Which Fall 2020 MSRE program should I pursue to build towards a REPE or REIB career?
WSO community,I am looking to build towards a REPE or REIB career with zero prior real estate experience. I have 1.5 years of solid work experience in non-real estate related industries.I am aware that MSRE graduates with zero to minimal real estate experience are not guaranteed nor likely to obtain an immediate REPE or REIB offer, hence why I stated I am "building" towards these careers.I have been applying to MSRE programs in NYC the past couple months to break into a NYC real estate career. I am aware that a significant percentage of the value I will be paying for is the institution's alumni base, industry network, and professors that can help me secure internships and my first real estate analyst role out of the gates. I have applied to:1) NYU (Established & often discussed on WSO)2) Baruch College3) Fordham University (MSRE program started in 2017)4) Pratt Institute (MS in Real Estate Practice - RE development focused program started in 2017)I missed the deadlines for Columbia's Fall 2020 MSRED and Cornell's Fall 2020 MSRE.Questions:1) From top to bottom with top being the highest priority, which programs would you prioritize starting with the goal of building towards a REPE or REIB career with zero work RE experience?2) What are the ideal internships one would need to secure in order to secure a REPE or REIB offer? My current priority of programs are below:1) NYU - $81.6K (42 credits, $2,577 / credit)2) Baruch College - $13.2K (34.5 credits, full-time semester 12+ credits is $5,545.00, $470 / part-time credits)3) Fordham University - $50K (36 credits / $1,385 credit)4) Pratt Institute - $66.5 (36 credits, $1,847 / credit)FYI: These programs are all ~1 year full-time time / energy investments. I appreciate all your insight. I will be taking a Ray Dalio approach to all your advice and opinions.Best,An individual aspiring towards a career in REPE or REIB.
NYU is not worth the $100k for a network, but at the end of the day it's your call.
One thing though - getting your master's (at any of those schools) is not an automatic in for REPE/REIB. Even if you go to a school like NYU with a large alumni base - the grads are not getting those types of jobs and if they are, most likely it's nepotism or a small, small sponsor or fund. The kids that do IB after school will be the ones taking slots at large REPE/REIB firms.
That said, IIRC, Baruch was around $30k. That's a great price for you to stamp the box of an MSRE and there are plenty of grads in the city. After 5 years of receiving your MSRE, where it was from will not matter one bit, it will be up to you to push your career forward at that point.
I will repeat, though, that there is no need to spend $100k on a MSRE that is NYU
I'm gonna go ahead and emphasize this.
OP - you want a career in REPE/REIB - well congrats, most of us do. Did you graduate from Madison's business school? If not, then why not? Also you wanting to go on the most sought after route, with 0 experience, will most likely not happen without prior experience. Why don't you have RE experience? Your license means nothing, by the way.
I'm going to repeat what Associate 1 said because it may be hard to hear, but it's true. You will not automatically get a REPE/REIB role just because you got your MSRE from NYU - guess how many people can say that? Thousands, I mean they have like an 80% acceptance rate. You will need to network your ass off because most of your classmates will be gunning for the same role you want. The banking kids usually do swoop in and take those cushy REPE/REIB/Dev jobs but that's not to say someone like you can't. It will be a mix of luck, motivation, and hustle. And be prepared to hustle.
OP, MSRE programs were made for people like you, so I wish you the best of luck in the process and hope you choose the right school. I just want you to temper your expectations for when you graduate. Just because you didn't land in REPE/REIB right after you graduated, doesn't mean you can't end up there 2 years after the fact.
Madison
NYU MSRE graduate here. I have to respectfully disagree with the 2 comments above. Whether or not NYU MSRE is worth the $100k depends on what you make of it and your own financial situation (assuming it won't break your bank). It's true that NYU has a very high acceptance rate and many of the students come from real estate related, non-finance backgrounds such as leasing, property management, construction etc... and many of them mistaken NYU's MSRE to be interchangeable with Stern and think that the MSRE alone is their ticket to REIB/REPE. These students will eventually come to a very rude awakening. However, there are a handful of students who do break into REIB, CRE Lending at BB's, LMM/MM REPE, and top developers (myself included). The difference between the students who actually make it into REIB/REPE/Dev and the ones who dont are their internships during their time at NYU MSRE. The students who do not break into REPE/REIB stay at their original jobs in PM/leasing/construction, while pursuing the program. While the students who do break into REPE/REIB pursue relevant paid/unpaid internships during the year in boutique REIB/REPE/Dev shops (you'd be surprised how many of these smaller shops highly respect NYU's MSRE and take multiple interns a year). When I applied for NYU MSRE, my background was in a "middle office" role at a Wall Street bank with an undergrad finance major at a semi-target. My mentality for NYU was not to learn (I skipped many classes because they were a joke), but to get solid internships during the day and "attend" classes at night. My internships were at a LMM residential REPE shop and a boutique debt/equity advisor. I was able to leverage these two internships and the NYU name into job offers for an analyst position at a ~$8b AUM REPE shop and an associate position at one of the largest developers in the Northeast and make it to final rounds for other top REPE/Dev shops. I also know of several other NYU MSRE grads from my year that got jobs at other top NYC developers, BB's, and REPE shops.
