GreAgain Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Hi, Everyone Here! I am an international student and plan to work in US after I graduate with a master degree there. Currently, I have three program choices: a. NYU(MA in Econ):at least three semesters b. Tufts(MA in Econ): two semesters, and four courses per semester c. Columbia(MA in Statistics): two to four semesters, and much free time in the day My questions are: 1. Given such economic environment, which program will help me most to find a decent job? 2. After working for 3-5 years, perhaps I will apply for MBA or MSF. If I take this aim into account, which program should I choose? Thanks a lot for your opinions. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FierceEconDR Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Columbia Statistics. A MA in Econ buys nothing! I also think that Columbia Stats is a top stats program too (not sure), you can do more stuff with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treblekicker Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Columbia Statistics. A MA in Econ buys nothing! I also think that Columbia Stats is a top stats program too (not sure), you can do more stuff with it and you get to work with andrew gelman! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GymShorts Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 and you get to work with andrew gelman! These days I just cannot write a paper without citing him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treblekicker Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 These days I just cannot write a paper without citing him. i absolutely love his blog. for what it is worth, usnews does not have columbia in the top ten for stat programs (can't see beyond that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zshfryoh1 Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 i absolutely love his blog. for what it is worth, usnews does not have columbia in the top ten for stat programs (can't see beyond that). My understanding is that the US News rank is for statistics is actually for statistics within math departments and is a subcategory of the math rankings. For example Princeton is listed even though it has no statistics department. Also, the US News rankings for PhD programs are a purely reputation based ranking derived from a faculty survey with a low response rate so I never really trust them for any PhD field. I think the last NRC had Columbia stats some where in the 20-25 range, but I have been told that the department has improved a lot in the past 15 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreAgain Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 Columbia Statistics. A MA in Econ buys nothing! I also think that Columbia Stats is a top stats program too (not sure), you can do more stuff with it Thanks for your reply.:) It seems that the placement of NYU Econ master graduates is not bad. Its location is quite advantagous and the reputation is also good.... Columbia is appealing, but I still would like to know more about the two Econ MA programs, Tufts and NYU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesparky Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 What occurred to me when I saw the title was NYU(MA) NYU(MA) iei, NYU(MA) NYU(MA) iei, NYU(MA) NYU(MA) NYU(MA) iei... [no i have no real opinion] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreAgain Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 What occurred to me when I saw the title was NYU(MA) NYU(MA) iei, NYU(MA) NYU(MA) iei, NYU(MA) NYU(MA) NYU(MA) iei... [no i have no real opinion] :confused::confused: I can see it "NYU(MA in Econ) or Tufts(MA in Econ) or Columbia(MA in Stat)". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
averageall Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Kinda hard choice between NYU and Columbia. But if I were in your shoes, then I`ll just simply join NYU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreAgain Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 Kinda hard choice between NYU and Columbia. But if I were in your shoes, then I`ll just simply join NYU. Could you tell me the reasons? Thanks a lot.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilleNouvelle Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 What sort of job are you hoping to get after the degree? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreAgain Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 What sort of job are you hoping to get after the degree? I would like to enter a (commercial/investment)bank or a consulting firm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FierceEconDR Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Just another point... I know somebody that did a stat master (you should take financial stats also) and had awesome jobs (read mad money), then he became a phd and transfigured into a poor professor. For those kind of jobs the stats ma with a bent into financial math will open more doors. like bloomberg, citi etc But I do think it would be more difficult, so if you want to enjoy new york too maybe NYU econ would be good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilleNouvelle Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 I would like to enter a (commercial/investment)bank or a consulting firm. I've been to a lot of recruiting events, and from what I understand, prestige is what makes a difference for those sorts of jobs. I'd go with Columbia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treblekicker Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 I've been to a lot of recruiting events, and from what I understand, prestige is what makes a difference for those sorts of jobs. I'd go with Columbia. ibanking is almost exclusively an ivy field. i go to a school which has a very good undergrad b-school, especially for accounting, and the finance and accounting majors aren't even recruited for ibanking. they have to get their start in operations or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epanechnikov Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Go for statistics. That will make you far more employable. However you should choose the right courses. Time Series, Stochastic Calculus, Non-parametric, statistical learning etc. Avoid social statistics and the likes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junebug62 Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Go for statistics. That will make you far more employable. However you should choose the right courses. Time Series, Stochastic Calculus, Non-parametric, statistical learning etc. Avoid social statistics and the likes What other classes would be considered fluffy? Survey statistics? Can you give some more examples? And do you mean useless to get a job in finance/banking/consulting, or in most fields that seek out stats grads? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epanechnikov Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 What other classes would be considered fluffy? Survey statistics? Can you give some more examples? And do you mean useless to get a job in finance/banking/consulting, or in most fields that seek out stats grads? Well I believe that you can master surveys, social statistics etc. yourself relatively easily if needed. Those courses are less rigorous and not so useful for financial/medical applications. Thus I would recommend you to follow probability, time series, Bayesian statistics, non-parametric statistics, linear models, computational statistics courses. I've done a master's in statistics myself and I believe that this was by far my most enjoyable educational experience. The breadth of statistical applications is just amazing. The industry also values people with numerical degrees very high. It is also a useful degree for Ph.d. economists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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