MSF Class of 2016

Ok guys, building on my post last year, I wanted to start something for this years applicants. Anyone applying this year, with a 2015 start and 2016 graduation, feel free to post your profile, ask questions or just add some comments. Looking to help and give advice to anyone applying in this cycle.

Let the mayhem begin!

 
Diversifythis:

3.3 overall GPA in Finance, Major GPA of 3.55. GMAT practices have been around 670/680ish with MGMAT cats. Applying to Vanderbilt, Villanova, UT Austin, SMU, Santa Clara, and USC.

I think if you get a 680 you'll have a good shot at the schools you listed.

 

Whats up gang. I plan on getting a Ph.D. after working for several years, so I am wondering if anybody knows which schools are more research oriented than others. Such as a research assistantship (UT Austin offers this) and WUSTL offers a course on research methods in Finance. I plan on applying to both of these schools, but having noticed these two interesting opportunities, I am now wondering if anybody else has noticed similar opportunities offered at other MSF programs.

 
KDDA:

2.9 GPA in econ at a top 10 school. 770 GMAT (43V 50Q). Great leadership & extracurricular but not much relevant work experience. Applying to MIT (long shot I know), CMC, Duke, UVA, Vandy.

In at cmc, vandy and duke. Good chance at UVA. I think you have an OK shot at MIT. GMAT is great. IVY is big. 2.9 = a B IMO.

Good place to be in. Look at Michigan and ND if you're looking at Duke.

 
TNA:
KDDA:

2.9 GPA in econ at a top 10 school. 770 GMAT (43V 50Q). Great leadership & extracurricular but not much relevant work experience. Applying to MIT (long shot I know), CMC, Duke, UVA, Vandy.

In at cmc, vandy and duke. Good chance at UVA. I think you have an OK shot at MIT. GMAT is great. IVY is big. 2.9 = a B IMO.

Good place to be in. Look at Michigan and ND if you're looking at Duke.

Disagree a little bit here, ANT. I think the 2.9 really hurts at MIT without any work experience to distract admissions with. That's not saying he won't get in, but it is saying that an alternative transcript could be really helpful. Remember that in grad school, you often need a 3.0 GPA to graduate, and MIT isn't exactly as easy a school to get an A at as Princeton or Villanova.
 

I remember how much help these threads were when I was looking for a program last year, specifically from guys like @TNA and @IlliniProgrammer. Figured I would pay it forward this year. If anyone has any questions regarding the search, interviewing, or program choice, feel free to message me - I'm happy to help.

My background: 3.3 GPA from a non-target, 780 GMAT, and decent work experience. After a long and thorough search, I ended up choosing Claremont McKenna for its career services department and the placement opportunities.

 

Just applied to the new Notre Dame part-time 1-year MSF in Chicago. I have 2 years total work experience and have a non-finance major. Not requiring GMAT because it's their first year, They said they will very likely require it next year. Starts in January 2015, and ends in December 2015 which misses the recruiting season, so I am a little worried since I am trying to get into IBD in Chicago. Also looking at possible opportunity to break into the banking while I am still taking classes in 2015

 
Janglejuice:

Just applied to the new Notre Dame part-time 1-year MSF in Chicago. I have 2 years total work experience and have a non-finance major.
Not requiring GMAT because it's their first year, They said they will very likely require it next year. Starts in January 2015, and ends in December 2015 which misses the recruiting season, so I am a little worried since I am trying to get into IBD in Chicago.
Also looking at possible opportunity to break into the banking while I am still taking classes in 2015

I think the PT ND program is probably your best bet for an msf within the city of Chicago. ND has a great brand and the msf will help your career down the road. Can you use it to break into banking? Up to you. There will be a lot of ND alumni and the degree should be well presented. With your experience though it might be a tough sell at the analyst level. I'd try and do Corp banking and then roll into an IBD job as an associate. Who knows though.

 

@TNA comments on PT MSF?

My take is don't do it unless you're happy where you are. There was another guy in my original Analytics group who did a part time MFE at Columbia. He's still in Analytics- they may have given him access to a few more interesting projects. Analytics is a perfectly respectable place to have a career- some days I still wonder if leaving for a desk strat role and then an MFE was the right choice- but a part time degree isn't the reset button that a full time degree is. If you want out of your current role or into a new field, you really need to think about an FT program or maybe an MBA.

I would just offer some caution on a PT program if you're not already in finance and your current employer isn't paying for it.

 

Thanks, did you by any chance go to uiuc? Just wondering because I did. I have 1 year experience as an Asset Management analyst at boutique. Do you think it's still a bad idea? I thought I could use the networking at least because there are a lot of uiuc and notre dame graduates in chicago

 
Janglejuice:

Thanks, did you by any chance go to uiuc? Just wondering because I did. I have 1 year experience as an Asset Management analyst at boutique. Do you think it's still a bad idea? I thought I could use the networking at least because there are a lot of uiuc and notre dame graduates in chicago

Yup UIUC CS.

If your co is paying for it, I don't have a problem with it.

 

2014 B.Tech CompSci grad, India: 73.24%(>3.5 GPA), June 2015 CFA Level II Candidate, GRE:328(Q:168) & TOEFL: 110, Summer intern in Master data mgmt, Currently working as an Intern at a prime Inv Bank in India (work primarily involves Due Dilligence). Post Masters aim is IB.

Will be applying to MIT, Duke, LBS, LSE, UVa, UMich, UTAusitn, Vandy (& probably USC too). What do you guys think are my chances at these? Open to suggestions!

 
Street.Monkey:

2014 B.Tech CompSci grad, India: 73.24%(>3.5 GPA), June 2015 CFA Level II Candidate, GRE:328(Q:168) & TOEFL: 110, Summer intern in Master data mgmt, Currently working as an Intern at a prime Inv Bank in India (work primarily involves Due Dilligence). Post Masters aim is IB.

Will be applying to MIT, Duke, LBS, LSE, UVa, UMich, UTAusitn, Vandy (& probably USC too).
What do you guys think are my chances at these? Open to suggestions!

Guys, inputs please!

 

IE is a good school but does not have the international reputation that the likes of MIT, LSE and Oxford have, even though it always scores high in the rankings. It's a very expensive program so unless you dont get accepted at another top school I wouldn't do it probably. Take a look at ESADE btw. Cheaper than IE and possibly even a better reputation.

 

Thank you for the quick answer. Yeah that is really my concern. IE is as expensive as LSE for instance but doesn't have the same reputation. I also suspect the school to inflate maybe more than others schools their ranking grades. So I would say 30K is overpriced... Esade is a bit cheaper 24k + 8k for the double program but their reference letter process is just a pain in the *** seriously. I hope a IE student will come around and tell me how wrong I am, but for now I am undecided. Feel free to share any other EU MiF insights !

 

3.2 from a non target school. Undergrad majors: Economics and Political Science. Internship experience at Prudential Financial (procurement). Currently working as an Economic Consulting firm outside the US. Haven't taken GREs yet but expecting both quant and verbal scores to be in late 150s/early 160s. Very strong extracurriculars.

I am considering Duke, UT Austin and WUTSL. Any thoughts/advice?

Also, anyone happens to know which MSF program have strong placements for international students within the States?

Thank you!

 

I was looking at CMU's Public Policy and Management program. They also appear to have strong placements and do place a lot of their students in financial sector. Any opinion on that program?

P.S: My apologies for a late response. Still trying to get a hang of this website.

 

USC just started its MSF program last year and I know they took a fair amount of international kids. If i remember correctly, there admission staff places fairly heavy weight on test scores so I would make sure to do well on the GRE/GMAT. Won't really know about placement stats until this class graduates, but Marshall has a strong brand name, especially in California. Plus the USC alumni base is massive, so networking should be strong as well.

If you're looking to work in the West, i.e. California, I would definitely give USC and Claremont McKenna a look. CMC is the stronger program and has incredible placement, but also is smaller (23-25 kids) and has less international students than USC. If you want to work in NY/Boston, I would also take a look at Boston College and Villanova.

 
imaseo:

3.2 cGPA, 3.7+ in Economics major from Canadian undergrad, decent extracurriculars, 332 on GRE (roughly 760 GMAT using converter). Applying to: UVA MS Commerce, Vandy MSF, Claremont McKenna MSF

You'll be competitive at all the schools. Most likely in at cmc, vandy. UvA I think you have a good shot at. That gre is great. The gpa might cause them some concern, but not too much.

 
TNA:
imaseo:

3.2 cGPA, 3.7+ in Economics major from Canadian undergrad, decent extracurriculars, 332 on GRE (roughly 760 GMAT using converter). Applying to: UVA MS Commerce, Vandy MSF, Claremont McKenna MSF

You'll be competitive at all the schools. Most likely in at cmc, vandy. UvA I think you have a good shot at. That gre is great. The gpa might cause them some concern, but not too much.

I think he's certainly in at UVA provided his essays show he's the right fit. I don't think they'll be concerned about the overall GPA because the major GPA and GRE demonstrate he can handle the work academically. It's just a question then of what his goals are and what he'll contribute to the class.
 

3.4 cGPA 3.2 Econ 3.5 Business/RE at semi-target. 700 expected GMAT (50 Q, 50 V). 2015 grad with market research experience at small firms (ie little experience) but good involvement in extracurriculars.

Texas, SMU, Vandy, UT Dallas (up and coming, fallback if I don't have any solid offers in the early spring). Also kind of looking at TAMU and USC MSRE programs too.

Looking for schools that place well for Institutional RE and HF. VC connections good too. Really looking to get a better grad GPA to land M7 for MBA down the line.

What other schools should I apply to? Any in NE or SoCal? Other advice?

