Getting into a Good Masters of Science in Real Estate Program

Not really "Business School" but I thought the topic would fit here the best. (Anyways)

I'm really interested in eventually breaking into REPE and at the moment, I'm not bringing much to the table in terms of experience or a Bachelors in the Real Estate industry. Therefore, I'm highly considering enrolling in a MS Real Estate to better position myself for breaking into a good REIT to gain experience and work my way up.

I'm curious to hear from those that have or are pursuing a MS in Real Estate...the GMAT/GRE score that is usually needed to get into a top program, the necessary # of work experience, any advice and so forth.

I really appreciate it my fellow monkeys!

10 Comments
 

Right. An MBA would be ideal, but to pursue that I would need several more years of work experience. The MSRE is really to transition into a front-office role within a Real Estate investment group.

So are you guys saying that a MSRE really won't help in that case?

 

Generally speaking I'd say MBA with RE coursework is a better choice... There are a few top firms that recruit out of real estate programs, but it'll be a narrower field and you may regret it in the long run.

IF you are going to do one - try and go to MIT, LSE, Columbia... those are tops... They're not easy to get into, but they're less competitive then top MBA's (I spoke with one chick who told me she got in with a 3.3 gpa from cornell/dartmouth and like 1 year experience)

 

Thanks for the advice guys! . International Pymp, where did that chick work for that one year? (Just trying to gauge if you need to come from a big name or not for those program and the type of work experience looks)

 
Best Response

I disagree with the above comments. After graduating with a MPS RE, I joined a competitive PERE firm's acquisitions group. I definitely believe that it was not only my 3+years of exp as an analyst, but also my graduate education (Georgetown) that got my foot in the door.

I ruled out MBA programs because they simply were not specific enough to the real estate industry. In no way do I feel that I was denied some right of passage that an MBA would have afforded me. Instead, I think I made a more pragmatic choice and saved $ and time.

 

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