How to break into international banking; Imperial College, Oxford, LSE or RSM?

Hey all,

Doubting about what Masters to do for 2019-2020. My ambition is to become an international banker in Asia specifically, able to go to e.g. Hong Kong and Singapore. I am currently thinking about the following options, but not sure which is the best, any help is MUCH, MUCH appreciated!;

  • MSc in Finance at Imperial College Business School.
  • MSc in Contemporary China Studies at Oxford University (Unconventional, I know, but have my eyes set on China in particular and already trust my Finance skills are good)
  • MSc in Economic History at LSE (Biggest name for London, although I am primarily interested in working in Asia)
  • MSc in Finance at RSM (Being Dutch, this is almost free education for me, but a masters degree I will take SOLELY for the certificate; already know all the content)

I can not do the GMAT due to me sucking at high pressure one-off tests, hence why I have to choose strategically and pick masters that don't require it.

If it matters, my background; Top 5-10% of my finance undergrad class, Cum Laude, honours programme and now doing a year of internships in M&A's, about to go PwC CF, and private equity at Dutch PE houses, or more M&A's if I love the experience.

Thank you for reading. 3

5 Comments
 

"I can not do the GMAT due to me sucking at high pressure one-off tests, " What about working and hedging that aspect? You could sit for your GMAT more than once and then could explain the score progressin your motivation letter or so. Could be worthy and then you could try to shoot higher. What about studying directly in Asia? Nus in Singapore is good afaik.

 

Hey, thanks for response

Studying in Asia might be helpful indeed. Would Tsinghua or PKU be the best for banking in that region as a Westerner, or NUS/HKUST?

 
"Starfall"
"MonkeyMoo5" I can not do the GMAT due to me sucking at high pressure one-off tests, hence why I have to choose strategically and pick masters that don't require it.

Just so you know, Finance jobs are much more stressful than a mere academic GMAT exam. Much more so at the analyst level. So be prepared.

I know, thats totally fine, I work well under high pressure, these one-off tests you study 6 months for are just a thing I really worry about, dont sleep and consequently do bad at

 

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