Taking a small course load in spring so would it be worthwhile to start on CFA Level I?

 
BTOWN:

3.4 cGPA 3.2 Econ 3.5 Business/RE at semi-target. 700 expected GMAT (50 Q, 50 V). 2015 grad with market research experience at small firms (ie little experience) but good involvement in extracurriculars.

Texas, SMU, Vandy, UT Dallas (up and coming, fallback if I don't have any solid offers in the early spring). Also kind of looking at TAMU and USC MSRE programs too.

Looking for schools that place well for Institutional RE and HF. VC connections good too. Really looking to get a better grad GPA to land M7 for MBA down the line.

What other schools should I apply to? Any in NE or SoCal? Other advice?

Taking a small course load in spring so would it be worthwhile to start on CFA Level I?

I'd drop UTD. You'll have SMU which is a solid Dallas safety play. I think you'd be good at UTA though. Might want to add Texas A&M if you really want another safety pick.

 

With your stats, you'd be competitive anywhere. I would give MIT top priority, especially with your quant background. Claremont McKenna as well if you want to be on the West Coast, especially given the schools ties with HL, one of the best in restructuring.

Other than that, take a look at the usual top suspects such as Vandy, WUSTL, Nova, UTA, BC - remember at these schools, you're looking at more regional placement. But with your stats, I'd be aiming straight for MIT.

 
mossfool:

Looking to do LevFin or Rx IBD. Profile:
- 4.00 GPA Math major from a very non-target graduating May 2015
- 780 GMAT, 35 ACT
- Actuarial Consulting Internship summer before senior year

Which schools would be best given my post-grad goals? I am open to moving anywhere. Thanks in advance!

MIT 100%. If that fails you'd get a full ride at most places. I'd pick CMC based on historic placements. They are generous when it comes to scholarship money.

 

I am an international student from SE Asia. 3.6 gpa at non- target school. GMAT-680 Internship at small VC firm Internship at a well known consulting firm

I am very interested in the WUSTL-Singapore MSF program especially because I am from SE Asia. Does anyone have any reviews or information on this program?

Other schools are: UTA, SMU, Vandy, Rochester, Nova, LSE

Thanks in advance.

 

If you want to return to SE Asia after the masters program, I'd highly recommend UK programs such as LBS MFin and Cambridge MFin. I think you have a fair shot at both though I think retaking the GMAT for a 700+ would be a huge benefit. Cambridge requires 3.7 for some of its business school programs, but the MFin takes 3.6 and above. You could try shooting for Oxford's MFE as well. My advice is to send in as many applications as you can manage since the only thing you're losing is money and time, but you'd want to end up in the best program possible anyways.

The "other schools" you listed are decent. LSE's MSc Finance is very strongly regarded in Singapore, according to my friend from there. You're allowed to apply to two programs at LSE to maximize your chances since the acceptance rates are ridiculously low there (~2%). Nova places strong on the east-coast. Vandy is a tier1 program in the US following Princeton, MIT, and maybe CMC. UTA is decent and I haven't heard too much about Rochester and SMU. Make sure you check out ANT's website.

This is actually my first post on WSO and I'm an applicant for this cycle, but I've done a lot of research and visited some of these programs and spoke with admissions, so I can definitely answer some questions. I also received an offer from Oxford earlier this week, so I can answer questions about the program as well.

My profile: 330/340 GRE = 740 GMAT 3.7+ GPA dual BSc engineering degree from top US engineering school Pursuing career transition

 

Thanks for the advice . Yes, I have been looking into Cambridge Mfin program. LBS program seems for people with some work experience although.

 

For LSE: I'd advise to retake your GMAT to get 700+ to compensate for your GPA (Most people on that program have 3.8 to 4.0) and you'll have a very good shot. Always state your undergrad program though. If you get a 3.6 in mathematics or aerospace engineering schools obviously look at that in a different way than when you'd have the same GPA in business or whatever.

 

If you're international and think you'll go back to your home country for work make sure you do a program with international reputation, even if they means doing a "lesser" program placement wise in the US.

 

I'm a U.S. citizen that'll be graduating from a small non-target with a 3.9 weighted GPA in math and computer science.

Here are some things that I've done: 1) Two REUs, one in Bayesian statistics and the other in numerical PDEs 2) A few research projects during the school year in numerical and statistical methods 3) Won a few scholarships, outstanding junior, etc. 4) Won honorable mention in a really small college math olympiad, and in the Mathematical Contest in Modelling 5) Been a TA for 4 semesters 6) Worked part-time as a web developer 7) I've taken a few grad classes and done well (Finite Element Methods, Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, probably a class in applied optimization next semester) 8) I recently got a 168V 165Q (unofficial, no percentiles/writing score yet) on the general GRE.

I'll be 18 and graduating next semester, which is basically all I have going for me. I'm guessing that my utter lack of high-profile publications, job experience, and prestige/network will be a huge negative.

For now, my plan is to apply my stats/math skills in an interesting way to financial data, and start studying for the CFA level 1 exam. I hope this will remedy the above problem, but I'm not sure.

For MFin programs, Princeton and MIT are at the top of my list. I'm also applying for MFE and statistics programs, but I realize that this isn't necessarily the place to discuss those. My goal is to acquire a quant-y background, preferably without taking the time to do a PhD, with the hope that this will put me in a good position to be a quant analyst or trader.

@"IlliniProgrammer", do you have any advice? (I'd be interested to hear anyone else's opinion as well)

 

3.8 Mechanical Engineering undergrad, major German Technology University

CFA Level 2 Candidate (will have finished Level 2 exam in June 2015)

GRE: 167 Quant, 157 Verbal

Internships in: Management Consulting, BB Market Risk Mgmt, BB Asset Mgmt, Boutique M&A

Well, my priority list would be:

  1. Princeton MFin
  2. MIT Sloan MFin
  3. LSE MFin
  4. Imperial MFin

Any comments/suggestions on application and school choice would be much appreciated... Currently thinking about retaking GRE since Quant is not 170 lol.

Many thanks and really nice of you to do this!

 
SpaceMarine:

3.8 Mechanical Engineering undergrad, major German Technology University

CFA Level 2 Candidate (will have finished Level 2 exam in June 2015)

GRE: 167 Quant, 157 Verbal

Internships in: Management Consulting, BB Market Risk Mgmt, BB Asset Mgmt, Boutique M&A

Well, my priority list would be:

1. Princeton MFin
2. MIT Sloan MFin
3. LSE MFin
4. Imperial MFin

Any comments/suggestions on application and school choice would be much appreciated... Currently thinking about retaking GRE since Quant is not 170 lol.

Many thanks and really nice of you to do this!

As a US citizen with say Carnegie Mellon- a top tier engineering school with a more modest name brand- you'd probably be 50/50 at Princeton. As a German/EU citizen, you're more like 40%. Germany is a little underrepresented like the US is, but you also have a lot of brilliant French students from Polytechnique.

167 vs 170 would give you a single-digit percent boost on admissions odds. I don't know if it's 1% or 9%. I don't know if it's worth it to retake, and I'm not sure you'll get a 170 if you retake.

I think the management consulting internship really helps you on admissions, especially if it's an MBB or maybe a Booz or Oliver Wyman. You should clearly highlight that on your app and it would be good to get at least one reference from there if it's your most recent internship.

My guess is that with a high quality management or financial consulting firm (MBB or maybe one tier below) and a strong rec from there, you're in at at least one of the London schools, a probably at MIT, and a maybe at Princeton.

You should also ask Andy on QuantNet if you haven't already. WSO is a great forum for bankers but they're kind of the experts on quant programs.

 

@IlliniProgrammer

Was wondering if you could evaluate my candidacy for Princeton's MFin.

Pursuing a career transition currently with no prior finance experience, but studying for CFA Level 1 and applying to spring and summer internships. Strong leadership positions and strong personal statement (at least that's what I think). 3.74 GPA dual-engineering major from CMU. 168Q/162V GRE score.

Also, how is the Oxford MSc Financial Economics perceived in the US? Got accepted there recently and was wondering if I should still apply to Princeton.

Thanks in advance!

 

Hi IP! Thanks first for your detailed reply. I find quite surprising though that you recommend to particularly highlight the consulting experience (that was tier-2), since my other experiences are in Risk/AM/M&A which is far more related to finance. I would have dubbed the consulting internship as least relevant to an MFin program... Could you elaborate a little on that?

Well the consulting experience is 2 years ago since it was my first internship, so it's hard to get reference from there. My most recent is BB Market Risk. But - I'm unsure whether the admission office prefers academic or industry references. Currently I have contacted three university professors to write reference letters. I could also ask my boss at the bank for reference, in which case I would have 2 academic and 1 industry ref. What's more preferable in the eyes of the admission office?

Thanks ! ! !

Oh, just booked the retake appointment - 170 or bust bro...

 
quark104449:

@TNA you probably know who I am already and I'd love to get your opinion on my last post on Princeton.

Haha yes. I think it's worth an app in by our case. I think you're in a good spot regardless. Congrats btw. Saw your email but have been jammed up.

 

Has anybody some thoughts about Stockholm School of Economics or Warwick Business School? I think I want to stay in Europe since the costs are lower than in the US and I doubt I will get into something like LSE or Camebridge... my GPA is around 3.5 from an absolute non target, not much work experience, strong extra curricular, and I plan to do GMAT

 
AI9:

Has anybody some thoughts about Stockholm School of Economics or Warwick Business School? I think I want to stay in Europe since the costs are lower than in the US and I doubt I will get into something like LSE or Camebridge...
my GPA is around 3.5 from an absolute non target, not much work experience, strong extra curricular, and I plan to do GMAT

SSE is a top school in Europe. I'd pick that over Warwick if given the opportunity.

