I have just received offers form Columbia, Imperial and Warwick for the program in mathematical finance.I am about to exclude Columbia since it doesn't have a final thesis/internship furthermore I am Europen and I know that it would be harder to get a gob in US.IC and Warwick seems to have same programs, same quality and same reputation. Can anyone point relevant difference? Does anyone can justify the difference of fee (Warwick £ 13000 and IC £ 17000) I heard that IC has half the students of Warwick that in order to ensure almost every student a thesis in collaboration with banks and institutions. Professors have stronger links with the city and they look after students much more that at Warwick.Jacopo

Jacopo, I am on the Warwick MSc, and it is very well structured with some very good lecturers, but be prepared to work hard . Most people at Warwick who want to do external dissertations, can do so. But there are some interesting academic/internal projects as well - not everyone wants to do an external project as it could be a bit restrictive in what you do.I don't know enough about the Imperial course to be able to compare. There are some previous threads here which might do so. But one factor will be where you want to spend a year. Warwick is a campus university, Imperial a city one, with all that entails.if you have any specific questions on the Warwick course, go ahead and ask.

what do you mean by "external project... could be a bit restrictive in what you do"?I was told that the director of the program is going to take a sabbatical year, I am a little bit concerned about the new organization of the program and expecially for the fact that he was the one with more links with the city.Could you provide me some figures about this year intership?Thanks, Jacopo

Hi,I was in the same situation as you 2 months ago in choosing between Warwick and Imperial. I have asked around and the conclusion is that both programs are good in their own ways. I chose Imperial myself, I thought since I am not from UK, and I am going for the international experience, I might as well go for London. For me, the overall experience, not just the academic one, is more important. An alumni told me that Warwick's campus is very nice, but the town is quite trashy, and that it takes 2 hours to get to London. And also, people in UK or in the area of Finance may know that Warwick is an excellent school and has excellent business programs. However, Imperial definitely has a stronger reputation in general around the world. That's just my two cents. Let me know how your decision goes. Hope to see you in South Kensington next term!Flora

QuoteNot true, once you are there you can easy find a job. If you are on a F1 visa you can work for one year on what s called OTP := optional training period.And then, are you still able to work there? after this one year period, is it easy to stay there and find a job?

This year there are 15-20 external projects with the likes of Deutche, Morgan Stanley, LCH, a few other banks and hedge funds which I cant rember offhand. They are usually based on campus with regular contact with the company, not actually sitting on a desk. Some students want academic projects - supervised by one of the course lecturers.What I meant by projects potentially being restrictive was that the company will obviously have something they want researched which may not always have an academic slant.I don't know where you are getting your information, but there are definitely strong links between the programme and the City. There are some more high profile academics joining the Warwick Business School team shortly, I don't want to name names as I don't know if they are public yet. What do you mean by the 'new organization' of the program ? : It has been running since 1998/99 and the ethos hasn't changed, though some details of the courses may have.

Go Cov !!!!But honestly the whole place is not that bad... Earlsdon has a nice park (war memorial park), there is Bonds downtow, the Warwick Arts Centre. All in all there are much worse places to be. and youe are here to study anyway !

yeah Earlsdon and Leam are nice enough - just started sampling the nightlife recently after exams finished - pity about the concrete jungle that is the town centre!

Leamington is certainly very nice. Earlsdon is okay if you're a student, but pity if you aren't having to put up with all the loud students But yeah Warwick is certainly very nice as a campus.

I'd go for Columbia. Even if you cannot get a work VISA for more than one year, it's still worth it. You've always got the option to move somewhere else afterwards e.g. London. Otherwise, go for Imperial. Their program and their reputation are very good. You've also got the advantage of being in London.