Would the faculty be too POed?

Okay, so I posted last week about my situation-low gpa, non target school, and internship experience at a fortune 50 company, NYC asset management firm, and small accounting firm.

How does an MBA from Baruch College Zicklin School of Business sound? My mother, and grandfather are alumni, plus my mother has been a guest speaker there during her days at KPMG, therefore getting in wouldn't be very hard. I've heard mixed reviews about Baruch-"its not a top 10" "its mediocre" etc... However I'd like to hear some honest opinions regarding the pros and the cons of their MBA.

Thanks!

Hello all,
So basically, I want to be some type of a quant--not necessarily creating these crazy arbitrage trades and building algorithms all day every day, but I want something that is mathematically rigorous and uses a lot of financial theory. I have looked at quant-driven funds, risk positions, quant research, and quant investment analyst positions, and all of these seem to be close to what I consider ideal (although PE sounds sick as well). Here is where the dilemma lies:

Hi, I am doing my undergrad from a Canadian Semi-Target with manageable grades, my goal is energy trading yet I am having difficulty breaking into the industry. I am now considering the option of getting a graduate degree to increase my credentials for commodities trading. Does anyone have some suggestions? seems like big firms in the south all place a huge importance on U of A&M.
Anyone has any input on Tulane's Energy Master program? its only 10 months, but heard some good things about it, is it a advantageous degree? how competitive is it to get in? What other target schools offer great masters program that are competitive for energy trading?

Does anyone know good materials for GRE? Specifically for Math. I was looking into Princeton review but it has horrible reviews on Amazon.

Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone had any advice/experience with moving from finance to quant finance or another more "mathy" field, possibly via grad school.

So I'm graduating this semester and starting as an analyst in BB S&T. I majored in Finance with a ~3.5 GPA, but I've also taken a handful of math classes (Calc 1, 2 & 3, Linear Algebra, ODE, PDE and a Foundations/Proof course). In the past year of school though, I've realized that I'm actually much more interested in math and quant finance than sales or trading.

WIth this background, what would be the best way to make the switch? Have i taken enough math to do a MFE or MS? Are there other grad school options that might be more viable? Or is additional school not even necessary...

Any input would be appreciated - thanks!

If you need to get some accounting courses under your belt for a reasonable price, check out this program. I recently completed the economics and accounting graduate certificates here, which was pretty much the best I could do coming from a non-target exercise science major and a previous career coaching travel soccer teams. Yes, after an ACL injury at 25, I decided to see what else was out there. A friend of mine shared this with me haphazardly, but it saved me from going back for a second bachelor's, so I thought I'd pass it on.

To make a long story short:

I was talking to my friend recently and he jumped on my plans to go to business school. He made me think about it a little bit and I decided to get the forum's views regarding the cost and benefits of MBA (assume at least top 20). If anyone here has an MBA and has an opinion on how it helped or did not help, that would be really helpful.

Reasons to get an MBA:
- I'm a finance major and already work for a bank, so the career change is not that relevant.

1) Change roles - For ex CB to IB or IB to PE or BO to FO.
2) Get that thing on your resume so it could help in career progression - managerial roles.
3) Networking/ Recruiting
4) Education

Reasons not to get an MBA:

I have just received a First Class Degree (First) in BSc Accounting and Finance from University of Birmingham. My gmat score is 700 (Q47 , V38) AWA 5 and CFA Level 1 cleared . In extracurricular I have 1000+ hour of experience as a Rock Climber with some certifications. My age is 28.

Now either I will be applying for Consultinf/IB jobs/Big 4 - Accounting or I will be applying for MSc Finance at UK Universities (LSE, Oxford, Warwick etc.)

I have a major concern with my application

How does the probability of getting into a top tier grad school differ if I work at a bottom level bulge brackett doing investment banking out of college versus working as a consultant at a top tier management consulting firm?