 

Ok, so then the M&A is most relevant if it's more recent than consulting. The most recent of those two is what you need to play.

A McKinsey or Booz always looks good on a résumé. A CS IBD would look better tho. The risk and AM stuff will not help you quite as much, interestingly enough. A quant who can also function as a banker or consultant gives you a larger cross product.

 

@IlliniProgrammer: Thanks again :)

I took the GRE a month ago (Q167 / V157); right after taking the test, I reported the score to 4 institutions (if you report on test day it's free).

Now let's say I'll achieve a better score at the retake and I report the score again to the same school, can I then tell the admission office to consider the better score?

Thanks guys...

 

Hi All. First post here but long time WSO viewer. Looking to apply to some MSF programs for next fall as well and would appreciate some recommendations on what programs would be a good fit

Stats:

3.5 gpa from a non target in the NE with a double major in finance/econ 4 year Division 1 athletics and team captain as a senior Internship in pwm summer before senior year a couple months into back office job at a top tier IB in NY. 670 on gmat first try but decently confident of >700 if I retake

Is it worth it to retake the GMAT with hopes of >700 and apply second round or go with 670 and apply first round to schools?

Chances at programs Nova, BC, Duke, Fordham, etc? Would prefer to stay in the Northeast, NY ideally

Any thoughts/recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 
bmc2014:

Hi All. First post here but long time WSO viewer. Looking to apply to some MSF programs for next fall as well and would appreciate some recommendations on what programs would be a good fit

Stats:

3.5 gpa from a non target in the NE with a double major in finance/econ
4 year Division 1 athletics and team captain as a senior
Internship in pwm summer before senior year
a couple months into back office job at a top tier IB in NY.
670 on GMAT first try but decently confident of >700 if I retake

Is it worth it to retake the GMAT with hopes of >700 and apply second round or go with 670 and apply first round to schools?

Chances at programs Nova, BC, Duke, Fordham, etc? Would prefer to stay in the Northeast, NY ideally

Any thoughts/recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Forget Fordham. I think you are a great applicant. 3.5 is good. 670 is good. D1 athletics is really good. Internship is solid. I'd apply to Duke, Nova, BC, Vanderbilt. You can apply to other schools also, but these come to mind on the East Coast.

 
KDDA:

Thanks a lot for the feedback @TNA @IlliniProgrammer. Just a quick question, how much do you guys think passing the CFA Level 1 in December will help compensate the GPA?

I think having the CFA L1 complete helps a lot. That being said, if you have a seriously low GPA it won't save you at schools like CMC, MIT, UVA. Other schools tend to be forgiving or more holistic when looking at applications.

 
GT3RS:

I was wondering what you thoughts on the UT Austin MSF program are. Have you spoken to anyone from the most recent class that could shed some light on placements and OCR?

Thanks

I know some people in the current class. I don't think placements are going to be coming up right now. Last years class did well. Lots of top interviews and strong placements. UTA is a target for Houston and it is a top UG business school. I think the program will just continue to improve as it becomes more established.

 

I'm an accounting major at a non target with a 2.5 gpa. The low gpa is from skipping classes my first few years of college and from a major health issue. I don't have any work experience outside of a part time job I had for a summer. The gpa is also an upward trend once I transferred colleges.

If I get a good gmat score, would that be good enough to get me into an msf program like Santa Clara, or SMU? Or should I try to get relevant work experience before applying.

 
WEagle24:

I'm an accounting major at a non target with a 2.5 gpa. The low gpa is from skipping classes my first few years of college and from a major health issue. I don't have any work experience outside of a part time job I had for a summer. The gpa is also an upward trend once I transferred colleges.

If I get a good gmat score, would that be good enough to get me into an msf program like Santa Clara, or SMU? Or should I try to get relevant work experience before applying.

If you really do well on the GMAT I think you'd have a chance. You'd really want to be able to back up the health issue and show how once it was taken care of your GPA improved. Basically bifurcate your GPA (pre and post illness). Might benefit you to take a certificate program or something to have a separate GPA. This is a question best answered by the adcoms though. They all have cut offs, but if you have a legit excuse I can see some of these schools offering an exception.

I know the woman at SCU well so shoot me a PM if you'd want an intro or me to talk to her for you.

 

Applying to UT/Duke/Vandy/CMC/UVA/Maybe MIT In UK: LSE/LBS/Maybe Oxford

3.85 GPA, Econ major, decent state school, full ride GRE:333 (167Q), CFA L1 Candidate A couple of politics related internships, solid extracurricular, currently working as a market research analyst at a top information brokerage firm and running my own business. Graduated this past year

P.S.- Shout out to TNA for being such a huge help!

 
frattisimus101:

Applying to UT/Duke/Vandy/CMC/UVA/Maybe MIT
In UK: LSE/LBS/Maybe Oxford

3.85 GPA, Econ major, decent state school, full ride
GRE:333 (167Q), CFA L1 Candidate
A couple of politics related internships, solid extracurricular, currently working as a market research analyst at a top information brokerage firm and running my own business. Graduated this past year

P.S.- Shout out to TNA for being such a huge help!

Thanks! You should be a good candidate at all those schools. Good luck!

 

Hi guys,

I'm an econ major at a non-target looking to get into S&T via a quant heavy MSF program. My stats are:

GPA: 3.82 / 4.00 GMAT 770 (Q49 V47)

Math coursework: Math for Econ (Calc I & II and Linear Algebra), Econometrics I & II, Statistical Theory, Real Analysis I

Straight As in almost all Econ / Finance / Math courses, poor grades in some general ed courses.

Work exp: 2 summers at boutique IB, junior summer in equity research at a lower BB.

Planning for:

  1. Princeton MFin (Possible ? @"IlliniProgrammer")
  2. MIT MFin
  3. UChicago MSFM
  4. WUSTL MSF (Quant Track)
  5. Oxford MSc Financial Economics
  6. LSE MSc Finance and Economics
  7. Cambridge MPhil Finance (FE track)

I'm not very familiar with the Oxford and LSE programs - are they more similar to MFE programs or are they just regular corp fin focused MSFs ? They both have core courses like Econometrics and Asset pricing but don't seem to have much math beyond that. Would they place well into S&T ?

 
rocart:

Hi guys,

I'm an econ major at a non-target looking to get into S&T via a quant heavy MSF program. My stats are:

GPA: 3.82 / 4.00
GMAT 770 (Q49 V47)

Math coursework: Math for Econ (Calc I & II and Linear Algebra), Econometrics I & II, Statistical Theory, Real Analysis I

Straight As in almost all Econ / Finance / Math courses, poor grades in some general ed courses.

Work exp: 2 summers at boutique IB, junior summer in equity research at a lower BB.

Planning for:

1. Princeton MFin (Possible ? @IlliniProgrammer)
2. MIT MFin
3. UChicago MSFM
4. WUSTL MSF (Quant Track)
5. Oxford MSc Financial Economics
6. LSE MSc Finance and Economics
7. Cambridge MPhil Finance (FE track)

I'm not very familiar with the Oxford and LSE programs - are they more similar to MFE programs or are they just regular corp fin focused MSFs ? They both have core courses like Econometrics and Asset pricing but don't seem to have much math beyond that. Would they place well into S&T ?

I don't see how you don't get into MIT. WUSTL is a sure thing but you'd probably get some cash at CMC, which is a better program.

“Elections are a futures market for stolen property”
 

Princeton sure is a possibility, but I don't see anything that screamed guaranteed admit.

I think MIT is as close as it gets to a slam dunk there. Your internships are as good as MIT's placements.

You are probably in at most other schools. It would be nice to have Calc 3 tho. Chicago may scratch it's head at your lack of differential equations and multivariable calculus. You are a little on the weak side for the math coursework.

 

Should probably make my own thread but curious. Are you guys trying to network into (x) job (whatever your job goal is, for me it's IBD)? Or straight focusing on the GMAT/masters applications?

I am going through recruiting now/networking pretty extensively but I am not having too much luck. I have a couple of superdays lined up but both have been through OCR (non-target, the one is probably a tier 2 bank, the other a regional smaller shop), so my networking hasn't exactly worked out the way I hoped it would. Still have some banks with decent prospects though.

I have been thinking about a 1 year masters (whether that be a MMS or MSF) for awhile now, but more as plan C or D.

My stats:

-3.6 Finance/Econ from a non-target (large public, top 50ish ranked, so a decent amount alums in the industry despite being a non-target) -2110 SAT (haven't even thought about the GMAT or GRE yet) -Boutique IB internship -F500 internship -interesting online internship

If I do apply I think I would apply to most of the top places besides MIT. CMC's placement looks sick, but I would also look into Vandy, Nova, BC, Texas, USC. I'd love to go UVa but my major eliminates me from that. Duke MMS program doesn't look bad (neither would my name on a Fuqua degree...). Granted hard to say I want apply to all of these top schools without having a gmat score to work with.

Are international programs not worth it for me since I'm American? I would be sweet to work in London (or somewhere else in Europe) for a few years after doing a one year masters in Europe.

 
ALF.:

Should probably make my own thread but curious. Are you guys trying to network into (x) job (whatever your job goal is, for me it's IBD)? Or straight focusing on the GMAT/masters applications?

I am going through recruiting now/networking pretty extensively but I am not having too much luck. I have a couple of superdays lined up but both have been through OCR (non-target, the one is probably a tier 2 bank, the other a regional smaller shop), so my networking hasn't exactly worked out the way I hoped it would. Still have some banks with decent prospects though.

