Best Masters for IB/PE + Scholarship + My chances
Hi all,
I’m comparing top Finance MSc programs and trying to understand which offer the best IB/PE outcomes and realistic scholarship opportunities.
My profile:
- GPA ~ 3.9–4.0
- GMAT Focus 735+
- BSc Finance at a target
- 2 relevant internships in European Hubs (incl. one at a top EB)
- Top leadership roles in two selective UG societies
- Strong accademic and professional recommendation letters
Programs I’m considering: MIT MFin, Princeton MFin, Oxford MFE, LSE MFin, LBS MFA, HEC MiM/MiF, Cambridge MPhil Finance, Columbia MSFE
Questions:
- Which of these place strongest into IB and PE? Any meaningful differences between them? Do programs like Oxford MFE outweigh HEC MiM despite not allowing me to recruit for SA being a one year program?
- Which schools actually give merit scholarships (partial or full)? How accessible are they and how would you rate my chances of obtaining one?
- What are my chances?
- Which would you take?
Thanks!
What is your citizenship? If you're not a US citizen, I'd just drop the US programs. It's a very tough situation as an international right now. Even with the extra years from STEM programs, firms are unlikely to hire anyone needing visa sponsorship.
If you want to be in the US, go work at a large US company in the EU for a few years and then come over internally on the L-1 visa
I’m a European citizen
My long-term goal is to work in PE in New York. From what I understand, there are three main paths that could realistically get me there (and correct me if i am wrong):
This seems possible but extremely competitive. Transfers from IB London to NY are already rare, and in PE they’re even less common. On top of that, if I transfer after at least 2–3+ years in London, I’d likely be tied to the same firm for several more years. That means transferring from an investment bank wouldn’t make sense (too late to re-recruit for top NY PE), so I would need to join a PE fund in London first, and then transfer internally, making the path even narrower.
This appears to be the “standard” route many Europeans use to break into the US. But MBAs are usually taken by people making significant career changes, not just geographic ones. In my case, I want to stay in PE, just in the US, so I’m not sure whether the MBA route is the most efficient or whether it adds unnecessary time/cost.
Would give me OPT, which means I can start working without immediate sponsorship. I understand many MMs/EBs don’t hire OPT candidates, but most BBs and larger MMs still do. Also I could start in the US at a lower tier IB (not too low ofc) and lateral later if the initial seat isn’t ideal.
Also, from what I've read, the US Master's I mentioned still placed extremely well in London, so if the US doesn’t work out, I can still recruit for London IB/PE.
Would love to hear your perspective on these paths (and also other ones I haven't considered)
Thanks!
The visa landscape has changed enormously in the last month or two with the $100k H1B fee. Obviously it's all a bit uncertain but my firm (BB) will not let us interview anyone who requires visa sponsorship. It's not correct that most BBs/MMs still sponsor these days, virtually none of them do (or they "sponsor" but it's like 2-3 people total, often to cover LatAm).
At minimum, before you go down this path I would do some networking calls with current international MFin/MBA students and see how recruiting has been for them. It's a bleak situation right now.
Also, MFin typically won't get you into IB because the timing doesn't work to allow you to do an internship first. Some people use it to basically extend graduation by 1 year, but it's not a common path to IB. MBA is the preferred route, which yes you do need 2-3 years experience first
L-1 is a doable route because you're not going up against the H1B fee or the lottery (which had ~10% odds pre-the fee) and can transition to a green card.
You're going to have to balance your career goals with the realities that long-term US visas are next to impossible to get
Thank you! Just to clarify one point, the new $100k H-1B fee wouldn’t apply to me because once I’m in the U.S. on a STEM-classified F-1 MSc, any future H-1B would be filed as an internal change-of-status rather than consular processing.
Also, how realistic do you think an internal PE (not IB) transfer is and whether the MBA route could still make sense in a few years time (if the U.S. visa environment improves), even if I’m not pivoting careers?
Gotcha, thought you were at an EU school from your post. You're still going to be swimming upstream regardless, once you check the "will need sponsorship in the future" box that is going to filter you out pretty much anywhere.
No one knows what the environment will be like with the next administration, but H1B lottery chances were nil even prior to this fee coming online, so it's not likely to get meaningfully better. Demand to come to the US simply waaayyy outstrips the number of visas available.
PE transfers are difficult, they can happen but you shouldn't bet on it. You'd probably have an easier time doing an internal move at a larger firm (definitely bank, also US-based asset managers). Like I said above, you may to have to figure out what is more important to you, being in NY or working in PE.
You could also look at Canada. Way easier visa process and can become a citizen in just a few years, then you can come to the US on a TN-1 visa. But honestly, unless you absolutely hate the EU/UK I would just prioritize roles there.
Currently on an H1B. I tell anyone that asks me to stay away from coming to the US due to visa complexity.
Not worth the hassle at all
There’s no hiring pipeline into IB from any finance master in the US. Banks recruit either directly out of US undergrad or US MBA. By IB I mean the usual product and industry coverage groups, many of these finance masters mislead prospectives by grouping all the jobs taken at GS/MS etc as IB. Also if you’re international who didn’t go to a top US undergrad, forget about MF PE.
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