American University MSF

U of Washington St.L

Dont know much about the msf program there but i know AU has a great girl to guy ratio. Think its like 65 percent girls

I got to American University. From what I've heard, it's a pretty good program, and only a one year program if full time.

That being said, it's not comparable to a MSF from Stanford, Berkeley, or MIT. The head of the department is totally legit and very, very, smart. Actually, the people of the finance department as a whole are really good.

Recruiting is meh. Don't expect much, as we're not Georgetown, or even GWU. But if you network hard I'm sure it'll carry significant weight.

Unfortunately I do not have the credentials to get into MIT and I prefer not to move out to California for school. I would like to stay on the east coast for school and for future job opportunities. Lex do you know what kind on placement the AU MSF program has?

Their brochure mentions all the big 4, Cambridge Associates, HSBC, S&P, Blackrock, IMF.

I think American is a good school and probably does well in the DC region. Not too much other information is available (that I know of).

What Ant said.

What do you mean by placement? Rankings or how hard it is to get accepted? I would imagine GMAT around 620 and GPA of at least 3.4 will give you a solid chance if it's the latter, but I don't personally know. Check it out on:

www.american.edu/kogod

Hmm. The thing about it is the only people I know who are doing the MSF are international Chinese students. Most of the people I know that come here and do middle-market stuff, but that's because they're taking the MBA. It almost seems as if the MSF is just a degree for those wanting to break into finance, or for those who want to take it to further their own resume.

I will say one thing, one of the department heads pointed out that if you have 0 work experience and go for your MSF here, you're unemployable. Nobody wants to pay an analyst an associate's salary. I guess what is implied is that the MSF is just a way to get into finance if you're from far away, both on the job spectrum and the geographic world.

Lex, I don't think an MSF qualifies you for an associate. advanced degrees (master's level and some PhDs) only puts you at the analyst position. But you are right, on average, some work exp is better than none.

I heard an MSF grad from AU got hired at Goldman. I think that's the exception rather than the rule.

How's the program ranked? I'm skeptical, cause they're letting basically anybody with a legitimate major skip the GMAT/GRE...

There are no official rankings for MSF if I'm not mistaken; however, there is consensus out there that schools fall into some very specific tiers see GMATClub.com and look in the MSF section of the forum if you care. While American U. may be a good school, I don't believe it has even shown up on peoples' radars as a top-tier school.

Edit: I've post 2 douchey-like comments about American and for the record I have nothing against the school.. its just not a top-MSF program as I've tried to express

That is the vibe I am getting from doing some looking around. There is not alot of information out there so I just wanted to ask to see if anybody had any inside knowledge. I think I am leaning more towards Villanova, Florida, WUSTL, Vandy and possible even Alabama. The first 4 seem like the best of the bunch but like many people say it depends on where I want to work because for the most part MSFs are regional. I appreciate the feedback.

American is a fine school, but I don't think I would call it a main MSF program. A ton of schools have MSF programs that they don't put much focus on.

And I am all over GMAT Club also lol

My main concern about applying to these schools that I just mentioned is that I do not take the GMAT until next Wednesday, (Feb. 8th) so I will be applying for the third round of most of the schools. I think this will handicap me big time since there will probably not be a lot of open spots left in the third and final round. Am I correct in this assumption?

You are correct, but if you have a good application package you should have a solid chance at every round.

American great for polysci but not msf..

I lived in Washington, DC for more than three years and my experience was American U. was a party school. You shouldn't go to an MSF just to have access to hot girls. Sure, AU had plenty of hot wealthy girls, but you can get that at a much better school and secure a JOB upon graduating. DC is a pretty competitive city to compete for jobs as it is. The last thing you want to do is go to a program that is not only apart of a party school, but also their business school in general isn't really respected. Also, AU, would likely not lead to a job that you are envisioning in Finance, but rather Financial Regulation, like at FINRA. Not the fun side of Finance. I actually called AU's people and discussed the program and even someone in admissions/staff alluded to that.

Stay away. Take a look at Vandy.

Just my two cents.

I lived in Washington, DC for more than three years and my experience was American U. was a party school. You shouldn't go to an MSF just to have access to hot girls. Sure, AU had plenty of hot wealthy girls, but you can get that at a much better school and secure a JOB upon graduating. DC is a pretty competitive city to compete for jobs as it is. The last thing you want to do is go to a program that is not only apart of a party school, but also their business school in general isn't really respected. Also, AU, would likely not lead to a job that you are envisioning in Finance, but rather Financial Regulation, like at FINRA. Not the fun side of Finance. I actually called AU's people and discussed the program and even someone in admissions/staff alluded to that.

Stay away. Take a look at Vandy.

Just my two cents.

I lived in Washington, DC for more than three years and my experience was American U. was a party school. You shouldn't go to an MSF just to have access to hot girls. Sure, AU had plenty of hot wealthy girls, but you can get that at a much better school and secure a JOB upon graduating. DC is a pretty competitive city to compete for jobs as it is. The last thing you want to do is go to a program that is not only apart of a party school, but also their business school in general isn't really respected. Also, AU, would likely not lead to a job that you are envisioning in Finance, but rather Financial Regulation, like at FINRA. Not the fun side of Finance. I actually called AU's people and discussed the program and even someone in admissions/staff alluded to that.

Stay away. Take a look at Vandy.

Just my two cents.

I lived in Washington, DC for more than three years and my experience was American U. was a party school. You shouldn't go to an MSF just to have access to hot girls. Sure, AU had plenty of hot wealthy girls, but you can get that at a much better school and secure a JOB upon graduating. DC is a pretty competitive city to compete for jobs as it is. The last thing you want to do is go to a program that is not only apart of a party school, but also their business school in general isn't really respected. Also, AU, would likely not lead to a job that you are envisioning in Finance, but rather Financial Regulation, like at FINRA. Not the fun side of Finance. I actually called AU's people and discussed the program and even someone in admissions/staff alluded to that.

Stay away. Take a look at Vandy.

Just my two cents.

I heard that AU was pretty decent in the MACC field, not to sure about the MSF. Not to steal the thread but has anyone heard good things about the MACC at AU?

Would really appreciate some info if anyone has some. Thanks.

Even for MAcc, I'd still stay away. It's known as a party school in DC. If I know it's a party school, then surely the employers know it as well. Stay away.

Right, but DC is a much more competitive city than normal. In addition to AU, you have tons of Georgetown and George Washington U. grads in that city. Not to mention UVA graduates along with students/grads from NE schools.