I have been thinking about a 1 year masters (whether that be a MMS or MSF) for awhile now, but more as plan C or D.

My stats:

-3.6 Finance/Econ from a non-target (large public, top 50ish ranked, so a decent amount alums in the industry despite being a non-target)
-2110 SAT (haven't even thought about the GMAT or GRE yet)
-Boutique IB internship
-F500 internship
-interesting online internship

If I do apply I think I would apply to most of the top places besides MIT. CMC's placement looks sick, but I would also look into Vandy, Nova, BC, Texas, USC. I'd love to go UVa but my major eliminates me from that. Duke MMS program doesn't look bad (neither would my name on a Fuqua degree...). Granted hard to say I want apply to all of these top schools without having a gmat score to work with.

Are international programs not worth it for me since I'm American? I would be sweet to work in London (or somewhere else in Europe) for a few years after doing a one year masters in Europe.

I'd recommend an international program to someone who has a bunch of good internships, a great network and who can get a job already. If your goal is to get a job and you don't have that rock solid resume or network then an international msf is really going to take you out of the market for a year. I just think it's too hard to land a London gig without experience and a work permit right now to justify the risk. Besides, too many solid US programs that give you another us network and OCR while allowing you to utilize your UG network and recruiting.

I like the fact that you're getting banking interviews through OCR at a non target. I'd probably network some and skip the masters. You can probably land a good job without it.

 

My major is Mathematics. GPA: 3.95/4. University in Kazakhstan. International Mathematical Competition (IMC) 2014, 3rd place. I have broad background: Calculus I, II, III, Linear Algebra, Differential, Real and Complex Analysis, PDE, Numerical methods, Linear Programming Stats, Regression, Time Series Analysis, Stochastic Processes, Micro and Macro Econ, Financial Markets Programming language courses: C, Java Also I know: R, Matlab (not good, in the way of mastering it), Stata (not good) Languages: English, Russian, Kazakh, Turkish (intermediate), Arabic(beginner). I want to consider schools that do not require GRE. And this is my list: 1. LSE - Math Fin 2. Oxford - MCF 3. Warwick - MFin 4. Imperial - MFin 5. Barcelona GSE - MFin 6. EPFL - MFE

 
  1. Internship at Islamic Bank
  2. Internship at Math Department(TA) Also,
  3. Research with math Professor related to Computational Finance (my professor is respectable in Europe) I was also an olympiad student from math in my high school. Got some medals from national and international olympiads (not IMO). Does these participations help in admission?
 

The problem is that it is not IMO, it is IMC - it is like IMO for students. Does this change your thought, @"IlliniProgrammer"? And, I am from Kazakhstani University which is not well knows outside of my country.

 

International student at Semi-Target 3.83 GPA in double major and double minor Three yr graduate (Not sure if it's an advantage or disadvantage for application?) Haven't taken GRE but should be around 320-330 Internship at Boutique in China

Which schools would be best fit? I am ok to move around. Any advice will be helpful. Thanks in advance.

 

Sorry but I guess I don't know what IMC is. The MFE programs might. All else being equal it probably helps.

Princeton recently admitted a student from Iran with an IMO Silver and 20 published papers including a few first name ones in the IEEE. I think that's the high end of a benchmark for a West Asian admit without FT experience at Princeton, but it's the only recent data point I have.

My guess is that you are probably in at a Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, or NYU if you apply to the US. Princeton will probably be tougher although still possible and I don't really know enough about the UK schools and your background to make a guess there.

 

Hello all. I am looking to apply this fall to a few programs in the Midwest and then a couple possibly outside of the Midwest. I am currently looking at the following schools: WUSTL, Vandy, BC, USC, Ohio State, Illinois, and Texas. Below is a brief overview of my stats. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

GPA: 3.78 at small Midwestern school, studied economics GMAT: 680 (plan on retaking for >700 score) Work Experience: internship and full time work at aerospace company in procurement. Also tutored in calculus and Spanish while in school Division 2 athlete - captain and First Team All-Conference Few awards from school for academic and athletic achievements

 

Hello @"TNA" and @"IlliniProgrammer"! My friend asked me, to ask))). So, can you look at his profile (we are from new University in Asia): 1. Major: Mathematics 2. GPA: 3.84 3. Win the grant for $7000 4. Did a research in Caltech, 3 month on summer 2014. Studied PDE's, did a lot of work in MATLAB. His supervisor was Pr. Oscar Bruno (if he is famous) 5. Now, also doing a research with good professor. 6. Knows English, Russian, German, Korean(a little)

What is his chances of getting into 1. Phd in applied maths: a) Caltech, b) MIT and similar top schools 2. To master in MFE or financial maths 3. What can be a good option for him? Thanks in advance.

 
MidwestMSF14:

Hello all. I am looking to apply this fall to a few programs in the Midwest and then a couple possibly outside of the Midwest. I am currently looking at the following schools: WUSTL, Vandy, BC, USC, Ohio State, Illinois, and Texas. Below is a brief overview of my stats. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

GPA: 3.78 at small Midwestern school, studied economics
GMAT: 680 (plan on retaking for >700 score)
Work Experience: internship and full time work at aerospace company in procurement. Also tutored in calculus and Spanish while in school
Division 2 athlete - captain and First Team All-Conference
Few awards from school for academic and athletic achievements

I think you are fine without the retaken GMAT. USC is going to be tough as they want a top GMAT and a top school. Very "snobby" with their initial accepted applicants IMO. I think the work experience and athletics really helps you stand out. Strong GPA also. GMAT is fine and within the range. I'd probably shave BC off that list and have OSU as a fall back.

Good luck!

 
AI9:

Hi! Can somebody tell me which European schools put a strong emphasis on the gmat score in their admission? I don't have a great school, GPA or internships to show off but I think I can get a 700+ in the GMAT.
Thanks for your help

Most European schools are formulaic when compared to the US programs. I've heard Bocconi gives out full rides to students with high GMAT's.

 

I wanted to ask what you thoughts about Tulane were for oil and gas in Houston. Had a current student reach out to me, and it seems like he was having a positive experience, noting that he had some interviews lined up for a couple BBs . I don't have any current IB experience so am banking on using my newly acquired alumni network to attempt to secure an internship prior to matriculating in 2016. (I previously asked your opinion on Texas' program)

Much appreciated

 
GT3RS:

I wanted to ask what you thoughts about Tulane were for oil and gas in Houston. Had a current student reach out to me, and it seems like he was having a positive experience, noting that he had some interviews lined up for a couple BBs . I don't have any current IB experience so am banking on using my newly acquired alumni network to attempt to secure an internship prior to matriculating in 2016. (I previously asked your opinion on Texas' program)

Much appreciated

Mixed feelings on Tulane. I know a person in this year's class and they are liking it a lot. The program has had changes over the last couple years and really increased the class size and number of foreign students. As a result, reported placements took a hit. I still think it's a good program for the right student. Will do well with Houston placements. They have a good presence in that city with the main campus in another every hub and a satellite campus in Houston itself. They used to really be the only game on the block, but UT Austin came and took a lot of steam out.

Hope that helps.

 
TNA:

Mixed feelings on Tulane. I know a person in this year's class and they are liking it a lot. The program has had changes over the last couple years and really increased the class size and number of foreign students. As a result, reported placements took a hit. I still think it's a good program for the right student. Will do well with Houston placements. They have a good presence in that city with the main campus in another every hub and a satellite campus in Houston itself. They used to really be the only game on the block, but UT Austin came and took a lot of steam out.

Hope that helps.

I have seen others not choose UT Austin's MSF program because of its novelty in the field. Despite their current track record as a new program would you say UT Austin>>>>>>>>Tulane? Where would you rank Duke MMS, and Vandy MSF among those schools? (for placement in Houston)?

 
Best Response
GT3RS:
TNA:

Mixed feelings on Tulane. I know a person in this year's class and they are liking it a lot. The program has had changes over the last couple years and really increased the class size and number of foreign students. As a result, reported placements took a hit. I still think it's a good program for the right student. Will do well with Houston placements. They have a good presence in that city with the main campus in another every hub and a satellite campus in Houston itself. They used to really be the only game on the block, but UT Austin came and took a lot of steam out.

Hope that helps.

I have seen others not choose UT Austin's MSF program because of its novelty in the field. Despite their current track record as a new program would you say UT Austin>>>>>>>>Tulane?
Where would you rank Duke MMS, and Vandy MSF among those schools? (for placement in Houston)?

I'd rank it like this

UTA

Vandy/Duke

Tulane.

UT Austin is the king. Tulane went a different direction and now they have a massive class mainly of international students. I still think it is good for the right person, but I am hesitant to recommend it routinely. Vandy and Duke are great schools, southern and will be ok for working in Houston. I know a guy a couple years back that went to Vanderbilt and is at Goldman in Dallas.

 

Hey guys, it seems that every time I post in a thread it dies, but here I go:

I am currently in my final year of my 3 year finance-banking degree, I would like to apply to top MFe or computational finance programs. My dilemma is that I don't know how to measure up and compete with other candidates. What can I do to look better in the admission process? What kind of activities should I take in my free time?

 
Name Of Profit:

Hey guys, it seems that every time I post in a thread it dies, but here I go:

I am currently in my final year of my 3 year finance-banking degree, I would like to apply to top MFe or computational finance programs. My dilemma is that I don't know how to measure up and compete with other candidates.
What can I do to look better in the admission process? What kind of activities should I take in my free time?

I'd check out Quantnet, they have an application tracker and you can see what other MFE applicants look like. I'd say you are going to want to make sure your math abilities are on par with your potential classmates. If a more computational masters I would make sure you have the programming skills also. C or C++, whatever they are using.

