Advice for a friend: MBA vs MSF

Hey guys, so I have a friend who went with me to a top 3 liberal arts school and he graduated in 2013. He is the first from his family to graduate from college and he has been teaching tennis for the last 4-5 years. He's trying to make a career change into either tech or real estate but he never was willing to spend the money on going back to school until now. If you were him would you try for an MBA or a MSF that has some real estate courses?

I have no clue if he's too old for the MSF at 27 years old or what MBA programs will think of the fact the he's been teaching tennis for years. If he were to take the Gmat I'd guess he would get in the 680-730 range. Does he have any hope of a top 20 MBA with his background?

What I'm thinking in terms of cost is he could become a resident of Texas and apply to the UT austin MSF or UT Austin MBA or Texas A&M MBA. Also he could look at the University of Wisconsin MBA as they are relatively cheap and have strong real estate connections.

Another option is he could self study comp sci and possibly take comp sci classes at a nearby college and then apply for a Masters of engineering. But he would be almost 30-31 by the end of this plan.

Would love to hear what you guys think.

5 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I'd encourage him to study hard for the GMAT while also figuring out what his ideal career path is. An MSF has somewhat limited utility, while your friend's interests seem fairly diverse - for this reason (plus age), an MBA makes more sense.

I think he has a pretty good shot at a T25 school with a good GMAT (720 would be a good target) and story. For what it's worth, there was a guy in my program who played poker online before getting his MBA. To get the most out of the experience, I wouldn't recommend that he apply before he's pretty sure what direction he'd like to go - the students who came in wide open had the hardest time recruiting.

By the way, for real estate, UNC would be a great option. I'd also recommend making sure that he meets residency requirements if he's looking to get in-state tuition.

 

If he does the MBA route, I think he's going to need to be in a place where he can intern during the school year so he gets experience. I was thinking texas because there is a very high chance I will be in that area, he can become a resident and hopefully get into UT Austin, which will probably be very tough coming from his background even with a 720. Or possibly Texas A&M. Although UNC is a great option, I doubt he would move to UNC by himself for a year.

 

I would say MBA. He'll get into one of the top 25 ranked programs assuming he gets 720+ on GMAT. He has an "interesting non traditional" background.

“Elections are a futures market for stolen property”
 

Sunt omnis recusandae eius perspiciatis molestias doloribus. Debitis dolor laudantium quia et sed porro sunt. Perspiciatis aperiam voluptate quis vel illo amet qui. Nesciunt explicabo iusto sequi sunt. In eveniet aut iste odio.

Provident dolores ad qui quis et. Tempore velit dolor reprehenderit non repellendus. Culpa tempora quis dolor facere cum ipsum laborum odio. Aut necessitatibus ullam praesentium repellendus autem at assumenda non. Tenetur enim nobis quia recusandae nulla animi magnam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”