Can anyone (urgently) advise on real estate master's for students out of undergrad?
Hey everyone, I am trying to apply last minute to master's in real estate and wanted to know if anyone had any advice. I read a lot of programs expet you to have years of work experience but I wanted to ask where my chances would stand as a current senior in college (and applying right now):
Average - good GPA, GRE is pretty bad 160/160, but I have good experience for a college student. Freshman internship in real estate, then 2 internships in M&A related to real estate, including one at a top firm (CBRE, Savills, Eastdil type) and currently one internship at Blackstone real estate.
Do you think average academics could be compensated by good experience for a senior in college?
Besides, I would really appreciate any last minute advice / input on the process.
Thank you
The issue that you will face coming out of your MRED/MSRE program is that it won't be seen as a "level up" degree for many because of your lack of full time experience. When I graduated from mine, the people with prior experience simply recruited at a higher level, whether that was VP instead Associate or Associate instead of Analyst. We also just engaged with both the material and the networking (an important part of business school) as professionals more than kids.
I do not know your specific situation so it is hard to say anything beyond that. If this degree is going to be free for you, and you've tried your hardest to get a good job without it but the economy blows right now, then by all means go for it. But for me at least, taking out $50k-$100k in student loans for a degree that will allow you to recruit as an analyst is a questionable plan. If you can get a Blackstone internship, can you not get a solid analyst gig for two years and then reassess if you want a MRED/MSRE, MBA, or want to just keep working?
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So you are a senior now that could graduate in May 2026 with a BX internship for next summer? And you need to fill the gap for academic year 2026-2027 so if you do get the BX full time offer, you can accept and start in Fall 2027?
I don’t understand the logic of a masters degree at all here
Well I haven’t done anything related to real estate academically and in Europe people do master’s straight after undergrad. Since I’m dedicated to build a career in real estate this could be a good theoretical foundation + networking.
I get the logic others are saying about an MSRE being more worth it down the road. However, I graduated undergrad from a non-target unemployed and spent ~6 months looking for a job I wanted unsuccessfully. The MSRE and network got my foot in the door at a job I actually wanted and I have risen through the ranks from there. Option A was to get a good job out of undergrad and avoid lots of student loans. Option B was to take out ~$100k in student loans and get a do over at recruiting. It worked for me even if it was the longer and more expensive road to take.
Is it possible to PM you on wso? I’d love to ask you some questions privately if it’s fine
Sure.
Are you able to edit the post to specify that this is about Europe? A lot of advice is going to be US centric (and thus may not be apples to apples) since you have your post marked as USA.
Take NYU, you can complete it within 1 year.
This is not what you want to hear but if you 'must' get a graduate degree: I would avoid the MSRED and MSRE categorically -- and focus on obtaining the right experience to gain entry into a very competitive national MBA program (with a finance + investment being the concentration for greatest portability, and the highest general readability). A finance + investment focus, both as discipline and as an art, has broad applicability and conversely gives you a domain expertise. It will give you more options inside of the RE universe and outside of it. As a point, RE Development degrees are the narrowest of the bunch and the least portable given they are qualitative 'bricks and beams' (i.e., zoning/planning, design centric) degrees and the type of thing you typically learned on the dev job and not as a formal academic discipline.
My rationale is that we exceedingly ‘don’t know what we don't know’ in terms of the future evolution of business given so many technological upheavals and breakthroughs as of late — and your goals, interests, and opportunities may change over time — so give yourself the greatest optionality, best bang for your educational dollar, and least pigeon-holing.
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