 
Name Of Profit:

Hey guys, it seems that every time I post in a thread it dies, but here I go:

I am currently in my final year of my 3 year finance-banking degree, I would like to apply to top MFe or computational finance programs. My dilemma is that I don't know how to measure up and compete with other candidates.
What can I do to look better in the admission process? What kind of activities should I take in my free time?

Any activities that can get you published in the IEEE, JACM, JoB, JoF, or JFE. Or in Nature or Science, of course.

Or work somewhere part time in the FO of a BB.

 

Hello @TNA and @IlliniProgrammer! My friend asked me, to ask))). So, can you look at his profile (we are from new University in Asia): 1. Major: Mathematics 2. GPA: 3.84 3. Win the grant for $7000 4. Did a research in Caltech, 3 month on summer 2014. Studied PDE's, did a lot of work in MATLAB. His supervisor was Pr. Oscar Bruno (if he is famous) 5. Now, also doing a research with good professor. 6. Knows English, Russian, German, Korean(a little)

What is his chances of getting into 1. Phd in applied maths: a) Caltech, b) MIT and similar top schools 2. To master in MFE or financial maths 3. What can be a good option for him? Thanks in advance.

 
monkeyofkz:

Hello @TNA and @IlliniProgrammer! My friend asked me, to ask))). So, can you look at his profile (we are from new University in Asia):
1. Major: Mathematics
2. GPA: 3.84
3. Win the grant for $7000
4. Did a research in Caltech, 3 month on summer 2014. Studied PDE's, did a lot of work in MATLAB. His supervisor was Pr. Oscar Bruno (if he is famous)
5. Now, also doing a research with good professor.
6. Knows English, Russian, German, Korean(a little)

What is his chances of getting into 1. Phd in applied maths: a) Caltech, b) MIT and similar top schools
2. To master in MFE or financial maths
3. What can be a good option for him?
Thanks in advance.

I'll pass this to @"IlliniProgrammer". I'd focus on pure MFE programs though. Seems like the better fit.

 

I'm going to have to pass on part of this. I honestly haven't got a clue when it comes to applying to Math PhD programs from Kazakhstan. I would recommend asking thegradcafe.com.

For MFE programs, without published research or industry experience, he is a more marginal candidate. UChicago will probably take him. I am less sure about the tier 10 programs (EG NYU, Columbia, Cornell, CMU, Berkeley)

 

Hi there, I just graduated this past May with a BBA from a non-target, currently work in the back office at a hedge fund, and am looking to switch to a finance (front office) role. I have held several decent internships, but none specifically in finance. My GPA was 3.93 and GMAT 770 (Q50, V45). I think a MSF would help me transition and just realized I might still have time to apply for next year. I don't have the math prerequisites for some of the programs (Princeton) but did start out as a physics major and made it through Calc 4. I also noticed CMC appears to require intermediate micro- and macroeconomics (which I don't have yet, just principles of each, unless that's the same thing). Any advice or suggestions of where to target?

Also, thank you @"TNA" and @"IlliniProgrammer" for all of your help on this and many other threads; I haven't posted before but read a lot and you're both always very helpful.

 

I think and MSF would be a great way to transition from BO to FO. I think with your stats, you'd have a really good shot at CMC with some funding as well. As for the economics portion, without knowing the details of your principles of economics classes, I think you'll be okay for the CMC admissions. I would give the office a call - Kevin Arnold is the director and he's more than happy to help out and answer questions like this one. There is a student in the current class with a physics background, and CMC likes looking at students with varied backgrounds.

If you want to work on the West Coast, I'd definitely say CMC is the top choice. We're only a couple months deep and we've done very well with banking recruiting. USC is another good program in the West. If you prefer the East, then I'd take a look at the usuals - Villanova, Vandy, BC. With your stats, you'd probably have a good chance at MIT as well - which I would definitely consider the top program in the nation.

UTA and WUSTL are other good programs I'd look at as well.

 
amk26cap:

Hi there, I just graduated this past May with a BBA from a non-target, currently work in the back office at a hedge fund, and am looking to switch to a finance (front office) role. I have held several decent internships, but none specifically in finance. My GPA was 3.93 and GMAT 770 (Q50, V45). I think a MSF would help me transition and just realized I might still have time to apply for next year. I don't have the math prerequisites for some of the programs (Princeton) but did start out as a physics major and made it through Calc 4. I also noticed CMC appears to require intermediate micro- and macroeconomics (which I don't have yet, just principles of each, unless that's the same thing). Any advice or suggestions of where to target?

Also, thank you @TNA and @IlliniProgrammer for all of your help on this and many other threads; I haven't posted before but read a lot and you're both always very helpful.

I'd apply to MIT with those stats. I've seen similar profiles get in. Make sure you hit their math requirements (sure you do) and you should be on solid footing. If you want West Coast look at USC and Claremont. Pretty sure you'd get into Claremont with near a full ride.

 

Hi, here is my profile.

Major: Philosophy and Economics (dual degree) at LSE.. did enough maths there (except for econometrics). GPA: British classifications are different but around 3.2~3 GRE: Q165, V159. Did not take GMAT (am not planning to) Extra-curricular: President of a fairly large business society at LSE Work experience: a couple of internships -non finance around one year in management consulting (based in Korea.. it was a local firm) I had to quit work last year(personal issues) and have been working as an education consultant since Dec of last year.

I'm Korean. I have gaps here and there in employment history because I went straight to China after graduation to learn Chinese and help a friend set up a business, etc (I also kinda needed this time to give myself a break..) I also have changed jobs frequently.. I'm guessing admissions won't look so fondly upon these factors.

I want to end up on the west coast eventually (Visa is not gonna be an issue)..so I'm only really interested in CMC and USC but I probably need to apply to more, right? Can you suggest more places? Also do I really stand a chance at CMC and USC?

Thank you!

 
sjsj8899:

Hi, here is my profile.

Major: Philosophy and Economics (dual degree) at LSE.. did enough maths there (except for econometrics).
GPA: British classifications are different but around 3.2~3
GRE: Q165, V159. Did not take GMAT (am not planning to)
Extra-curricular: President of a fairly large business society at LSE
Work experience: a couple of internships -non finance
around one year in management consulting (based in Korea.. it was a local firm)
I had to quit work last year(personal issues) and have been working as an education consultant since Dec of last year.

I'm Korean. I have gaps here and there in employment history because I went straight to China after graduation to learn Chinese and help a friend set up a business, etc (I also kinda needed this time to give myself a break..) I also have changed jobs frequently.. I'm guessing admissions won't look so fondly upon these factors.

I want to end up on the west coast eventually (Visa is not gonna be an issue)..so I'm only really interested in CMC and USC but I probably need to apply to more, right? Can you suggest more places? Also do I really stand a chance at CMC and USC?

Thank you!

My spread sheet says that your GRE converts to about a 690. If that is correct than I think you are in good shape for CMC. LSE is a top school, well known in the US. Decent GPA. You have work experience and I think the China stuff actually helps you. I'd apply to both programs first round or as close to first as you can.

If you want West Coast those are pretty much the go to schools right now. Santa Clara could be a safety, but if you didn't get into CMC or USC I would consider another route.

 

Is it important to build rapport with adcoms/staff/current students at prospective schools? Southwest is having a 72hr flight sale w/ some pretty decent prices. I'm thinking of booking a tour de MSF to visit campuses and whatnot.

my plan was to visit after being admitted, but I know meeting face to face can be more beneficial. and if it is important, which programs would more favor those who are committed, shown by an in person visit. I ask because some schools are not located near major airports, increasing traveling fees.

Thinking of CMC, USC, Vandy, Duke, UVA, UT Austin, WUSTL, Notre Dame, Ross, Nova I realize this is casting a wide net, but I find a sense of security is worth paying for sometimes.

Thanks

 
GT3RS:

Is it important to build rapport with adcoms/staff/current students at prospective schools?
Southwest is having a 72hr flight sale w/ some pretty decent prices.
I'm thinking of booking a tour de MSF to visit campuses and whatnot.

my plan was to visit after being admitted, but I know meeting face to face can be more beneficial.
and if it is important, which programs would more favor those who are committed, shown by an in person visit.
I ask because some schools are not located near major airports, increasing traveling fees.

Thinking of CMC, USC, Vandy, Duke, UVA, UT Austin, WUSTL, Notre Dame, Ross, Nova
I realize this is casting a wide net, but I find a sense of security is worth paying for sometimes.

Thanks

I think you're jumping the gun with traveling. Like you want to set up meetings before hand, etc. That is a pretty wide net you are casting also.

IMO, applying to more than 5 schools is too much of a chore. I'd narrow it down and apply to a handful of schools you really want. Pick a stretch and a safety and 3 cores. Visit ones that show you a positive indication.

 

You guys all know that MIT requires an in-person interview, right? This started last year when my brother applied (and accepted). There were stories of students flying from India to Paris and from Mexico to Boston to make the interviews.

Every year, MIT tries a new strategy to tilt the numbers a little bit more. I wonder what they will do this year.

 

Hi all, please advise me for ms fin programs at LSE, MIT and Columbia business school. Thanks.

UG GPA 3.1 from NYU, majored in math with a minor in business. Two summer internships with GS (should be able to get two recommendation letters from MDs) Hoping to get one more recommendation letter from stern professor GMAT first attempt was a 680, Q50 V30 (will retake soon)

Please comment. I'm looking at a career path in IM/IB not quant related. Thanks!

 
HFC:

Hi all, please advise me for ms fin programs at LSE, MIT and Columbia business school. Thanks.

