Competitiveness To MSF Program With No Work Experience
Hey everyone, I'm Sean and I am new to this forum. I would love some input on my potential competitiveness applying to MSF programs as I feel my background is not typical for MSF programs.
Undergrad: University of Florida
Major: Food and Resource Economics
Minor: Business Admin.
GRE: V: 155 Q: 164
I also have some extra math classes I took for fun: Calc. 1, 2, and 3, and will take Differential Equations next semester (my last semester).
I am just curious how much you think my non-finance degree will hurt me, as well as having NO RELATIVE WORK EXPERIENCE OR INTERNSHIPS. I have held a part time job through college as well as been a teaching assistant for an economics class as well as a futures market trading class. I would just like some opinions on where I may be competitive. Thanks in advance!
Oh, and also, my GPA is 3.84
So, your GRE looks to convert to about a 650 GMAT. You have a really good GPA and I think your degree concentration should be fine for an MSF. Being a TA is really good as well. I'd encourage you to look at UVA's MS Commerce as they only look at non-finance graduates and I think your background will fit really well.
IMO, you'd be competitive at Villanova. Vanderbilt and WUSTL are worth applying to. Duke MMS would like you. I mean any number of programs would like your profile.
Couple things.
1) Internship - I'd work on trying to get something unpaid as it will help you when it comes time to recruit.
2) GRE score - You'll get into some programs with that GRE, but if it was a little higher, you'd have much better odds. Not a necessity, but food for though.
I appreciate your advice. So as far as grad school, my lack of internship shouldn't be too terrible. If I keep these GRE scores are there any other schools you'd recommend? I have done a ton of research but it can be overwhelming when trying to actually narrow down schools, especially when I am not in the industry and don't fully understand the reputations. From what I understand Vandy, WUSTL, UT Austin, and Boston College seem to be a reach for me but worth looking at and considering. Are there any slightly lower level schools like maybe Ohio State, Texas A&M, or Arizona State that I could have a little higher confidence of getting into that are still worth the cost? Again, I appreciate any input!
What makes you confident that internship gap can't hurt you? 3.84 is just a number after all, and would it be a bad idea to take it as a grain of salt, unless you'll do a PhD?
Also this may sound offensive, aside from regional strengths, what makes say, Villanova any better than Florida? Would a Harvard grad bother to step down tiers and take a master's just because it's a graduate degree
Do adcoms convert an applicant's GRE to GMAT? They don't look at your GRE purely from GRE perspective alone? For instance, your 90+ percentile GRE score won't matter to them at all if it translates to
I have thought about that, and I think it may depend on the school. Some schools say they take both but prefer GMAT, so they might convert. But some schools post actual average scores for both, so I'm not sure. Would you recommend I consider taking the GMAT as well?
Most adcoms use a GRE to GMAT converter and look at it from there.
Have you considered going to UF's MSF program? It has better placements than almost all MSF programs with the exception of MIT. Very strong ties in the south.
I wish I could, but they not only just take their own undergrads but you also have to be accepted into the master's program by your Sophomore year. I wasn't exactly planning on getting my master's at that point so I missed my chance.
Thats odd stuff. Not good if thats the case. It ain't accounting to grind a year for CPA
I'm in a similar situation. I have a 10 week finance related internship beginning in mid January and I'll be submitting my complete application to MSF programs in February. Would the MSF admissions office value the internship much while reviewing my application?
Also, I'm a domestic student from the U.S., but I'll probably submit my application on the international deadline just by coincidence. Do you think this will effect me much if I have an average gmat score (670ish)? I would assume they would receive a bunch of international (asian) applications with higher (700+) GMATs at that exact time. Maybe overthinking... Note: taking GMAT in January so I have to wait until February to apply.
preMSF internship has a nice pathway to convert with a 1 year MSF tail-on. now it's not to say you should do MSF just to convert the full-time offer, as you have tons of opportunity costs there. You'd find value to Think whats a best trade off for yourself
How important is it to have Work Experience in the bag when applying to a high-end Masters Program (Originally Posted: 02/23/2018)
Am currently in the final semester of my undergraduate degree and hoping to eventually get into a renown Msc in Finance program (I have my eyes t on ESADE, Barcelona). A colleague of mine is a year older than me and has thefore finished his degree, having recently been accepted at ESADE with the same GPA as me.
I am planning on taing a year off, come July, when I'm done with Uni, and was planning on using that time to take the GMAT exam, and occupy the remaining months with multiple Work Experiences, including one's abroad.
With that being said, my best shot at getting in is in an early application round, in January/February, but I won't have any work experience by then, since that's when i was planning on doing it.
My question is, how important is it, when i show up to the interview, to have already been through the work experience, as opposed to having it booked for later that year?
You have to look in each Master's website, some are clearly post-experience and some are clearly pre-experience. In the later, it will not really matter for applications, they do not add or subtract from your profile, in the former, well you just cannot get into them without experience. Do keep in mind that despite experience not being a request to get into the program, job prospectus after do depend heavily in your previous experience.
For what I can see in ESADE's website, their Master's is pre-experience, so you should apply as early as possible.
It's not required but it's advisable to at least have internships.
Put it this way, from an admissions officer's standpoint I'd rather pick the student with excellent academic credentials & a (relevant) internship over a student with just the former, on the notion that the student would have a little bit extra to bring to the classroom.
If you finish this July you should try your best to find a suitable internship right thereafter. You could take July and August to prepare for the GMAT and have a first go at it. Find an internship for September - December and if need be retake GMAT late December/early January. This was my approach and worked pretty well for me.