I graduated in 2008 from Occidental College with a liberal arts B.A. and a low gpa. I worked for Merrill Lynch for a year and I have my Series 7 and Series 66. I'm a relatively late bloomer as I'm just now realizing I want to work in finance. I've always had an affinity for all things quantitative however I do not have a compelling background. I understand it is an extremely competitive field and I can handle any and all harsh judgements for my current candidacy.

Hi guys,

I have a 3.7GPA in a humanities major from a non-target liberal arts school. I have one finance-related internship (hedge fund in Asia) but aside from that and an introductory accounting course, I don't have relevant coursework. This semester I participated in what on-campus recruiting there was (mostly regional boutiques), and networked hard to land some off-campus interviews (Evercore, Morgan Stanley, Houlihan Lokey-restructuring). It was a great experience and I actually enjoyed all of it, but currently have no offers. I'm even more determined at this point to break into the industry and was hoping to get some feedback on what I can do at this point

1) Keep trying to break into full-time and hoping something opens up.

Hey everyone,
I would really appreciate some advice as to where I should be looking to go to graduate school/Business School. I scored a 680 on my GMAT and I had a 3.1 from the school of management at Umass amherst for undergraduate. I have worked as a currency researcher, proprietary stock trader, investment analyst. I am really interested in market finance and investments so I am considering going for my Masters in Finance instead of getting a straight MBA. I'm also considering schools that are renowned for their quant finance programs. Have any good suggestions or ideas of where my target schools should be? I'd like to be doing some type of investment finance after graduation whether it be research, trading, portfolio management or an analyst role.

Hey guys,

I'm new to WSO and have a question regarding graduate school before consulting. I'm currently a senior in undergrad and I have an offer at McKinsey's New York office. Through a program I'm involved with, I also have the opportunity to obtain a Masters in Commerce at the University of Virginia. For more information about the program at UVA, see their website: http://www.commerce.virginia.edu/academic_programs...
Note: All of my expenses for the UVA program would be covered.

Hey everyone,

Any input on UVA's MS Commerce program? I'm thinking of applying but not sure if this is what I need...

Thank you!

Hi Everyone,

First and foremost I would like to introduce myself, I am new on this forum. I am 23 years old, graduated undergrad from a small but well known college in the Boston area with a GPA of 3.40. I have been working for about 6 months now in an operations role. Although the role is monotonous and intellectually unstimulating, it has rekindled my burning passion for Private Equity! Needless to say, I am looking to break into the industry. During my junior, I interviewed for an internship at a boutique PE firm, ( I didn't even know what PE was back then!). It is only recently that I realized what sort of opportunity I had.

Will be completing Masters Elec Eng this Fall at big name U. Looking to go into trading @ BB starting January, but strong possibility of going to PhD by start of next fall (august?). Anybody know about employment term contracts or length of commitment? Could I not say anything about potential departure at time of employment, and when time comes, break the nut to MD?

Hoping to work until bonus comes around, then get out of streets, and live a grad life (at least the start of it) in high rise apartments sipping on DRC.

Hey,

Some of you may remember my previous posts, but just to summarize: 2009 Econ graduate (UM), haven't been able to find a job. I recently was accepted to Duke's MMS program, but also have been interviewing for an entry-level consultant position with PFM Group.

I don't have the job offer yet, and can't say for sure if I'll be extended the offer or not, but I've heard total compensation is ~45-50k. The firm is at the top of it's field (public finance). The job itself is pretty analytical and seems like a good experience (financial advisory for municipalities), even though it's not in IB.

I'm interested in getting into corporate finance at a fortune 500 or investment bank and eventually getting into an equity fund or venture capital/private equity related. Do you guys think I should pursue a MS in Finance or Accounting? I feel like coursework in Finance is more basic whereas in Accounting it's more in thorough and in depth, but which looks better on your resume?

Also, there really are no good programs where I live, so I'm not doing this for a strong recruitment network, but am rather hoping it will make myself more attractive to employers and b-school, especially since I graduated with a BA in econ and didn't get stellar grades. Think this is a good/bad idea?

hi, i recently interviewed at GS, HR told me they would need to do background check and a credit check. at the time when i was applying, i wrote down on my resume that i graduated 09 but i didn't. i still need a few more credit to gradaute, does this matter? i am serious student and a hard worker, i've had banking internships and very serious about my career. do you think when they run the background check, will this not-graduating from grad. school be a problem? thanks so much!!