UG GPA 3.1 from NYU, majored in math with a minor in business.
Two summer internships with GS (should be able to get two recommendation letters from MDs)
Hoping to get one more recommendation letter from stern professor
GMAT first attempt was a 680, Q50 V30 (will retake soon)

Please comment. I'm looking at a career path in IM/IB not quant related. Thanks!

LSE in one of their non Accounting & Finance MSc's. GPA is too low for Columbia or MIT.

 

Hey! @"TNA"

What chances you think I have at UT, UVA, BC, Nova and Vandy?

Industrial Engineer from a good Latin American University (Top 10 within the country) GPA: aprox. 3.1 (really different education system)

I have done 4 long internships (full time intern last two years straight) at a Chamber of Commerce, a big non-profit organization (Project Development deparment), a Real Estate developer (Financial Planning department) and a local Financial Firm (Capital Markets). I have really good achievements in every one of these.

Really strong extracurricular.

Planning on taking GMAT later but aiming 700+

Thanks!

 
antoineth:

Hey! @TNA

What chances you think I have at UT, UVA, BC, Nova and Vandy?

Industrial Engineer from a good Latin American University (Top 10 within the country) GPA: aprox. 3.1 (really different education system)

I have done 4 long internships (full time intern last two years straight) at a Chamber of Commerce, a big non-profit organization (Project Development deparment), a Real Estate developer (Financial Planning department) and a local Financial Firm (Capital Markets). I have really good achievements in every one of these.

Really strong extracurricular.

Planning on taking GMAT later but aiming 700+

Thanks!

3.1 is fine considering the major. Internships are great. Love the number and range. I think you'd be competitive at all the schools if your GMAT is a 650 or higher. Obviously you get a 700 or better and it will improve your shot.

Get some solid recs also. Maybe one professor and one work referral.

Good luck with the GMAT!

 

Can someone chance me please? I'm targeting: -LSE Msc Finance (or one of the numerous other finance-related programs they have, what's the difference anyway?) -Oxford Msc Financial Economics -MIT MFin -Princeton MFin

Canadian non-target Finance major (many CS electives, as well as some math/stats electives I'll be doing in my last semester), 3.8/4.0 GPA Internships: -BB IBD (GS/MS/JPM) -FO HF -IB boutique strong finance-related ECs, a leadership role, fluent in 3 European languages

I know I sound lost, but I'm planing on doing the GRE in early January. Is that too late to apply for any programs? Should I be doing the GMAT instead or are all the above-mentioned schools perfectly fine with the GRE?

Anyway, assuming I get a high quant score on the GRE, would I be able to get into any of these programs? I'll be applying around January.

Thanks :)

 
G Spread:

Can someone chance me please?
I'm targeting:
-LSE Msc Finance (or one of the numerous other finance-related programs they have, what's the difference anyway?)
-Oxford Msc Financial Economics
-MIT MFin
-Princeton MFin

Canadian non-target
Finance major (many CS electives, as well as some math/stats electives I'll be doing in my last semester), 3.8/4.0 GPA
Internships:
-BB IBD (GS/MS/JPM)
-FO HF
-IB boutique
strong finance-related ECs, a leadership role, fluent in 3 European languages

I know I sound lost, but I'm planing on doing the GRE in early January. Is that too late to apply for any programs? Should I be doing the GMAT instead or are all the above-mentioned schools perfectly fine with the GRE?

Anyway, assuming I get a high quant score on the GRE, would I be able to get into any of these programs? I'll be applying around January.

Thanks :)

Good shot at MIT with the BB IBD internship. Lack of math background and plans for a finance major to pick it all up in one uncompleted semester are a negative, however. Princeton is just a little too quantitative and they're going to be scratching their heads at taking your math classes in your final semester. MIT is a little easier on the math requirements and they may infer your Calc III, Stats, and Linear Algebra grades from your CS courses.

January is a little late for the GREs.

Did you make the decision on getting an MS recently?? I feel like you missed the boat on FT recruiting and are suddenly making a decision to get an MS without prior planning. This is sub-optimal because you'd be as close to guaranteed as it gets at MIT if you had a few more math classes. You'd also be very competitive at Princeton.

Why not go back to your IBD BB team, work for exactly 18 months, quit working the day you get accepted to MIT or Princeton (~February 15), and apply with all of these As in tough math classes from your final semester? You'd then have a 6 month vacation before grad school starts.

A Princeton MFin would be an awesome transition to PE for someone with 18 months in IBD. Blackstone and KKR routinely recruit on campus and you'd have an unfair advantage over the undergrads with 2 years of BB IBD experience and the ability to do financial models well. They've taken MFins in the past (see our website) and every year Blackstone interviews at least a couple with prior IBD experience.

Just a thought.

 

That's right, I just considered applying recently (figured it'll open far more doors than are open to me now, as I'm from a non-target). I suppose I should have taken the math courses earlier... Is there any chance of getting a competitive GRE score with just two weeks of intense studying? Thanks for your feedback!

 
antoineth:

How they get to have placements in financial firms? Later recruiting? @Thurnis Haley

Well pretty much every firm related to finance you can possibly think of recruits here. However the people that run the program neglect to mention that most of these places aren't interested in you unless you went to UVa undergrad. Even then it's entirely dependent on what your undergrad GPA was and your internships. I'm pretty sure everyone who has an offer so far went to UVa undergrad. Still the vast majority of people in the program strike out in the fall (including me naturally).

 

@"Thurnis Haley" Could you please provide your inputs regarding my chances at UVa? Would be applying in Round 2.

My profile: 2014 B.Tech CompSci grad, India: 73.24%(>3.5 GPA), June 2015 CFA Level II Candidate, GRE:328(Q:168) & TOEFL: 110, Summer intern in Master data mgmt, Currently working as an Intern at a Well known Inv Bank in India (work primarily involves Due Dilligence). Post Masters aim is IB.

Wouldl love to hear anyother advice you might have. Thanks in advance!

 
Street.Monkey:

@Thurnis Haley Could you please provide your inputs regarding my chances at UVa? Would be applying in Round 2.

My profile: 2014 B.Tech CompSci grad, India: 73.24%(>3.5 GPA), June 2015 CFA Level II Candidate, GRE:328(Q:168) & TOEFL: 110, Summer intern in Master data mgmt, Currently working as an Intern at a Well known Inv Bank in India (work primarily involves Due Dilligence). Post Masters aim is IB.

Wouldl love to hear anyother advice you might have.
Thanks in advance!

Sorry I'm not familiar with GRE scoring at all. Your GPA is good enough to get in though. My advice is take the essays seriously because they look at every application extremely closely. They're looking for people that would have an interesting perspective for discussions in class.

 
TNA:

Pretty surprised to hear the issues with UVA.

I think it's just been a lot of mixed messages coming from career services. They do all of these career workshops in the first few weeks to "prep" us for OGI (on grounds interviewing) but OGI is not particularly fruitful for people that weren't UVa undergrads. Meanwhile career services also insists over and over again that we shouldn't be worried about our career search as if to hedge their bets. It's like they want to get credit when someone gets an offer and not be blamed when people don't. And I don't want to hear lame reassurances from them anymore that people will definitely get jobs. They just need to tell the truth for once: OGI is useless for the majority of people in the program.

 

Also, this goes completely against my advice, but I'll say it. A good score (EG: 680 or better) on the Math GRE 2 Subject Test would make you look more serious to the admissions committees and paper over the lack of math coursework. Last I checked it was a paper exam and only offered 2-3 times/year though.

If you have no math classes but can somehow study for the Math subject test and come out in the top 20%, that would do a lot to reassure the admissions committee. But check to see if they'll even consider it.

But if you bomb it, I think it's just further proof that you're not ready for an MFE program quite yet. This isn't something you can do last minute. My suspicion is that if you talk with your parents about this, they also have doubts about your chances at a good program if you need to rush an application without prior planning. That's not to say you aren't a fantastic applicant in a year or two. It's just that you can't just wing it on a Princeton or MIT app and expect to get in (unless you have a Fields medal or maybe an IMO medal).

 

I've started applications at WUSTL, Boston College, Vandy, Nova, Ohio State, UT Austin, and CMC as a reach (I'm taking the GMAT again before I apply). I'm looking for suggestions for 1 international program in my range to add to my repertoire. My Spanish is decent, so anything in Spain or the UK would be on my radar. Open to other suggestions too.

My Profile GPA: 3.65 from UMass GMAT: 680

 
Benny_Options:

I've started applications at WUSTL, Boston College, Vandy, Nova, Ohio State, UT Austin, and CMC as a reach (I'm taking the GMAT again before I apply). I'm looking for suggestions for 1 international program in my range to add to my repertoire. My Spanish is decent, so anything in Spain or the UK would be on my radar. Open to other suggestions too.

My Profile
GPA: 3.65 from UMass
GMAT: 680

IE maybe? Barcelona GSE. Most of these programs are in English so the Spanish will be best used around town.

 

2013 UG from top 50 UG. Finance major. Cum laude. 3.84 major both overall and in major. A couple leadership positions in ECs. Worked one year on notable consulting project. Currently at small CPA firm. Could probably get two solid recs.

Haven't taken GMAT yet/studied at all. Assuming I can get my act together in ~8 weeks and score ~700, chances on Vandy, Nova, BC? Any other programs worth looking at? Am I giving myself enough time?

I'd like to end up in ER, preferably in NYC, but anywhere east coast is fine.

 
DJSwoloBear:

2013 UG from top 50 UG. Finance major. Cum laude. 3.84 major both overall and in major. A couple leadership positions in ECs. Worked one year on notable consulting project. Currently at small CPA firm. Could probably get two solid recs.

