Is a Masters in Finance the right choice and what are my chances?
Hi all, I am in the midst of a really important decision and I was hoping to seek some advice here from all you Bschool experts out there.
I'd start by providing a bit of background info - I have been trying to break into the Asset Management industry (specifically, equities, be it public or private) but have not had much luck with interviews so far, even with boutiques. They are mainly the only ones I have tried, as it is pretty much a career switch given my profile.
I had initially intended to take an MBA, but realised that I can hardly afford 2 years of MBA in a top school, nor do I have any distinguishing leadership experience to qualify, whether now or maybe even in the future, considering my current career path. A Masters in Finance is only one year long and seems like the best option available before I get stuck doing Product Control for the rest of my life.
So, finally, the questions for the collective mind:
One, do you think I am making the right decision to take a postgrad for this purpose? Although it is only a one-year course, it is still a substantial investment and I will be in debt for quite a while.
Second, I was hoping to seek some advice on my chances to admit to a Masters in Finance in the following schools (in descending order of preference):
LBS
Oxford
LSE
Cambridge
Warwick
Vanderbilt
(or any other recommendations?)
Profile:
27 years old
2:1 Honours in Accountancy (GPA of 4.3/5)
2.5 years Big 4 audit experience covering mainly financial services clients
1 year accounting/control experience in a bank
Passed CFA Level 1
South East Asian (I speak both English and Mandarin) and still in SEA presently
GMAT not taken but I believe I will probably get 700, maybe more.
This is what I'm doing. Couldn't secure an interview with 3.85/4.00 and some decent experience (outside of finance). I'm of the opinion though that you don't want to apply to "safety" MSF programs b/c if it isn't a top school then placement options may be the same as they are for you now.
Your background is impressive for an incoming grad student. Try to get a GMAT of 750+ because IMHO, an MSF is much more quantitative than other business grad degree so maybe they will care more about your scores (plus GPA, math courses in college... - those are based on my exp) I've got a GMAT of 720 and got rejected at much lower school than your targets.
Some other good US schools that have MSF: Boston C., Boston U., NYU, Princeton, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon, WUSTL ...
sorry to hijack but nontargetchimp where did you apply that you did not get in? it seems like a your gmat score would almost a shoo-in at most programs?
No prob, bro, we're here to talk I've got an undergrad degree from an Asian country and no noteworthy work exp.
I got rejected at (school name + probable cause (just my guess)) - Boston College - not competitive enough or stated that I couldn't afford the tuition - Case Western Reserve - horrendous interview performance
NYU has a global MSF which is kind of off. They have an MFE which is much different. CMU is computational finance and Boston University is a specialized degree in investment management.
BC and WUSTL are the only true MSF's on that list.
Apply to some of the less competitive LSE programs and you will get admitted. LSE has a ton of MSc's.
Hi ANT, could you shoot me some quick bullet points on how to guarantee a good shot at being admitted to Columbia's and NYU's MSF (or as you said, MFE, financial econ etc..) ? Do big corporations ever sponsor your tuition to those places ?
Gcjohns: that's what I was thinking too :) no point investing that much if it doesn't help in placin in the investment mgmt industry
Nontargetchimp: I didn't pick the US schools listed because they seem to be too quant for my liking. I don't wish to be confined to risk management. Do you think that is a good decision? What do you think of my chances at LBS and Oxford if I had a GMAT of 700? Would my profile stand a chance if my GMAT hits the average of the class? I'm quite curious like tombrokaw4 why that GMAT would be insufficient for lower tier schools.
ANT: Do you reckon LSE would be a reach for me for a masters in finance? Would the other Msc be useful in breaking into the industry?
It's my actual experience that I got rejected at school like Case Western Reserve. And not to sound smart-ass, but coming from a non-English speaking country, I prepped for the GMAT for 1 month, took it only 1 time and got 720 so I guess that's not big an achievement at all.
IMO, I know that even the Harvard MBA got an average GMAT of about 720-740 but I bet in an MBA admission, many other factors counted. However, an MSF admission, at least in the US I believe, is heavily tilted toward the math side. They constantly asked me how many math courses have I taken etc...
All in all, if you meet the GMAT average for the admitted pool, have killer's work exp and possess a relatively quantitative bachelor's degree, I say you've got a good shot at being admitted to those places. Good luck pal.
LSE has multiple programs. I would do some research and find the least competitive one. From what I have heard they all recruit the same.
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