refresher courses?
8
Tell us about the courses selection in this program. Any special courses you like?
Security Pricing, Data Analysis, Continuous-time Models, Quantitative Risk Management.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade the flexibility of the curriculum?
8
Tell us about the quality of teaching
The quality of teaching was good, as professors have practical experience in finance. Teaching assistants are helpful for homework assignments.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade the quality of teaching?
9
Materials used in the program
Primarily professor lecture notes. Textbooks used mainly as reference, or recommended reading, rarely required.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade the practicality of the curriculum?
9
Programming component of the program
Matlab, Excel VBA, C++, S-Plus, Java. A good amount of programming is done- about 1/2 of assigned problems.
Projects
In the Fall Semester only individual homeworks. Group and individual projects on various topics are done in the Spring.
Career service
Mainly the Center for Career Education at Columbia, also MSFE Resume Book, some positions through the department.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade the career service for internship and full-time job?
7
Can you comment on the social interaction between students of different ethnics, nationalities in the program?
Good social interaction between different ethnical groups and nationalities. Of course, people having the same mother language would prefer communicating more in it to people from their countries rather than in English.
What do you like about the program?
Prestigious academic institution, very good faculty.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade the value of the program for the price tag?
7
What DON’T you like about the program?
Not stellar career service.
Suggestions for the program to make it better
Establish better relationships with the financial industry in order to improve career placement. Even more core courses.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade your experience in the program?
8
What are your current job status? What are you looking for?
Still looking for a position in Structuring/Risk management and others.
On a scale of 1-10, would you recommend this program to others?
8
Click here to submit a review of your program
Tags: columbia MFE, columbia university, financial engineering, program review
Related posts:
- Review of Cornell University’s Financial Engineering (FE) program
- Review of Columbia University’s Operation Research (MSOR) program
- Review of Claremont Graduate University’s Financial Engineering program
- Review of UCLA’s Financial Engineering program
- Review of University of Michigan’s Financial Engineering (MFE) program
Hi
Varun, 1 year agoI would like to know if work experience is required for this program at Columbia.
If no, then what % of the students enrolled do not have prior work experience.
Thanks