Haven't taken GMAT yet/studied at all. Assuming I can get my act together in ~8 weeks and score ~700, chances on Vandy, Nova, BC? Any other programs worth looking at? Am I giving myself enough time?

I'd like to end up in ER, preferably in NYC, but anywhere east coast is fine.

You have pretty good stats, most likely don't need a safety. Knock the GMAT out of the park and you should be in good shape.

 

Can't decide between S&T and M&A and that's why programs differ.

Finance major at Canadian non-target GPA: 3.93 / 4.00 GMAT 700 (Q49 V35) Math coursework: Calc I & II, Algebra, Econometrics I & II Work exp: one summer in product management, two summers+part-time as business analyst EC: portfolio manager of real money student fund

In no particular order, schools and programs that interest me: 1. LSE MSc Finance 2. LSE MSc Finance and Economics 3. Imperial MSc Finance 4. Imperial MSc RM&FE 5. Cambridge MPhil Finance

Was previously considering Oxford MSc FE and MIT but didn't study enough for GMAT, so out of reach in my opinion. Haven't given too much thought to American schools.

 
msnow:

Can't decide between S&T and M&A and that's why programs differ.

Finance major at Canadian non-target
GPA: 3.93 / 4.00
GMAT 700 (Q49 V35)
Math coursework: Calc I & II, Algebra, Econometrics I & II
Work exp: one summer in product management, two summers+part-time as business analyst
EC: portfolio manager of real money student fund

In no particular order, schools and programs that interest me:
1. LSE MSc Finance
2. LSE MSc Finance and Economics
3. Imperial MSc Finance
4. Imperial MSc RM&FE
5. Cambridge MPhil Finance

Was previously considering Oxford MSc FE and MIT but didn't study enough for GMAT, so out of reach in my opinion. Haven't given too much thought to American schools.

Hey man you have a really good shot,to be honest European programs don't really give much attention to extracurricular or work experience,but it's nice to have,it gives you an edge. You have a really good GPA, but I honestly believe if you can raise your GMAT to a 720 or more you'd pretty untouchable,but that's my opinion. Also you should still consider Oxford MSc FE but it's pretty math intensive and you have to submit answers to their test they have on the programs page,nothing hard work can't do.

Good luck!

 
BTOWN:

TNA, just a general question, is GMAT equally as important as GPA for schools like Texas, Vandy, Tulane, SMU, etc?

Also, how is Baruch? Specifically in like RE investment placements.

GMAT matters to just about all schools, that being said, supply and demand dictate how flexible programs are. Also, if a program is smart and cares about placements they will focus less on GMAT. Tulane and SMU will be ore GMAT flexible than Vanderbilt or UT Austin.

As for Baruch, not sure. Program is pretty recent. I'd imagine they do ok since they are right in the city.

 

Just to provide another perspective about UVA's program. As far as career services, I'm not sure where the other poster when to school but compared to my undergrad institution, it was night and day. They were always available, pretty much required you to come in and speak with them, and continue to reach out to us. Now I don't disagree that they definitely downplay the job search in the fall. But when you have a program of 100+ kids, half of which are in marketing, and half of the finance kids have no idea what they want to do, I don't blame them. Not to mention, the job search process is difficult enough then to add more pressure. Now I did find much of their help to be very general but if you read WSO, Vault, etc. and network, you will be more then prepared. And while they might now know all the answers, they were always giving you names of alumni to speak with or passing along jobs.

As far as the classes themselves, it is true that you only get one finance class in the fall. But they do (or at least did) try to give you a few extra finance prep classes in the fall. I will admit that these were either very rudimentary or inapplicable to recruiting. I wished they focused more on corporate finance in these sessions but again, if you read Vault, WSO, etc. you have 90% of the material that you'll be asked (granted you might not understand it all til the Spring). And unless you go to a program that has summer classes, you will still only have a few weeks of classes before you are interviewing. And while at times I wished the program was more finance oriented, I found things like business writing to be invaluable in my job. Besides, if your goal is IB, there really is only so much corporate finance you can learn in a classroom. If you added more finance, it would almost have to be more quantitative in nature, which isn't bad, but is unnecessary for IB. And if you look at the undergrad curriculum, they aren't required to take many, if any more finance courses, albeit, they certainly can.

And as far as placements, no doubt that UVA undergrads certainly skew the placements. Especially when a handful of them graduated in 3-years and this is essentially their 4th year. I think this is something that speaks to MSF's as a whole that while they are a chance to re-brand yourself, you don't get a completely fresh start. Your experience, undergrad school, major, GPA, etc. still matter. So you've seen kids from Vandy, Northwestern, etc. come in and get good jobs as well. But the MS doesn't automatically put you on equal footing as everyone else in the program or 4th years. They had resources to get good summer internships, network, etc. and you are competing against them for these spots. Not to mention, BBs are done by the time school starts, EBs recruit on campus but those are ultra competitive so you are essentially already looking at MM and boutiques unless you network really well. I think the program needs to do a better job of helping kids beforehand (much like CMC helps their students find summer internships) but some of that falls on the student as well. The program won't give you a job but it will get your foot in the door and as long as you keep fighting, you'll likely find success. Jobs do become more sporadic but plenty of kids have gotten solid IB and other finance jobs after normal recruiting and all of their placements can't be attributed to just UVA undergrads.

 

If students with non Villanova undergrad degrees can do the MSF and get into investment banking (BB and MM) then it can happen at UVA. Like there are challenges everywhere. That being said, having UVA on your resume is going to help. The schools placements have been consistently great so people do well even if it takes some longer than others.

 

One worry that I have with the UVA program is that I would have no grades to show by the time recruiting rolls around, whereas at for example Duke I would have a GPA from summer term under my belt. And that could be a pretty significant disadvantage for people trying to overcome a low undergrad GPA like me.

 

I don't necessarily think it's fair to blame the degree. Many students say they want banking, but fail to do what is necessary to secure these positions. Those that prep, network and do well in their program find the positions they are looking for. You get out what you put into an MSF.

 

Hey everyone, looking for some educated insight into my situation.

I graduated from Stony Brook University, descent school, ranked in top 80 nationally, but not a great candidate for Investment banking. I graduated with a BS in Business with a concentration in finance / minor in Information Systems (programming/IT). My Major/Minor GPA is roughly 3.92-3.94. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't able to come to the realization that I wanted to move into I-Banking until after I had graduated, causing me to miss recruiting completely. For the past year I have been trading my own money full time, while running my own business and partnering with a family business. I have over 7 years of part time Finance experience in Private Wealth Management ($200MM AUM) starting from when I was 15. Additionally, I interned at a VC/PE firm summer 2013.

Besides the VC/PE internship I didn't have any internships throughout UG, partly because SBU isn't necessarily the best for good internships, mostly due to the fact that I worked throughout all of High School and College. I started working in my PWM firm when I was 15, basically stayed through until I graduated UG. I also worked in a family business from the beginning of UG until now.

For the past month or so, I have been actively seeking employment within a bulge bracket IB. I have a connection with a partner MD within Goldman Sachs, along with a few other current and past employees, one of which now runs Samlyn Capital LLC. As time goes on, I feel more and more discouraged that my poor choice of school 5 years ago is going to hold me back from acquiring a position within Investment Banking. My overall goal is to manage a Hedge Fund, I decided to move into investment banking to provide me with knowledge and necessary experience to help me grow.

Could a MSF degree be a smart move for me? I would only care to get into the top 5-10 programs, and if I did, I would finally have true pride in my education. Additionally, I would be able to apply during recruiting and opt to take all the internships I can.

With my background, is it possible to move into one of the top programs that would attract the right attention? Is it a wise move in general or a waste of time?

Sorry for the long post!

 
Limitless100:

Hey everyone, looking for some educated insight into my situation.

I graduated from Stony Brook University, descent school, ranked in top 80 nationally, but not a great candidate for Investment banking. I graduated with a BS in Business with a concentration in finance / minor in Information Systems (programming/IT). My Major/Minor GPA is roughly 3.92-3.94. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't able to come to the realization that I wanted to move into I-Banking until after I had graduated, causing me to miss recruiting completely. For the past year I have been trading my own money full time, while running my own business and partnering with a family business. I have over 7 years of part time Finance experience in Private Wealth Management ($200MM AUM) starting from when I was 15. Additionally, I interned at a VC/PE firm summer 2013.

Besides the VC/PE internship I didn't have any internships throughout UG, partly because SBU isn't necessarily the best for good internships, mostly due to the fact that I worked throughout all of High School and College. I started working in my PWM firm when I was 15, basically stayed through until I graduated UG. I also worked in a family business from the beginning of UG until now.

For the past month or so, I have been actively seeking employment within a bulge bracket IB. I have a connection with a partner MD within Goldman Sachs, along with a few other current and past employees, one of which now runs Samlyn Capital LLC. As time goes on, I feel more and more discouraged that my poor choice of school 5 years ago is going to hold me back from acquiring a position within Investment Banking. My overall goal is to manage a Hedge Fund, I decided to move into investment banking to provide me with knowledge and necessary experience to help me grow.

Could a MSF degree be a smart move for me? I would only care to get into the top 5-10 programs, and if I did, I would finally have true pride in my education. Additionally, I would be able to apply during recruiting and opt to take all the internships I can.

With my background, is it possible to move into one of the top programs that would attract the right attention? Is it a wise move in general or a waste of time?

Sorry for the long post!

I think you'd be a good candidate depending on your GMAT. I think Nova had a stoneybrook guy a year or two back. A solid brand would probably help you restart the search.

The finance experience is good, just have to present it in the right way. Good luck!