MSF right out of college? (Originally Posted: 03/09/2017)
Hey all, I am a high school student looking at schools, and I see that Vanderbilt offers a computer science BS/MS in Finance track that can be completed in 5 years. I am very interested in working in finance in NYC. I also like the idea of having a technical degree to fall back on if IB falls through. Is the BS/MS worth it? Would I be looking at an analyst position after I finish the MSF? Thanks in advance, any advice is greatly appreciated.
As a heads up, a good number of MSF programs are only 9 months to a year. Being able to do the undergrad and masters in five years basically means you can do undergrad in 4 years, then the masters program your fifth year.
Could be valuable for you. Fintech setup
There is no harm in applying but do clearly justify your choice of 4+1. CS coursework is not easy, make sure you are comfortable with that.
Most people enter as analysts post-bachelors if no prior internship experience. If you do get a summer internship in IB and secure a full-time offer, you would be entering as an associate. Vanderbilt has a solid network in NYC, so that will help.
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Best Master Programs ( No experience,)for non Target Undergrad (Originally Posted: 12/24/2017)
First Post Ever, so I apologize if I made any errors in regard to posting. HI I am, a student at a private college in NYC, that is a non target institution, that is heavily looked down upon on the street. When I applied to college, I was a student who had terrible grades in high school, sub 3.0. I am currently at around a 3.7 in college. While my school recruits for Big 4 Audit and Tax, the recruiters made it clear, that getting into consulting is next to impossible from here. I have begun to explore the idea of consulting, and understand that my school will definitely be overlooked, and was wondering what kind of masters program would be best to get a shot at consulting. I plan to take the GMAT this summer and was hoping for advice, and recommendations on which school would probably be best for a Masters. I have mainly looked at Mfin, MIM , and MPS in accounting at cornell.
Current Stats BS Accounting 3.7 GPA 2nd Semester Sophomore Part of two clubs on campus Vita Tax Preparation freshman Year
Hmm... Not too sure about consulting recruiting from Master's programs outside of MBA's, but if you can swing a 700+ GMAT you have a shot at MIT, even though they prefer some work experience. Villanova is also a great option directly out of undergrad, but not sure if there is consulting recruiting from there. Vanderbilt as well. Good luck with everything.
MSc Finance pre-experience in Europe (Originally Posted: 04/23/2014)
Hi all, what are the best choices for a MSc in Finance without having work experience? I'm studying at Bocconi now. I'm still undecided about the exact field I want to work in so for now suggest all the good Finance masters. Asia and US are ok too but I don't know if they have good pre-experience masters, I think it's more about MBAs there.
As regards MSc Finance programs in Europe, the top programs are in LSE, Oxford (Financial Economics), Imperial & Warwick in the UK and HEC Paris, Bocconi, SSE and Saint Gallen in continental Europe. There might be some other good programs also, but I think the aforementioned are the most well known/respected that give you the best chances to enter into your desired career (Investment Banking, Sales & Trading etc).
LSE, Oxford and HEC Paris are the best.
Imperial, Warwick, Bocconi, St Gallen and SSE are ok too
Thanks for your answers. What do you think about this list? http://rankings.ft. com/businessschoolrankings/masters-in-finance-pre-experience-2013 I can't post links so I had to insert a space
FT Pre-Experience Finance Ranking is HUGELY & EXTREMELY inaccurate.
Skema, which is a french Tier4 school, complete non-target, terrible student pool, is ranked higher than MIT.
Can it get any ridiculous?
It isn't accurate. For starters it hasn't got LSE on the list.
Why do people think rankings reflect who employers target?
Any ranking is always artificial but dismissing it because one school is missing?... LSE is a great school, I think everyone gets that but with that exception, all schools that are regularly mentioned here show up in the top 20. Obviously regional preferences come into play but as a triangulation point, why not?
@admaiora, your question comes up every 1-2 weeks on here, maybe search around a bit to get some more views. The schools mentioned so far probably represent the best ones but "tell me the best schools" without stating any objectives will also yield you only generic answers.
Top programs for MSc Finance: LSE, Oxbridge (Oxbridge financial economics) and Bocconi. If you go to Bocconi at the moment, you should know that your alma mater has one of the top msc programs in finance in Europe. Idk what your grades look like you should have a very good shot at getting a merit scholarship and doing the program for very little money (granted you keep your GPA up). I personally find the ESCP msc management program interesting as well.
Edit: forgot to add HEC and SSE.
Master pre experience (Originally Posted: 10/19/2017)
Good morning,
I am going to finish my bachelor in July from Bocconi University. Here are some information about me.
GMAT: 720 GPA: 3.75/4 (Bocconi - Bachelor in Finance) Experience: 2 months internship in a energy provider firm (20 million euro revenue)
I am willing to apply to HEC/LBS/LSE for a pre experience master in finance or managment. How do you evaluate my profile? Which are the best courses in these univerisities? LSE has hundreds of them and I can't decide Are there other universities I should consider?
Thank you all!
Sean884, have you checked out these or run a search:
More suggestions...
Fingers crossed that one of those helps you.
Pre-experience master's for non-business majors (Originally Posted: 02/04/2009)
The top-ranked McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia has a one-year, pre-experience M.S. in Commerce designed for liberal arts, science, and engineering majors. It features specialty tracks in either Financial Services or Marketing & Management, as well as six-week's of oversees study to either Europe or Asia. And unlike a traditional MBA, the M.S. in Commerce is a pre-experience program - no professional work experience required.
Website: www.commerce.virginia.edu/grad/mscommerce Email: [email protected] Student Profiles: http://www.commerce.virginia.edu/grad/mscommerce/studentprofiles.stm
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