If you are able to get accepted to all the programs you listed above and assuming finances is not an issue, I would highly advise you to pursue NYU's MSRE as it is very respected in NYC.
Be careful of this comment. Judging simply off of the numerous grammatical errors I would imagine she didn’t network properly or put in the necessary work to make the degree work for her. I am a graduate of the NYU degree and I landed at a relatively reputable firm in an asset management role. While the role is not ideal for me I think most people would consider it to be a desirable firm (AUM exceeds $30 billion globally). It is true that a lot of people won’t get even close to the level of role they are looking for out of the program, but that can be true for many other programs that people are in that aren’t ivy or non-ivy targets.
I would view the degree as going to a top level non-target school with a better than average alumni base. If you are looking for a sure shot into the big leagues you will be sorely disappointed. The professors will try to help and often disappoint as far as connecting you successfully and the classes at certain points will be remedial and repetitive/at some points a waste of time. That being said if you have the proper mindset and realize you will be shutdown by 95% of the firms you want to work for and have the persistence to gun for that 5% then it can be great. Also as a note, I would say I do not know many graduates that end up in REIB at any level. New York City is a different animal and is not for the weak minded, don’t expect the degree to do the work for you.
Honestly, where you get an MSRE is only part of the puzzle, it's how you work, network, and how you strategically approach the game. Really same deal for MBAs.
That said, the difference in price in MSRE's really is the price of the network, the information won't make major differences or even be that different (pretty much 100% of the people teaching for Fordham teach for NYU and/or Columbia as an example). In NYC, NYU and Columbia are the most recognized, frankly they are well recognized internationally, that is the value. If you need that is the question.
As many have said, getting an MSRE/D from any of these schools will not guarantee you an REIB/REPE/MF/Developer type role. Whether you can really blame the school or not for getting such a job is hard to say. I'm a so-called 'non-target' guy who works in a shop filled with people who went to so-called targets and semi-targets; guess what?? nobody cares and had little to do with me getting my current job. That said, my path from start of career to where I am now was different, and who knows, maybe I would have been better with a fancier degree (just was not a option I saw financially viable), but I can't hit replay.
I've met some people with MBAs and MSREs from the Harvard, Wharton, Yale, etc. who frankly suck and have shitty careers. You CAN fail to get placed from those programs too. So it really all comes down to you, if the premium is worth it depends on how you plan on using it!
I know a good amount of people with the NYU MSRE (very common as ppl stated). It is decently respected, but forgive me if I'm incorrect here... many of these guys come in with some decent experience and this is just checking the box for a higher degree.
Know plenty of guys on CRE/cmbs teams or non-bank lender (I'm on debt), some brokers, and some owners/repe groups also (even some mf). Frankly I don't think they got this degree to learn more, etc.... but just a BS “pedigree” boost (guys I worked with got it at night and still work at my firm/my prior firm).
If that's worth the money, idk. I'd add many also took these classes on the side/stayed at their current job afterwards or made minor lateral type swings. Will it help you get into the biz, id have to guess so, but I have to feel that much of the class is made up of individuals currently in the biz (maybe looking for career growth or transition, but within the industry).
A guy with 2-5 years of banking or cmbs or brokerage experience can swing to a smaller REPE shop/owner or similar without a degree (done many times), this is just an added plus (check the box)... and one that also is cheaper than MBA. Was the degree worth it? Could these ppl have made these transitions without the degree, idk maybe? Just my $0.02.
I'd have to guess an extremely low number of guys come in with 0 experience and are looking to hit REIB/PE. You would need to take the MBA route there. I see 1-3 yr analyst/associates get hired by these groups but they're coming from analyst roles in lending, brokerage, owner, etc. (without a masters).
Lastly, I think the decision is NYU or nothing. Id think the others are quite useless. Not sure how much they hold up/alumni etc. Most NY folk choose between NYU (finance oriented) and Columbia (dev), and potentially Cornell (but this is on-site vs. potentially part-time in NYC).
OP update:
I was accepted to NYU’s MSRE program!
Happy ending: I ended up securing an offer at one of the most elite shops through consistent networking, strong interviewing, and a near 4.0 GPA from NYU. I chose to pursue excellence and become the anomaly during my time in graduate school. As a result, I became the anomaly. Morale of the story? Do not ever let anyone in life tell you what you can or cannot do. Most people in life are just repeating what they have heard from someone else or are simply projecting their own personal experience and shortcomings. WSO community: thank you for sharing any relevant information or wisdom found through this forum that helped serve me during my career pivot. Happy holidays. Upwards and onwards!