 

@"IlliniProgrammer" @"TNA"

Hey guys thanks in advance for this thread. It's been a great resource so far as I'm looking to different programs. As for my background:

Finance degree from University of Tennessee (was on a full-ride) - graduated December 2014 in 3.5 years GPA: 3.7/4.0 GMAT: ~750 - I scheduled exam for December 13. I scored a 760 on my first GMATPrep practice test after a month's studying. I wish I would have scheduled sooner, but I do work pretty demanding hours and wanted to make sure I had time to take PTO/no big projects would come up.

Internships: research analyst for a local Asset Management firm my sophomore year M&A summer analyst for a small shop in Atlanta after my junior year I also held a few leadership positions in fraternity and other on-campus groups.

Currently working as the marketing director for a start up in healthcare information security and looking to get back into finance. My goal for the past few years has been investment banking, and I hope to use the MSF as a way to land a gig as an IBD analyst.

Can you offer some guidance on US and UK programs in reach for me? I don't have any kind of quant background so it eliminates a few. I have always wanted to work in NYC or London but am also open to the west coast. Should I be worried about job placements in London? I am pretty good at networking and thought it would be pretty easy to reach out to other Americans working across the pond.

US Top 5 1) Vandy (from Nashville and absolutely love it there) 2) Villanova 3) Duke MMS 4) Claremont McKenna 5) USC

UK Top 5 1) LBS MiM 2) LSE MSF (I really don't like the 2% admin rate - how is the Finance and Private Equity program) 3) Oxford 4) Imperial College 5) Cass or Warwick - can't decide

Looking at my list - should I narrow it down more? I will be applying to most programs during their 2-3 rounds in beginning of January, and I am really hoping my chances aren't hurt from the late applications. Others on my list for US would be John Hopkins, WUSTL, and UTA. Any other fallbacks?

Really appreciate any advice I can get.

 
CodeBlue:

@IlliniProgrammer @TNA

Hey guys thanks in advance for this thread. It's been a great resource so far as I'm looking to different programs. As for my background:

Finance degree from University of Tennessee (was on a full-ride) - graduated December 2014 in 3.5 years
GPA: 3.7/4.0
GMAT: ~750 - I scheduled exam for December 13. I scored a 760 on my first GMATPrep practice test after a month's studying. I wish I would have scheduled sooner, but I do work pretty demanding hours and wanted to make sure I had time to take PTO/no big projects would come up.

Internships:
research analyst for a local Asset Management firm my sophomore year
M&A summer analyst for a small shop in Atlanta after my junior year
I also held a few leadership positions in fraternity and other on-campus groups.

Currently working as the marketing director for a start up in healthcare information security and looking to get back into finance. My goal for the past few years has been investment banking, and I hope to use the MSF as a way to land a gig as an IBD analyst.

Can you offer some guidance on US and UK programs in reach for me? I don't have any kind of quant background so it eliminates a few. I have always wanted to work in NYC or London but am also open to the west coast. Should I be worried about job placements in London? I am pretty good at networking and thought it would be pretty easy to reach out to other Americans working across the pond.

US Top 5
1) Vandy (from Nashville and absolutely love it there)
2) Villanova
3) Duke MMS
4) Claremont McKenna
5) USC

UK Top 5
1) LBS MiM
2) LSE MSF (I really don't like the 2% admin rate - how is the Finance and Private Equity program)
3) Oxford
4) Imperial College
5) Cass or Warwick - can't decide

Looking at my list - should I narrow it down more? I will be applying to most programs during their 2-3 rounds in beginning of January, and I am really hoping my chances aren't hurt from the late applications. Others on my list for US would be John Hopkins, WUSTL, and UTA. Any other fallbacks?

Really appreciate any advice I can get.

Vandy and CMC should be your top choices. Why not apply to MIT?

“Elections are a futures market for stolen property”
 

I looked through the current class at CMC, and it seems like their program is similar to Florida's, composed mostly of CMC UGs. It's definitely up there with Vandy as my top school but thought my chances were slim because I don't have an international background, another common theme of their current class, and didn't attend CMC for UG.

MIT would be my top choice, but I don't think I have the quant background they're looking for in an applicant. Is it still worth applying?

 

I think MIT is worth a shot. I'd rank Vandy over CMC simply because of the Tennessee UG. Either way you have a great profile. Shoot me a PM if you want to talk about Vandy more. I am going down there either later this year or Q1 2015.

 

Guys, just a quick heads up. On @"TNA"'s suggestion I emailed Emma Candelier for checking out my eligibility for the MS commerce program. Turns out due to my current banking internship I'm not eligible. As per their website on the other hand, I totally fit the bill. Don't really understand what's going on.

So, before you guys start preparing your apps, I reckon you talk to her first. No point spending considerable amount of time to prepare your app only to be deemed ineligible.

 
leveltwo:

Guys, just a quick heads up.
On @TNA's suggestion I emailed Emma Candelier for checking out my eligibility for the MS commerce program.
Turns out due to my current banking internship I'm not eligible. As per their website on the other hand, I totally fit the bill. Don't really understand what's going on.

So, before you guys start preparing your apps, I reckon you talk to her first. No point spending considerable amount of time to prepare your app only to be deemed ineligible.

That doesn't make any sense considering plenty of people in the program already have a year of work experience.
 

From what i gather, it's about the kind of work experience you have. Say, if I was working as a software engineer at any ABC firm, I'd be eligible because I would have no business related background whatsoever. Same goes for everyone else in the program and hence the level playing field.

Just to verify, is there anyone with a business related background currently attending the program? Thanks!

 
leveltwo:

Guys, just a quick heads up.
On @TNA's suggestion I emailed Emma Candelier for checking out my eligibility for the MS commerce program.
Turns out due to my current banking internship I'm not eligible. As per their website on the other hand, I totally fit the bill. Don't really understand what's going on.

So, before you guys start preparing your apps, I reckon you talk to her first. No point spending considerable amount of time to prepare your app only to be deemed ineligible.

@"hooarewe" @"Thurnis Haley" Guys, just following up. Do you know of anyone with a business related background (work ex mostly) currently attending the MS Commerce? Just need to cross check my eligibility.

Thanks!

 
leveltwo:
leveltwo:

Guys, just a quick heads up.
On @TNA's suggestion I emailed Emma Candelier for checking out my eligibility for the MS commerce program.
Turns out due to my current banking internship I'm not eligible. As per their website on the other hand, I totally fit the bill. Don't really understand what's going on.

So, before you guys start preparing your apps, I reckon you talk to her first. No point spending considerable amount of time to prepare your app only to be deemed ineligible.

@hooarewe @Thurnis Haley Guys, just following up.
Do you know of anyone with a business related background (work ex mostly) currently attending the MS Commerce?
Just need to cross check my eligibility.

Thanks!

If they've already told you you're ineligible then you're out of luck. Or maybe you're in luck that you're not roped into the program as an outsider of UVa. It's all about perspective in life.

 

Personally, I think that sucks. That being said, it might be that UVA is trying to ensure that the playing field is level. I love the program, but it is really looking for a pretty specific student.

Sorry bro, I'm sure you'll get in elsewhere.

 
leveltwo:

@TNA That's exactly what she said too. That they're trying to set a level playing field.
So disappointed. Was one of my top choices.

Haha glad her and I have a similar thought process. IMO, plenty of great UVA level programs. You'll do well. Check out Duke if you're looking for that southern experience. Vandy as well.

Good bit of info though. I'll calibrate my advice accordingly.

 

Chinese candidate: Tier-1 school in China, BBA in Marketing, 3.26 general GPA, major GPA higher (Probably 3.4), GMAT 700( 50 / 35) , IELTS 7.5, abundant leadership experience in school, 9 month internship : 1-month NPO, 6-month local trade school; 1-month local IT company.
Want to apply: MFS: Brandies, villanova, vandy, Lehigh , U of Rochester, U of Texas at Austin; Pace; Maryland MS in Management: Duke- Fqua

Hope to find a financial job in US after graduation.

Going to apply. Really need your comments. Thanks a lot!

 

Chinese candidate: Tier-1 school in China, BBA in Marketing, 3.26 general GPA, major GPA higher (Probably 3.4), GMAT 700( 50 / 35) , IELTS 7.5, abundant leadership experience in school, 9 month internship : 1-month NPO, 6-month local trade school; 1-month local IT company.
Want to apply: MFS: Brandies, villanova, vandy, Lehigh , U of Rochester, U of Texas at Austin; Pace; Maryland MS in Management: Duke- Fqua

Hope to find a financial job in US after graduation.

Going to apply. Really need your comments. Thanks a lot!

 

Chinese candidate: Tier-1 school in China, BBA in Marketing, 3.26 general GPA, major GPA higher (Probably 3.4), GMAT 700( 50 / 35) , IELTS 7.5, abundant leadership experience in school, 9 month internship : 1-month NPO, 6-month local trade school; 1-month local IT company.
Want to apply: MFS: Brandies, villanova, vandy, Lehigh , U of Rochester, U of Texas at Austin; Pace; Maryland MS in Management: Duke- Fqua

Hope to find a financial job in US after graduation.

Going to apply. Really need your comments. Thanks a lot!

 

Hmmm,your GPA is somewhat lacking and your GMAT could be a little higher,but the schools you're applying for should be able to accept you. As for finding a job in the US after you graduate,that highly depends on whether you have citizenship or not.Most firms don't sponsor unless you're REALLY good so take that in consideration.

Good luck!

 

Economics Major in Italy: GPA: 3,3/4 GMAT 700 (47Q 38V) No relevant work experience

I am applying to SSE and RSM, do i have any chance? and which others business schools could I realistically target in Europe?

Thank you for any advice

 

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