European perspective only - Masters
My Uni is top 50 global overall, but it's a super non-target for finance roles. I'm currently in the second year of a BSc in Business Administration. I passed CFA Level I already. I secured a summer internship at a major financial intermediary (one of the top 5 names in the industry outside of traditional banks).
In September, after my internship, I’ll start my final year and begin applying for master’s programs. My goal is to enter a more quantitative field and get into a target school to improve my chances of breaking into high finance.
My current program (BBA) feels too qualitative, and i’m pretty sure it will hold me back.
I want to pivot toward something more quantitative.
My key question is:
Would it be better to attend a top target school for a Master's in Finance (even if it's more qualitative and might limit my technical growth), or should I aim for a semi-target that offers a more quantitative program, like Quantitative Finance, Financial Mathematics, or Applied Math?
Is it still realistic to pivot toward a quant role through the right Master's program, or is it already too late?
I would really encourage you to go for the more quantitative masters - the majority of target finance masters are cashcows for the universities that are arbing some Bocconi student that cannot wait to do his 7th SA stint at an investment bank at 28. Now is really the time for you to build your toolbox and from what it seems like you are not quite there in terms of technical knowledge, so something stats heavy would probably be most helpful.
The roles you are interested in applying should be the most important consideration. If you are after generic IB/ER/S&T internships then I find myself respectfully disagreeing with the commenter above: a Quantitative masters degree would not give you a leg up vs a traditional Master’s Finance. That of course changes if you’re targeting a quantitative role.
Also, I think it’s a fallacy to call the traditional MFIN as cash cows. In fact, you could really argue it’s their newer, diversified programs (like quantitative masters) that are an attempt at a money grab given they have less track record and the MFINs continue to place massively well. Think about it, a newer more niche program will have many less alumni to call on and likely less on campus recruiting if its program specific.
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