Is it really necessary to go to a target uni to pursue MSc finance?
I have offers from Queen mary, leeds, Loughborough, Strathclyde
Yet to receive from:
Warwick, imperial, Durham
* Warwick and imperial will cost around 37k for the one year MSc finance program. Is it really worth it?
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37k is a drop in the bucket over time if it gets you a 6 figure job out of school.
Nowhere in the UK pays 6-figure graduate salary except for particular quant shops. Imperial definitely gives you a shot at front office IB but don't expect to be swamped with top IB offers. It really depends on you as a candidate
They just released their average graduate salary and it was 40k Take from that what you will
dont do a Msc at a non target if you want to place in FO
Sometimes you get what you pay for.
Warwick / Imperial - you get a shot at a FO role.
The rest, you get less of a shot OR none at all. I wouldn't attend any of the schools you have offers at, even for free, you have close to zero chance of a FO role from those MSc programs.
Is it the case that you are better off not doing a Msc than doing an Msc at semi targets as OP listed? I'm in the same situation as OP atm!
These schools (Queen Mary, Leeds, Loughborough, Strathclyde) are not semi-targets, they are solid non-target masters programs.
If your goal is a FO role from an of these schools, you're going to be very disappointed.
I suggest pushing for the target or semi-target masters programs in the UK or in Europe.
Happy to give my thoughts, but you can find quite a bit of info on the below posts:
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/european-masters-rankings
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/20-most-frequently-asked-questio…
I feel my chances of getting offers from warwick and imperial are less since I had applied to these unis very late and also my grades aren't that high.
If I don't get offers from these target unis do you recommend I should drop this year, get good GMAT score and perhaps cfa level 1, then apply for the next year intake?
* I'm really confused. I've heard taking a drop year will negatively impact my employability in the future? I'm a fresher about to graduate this June. I rejected my job offer since it was no way related to the field of finance.
It will have a detrimental impact, unfortunately; however, doing an MSc at your other options will pretty much end your chances of FO finance altogether - at least in the next few years. I'd suggest you've got two options: try getting off-cycle internships, anywhere, and reapplying for Imperial/Warwick/LSE/Oxbridge/LBS next year, or taking a lower MSc, hopefully with not too much debt, shooting for Big 4 etc. (should be possible from Leeds or Durham) and then trying to transition after a few years.
You mean taking a drop year just to prepare for gmat/cfa level 1 or any other certification will have a detrimental impact on my employability in the future?
What I'm assuming is that even if I get into imperial(MSc finance), it'l be hard for me to get FO roles since there's a gap between my bachelor's and master's ..?
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