Columbia SIPA vs Johns Hopkins SAIS

[nebula]

The debate is not new but I believe a refresher is due. From someone that's been to either school, what are the pros/cons? I'm seeking a career in finance (not necessarily banking). From what I've heard, SAIS has the stronger program but Columbia is in NYC. Does location matter? I was not able to attend the open houses as I'm out of the country. 

[nebula]

Anyone care to chime in on the open houses?

[Nonprofitguy]

If you're seeking a career in finance, why are you looking to go into either SIPA/SAIS?

[nebula]

Seeking a career in international finance. Both schools offer concentrations and specializations in finance.

[Nonprofitguy]

1 hour ago, nebula said:

Seeking a career in international finance. Both schools offer concentrations and specializations in finance.

I'm sure you have already but if not, I would highly encourage you to look at the employment report (& LinkedIn) for both schools and actually see the % of alumni who find jobs at the companies you are thinking of. Talk to the career management office and talk to current students to see if this is a viable pathway. What do the OCR opportunities look like?

Finance recruiting is highly formalized and they heavily target their target schools. In many cases, neither SIPA nor SAIS are target schools for finance firms. Does that mean it's impossible to land a job? No. But you are at a significant disadvantage and you will have to rely heavily on networking to even get an interview. 

Between the two, I would argue that Columbia SIPA is a better choice as many top financial institutions will have a NYC headquarters so you have more chances at networking. But frankly, you will be at a disadvantage when competing for these positions with Columbia & NYU MBAs (not to mention the other top business schools that place well in NYC, like HBS, Wharton, Dartmouth Tuck, etc.) If you are truly set on international finance, why not apply to business schools?

[nebula]

 

1 hour ago, Nonprofitguy said:

I'm sure you have already but if not, I would highly encourage you to look at the employment report (& LinkedIn) for both schools and actually see the % of alumni who find jobs at the companies you are thinking of. Talk to the career management office and talk to current students to see if this is a viable pathway. What do the OCR opportunities look like?

Finance recruiting is highly formalized and they heavily target their target schools. In many cases, neither SIPA nor SAIS are target schools for finance firms. Does that mean it's impossible to land a job? No. But you are at a significant disadvantage and you will have to rely heavily on networking to even get an interview. 

Between the two, I would argue that Columbia SIPA is a better choice as many top financial institutions will have a NYC headquarters so you have more chances at networking. But frankly, you will be at a disadvantage when competing for these positions with Columbia & NYU MBAs (not to mention the other top business schools that place well in NYC, like HBS, Wharton, Dartmouth Tuck, etc.) If you are truly set on international finance, why not apply to business schools?

I have no background in finance and see these programs as strong stepping stones to breaking in to the field. I am fortunate in that I won't have to take out loans for these schools. MBA/Phd might be down the line if I believe that's the next step for me.

Edited April 9, 2017 by nebula

[Ella16]

well I saw a SAIS openhouse video from a few years back where one of the students said that if you were looking for finance, wall street, etc. you would be better off in NYC for career prospects but that if you were into multilateral orgs, think tanks, etc. DC was the place to be. He did say for finance ppl they would have to commute back and forth to NY if they really wanted to network. If you want to do finance at the World Bank though SAIS can't be beat. 

Here: 

It's quite old but I hope it helps anyway

 

Edited April 9, 2017 by Ella16

[nebula]

21 hours ago, Ella16 said:

well I saw a SAIS openhouse video from a few years back where one of the students said that if you were looking for finance, wall street, etc. you would be better off in NYC for career prospects but that if you were into multilateral orgs, think tanks, etc. DC was the place to be. He did say for finance ppl they would have to commute back and forth to NY if they really wanted to network. If you want to do finance at the World Bank though SAIS can't be beat. 

Here: 

It's quite old but I hope it helps anyway

 

Thanks! I did watch this video, and have done a lot of research on the two. At the end of the day, I think it's going to come down to the location.

[went_away]

Coming out of an MA in International Affairs, you'll struggle mightily to get into international finance without a background in the field. SIPA wins this game, but you would likely have better luck with an MBA from NYU. 

[Hayek]

What do you mean by "international finance?" If you want to work at the IFC/IMF/World Bank/etc., then SAIS would probably be better mostly due to the networking/proximity aspect.

If you want to go into investment banking, equity research, or capital markets (sales and trading, debt capital markets, etc.) then both are poor choices--you should be doing an MBA instead.

[Holiday]

Nebula,

I would encourage you to hone in on your specific interests within international finance as it's a broad field and doing so will help you make your decision. 

If youre interested in international development finance, SAIS is the better program in terms of job prospects from what I gather. If you're interested in more traditional finance careers, SIPA might be a better choice for you. SAIS also places well within mgmt consulting relatively (although not on par with mba programs).

 Overall, my impression is that career prospects are generally stronger out of SAIS (their placement statistics confirms this) but SIPA has a stronger network within NY firms obviously.

if you don't have finance experience, a worthwhile MBA is not really an option and I think an IR school could potentially give your the experience to break into the field but it will definitely be challenging. You might want to try to get some finance experience before grad school as it would help your chances and give u a better idea of what you might want to do.