The Student Room Group

ETH vs. Oxford for Statistics Master

Hi everyone,

I got accepted into the MSc in Statistical Science in Oxford and the MSc Statistics at ETH Zürich and I am torn between those programs. So I wanted to ask for some experiences people had and/or opinions. My long-term goal is to go either into quant finance or statistical machine learning research. My background is in Applied Physics, so I have had my share of mathematically rigorous courses in undergrad but not nearly as much as a math undergrad. This is my assessment:

ETH:
+ location in Zürich (I also speak German so there's no language barrier), mountains, lake (I love skiing and water sports)
+ program is very flexible, has a lot of courses to choose from
+ prestigious university, especially in STEM
+ opens doors to live and work in Switzerland in the future (I've heard it is easier to be hired/relocated to Switzerland if you have studied at a Swiss uni. Also I am an EU citizen so it's easier)
+ 1.5 year program and 6 month dissertation so I could do internships during the program and also travel a bit during semester vacation
+ lower tuition

- not as well-known to the public internationally
- not sure if it's a target school for my future job aspirations
- harder to find housing
- program is definitely easier to get into, not sure if this would affect me negatively as I didn't do a super competitive program

Oxford:
+ international prestige
+ very traditional and lots of ambitious people
+ better network into quant finance and target school
+ mathematically rigorous program
+ close to London, which is a very cool city

- program seems rushed (only one year) and a bit cashcowesque
- less courses to choose from
- residency requirement would require me to live there for the full year and not really be able to travel/visit my family and partner often
- program is only 1 year
- 30k tuition

would be very happy if some people on here could share their opinions!

Reply 1

Hi everyone,
I got accepted into the MSc in Statistical Science in Oxford and the MSc Statistics at ETH Zürich and I am torn between those programs. So I wanted to ask for some experiences people had and/or opinions. My long-term goal is to go either into quant finance or statistical machine learning research. My background is in Applied Physics, so I have had my share of mathematically rigorous courses in undergrad but not nearly as much as a math undergrad. This is my assessment:
ETH:
+ location in Zürich (I also speak German so there's no language barrier), mountains, lake (I love skiing and water sports)
+ program is very flexible, has a lot of courses to choose from
+ prestigious university, especially in STEM
+ opens doors to live and work in Switzerland in the future (I've heard it is easier to be hired/relocated to Switzerland if you have studied at a Swiss uni. Also I am an EU citizen so it's easier)
+ 1.5 year program and 6 month dissertation so I could do internships during the program and also travel a bit during semester vacation
+ lower tuition
- not as well-known to the public internationally
- not sure if it's a target school for my future job aspirations
- harder to find housing
- program is definitely easier to get into, not sure if this would affect me negatively as I didn't do a super competitive program
Oxford:
+ international prestige
+ very traditional and lots of ambitious people
+ better network into quant finance and target school
+ mathematically rigorous program
+ close to London, which is a very cool city
- program seems rushed (only one year) and a bit cashcowesque
- less courses to choose from
- residency requirement would require me to live there for the full year and not really be able to travel/visit my family and partner often
- program is only 1 year
- 30k tuition
would be very happy if some people on here could share their opinions!

Congrats for getting in! Both are excellent and competitive universities and offers. (I am not a student of either so this is just an opinion, but I am studying stats in the UK asw.) Given your goal of quant, I would honestly opt for oxford, unless you really want the option of living in Switzerland later. The tuition is definitely higher, but oxford is a HUGE target for quant and a lot of london industry jobs + when considering the cost of living in zurich, I doubt the difference in cost would be that much, as cost of living is a lot lower in UK. In either university, I doubt you will have very much time to go sightseeing until post exams, so I would not give too much weightage to the geography (although i also love mountains and water sports so i get you. actually, oxford has a pretty good water polo team if you like the sport). TLDR; If you are at all considering a PhD, go for ETH, otherwise ox might be a better choice. In either case the difference will be marginal, they are both great universities! Hope this helped. Happy grad studies.

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