ESSEC vs Bocconi MSc
Sorry if this story is too long. I have been accepted into ESSEC's Master in Finance and Bocconi's MSc in Finance for next year's intake. Bocconi's offer just came today with a full scholarship covering tuition fees. I have already paid ESSEC's deposit and submitted a loan application with Prodigy Finance, whose outcome will be announced in April. Now I don't know what to do. If I take Bocconi's offer, I won't have to take a loan, in addition to the fact that almost all people on the forum here recommend it over ESSEC. On the other hand, ESSEC's employed at three months and internship figures on the Financial Times are higher than Bocconi's. I am not an EU-citizen and I don't speak any European language except for English, so my target is to get into IB in London. If I take Bocconi's offer, considering the lost deposit at ESSEC, internship pay will be a part of my budget.What should I do? Do Financial Times statistics paint an accurate picture? If I get into Bocconi, am I guaranteed an internship in London?
Edit: If I don't get into London IB, I prefer Paris over Milan. I have also been reading some more about the competitive/hostile environment in Bocconi. Generally, I don't mind such environments, but I am worried it will affect my employment prospects. Currently, my biggest concern is not getting the loan approval for ESSEC, after which it will be too late to enroll in Bocconi.
Apart from the financial perspective, which is a huge factor, earning a Merit scholarship at Bocconi really helps you standing out from peers and increases the academic part of your CV .
However, MSc in Finance at Bocconi is very tough. Be prepared to study a lot.
I would try to do a Double Degree (SSE for example), so that you would be more relaxed during first year and you can work on applications as well as earning an international experience. If you do Double Degree + Merit Award I believe Msc Finance at Bocconi is way better.
Considering that internship pay will be an integral part of my budget for Bocconi, would you still recommend it? What about ESSEC's better employment statistics?
To be honest, I was considering at first not paying ESSEC's deposit and waiting for Bocconi's result, but now I'm kinda relieved. I have read that teaching quality and brand name are not as strong as before and that student activities are limited. What do you think about all of that?
As for the toughness part, I'm not too worried about that. I've always been an A+ student :).
Yeah, I believe that the problem with bocconi MSc Finance (I had the opportunity to attend it, but I did not choose it) is that with the heavy amount of study and long semesters it is difficult to earn relevant experience during summer, which is the most important factor nowadays (i.e. Guy from EScP/ESSEC with relevant internships > Bocconi Msc finance). Many people, who are doing MSc Finance at Bocconi, do the first internship during the last semester of their Master, which is pretty bad (I know people that this year at most found KPMG M&A as internships from MSc Finance as they did not have relevant experience). Escp / Essec are way more practical and allows you to have more time to prepare internships. Probably ten years ago the choice would have been pretty easy. Now I do have some doubts (seen many people from ESCP/ESSEC/HEC in London/Milan BB). Maybe other opinions would be useful...
Did you do your bachelor in Bocconi? Which course?
So, you think ESSEC is better? I didn't do my bachelor's at Bocconi; I'm from Egypt and this will be the first time I study abroad.
French schools are overpriced for what they offer (excluding HEC ofc). Only the London based schools are worth spending 40k+.
That's 100% true. The problem is that you need to have to prepare interviews and applications. In order to do this at Bocconi, you need to be prepared well ahead.
Even if Bocconi's ROI is higher than ESSEC, I think that if ESSEC has slightly higher absolute return, I will go for it. My problem currently is deciding whether to pay Bocconi's deposit or not as I'm worried that my loan for ESSEC doesn't get approved.
I'm assuming you are doing the 2 year ESSEC program which runs I think is 50k+ Euros just for tuition. Not having that debt over your head may reduce the stress and provide options when you graduate as you won't be driven by paying it off.
https://www.essec.edu/en/program/mscs/master-finance/financing/
It seems like everything else is "somewhat" equal except for
1) Difficulty of the program but you say your a strong student. Bocconi may limit time to network.
2) Placement back to London - At both schools you will have to try to land a position in London, albeit Paris is closer, and it seems like more transparent with placement numbers. Bocconi doesn't disclose placement back to London from what I've seen. So at both schools your going to have to hustle/network your way to London starting Day 1 but probably more with Bocconi. Can Bocconi give you London placement numbers for the past few years?
