Columbia MSFE or Stanford MS&E ?

[czzarr]

Hi everyone,

I got offered two admissions, from the MSFE(financial engineering) at Columbia and the MS&E(sort of operational research) at Stanford.

I really am stuck with a tough decision here. Consider the fact that I am currently living in Paris (France) and I have no idea whether I'd prefer New York or California.

These masters are slightly different, the MSFE is by far more technical and delving into quantitative finance, but the thing is I am not wlling to become a quant.

I would really like some feedback on those two programs, and some help chosing one or the other. Both universities are so great, even though Stanford's prestige in my eye is somewhat better.

Regards,

Stan

[bgk]

Hi everyone,

I got offered two admissions, from the MSFE(financial engineering) at Columbia and the MS&E(sort of operational research) at Stanford.

I really am stuck with a tough decision here.

What's your long-term goal? Does MSFE vs MS&E give you a better chance of achieving that goal? If you've got a firm/career in mind, could you see if anyone working there has graduated from either of the two programs? Which seems like a better fit for you? And Stanford VS Columbia is, as you observed, an interesting cultural choice. If you want to work in finance, I'd guess columbia has the stronger connections...