Hello everyone,

I graduated last May from UM with a degree in Econ. I have since been unable to get a FT position in the field I wanted to go into (corporate finance or IB). It has been a year and rather than try to get a position I will end up not liking (e.g. sales or just cold calling), am considering alternatives, and specifically getting a Masters in Accounting starting Fall 2010.

There are many questions that I have since this would be a big decision, and am hoping for your help and advice.

First and most important, what types of job opportunities will I have? I really want to work in finance so the closer the job is to corporate finance or IB, the better. I eventually plan on getting an MBA, but I really want a job that is closer to finance than say tax. Although is this realistic? Seems like people recommend the MAcc at UM, UVA, or UTA if you want a shot at IB, but the deadlines for those schools have passed, and even for those schools I didn't get the feeling that many people got IB positions (although that may be due to the fact most people were looking to go into accounting and not finance).

Hey Everyone,

I am in a serious predicament here with my graduate school acceptances and need your insight/help. First of all, I am graduating with an Economics degree and have been accepted at Duke's MMS program and Tulane's M. Fin program. My goal is to get a dynamic job in the pits of Chicago or on Wall St. or anywhere else as dynamic as those places as an analyst or trader. But, I am not sure which program would be the best bet for this....

Tulane M. Fin is very specialized in that it only deals with finance classes and would seem to place me in a more exciting financial analyst type job...

Duke MMS is very new and very broad in that it deals with accounting, communication, economics, finance, marketing, etc.. BUT, it is Duke and is obviously known as a top 10 school.

They are both virtually the same price but very different. I am honestly leaning towards Tulane but don't want to make a terrible mistake. So, please let me know if anyone has any experience with either program and if there are any serious pros and cons that I am not thinking about for either program.

Thanks

I am planning to go to grad. school for a year upon my graduation so am thinking of applying for 2010 banking internships again. However I won't know which school accepted me till maybe feb. of next year but internship deadlines are around late November. So what should I put on my resume right now that will allow me to apply for 2010 internships? Thanks!!!

The top-ranked McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia has a one-year, pre-experience M.S. in Commerce designed for liberal arts, science, and engineering majors. It features specialty tracks in either Financial Services or Marketing & Management, as well as six-week's of oversees study to either Europe or Asia. And unlike a traditional MBA, the M.S. in Commerce is a pre-experience program - no professional work experience required.

Website: www.commerce.virginia.edu/grad/mscommerce
Email: [email protected]
Student Profiles: http://www.commerce.virginia.edu/grad/mscommerce/s...

By graduate school I mean MBA programs and masters in finance programs (MFE, MFin, MSCF, etc.). Where do the bulge-bracket banks' associate programs in S&T and research recruit at?

From what I've gathered so far, these are the top places to go (in no particular order):

Havard, MIT, Cal, Penn, Carnegie Mellon, Chicago, Columbia, NYU, Princeton, Stanford.

And the following schools... I'm not sure about them, can anyone comment on if BB banks recruit there for associate-level S&T and research?

Cornell, Dartmouth, Michigan, Virginia, Duke, Baruch, Northwestern, Yale, UCLA, Indiana.

And please also comment on anything I've left off or shouldn't be here.

Thanks,

What are you opinions on getting an MSF? I am interested in working in Research or Asset Management.

My questions are:

I may have an opportunity at a well known private wealth management firm soon as a Private Client Associate. Would this position degrade my resume for getting into ibanking after an MBA? Would it help? Should I try for a different position in a commercial bank (non-ibanking; something like credit analyst, etc.)? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

I would like to apply and get accepted into the best graduate school possible in 12 months. What kinds of activities would look good on a resume and grad school application that would help makeup for relatively poor grades? I realize I need to get a very strong gmat score, and I need some extracirricular's. I'm just looking for some ideas.