Actually, I would say NYU is the best program in maths finance, most of the students get offers as associate by now, which is very different from Columbia and Stanford. Stanford is also a HUGE problem because of its location. Indeed, try to contact the recruiter at NYU to explain your situation and if you have submitted your application a few times ago they should be ready to give you an answer very soon.

sothule-- i'm currently a senior at Columbia University, majoring in Economics and Computer Science-Math. One of the reasons why I'm leaning towards Stanford rather than Columbia is that I've already done my undergrad here, a change would be good. But I agree completely with your analysis of both programs, and you can't go wrong with either school. Although Stanford doesn't have statistics on placement, I would think its pretty good. But Columbia's location in NYC is definitely a plus, you have a lot more opportunites to network and make connections. I'm waiting to hear from a few other schools (NYU, CMU, Chicago) --- but in all likelihood i'm going to Stanford.

Jascaphan, it depends on the university. In columbia it is possible to have an RA and TA on the second semester. I dont think its possible at stanford or nyu. You can also work part time at nyu/columbia. You should also look for external fellowships/grants. I dont know what is a "fantastic" curriculum but in my point of view, they first look at your level in mathematics and then your experience/interest in finance. Try to be convincing on these two points. A list of masters in quant finance can be found here: http://finmath.stanford.edu/links.htmlgood luck if you apply,

sothule-- what did you finally decide on? columbia or stanford?

sothule -- and did NYU get back to you ?

Zulu and hypersphere, watch you pm.