hi param200,i have already applied to rutgers program.still waiting to get a decsion from them.last week i got a letter from them statingthey haven't got my TOEFL core.i have written to them asking theirTOEFL code but haven't got a reply from them.what is the TOEFL code for Rutgers.i sent it at 2725.is it correct ?byewowboys2001

hi ty,i think you are right about change in pitt program.i have been trying to open their site for the past2 weeks.but haven't been able to.can you elaborate more on how you got the impression that their program is changing.wish even i had got into tech.then i wouldnt have to think so muchwowboys

I will summarize my impression and most statements on this board:This is based on my review of the program structure, faculty, and searching for the subject matter of the faculty publications.I think the program is weak and unfocused.I think they put it together too fast to get in on the zeitgeist of financial engineering.I think in ten years time it likely will be 'in-the-money' but currently your irretreivable time (t - the irreplaceable asset), and $ (the re-createable asset) are better spent elsewhere.This is JMHO, I have no firsthand experience with the school, faculty, etc. In addition, everyone at this program working now trying to make the program succeed is much smarter than me. I wish them well and want them to succeed. But I think the program needs some greater strength and focus and faculty that are directly committeed to it to be viable. Again, JMHO.

hi james,thanks for giving an opinion about Claremont.do yo have any of u r friends in Claremont.i want to have a first hand information fo the program.what is really making me nervous is the 25k/year tagwith Claremont.i wanted to know whether any sort of aid is associated with the program.do replywowboys

hi,no replies for a long time.please throw some more light on Claremont's programwowboys2001

hi guys,what knowledge i have gained from this as well as other forums(businessweek.com,yahoogroups,..),i suppose Claremont Graduate University(or rather the Claremont groups of colleges) are wellknown for undergrad courses in South Cali.but as far as the grad courses are concerned,CGU is not that well known.do u think that a college which is well known for undergrad would have that bad a grad course ?the only advantage i can site from the program is that the class size is 25 withproximity to LA(35 miles from downtown LA).so it might be easier to place this number of people after grad.but that is just my opinion and not have confirmation from any place.for tyi am still undecided about Claremont as the 25k tag is still pinching me.it might be worth spending thi much amount in tope univs like CMU,etc.but is it worth spending in a lesser known grad college ??still waiting for reply from rutgers and michigan.hope one of theconverts to an admit.wowboys

Wowboys - I always think of the Duran Duran song 'Wild Boys' when I see your name. And its a tough song to get out of my head.Anyway, good luck with the whole process - it's a tough year, but I am sure it will work out for you. As an aside - for those of you interested in Financial Engineering graduate programs Forbes did an article on the state of grad programs and was very complimentary. If nothing else FE programs had much higher placement rates than MBA programs.

everyone of the msfe type of program is having hard time placing its graduates now days. one of the reason is because quant job ava. is very limited, and graduates are competing with ph.d. in other fields (math, physics, and etc.). and there are so many of math finance graduates. from hiring standpoint, there is no cost difference between hiring some ph.d. or m.s., holding everything equal (ego, looks, and etc.).my personal general view/ranking on value of a program based on people i know in the industrymsfe/mfe/mscf and other derivatives -1) nyu math - 2) cmu -3) MIT sloan MBA FE concentration4) princeton - 5) columbia -6) stanfordothers are unranked/unheard/unpopular, i know there must be excellent and able students in excellent programs not list here, pls don't be offended. btw, claremont is a very nice area for retirement, 25mil from LA, undergrad colleages are very impressive, pomona (3rd or higher in the nation), harvey mudd (most famous for engineering classes, excellent/famous/love-teaching professors). if anyone do go there for whatever reason, take advanced classes in harvey mudd for stoch cal & prob & computer science, cross reg to california int of technology (has 23+noble prize winner) in pasadena for stoch finance (brilliant!)classes, cross reg to USC's advanced fixed income classes in mba, cross reg to UCLA for numerical analysis classes, take marketing (to sell yourself in the job market) and drucker classes (at least you know the guy look like paying 25k+) at CGU MSFE.