I'm doing the 1 year master at ESSEC as I am currently doing my fourth year of my bachelor in finance. I agree with you that debt is a relevant factor not to be dismissed, but if ESSEC guarantees me better employment opportunities, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I'm just worried that my loan with Prodigy Finance doesn't get matched in April, and I don't have any other financing options.Regarding statistics, the latest employment report from Bocconi is 2 years old. Financial Times statistics are updated every year, but I don't their source. In any case, placement in London is the most important factor as even by the time I finish my master, I will not be a fluent French or Italian speaker.
Well that makes a big difference with your debt being less for the one year program. But, only one year at ESSEC gives you less of an opportunity to secure an internship.
Two more questions
1) Did you have any internships in undegrad?
2) Is your undergrad school on the high potential list - https://www.gov.uk/high-potential-individual-visa/eligibility for visa? Or do you have a visa any other way?
As mentioned in the reply below, the timeline of the program allows for a summer internship.
Sorry a typo. My internship was in TDD.
Disclaimer, former ESSEC MSc Fin student here currently working in London. Some thoughts in no particular order that may help you:
1) Bocconi placement (in absolute terms) is better than ESSEC in London. There is significantly more alumni from Bocconi than from ESSEC in London. You can argue that Bocconis dont wanna work in Milano (hence they all push to land gigs in London) or Msc Fin intake at Bocco being significantly larger than ESSEC, but the fact is there are more Bocconis than ESSECs in London
2) Bocconi master is way tougher than ESSEC, which means less time to focus on apps/networking etc. Not unusual at all to see ppl completing the 2Y programe in 3Y. ESSEC is a more business school oriented uni than Bocconi. Overall teachers/management will try to accomodate your recruting efforts when having to miss exams etc to attend interviews/ACs.
3) Paris has more finance jobs than Milano, but if you target M&A gigs you gotta be fully fluent in French. Otherwise, forget about getting an M&A job in Paris
4) Not sure where you come from, but there is a big Indian/Chinese community at ESSEC. Not sure if this is the same at Bocconi...
5) ESSEC (even in the 1Y programe) will give you the opportunity to recruit for summer internships twice as your official grad date is 2Y later since enrolling
6) Recruiting did not work well at all on my cohort when trying to land summer internships in London, c.20% people landed summers on their first attempt. However, almost everyone who wanted to work in London has ended up here via off cycles/summer internships (being ultimate year student)/lateral recruiting after 1Y in Paris
7) Recruiting is frustrating & stressing. Getting a loan in your back (as I did) adds additional pressure when rejections start to come to your inbox. And believe me, they will come...
Thanks for the detailed reply. Sorry but I got confused half way through. I know you are sharing your thoughts, but what do you recommend in my case? Also, you mentioned that breaking into M&A in Paris is impossible without fluent French. What about other financial services?
If aims is London IBD M&A, which one do you think will be better for a Chinese?
Can´t choose for you mate, tried to gave you as much info as possible so you can decide.
Possible to work in trading/public equities without speaking french in Paris. Not possible in M&A/PE.
Thanks again. I prefer ESSEC, but I'm worried that loan approval may not come through because of the risk profile. Do you know of any experience with Prodigy Finance?
yes, some ppl from my class got prodigy finance loans. Not the best option as rates are very high (our used to be when I checked it) but pretty sure you get the loan with the admission no matter your profile
FT ranking data is very prone to manipulation and needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I'd probably go with Bocconi, it's a very good university, especially if you get in with a scholarship.
Other element: ESSEC is outside of Paris, in a not ideal area, which needs to be taken into account.
Could you please to my comment below regarding the Bocconi's funding?
I have no view on the funding part, so can't help on that, sorry.
Bocconi would be the right choice here especially since they gave you full scholarship. Prodigy Finance is predatory lending at its finest with the rates they charge. Anecdotally, I've seen way more internationals in London from Bocconi than from ESSEC, even though both are good schools.
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