Delete old post
Delete delete aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Trending Content - Business School and GMAT Forum
Career Resources
WSO Free Modeling Series - Now Open Through
June 30, 2026
9 Free Financial Modeling Lessons
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
High Finance Applications
Guaranteed
Get at least one offer GUARANTEED
- 1:1 support
- 92% success rate
- 2,000+ mentor network
- Unlimited Live bootcamps
- AI for resume + LinkedIn
- Networking automation tools
- HireVue simulation tool
- Full course library
- Private Slack community
- 20hrs of mocks
- + much more...
Hi would vote for Bocconi as you are Italian. You would earn way more long term than HEC. Hope it helps :)
Reasoning?
As an italian with Bocconi I believe you have a good chance at London while it will be very competitive. Regardless, I recommend a UK degree because you will need a sponsorship which is hard to get.
Bump
I'm final year undergrad at Bocconi rn and going to LBS MFA without looking back. The feeling I got from Bocconi is that it prepares you very well in the technicals but the courses are often unnecesarily intense with one mostly having to spend countless hours memorizing every single concept for exams (90% of which you quickly forget and will never see in your life again, the 10% however is where Bocconi excels and that is why bocconians are known for being very prepared candidates). I can't speak much for the masters in finance although I have multiple friends who did it. Most of them got good internships (some BB and MBB) but all in their respective home countries. One thing I can say is that Bocconi only cares about your GPA when selecting internal candidates for their masters, so the people that get selected are your typical anti-social Italian course hardos with 0 work experience and extracurriculars but perfect GPA. Bocconi is very Italian in this sense, the brain drain is crazy and the brightest minds in undergrad with good internships and who have participated in the fin/consulting associations often don't even apply. I know people who got in to MIT, Princeton, LBS, LSE and got rejected from Bocconi Mfin, just so that you see how clueless they are. Furthermore, it is considerably easier for external candidates to get in, so the caliber of internationals in the masters tends to not be as high as the students from undergrad they lose to other top-tier Europeans schools. My two cents is that if you are coming from an already very technical undergrad it would be better to pursue the HEC MiM as there you will have a more international and career-focused program.
Confirm this. I also did bocconi and the courses are too complex and exams extremely difficult (not to pass but to get a high grade).
Moreover Bocconi in my opinion is not as strong as hec because you need to consider that while for London they are equal, no one wants to work in Italy hence HEC strength giving you more optionality in Swiss ans France in my opinion.
Courses are easier at hec (good) so you can study what matters and have a life!
Not hating on Bocconi but I had cum laude and was quite tough
Well, you don't have work experience but need one... Choose a place where you'll more easily get an off cycle because with summer internships the competetition is crazy and you might not get it. If you are a woman, SEO helps out diversity candiates in France vs Bocconi has a strong alumni network and some 1:1 career mentorship scheme with industry professionals for everyone.
If you are interested in a career in finance, I would advise you to choose the Master in Finance. At HEC MIM you can choose the finance major for the second year, but basically you have to do a different selection with the top performers from HEC, so it's not easy... Moreover, recruiters like people with clear goals and a coherent development, so a MIM might be less attractive than an MIF (still, MIM is not an "application killer").
I'm an undergrad from Bocconi and what others said about very technical courses is true but if you're a hard worker and you manage to get a decent GPA it could be an advantage for you. in finance especially IB the technical interviews are though and Bocconi courses for sure give you as solid base to build on...
Both Bocconi and HEC are quite strong in London, although some of my friends from these universities told me that local universities (LBS, LSE...) are generally preferred also because since the brexit you need a visa and local uni gives you one... other than London they are both quite good. in France of course HEC is unbeatable but you often need some French to work in France.
Thx for the reply. What worries me the most about Bocconi is not being able to find a decent internship(like ending up in a no-name place in Milan), since I have only 1 summer and I will be competing against better profiles. With hec I have one full gap year, and I could always explain to recruiters why I chose a MiM instead of a mif (I could explain that I needed more time since I wanted to do more internships etc.. which is the truth after all). Only in the (very remote) case of a full tuition I think Bocconi would be a better choice for me.
I'm waiting for Bocconi just like you. I'd take the MiM after all. The only major drawback is the cost.
If you are looking for flexibility, HEC MIM is definitely more flexible.
As for the internship in Milan, even if you have less time, consider that in Milan you're basically only competing with other Bocconi students... As you know, there is no other university in Italy that comes close to Bocconi, you can't say the same for Paris or London.
If you choose HEC, my advice is to really focus during the first year to achieve an outstanding GPA and try to go for a major in finance or a DD in finance with a cool uni.
Aut repudiandae veritatis veniam repudiandae est. Cumque fugit sed et similique nostrum culpa est. Dolorem dicta magnam quibusdam sed maxime consectetur tenetur. Culpa nesciunt aut sapiente porro.
Doloremque quia rerum quasi quos dignissimos. Sit voluptates rem accusantium aut. Beatae inventore et consequuntur.
Sunt sunt pariatur aut quia officia cupiditate libero quia. Quos ratione omnis est velit necessitatibus reprehenderit. Porro ab impedit amet nihil nemo. Eos eum et et omnis rerum. Sint sed reprehenderit enim sint ratione ipsum quo.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...