COMPARE UCLA MFE vs Cornell MFE

[blahblah]

Hey there, wanted to get an idea of the strengths of both programs and specifically, which one is better for a fresh undergrad - from the job perspective and the environment in both schools.

Thanks!

 

[blahblah]

bump.

Any insights would be helpful - thanks in advance!

 

[Ridmod]

Replying for better visibility

 

[Qui-Gon]

I think you cannot go wrong with either program, but would give an edge to Cornell for their CFEM seminar series and the CFEM resources in general (Cornell Financial Engineering Manhattan | Operations Research and Information Engineering). The UCLA MFE does seem to place well into Los Angeles-based asset managers and hedge funds, e.g. WAMCO, Sancus, so if staying in LA is of interest to you and/or you are leaning towards wanting to work on the buy-side, I would perhaps place more weight on UCLA. Ending where I started, I really think you cannot go wrong with either.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

There is a post by a UCLA MFE student sharing his thoughts on why he chose the program. Worth reading to get a first hand experience.

UCLA MFE - Why UCLA Anderson MFE

If I were to sum it up in one word, it would be FACULTY. The professors in this program are subject-matter experts who love to teach. I have really enjoyed my learning experience. The students: My classmates come from various technical backgrounds with varied experiences. This makes the group...

quantnet.com

 

[BryanMarty]

First I'd say that Cornell has a fantastic program no doubt. I did not go to Cornell however I know they have professor Deprado on staff and provide a great insight into the financial applications within Machine Learning.

For perspective, I did my MFE at UCLA and what influenced my decision to attend UCLA was due to the fact that they were motivated to change their program for the future. They have continuously evolved their program over the past 5 years (3 years when I was looking at it). They have just brought in Eric Reiner from Berkeley to teach the derivatives courses and have incorporated python into the majority of their class assignments. They also provide answer solutions in math and in python code for many of the more complicated assignments that one will be given as well. That said, what the biggest benefit I experienced during the program was that the professors (for the most part) would actually teach you the material if you asked them directly for help along with the TA's. (What's the point of these programs if you're not going to get the help when you need help).

Opportunity wise, go to the New York trips. I had plenty of attention and opportunities from the New York banks and firms. If you're good you'll get your looks from employers that you're interested in however you need to go on the trips to ensure you have the proper networking experience.

This may change over time certainly, but the fact the current MFE administrators are interested in trying to produce the best quant program in the country is telling.

I hope that helps.