LBS MFA or Oxford MFE?
Hi! I'm in a bit of a dilemma and hope you guys can help - I know there are various threads on this but my context is slightly different. I'm a European who has been offered a place in LBS MFA and Oxford MFE (Financial Economics). I have also secured a finance internship for Summer 2021 that would offer a full conversion if successful. However, as I do not have a lot of prior experience, I'm not sure how well I will do in my internship, nor enjoy it. If I do not do well, I hope to pursue consultancy, which I think may be a better personality fit as of now.
My dilemma is as follows: 1. LBS might be better in curriculum and self-learning for my finance internship: I heard that the Oxford MFE can be very academic but less practical, as well as very time-demanding. In comparison, LBS teaches more applicable finance theory and is less time demanding. That means that if I go to LBS, I might not only be able to learn from professionals at LBS, but also be able to spend time self-teaching to be better prepared for my internship, vs spending all my time on learning more theoretical things at Oxford.
- However, Oxford has a better brand name: I have heard that for consulting (MBB) in London, they strongly prefer the Oxbridge name, and I don't know many at all who have managed to get an MBB place from LBS MFA. In the event that I do not do well in my internship, having gone to Oxford might help a lot more than LBS. I'm not sure about the LBS brand name for non-London MBB. While I guess I would not mind if this means I will need to try for a European, Non-London MBB position, a London position is definitely preferred. (Also, I'm not sure if I'm wrongly assuming that I can try for a London MBB after leaving london?) Also, it seems a waste to give up a place in Oxford as I came from a tier 2 undergrad uni.
What do you guys think about which school to pick? I know I made a lot of assumptions above (based on what I have heard from alumni), but if any of them are wrong, do let me know too!
I would definitely go for Oxford due to better recognition outside the UK/Europe. But I think it will not matter much as both are great and you have an internship already. Have you considered LSE as well? Btw how did you secure an internship for 2021 summer? good luck
Thanks so much! I actually got it for Summer 2020, but because it was scrapped due to the coronavirus and I was going to take up a Masters, they offered us a Summer 2021 instead. Don't think this is the norm though..
Congrats. Do you mind sharing your GMAT and your overall experience with the MFA and MFE interviews?
interested in this too
I did the GRE but the equivalent would be 710 or so based on the conversions I can find online. I did not have to do an interview with the MFE but for the MFA, it was mostly just asking about my CV and motivation for wanting to join MFA. It was enjoyable!
Is it the same person making a new account and asking this question every time? Seen it like 5 times now and the answer is always the same.
Hi Blue9. Nope, I'm completely new! I've seen other threads but they talk about IB, which I'm not interested in (I'm interested in the buy-side and/or consultancy.) and hence needed to post my own question. If you have any input it would be appreciated.
Fair enough mate.
LBS definitely has a leg up for IB recruiting because of the London presence. It's a bit more purposeful in this area. That's not to say Oxford isn't absolutely fantastic as well. Perhaps it's a bit like Harvard v Wharton for IB (from what I've read).
If I were in your shoes, I'd say go for Oxford. You're going to get great opportunities from either and, coming from a T2 uni like yourself, I know what you mean about wanting a place in Oxford.
No real difference in placement stats between the two courses, LBS places very well to MBB as well. Just go to the uni that you think you'll enjoy more.
25-30% of current MFE class is going to GS/MS or McKinsey/BCG, so I would say you have quite strong chances from there (this is including regional offices however).
I see, thank you! Do you know if there are any who got into the London offices for MBB, and if so how many?
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