Hello everyone,
I am looking for help to build my strategy and chose which school and program to apply to.
I am 22 years old and I hold a BSc in international business from a non-target french school. My CGPA is about 3.5/5.
I am currently in a GPA year and I am trying to leverage my current internship to get into a better bank for my 2nd ''off-cycle'' internship before to enroll a Master in Finance (I already had a internship with Société Générale for a M&A off cycle in Germany)
Work-Experience and extra-curriculum:
- Internship in a M&A boutique in Paris
- Internship in a M&A boutique in Asia (2016)
- 3 years in the french military reserve
- Started my own (micro) business at 18 to finance my studies (sales: 20k/year)
- UNICEF project manager for one year (managed a team to raise fonds)
I have 2 great letters of recommendation.
My academics are not good. I did not know I wanted to do IB before and no ones cares about your GPA in France, but since I want to study and work abroad I need to deal with that. I also had to skip a lot of classes when I was in the reserve (I did an exchange program abroad for 1 semester where my GPA were >3.5). But schools does not care about that I guess. I can't change my GPA but I can change the others parts of my application.
Yesterday, I went to the QS Master programs event in Paris. I had the opportunity to talk to people from top-europeans schools. It was really interesting:
-
ESCP - Master in Finance: They are looking for people with at least one experience in IB. The guy who was next to me went to a top-school for his BSc with good grades, but he does not have any relevant WE/ECs so they told him to really get a good internship in banking before to apply. However, you need to have at least a 4-year BSc to apply.
-
Imperial, UCL, Warwick MSc in Finance: They are mostly looking at your GPA and the school you are coming from. The girl next to me went to Science Po Rennes with a great GPA (15/20), they told her she was a strong candidate. However, I talked to her after that and she does not even know what was the GMAT and she does not have any experience in finance. You also need to have a strong quant background.
-
RSM MSc in Finance: The admission staff told me the GMAT matters more than the GPA. The school is very cheap for europeans, it's only 2,000 euros a year. They are not looking for people with quant background. Actually, you can not apply to a Master in the same area of expertise of your Bachelor (like for me, I hold a BSc in Internal Business, I can't apply to the MiM)
-
IE: The are looking for everything
I asked them about my GPA, but it was difficult for them to answer. Most of french schools are using a scale out of 20. They told me either they are going to do x4 to my current GPA so around 14/20 which is 2:1 or they are going to look at my ranking. I am scared I am going to be rejected everywhere for my GPA...
I am studying hard for my GMAT. I know I need a good score. I am trying to get over 720. I really want to go to RSM because it's very cheap and I can do 2 masters (so a summer between the year 1 and 2. And maybe, if I get good grades on my first year, I will apply to a more prestigious program.
1) What do you think of my profile
2) Which schools and programs (MiM vs MSc Finance) do you think I should apply to?
3) School name > Msc major? It seems that MiM programs are less competitive than a MSc in Finance but I don't know about exit opportunities.
3) Do you think I should wait to have a better internship before to apply? My internship in Paris is going to be over in February.
Thank you guys.
up
1) Your profile overall is not bad. You've done a lot of stuff over the years, and having to skip some class due to being a reserve will be taken in consideration during the admission process, if you bring it up in your cover letter/interview/others.
2) On the other side, it is also true that some schools will look exclusively at GPA and GMAT. In that case, they probably won't give you a yes but do not stress too much about it. It is just their view regarding who to admit to the program. Schools like this are e.g. LSE, Imperial. Still, if you're willing to put in the effort and the 80€ (or whatever it is) of the application fee, it may still be worth to apply anyway. On the other side, a couple of good schools that care much more about the overall profile (rather than GPA) are ESADE and ESCP. You will have to do your homework to understand which school is looking for what.
3) Overall I would say that yes, School name > MSc major. I did my MiM in a top target (think HEC, St. Gallen, Bocconi) and managed to get my interviews in bulge brackets and elite boutiques in London and elsewhere. Still, they may ask you why you did Management instead of Finance: in that case, it will be better for you to have a good explanation. On a side note: this is a bit different for top French school, since their Finance programmes are the finance major of the Grande Ecole MiM. Hence, you would still study the same finance stuff if you enroll in the MiM and have exactly the same opportunities. The cons is having to study one more year.
4) Check the deadlines of each programme, some may close before February. Given you already have quite a good amount of work experience, I'd say an additional internship won't bring that much more weight to your profile, unless we're talking about a renowned bank/fund/firm.
thanks dude!
Imperial is the one that care less about your GPA putting all the weight on your CV, nowadays is really a strong target. Anyway you can try to apply to the other ones as well man
Sunt reprehenderit ut rerum quod. Et voluptatem ut libero doloribus. Vel exercitationem excepturi aut reiciendis necessitatibus voluptas dolorem. Veniam ut delectus eveniet. Et veritatis repudiandae et in magnam et non. Vero rerum placeat ipsa sunt nemo.
Voluptatem asperiores dolor assumenda assumenda. Et dolores at molestiae et aperiam. Recusandae qui expedita ipsum mollitia omnis quas ut. Et qui dolorum iure architecto deleniti iusto. Enim itaque qui eos tempore a quo quidem nemo.
Et inventore officiis ab quo ut. Autem recusandae nam repellat. Natus nam rerum est natus et non. Esse suscipit qui enim rerum. Accusamus molestias ut et sequi quasi aut doloribus. Enim autem corporis nobis illo totam.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...