Already have an MBA - Chances at MFE/MFin?

Hello everyone,

I need some urgent clarification regarding MFE/MFin applications. Just to give a bit of background, I went to a top business school in India, right after I graduated from undergrad (engineering). Over the course of my education there, I became interested in exploring the subject of Finance in greater depth, and now that I just graduated from my business school, I have decided to take the CFA and FRM. More importantly, I also plan to apply to some financial engineering and MFin programs in the US, next year.

I should clarify that it is normal practice for people in India to go to business school right after undergrad, and MBA in India is, for all practical purposes, equivalent to a basic, almost-bachelors level MiM degree. For example, graduates from there get into investment banks as analysts, rather than associates, as in US business schools.

My question is this: Will my MBA render me ineligible to apply to the MFE/MFin programs, or am I allowed to explain my situation and motivations to the school through my essays? How badly do you think the MBA hurts my chances?

8 Comments
 

Sounds like it's not gonna hurt your chances as long as you explain that Indian MBA's work differently. Make sure you explain why you want another masters degree (since your MBA already functions like a masters degree)

 

This is common among Indian applicants. The MBA will make it a lot harder when applying to US MSF programs. Less so for the MFin.

 

Could you please explain to me the difference between an MSF program and an MFin program? I'm just starting out, so I don't know how to distinguish between the various degrees/designations.

Also, could you suggest how I should go about mitigating the negative effects of my MBA on my application? (After all, it was my MBA that got me interested in exploring Finance in depth in the first place)

 

Honestly, it's depends if a program wants to use and acronym or an abbreviation. The only MFin I know of in the USA is Princeton. Their program is more of a MBA substitute and more of a math MSF. I suppose if you compare the one instance in the US, the difference is the amount of math involved.

 

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