Help : MSF decision

Hello,

I am an international student and have applied for MSF in US. So far I have got into following universities.

Texas A&M uni
Purdue uni
Arizona
USC - Didn't here anything yet

Here's my profile,

24M
Undergraduate - BE mech
Gpa - 3.3
Good EC's
WE - Worked for six months in US equities market as a trainee prop trader and since six months working in a prop trading firm in US and European commodity futures market (not Algo)
career goal - I am trying to switch in investment banking. BB's are out of question so planning for MM's or Boutiques. If that option doesn't work, then will look for tear2 consulting (maybe in big 4)

Any suggestions will be highly appreciated.
May be TNA and other experts can weigh in.

10 Comments
 

I will be honest none (except for USC) of those schools are good for finance especially when you take into account that you are international. USC situation I am not sure what you mean. Did you get in or not? Seeing that you have a undergrad in engg. I would recommend applying to financial engg programs if you want to do finance. MEM or MiM programs if you want to do consulting. In all honesty, those programs would give you the best chance of landing a job in the States than the programs you mentioned.

 

A&M has a great network in Texas. If your goal is Texas then go to SMU. Being in a city would be massively advantageous to an international student. People other than me can give you a better idea about the program but I don't think it would be advisable for a international student to do a new MSF at A&M. I don't think it will provide you with a lot of opportunities.

 

I didn't get any response from USC yet. Neither accept nor reject. Yes it might be true owing to my prop trading experience and engg background, I should consider MFE, but as I have mentioned in my post I am trying to switch in IBD. Also as you have mentioned MiM might be helpful for consulting, yes I am applying Notre dame in a week or so. But could you please comment if I have to choose between the above mentioned schools, then which one should I choose.

 

Ghosh, thank you for your reply. A&M's program is there for a while now, so there might be a good network among recruiters. Also I have heard aggies network is really helpful and loyal so I thought I can leverage that. But yes it just opened for internationals this year so placement could be a problem. But a friend of mine in A&M told me that international placement out of SMU is a big concern too. That's why I am really confused.

 

USC, Notre Dame are great schools. SMU is going to be strong in Dallas. I am sure Texas A&M have a ton of alumni and presence in Texas. Of course you will compete with UTA and SMU (to a lesser extent).

Honestly, sounds like you like TAMU and it fits your budget. There are tons of alumni down there. If you decide to attend make sure you reach out to alumni and current students and start building those connections now, not later.

 

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