I am an international student who applied to RIT for the Fall’22 intake. I applied for their MS in Computational Finance course. My application was processed but when I received the offer letter it was instead for MS in Finance. When I emailed the admissions department they told me that the course I had applied to had been discontinued. The guidance councellor assigned for my application did not inform me of this in prior.
After a few back and forth emails they asked me to schedule a video conference with the Department head. In his email he scheduled a video conference 20 mins after the email, which I was unable to read on time considering there is a 9.5hr time zone difference. After I was unable to attend the meeting, he did not reply to any of my emails asking to reschedule.
I am writing this thread mainly to inform of their negligence and to ask where I could escalate this matter, since their negligence has cost me a whole year.
I’m confused by the terminology in your post. Did RIT discontinue the entire major? If so, there is unfortunately little that can be done. I would discuss with RIT what specific classes in computational finance are still being offered. There may be enough to still make it worth your while. If not, circle back to the other schools that offered you admission and see if they still have any spots. You may also be able to start in January '23.
I’m not sure what you are expecting. They discontinued the degree which is unfortunate since that’s what you wanted but they have no obligation to you. Was this the only school that accepted you? If that’s the case, you can choose between accepting the offer they gave you or applying elsewhere.
Negligence? Colleges discontinue majors often. Tulane discontinued a bunch of engineering majors after Hurricane Katrina resulting in students needing to transfer elsewhere.
Escalate for what purpose? They aren’t going to reinstate this major for you.
I am sorry that you’re experiencing this, as it certainly sounds like a very frustrating experience. Although colleges do eliminate majors and degree programs, it would certainly be beneficial for them to contact any applicants who were applying to those programs to inform them of the intended changes. Additionally, the poor communication would only be exacerbating the situation.
Is it possible that the faculty member was going to be going on vacation or otherwise not available which prompted the speedy video conference and the lack of communication since? Have you tried reaching out to your admissions officer and explain the silence you have received concerning your subsequent emails? Perhaps there is someone else on-campus who is available to meet with you.
Was this the only program you applied to? If so, I would certainly investigate the possibilities of studying computational finance within the regular finance degree. If the program won’t work for your purposes, then yes, it would appear that you need to apply elsewhere. In that case, I would apply to multiple universities so that you can have choices with respect to your final decision.
I think by “negligence”, OP is referring to the fact that RIT did not inform her/him that the major they applied to was no longer being offered. I agree they should have.
But having said that, I also agree that there really isn’t any recourse at this point other than to apply/accept elsewhere if OP specifically wants a computational finance degree vs taking those courses within the MS Finance program
OP- go through the course catalogue. You may be arguing semantics here- if the CLASSES you need are still offered, but it’s the terminology which has changed, problem solved. Just enroll in the classes you want to take while fulfilling the requirements of the MS Finance program.
Unfortunately, this program/degree change occurred during your application process. I can understand how frustrating it must be not to have been informed of this change until you received your admissions decision. Bad on RIT.
But, you are not an enrolled student yet. Communication with current students versus applicants occurs through very different channels.
I would definitely attempt to reschedule the meeting that you missed in order to gather more information about this change so that you truly understand the implications. Perhaps it’s not that dire? I know you said that you’ve had difficulty getting a response, but I would keep trying (in a cordial, professional manner).
Beyond that, unless I am missing something, it sounds as though you are likely SOL. The situation does rise not to the level of “negligence” but maybe you were being hyperbolic?
Had you already started your degree when these changes occurred, then you likely would be eligible for an exemption or an accommodation (such as a grandfathering exception for current students — allowing current students to complete a course of study already started).
You can request a similar exemption, but I think that it is unlikely that RIT will accommodate you.
Hopefully, you also applied to other schools? What was your back-up plan if you did not get admitted into this particular program at RIT?
I agree with the other posters. And I feel for you. It is an unfortunate situation made more so by your international status and the additional challenges that presents.
I do want to gently suggest you be mindful of the wording you use when you communicate with RIT faculty and admins. Do not sound accusatory (don’t use negative words such as “negligence”). Do not assume they know your time zone. Choice of wording and tone can be a challenge when English is a second language. However, it may not be an issue at all for you, so apologies if I am making assumptions.
As an example, an email addressed to the department head and copied to the admissions contacts could read something like this:
“I’ve recently discovered my preferred major has been discontinued. As I live in ____, I respectfully request a phone call/video conference with ____ (or whomever the appropriate contact may be) to discuss my options during the Eastern Time Zone hours of ____ to ____. I would love to attend RIT and sincerely hope there may be a similar major (or DIY/custom major) available so I can work toward my preferred career goal at my preferred institution. I appreciate any guidance available.”
When Tulane discontinued its engineering programs, there was no accommodation or anything else. Those majors no longer were offered by the school. Students had the option of switching majors…or switching schools.
The post-Katrina situation at Tulane was dramatic, for sure.
The RIT Computational Finance MS program webpage is still up. It says they are not admitting new students into the program, but I assume their current students are completing the program.
Do you know that the decision to discontinue this was made before your application was in/before conversations with your advisor? Decisions are made at some point in time. With many processes going on at any time, it’s a reality that on the date that a decision is made, some process will be in-flight.
Regardless, the advice above is accurate. Explore your options and decide how to proceed. The program will not be coming back.
As pointed out by some, I apologise for the rather rude wording of my post. I was just frustrated.
MSF and MSCF are similar but not the same courses, so its not just an issue of semantics. MSCF can help you land jobs in quant sectors, investment banking etc.
I have applied to other universities but RIT was my first choice since NY is sort of the finance hub and I would have received some help with my living expenses since I have family there.
By “negligence” I meant that a university like RIT should have informed it applicants if there was a problem with the course that the applicants are applying to. Especially since it costs a fortune to attend and live in a place like NY.
I appreciate all the feedback and once again apologise for the rude wording. Writing this reply a day later and I realised my mistake.
I agree with @blossom that the name of your degree makes no difference if you can take the same (or similar) set of courses. No quant HF or a quant desk at an IB won’t hire you because the title of your degree is missing the word “Quantitative”. Nor are they going to hire you just because you have a degree with the word “Quantitative” in it.
I think the cost of living in Rochester isn’t that horribly high. It’s not near or in New York City…which is where those jobs you mention are located. It’s almost a six hour drive from Rochester to NYC. Did you know that?
Good advice in the posts above. I work in the financial industry in NYC and we hire graduates from schools all around the country. There’s no particular benefit of being in the same state.
And yes, the cost of living in Rochester is nowhere close to NYC.
What are your other schools that you are considering? Perhaps they are closer to NYC than Rochester.
Rochester is not NYC. It is in upstate NY, not at all similar to the NYC metropolitan area. I have lived in both places and they are very far apart (not only in distance). You would be too far from your family in NYC to stay with them. Though after re-reading your post, I am not sure if your family is actually in NYC or in Rochester?
It is about a 6 hour drive from Rochester to NYC. Rochester is a much, much smaller city and the cost of living is low by comparison. Not at all a financial hub.
Is being close to NYC a deal breaker for you? Or, is the program itself more important? Please share your other options if you would like folks to give you additional feedback.
By “course” do you mean “course of study” as in the degree itself or a singular course. Seems like the former. I would look at the required and elective individual courses/classes that exist in the MSF and compare to MSCF. Sometimes institutions try to streamline the names of their programs and/or combine for various reasons. Is it possible the individual classes that were part of MSCF are still being offered but are simply not required for the MSF. The school didn’t just eliminate all those faculty, so maybe there is still the possibility of taking the classes you feel would benefit you most.